Do you like making new things out of old things and being creative?  Stop by the Sendak room  next Tuesday the 28th between 4:30-6:00 p.m. to construct scarves out of old sweaters! Sweaters will be provided but if you have a shrunken one you’d like to use, please bring it.  There will be snacks, and sweaters, and – EXCITING NEWS – we have finally have a working  a CD player/radio !  Register online here or by calling the library at  398-5123.

Have you read Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs yet?  Get on it!  Find more Miss Peregrine’s Valentines here.

There are some new signs going up around the Westdale library to designate each area.  The Young Adult area will have a tan sign with a picture of a teen girl on it, and then they would like to add a small symbol to the sign.

For example, the Mystery section will have a person holding up a spyglass and the symbol is a fingerprint.  The children’s “Easies”  books will have a small child on it with a picture of some bumblebees, etc.  Amy, who is working on the posters, came up with three picture choices.

TAG voted and it came down to the bird and the suns (she will probably only use one sun).  Please vote on which one you think would look best on the sign below.  If you have any other suggestions, please send them to armstrongm(at)crlibrary(dot)org.  Thanks!

Yesterday, the American Library Association gave out the Michael L. Printz Award to Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley.  The Printz is an award for a YA book that “exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature”.  We have a copy of this book, and while I haven’t read it (yet), I remember being really excited about the cover.  Here is a brief description of the Where Things Come Back:

Seventeen-year-old Cullen’s summer in Lily, Arkansas, is marked by his cousin’s death by overdose, an alleged spotting of a woodpecker thought to be extinct, failed romances, and his younger brother’s sudden disappearance.

Printz Honor books include:

Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler

Sixteen-year-old Min Green writes a letter to Ed Slaterton in which she breaks up with him, documenting their relationship and how items in the accompanying box, from bottle caps to a cookbook, foretell the end.

The Returning by Christine Hinwood

Cam Attling, having lost an arm, is the only one from his town of Kayforl to return after twelve years of war. All his fellow soldiers were slain, and suspicion surrounds him. When his betrothal to Graceful Fenister is called off and his role in the community questioned, Cam leaves to find the lord who maimed him but spared his life, seeking answers and a new place in the world.

Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey

In small-town Australia, teens Jasper and Charlie form an unlikely friendship when one asks the other to help him cover up a murder until they can prove who is responsible.

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Nineteen-year-old returning champion Sean Kendrick competes against Puck Connolly, the first girl ever to ride in the annual Scorpio Races, both trying to keep hold of their dangerous water horses long enough to make it to the finish line.

Chinese New Year Craft Celebration

On  Tuesday, January 31st, our monthly Teens Create program will be dedicated to celebrating the Chinese New Year.  We will be making some awesome paper lanterns and confetti popper rockets.  Stop by anytime between 4:30-6:00 p.m. in the Sendak room.  Register online here or by calling the library at 398-5123 so we know how many tealights to get!

Can’t make it on the 31st?  Here are some great instructions on how to make both projects.

• Confetti Popper Rocket instructions via Alpha Mom
• Folded Paper Lantern instructions (pdf) via INFUSEDgoods

Members present:  Jocelyn, Tanner, Bailey, Arianna, Nicky, Sarah, Dylan, and Maddie

Westdale Library and Possible Move

TAG discussed the possible moving of the Westdale library to the old Target building.  Everyone seemed to like the Westdale location and thought it was working well – minus the bathroom situation.

Newsletter/’Zine/Paper of Stuff

Marion Library has an awesome two sided paper with information about YA stuff.  We talked about doing our own with reviews, a small area for events, a TAG corner, and a place for new books.  We came up with a little schedule but anyone with any reviews, pictures, stories, ideas, etc. can send them to Maddie (armstrongm(at)crlibrary(dot)org.  Here is our schedule, with the person assigned emailing Maddie  the goods by the 1st of that month.

• February 1st- Sarah
• March 1st – Jocelyn
• April 1st – Arianna
• Bailey will help with editing and sharing her reviews.

Look out for the paper – hopefully coming this February!

Valentine’s Day – To Meet or Not to Meet?

