You + Books with Cool Math = Awesomesauce

Posted on October 10th, 2012 by Mickie.
Categories: All posts, Books.

Are you a math geek? I’m not, but I still appreciate a good equation now and then…and I love a good math doodle. Have you seen this cool doodle video by math-fun guru Vi Hart? Check it out – you’ll never look at your in-class doodles the same way again.

All excited about math now? Go read these! Ok, ok – these aren’t all “math” books, but hey sometimes math is the story and sometimes math just makes the story better!

Having been recently dumped for the nineteenth time by a girl named Katherine, recent high school graduate and former child prodigy Colin sets off on a road trip with his best friend to try to find some new direction in life while also trying to create a mathematical formula to explain his relationships.

Fourteen-year-old Mike, whose father is a brilliant mathematician but who has no math aptitude himself, spends the summer in rural Pennsylvania with his elderly and eccentric relatives Moo and Poppy, helping the townspeople raise money to adopt a Romanian orphan.

The call comes in from the shadowy Ternky Tower: 13 robberies, one on each floor, all the way up to the penthouse, where obnoxious importer Bevel Ternky has been relieved of the numbers garlanding the legendary Emerald Khroniker, his priceless, ancient clock. Readers must conduct their own investigations, scouring detailed illustrations for hidden clues and knotty puzzles

After Earth is demolished to make way for a new hyperspatial expressway, Arthur Dent begins to hitch-hike through space.

While hiding out from the mob in the suburbs with his mother, a singer, Jackson uses his fascination with math and numbers to make friends, but strange phone calls and even greater threats endanger not only Jackson and his mother, but his new girlfriend, as well.

"In Girls Get Curves, Danica applies her winning methods to geometry. Sizzling with her trademark sass and style"

1 comment.

Celebrate The Hobbit!

Posted on September 21st, 2012 by Mickie.
Categories: All posts.

Do you know about second breakfast? Elevensies? If you are a fan of Middle Earth you do!

Today marks the 75th anniversary of the publication of the classic J.R.R. Tolkien book, The Hobbit. How better to celebrate than to nosh–Hobbit Style! Join in with fans across the world and have a celebratory nibble, but act fast it is happening at 11am! Don’t worry if you miss the time–Hobbits always have a little something tucked away for just such an occasion!

While you are snacking, enjoy this trailer for the first movie in Peter Jackson’s three part adaptation…it doesn’t come out until December so that gives you plenty of time to read the book….and pack some more snacks.

Bonus question—can you name all the dwarves? Give me a shout in the comments!

 

0 comments.

The Homework Help Center is Open!

Posted on August 30th, 2012 by Mickie.
Categories: All posts.

Need help getting started on a homework assignment, paper or project? Stop in our Homework Help Center staffed with volunteers eager to help.

• When: Mondays from 3:30-8pm, Tuesdays & Thursdays from 3:30 to 6:30pm
• Where: Youth Services Department
• Who: This service is provided for all elementary, middle and high school students.
• How: Students will be helped on a first come, first served basis.

Homework Help Center volunteers can assist you with:

• Understanding your assignment.
• Attacking your studies.
• Finding ways to do research.

Need help now?

Can’t wait until the Homework Help Center opens? Try our KnowItNow chat reference service, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Don’t forget our on-line databases and librarian-built explore guides–don’t see what you need? Just ask–we are here to help!

0 comments.

Hello Mars and Goodbye Neil: Books about Space Fiction and Space Fact

Posted on August 27th, 2012 by Mickie.
Categories: All posts.

It has a big month for space nuts what with the thrill of Curiosity landing on Mars and with the sad news that space legend Neil Armstrong has died.

In celebration of Neil’s life and of Curiosity’s success, here are some of our favorite books about space exploration – a bit of history, a bit of fiction, but I’ll wager that all of them will change the way you think of that quiet night sky for good.

In 1969 Houston, Texas, thirteen-year-old Scott learns to fly from his father, an Air Force flight instructor, but when NASA needs him for a secret space mission, Scott's elation is tempered by concern that his mother, who has moved to Florida, will find out.

