9th grade book talks

Hear about a bunch of books lately at school? Can't remember the title or want to look through the list of books for ideas of what to read? Look no further -- here's the presentation from the 9th grade book talks at Delavan Darien High School. These books are appropriate for high school readers and older. And yes, you can play around with the presentation all you want to. It's no ordinary power point. If you're interested in seeing the videos shared, you can go here.

March Booktalks @ DDHS 9th grade on Prezi

Upcoming Book Discussions

Want to come hang out with the All-You-Can-Read Cafe? Here's our schedule for the rest of the school year. We'll continue through the summer, so if there is book you're dying to read, let us know and we'll add it to the calendar.

Remember: you can get a copy of the book by asking at the library. We'll make sure a copy is sent your way.

All meetings are from 3:30 - 5 p.m. If you have to come late or leave early, that is totally fine.

March 24 @ Starbucks: Gentlemen by Michael Northrop. He'll be joining us in a chat that day!

April 7 @ Starbucks: Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick. This book is a little hard to get into, so give this one at least 100 pages before you quit. The wait is WORTH IT.

April 21 @ the library: Please Ignore Vera Dietz by AS King.

May 5 @ Starbucks: The Boy Who Dared by Susan Bartoletti.

May 19 @ McDonald's: Paranormalcy by Kiersten White.

Hope to see you soon!

Teen book reviews

Here's another round of teen book reviews for you to enjoy. All of these books are available at the library and all of these reviews come from Marissa.

Smile by Raina Telegmeier: I liked this book. It is about a girl who falls during Girl Scouts and breaks her tooth. Then she has to get all of these things done to her teeth. She has to wear a big mouth guard when she is sleeping too. I give this book 5/5 stars.

Glass by Ellen Hopkins: This book is about Kristina having to live her life with a new baby to handle. She is also a drug addict. I give this book 5/5 stars.

A Child Called "It" by Dave Pelzer: I feel really sad that a mother would do this. I wonder how it feels like to be Dave Pelzer? I wonder why his mom treated him like that and not her other kids. I give this 5/5 stars.

Win an iPod Touch!

Ever been on a high-tech treasure hunt?

Want to win an iPod touch?

Come to the Aram Public Library between March 7 and 19 to take part in a hands-on QR code hunt, where the grand prize winner will walk away with an iPod touch to keep.

QR codes – also known as quick response codes – are small barcodes that can be attached to books, fliers, or advertisements. When scanned by a smart phone or an iPod touch with a camera, these codes lead to videos or websites online. They’re a fun and easy way to take notes, remember the name of a book, or connect to more information without having to write anything down, and they’re showing up more and more every day.

Come into the library with your smart phone with a QR reader or borrow our iPod touch to try your hand at our treasure hunt. You’ll be led through a series of steps taking you from books on the shelf to videos made by authors and other teens. But in addition to simply scanning QR codes, you’ll work to complete word puzzles, discover helpful ways to find good books to read, and much, much more.

When you reach your last clue, you’ll be entered into our drawing to win an iPod touch for yourself.

No registration is necessary, and we will have one iPod touch available to check out. To borrow it, bring your library card OR your school ID. The rules are simple and will be explained in the first step of the treasure hunt. Hope to see you soon!

Open to grades 6-12 only.

Award winning books: Check 'em out

Code Hunters: Read this for your next clue, which is at the bottom!

Looking for a tried-and-true read? Why not check out these book award winners, selected by panels of librarians, bloggers, teachers, and more? We own each of these books, and you can find them by looking up the first three letters of the author's last name on the shelves in the teen area.

2010 Printz Winner

The Printz award is given to the most outstanding book written for teens in a given year. This is presented through the American Library Association, and the most recent winner is:

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi.

In a futuristic world, teenaged Nailer scavenges copper wiring from grounded oil tankers for a living, but when he finds a beached clipper ship with a girl in the wreckage, he has to decide if he should strip the ship for its wealth or rescue the girl.

2010 William C Morris Award Winner

The Morris Award is a more recent award that honors the best book written by a first-time author. It, too, is awarded by the American Library Association. Clue Hunters: Find this book, which happens to be 2010's Morris Award Winner:

The Freak Observer by Blythe Woolston

Suffering from a crippling case of post-traumatic stress disorder, sixteen-year-old Loa Lindgren tries to use her problem solving skills, sharpened in physics and computer programming, to cure herself.

2010 Cybils Awards in YA Fiction & YA Science Fiction and Fantasy

The Cybils awards are selected by a group of bloggers who represent professions such as librarians, teachers, authors, and some who are even teens themselves. These awards target books that are well written and have wide appeal for teens. There are two categories for young adult books. First, the winner for YA Fiction:

Split by Swati Avasthi

A teenaged boy thrown out of his house by his abusive father goes to live with his older brother, who ran away from home years ago to escape the abuse.

For the Science Fiction and Fantasy category:

Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

In a post-apocalyptic world where fences and border patrols guard the few people left from the zombies that have overtaken civilization, fifteen-year-old Benny Imura is finally convinced that he must follow in his older brother's footsteps and become a bounty hunter.

Code Hunters: If you missed it -- go find this year's Morris Award Winner on the shelf for your next clue in the form of a QR code.