ALA Wrap

Well, last weekend was the annual conference for ALA in Anaheim, California. I was there mostly for work stuff, but the plus is going to the exhibits... and, of course, getting tons of books. So this is my little wrap up of the books I got while I was there.

I got tons that I am giving to librarians/students at work - probably raffling them off or something. But there were several that I wanted to keep for myself. Here are three that I was absolutely excited for (like, waiting for it forever kinda excited):

• The Diviners by Libba Bray (signed)
• Scarlet by Marissa Meyer - almost had a kitten when I saw this one. 
• The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson (signed)

And here's my stack (from the top):

• Zom-B by Darren Shan
• Devine Intervention by Martha Brockenbrough
• Miss Fortune Cookie by Lauren Bjorkman
• Rift by Andrea Cremer
• Drama by Raina Telgemeier
• Amber House by Kelly Moore
• The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron
• Darkwater by Catherine Fisher
• Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone by Kat Rosenfield
• The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
• Lost Girls by Ann Kelley
• Tap Out by Eric Devine
• The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda
• Smashed by Lisa Luedeke
• Adaptation by Malinda Lo
• The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson
• Throne of Glass by Sarah Maas
• Soulbound by Heather Brewer
• The Diviniers by Libba Bray
• Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

So many exciting things to add to my TBR pile! Not that I needed any more ;). Off to do some reading!

Library Chatter (3)

So, I think today's post is going to be in the more "advice needing" category. Here's why - I'm thinking about starting up a book club for my teens at work.

I know a lot of book clubs follow a pretty set format. Everyone reads the same book and discusses it at the meeting. My idea is to not have everyone read the same book - just let the teens talk about books they are currently reading or have loved in the past. That way it's more like booktalking instead of analyzing a book to death.

My reason for wanting to do a book club this way is because we don't always have a bunch of copies of the books I'd want to read with everyone. And I also have really bad memories of books be analyzed until I no longer liked them.

What do you think? Have any of you ever been in or started a book club? What was it like?

The teens at my library change drastically from summer to the school year. I had originally been thinking about this for next summer (because I'm tired of telling parents that no, we don't have actual book programming)... but I'm kinda excited to get it started. But our school year kids are the ones who are just looking for a place to hang out with their friends... and to get kicked out. Besides manga, I'm not sure any of them read much. But maybe I'm wrong!

So, I'm looking for advice. Anyone have teen book club experience?

Library Chatter (2)

I know my last "Library Chatter" was craft-related, but summer time is really craft-heavy... so I've got another one to share with you. We have done this program once before and both times it has been a lot of fun - for the kids and for us.

Bubble Wrap Fashion Show

Grades 7-12 (but younger kids could do it, too)

This summer we decided to repeat one of our previous programs because it was so successful. Bubble Wrap Fashion is the next big thing, I can just feel it :).

The Library provided the bubble wrap (we used the large rolls from office supply stores - comes in various sizes) and colorful duct tape (which I got from Michael's). It's an expensive program, but we got some funding from Teen Read Week stuff last year and summer reading grants this year. So, expensive, but it's pretty worth it.

We just let the kids go at it. We said they had to create something to wear - we didn't care what that was. They were required to wear something under it... don't wanna get sued or whatever. We had them sign up in teams because creating something on yourself is really difficult. For those solos, we had volunteers on standby to give them help.

We took pictures of the whole thing, but my release forms didn't cover my blog, so they're either headless or their backs. Sorry about that. :). But here are some of the designs they came up with:

We did give away prizes and awards for participating. They did such a great job and we were blown away with their creativity.

If you were making a bubble wrap outfit, what would you make??

Library Chatter (1)

Sometime last week, I mentioned starting some posts that are Library related - as in some of the things that we Librarians do every day and would love to share. I know I'm consumed all day every day with book lists, programs, crafts, and so on... So perhaps sharing some of those will keep me blogging more often and about things I care about (besides books and reviewing them and all that).

Now, I know the image I made is really, really basic. But I'd be happy to change it if someone has wonderful button knowledge. On to my first bit of Library Chatter. What better way to start this off than a craft I presented yesterday:

Snow Globe Craft Project

Grades 7-12

I had seen this project online a few times and figured it wouldn't be too difficult to do with my teens. Though, it wasn't exactly simple, but they had a fun time making a mess. :).

You start with jars - any size will do, I think. We used 12 ounce jars that I ordered from SKS Bottle & Packaging. As long as the tops have a good seal on them, you should be fine.

The next step is to have things for the kids to either glue or float in their jars. I had a few things. If they wanted plastic bits, I had buttons, shells, and little army guys. There's also a way to float a picture in the jar that I offered as an option. I like the picture idea the best - most of my teens just combined them all and filled the jars completely with stuff :).

If you do choose to float a picture, be sure you have enough packing tape for the kids to "laminate" the pictures. Speaking of pictures, I just gave them old weeded comic books and old magazines. I had a lot of takers on Spider Man. hah. You do have to make sure that the picture isn't too small - otherwise it will just float to the top and stay there.

Anyway, once they've fixed up the inside of the jar, it's time for the water and glitter. Make sure you fill it with enough water that you don't have a huge air bubble when you finish (though you can always add more later). Then you have to put corn syrup in each jar. This is to keep the glitter from sticking together and to give it the "snow globe consistency." Don't use too much, though, because it will make the water cloudy. (Science Lesson anyone?)

In terms of glitter, I think the solid colors work best (instead of the multi colored stuff). I would suggest not putting in too much at first - or they will just have to dump the water and start over. The glitter can get a bit overpowering. You can also have other floaty bits. Whatever you've got.

Once they closed it up, many of my kids decided to decorate the outside of their jars. Pipe Cleaners, buttons, googly eyes... whatever you've got. It's a craft explosion! :)

I had a few teens who needed help with ideas, but other than that it was a pretty self sufficient project. We did have hands on deck to help with the water and corn syrup part. I would recommend the project for other libraries if you have the manpower - and if you're looking for a fun time instead of a gorgeous outcome :).

Here are a few of my sources for knowing what to get and how to do the project:

Tipnut

All Kids Network

Teaching Resource Center

Have you ever tried to make a snow globe before? How did it turn out?