2013-2014 Award Nominees are HERE!

Wait a minute, isn't it still 2012? Sure is, but the preliminary lists of nominees for the 2013-2014 Gateway and Truman Reader Awards are already out! I am happy to report that the Nook has a copy of ALL of these books, so come on in and check them out!

2013-2014 Gateway Preliminary Nominees

Cleopatra's Moon, by Vicky Alvear Schecter. Arthur A. Levine Books.

Rival, by Sarah Bennett Wealer. HarperTeen.

Ashes, by Ilsa J. Bick. Egmont USA.

Anna Dressed in Blood, by Kendare Blake. Tor Teen.

Bitter End, by Jennifer Brown. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Shelter, by Harlan Coben. Putnam Juvenile.

I'll Be There, by Holly Goldberg Sloan. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Something Like Hope, by Shawn Goodman. Delacorte Books for Young Readers.

Stay With Me, by Paul Griffin. Dial.

Everybody Sees the Ants, by A.S. King. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Legend, by Marie Lu. Putnam Juvenile.

Exposed, by Kimberly Marcus. Random House.

Ashfall, by Mike Mullin. Tanglewood Press.

Shine, by Lauren Myracle. Amulet Books.

Pregnant Pause, by Han Nolan. Harcourt Children's Books.

Trapped, by Michael Northrup. Scholastic Press.

Delirium, by Lauren Oliver. HarperCollins.

This Thing Called the Future, by J.L. Powers. Cinco Puntos Press.

Clean, by Amy Reed. Simon Pulse.

Divergent, by Veronica Roth. Katherine Tegen Books.

Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick, by Joe Schreiber. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children.

Between Shades of Gray, by Ruta Sepetys. Philomel.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor. Little, Brown and Company.

The Probability of Miracles, by Wendy Wunder. Razorbill.

All These Things I've Done, by Gabrielle Zevin. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.


2013-2014 Truman Preliminary Nominees

How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous, by Georgia Bragg and Kevin O'Malley. Walker Childrens.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns, by Rae Carson. Greenwillow Books.

Everything I Was, by Corinne Demas. Carolrhoda Books.

The Absolute Value of Mike, by Kathryn Erskine. Philomel.

Without Tess, by Marcella Fleishman Pixley. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

Cloaked, by Alex Flinn. HarperTeen.

The Eleventh Plague, by Jeff Hirsch. Scholastic Press.

Take Me to the River, by Will Hobbs. HarperCollins.

The Name of the Star, by Maureen Johnson. Putnam Juvenile.

Silhouetted by the Blue, by Traci L. Jones. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

The Death Catchers, by Jennifer Anne Kogler. Walker Childrens.

Legend, by Marie Lu. Putnam Juvenile.

The Unwanteds, by Lisa McMann. Aladdin.

Ten Miles Past Normal, by Frances O'Dowell Roark. Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25, by Richard Paul Evans. Simon Pulse/Mercury Ink.

Paintings from the Cave, by Gary Paulsen. Wendy Lamb Books.

Here Lies Linc, by Delia Ray. Knopf Books for Young Readers.

Small as an Elephant, by Jennifer Richard Jacobson. Candlewick Press.

Lost in the River of Grass, by Ginny Rorby. Carolrhoda Books.

Okay For Now, by Gary D. Schmidt. Clarion Books.

Tunnel Vision, by Susan Shaw. Margaret K. McElderry Books.

Memento Nora, by Angie Smibert. Amazon Children's Publishing.

The Emerald Atlas, by John Stephens. Knopf Books for Young Readers.

The Running Dream, by Wendelin Van Draanen. Knopf Books for Young Readers.

Variant, by Robinson E. Wells. HarperCollins Children's Books.

Summer Reading Program Winners!

A big THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the teen summer reading program at MPL. I'm glad to see so many teens out there who continued to challenge themselves and keep their minds active during the summer! :) Many prizes were given away to our avid readers, but only five lucky participants won our awesome raffle prizes. Congratulations to the following winners!

