DIY: Friendship Bracelets

Friendship Bracelet Craft 
Tuesday, June 19 at 1:00 pm Join us as we use colorful embroidery floss to make friendship bracelets. Make one for yourself and one for a friend! All materials will be provided. No registration is necessary. For teens entering grades 7–12.

If you attended our Friendship Bracelet Craft (or if you were unable to make it) and are interested in continuing to make enough bracelets (or anklets) to fill both your arms and legs before the summer is out, then check out some of these great websites!

Chinese Staircase Bracelet (instructions #1)
Chevron Friendship Bracelet (instructions #2)
Fishtail Friendship Bracelet (finger-weaving style)

Also, here's the directions (from Klutz) that we used to make the traditional Friendship Bracelet:

Just a reminder: remember to cut more than enough thread. You can always trim it shorter, but you can't easily add on! (When doing the above friendship bracelet, measure from your shoulder to the tip of your middle finder--arm fully extended. This should give you plenty of thread.)

Enjoy!

Weekly Challenge: Week of June 18, 2012

Weekly Challenge

~Week of June 18th~

We might not have an app, yet, but we are online! Answer the following questions for tickets towards this week’s challenge.

BLOG

http://fred-teens.blogspot.com/

Go to the blog (this one) and find the title of one of the ADVENTURE books that I reviewed:

FACEBOOK

@Teen-Scene-at-Fredricksen-Library

Go to our FB page and write down the name of the first person who is listed on our “LIKES” page.

WEBSITE

http://cumberlandcountylibraries.org/index.aspx?NID=681

Go to our Teen Page via the Library website and write down one thing that can be found on our page. 

June 13-June 23 Teen Summer Reading Program Events

 Upcoming Teen Events @ FRE
Duct Tape Wallets Wednesday, June 13 at 1:00 pm We will be making indestructible wallets with the fun craft material duct tape! Make one for a Father's Day gift, or keep it for yourself! For teens entering grades 7 – 12. Registration begins June 1. 
REGISTER ONLINE (Registration is CLOSED)

Video Game Day – Racing! Monday, June 18 at 1:00 pm We'll have 3 game systems set up car racing games! Forza 4, Mario Kart, and Gran Turismo are a few games we will have. Snacks and drinks provided. For teens entering grades 7 – 12. 

Friendship Bracelet Craft Tuesday, June 19 at 1:00 pm Join us as we use colorful embroidery floss to make friendship bracelets. Make one for yourself and one for a friend! All materials will be provided. No registration necessary. For teens entering grades 7 – 12. 

Thursday Afternoon Movies for Teens Thursday, June 21 at 1:00 pm Thursday, June 28 at 1:00 pm 

(First movie of the summer will be Hugo)

Enjoy a different movie every Thursday at 1:00 (except July 12 @ 2:00 pm), followed by the weekly prize drawing. Popcorn and drinks provided courtesy of Friends of Fredricksen. No registration required. For teens entering grades 7 – 12. 



Safe Sitter Workshop 2-part workshop, Friday, June 22 & Saturday, June 23 from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm Holy Spirit Health System will be presenting this babysitter training program for ages 11-13. To register call Cheryl Sola at Holy Spirit Health Systems at 763-2427 and leave a message including your name, address, and phone number. A registration packet will be mailed to you. You must attend both sessions to receive a certificate of completion. There is a $30 fee which will include a manual, a messenger bag, and additional supplies. T-shirts and sweatshirts will also be available for purchase. Bring a bag lunch. 

Weekly Challenge: Week of June 11, 2012

Weekly Challenge

~Week of June 11th~

Who sponsors the

Fredricksen Teen Summer Reading Program?

You tell us! Bring in 3 brochures, menus, newspaper ads or printouts from any of our prize sponsors.

Show the ads to a member of the Reference staff.

By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead / Julie Anne Peters

TITLE: By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead
AUTHOR: Julie Anne Peters
OWNED BY CCLS? Yes.

High school student Daelyn has been bullied her entire life; for being fat, for being there; really just because she's an easy target. Due to her various past traumatic experiences, Daelyn has attempted suicide multiple times. She is fed up with the bullying and is determined to end it once and for all. After "Through the Light.com," which is a forum for those who want to end their lives, Daelyn makes a "Date of Determination" and begins counting down the days. Will Daelyn go through with her final suicide attempt and end her life? Or will Daelyn begin to feel less depressed, become less of a target and learn to trust others again and live?   

M's Verdict: Going into this book and having liked all of the other Julie Anne Peters books that I had previously read, I was a bit surprised at how much more intense and dark this novel was. I kept tensing up for the very depressing and terrible ending that seemed to be inevitable! I couldn't stop reading! By the time I was done reading, I can truthfully say that I was mentally and physically exhausted. This story is not for the faint of heart and it's definitely not a fun or light read. This story, although rather depressing is quite relevant to today's generation of teenagers and does provide some uplifting moments and great resources at the end of the book. This is definitely a great book for discussions on bullying and bullycide and if anyone reads the book and wants to talk about it, I'd love to be a part of the conversation.

