Teens

Jennifer Sweeney’s Literacy: A Way Out for At-Risk Youth is a much-needed resource for this special group of kids.

Tempt your readers with these book tie-ins to daring private investigators featured in the media.

Best-selling author Mark Kurlansky is known for his entertaining nonfiction books for grown-ups, such as Salt, Cod, and The Big Oyster, which focus on familiar items. Now, he's dipped into the world of young adult More...

Though our reviewer was all set to be surprised by Snow Patrol's latest album, Fallen Empires, she reports that sound-wise, there's not much new there-but that's OK. Canadian singer Kathleen Edwards is in the right place at the right time with her smoky vocals on Voyageur. Itching for a cross-country trip, but don't like driving in winter weather? Easily accomplished with Electronic Arts' Run, its latest addition to the Need to Speed franchise.

Though our reviewer was all set to be surprised by Snow Patrol's latest album, Fallen Empires, she reports that sound-wise, there's not much new there-but that's OK. Canadian singer Kathleen Edwards is in the right place at the right time with her smoky vocals on Voyageur. Itching for a cross-country trip, but don't like driving in winter weather? Easily accomplished with Electronic Arts' Run, its latest addition to the Need to Speed franchise.

Ready to talk dollars and sense? Time for "Money Smart Week® @ Your Library," April 21-28.

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"The expert blending of vivid historical details with the voice of a courageous, relatable hero makes this book truly shine." SLJTeen interviews Barbara Wright, author of Crow.

This year is already shaping up to be a great time for the Big Brain Club, the nonprofit education foundation that helps young people recognize that "Smart Is Cool." There are lots of innovative school programs coming up this spring, and the Big Brain Club will once again be donating cutting-edge technology to classrooms, as well as publishing the creative writing of middle school students.

School Library Journal has launched a national survey for public librarians about their children's and young adult services and collections, and we need your input! The survey's findings will be featured in an issue of SLJ later this spring.

Birmingham, AL, was a city at the epicenter of the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. It was also home to two key players on opposing sides of history: Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth, a man of faith, and Eugene "Bull" Connor, the commissioner of public safety. In Larry Dane Brimner's accessible photo-essay, Black & White: The Confrontation Between Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth and Eugene "Bull" Connor, young adults are introduced to some of the landmark events of the period. Nuanced and thought-provoking, the book is an excellent addition to collections for Black History Month or studies on the civil rights movement.

Movie fans will be interested in learning more about this important moment in history and the timing is perfect for displays and booktalks geared toward Black History Month.

You'll find a couple of "second takes" in our latest column, but as Chris Selig, the fearless leader of the Sneak Peekers, once told me, "I just can't keep them from reading these hot titles!" And actually, we wouldn't want it any other way.

History is more than just names and dates—each of these nine novels captures a particular historical setting and tells a story through the eyes of an African-American protagonist.

As I began working on my column for Black History Month, it was tough to decide which two titles I wanted to highlight-so many great books to choose from!

I'm so excited. I live near the Red Rocks Outdoor Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO, about 15 miles west of Denver—and for the first time ever, an event will be happening during the winter season, appropriately titled Winter at the Rocks. I'll be there, and Common will be there too, along with Atmosphere, Grieves, and Budo. Common first came to my attention because of his Common Ground Foundation, which helps secure funding for creative arts initiatives in schools. So I think I owe it to him to visit and give a listen.

This year, YALSA's Teen Tech Week takes place March 4 through 10, and its theme is "Geek Out @ your library!" So get ready to throw open your library's physical and virtual doors to showcase the outstanding technology and services you offer young patrons, such as online homework help and digital literacy-focused resources like ebooks, movies, music, audiobooks, databases, and more.

February is Black History Month in the United States and Canada, as it has been for the past 36 years. But the celebration's roots go deeper than 1976. And how cool is this? The event More...

Librarian Karen Jensen had a moment of inspiration and decided to create "The 2012 Project." Her goal? To gather 2,012 images that demonstrate that teens are still using libraries.

Students can learn a lot about their family, themselves, and even history when they listen to grandparent's or grand friend's life stories. And young people can win a Lenovo ThinkCentre computer and $25,000 of EdOptions Orchard software when they enter the Legacy Project's 12th annual Listen to a Life Essay Contest. The national contest, which is run in partnership with Generations United, a membership organization based in Washington, D.C., receives thousands of entries every year.

