Hang.

It's tough landing a job in today's tough economy, especially for teens who might be competing with adults for the same position.  That is why the Lake Hills Library will be hosting a job search/résumé writing workshop designed specifically for teens to help them gain a competitive edge and land that job.  Teen receive assistance in tapping the "hidden job" market and they will also receive professional advice on how to make their résumé stand out.  (Registration required.  Please call us at 425-747-3350 or visit us at www.kcls.org to register.)

Date: 6/8/2009
Start Time: 4:00 PM
End Time: 5:30 PM.
Library: Lake Hills Library
Location: Meeting Room
Registration Ends: 6/6/2009 at 11:55 PM
Contact Number: 425.747.3350
Presenter: Paul Abodeely

Impossible by Nancy Werlin

Getting raped on prom night and finding out she's pregnant soon after should be enough stress for any teenage girl, but Lucy Scarborough also has to contend with the fact that she's the victim of a family curse. Of course Lucy is used to living with stress and disappointment because she's known all her life that her birth mother is crazy and worries constantly that her mother will appear and humiliate Lucy in front of her friends. Fortunately she's been raised by two loving foster parents, Leo and Soledad. Her next door neighbor, Zach, has also been a supportive, loving friend.

When Zach discovers her mother's teenage diary Lucy learns that her mother's madness is actually part of a curse that happens to the women in her family at age eighteen. They become pregnant and soon after go crazy. To break the curse of the Elfin Knight, who's punishing them for their ancestor Fenella's refusal to be the Elfin King's true love, she has to perform three difficult tasks set forth in the ballad Scarborough Fair before the baby is born or otherwise she'll go crazy herself. With Zach's assistance, which includes marrying her, and her foster parent's support Lucy may find a way to make the "impossible" possible and find true love.

Read.Flip.Win. 2009 is coming up, so get your cameras and computers ready! This year the program will begin June 1 and run until July 31. You get TWO months to create your videos and you can submit as many videos as want!

PRIZES: This year, the two grand prizes will be HD Flip video cameras. The two categories are Video Book Review (think movie critic) and Video Book Trailer (think movie trailer). Runner's up will also get Flip camera's - just not the HD version.

RULES: The rules are simple. Videos should be 3 minutes or less. Video Book Reviews should focus on content. Video Book Trailer should focus on creativity. All videos should be submitted on time (no later than July 31), within time limit (the 3 minute rule), and via the KCLS online submission form. To see winners and runner's up from last year check out the RFW 2008 webpage.

As submissions come in we will post them on our website http://www.kcls.org/teens/rfw/ where you will be able to watch other entries.

For more information, contact your local Teen Librarian!

KCLS is not just about books, databases, magazines, music, and movies.Our collection offers many ways to learn a new skill, perfect an old skill, learn a new language, cook healthy, get in great shape, fix your car, grow your own food, and more. We have tools to help you enrich and improve your life in many ways. We offer classes, programs, and entertainment aplenty. Here's five free and fabulous things at the library that just might surprise you:

1. Computers:

We have state-of-the-art  computers with Microsoft Office software for you to create letters, presentations, resumes, email, or just surf the internet and print it all out at no charge. Need to learn how to use the computer or brush up on skills for your resume? We offer free classes every month to get you started or keep you going. We also have free wireless access.We also have a TechLab bus that will bring free computer classes to you if you are unable to come into the library and it is wheelchair accessible. It is a state of the art bus equipped with eight workstation; there is a minimum requirement of six registrants.

I'd never heard of National Poem in Your Pocket Day until I read about it on the Academy of American Poets website while browsing for some information on National Poetry Month. On April 30th people are encouraged to keep a poem in their pocket and share it with co-workers, family, and friends throughout the day. It actually sounds like a day I can get behind; I'm for anything fun and simple that doesn't involve costumes (I usually don't partake in Talk Like A Pirate Day).

Now I just need to choose a poem to carry around. The library collection has a lot of interesting poetry books. Here are a few that I looked at while in search of my pocket poem:

Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy by Sonya Sones. A novel about what happens when a family member has a mental breakdown told entirely in first person poems.

Technically, It's Not My Fault: Concrete Poems by Jack Grandits. The design of the text is interesting without even reading it, and, when you do read it, it is really funny!

The Columbia Anthology of American Poetry. All of your favorite, famous American poets in one handy volume.

Great Online Sources for Finding Poems:

Columbia Granger's World of Poetry. KCLS has a subscription to this online database. You can read or listen to poems, read poet bios and commentaries and more. To access the database you'll need your library card number.

Poets.org. The website of the American Academy of Poets.

Bartleby.com. Full-text of many classic poems.

I'm looking forward to hearing your pocket poems this Thursday, April 30!

