The doors to the exhibit halls at BookExpo America (BEA), one of the biggest shows of the year, open on May 30, and School Library Journal has prepared a special free guidebook, the 2013 BEA Guide to ARCs & Signings, for its readers.
Project:Connect | Summer Youth Programming Competition Now Open
By on May 15, 2013 Leave a Comment
The Project:Connect Summer Youth Programming Competition is now accepting proposals for its fifth Digital Media and Learning (DML5) event. DML supports single or multiday participatory and hands-on learning experiences, such as labs, hackathons, and pop-up events which will be held at U.S.-based organizations from July-September, 2013. Proposals must be submitted by June 10, and selected programs are eligible for awards of up to $10,000.
Teens Review ‘Kindness for Weakness’, ‘Solstice’, ‘Prep School Confidential’ | Book Reviews
By on May 15, 2013 Leave a Comment
There’s something for everybody in this roundup of reviews from the teen book group, Bookmarked. Shawn Goodman’s Kindness for Weakness is a contemporary coming-of-age story, much of which takes place in a juvenile detention center. Global warming meets mythological monsters and gods in Solstice, by P. J. Hoover. Kara Taylor’s whodunit, Prep School Confidential, explores the obstacles a teen encounters as she tries to track down her roommate’s murderer. Put these on your summer reading list!
SYNC Offers Free YA Audiobooks All Summer
By on May 14, 2013 Leave a Comment
SYNC is back in session again this year, offering two free complete YA audiobook downloads every week from May 30 to August 21. This is the third year for the program, in which a contemporary young adult audiobook is paired thematically with a classic audiobook title.
The Debut: Evan Roskos’s ‘Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets’
By on May 14, 2013 Leave a Comment
Author Evan Roskos digs deep into real-life adolescent issues in Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets , including high school expulsion, self-abuse, stalking, and cliques. SLJTeen talked to Roskos about his emotionally moving and ultimately redemptive debut YA novel.
National Book Foundation Announces 2013 Innovations in Reading Winners
By on May 14, 2013 Leave a Comment
The Innovations in Reading program recognizes institutions and individuals who strive to nurture and promote love of books and reading. Sponsored by the National Book Foundation, prize winners are awarded up to $2500 each to help fund their initiatives and serve even more readers. This year’s winners span the globe, delivering truly unique programs to readers of all ages.
Blast Off with ‘Astronaut Academy: Re-Entry’ | Win a Free Comics Workshop
By on May 14, 2013 Leave a Comment
The long-awaited sequel to Dave Roman’s Astronaut Academy: Zero Gravity has finally been released! And because there should always be prizes, Dave has created oodles of ways to win stuff. Get your hands on the new title, and blog about it, create fan art, or write a review, and you can win a chance to interview Dave, get a gigantic digital comics collection or original artwork. There’s even a special prize just for librarians and educators—one classroom or library will win a free comics workshop (held over Skype) by Jerzy Drozd, creator of Comics Are Great!
Books for Teens You Might Have Missed | YA Underground
By on May 13, 2013 Leave a Comment
Amy Cheney rounds up her “underground” picks, perfect for reluctant readers and teens looking for something a little different. From the latest in the Bluford series to a nonfiction title dealing with addiction, this compilation explores a few of the edgier titles being published this season.
Teens Review ‘Walking Dead’, ‘Lego City Undercover’, ‘Wheelhouse’ | Games and Music
By on May 12, 2013 Leave a Comment
Now that The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct is out for Xbox and PS3, zombies are officially everywhere, and as our reviewer says, “… who doesn’t like to destroy zombies?” Gamers who like clever characters and inside jokes will find lots of brick-busting fun in Lego City Undercover. Brad Paisley shakes up a pure C&W vibe on his latest album Wheelhouse, which may leave some fans scratching their heads.
We’re Ready for You! Planning for Summer Reading | Fresh Paint
By on May 10, 2013 Leave a Comment
The Summer Reading Program is Loudon County Public Library’s biggest event of the year, and for the first time, residents of the Gum Spring area will have the chance to experience it at our new library. We’re hoping for a record turn-out for our 9-week program, In Your Backyard… and Beyond.
‘Iron Man 3′ Book Tie-ins | Media Mania
By on May 1, 2013 Leave a Comment
Robert Downey Jr. reprises his role as the arrogant, irreverent, and ever likable Tony Stark, ingenious industrialist and high-tech super hero in Iron Man 3 (PG-13), which arrives in theaters on May 3, 2013, in traditional, 3-D, and IMAX 3D formats .Beef up your selection of tales about the Golden Avenger with offerings sure to appeal to teen movie—and comics—fans.
