Holiday Craft - Beeswax Candles

We just finished making some very pretty beeswax candles. Not surprisingly, most were designated as holiday gifts, but I was surprised atthe diversity of intended recipients - everyone from friends to aunts to teachers. Since this was a fairly quick project to complete, we also decorated bags to complete the gift. Check some of them out below.

Happy Holidays!

What Mrs N's Been Reading - The King's Fifth

Went back and read an old one this time - Scott O'Dell's The King's Fifth, originally published back in 1966. If you've read Island of the Blue Dolphins or The Black Pearl, then you know that O'Dell does a nice job with historical fiction, with a young main character. The King's Fifth was true to O'Dell's reputation. This one has a young mapmaker on trial for cheating the Spanish king out of his share (the fifth referenced in the title) of gold that was found on an expedition to Mexico in 1541. During the course of that trial, he is also accused of murdering his superior officer. The story switches between his trial, and his recollection of events of the expedition. During the trial, officials at nearly all levels are trying to get in good with the boy, because it seems that he's the only one left alive who knows where the gold is hidden. The King's Fifth gives a good look at what it was like to be on one of those expeditions, both the physical conditions, and the way that the idea of lots and lots of gold affected some of the men psychologically. A good adventure story, with a likable main character. I recommend it!

Enjoy!

Guitar Hero World Tour Tournament

Just wrapped up our first Guitar World Tour Battle of the Bands Tournament. Eight teams of 2 (guitar and drums) battled to a thrilling conclusion, with Kody B and Aaron R emerging victorious and Jared M and Ryan M pulling out a second place. As purely an observer, never having actually played the game, it appears that the key is having a good drummer. With the popularity of regular Guitar Hero, there are a lot respectable guitar players out there. Finding a drummer seemed to be a whole 'nother story.

If you missed it, pics below. Watch for another one in the near future.

What Mrs N's Been Reading - The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie

Actually, I finished Jaclyn Moriarty's The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie a while ago, but just getting around to writing it up (in other words, the book just now bobbed to the surface of the piles on my desk, reminding me to take care of this.) This is the story of Bindy, an Australian teenager, who is a bit of an overachiever, with a really pushy father. She is temporarily living with an aunt and uncle. As a new school year starts, the usually top of her class, super organized, etc., Bindy seems to be spiralling out of control. As I was reading, I was thinking, "My goodness, I'm watching someone descend into a complete breakdown!" Basically I wish that the entire book had been more like the last 100 pages or so. Parts are funny, but I had a hard time getting behind Bindy's character. Frankly, she was pretty annoying. You can see why she had problems dealing with other kids at school. With the help of a group from a "Friendship and Development Project" class that is meant to provide "a life raft through the tricky seas of adolescence" we find out what is really happening to Bindy, but perhaps too late to safe her. That's that last 100 pages or so. There were some good twists and turns as the truth unfolds. Just wish the editor would have reeled in the first couple hundred pages and sped things up a bit.

Enjoy!

What Mrs N's Been Reading - A War of Gifts

Stepped outside of the Fredricksen Teen collection for a bit and read Orson Scott Card's A War of Gifts. I love Card's older stuff - Ender's Game is probably my all time favorite book, and I couldn't believe how good Ender's Shadow is, considering that you know going in how it's going to end if you've read Ender's Game. I also really liked his Tales of Alvin Maker series. I used to say that Card could rewrite the phone book and make it compelling reading. I had been hearing from other Card fans however, that he's been slipping lately - losing continuity in series' and getting a little preachy. I was hoping they were wrong. A War of Gifts is a quick read (only 126 pages) and it does present some interesting points. Unfortunately, my sources are right about Card getting preachy. Maybe my expectations of Card are a little high, but I just didn't enjoy this one like I have others. My recommendation is to skip this one, but if you haven't read Ender's Game yet, you definitely need to! I'd also highly recommend Ender's Shadow, and First Meetings in the Enderverse, as well as the three books that are direct sequels to Ender's Game - Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind, as well as the totally unrelated, Pastwatch. Enjoy those! Take a pass on A War of Gifts.