Laika tells the story of the Russia's Sputnik II program and the satellite's canine astronaut, Laika. The book focuses on the dog's hard early life and her bond with a trainer named Yelena.

Astronauts describe their experiences in their own words...behind the scenes stories and great photos!

Now we are on Mars--what are we going to do? As a member of a young crew of astronauts on Mars, the reader is faced with real dangers and must make decisions that will determine the success of the mission.

n 2019, teens Mia, Antoine, and Midori are selected by lottery to join experienced astronauts on a NASA mission to the once top-secret moon base, DARLAH 2, while in a Florida nursing home, a former astronaut struggles to warn someone of the terrible danger there.

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream is a book about thirteen women who fought to be admitted into the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The United States created NASA in 1958 with the requirements of flying, courage, intelligence, resistance to stress, and being in top physical shape. The unspoken rule at the time was that you also had to be a man.

A high school senior wins a space suit in a soap jingle contest and suddenly finds himself on a space odyssey.

Think you have what it takes to be a rocket scientist? Read on and then try your hand at NASA's rocket simulator

0 comments.

Have You Seen…er…Read This Yet? Book Trailers for New Teen Reads

Posted on August 17th, 2012 by Mickie.
Categories: All posts.

I admit it–if the book doesn’t have a good cover, I won’t pick it up. And if it doesn’t have a good jacket description, I won’t check it out. I really need to be hooked in the first 30 seconds of meeting a good book or I just won’t give it the chance it probably deserves. Are you that way? I think most people are whether or not they admit it.

SO – this is why book trailers are so exciting to me, because they give a book a new hook. Check out these new releases that are on my radar now just because the trailer was so interesting.

Do you have a favorite to share? Link to it in the comments…

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Sayonara 2012 SRP!

Posted on July 29th, 2012 by Mickie.
Categories: All posts.

You only have today and tomorrow to finish logging your hours and collecting your prizes! If you haven’t finished the program yet, get busy! After tomorrow we’ll bid adieu to the Summer Reading Program until next year!

2 comments.

Less than TWO Weeks Remain for Summer Reading 2012!

Posted on July 18th, 2012 by Mickie.
Categories: All posts.

With less than 2 Weeks to go in this Summer’s Who Will Own the Night contest, Unicorns are still leading the pack with over 3,000 Hours read! All told, Westerville teens have logged 8,863 hours this Summer! So give yourself a pat on the back or a…ahem…a hoof on the back. Whatever.

If you haven’t finished the program yet there is still time, but hurry—Summer Reading ends promptly after July 30—that is the absolute last day to log or collect prizes.

So what are you waiting for? Crack open that book.

0 comments.

Dear TeenScene: 3rd Edition

Posted on July 10th, 2012 by Mickie.
Categories: All posts.

Happy Tuesday readers and welcome to another edition of Dear TeenScene–your weekly blog post about all things Own the Night! We have three weeks left in our 2012 Summer Reading Program and I am happy to report that all participants have been reading their horns off…or..ugh..their arms off …uh..that’s not right..ugh they have been reading LOTS!

A combined 7,311 hours of reading from all teams makes this year’s program a RAGING success! But you still have questions–it’s cool. On to the letters…

Dear TeenScene,
I need your advice.  I’m a vampire.  *Technically* I’m 15 years old but really, I’ve been 15 for a very long time.  Should I sign up for the teen summer reading program or the one for adults? Also, do I get credit for pints of blood sucked?

Thanks,
Thirsting for Blood with no Time to Read and Eternally Conflicted

Dear TfBwnTtRaEC,
Wow that name is a mouth full, eh? Couldn’t you just go by Bob? Bob is a nice name! I know lots of Bobs and they are all pretty cool…well except for that guy I went to High School with who used to lick the lockers between classes. *shudders* Anyhooo…ugh sorry, if you are 15 for eternity you are reading with the teens for eternity too…but I think that is pretty cool! The adult program isn’t giving away cool, free books and they aren’t having a magical black light glow party either…so, like, be thankful. And MAYBE if you spent less time sucking blood and more time reading books your team wouldn’t be dead last. Just sayin. (Get it? Dead last…see what I did there? I slay me…HA-I did it again!)

