On Tuesday, July 13th, Wyckoff artist Sharon Gross will be offering a wonderful seminar to Wyckoff teens on the joy of printmaking with stencils. In this course, teens will have the opportunity to cut stencils, use a stencil paint brush, and print with fabric and acrylic paints to decorate a canvas bag, a tote you may use this summer as you "make waves" at the beach.

It's a great introduction to printmaking, and Wyckoff teens aged 12-16 may register with Barbara the Teen Librarian, either in person at the Library, by e-mail (wyckteen@bccls.org) or by phone (201-891-4866).

As this seminar is limited to 12, please sign up soon.

LAST DAY OF JUNE!
...and now the fun begins.

Tomorrow is the first sign up day for MAKE WAVES, the read-all-you-want-and-get-prizes-along-the-way summer reading program, and I am hoping all of you will be joining us for this (and not just for the groovy prizes, either).

I will be away next week, seeing fireworks and other such splendors in the Adirondacks, but there are others present at the Wyckoff Library who will be able to assist my teens in their reading endeavors.

Looking forward to seeing all of you on the

Soooo....if today is Summer Solstice, can Wyckoff Library programs for teens be far behind?

The answer is a resounding NO!

On this Wednesday, 6/23rd, Wyckoff teens are encouraged to sign up for either TALK IT UP! (aimed at those entering 7th through 9th grade) and SPEAK OUT! (aimed at those entering 10th through 12th grade)

For those of you unfamiliar with these programs, teens will read a pre-chosen book per week for six weeks and discuss it with the Teen Librarian (that's me, o'course) and your peers the following week.

This year, the programs will be back-to-back on Wednesday nights, and the first discussion is scheduled for July 14th, with TIU at 5:00 to 6:00 pm, and SO at 6:30 to 7:30 pm, refreshments as usual will be available.

Happy Summer Solstice!

HAPPY BLOOMSDAY!

(Google this and know its meaning; celebrate it if you wish)

Was auch immer, she uttered in German, but she could easily have said it in several other languages. What did she say?

B

HEY, ALL YOU ANONYMOUSES (internet slang...there is no plural for anonymous!)!

COME OUT OF THE WOODWORK AND SIGN YOUR COMMENTS!

IT'D BE NICE TO KNOW WHO'S READING THIS STUFF. . .

On this day in 1949, George Orwell's novel NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR was published.

If you have not yet read this ground-breaking novel, more relevant today than ever before, you should.

The first line of the novel reads: "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen."

Now, if that doesn't suck you in to the plot, nothing will!

Tonight ROCKED! Great writing, great fun!

And tonight was the re-introduction of something many of you may recall from book discussions/writing groups past: The Pillbox.

It was used tonight with great effect, and our writers did honor those who held it, and quietude was the order of the day when a holder of the Pillbox was speaking. (Generally...)

Heck, we'll see how long this lasts, eh?

TODAY MAY BE THE LAST WRITING GROUP OF THE SPRING, SO PLEASE MAKE A BRAVE ATTEMPT TO ATTEND!

Please bring whatever you have recently written and I'll provide the snacks (and a challenging but fun writing exercise at the outset (also known as the 7-Minute Creative Writing Burst!).

RSVP if its in you to do so; it's always nice to know who is coming to these shindigs.

See you there!

Barbara the Brave

Hey, it's another birthday! (Well, truth be told, every day is somebody's, right?) But today we celebrate an author a lot of us have read a lot of, in many cases. In fact, we just discussed one recently in Book Discussion. IF THE WITNESS LIED was the most recent offering from the very prolific CAROLINE B. COONEY, so wish that lady a happy birthday today, at least in your thoughts.

Read more about her right here:

Teenreads.com -- Author Profile: Caroline B. Cooney

Now, I will hawk some great new books now sitting idly on my New Teen Fiction shelves.

First off, let me highly recommend a new work from the Printz award winning Australian author Melina Marchetta. FINNIKIN OF THE ROCK is an epic fantasy of ancient magic, feudal itnrigue, ropmance, and bloodshed that, according the book flap, will rivet you from the first page. Well-reviewed, this rocking fantasy will definitely meet the needs of a lot of fans of the genre, without doubt.

Second, Catherine Jinks (of EVIL GENIUS fame) has penned another teen fic, LIVING HELL, and this time she's crafted a sci-fi/fantasy/adventure featuring a seventeen year old boy who leads humanity in a fight for survival while machines that had formerly run their world turn upon them, treating all humans as parasites. It is as good as it sounds.

Finally, David Klass, author of YOU DON'T KNOW ME, has written STUCK ON EARTH, a sci-fic novel which offers that intriguing tale of a space alien sent to earth to judge whether the human race should be destroyed, who winds up inhabiting the body of a bullied fourteen-year-old boy. Wry and wickedly amusing as Klass can be, this is a worthy read.

And I would be remiss if I did not mention the next in the ever-so-very-popular CLIQUE series by Lisi Harrison. THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR STALKING. For personal reasons, I will not critique this book (as if you need me to anyway!).

On this day in 1948, the modern-day explorer Thor Heyerdahl arrived in Polynesia having sailed on this balsa wood raft, the Kon-Tiki, all the way across the Pacific from Peru in an effort to prove his point that prehistoric native people in South America could have settled in Polynesia, bringing their culture with them.

His book, KON-TIKI, tells his amazing story. Check it out sometime.

THE YANKEES ARE ON A ROLL!!

(a seeded whole grain roll, of course!)

Okay, yesterday e'en's discussion of THE LOOKING GLASS WARS was, if not exactly fully attended, fully enjoyed by all who did (at least it looked that way, imho).

I have not yet chosen next month's book, but you can bet it will be just as good (if not better, ideally better for any of you who did not enjoy Beddor's LOOKING GLASS.)

Anyway, keep checking this site, and the Library, to see what next month's (that'd be MAY 27th!) book discussion book will be. . .

. . .AND, for all of you in my TEEN WRITERS GROUP, we will meet on May the 6th, at 6:00 until 7:30. Sharpen your quill pens and start scratching out some fine creativity to share with your peers.

It's Will Shakespeare's birthday!

('nuff said)

Today is another important day for all you budding playwrights to remember. On this day in 1787 the first ever play written by an American was produced. Check out this website and honor Mr. Royall Tyler.

http://www.metropolitanplayhouse.org/contrastessay

On this day in 1802, William Wordsworth was walking home with his sister, Dorothy, and they saw a patch of daffodils that became the inspiration for one of his most famous poems. No one is sure when he wrote the poem, "I Wander'd Lonely as a Cloud", but it was published in 1807. Dorothy had written extensively in her journal that day, words that doubtless influenced his writing, but his wife, Mary, came up with two lines: "They flash upon that inward eye / Which is the bliss of solitude." William said they were the best lines in the poem.

Talk about true romance, eh?

Maybe that's why they call him one of the Romantics!

Check out the poem yourself:

http://www.bartleby.com/101/530.html

Barbara E. Weber
invites you
to attend
a fantastic opportunity
which could also be called
BOOK DISCUSSION!!

This event will take place
on the 22nd of April
6:00-7:00 PM
and the fantastic book we are reading is
THE LOOKING GLASS WARS!

THIS THURSDAY, 1 APRIL 2010 (aka April Fool's Day) IS OUR NEXT TEEN WRITING GROUP (and this is NOT an April Fool's Joke, trust me!)

6:00 - 7:30 PM in the Monroe Room of the Library.

BE THERE, AND BRING YOUR LATEST OPUS, PLEASE!