Sold

I just finished reading SOLD by Patricia McCormick. It's about the slave trade—the modern slave trade.
Lakshmi lives amid the beautiful mountains of Nepal. Her family is desperately poor and her stepfather gambles what little money they have away. She believes that her stepfather is sending her to the city to work as a maid, but instead she is taken across the border to work in India in a trade of a much different kind…

This stuff is really happening in our world. Right now. And it's not just happening in far off countries like India and Nepal. It's happening in New York City and Boston and Providence, too.
You can find out more about child trafficking and how you can help at Patricia McCormick’s website:
http://www.pattymccormick.com/

Young Heroes

Do you know a young hero? Nominate them for the Barron's Young Hero award at http://www.barronprize.org/

And talk about real heroes, check out The Hero Project: 2 Teens, 1 Notebook. 13 Extraordinary Interviews by teenage brothers, Robert and William Hatch.

Celebrate with the Divas

In celebration of Women's History Month, four fantastic YA authors have launched a new website. Check it out on http://www.readergirlz.com/divas.html

Write Stuff

Do you love to write poetry or stories or anything else?
Try your chances on this writing contest for all ages at
http://www.childrencomefirst.com/onlinewriter.shtml

Earn your Bread

We just had a terrific book discussion group on THE BREADWINNER by Deborah Ellis.
Did any of you folks out there in cyberspace ever read the book? What did you think of it?
I'd love to see your comments.

Asteroid Alert!

Miranda leads a normal life, worrying about grades, boys, being asked to the prom. Like everyone else in her neighborhood, she joins the block party watching the expected asteroid's collision with the moon. But the collision is much bigger than the scientists expected. The moon is knocked out of its orbit. First come the tsunamis, then the volcanic eruptions, and then... nothing will ever be normal again.
Check out LIFE AS WE KNEW IT by Susan Beth Pfeffer.

Big Questions

I know the author, so yeah, I'm prejudiced, but BLIND FAITH by Ellen Wittlinger is a great read.
Summer should be a breezy time of hanging out at the lake, but when Liz's grandmother dies, her mom falls apart and starts going to this spiritualist church where the elders talk to those who have "passed." Liz doesn't know what to believe.
Then there are the new kids across the street, staying with their crabby grandmother. Liz is drawn to little Courtney, who is trying to understand her why her mother is so sick, but older brother Nathan isn't so friendly.

Love Poems

Happy Valentine's Day! Here is my gift to all you lovers and longers out there.
www.poet.org/love


When You are Old
by W. B. Yeats
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

Braid Blog

I am a newby at this blog stuff, and I just found an incredible blog. On it is a discussion of the book THE BRAID by Helen Frost. Made me want to run out and get the book. Check out this great site at:
http://yzocaet.blogspot.com/

Your Award

Adults pick other book award winners, but not this one. This time YOU choose the winner. Make your choice. Vote for your favorite Rhode Island Teen Book Award title.
You can print off a ballot at
http://www.ri.net/RIEMA/ritbaballot.htm
and drop it off at the Reference Desk at the Coventry Public Library

Invention Dimension

Ever have one of those great ideas--for some incredible invention that's just so fantastic you figure you should get it patented--well this website is the place to go.
Check out the Brain Drain game or noodle around the patent office at

http://web.mit.edu/invent/g-braindrain/game.html

Win $50!

Enter the Earth Day 2007 Water Supply Essay and Graphics Contest sponsored by the Audubon Society of Rhode Island for a chance to win $50.
For more information and contest rules go to:
http://asri.org/ewing/articles/jan_07_03.html

You're A Star!

Calling teen dancers, singers, gymnists, musicians, comedians, etc.
Be a star! Audition for our Teen Variety Show
Wednesday January 24 from 3-4:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers
at the Coventry Public Library,
1672 Flat River Road
Coventry, RI

Race the Iditorod--blind!

I just read a great sports book,
No End in Sight: My Life as a Blind Iditarod Racer by Rachael Scdoris.
Born legally blind, Rachael struggled through her parents’ divorce, moves, and the taunts of her classmates. Her father was a dog sledder and she found peace in racing across the snow with the dogs. Required by her father to be able to run half the length of a race in order to race the dogs solo, Rachael joined track, eventually becoming the captain of her track team and an Olympic torch carrier. But her dream was to compete in the grueling Iditarod across the wilderness of Alaska.

Ghost Hunters

Okay, okay, this is really an adult book. But I think you can handle it. It's fascinating stuff, all about legitimate, well-known scientists who risked their reputations to investigate the truth about ghosts and the people who claimed they could contact them.
Some of the stories they uncover are uncanny--and there doesn't seem to be logical explanations for them. And this isn't fiction--this book is a historical look at a real scientific investigation.
Check it out!
GHOST HUNTERS: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of the life after death, by Deborah Blum.

Happy New Year!

I'm back! And we have some exciting Teen Programs coming up. Next Wednesday, January 10, we'll be making calzones in the Staff Room at the Coventry Public Library.
Then on Wednesday, January 17 we're launching a Book Group at the Knotty Oak Middle School, 2:20-3:20 in the Media Center. Only open to the first 20 teens to sign up with Mrs. Murphy at the Media Center--so hurry and reserve your spot.

At the end of the Month we'll be holding a Variety Show. If you can sing, dance, play an instrument, do karate, do gymnastics, tell jokes, etc. bring your act and audition for our show on January 24 at 3:00 in the Council Chambers. Rehearsal and Performance are the following week, January 31 from 3:00-4:30 in the Council Chambers.

What the Moon Saw

Clara's life didn't seem to fit anymore. She took to wandering the backyards of her suburban neighborhood, taking midnight dunks in the nearby stream, watched over by a strange white bird. Then her grandmother wrote, asking Clara to visit her Yucuyoo village in Mexico, next to the invisible waterfall. Will Clara and her new friend Pedro be able to discover its secret? To find out, read WHAT THE MOON SAW by Laura Resau.

All for One and One for All

Looking for action and adventure, mixed with a large dose of humor? On the first day he arrives in Paris, country boy, d’Artagnan manages to offend not one, but three of the Queen's musketeers. He arranges to duel with them, one after the other. Before the duels can begin, the four are attacked by the Cardinal's men and the adventure begins. To find out what happens, read THE THREE MUSKETEERS by Alexander Dumas.

New Harry Trailer

According to the magazine, Publisher's Weekly:
Harry Potter Movie Sighting
Harry Potter fans eagerly awaiting any and all news about the wizard will be happy to hear that a teaser trailer for the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix movie is available online at the official movie Web site. In the movie, Harry spends his fifth year at Hogwarts and has his first kiss with Cho Chang. The movie will be released on July 13, 2007.

NOTES FROM THE MIDNIGHT DRIVER

I just finished a great book, NOTES FROM THE MIDNIGHT DRIVER by Jordan Sonnenblick.
Upset by his parent's breakup, Alex downs some vodka, steals his mother's car and ends up "killing" a garden gnome and losing his cookies all over an exasperated cop. Alex is sentenced to 100 hours of community service with Sol, most cantankerous man in the nursing home. Read this book to find out about their zany adventures.