Maria Morris and Maggie Bears- Dinner and a Movie Combo

Bethany Christian- The Hunger Games Trilogy

Jordan Wiederholt- Mockingjay t-shirt and book

Leticia Tate- Hunger Games poster and soundtrack


Remember that a new year of the Nook Book Club is starting in September. Any 6th-10th graders who would like to join may pick up a permission slip at the front desk of the library.

Happy Reading!

Summer's Over??

Walmart may try to tell you that with its school supplies already lining the shelves, but summer is only half over at MPL! Don't forget to keep reading and turning in your time booklets for stamps and time tokens in order to receive prizes and to enter your name in our raffle drawings! Make sure you have your name in by the end of July to make sure you have a chance to win the big prizes.

We will also meet two more times for summer book club. (See times below.) Our July title is Bruiser, and August will be a book-to-movie night featuring I Am Number Four for Varsity and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for JV.

Enjoy the second half of your summer!

Summer Nook Book Club

You may be out of school, but Nook Book Club is still going strong in the summer! This would be a great time to invite new members to join us... especially those who couldn't join during the school year because of after-school activities. We will get all of our books through interlibrary loan, so there will be no charge for summer book club. New members will still need to fill out a permission slip, however.

Here are the dates for summer book club. Pay attention- some of the dates/times are a little different than our normal schedule.

Varsity
**Friday, June 15 2:00-3:30** (This change is to work with the high schoolers in Upward Bound.)
Thursday, July 19 4:00-5:30 (Note that this is the THIRD Thursday.)
Thursday, August 9 ***3:30-5:30*** (NOTE TIME CHANGE- We will be watching a movie that is almost 2 hours long!)

Junior Varsity
Thursday, June 21 4:00-5:30
Thursday, July 12 4:00-5:30 (Note that this is the SECOND Thursday.)
Thursday, August 16 ***3:45-5:30 (This may be the first day/week of school. Don't forget to come to book club too! Note earlier start time to make sure we have time for the whole movie!)

Our June book is Cloaked by Alex Flinn. You may pick up your copy behind the front desk of the library if you haven't done so already. PLEASE let me know if you will not be in attendance at any of our meetings.

Up All Night... Reading!

It's summer! That means it's time for MPL's summer reading program! This year's teen program is called Up All Night.... Reading! Come into the library today to get your log book to keep track of all the books you read this summer. You can earn "time tokens" for every 500 pages you read which can be redeemed for prizes (mostly books-yay!) or you can use them for chances to win one of our raffle prizes. Raffle prizes include two dinner and a movie combos, the Hunger Games trilogy, a Mockingjay t-shirt and hardcover book, and the Hunger Games soundtrack and movie poster.

Hurry! SRP runs from May 29 to July 31! Happy reading!

The End of the Hunger Games

This month was bittersweet as we discussed the final installment of the Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay. There were many mixed opinions as to which of the three books is the best, but one thing everyone could agree on was that the trilogy rocks! We found that our discussions on the conclusion to these books could have lasted days. We managed to to finally cut short our discussions on war, suffering, courage, and of course, the Gale vs. Peeta debate to play a fun Hunger Games version of Catch Phrase. While it's sad that we won't have another Hunger Games book to discuss (or at least that's what we're told), we now have the movies to look forward to! The group is anxiously awaiting the premiere and excited to see it together on March 24.

See you March 24!

Nooksters will meet at the Hangar on March 24 to view the Hunger Games movie! We are all very excited to see how one of our favorite club books will transfer to the big screen!

Love is in the Air

We didn't mean to pick a romance for our February book (the boys would not like that), but Cupid must have had a hand in things because Matched by Ally Condie proved to not only be another dystopian thriller, but a bit of a lovey dovey novel as well. We should have known. After all, what's a dystopian novel without a love triangle? Surprisingly, it still got nods of approval from the majority of our male Nooksters. In fact, one stated that this was the best book we've read in book club this year. While there were undeniable similarities between this book and the original dystopian blockbuster, The Hunger Games- ruthless futuristic society that controls their citizens, rebellious teen girl standing up to the government, two boys in love with her, etc.- we found that this book had less violence and evoked more questions about human freedoms. In our groups, we made lists of everything that is "wrong" with our world and then discussed how the Society in Matched had "fixed" all of these things. At first glance, the society in Matched really did seem like the perfect society, but what happens when a society goes too far in creating a controlled environment?