Everywhere you go, people are talking about the environment—how the earth is warming up, how oil-drilling is ruining natural habitats, how trash is overflowing into our waterways, and how chemicals used in various products are making people and wildlife sick. You know the planet is in trouble. The question is, What can you do about it? Go out and buy a brand new $30,000 hybrid car? Persuade all of the health clubs in your town to install low-flow showerheads and toilets? This kind of stuff is hardly a reality for most high school kids, but Zest Books can help by putting a copy of Lexi Petronis's 47 Things Teens Can Do for the Environment (January 3, 2012; $14.95 US; 128 pages; illustrated; pap.; ISBN-13: 978-0-9827322-1-2) in your hands.

With our kids at Floral Park Memorial High School recently on holiday break, we only have two reviews this issue. Lucky for us, they both feature somewhat notorious and interesting celebrities: Mario, an Italian-American plumber who lives in the Mushroom Kingdom, and Amy Winehouse, the English singer-songwriter who died of alcohol poisoning in July 2011. While Mario Cart 7 is guaranteed to give players the ride of a lifetime, Lioness, a collection of covers by Winehouse, will also transport teens.

Here are Amy Cheney’s top 2011 picks for incarcerated teens. You'll find books that resonate with her teens, but aren't well-known in the general library community.

Take advantage of the Mission Impossible movie hype and display or booktalk a selection of espionage-themed titles for young adults.

Although two of the books that our teens have reviewed are by well-known writers (Beth Fantaskey and Pete Hautman), I hadn't heard of Rune Michaels. What a surprise it was to find out that she's from Iceland! After reading up on her a bit—she studied psychology at the University of Iceland and at the University of Copenhagen—it was not a surprise that she created a creepy scary world in Fix Me, a story with unusual twists and turns and settings. Reading our reviewer's take on Fix Me has made me want to take a look at Michaels's 2007 debut novel, Genesis Alpha, which also explores family relationships, but through the lens of medical science.

Darden Smith wrote his first song when he was 10. These days, Smith is a singer-songwriter and a dad. Back in 2001, when his daughter was in preschool, he helped her classmates write a song. The next day he overheard kids on the playground singing it and making up new verses. Then, a few years later, as he walked across a schoolyard in Glasgow, Scotland, students came up to him and started singing the song they'd written the year before with Smith's help. That's when he really started to take his work in schools seriously.

Are your kids ready to roll out their video cams? Then be sure to tell them about the Collaborative Summer Library Program’s (CSLP) “2012 Teen Video Challenge“, a national video competition that encourages kids to get involved with their public library’s summer reading program. To enter, teens 13 to 18—working individually or as a team—create a 30- to 90-second video that’s based on CSLP’s 2012 teen slogan, “Own the Night.” Each participating CSLP member state will select one winner, who will win $275 and a $150 prize for their local public library. Winners will be announced next spring.

For Charis Freiman-Mendel, the author of Cook Your Way Through The S.A.T. (CYWTTSAT), learning vocabulary words has always been a piece of cake-and she wants to make sure that it's easy for your students, too. In CYWTTSAT, Freiman-Mendel pairs each of her 99 recipes with a "fun fact blurb" containing 10 vocabulary words that are often used on the S.A.T. Now, she's sponsoring a book-giveaway contest for middle and high school students. To enter, teens simply write a fun fact blurb for the author's recipe for chocolate lava cake. Three winners-a student in grades 6 to 8, another in grades 9 and 10, and one in grades 11 and 12-will each receive a copy of CYWTTSAT and a matching apron.

Would you like your school to win up to $10,000? Then check out the Science Teachers Association's ExploraVision Awards Program, which encourages kids to use their imaginations and scientific tools to create and explore the technology of the future. Teachers can win a Toshiba tablet, and the school that submits the most projects is eligible to win a bonus classroom prize package.

Brimming with magnificent artwork and fascinating perceptions, these handsome volumes provide an intimate look at the making of three recent releases that are on top of holiday movie-goers' lists. Each book explores the particular plot elements and production challenges associated with its featured film, while also conveying an overview of the creative process behind the finished product, the mind-staggering logistics of big-budget movie-making, and the many roles played by contributors from directors to artists to actors.