What Mrs N's Been Reading - The Off Season

Just finished Catherine Gilbert Murdock's The Off Season. It's a sequel to Dairy Queen, which I hadn't read. Not having read the first had absolutely no effect on reading this one. It's about D.J., a high school junior who lives on a dairy farm in the midwest. D.J. narrates and it reads just like a friendly farm girl is sitting next to you telling you her story, like you're old friends. D.J. isn't the type of high school girl that books generally get written about. She has been a star basketball player, and is hoping for an athletic scholarship, because she's not going to get an academic one. She is also a starter on her high school football team, and a linebacker, no less! The book is about a month or 2 in D.J's life as her family faces a few crises, her love life is a roller coaster, she suffers an injury, and her best friend moves away after being thrown out of the house by her mother. I enjoyed it - mostly because I liked D.J., but also because, although you weren't really left hanging with any ofthe story lines at the end, you also didn't get an ending that was tied up in a pretty little bow with everything working out like a sitcom or a movie of the week. In other words, I thought it was pretty realistic. If you're a middle or high school girl, but not the girlie type that so many teen books seem to be written for, check this one out - you'll probably enjoy it.

Guitar Hero Tournament Results

Just finished the first Guitar Hero Tournament of the school year. They always go well. We had 21 kids enter the tournament and a handful more that just came for the ambience, the board games, and the popcorn. Man, those final 3 kids were good! Chris K emerged as our grand prize winner with Aaron R coming in second and Brandon K a close third. A big thank you also, to Jared, the recipient of the "thanks for cleaning up midway through" prize. I love to see a man with a broom in his hands, especially voluntarily!

We'll be doing a 2 on 2 Guitar Hero World Tour Tournament in December. Watch for details, and see you then!

Pics from today are below.

What Mrs N's Been Reading - Repossessed

Just finished A.M. Jenkins' Repossessed. If you're open to exploring the possibilities of what heaven and hell might actually be like, this is a very interesting book. Kiriel, a fallen angel (don't use the term "demon" please) whose job has been to "echo souls regrets back at them, thus letting them feel the full burden of their shame, guilt and sorrow" for millenia, decides that he's had enough and wants to experience physical being. He snatches the body of Shaun, a typical teenager, seconds before he is about to be hit and killed by an SUV. Pretending to be Shaun, Kiriel sets out to experience all of the human senses and as many of the seven deadly sins as he can before being found out. Jenkins did a really good job of letting you feel what it would be like to suddenly have a physical body and senses, after millenia of being purely a spiritual being. There's some mature content, as Kiriel plans to experience some things. There's nothing graphic, though, and ultimately he winds up viewing some of those things in an entirely different way than how he started out. You might want to read this one with someone, because if you really get into it, you'll want to talk about some things, especially the ending. Not for young middle-schoolers, but an excellent book. If you're in the mood to get just a little philosphical, check it out!

What Mrs. N's Been Reading - First Shot and The New Policeman

I've been out for a bit while in the process of moving, and am a bit behind in postings. I (fairly) recently finished 2 good ones. The first one was Kate Thompson's The New Policeman. It is based on old Irish folklore about fairies. Everyone in the village of Kinvara seems to be far more rushed and behind then usual, and it seems to be getting worse. Young J.J. wants to give his mom the only thing she really wants - more time. An encounter with a neighbor from the village sets him off on a mission to find and stop a time leak in the land of fairies where time usually stands still. Along the way J.J. also clears up a mystery from his family's past involving the sudden disappearance and presumed murder of the local priest. There are a fair number of Irish terms used that you could get the general gist of the meaning of as you read, but a glossary is also provided at the end of the book (thank you!) Suitable for any age, it's a nice mix of fantasy and mystery that, being based on the Irish folklore, is a bit different from the usual fantasy. Chapters are incredibly short, so it's good for reluctant readers. And for those who are musically inclined, there is sheet music for old Irish tunes at the beginning of each chapter. A very good book with some different twists.