Yours,
Mickie the Librarian

Dear TeenScene,
Since I’m a unicorn, i can zip through books like a hurricane (cus I”m magic and all). So I read all the books in the library. (Some of them were really, really weird). Anyway, I really need some new interesting books. Can you recommend some awesome books that by any chance I did not read. Thx a lot!!  P.S. Can you tell Bella to leave me alone, she keeps bugging me about that cute sparkly boy she met at the teen place at the library. Thx!!

Yours,
Speedy Gonzales…the Unicorn

Dear Speedy,
Yes, yes, yes–we get it! You are an awesome unicorn! I’m sure everything you do is amazingly magical! We’re really happy for you! If you have read all the books (even the unabridged encyclopedia? Really? What about the phone books–did ya read those?) Why not try some magazines? We subscribed to everything from Sports Illustrated to Seventeen and even Unicorn Skin Care Monthly! (Ok, no we don’t actually subscribe to that last one–but I would read it!).  Also, spending time reading magazines totally counts toward SRP prizes! Oh and yeah…I called security about Bella. Sorry ’bout that.

Yours,
Mickie the Librarian

Dear TeenScene,

BRAINSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YOURS!
Zombies

Dear…uh…you…I get it…ha–brains…mine…heh….heh…my brains…yeah…that’s funny…uh…

*tosses three packs of cookies at Zombies and runs*

Gotta run!! Till next time SRP fans this is Mickie signing out–reminding you to keep reading and Don’t Forget To Be Awesome!

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Zombies Close the Gap; Unicorns Still Lead the Herd: Own the Night Updates

Posted on June 30th, 2012 by Mickie.
Categories: All posts.

At the mid-point of our Summer Reading Contest, Unicorns still lead the way with almost 1800 hours logged and Humans are not far behind with 1607! The Vampires are showing that they MEAN business as they creep up behind Zombies in their bid to leave 4th place! It has been an exciting race so far, but it isn’t over yet! We still have four more weeks of Own the Night fun and it is still anybody’s game, folks!

Need something good to sink your teeth into Team Vampire?

When their parents announce they are taking in a fellow student for a month, 16-year-old twins Kyle and Judy sit up and take notice. Kyle has just come out of the closet to his family and fears he'll never know what it is like to date a guy. Judy is pretending to be born-again to attract a boy who heads a Bible study group. And Garret Johnson is new in town-- a mysterious loner who claims to be a vampire. Both twins are intrigued.

Is your Summer just stumbling along, groping for a good read? Try this, Team Zombie:

In 1867 Texas, Jett, a girl passing as a boy while seeking her long-lost twin brother, joins forces with Honoraria Gibbons, an inventor, and White Fox, a young Army scout, to investigate a zombie army that is terrorizing the West.

Team Human: Sick of all the hype surrounding the creatures of nocturnal persuasion? Time to get real:

Teenaged Amy, a cryogenically frozen passenger on the spaceship Godspeed, wakes up to discover that someone may have tried to murder her.

0 comments.

Teen Crafting–Today!

Posted on June 26th, 2012 by Mickie.
Categories: All posts.

Join us today from 3-4pm when we’ll be making origami-style dream diaries and talking about what dreams actually may mean…like that one where I show up to school in my underwear–YIKES!

0 comments.

Dear TeenScene…Letters to the Editor, Volume 2

Posted on June 22nd, 2012 by Mickie.
Categories: All posts.

The response to our last round of Dear TeenScene letters was amazing! Keep your questions coming! Have an issue? Need a tissue? Got a gripe? Need to know the hype? Shoot me an e-mail at mstiers@westervillelibrary.org.

