Teens

Only a few nonprofit organizations will get up to $7,500 in funding from Better World Books, and the public can decide which one will get the prize. In 2012, approximately 3.5 million dollars worth of grant requests and more than 50 applications were reviewed by the Better World Books Literacy and Library Council, and three very worthy projects were selected. Now the clock is ticking for 2013—voting closes in just a few days!

You’re in a room with 65 teen volunteers waiting to be trained on the Summer Reading Program. You thought of the perfect icebreaker for the group: “What is your favorite memory of the summer reading program?” Crickets... And then it hits you. They don’t have any favorite memories of a summer reading program. They don’t even know what a summer reading program is, save the fact that it’s a volunteer opportunity. Why? Because they’ve never participated in a Summer Reading Program (SRP).

Today we review two notable debut novels featuring teen protagonists who are talented at the sports they love — riding and rowing. There are a surprising number of similarities between these books. Both take place in elite boarding schools, and feature teens who are new kids among long-time classmates, less wealthy outsiders struggling for the [...]

Back in January, we had a conversation (in reference to Derf Backderf’s Alex Award-winning My Friend Dahmer) about what makes a graphic novel “nonfiction” and the rigidity of categories like “fiction” and “nonfiction.” A couple of new comments have been added to that thread, so please head over to the above link to read the whole chain, but [...]

In both of today’s nonfiction titles, the authors speak directly to their readers. Both have the potential to become favorites with the right teen reader.  First up, Edward O. Wilson’s passionate and inspiring Letters to a Young Scientist. Maybe it’s the time of year, but I can’t help thinking that this would make a terrific graduation [...]

This month, librarians are gearing up for the American Library Association annual conference in Chicago. But some question whether "annual" really serves their professional development needs. In a time of contracting budgets, layoffs, and demands for tech expertise in the library, is ALA still the must-attend event for all? Or is ISTE (the International Society for Technology in Education conference) in San Antonio a better choice?

Today we have three very different graphic novels.  Matt Kindt’s Red Handed, a gorgeous, full-color novel with an intricately structured plot has been the source of a bit of debate.  Kimberly over on Stacked.com, while granting the novel’s interest, found its experimental structure ultimately frustrating.  And when I gave the book to one of my [...]

Ideas about social media, teens, and the future of libraries were shared in a dynamic online exchange sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) and Connected Learning.

For fans of James Daily and Ryan Davidson’s The Law of Superheroes (which we reviewed here), or for anyone who is interested in the idea but doesn’t want to invest in reading the whole book, Daily and Davidson have been guest-blogging on the very influential legal blog, The Volokh Conspiracy. They’ve been addressing such pressing [...]