Today is the birthday of Emily Bronte who wrote the extremely romantic WUTHERING HEIGHTS, and yet Emily herself never had a lover nor did she ever get married. Go figure, and furthermore, go read the book!

ORIGAMI was a splendid success, with nine eager folders (plus a crazed teen librarian with two left thumbs) creating magic with Linda Bogen. If you were there, you know what I'm bloggin' about, and if you weren't, come to the Library and see the kinds of things we created in the Display Case, just to the left of the front door.

The Playwriting Seminar, presented once again by Meredith Levy, will be held Tuesday, August 3rd, from 4:00 to 6:00 PM in the Monroe Room.

All my ragingly eager writers (and even those of you who simply dabble in the written word) should (did I say should? I meant must!) attend. Just as it was last year, it's going to be great and you all ought to be there (if only just to say you were, and reference the Library and Meredith when you stand on stage to receive your Tony Award for best play in 2021--hey, it could happen!)

Summer is moving along as fast as possible in this dreadful heat/humidity. Keep the AC and the fans on full blast and we'll all get through it.

Think of it: one day in the brevity of time we will again be kicking up the leaves of autumn. Ah, that that day would come soon! I am so desirous of 68 degree weather I could weep!

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...ah, did someone say brothers? I meant sisters, of course, the three intrepids of SPEAK OUT who discussed with me, speaking of sisterhood, THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES.

Rock on, my SPEAK OUT teens, and next week we will discuss HANDMAID'S TALE (copies are still available for those wishing to get in on the literary fun.

Did someone say "wow"?

Well, heck, I'll say it again: WOW!!

Last night's turnout for TALK IT UP was unprecedented in number of teens in attendance (not to mention the amount of junk food consumed by them!).

I was delighted by the turnout, and delighted additionally by the assistance I received from my colleague, Meredith Levy, in set up and discussion assistance, too. Many thanks, Meredith.



Next week's book, for those of you who were not there and wish to get in on the action, is LEMONADE MOUTH, soon to be a major motion picture from Disney Studios.

I have copies available for all who wish to join us.

All I can say is WOW! The creativity of Wyckoff teens is clearly without bounds, as was evidenced by the gorgeous tote bags decorated most cleverly with stencil prints tonight at the Library.

Watch this space, 'cause pics are coming. You will be amazed! If you were there, you will be simply amused.

Keep pace with all the fun happening at the Wyckoff Library this summer.

Summer 2010 for teens at the Library really starts this week!

Tomorrow evening, for all of you lucky ones who have signed up for it,

the Library is offering Sharon Gross's stencil print program.

On Wednesday starts TALK IT UP and SPEAK OUT,

the summer's first of six book discussion weeks.

Finally, I hope that, while I've been cavorting about

in the unusually overwhelming heat in the Adirondacks last week,

Wyckoff teens have been reading, recording their pages,

and getting prized as appropriate.

Summer's really here now!

Hey, today is the day to MAKE WAVES at the Wyckoff Library by signing up for the summer book club.

Read all you want, report back often with your pages, and get cool prizes.

Hope to see you all today! (or tomorrow, or next week (when I won't be here, but the sign up sheet will be!))

My plan is to have no prize items left by summer's end; help my dream come true!

Today we celebrate the birthday of William Strunk, Jr., better known to some of you as half of the brilliant team of folks who wrote ELEMENTS OF STYLE, a bible for anyone who writes or has aspirations to do so.

Strunk, who taught English at Cornell University for 46 years, wrote this famous "little book" for his students. One of them was the yet-to-be famous writer E.B. White, who revised it in 1935 when his name was added to the authorship. (You may know White better as the author of CHARLOTTE'S WEB, among other titles.)

So, when someone says to you, 'you'd better check with Strunk and White on that', they are suggesting that you should revise your writing style.

If Mr. Strunk were living today, he would without doubt be able to edit this blogpost within an inch of its life; your humble blogger has never been known for sparcity of text.

Keep on writing (if that applies to you, that is!)

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!).