Explore diversity, teens and reading with the Young Adult Library Services Association this November!

YALSA will host the biennial Young Adult Literature Symposium in Albuquerque, New Mexico, November 5-7!

This year’s theme, “Diversity, Literature, and Teens: Beyond Good Intentions,” discusses today’s generation of teens — likely the most diverse generation ever. Does today’s young adult literature reflect the many different faces, beliefs and identities of today’s teens? What impact is this generation having on young adult literature and vice versa? Join YALSA as we explore the depth and breadth of contemporary literature in search of an answer to these questions.
On Friday, attendees can add an optional full-day preconference on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender topics in YA literature to their registration. They can also add optional half-day mini forums on street literature, teen readers’ advisory, or body acceptance in YA literature. On Saturday, registrants can add the optional Bill Morris Memorial Author Luncheon, featuring Vaunda Micheaux Nelson (Coretta Scott King Award winning author of Bad News for Outlaws) or a tour and reception at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center.

The symposium registration includes a Friday welcome reception, educational sessions on Saturday and Sunday, and an authors’ happy hour on Saturday afternoon.

All symposium attendees will receive a continuing education certificate showing the number of contact hours each person received. For example, an attendee who attended the preconference and four sessions will earn a certificate showing they received 12 contact hours.

Early bird registration (through September 10) starts at $195 for YALSA members. You can find a preliminary program, program list, registration and more at www.ala.org/yalitsymposium.

Questions? Contact YALSA at yalsa@ala.org or 1-800-545-2433, ext. 4390.

“I leave you alone for two minutes and the wolves descend.”  Twilight

YALSA’s Fabulous Films for Young Adults Committee, http://www.ala.org/yalsa/fabfilms, is seeking and watching nominations for what will become YALSA’s 2011 Fabulous Films for Young Adults list of recommended films.

The theme is “Other Times/Other Places”. We are looking for films that are science fiction, fantasy and history and appeal to teens. All types of films are welcome from feature films and documentary to animé.

Current nominated titles:

http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/booklistsawards/fabfilms/fabfilmnoms.cfm

• The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till
• Star Trek
• Journey to the Center of the Earth
• Push
• Bedtime Stories
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Terminator Salvation
• Twilight
• X-Men Origins: Wolverine

I’ll bet you can think of several titles already. We would love to add movies your teens enjoy watching.

Nominate films, http://yalsa.ala.org/forms/fabfilm.php, for review by the selection committee. Please review the selection criteria, http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/booklistsawards/fabfilms/fabfilmspolicies.cfm, if you have questions about whether a title would be a good nomination.

And, don’t forget…

“…to boldly go where no one has gone before.” Star Trek

Tulsa native and Coretta Scott King Award winning illustrator Floyd Cooper will be touring the Metropolitan Library System branches in March. He is also visiting several schools.

Cooper illustrated “The Blacker the Berry” which won the 2009 Coretta Scott King Award for illustration. Cooper also received honor awards for “Brown Honey and Broomwheat Tea“, “I Have Heard of a Land” and “One April Morning“.

PDF: Click to see locations and dates

One of my new lifestyle adjustments (previously known as resolutions) is to restart my goal of reading 100 books in one year. Turns out my goal is small since I saw Oklahoma author Jennifer Lynn Barnes had read 260 books last year. I have to start somewhere.

Last year I thought I would write down the titles that I read as I read them. This worked great for the first five or six books. I realized several books later that I have a habit of finishing a book and immediately picking up a new one. The last thing I wanted to do was write anything down. I’m changing strategy this year and using my iPod Touch. I downloaded a book shelf application, iBookShelf. The application searches by title or ISBN, pulls in the author, genre and cover picture. I can set the status and rating. There’s also a comment field where I copy and paste book reviews from the Barnes and Noble application.

I’m currently reading Bloodhound: Beka Cooper book 2 by Tamora Pierce and Hate List by Jennifer Brown.

