Do you speed read?

March 2 is Read Across America day in honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday.
In celebration of Dr. Seuss, reading, nonsense and fun I offer this video ...

Vampire Academy not entirely closed

Author Richelle Mead's popular "Vampire Academy" series ended with the final book in December. But wait ... there's more! The alchemist character, Sydney, will be the star of a spin-off book series to be called "Bloodlines". This time the setting will be a sunny California high school. Check out the first cover and look for it on shelves in late August.

If you thought the January snow storms were bad ...

try reading Michael Northrop's "Trapped" about a group of kids snowed in at school for a week! Coming out in February after the country's snowy-est January in decades - makes this a timely tale and quite the coincidence for the author. Read this new book someplace warm and let us know what you think.

2011 Garden State Teen Book Award Winners

The New Jersey Library Association has announced the winners of the 2011 Garden State Teen Book Award Winners! They are:


Fiction, Grades 6-8









The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman


Fiction, Grades 9-12









The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins


Non-Fiction









Eminem: The Way I Am by Eminem

The Mortal Instruments movie

There is good new fans of "The Mortal Instruments" by Cassandra Clare. The movie version of the first book "The City of Bones" is currently in the works, with a release date of 2012. Lily Collins will be Clary Fray and Alex Pettyfer will be Jace.

Just announced- new sci fi series from Rachel Cohn

Just announced today, Rachel Cohn, author of Gingerbread and co-author of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist will be coming out with a new sci fi series starting in Fall 2012.

First book, called Beta will follow a girl and her clone on futuristic island where clones are servants. There, both girls fall in love with the same guy.

There will be four books in the series total. Let's hope it's a good one!

Save the Date

The movie adaptation of one our favorite books, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, will be released on March 23, 2012. Who do you think should star in it? Do you think it will be a fantastic film or a total flop?

Michael L. Printz Award- Winner and Honors Books

This month the winner Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in young adult literature was announced, as well as the honor books.

Winner:




Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi








Honors:
Nothing by Janne Teller
Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King
Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick
Stolen by Lucy Christopher

Title and covered released for Kane Chronicles, book 2!

Yesterday, the title and cover were released for Book 2 of the Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan. Throne of Fire will be released in May 2011.

Don't forget to vote!

The deadline to vote for the 2011 Garden State Teen Book Awards is Sat. January 8th!

Each year, New Jersey teens vote for their favorite books in three categories:

Fiction: Grades 6-8

Fiction: Grades 9-12

Non-Fiction: Grades 6-12

To check out this year's nominees and to vote for YOUR favorite, visit: http://www.bccls.org/gstba/2011/

New Year, New Stuff

Fans of Sara Shepard's Pretty Little Liars series have some good news for the new year. Four more books are being added to the series for a total of 12. The first new installment will be titled Twisted and will debut July 5.

Happy Thanksgiving & Happy News

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving holiday!
I usually 'unplug' over the weekend, but I did notice a few tidbits of news that made me smile:
Part 2 of the Harry Potter movie is only 8 months away with a release date of July 15, 2011.
The Superbowl added another reason to watch besides the commercials - The Black Eyed Peas will headline the halftime show on Feb 6. (Okay, I actually like to watch the game, too!)
Tech-savvy can save $ this holiday season as stores offer deals via Facebook and mobile apps.
What made you smile during the holiday break?

Move over Vampire Diaries...Teen Wolf is in town

This week, MTV released pictures and a trailer for their upcoming tv series Teen Wolf. This is a remake of the 1985 movie starring Michael J. Fox. The tv series though more resembles the style and feel of The Vampire Diaries though, not the original movie, as MTV tries to keep up with supernatural teen trend. The series will follow a teenage lacrosse player who gets bitten and then turns into a werewolf. Things get complicated when he finds out the girl he likes has a werewolf hunting dad. The show premieres next year and will run for 13 episodes.

Rick Riordan announces next Kane Chronicles novel!

Rick Riordan announced this month that second book of the Kane Chronicles series (the sequel to The Red Pyramid) will be released May 3, 2011. No title has been given yet. Riordan also plans to release his second book in the Heroes of Olympus series, titled The Son of Neptune in October 2011. He has a busy year ahead of him!

Attention Narnia Fans! Voyage of the Dawn Treader sets sail November 30!

For those of you who are fans of the Chronicles of Narnia, the third movie installment, "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader", hits theaters on November 30! Watch the trailer below!

And the winners are...

YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) has announced the Teens' Top Ten 2010! The winners are:

1. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
2. City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
3. Heist Society by Ally Carter
4. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
5. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
6. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
7. Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
8. If I Stay by Gayle Forman
9. Fire by Kristin Cashore
10. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

More than 8,000 votes were cast this year in an online poll that took place from August 23 to September 17, 2010. World Wrestling Entertainment Diva Eve announced the winners of this year's annual poll in a video posted at the Teens' Top Ten website on October 18.

The 2011 nominations will be announced at www.ala.org/teenstopten on April 14, 2011.

Did your favorite book from 2010 make the list?

But I can't stop texting

A recent survey by textPlus, a California-based company that offers a free texting application for phones and other devices, found:

43% of teens 13-17 say they text during class
52% say they text friends who are in the same class
66% say their parents text them during the day

So, how often do you text in class? And how often do you get caught?

If you need help

Teens grapple with many issues in their daily lives, and we have been reminded of that with recent news events. If you are looking for someone to talk to or know someone who needs help, please know there are many resources available, including materials at the library as well as hotlines:

• 2nd Floor Youth & Young Adult Helpline NJ (888) 222-2228
• National Youth Crisis Hotline (800) 442-4673
• National Runaway Switchboard (800) 786-2929
• Trevor Project (Anonymous suicide prevention hotline for gay and questioning teens) (866) 488-7386
• National Child Abuse Hotline (800) 422-4453
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (800) 273-8255

It's coming...

It's the beginning of the end for the Harry Potter movies! Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 will be in theaters on November 19. Check out the latest trailer!

Need More Twilight?

The blog has found out that The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide will come out April 12, 2011. The encyclopedia, written by Stephenie Meyer, will include "character profiles, outtakes, a conversation with Meyer, genealogical charts, maps, extensive cross-references, and much more," according to the publisher. There also will be art by Young Kim who illustrated the Twilight graphic novel. Meyer said she wanted to "incorporate as many details as possible, including character histories, like Alice's back story" in the book.

Are you over it? Or you can't wait for it?