In Running the Rift, Naomi Benaron folds two of her abiding passions-Rwanda and running-into an enlightening, satisfying story that's set in the 1980s and '90s, during a time of terrible ethnic unrest in the East African nation.This combination survival and coming-of-age story has been awarded the Bellwether Prize, which recognizes works of fiction that address issues of social justice. Adult Books for Teens blogger Angela Carstensen talks with the author about her debut title.

Looking for a little bit of magic? Well, you've come to the right place. In Jackie Kessler's Loss, a boy with a bullying problem is transformed into a Rider, capable of poisoning the world with disease. In Saundra Mitchell's Springsweet, Zora's broken heart begins to heal when she realizes that she has the ability to find water—a talent that's surely appreciated by the residents of her small town in Oklahoma. In Sarah Porter's Waking Storms, the sequel to her very popular Lost Voices, mermaid Luce finds her father, forbidden love, and hopefully, shelter from an oncoming winter storm. With winter break coming, it's the perfect time to prepare a reading list to help your teens discover a little of their own magic.

With the holiday break on the horizon, teens will soon be streaming into the public library, seeking relief from visiting relatives, screaming little brothers, and plain old boredom. One sure-fire way to appeal to teens is to set up a display of the year's top 10 albums and top 10 video games and ask kids to vote for their favorites. You might also want to sponsor a gaming night or host your own version of America's Got Talent. Your young patrons are bound to appreciate your attention to the things that get their attention!

What's it like to have 50 students milling around in your room 45 minutes before the school day starts, wanting to talk about books?

Welcome to Edina High School's Breakfast Book Club, where it's not uncommon to hear our young members saying things like, "Can anyone find the blueberry bagels?" "Asiago cheese in the morning? No!" "Any chocolate chip ones?" "What did you think of Enzo? I cried at the end!" "Really? I didn't care that much."

Chicago was the site of the 2011 National Council of Teachers of English Conference (NCTE) and the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN) in late November, and the energy level and networking potential were off the charts. Maybe it was because 2011 marked NCTE's centennial, but I've heard colleagues talking about these conferences for years, and I'd never had the opportunity to attend. Wow, now I know what I've been missing! Every session I attended was terrific, and I didn't even mind dashing between the Hilton and the Palmer House to hit as many workshops as possible.

There's nothing like a garden to make a place look infinitely better. Now, thanks to the National Gardening Association's (NGA) Mantis Awards for community and youth gardens, 25 public schools and libraries will have a More...

Sherlock Holmes and his equally ready-for-action sidekick return in an exhilarating sequel to the 2009 box-office hit based on Arthur Conan Doyle's famous fictional characters. Premiering in theaters on December 16 from Warner Bros. Pictures, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (PG-13) reunites director Guy Ritchie with stars Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, and the action, intrigue, and globe-trotting settings are even more spectacular this time around. Based on Benjamin Mee's memoire of the same title (Weinstein Books, 2008), We Bought a Zoo (PG), a comedy/drama from 20th Century Fox directed by Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire), premieres on December 23. With an intriguing premise, upbeat tone, and adorable young co-star (Maggie Elizabeth Jones), the movie is poised to be one of the top picks for family holiday viewing.

One of the perks of being part of SLJ's family is that I have access to books and authors. When I first heard about I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution, I called the publisher and requested an advance copy. Ten minutes into it, I was emailing the publicist to see if I could interview the authors. Though Craig Marks and Rob Tannenbaum have been writing and editing for years for magazines like Spin, Blender, and Rolling Stone, this is their first book, and it is getting rave reviews. Those of us that actually lived through the MTV era will revel in the memories this oral history brings back, and teens that were into the video game Rock Band or dig classic rock will discover often hilarious and shocking tidbits about their favorite bands.

Two titles firmly grounded in the present lead off this issue's list, though diametrically opposed in tone-an examination of a young journalist's life and his death at 22 in Somalia in Dan Eldon: Safari as More...

Our music reviewers are giving us a varied earful—everything from Susan Boyle belting out the classics to Florence + the Machine proving that their style has staying power to the soundtrack from Breaking Dawn Part More...