Here are this week’s letters…

Dear TeenScene,

I’m a fluffy unicorn! (SOOO FLUFFY!!) It really-really-really makes me happy to be a fluffy little unicorn! And I can’t believe that Unicorns are in the lead…well yes  I can because we are so wonderful, but you know what? I’m not golden, that’s a lie JK Rowling is perpetuating for her own gain. But, I digress.  The reason I’m writing to you is because I don’t have thumbs.  I know right? So would it be ok if someone reads to me and I count that time to get a prize?  I really-really-really love prizes! But, I don’t have thumbs. (You know, to turn pages with…)

Thanks for your consideration,
The super fluffy, but not really golden unicorn (without thumbs)

Dear SF,bnRGU(wt),

Wow…no thumbs. What a bummer, but that’s ok you still have those golden hooves–am I right? And lots of people don’t have thumbs and they are still super-duper! No kidding, like Scooby Doo and Garfield…no thumbs and all awesome! And you can TOTALLY have someone read to you and count those hours. Or you can come into a teen program or volunteer and count those hours toward a prize. No thumbs needed, n’kay?

Signed,
Mickie the Librarian

Dear TeenScene,

I’d love to get more books for the summer reading program, but they are so heavy my arm keeps falling off? Any suggestions on how to carry a lot of books?

Zeke the Zombie

Dear Zeke,
Here is what you do. Buy a Wiener dog minion and hitch it up to a tiny cart that you can carry your books in! Oh…wait…my phone is ringing…..Hello?….uh-huh…oh, no I didn’t realize….ok sure….bye! RIGHT! That was the Wiener Dog defamation league and apparently hitching them to carts is demeaning and frowned upon so strike that last suggestion. Ok, welllll how about you get yourself a book bag–do you still have shoulders?

Signed,
Mickie the Librarian

Dear TeenScene,

Please publish this letter–I’m team human and I was in the teen room the other day and there was this SUPER HAWT guy but I was too shy say anything so I just stood there awkwardly with my mouth open. He said hi and and I ran away…knocking the Seventeen magazines everywhere. I’m clumsy and clueless…he was handsome and sparkly…a real old soul and I just know I’ll die if I don’t meet him.

Signed,
I just met you and maybe this is crazy

Bella….stop writing in. I haven’t seen him and I don’t know where to find him.  Don’t you have a movie to promote? elsewhere? Far away from here? Geesh.

All right Who Will Own the Night fans…till next time! DFTBA! See you at the library!

2 comments.

Top FIVE Teen Reads about Unicorns

Posted on June 20th, 2012 by Mickie.
Categories: All posts.

Despite strange dreams and her ailing father's firm belief in the family lore of a long-ago ancestor's connection to the mythical unicorn, fifteen-year-old New Yorker Elayne remains skeptical until, during a school visit to the unicorn tapestries in the Cloisters, she finds herself entering a tumultuous world where she must fulfill the legacy of her ancestors by taming the unicorn and bringing a tyrant to justice.

Recounts the quest of the last unicorn, who leaves the protection of the enchanted forest to search for her own kind, and who is joined by Schmedrick the Magician and Molly Grue in her search.

Jan, the prince of the unicorns, accompanies other initiate warriors on a pilgrimage to their lost ancestral home where they will view their destinies in the Mirror of the Moon.

After sixteen-year-old Astrid Llewelyn survives a vicious unicorn attack, she learns that she is a descendant of the most famous unicorn hunter of all time and she must travel to Rome, Italy, to train in the ancient arts in order to carry on her family legacy and save the world from the threat posed by the reemergence of lethal unicorns.

Twelve short stories by a variety of authors seek to answer the question of whether zombies are better than unicorns.

0 comments.

Eat the Unicorns’ Dust…Sparkly, Sparkly Dust: SRP Update–Unicorns Lead the Pack!

Posted on June 18th, 2012 by Mickie.
Categories: All posts.

Zombies–look alive (sorry bad pun) and quit moaning so much, just get reading!

Vampires—can’t you sink your teeth into a good book?!

Humans–You have no excuse–you have not so rotten arms, eyeballs that mostly work (when they aren’t glued to the computer screen). So why aren’t you reading more!?

Are you going to let the unicorns win? Are you going to let the glitter get all over the library? Go on–get to reading, or come to a program or volunteer—just log those hours!

Here is the breakdown…as it stands today, 6/18/12

0 comments.

Dear TeenScene, SRP 2012 Letters to the Editor…

Posted on June 13th, 2012 by Mickie.
Categories: All posts.