I also read Walter Sorrells' First Shot. I recently read, and liked very much, his Fake ID. First Shot was another good mystery. This one takes place at a private school in New England, where David is the unremarkable son of the strict headmaster. Events at the beginning of his senior year lead David to suspect that his father may have murdered his mother two years previously, an awfully tough spot for a kid to be in! While working to solve his mother's murder, David also uncovers some additional scandalous secrets. There's a little bit of language in this one, but not too bad and nothing graphic. I thought this one wrapped up a little too quickly at the end ( the old, "you have this many pages left - tie up all your loose ends now" ending) but still thought it was a very good mystery.

Enjoy!

Wii for Seniors

We just held our first Wii for Seniors program. It went so well that we will probably do it again. Members of the Teen Advisory Group were on hand to demonstrate and help out. A small, but very enthusiastic group of seniors got to play bowling, golf, tennis and baseball on Wii Sports and did a little shooting in Wii Play. We also had board games and the infamous Nerf ping pong available as well. It was a great afternoon! Pics below.

Middle School VGT Update

We just wrapped up a fun afternoon with our first video game tournament for middle school for this school year. 20 kids showed up and had a great time playing Super Smash Bros. Melee on the big screen. A big thanks to Tony from GameStop/EBGames at the Capital City Mall for bringing along the extra game systems and games, and staying late to get the Wii back in the box for me. (Yes, I would have gotten it eventually, but it would have taken several times as long.) A big thanks also to Patrick Y for running the tournament. Congrats to Patrick as well, being our winner for the day. It looks like Evan was our runner-up. Thanks also to Tony for providing t-shirts and other cool prizes. If you missed it, some pics are below. Watch this space for details on other upcoming teen programs.

What Mrs N's Been Reading - Fake ID

Just finished Walter Sorrells' Fake ID. If you're looking for a good action-packed mystery, I just might have the book for you. This one is about a teenage girl, who has spent her entire life moving from place to place with her mom, taking on a new identity everywhere they go. She doesn't know what her real name is, but at this latest stop, she's going by Chass. When Chass' mom suddenly disappears, she not only has to deal with the local sheriff, who considers her and her mom trash, and wants to quickly get Chass turned over to juvenile authorities and out of town, but several big men with guns who want something that they won't even identify. In the course of trying to find out what happened to her mom and stay a few steps ahead of the guys with the guns, she also opens up a 20 year old can of worms in the form of an old local unsolved disappearance that sounds like it was probably a murder. Like I said earlier, plenty of action and plot twists, and no content that would be inappropriate for middle-schoolers. All in all a darn good book and a pretty quick read to boot.

Enjoy! And if you do, you might want to also check out the sequel, Club Dread.

What Mrs N's Been Reading - Fly on the Wall

Just finished e. lockhart's Fly on the Wall. It's a quick read - the story of Gretchen Yee, a student at an arts magnet high school in New York City. Her best friend Katya seems to be blowing her off lately, her parents just told her that they're getting a divorce, her drawing teacher is hypercritical of anything not done in the particular style she prefers, and she just can't figure boys out at all. In a discussion about boys, Gretchen comments to Katya that she'd love to be a fly on the wall in the boys' locker room. Sure enough, the next morning she wakes up as a fly on the wall in the boys locker room. Over the course of several days Gretchen goes from being a voyeur to starting to see beyond the surface of several of her classmates. I'd recommend this one to high school students, due purely to some of her observations in the locker room. Considering what she's describing, I thought it was remarkably non-graphic, but it is what it is. There's also some salty language, but if you ride the bus, you've probably heard it all. Hopefully reading this book will encourage you to look beneath the surface of some of the people you think you know. What you find there may surprise you.

Enjoy!