You know it's a good day at work when you get pie thrown in your face.That's exactly what happened to me on November 4 at our library, the Twin Falls Public Library in Idaho. This fall we held a Teen Reading Challenge, and at the end of the challenge I got two pies shoved in my face. Believe it or not, it was truly one of my favorite days at this job, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. More...

When Southern Sudanese musician and former child solider Emmanuel Jal was seven, he had to flee his village. Jal was soon recruited by the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and forced to fight in his nation's bloody civil war. His best friend at the time? An AK-47 assault rifle. Our students recently heard Jal's amazing story firsthand, when he appeared at a school assembly.

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In Girl Meets Boy, 12 of today's most dynamic and engaging YA authors team up for a one-of-a-kind collection of "he said/she said" stories-he tells it from the guy's point of view, she tells it from the girl's. These are stories of love and heartbreak-the good-looking jock who falls for a dangerous girl, and the flipside of the toxic girl who never learns to be loved; a basketball star and the artistic (and shorter) boy she never knew she wanted; and a gay boy looking for love online and the girl who could help make it happen-which teach us that relationships become complicated because there are always two sides to every story.

Since its premiere on AMC on Halloween 2010, this horror series has ambled into the homes of many a TV watcher, earning rave reviews from critics, garnering numerous award nominations and a spot on the American Film Institute's top-10 television programs of 2010, and steadily growing in viewership as well as in word-of-mouth buzz. Based on Robert Kirkman's Eisner Award-winning comic book series of the same name, illustrated by Tony Moore and later Charlie Adlard (Image Comics), the show was developed by Frank Darabont (well known for directing screen adaptations of Stephen King works, including 1994's The Shawshank Redemption), with Kirkman now serving as executive producer and writer. Devotees will find much on the web and on the shelves to fan their zombie fever.

A couple things in this month's books caught me completely by surprise. For instance, in Whitley Strieber's latest novel, Melody Burning, there's "a mega-handsome wild boy" who lives in the walls of an apartment building. And in Gina Damico's Croak, a teen transforms herself into the Grim Reaper. New and original stories always seem to catch teens' attention-so authors, give a listen. Don't serve up the same old, same old. Teens want to be surprised, delighted, and satisfied, just like the rest of us.

In Mangaman, written by Barry Lyga and illustrated by Colleen Doran, a manga character suddenly finds himself in the "real" world of a Western comic-and things quickly get hilarious. Willowy, long-haired Ryoko has trouble fitting in at an American high school. And whenever he's startled, speedlines appear around him-and then fall to the ground. When he looks at the lovely Marissa, his eyes literally turn into hearts. Yet, because he's a stranger to this world, Ryoko can see boundaries that are invisible to his classmates. The medium is the message in Mangaman. We talked to Lyga and Doran about the challenge of creating their story. And just so you know we're not cheating, Mangaman is Lyga's debut graphic novel.

Horror stories are wildly popular these days, and readers can pick their own favorite frights-everything from zombies, werewolves, and ghosts to psychological thrillers that would even scare Edgar Allan Poe. You know, the kind that keeps you up at night. Not because you're afraid that someone will come crashing through your door with an ax, but because you're not sure about that suspicious-looking shadow in the corner. Here are some creepy reads that'll hook kids and teens, though they might find themselves sleeping with the lights on!

I read a recent New York Times interview with Coldplay's Chris Martin, who was asked to explain the title of the band's latest (and perhaps last) album, Mylo Xyloto. "Music comes from a place we don't know," he told the Times. "It sort of comes through the fingers and toes. So we came up with the idea of, what if you had musical digits, like xylo toes." And as for the "Mylo" part? "It's just a great name," said Martin. "For anything." So now you know. Our reviewer definitely thinks it's worth a listen.

One of the coolest things about having our teens write reviews for SLJTeen is that they get to meet people like Nikki Roddy, Zest Books' marketing and research manager. Last month, Nikki stopped by a meeting of the Sneak Peek Reviewers Club at our library to give the kids an insiders' view of the publishing biz. Based in
San Francisco, Zest Books is a small independent publisher of nonfiction books for young adults. Name a topic that teens are interested in, and Zest has probably published a book about it.

Talk to Najee Ali, and you'll soon discover that the reserved, soft-spoken 17-year-old has already mapped out his career path. He's decided to go into computer programming. Ali arrived at that decision three years ago, after attending the Memphis Public Libraries' Teen Tech Camp, which his mother enrolled him in so the home-schooled Ali would be able to take part in an enrichment activity with other kids.