Burn Note: The Snapchat of Texting
By on April 30, 2013 Leave a Comment
Burn Note gives users the feeling that they can talk to anyone about anything because each text conversation “self-destructs,” much like Snapchat (the real-time picture chatting application) does with images.
Teens Review ‘If You Find Me’,'Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong’, ‘Burning’, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Scream’ | Book Reviews
By on April 30, 2013 Leave a Comment
Emily Murdoch explores kidnapping, selective mutism, and drug abuse in her debut novel ‘If You Find Me’. Which group will get school funding, cheerleading or the robotics club? In Prudence Shen’s ‘Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong’ the two cliques take the fight to the school election. If you never thought the Burning Man Festival would show up in teen fiction, think again—a local boy and a gypsy girl connect there in Elana K. Arnold’s ‘Burning’. Does R.L. Stine still have his horror chops? Read our reviewer’s take on ‘A Midsummer’s Night Scream’, and decide for yourself.
Teens Review OneRepublic’s ‘Native’ and New Kids’ ’10′ | Music Reviews
By on April 30, 2013 Leave a Comment
“The boys” still have their stuff on New Kids on the Block’s ’10′, the follow-up to their 2008 ‘Greatest Hits’ reunion album, while OneRepublic has continued to add polish and range on their highly collaborative new album, ‘Native’.
Nominate an Educator for the Johnsonville ‘Best of Us’ Awards
By on April 30, 2013 Leave a Comment
Johnsonville Sausage wants to learn about the educators that make your school, town and community a better place to be. If you or a colleague are helping to “create better places to live through actions taken both inside and outside the walls of the classroom,” are a U.S. citizen over the age of 18, and are employed in a school or organization that supports education, you’re eligible to apply for the 2013 Johnsonville Best of Us award.
Nonfiction for Teen Readers | JLG’s On the Radar
By on April 30, 2013 Leave a Comment
By the time students reach grade 12, the Common Core State Standards require that 70% of their reading should be nonfiction. In order to fulfill this requirement in content area subjects, students will need to read more than their textbooks. Luckily, nonfiction writers for teens continue to create amazing narrative nonfiction that supports science and social studies, and that our kids will want to read.
Giveaway: Win a Barftastic Backpack of Boredom Busters!
By on April 30, 2013 Leave a Comment
Fifth grader Louie Burger figures that with a goofy name like his, he must be destined to be a king of comedy like his idol Lou Lafferman. One huge problem: he has stage fright. With the school talent show coming up, Louie’s wondering if now is his moment to kill (that’s comedian talk for “make actual people laugh”). Four lucky winners will receive a copy of The Barftastic Life of Louie Burger by Jenny Meyerhoff, and one grand prize winner will receive a Barftastic Backpack of Boredom Busters (great for summer reading programs!) filled with joke items including a whoopee cushion, a rubber chicken, Groucho glasses, and more, plus a copy of the book and a T-shirt.
Sullivan Award Goes to Kathleen Reif
By on April 29, 2013 Leave a Comment
Kathleen Reif, director of St. Mary’s County Library, Leonardtown, MD, is the 2013 recipient of Peggy Sullivan Award for Public Library Administrators Supporting Services to Children. The Sullivan Award, administered by the American Library Association (ALA), is presented annually to an individual in a library administrator role who has shown exceptional understanding and support of public library service to children. The award will be presented at the ALA President’s Program, Sunday, June 30, at the Annual Conference in Chicago.
Apply Now for Gale’s 2013 TEAMS Award: Teachers and Media Specialists Influencing Student Achievement
By on April 17, 2013 Leave a Comment
Collaboration among teachers and media specialists is critical to promote learning, increase student achievement, and help students develop 21st century skills. Gale, part of Cengage Learning, and Library Media Connection magazine are calling for media specialists and educators at K-12 public and private schools in the U.S. and Canada to share their collaboration success stories by submitting for the 2013 TEAMS Award (Teachers and Media Specialists Influencing Student Achievement).
Music and Game Reviews from Young Adults: Justin Timberlake, Son Volt, ‘Tomb Raider’
By on April 17, 2013 Leave a Comment
Timberlake’s performance during the Grammy Awards earlier this year may have been panned, but our reviewer finds his efforts on The 20/20 Experience laudable. If you’ve never heard of Son Volt, it may be time to give their latest album, Honky Tonk, a listen. Been missing Lara Croft? She’s back in Tomb Raider, a prequel to the wildly successful franchise that first launched in 1996.