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, the kids took part in a Matched matching game. :) They had to match pieces of broken hearts by using their knowledge of the book. The game got pretty intense, and the kids had a blast.

Our next book is the final book of the Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay. The group will get a special treat by going to the movie premiere of The Hunger Games in March. May the odds be ever in your favor!

A Friendly Game of Football... and Quidditch

Our January meetings got a little bit physical with some friendly competition. The Varsity Nook Club read Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have by Allen Zadoff. This story featured an overweight and unpopular high school boy taking his fate into his own hands by joining the football team in order to gain some popularity and hopefully win the girl of his dreams. In the spirit of the football themed story and the upcoming Super Bowl, the entire meeting pitted two teams against each other to battle for... well, bragging rights. :) We began with an exciting game of number trivia. (What did you expect? We are a book club, after all.) Nooksters tested their recall on the most minute numerical details of the book like the number of Andy's school locker and his weight at the beginning of the book. If they got the number right, they could then earn bonus points for their team by throwing a football through different hoops. Luckily, no one was injured. :) The final round of the competition was a pictionary/charades match all about football. Who says book worms don't know anything about sports?

The JV Nooksters read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. For some members, reading this book was nostalgic as they'd read the entire series before. For rookies to the series, it opened their eyes to the magical world of wizards and muggles. The JV group had a similar competition except this competition was between the Hogwarts houses of Slytherin and Gryffindor. They also competed in a numerical trivia game, and this time bonus points were earned through a game a quittitch, the game featured in the book. Quittitch proved to be much rougher than football the week before as those trying for bonus points not only had to get a much smaller ball (the quaffle) through the hoop by hitting it with a baseball bat, but they also had the added challange of the other team hurling other balls (bludgers) at the them in the process. No one was (seriously) injured. The JV also had a Harry Potter themed round of pictionary. And lastly, they searched for the Golden Snitch in a scavenger hunt throughout books upstairs in the library. Everyone had a blast in this competition, but how could we not? It's Harry Potter, after all!

Our next book is Matched by Ally Condie, the first in a new dystopian trilogy. Happy Reading!

Giving Back at Christmas

Our December read was Purple Heart by Patricia McCormick. This book told the story of a teen who had to grow up very quickly as a US Army soldier stationed in Iraq. The story gave the kids a perspective about life "outside their bubbles" and made us appreciate the freedoms we often take for granted. We decided to combine the spirit of the holidays with some patriotic spirit and give back to those soldiers and veterens who have given so much for us. The Varsity Nooksters made holiday cards that were sent to soldiers and their families serving oversees through the American Red Cross. The kids got very creative and took the time to write heartfelt messages. The JV Nooksters decorated Christmas cookies that were delivered to veterens in three different Maryville nursing homes.

I personally found this month's meetings to be two of our best because I was so impressed with how seriously the kids took the subject matter of the book and how eager they were to give back to others. Hopefully we helped to make some people's holidays a little brighter.

A Beastly Adaptation

November meetings are a wrap for the Nook. We discussed Beastly by Alex Flinn and found the book to be deeper and much more thought-provoking than we had expected. Some of the kids who had seen the movie adaptation agreed that the book was much better! (Isn't it always?) In fact, our book covers used a photo from the movie, and the beast looked nothing like that in the book! So we redesigned the covers in a group competition. Topics like bullying, vanity, and compassion were at the core of our discussion, and I challenged the kids to spend the next month "paying it forward" to family, friends, foes, and strangers. Hopefully they will step up to the task!

Our book for December is Purple Heart by Patricia McCormick. We expect this book to be a heavy read as it is about the War in Iraq, but I know my readers have the maturity to handle it.

As first semester comes to a close, we need to collect dues for second semester. Please turn in your $10 by our next meeting either to the public library or to Mrs. Nolte at the middle school library.