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It's time to toot your horn! Nominate yourself, your colleagues, or your library for the 2012 Sullivan Award for Public Library Administrators Supporting Services to Children. Sponsored by library luminary Peggy Sullivan and administered by More...

U.S. high school students and their teachers are invited to participate in the Bill of Rights Institute's sixth annual Being an American Essay Contest. Specifically, students are asked to share their thoughts on the Constitution More...

Director Roland Emmerich, well-known for sci-fi inspired blockbusters such as Independence Day (1996) and The Day After Tomorrow (2004), presents a drama that delves into a long-time literary debate, taking on the question: Who actually More...

We all have favorite authors, and A.S. King is one of mine. Her latest book, Everybody Sees the Ants, has already racked up stars from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and School Library Journal, but I bet More...

American Idol has launched many careers, and our reviewer thinks that recent contestant Scotty McCreery's debut album is proof of his star power. After a five-year hiatus from the recording studio, indie rocker Leslie Feist More...

Standardized tests got you down? Worried about that upcoming assessment? Not sure your teens are going to get the scores they need on the SAT or ACT? Then Grockit.com is the answer! Grockit was founded More...

How do you get library cards into the hands of 375 teens? Simple: you go where they are! That's what happened in Ohio last September, when the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County (PLYMC) and Springfield Senior High School, in Springfield Township, joined forces. It all began when Anthony DeFelice, Springfield High's principal, and Amy Crowe, its school librarian, contacted the public library to find
out how they could encourage all of their students to sign up for library cards.

Looking for a way for your teens to work on those service hours and express their creativity? Then check out Solutions for Peace, a free enrichment program that encourages kids to write, film, and edit More...

When there's Perfect Chemistry, attraction begins, and the Rules Of Attraction can only lead to a Chain Reaction! Are your teens wild about Simone Elkeles's "Perfect Chemistry" trilogy? Well, we've got great news for you. As a big thank-you to "Perfect Chemistry" fans everywhere, the author would like to visit them. Enter the Chain Reaction Sweepstakes now for a chance to win a free visit from Elkeles to your class or school library.

With famously fiendish pedigrees, distinctly developed personalities, and hip attire, these teens are the perfect blend of creep and chic. Introduced by Mattel in July 2010, the Monster High brand of fashion dolls features a lineup of scary-cool teenage characters based on monster movies, horror fiction, and mythology. From Frankie Stein to Draculaura to Deuce Gorgon, each individual is either the offspring of or related to such eerie icons as Frankenstein, Dracula, and Medusa, and comes readymade with his or her own unique look, backstory, and "freaky flaw."

In her first novel, Vanessa Diffenbaugh tackles three topics close to her heart: foster care, the vulnerability of young people who are transitioning out of that system, and the Victorian language of flowers. The protagonist of The Language of Flowers, Victoria, spent her adolescence in foster care, being moved constantly from home to home. At 18 she ages out, and is left to fend for herself on the streets of San Francisco. Fortunately, she lucks into part-time work with a florist that gives her a chance to use her love and knowledge of flowers. She also encounters an equally flower-obsessed young man working in the flower markets, a man connected to her past, to a time when she lost her chance at being part of a loving family. As the story alternates between Victoria's present and past, the suspense begins to grab hold. Is it too late for Victoria? More...

The adrenaline must have been flowing in San Leandro, CA, where the Sneak Peekers were reading some of the books featured in this column. The reviews include "exciting," "rollercoaster," "edge of your seat," and "action-packed"—but what else would you expect from a cat killer, a super volcano, and a teen on the run? And we have bookends of a sort, again—while Donna Freitas's The Survival Kit explores a teen's grief over losing her mother, Robin Stevenson's Escape Velocity tells the story of a mother being given another chance with the daughter she left behind.

After checking out the following music and game reviews, I know what I'm giving this holiday season. For my mom, there's Tony Bennett's highly touted Duets II. Though it may not fit in his stocking, Gears of War 3 has my son's name all over it. And how about a little something for me? I'd love to find Blondie's Panic of Girls under the Christmas tree. Or better yet, at my library...