Well, Summer Reading %2012 is well under way and everyone is settling into their respective teams, humans, zombies, vampires and unicorns. Ok…actually, not everyone is settling in so nicely. I have received enough letters to the editor that we here at the Westerville Public Library feel that it is necessary to create an advice column to answer questions, provide clarification and put some nasty rumors to rest.

Do you have questions or comments about our Own the Night program? E-mail me at mstiers@westervillelibrary.org and I’ll get you some answers…

Dear TeenScene,
I am trying to log more hours, but being a zombie, it kind of sucks that my eyeballs fell out a while ago.  Well, technically one got eaten by my best-pal-turned-zombie dog and the other one is in my pocket, just in case.  I still want to participate in the summer reading program though, is it ok if I listen to audiobooks instead of reading? You know, at least until I no longer have ears and stuff. Any suggestions?

Signed,
ZombieBob

Dear ZombieBob,
That must be frustrating for you! Audiobooks are just the ticket! Listening to books is a great way to log hours. You can listen to books on CD, e-books on your device or even check out a Playaway that comes equipped with earbuds and an extra battery! Just…uh…wipe the earbuds off before you return them…with disinfectant…n’kay?

Signed,
Librarian Mickie

Dear TeenScene,
Could someone remind Team Zombie to quit using body parts as book marks?  IT. IS. UBER.GROSS!

Thanks,
Shelley, Team Human

Dear Shelley,
Wow! Yeah..we try to protect our books so that lots of people get to use them before they wear out. We librarians find some pretty crazy things used as bookmarks–wish we found crisp five dollar bills!
I would suggest making a cool comic crafty book mark or using your checkout slip as a bookmark–it even reminds you when you need to bring your book back!

Signed,
Librarian Mickie

Dear TeenScene,
What I want to know is, why are you being so prejudiced against the lesser-known creatures? As a narwhal, I feel the need to speak up for myself and the other Unicorns of the Sea. We live in the ocean — the darkest depths! — and what is more “night-like” than the deepest ocean? If you would be willing to make the Narwhals honorary members of Team Unicorn, we’d be very appreciative, even if we can’t run and frolic in the fields and have stickers designed to look like us, with glitter and everything. (Glitter. Barf.) Or, if you can’t do that, can you at least recommend me some good books where characters deal with jealousy and envy? It’s, uh, for a friend.

Sincerely,
A Narwhal

Dear A Narwhal,
Hey, don’t get yourself down–everyone is beautiful in his or her own way and who needs glittery stickers!? Have you ever seen a glittery librarian sticker–no, probably not. That’s ok..I’m still a rockstar and glitter is hard to vaccum up after storytime anyway. It’s all good. SO for your…uh…friend…here are some awesome books that deal with jealousy.

Signed,
Librarian Mickie

Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily receives special protections from the spiritual forces of Neverland, but then she meets her tribe's most dangerous enemy--Peter Pan--and falls in love with him.

Fifteen-year-old Tessa tries to be happy when her crush, Charlie, falls for her younger sister, Lulu, and it becomes easier after she begins a secret relationship with Jasper, a social outcast who lives next door to Tessa's best friend.

High school sophomore Ori Taylor, lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter in a nameless rock band, has always been known as the easily-overlooked younger brother of Del, a high school sports star, but when Del suddenly returns home from college just as Ori is starting to gain some confidence in himself, Del expects everything to return to the way it used to be.

When one of their tightly-knit group mysteriously disappears, four high school girls find their friendship difficult to maintain when they begin receiving taunting messages from someone who seems to know everything about their past and present secrets.

0 comments.

Humans and Unicorns are NECK AND NECK!

Posted on June 7th, 2012 by Mickie.
Categories: All posts.

Ok Sports fans, here is your weekly run down on all the SRP action from the teen side! Humans are in the lead, but only by 2 hours!

Is it harder for unicorns to read without thumbs?! Are vampires frustrated that the library is only open during daylight hours?! WHAT exactly is a Hufflepuff anyway?! Stay with us summer readers for the answers to questions you never asked, exciting reading competition developments and much more!

Humans: 92 registered, 359 hours logged

Unicorns: 102 registered, 357 hours logged

Zombies: 63 registered, 183 hours logged

Vampires: 57 registered, 127 hours logged

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