Have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Hopefully you can use your days off to curl up with a great book!

Beastly Movie- Anything like the book?

It's a New Nook Year!

We are into month two of year two of the Nook Book Club, and so far I am loving the mix of new and returning members. In September we met for the first time to discuss the book Hate List by Jennifer Brown, a current Gateway nominee about the after-effects of a school shooting on the shooter's girlfriend. Seventeen sixth through ninth graders attended the first meeting, which shows quite a commitment considering how busy teens are... especially our Nook members who are now in high school!

Our October book is After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick, the sequel to Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie which we read in club last year. All paid members received a copy of the book. The eighth and ninth graders met last Thursday, and the sixth and seventh graders will meet this coming Thursday. Prepare yourself for book trivia and discussion along with a little music trivia! (But that's all the info you're getting from me now!)

FYI: Calling the groups eighth/ninth graders and sixth/seventh graders gets a little long and confusing (for me anyway), so I will now be referring to our separate groups by Varsity and Junior Varsity. :) Varsity=eighth/ninth grade, JV=sixth/seventh grade.

VARSITY Nooksters will now be starting club at 4:15 instead of 4:00 to accomodate our high schoolers who are involved in after-school tutoring. Please plan to be here from 4:15 to 5:45. JV will continue to meet from 4:00 to 5:30.

Welcome to the Nook

Summer Passport WINNERS!

Congratulations to the following teens who have won our BIG prizes for Summer Passport!

 

The winners of our Movie Night Extravaganza raffles are.... Hyrum Galbraith and Jessie Mahoney!

 

The winners of our book trailer competition are... Mariah Patterson (1st place, winner of the pocket video camera!), Leticia Tate (2nd place, winner of a Hangar movie package), and Anna Bagoly (3rd place, winner of a Hangar movie package).

 

All of our winners may pick up their prizes at the library at any time. Be ready to have your picture taken! :)

 

Thanks to everyone who helped make this a great summer at the Maryville Public Library! I hope to see many of you in September at our first Nook Book Club meeting. Inquire at the front desk if you are interesting in joining!

Nook Book Club 2011-2012

Our first book for the new year of book club has arrived! We will be reading Hate List by Jennifer Brown. (The Book Thief was unavailable.) This is a current Gateway nominee so I expect that several of you have already read it, but I HIGHLY encourage you to read it again so that it's fresh in your mind. Copies will be behind the front desk and ready to check out Friday morning.

Remember, you must turn in your permission slip along with the $10 fee to come to the first meeting. (This fee covers the entire semester.) If you are new to the club or if you are returning member who missed the last meeting, you can ask for a permission slip at the front desk when you pick up your book. You may bring the slip to the first meeting or turn it in at the library in advance but PLEASE put it in a clearly marked envelope.

Book Trailer 101

Several of you have been coming into the library to make your book trailers this past week. I've been noticing that we are struggling with where to begin. I'm here to help you with the technological aspects such as taking pictures and putting those pictures into movie maker, but I can't tell you what to take pictures of or write the whole trailer for you. :) So here are some simple steps to get you started so that you will have a plan when you come into the library. Remember, book trailers need to be finished by the beginning of August.

Steps for Making a Book Trailer

1. Read the book. (This may sound really obvious, but you cannot start a book trailer until you have read the entire book.)

2. Think about the concepts or the point that you are trying to get across. You want to entice the reader (tease if you please), not tell the whole story.

3. Make a book trailer scene list, scenes from the book that communicate your concept. What is the message you want to send? The trailer should be about the story, NOT the selling of the book or all the awards it has won. Sell the story don’t make a “commercial.”

4. Write a script. Try creating a spreadsheet with columns for subject (for example, man at desk), the photo, video, audio file name as you create them– for example, desk.jpg) and a third column for the description (man sitting at a desk looking bored) of each scene to help me keep focused and stay on track with the story. Stay organized – there are lots of pieces and parts to keep organized.