Books I’ve read so far: (my year started in November)

Breathless by Jessica Warman
Swimmer Katie has a mentally troubled older brother. Her parents enroll her in private school away from home and she tells her new friends her brother is dead.
Rating: 3/5: High School

How to Steal a Car by Pete Hautman
Kelleigh acts out by stealing cars. Yep, that’s about it.
Rating 2/5: High School

Kit Feeny #1: On the Move by Michael Townsend
Kit Feeny and his family move to a new house. Kit worries about making friends and keeping his old friends.
Rating 1/5: Primary Reader note: my 3rd grader loved it and read the sequel immediately. 3rd – 5th grades will love it. If you love BabyMouse and Diary of a Wimpy Kid…

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
Steampunk science fiction set during WWI. Story is a mixture of real history and science fiction. Story told in alternating chapters by the two main characters.
Rating 3.5/5: Intermediate

Liar by Justine Larbalestier
Frustrating book told by a liar. Good luck not believing her.
Rating 4/5: High School

Lips Touch Three Times by Laini Taylor
Three fantasy short stories all involving the beauty and fatality of a kiss. The artwork is not to be missed.
Rating 3/5: High School

Lost Conspiracy by Frances Hardinge
Enthralling story that weaves colonization, race, social relations, religion and fantasy. Recommended to readers of Isabelle Allende.
Rating 3.5/5: Intermediate

Books started but did not finish…

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Girl meets werewolf.
Book is touted to be Twilight for werewolves. Whatever the charm is I didn’t see it. The author made a book trailor.

We Were Here by Matt De La Pena
Miguel is sent to juvenile detention and has to write in a journal to figure things out. In the meantime he escapes detentions with two other boys.
I like the plot it was the story that was taking too long. Much too long.

When the Snow Fell by Henning Mankell
Companion book to A Bridge to the Stars and Shadows of Twilight. Joel makes three resolutions that he tries to make come true.
I thought I was interested in the story until I started reading a realized I wasn’t.

Whole Nother Story by Dr. Cuthbert Soup
An inventor and his three kids are on the run from government, corporate and international baddies because of an invention.
Remember reading Lemony Snicket for the first time? Remember how much you liked it? This isn’t it. There is a great plot. The story moves right along. The cutsey writing kills everything.

So, what are you reading?

The Young Adult Library Services Assocation and the Association for Library Services to Children announced at ALA Midwinter this past Monday award winning media. There are great books, video, audio and illustrations on these lists.

Release this past Tuesday was YALSA’s selected lists for Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults, Fabulous Films for Young Adults, Great Graphic Novels for Teens, and Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults for 2010.

Hundreds of Championship Wrestlers’ action figures have taker over the Toy & Action Figure Museum in Pauls Valley. Miniature versions of those crazy guys from WWF and WWE have made themselves at home in one of Oklahoma’s top attractions.
The museum has recently acquired a large collection of Professional Wrestling action figures and is celebrating the opening of a new exhibit dedicated to these “real-lie” superheroes and super villains with a fun and unique wrestling contest of their own – THE OFFICIAL SUPER INTERGALACTIC ARMWRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP.
On Saturday, January 23, the museum will host a “For Fun Only” armwrestling championship with contestants battling for a first place medal in four different age categories.
Registration begins at 10am. The Entry fee is $10 per participant and includes admission to the museum for the entire day. The first round – 8 to 12 year olds – kicks off the hourly competitions at 11am; followed by 13 to 15, 16 to 18 and 18 & up. Each contestant will receive a “Certificate of Participation”.
This is NOT a certified armwrestling competition. It is ONLY FOR FUN and is a Fund Raiser for the museum. Bring your cameras so you can take home a personal memory of the first Super Intergalactic Champion Armwrestlers.
Check out www.actionfiguremuseum.com or call the Action Figure Museum at 405/238-6300 for more information.

We  already know how great our Oklahoma teens are, but…

LOOK WHAT OUR TEENS DID!

Top School:    # Pages:
Putnam City High School, Teacher Beth Duffy    68,180    $250 worth of books for school library

Top Library:
Bartlesville Public Library, Librarian Laura Pryce    53,094    $250 worth of books for public library