Weekly Challenge: Week of June 4, 2012

Weekly Challenge

~Week of June 4th~

A man has committed a terrible crime for which he will be punished. He is placed in an arena and forced to open one of three doors. Behind the first door is a raging fire, behind the second door is a firing squad, and behind the third door is a room full of lions that haven’t eaten in three years. If he wants to live, which room should he choose?

Sure it’s not summer yet, but let’s admit it… we’re counting down the days until school lets out. Until then, let’s spend some time picking out some summer reads. Try one of these if you want to get ready to read by the ocean, lay by the pool, or just chillax with a great book!

SERIES:

Jenny Han’s Summer series

• The Summer I Turned Pretty
• Belly spends the summer she turns sixteen at the beach just like every other summer of her life, but this time things are very different.
   
• It’s Not Summer Without You
• Teenaged Isobel "Belly" Conklin, whose life revolves around spending the summer at her mother's best friend's beach house, reflects on the tragic events of the past year that changed her life forever.
   
• We’ll Always Have Summer
• The summer after her first year of college, Isobel "Belly" Conklin is faced with a choice between Jeremiah and Conrad Fisher, brothers she has always loved, when Jeremiah proposes marriage and Conrad confesses that he still loves her.

Hailey Abbott’s Summer Boys series

Summer Boys

Cousins Ella, Beth, and Jamie are at their family's beach house for the summer and first kisses, last dances, new loves, and old flames all add up to one unforgettable summer

Next Summer

On vacation again together, three cousins share their family's beach house and find a whole new selection of boys--and the problems that go along with dating them.

After Summer

As summer draws to a close, friends Beth, Ella, and Kelsi wonder if their summer romances will last through the school year.

Last Summer

The Tuttle girls make the most of their last summer at Pebble Beach before heading off to college.

Hailey Abbott’s Summer Girls series

Summer Girls
Cousins Jessica, Lara, and Greer, aged fifteen to sixteen, approach their family summer at a Maine beach cottage with very different attitudes, but all look forward to meeting new boys and having some fun.

Girls in Love
Jessica, Lara, and Greer spend their summer in Maine flirting with and hooking up with boys and soaking up the sun.

Lisi Harrison’s Clique Summer Collection

Massie

When Massie is kicked out of her exclusive riding camp and her parents insist that she get a summer job, she becomes the highest-selling Be Pretty Cosmetics girl ever by ignoring the company's philosophy.

Dylan
Joining her mother on a business trip to Hawaii, Dylan plans to work on her self-esteem and getting her mother's attention, but instead finds herself pursuing a rich, attractive boy who only has eyes for a bad-girl tennis star.

Alicia

Alicia travels back to Spain for her summer vacation, and when she learns that the newest pop sensation is in town searching for someone to star in his new video, Alicia vows to get cast, but in order to land the job, she will have to beat out her beautiful cousins.

Kristen
As the only member of the Pretty Committee clique not going on an exotic summer vacation, middle-schooler Kristen might just find romance sticking around to tutor math and attend a secret summer school for gifted students.

Claire
Back in Orlando for the summer, twelve-year-old Claire has difficulty connecting with her former best friends, but decides to prove her loyalty by entering Kissimmee's Miss Kiss beauty pageant.

Kim Harrington’s Clarity Books

Clarity
Sixteen-year-old Clare Fern, a member of a family of psychics, helps the mayor and a skeptical detective solve a murder in a Cape Cod town during the height of tourist season--with her brother a prime suspect.

Perception

Trying to decide between her old boyfriend, who betrayed her but wants her back, and the new boy with whom there are definite sparks, Cape Cod high school junior and psychic Clare is puzzled by a secret admirer even as she tries to solve the mystery of a classmate who has suddenly disappeared.

STAND ALONE TITLES:

Don Calame’s Swim the Fly

Fifteen-year-old Matt Gratton and his two best friends, Coop and Sean, always set themselves a summertime goal. This year's goal is to see a real-live naked girl for the first time. Given that none of the guys has the nerve to even ask a girl out on a date this is quite a challenge. But catching a girl in the buff starts to look easy compared to Matt's other summertime aspiration: to swim the 100-yard butterfly as a way to impress Kelly West, the sizzling new star of the swim team.

Brent Crawford’s Carter’s Big Break

Fourteen-year-old Will Carter's summer gets off to a bad start when his girlfriend leaves him, but then he is cast opposite a major star, Hilary Idaho, in a small movie being filmed in his town and things start looking up.

Black, White, Other... / Joan Steinau Lester

 

TITLE: Black, White, Other: In Search of Nina Armstrong
AUTHOR:  Joan Steinau Lester
OWNED by CCLS? Yes.

Nina's mother is white, her father is black, and her younger brother Jimi is a spitting image of their father. Where does that leave her? Is she black, white or other?

When Nina enters ninth grade, things start to change. Race riots take place nearby and racial tensions arise at her school and among her friends. It all prompts Nina to think about where she fits in. Does it really matter what color her skin is and if it does matter, why is she just noticing it now?