OR

Create a storyboard. Draw out your trailer frame by frame using short descriptions of what will be in each frame. Draw stick people to give yourself an idea of what you want. Whether you choose to use a script of a storyboard, you must have a PLAN for where you are going with your trailer.

5. Try to keep the trailer as short as possible. Don’t get caught up in telling about every character and every plot detail. It’s not easy but you don’t want to lose your audience. You want your trailer to entice them enough that they want to find out those details on their own by reading the book.

6. Do NOT under any circumstances use any media that you just happen to come across on the Internet. You must create your own images. You can take photos, draw pictures, act out scenes and videotape them… just make them original!

The Hunger Games- Not Your Typical Child's Play/ Book Review by Jill Emerson

I am usually slow to join the literature bandwagon. I avoided Twilight until the third movie was already out and my students’ declaration of its pure awesomeness finally forced me to read it. The Hunger Games trilogy was similar. Suzanne Collins did for dystopian societies what Stephanie Meyer did for vampires… create a new cult following amongst today’s teens, not to mention the equally large group of adult followers. The difference for me, however, was that I finished The Hunger Games trilogy; I quit after book two of Twilight. I just couldn’t force myself to read another 1300 pages of that monotonous vampire/werewolf battle-for-the-girl-with-no-self-esteem.

            The Hunger Games kept me hooked all the way to the last pages of its final installment, Mockingjay. I began the series only because the library’s middle school book club chose it as their February read. I cringed at their choice because I knew the premise: 24 teenagers are placed in an arena where they must fight each other to the death on national television. If you think that the violence must be watered down since it’s a “kids’” book, think again. The violence is graphic, the blood is abundant, and many, many characters—the majority children—die. In the second book, Catching Fire, the torture inflicted upon the characters only heightens, and in Mockingjay, most of our favorite characters perish in an all-out war. The only thing that makes this a “young adult” series is the fact that the main characters are teenagers.  If you can accept the idea of an entire nation following a sixteen-year-old girl in a rebellion, you will find that the series could go toe-to-toe with any adult futuristic war novel, except that like all YA, it gets to the point more quickly.

            You may be wondering why in the world anyone would let their child read this. First of all, Collins doesn’t glamorize the killings in these books. She forces the reader to consider the emotional, psychological, and moral consequences of them as we live through the experiences with main character Katniss. This isn’t like the bloody video games that many teens play daily, desensitizing them to violence. These novels evoked powerful book club discussions including how corrupt government can be in the wrong hands and what we would do if we were forced into a kill-or-be-killed situation. We also noted that, as far-fetched and repulsive as it at first seemed, the idea of watching people fight to the death would, sadly, probably be a hit in our reality-TV-obsessed society. And like any good teen novel, the series had a love triangle that sparked heated arguments over who should win the heart of Katniss who—unlike Twilight’s constant damsel in distress, Bella—was always coming to the rescue of her men. I’ll admit that as much as I thought the love triangle was complete overkill in the first book, I found myself picking a side in the Team Peeta/Team Gale debate and angrily slamming Mockingjay down on the table when Katniss didn’t end up with my favorite.

            YA is emerging into a category for youth and adults alike. The Hunger Games can connect teachers and students as well as parents and teenage children, with whom they often feel like they have nothing in common. Even though the content is intense, the story goes far beyond the entertainment value of war and presents many opportunities for lessons about survival, human decency, and compassion.

July Book Club Reminders

Be sure you have marked your calendars for Nook Book Club... Summer Edition!

7th/8th grade meets Thursday, July 14 from 3:30 to 5:30. We're discussing the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.

5th/6th grade meets the following Thursday, July 21 from 3:30 to 5:30 to discuss Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen.

Please email me if you cannot attend!

The competition is ON!

Summer Passport participants, don't forget that you have been invited to make a book trailer on your favorite summer read. The creator of the best book trailer will win their very own pocket video camera, and runners-up will win movie passes to the Hangar! If you missed the informational meetings but still want to participate, contact me at jill@maryvillepubliclibrary.org for a handout of the information.

I will also be at the library next Wednesday, June 29 at 10am if you would like to work on your trailer. Cameras and computers will be available!