Top 10 Overall Students:
Lindsey Kilmer, Grade 12, Putnam City High School    22,874    2 tickets to OKC Thunder game
Erica Adams, Grade 7, Bartlesville Public Library    21,038    2 tickets to OKC Thunder game
Amy Broadway, Grade 10, McAlester Public Library    11,905    2 tickets to OKC Thunder game
Hailey Gill, Grade 10, Stillwater Public Library    10,053    2 tickets to OKC Thunder game
Sarah Lemser, Grade 9, Westmoore High School    10,041    2 tickets to OKC Thunder game
Sarah Follett, Grade 11, Lawton Public Library    9,948    2 tickets to OKC Thunder game
Jamiya Havis, Grade 7, Hefner Middle School    9,921    2 tickets to OKC Thunder game
Marukh Ali, Grade 10, Putnam City High School    9,747    2 tickets to OKC Thunder game
Emely Jacob, Grade 7, McAlester Public Library    8,440    2 tickets to OKC Thunder game
Rachel Isaac, Grade 9, Putnam City High School    8,150    2 tickets to OKC Thunder game

Top 3 Readers:
Lindsey Kilmer, Grade 12, Putnam City High School    22,874    Autographed OKC Thunder team picture
Erica Adams, Grade 7, Bartlesville Public Library    21,038    Autographed OKC Thunder team picture
Amy Broadway, Grade 10, McAlester Public Library    11,905    Autographed OKC Thunder team picture

Top School Reader:
Lindsey Kilmer, Putnam City High School    22,874    iPod Nano

Top Library Reader:
Erica Adams, Bartlesville Public Library    21,038    iPod Nano

Total By Participating Schools 220,650
Total By Participating Libraries 283,726

Grand Total Pages for Read Beyond Reality    504,376

You can read the NIE post.

Congratulations to the winners!

Thank you all for participating and making the program so great.

Order of the Odd-Fish by James Kennedy

I’ve mentioned this fabulous book that I read before in a post. The book is Order of the Odd-Fish by James Kennedy. It is fabulous because it is a book made for the tweens and teens that love books that are just left of center.

The story focuses on Jo Larouche who when born was found with a note saying she was an “dangerous baby”. Of course, for thirteen years, absolutely nothing happens until the night of one of her Aunt’s famous costume parties.

The story kicks into high gear and stays there, traveling from Jo, to the newly self-appointed evil Ken Kiang, to Eldritch City, to roaches as butlers indignant that their party lifestyle is not being portrayed as outrageous enough in the local paper to the history of the All-Devouring Mother and the truly diabolical Belgium Prankster.

This book requires the reader to be able to keep up as  it moves at a steady clip. A fantasy that is set in a city, instead of the quiet countryside, there is no walking for miles and miles here. Once you start reading you will see why kids are eating this book up and going back for seconds, thirds and fourths.

But they are not passively digesting this work, they are regurgitating* the  images in their heads and scenes from the book into life. Kennedy has started an online gallery just for them to showcase what they’ve done.

*Cake of Regrugitating Fish

The fan art gallery can be whatever media the reader decides from costumes, masks, cakes, pictures, music, etc. Send submissions to kennedyjames [at] gmail [dot] com. He’ll help you figure out how to get your submissions to the gallery. The deadline is March 1, 2010. Read Kennedy’s post for more information.

Order of the Odd-Fish Fan Art Show

Just a friendly reminder that we are at the end of Read Beyond Reality Teen Read Month. Those libraries who participated should begin preparing and sending the following to Adrienne Butler by November 5:

•    top ten readers and the number of pages each has read

•    total number of pages read by your participants

Read Beyond Reality Oklahoma Teen Read Month poster

•    number of teens who participated in your library.

Prizes:
Your library and individual readers
can win!
•    The school and public library whose readers in grades 6 through 12 log the most pages will each receive $250 worth of books courtesy of the Oklahoma Department of Libraries. The librarians at the winning school and public library will select the prize book titles.
•    The 10 students participating through their school or public library who read the most pages will receive two premium tickets to an Oklahoma City Thunder basketball game.
•    The top three readers also will receive an autographed team picture.
•    The top school reader and top public library reader will each receive an iPod Nano.
•    Winners will be announced at nie.newsok.com.

toy and action figure museum where the wild things are poster

OklaTravelNet broadcast of Toy and Action Figure Museum Where the Wild Things Are Party this Saturday. ODL is partnering by providing books and comic books as prizes. Rumble from the OKC Thunder will be there from 2pm – 3pm to “read” the book.

To watch the broadcast go to: http://www.oklatravelnet.com/, and click on Last Show Archive on top of the video box. See how good Bill is!

Download the poster at the CYA: Wiki.