Last year KCLS participated in King County Reads - where we encouraged everyone to read Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. I was thrilled to discover this new version of the book adapted by Sarah Thomson. If you missed the original, here's the basic story. Greg Mortenson took off traveling to the middle east where he tried to climb K2, the 2nd highest mountain in the world, and some would argue the most challenging. He did not make the summit and upon his descent, he strayed from the trail and got lost. Eventually he stumbled into a remote village, where locals wholeheartedly welcomed him and nursed him back to health with food and kindness. He was shocked to see the village's school, its lack of teachers and supplies. Students were copying their lessons with sticks in the dirt. Greg was inspired by their desire to learn and vowed to return to their village and build them a proper school, and so he did. To date, as director of the Central Asian Institute, Greg has constructed over 50 schools and is dedicated to improving the quality of education for these children, especially young girls. This is a powerful, moving humanitarian story and I'm so excited to see it accessible for a younger audience. It's a great way to share Greg's message with your kids, your students or anyone who wants a simplified version of his story. The book has a great Q&A with Greg's daughter Amira, and information on Pennies for Peace, a fundraising opportunity for interested students. Whereas a penny in American is considered worthless, in Pakistan or Afghanistan a penny can purchase a pencil and help promote education and literacy. Color photographs make a stunning addition and I wish they had been included in the original. Perfect for middle and high school students, parents, or anyone wanting a concise, simplified version of this remarkable story. Highly recommended!

Here is a beautifully written baseball book that might appeal to sports non-fans. Of course, baseball fans will love it that much more.

The Girl Who Threw Butterflies tells the story of eighth grader, only-child Mollie Williams and her attempt to play on her school's all-boys baseball team. Mollie has recently lost her father in a single-car accident, an "accident" she suspects might have been a suicide. Mollie shares a love for playing baseball with her late father, and possesses a "secret weapon" taught to her by him. Mollie can throw the impossibly difficult knuckleball pitch, sometimes called the "butterfly ball."

Best friend and budding feminist Celia convinces her to try out for the team, and motivates Mollie with true tales of women who have competed against professional male players, including the tale of Jackie Mitchell, who struck out Babe Ruth in the 1930s: "None of that All-American Girls thing with Madonna and Geena Davis," Celia tells her. While supremely self-aware Mollie struggles to keep the memories of her father alive, her mother undermines the effort by trying to eliminate all household traces of him, including items that Mollie treasures, such as her father's old baseball mitt.

Here lies the true conflict at the center of the story, that between Mollie and her mother:"Things had gone missing... it was a gradual, invisible, but profound disappearance, like erosion. The surface of the earth being transformed. But this was worse, really--it was intentional. It was thievery." Excellent inner dialogue captures Mollie's insightful views about her mother, and about her own life, in general. If it sounds too heavy, it's not. The book provides plenty of sports action, school humor, and baseball lore.

Another baseball themed book that may appeal to sports non-fans is Bette Lord's In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson. This one tilts towards historical fiction. If anyone knows of other books featuring girls playing baseball feel free to post a comment.

I've been hearing a lot of news about budget cuts at Washington's public colleges and universities (see this Seattle P-I article about budget cuts). With colleges tightening their belts and limiting some of their offerings, choosing the right college could be more important than ever. The library has books, databases, and recommended websites that might help students decide where to apply and where to go.

Books
The Best 368 Colleges by Robert Franek

Cool Colleges for the Hyper-Intelligent, Self-Directed, LateBlooming, and Just Plain Different by Donald Asher

America's Best Colleges for B Students by Tamra Orr

The College Prowler Series - This series is written by students for students and gives unbiased reviews of schools including academic life, social life, and of course, food.

Databases
Testing and Education Reference Center 
Search for schools that have a particular program or specialty. This database also has SAT and ACT test prep books and practice tests.

Careers Education Reference Collection
Search college and scholarship-themed reference books.

Websites
KCLS librarians have put together a selection of recommended websites for post-secondary education.

A note of caution: if you read about a feature of a school that you really like, it's always a good idea to talk directly with the school about that feature, program, or service before you get your heart set on it. Things can change really fast...especially now when some colleges are making large budget cuts.

 

It's hard to believe it's been 10 years since Laurie Halse Anderson's groundbreaking book about date rape, Speak, was published.  I remember reading it the first time, staying up way too late.  I couldn't put the book down until I turned the last page because I was so concerned about Melinda, I had to know how things turned out or I wouldn't be able to sleep.

So you can guess how excited I was to read Anderson's latest book, Wintergirls.  The novel begins with Lia learning that her former best friend, Cassie, has just been found dead - alone - in a hotel room outside of town.  Cassie called Lia 33 times the night she died, but Lia didn't pick up.  Now Cassie's ghost is haunting Lia, and her visits are becoming more and more frequent.  But there's more than just Cassie's ghost haunting Lia.  She's been hospitalized before to treat her anorexia, and her guilt over Cassie's death causes her self-destructive behaviors to accelerate.  As Lia's weight plummets, her parents, step-mother, and therapist all seem powerless to help.  Wintergirls is a gripping tale of one girl's struggle with body image. 

Laurie Halse Anderson will be visiting the Ballard Public Library in Seattle on March 24th to discuss Wintergirls.  To learn more about the inspiration for the book, check out this interview with the author on YouTube.