Learning about an ancestor on her father's side who was a slave helps Nina find perspective. But will Nina be able to determine who she is, keep the peace with her family, and keep her BFF? In order for Nina to find peace, she must take a journey (both figuratively and literally) to figure out who she truly is, black, white, other...

M's Verdict: Good read! The story was a relevant coming of age tale that not many books address so well. Perhaps the story may have been more authentic coming from someone who was biracial and was able to give the story a more personal touch, however I did enjoy it. Nina is a believable chigh school student with a typical HS friend whose your BFF one day and then the friend of your enemy. I liked how Nina's father's book about their slave ancestry gave the reader a historical look into the past and compared situations in Nina's realistic and present world to the world of a slave. This book would be a great transition into historical fiction and would provide any teen with a great story on figuring out who you are and how your family stories help to shape who you become.

Currently Reading...

• Matt de la Pena's I Will Save You 

Hunger Games Madness Part II: HG Books

So, it's one month after The Hunger Games was released in theatres and you've read The Hunger Games and maybe, just maybe (or more than likely), you decided to keep reading and have read Catching Fire and Mockingjay and are done with Suzanne Collins's trilogy. Well, now what should you read?

I have a few ideas for you which I'll break down into two posts. For this particular post, let's focus on... the spin-off, HG-related print craziness (i.e. the cookbook, tribute guide, etc.). If you haven't already done so, you have to check these books out!


The Hunger Games Tribute Guide / Emily Seife

The ultimate guide to the twenty-four Tributes participating in Panem's 74th annual Hunger Games. Follow the Tributes' journey from the Reaping to the Games, with a look at all teh highlights along the way. Get exclusive information about the Tributes' strengths and weaknesses, their weapons of choice, and their training before entering the arena.

The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook: From Lamb Stew to "Groosling" -- More Than 150 Recipes Inspired by the Hunger Games Trilogy / Emily Ansara Baines

Presents recipes inspired by the Hunger Games novel trilogy, including such dishes as lamb stew, roasted parsnips, and dark chocolate cake.

The Hunger Games: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion / Kate Egan

From the screenwriting process, casting decisions, and sets and costumes to the actors' performances and directors' vision, fans can go behind the scenes of "The Hunger Games" movie with this companion to the film.

The Hunger Games Companion: The Unauthorized Guide to the Series / Various Authors

The book takes fans deeper into the post-apocalyptic world created by Suzanne Collins--an alternative future where boys and girls are chosen from twelve districts to compete in "The Hunger Games," a televised fight-to-the-death. When sixteen-year-old Katniss learns that her little sister has been chosen, Kat steps up to fight in her place--and the games begin. This unauthorized guide takes the reader behind the stage. The Hunger Games Companion includes fascinating background facts about the action in all three books, a revealing biography of the author, and amazing insights into the series' major themes and features--from the nature of evil, to weaponry and rebellions, to surviving the end of the world.

How about your aural senses? Try The Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 and Beyond movie sound recording! The big names are Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars; various other artists have songs on the disc as well.

If you're such a fan that you've already read (and possibly own) every single HG-related book, then perhaps you're reading for something new to read. Stay tuned for a list of survival, adventure, and dystopian fiction novels. Perhaps one of the books on that list (forthcoming) will help fill the gap until the next HG movie (or book?) is released.

Mr. Death's Blue-Eyed Girls / Mary Downing Hahn

TITLE: Mr. Death's Blue-Eyed Girls
AUTHOR: Mary Downing Hahn
OWNED by CCLS? Not yet.

Two teen girls are shot and killed while on the way to school... it was the last day of school before summer break. Everyone in town is sure that the killer is the ex-boyfriend of one of the dead girls, but the police don't have enough evidence to hold him.

What if everyone thought you were guilty of such a horrible crime when you were innocent? And all the time the real killer was still out there...

M's Verdict:Eh. Mary Downing Hahn ghost stories tend to be really popular with local middle school students, so I thought I would see what all the fuss was about. I am going to assume that this book is a little different from her regular tales, because from reading just this one novel, I do not see what all the fuss is about. I'm thinking that since the author based this novel on a real-life murder that took place during her younger years and affected her personally, she got so caught up in the emotions surrounding the horrible tragedy that she was unable to separate and create an enjoyable fictional tale of murder, intrigue, and mystery. The result? An "eh" fiction novel that would have been better presented in a nonfiction format. Also, being based on a murder that happened in the 1950s, I feel that some of the details in regards to brand names, activities, and style/fashion would likely be lost on the intended teen reader. Overall, I'd say skip it and try one of her ghost stories like Deep and Dark and Dangerous, All the Lovely Bad Ones, Wait Til Helen Comes, or The Old Willis Place.

M's Extra Note... So I read this book and wrote this blog post awhile back. Now after having read a few books since, I must admit that MDBEG does have something special that not many books have. As a historical fiction novel, I would recommend it. As a true-life mystery or as realistic fiction, I can't say it would be my first choice. But this novel might be a great transition for readers who like Hahn's other works; ghost story to historical fiction.