What Mrs N's Been Reading - My Swordhand is Singing

Just finished Marcus Sedgwick's My Swordhand is Singing. Sometimes a title is just so off-the-wall that it makes you pick the book up for a second look. This was one of those books. The creepy eyeball looking at you on the front cover helped, too. That, and the fact that I've liked other Sedgwick books. Anyway, this book is based on the very early folklore about vampires and the undead. Yes, it has undead vampires, multiple murders, chase scenes, and a gothic horror story setting, but if you're looking for a really creepy, blood and guts, vampire story, this ain't it. What it is, is a very well-written story about a teenage boy learning about life, death, love and the truth about his drunk, seemingly irresponsible father. It's a story of true heroism in the face of extreme adversity. It's a story about coming to terms with who you really are and what you're meant to do. It takes place at an nonspecific time several hundred years ago, in an unnamed eastern European country. It's a quick read, that doesn't fit any specific genre. There's plenty of tension, both from the action and the setting, but nothing graphic. I recommend it for both middle school and high school students. Enjoy!

Book Discussions to Continue

I've decided to continue the Teen Book Discussions, since there have been folks willing to moderate. (Thank you Allison for doing the one last week on, like, no notice!) We're going to continue with Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series (see Upcoming Programs, to the right, for dates and times) then after the first of the year, I think we'll do Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series. Watch for details on those. I'll post dates as soon as I have 'em.

What Mrs N's Been Reading - Little Brother

Just finished Cory Doctorow's Little Brother. Excellent book! From the start it made me think of the movie, Enemy of the State, with Will Smith and Gene Hackman. I kept thinking that if you weren't a bit paranoid when you started, you would be afterwards. Little Brother takes place in the near future. Surveillance of the general public is more intense than it is now. When terrorists attack the Bay Bridge in San Francisco, the Department of Homeland Security basically goes nuts and puts massive restrictions on everyone, and monitors every move everyone makes. A teenager, who was falsely imprisoned immediately after the attack, starts to mount an electronic attack on the DHS to try to make people realize how much they have given up in a misguided attempt to increase security, and to let them know what happened to him and his friends, one of whom hasn't been seen since their imprisonment and is presumed dead. In addition to it being a darned good story with plenty of action, it also gives you a real education about encryption, surveillance etc., but does it in a way that doesn't feel like a lesson - more like a good, geeky friend explaining something to you naturally in the course of a conversation. A good one to read with someone so you can talk about it afterwards. There's a little bit of mature content, but it's not graphic or gratuitous. I'd highly recommend it for older middle school students as well as high school students (adults, too now that I think about it.)

Enjoy!

What Mrs N's Been Reading - Jumper

Wow! It seems like ages since I've posted anything. I'm still not quite caught up after Teen Summer Reading, but it's good to get back to this anyway. Read a few things over the summer that I never posted. When I remember what they were I may post a quick thumbs up or down on those. In the meantime, I just finished Steven Gould's Jumper. Been wanting to read that one since I added to the collection I don't remember how many years ago, and finally got around to it. It's the story of Davey, who finds out quite by accident that he has the ability to teleport. On two different occasions when he his put into a horrific situation, he suddenly finds himself in the town library. As he starts to piece together what is happening he realizes that the library has always been a safe place for him, explaining why he appeared there for what had appeared to no apparent reason. He then starts to experiment to determine his limits. In addition to providing some good action later on (hijackers, government agents, etc.), Gould does a fabulous job of getting into Davey's head and exploring all of the emotions and ethical decisions that go along with his abilities. Yes, this is the book that the movie with Hayden Christensen was based on. I haven't seen the movie, but based on reviews, it sounds like it was more "inspired by" (think, I, Robot) than based on. Anyway, there is some mature content, but it's not graphic or overdone. I'd recommend it for high school or older middle school students. Enjoy!

Reverse APB on a Pig

OK folks, I'm trying to clean up after Teen Summer Reading. I still have a lovely ceramic pig that was left here after The Simpsons movie way back in June. Would the owner please come and claim it at the Information Desk, or it will become mine.

Murder Mystery Oops

If you're looking for photos of this year's murder mystery program, you'll be waiting a very long time. For the first time in quite a while, I was cleaning up after a program and realized that I had taken absolutely no pictures. I actually had the camera down in the Community Room, but had a brain lapse in there. That's too bad, because it was a cool program. Our thanks go out once again to Mr. Kozman and his students at Trinity High School who made a DVD for us to use as part of the program again this year. The DVD was even better than last year's. They had way too much fun making this year's!
Anyway, if you missed it, no pics, but look for another one next year. We had such a large turnout this year, that we'll probably offer 2 sessions next summer. Good problem to have!