When Lemony Snicket tries to solve a mystery, he gets all of his cohorts involved. When he heard about a mysterious man named Harris Burdick who visited a Boston publisher and delivered 14 fascinating drawings and captions, and then disappeared, it was more than he could bear. And now we have an exclusive video documenting his search for the truth behind Harris Burdick. Watch for cameos by Jon Scieszka, Kate DiCamillo, Linda Sue Park, and others-all who have their own theories about Harris Burdick. More...

Throughout history, wars have raised some countries to new heights and smashed others into oblivion. And in the process, individual lives have often been altered beyond recognition, including the lives of young people who have been sent into combat and their families who have been left behind. The following books present a realistic view of war and how it affects everything it touches.

Watch out Martin Scorsese! Our teen advisory board has just finished making its third annual book trailer-and this time, it's based on Scott Westerfeld's Blue Noon, the third volume of his popular "Midnighters" series. Westerfeld generously donated the books to our group, and our kids picked out three pivotal scenes to portray. I put on my director's hat, wrote the screenplay, cast the parts, and got everyone involved in the production. The teens had pages of emotionally rich dialogue to memorize and they nailed their lines as professionally as Hollywood actors.

Thanks to some generous funding from the Bernard Carl and Shirley Rosen Library Fund, the Aurora (NY) Free Library's teen services are better than ever. A new program, "Teen Choice: Leading, Reading, and Writing @ the Aurora Free Library," puts kids in the driver's seat to select programs and services in conjunction with the local Southern Cayuga School District and other community partners. My job is to help our teen advisory group (TAG) make some good, satisfying choices, and, in the process, help kids' develop their leadership skills. More...

Teen movies are awesome. Where else can we you see the nerdy girl wind up with the hot school president, the arrogant jerk accidentally fall in love with the girl he's been lying to, or More...

Too much work and not enough play? Here's a great way to get yourself out of that rut. Registration is now officially open for the 2011 National Gaming Day (NGD) on November 12. The goal More...

What I like best about our teens' reviews is that they never pull punches—they tend to either love something or hate it, and their opinions always come through loud and clear. And that approach seems More...

There's still time to register for this fall's hottest virtual event—Ebooks: The New Normal—Library Journal and School Library Journal's second virtual summit on ebooks and their role in the future of libraries. For just $29.95 More...

This time around, our fingers-on-the-pulse reviewers have focused exclusively on music, and for the most part, they like what they've heard. From feeling the funk with the Red Hot Chili Peppers to sweet storytelling from More...

School Library Journal is looking for school and public librarians to review audiobooks and DVDs in all subject areas for K-12 students. If you're interested in joining our team of volunteers, please contact Phyllis Levy More...

Ben and Colleen, the compelling main characters in Ron Koertge's award-winning novel Stoner & Spaz, are back in Now Playing: Stoner & Spaz II. Their on-again, off-again romance is as painful and poignant as ever. More...

Do your patrons make Discovery Channel's "Shark Week" an annual viewing event? Are they hooked on shows that combine information with colorful CGI animation and compelling storytelling, such as Dinosaur Planet, Clash of the Dinosaurs, More...

This issue's reviews are bookended by two "Z" authors—Gabrielle Zevin and Sara Zarr. The Sneak Peekers that read their new releases have nothing but high praise for these two end-of-the-alphabet authors. In between Zevin's and More...

Catherynne Valente's latest novel, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (Feiwel & Friends, 2011) is my new favorite book—and one with an interesting backstory. In Valente's adult novel Palimpsest, More...

It's hard to stay up-to-date with all of the different tools, standards, tricks, websites, and other technology that comes along on a daily basis. And rarely can you find a bunch of good, practical resources More...

High school is meant to give us a well-rounded education, but often the things we remember years later aren't the classes, but the emotional events of those four years. Today's teens are trying to figure More...

Yes, it's football season again, and fans will be clamoring for the latest Madden game—with the added realism of grass stains and snow, players may need to put a tarp down before firing up Madden More...

Librarians, bookstores, and others celebrating the freedom to read as part of Banned Books Week (September 21-October 1) are encouraged to take part in this year's Virtual Read-Out on YouTube. The criteria are simple: create More...

A king was kidnapped, swords clashed, buccaneers swash buckled, and pirates sailed the high seas. High drama? Definitely! It was all part of the "Medieval Feast for a Great Cause," an event sponsored by our More...