The next second Tuesday of the month falls on VALENTINE’S day!  Maddie asked for a consensus about meeting and it was split about half and half.  We will still have the meeting from 6:00-7:00 p.m. and will have some heart shaped pepperonis and other snacks (cupcakes?).

Summer Reading Program Ideas

We wrote tons and tons of ideas on post it notes and then organized them into different categories.  For theme we decided that Own the Night didn’t really describe what we came up with, so we were hoping to do a “Choose Your Own Adventure” theme for both the reading program (read 3 books) and the events that will happen during the summer.

Here is a rough idea of what we came up with:

Prizes

• Drawstring backpack
• iPod touch
• Chik-Fil-A coupons
• TV
• Portable DVD player
• Free Fries
• Barnes and Noble giftcard
• Rollerskates
• Half Price Books giftcard
• Coffeehouse giftcards
• Nightstorm tickets
• PSP or Nintendo DS
• iTunes giftcard

Programs

• Murder mystery theater
• Movie marathon
• Sherlock Holmes themed program
• Lock In
• Medieval festival
• Origami Class
• Language lessons
• Anime conference
• Paper airplane contest
• Video game tournament
• Duct tape crafts
• Knitting program
• Let people paint the bookshelves (what about bookends? – MA)
• Haunted House in Library
• Inspirational speakers
• Book treasure hunt with Twitter
• Improv
• Rap battle
• Talent show
• Roleplay stuff
• Debates
• Martial arts demos
• Author visits (LOOK OUT FOR JILL HATHAWAY!!! Author of upcoming YA book Slide)
• July National Novel Writing Month
• Bubblegum/Candy Making
• Candy guessing contest
• Dessert making (trufles, caramels, jello)
• Scavenger Hunt
• Japanese Masquerade
• Movie Saturdays
• Survival lessons
• Makeup program
• Facepainting program

Contests

• Put information in the front of all new YA books
• TAG logo contest
• Book reviews
• Short story writing contest
• Physical Space
• Art wall
• Open poetry/art/story wall

Random

• We should get a pet!!

On Tuesday, January 17th from 5:30-7:30 in the Sendak room,  the CRPL Anime Club will be watching Naruto Shippuden and working on creating a Monster banner for the library from the book Me Make Monster by Jenny Harada.  As always, there will be Ramen noodles and snacks, and possibly some circle time.  Hope to see you there!

Tuesday, December 27th @ the Westdale Library

Join us from 4:30-6:00 in the Sendak room for our COLLAGE-A-THON, where you can collage your boredness away on jars, frames, cards, or possibly even the last giant Twilight cutout we have.  Register online here, at the library,  or by calling us at 319-398-5123.

Winner:  Tiniest Creation

Tiny panda + leek

Winner:  Best Anime

Gaaru from Naruto

Winner: Overall (which kind of meant everything else)

Link from Zelda

On a slightly un-related note, I was looking at the Anime Characters Database, which lets you search for Anime characters by gender, hair color, hair length, animal ears, and MORE.  I’m thinking we need a search like this for the library – especially for the questions like, “I’m looking for a book with a RED cover that is about THIS <——–> big with a dragon on the cover.”

In other Anime related news, we have been getting some new titles in, thanks to some help from Teen Advisory Group member Tanner!  I’ve included a few below – but they are flying off the shelf, so get in line for these by logging into your account on our catalog.

Maoh:  Juvenile Remix

Inukai and his team of vigilantes protect the citizens of Nekota from a rising crime wave and the greed of businessmen looking to modernize the city into a strip mall, but high school student Ando suspects Inukai’s motives.

Fairy Tail

Seventeen-year-old Lucy, mage-in-training, seeks to join a magicians guild and become a full-fledged magician. Her dream lies in the most famous guild in the worldFairy Tale. One day Lucy encounters Natsu, a boy raised by a Dragon who mysteriously abandoned him when he was young. Natsu has devoted his life to finding his Dragon father. When he helps Lucy out of a tricky situation, she discovers that he is a member of the Fairy Tail magicians guild, and our heroes adventure together begins.

Monster Hunter Orage

Shiki is on a mission to hunt down a legendary monster with his companion Ailee, a skilled huntress who would rather have nothing to do with the airheaded Shiki.