DDR Guitar Hero

Hard to believe that today's was the next to the last program of the summer! An open play Guitar Hero and DDR day was a nice way to wind down. In addition to those games, the Nerf ping pong set was in full use, as usual, and there were several board games out as well. Pics below.

Just a reminder that tomorrow's movie is the last program, and the last prize drawing of the season will be held right after the movie. If you've been hanging onto tickets, get 'em in before about 2:45 tomorrow!

One More Book Discussion

OK, I was about to drop the teen book discussions due to the low turnout. However, Tuesday's group, which discussed Stephenie Meyer's Twilight was a nice size and they convinced me that there would be enough interest in doing the next book in the series. In a moment of weakness, I agreed and was able to schedule a meeting room for Thursday, September 11 at 7:00 to discuss Stephenie Meyer's New Moon. If turnout is good for that one as well, we will probably continue through the series. If anyone is interested in moderating that discussion, please let me know asap.

Weekly Challenge July 28 - 31, 2008

Believe it or not, it's almost the end of July, and that means the end of Teen Summer Reading for 2008. We'll wind down with a maze. Hope you all had a great time as part of the Teen Summer Reading Program. Watch this space for program info during the school year.
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Activism

We just wrapped up a really good program on how to become politically and socially active. Our originally scheduled presenter, Sarah Speed, the state head of the Humane Society, was unable to attend at the last minute. However, she arranged a wonderful substitute, Roy Afflerbach, who has served as both a state representative and senator, as well as mayor of Allentown. The program included some great tips on how to organize and implement a public policy campaign. If you missed it, a few pics are below.

Weekly Challenge July 21 - 26

Can you change "less" into "more"? You can only change one letter at a time. Don't change the order of the letters. Use 8 steps or less.



For example, to change "cat" to "dog":

CAT

can

con

don

DOG

Indie Rock Concert Pics - Finally!

Finally got my hands on some pics from what's now being called the 1st Annual Indie Rock Concert on the Lawn at the Fredricksen Library. Thank you Nelson, for pinch-hitting as photographer, and Jess for the use of your camera. A really, really big thank you to the folks at ChampionShip in Lemoyne, especially Tony, as well as the great groups that played that night - Handguns, Farewell Flight, and Safari So Good. We had absolutely delightful weather, a nice turnout, and no complaints from the neighbors. We're looking forward to doin' it again next summer! Good luck to the guys from Safari So Good as they head across country on tour. Glad they were able to fit us in.!

Turn Your Ideas Into Comics

Our second comic-related program of the summer was presented by Ben Richmond. It was basically, how to get those really cool ideas that are floating around in your head, on paper, in comic form. Ben covered a little bit of everything, including layout, blank spaces, perspective, character development, you name it. Part of the time was spent having everyone draw something, then share it with the group. Ben then pointed out the already cool parts of each person's drawings, as well as some pointers for making them even better. What I thought was really interesting, was the tremendous diversity of characters and story ideas that kids came up with. Ben did such a great job that he and I are already talking about what aspect of this to do another program on next summer. If you missed it, don't just check out the photos below, but watch for next year's program as well. Also, a big thank you to the Center for Advanced Management Planning as well as our good friends at Comix Connection for sponsoring the giveaways that Ben had for participants. See you next year!

Core Strength Training

Jim Launer from Most High Sports Complex, was back this week - this time for a core strength training session. Unfortunately, Coy Wire couldn't make it to this one because he was giving a speech in Arizona to the National Education Association, if I remember correctly. I was kind of bummed that none of the other NFL players came with Jim. I had been looking forward to the experience of standing next to someone named Tank. Oh well.

Wow! I though Jim worked the kids hard last week for the agility training. My abs hurt just watching what they had to do today! Thank goodness I had to take photos instead of participating! If you missed it, here are some of the photos.