Seventeen-year-old Alex is hiking in the woods when an electromagnetic pulse flashes across the sky, destroying every electronic device and killing billions. Desperate to find out what happened, Alex meets up with Tom—a young Army More...

The Help Released by DreamWorks, this film adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's bestselling novel (Putnam, 2009) premiered on August 10, and has been packing theaters ever since. Set in Jackson, MS, in the 1960s, The Help More...

You know those teens that are always carrying around a sketchbook or camera, the kids that can effortlessly translate words into visual images? The Young Adult Library Service's Association's (YALSA) "2011 Teen Read Week Photo More...

Later this year, the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) will hold its annual conference in Chicago (November 17-20) and celebrate its first century of service. How appropriate, since NCTE was founded in the More...

In any given year there are a dozen titles that could win the Printz Award, given by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature. More...

Series fiction has captivated children and teens for decades. Teenagers who grew up reading Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, and Goosebumps titles as children moved on to listening to the Harry Potter, Twilight, The Last More...

In a recent study released by the Josephson Institute of Ethics in Los Angeles, more than 43,000 teens between the ages of 15 and 18 attending public and private schools were surveyed about bullying. More More...

With more apps becoming available every day and so many iPads in the hands of teens, the time is right for the launch of Fiske Interactive College Guide 2011. On SLJ's Touch and Go blog, More...

With the new school year just underway-or right around the corner-here are ten must-have adult titles with guaranteed teen appeal to launch your fall reading recommendations. From genres that teens adore to the realism they More...

Colbie Caillat's latest album features romantic sounds that are bound to keep her on the charts, plus listeners will find a little unexpected pep in a few tracks. Gamers, the choice is yours: Transformers and More...

Fourteen-year-old David has a normal life that borders on the bizarre—his father is a psychologist to juvenile "hard cases" with a practice in a tiny French village, while his mother, now living with the long-suffering More...

The posters have been unfurled and displayed on bedroom walls. The T-shirts have been proudly worn (several times). Texts and twitters have been flying through the air like a flock of dusky vampire bats (oops, More...

SLJ talks to Rick Riordan about his latest bestseller 'The Red Pyramid,' book one of the Kane Chronicles. More...

Readergirlz and GuysLitWire, two Web sites that encourage teen reading, are participating in this week's Operation Teen Book Drop, aimed at delivering 10,000 new books to native reservations and tribal lands around the country.The program, More...

Pencils, notebooks, and markers are fairly standard supplies that most schools ask for each fall. But a library card? In Illinois's School District U-46, elementary students need to check that off their list, too.'Schools are More...

John Green, E. Lockhart, and Jacqueline Woodson were just some of the more than 60 young adult authors who descended on New York City last week to take part in the second annual NYC Teen More...

What's the best way to jumpstart your teen program? That's easy, says Shari Haskins, teen services manager of Wyoming's Riverton Branch Library. Just find out what kids want. That's one of the practical insights that More...

So how was your Teen Tech Week? I trawled the Web to check on you, and I have good things to report in the Teen Tech Week round-up below. Still puzzling over my mystery author More...

Most teens know their way around a PC, laptop, or cell phone-but this digitally native generation still needs the occasional lesson on how to use technology safely so they can create and then share what More...

Also in this article:The apocalypse is comingChoosing the status quoChoosing powerThis Is Not Tom, reduxEarlier this year, several nerdfighters1 sent me a link to the Web site ThisIsNotTom.com, which features a picture of a man, More...

For a teen, getting a pamphlet on safe sex from an adult is an instant tune-out. But what about a text from a peer to come to a meeting on the subject?Teen2Teen members received25 hours More...

Illustration by Gary Hovland. What happens when you combine the thrill of theater with the magic of books? You get readers theater.Where do you turn to use literature in a lively way that enhances young More...

Fans of the Disney Channel's Wizards of Waverly Place television series may have noticed the cool Shakespeare posters hanging in the school hallways and classrooms. Those posters weren't just dreamed up by a Hollywood set More...

The 2009 Teens' Top Ten book picks were announced on October 16, and John Green's Paper Towns (Dutton) hit the number one spot. Paper Towns by John Green (Penguin/Dutton)Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown More...