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Monday, January 28, 2013

Book Bite: Why We Broke Up

“There are so many movies like this, where you thought you were smarter than the screen but the director was smarter than you, of course he's the one, of course it was a dream, of course she's dead, of course, it's hidden right there, of course it's the truth and you in your seat have failed to notice in the dark.”
- Min in Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler  (illustrations by Maira Kalman)

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Transform paper towel rolls into winter critters at our Recycled Crafts program this Monday!

Come visit the library this Monday, January 21 and make some fun recycled crafts. This program will start at 2 pm on the lower level in the library's Craft Room. We will reuse paper towel tubes for this craft project. What we will be making? Check out the photo below:
Paper Tube Foxes Reading 1
Studious red foxes read away the winter blues.
Winter critters! This craft project is fun, easy, and allows you to get really creative.

Supplies:
  • Paper towel tubes
  • Acrylic paints
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Pencil
  • Old magazine/book pages (optional--to make mini books)
  • Brown paper (optional-- to make mini books)
  • Colored pencils and markers (optional-- to make mini books)
  • Stapler (optional-- to make mini books)

Once you have the basic shape made, you can go off in any direction! Here are the steps to start:

Gather some paper towel tubes. You may also use toilet paper tubes. I like the paper towel tubes because you can get two bodies per roll, in addition to the leftover bit, which can be used to make arms, tails, etc.
Cut up the tubes. Usually I eyeball each body. For critters like foxes, owls, and raccoons, I make the bodies a bit longer, while for the squirrels I keep the bodies shorter.

If you have a jagged cut, that's okay. Just put the flatter side on the bottom. To make the ears, fold the top of the tube down so two sides meet in the middle (I know a circle doesn't have a side, but I didn't know how else to describe it!).
Push down a bit, and you have your basic critter shape! No glue is necessary to keep the ears in place.

What will these tubes turn into... Foxes? Owls? That's up to you. For the arms/legs and tails, use the leftover paper towel sections to cut those pieces out, paint, and then glue. Here are some examples of winter critters I've made:

Paper Tube Raccoons aka Green Lantern Raccoons
Festive raccoons! Initially I made this for the holiday season and thought green would be cool to use. However, instead of being called festive, the people I showed them to called them Green Lanterns. So now I just refer to them as Green Lantern Raccoons!

Paper Tube Foxes 1
An army of foxes! Sorry that you can't see the tails in these pictures! As you can see, their little paws are empty. For Valentine's Day you can cut out hearts for the foxes to hold. Or, make a small sign to wish a friend or family member happy birthday.

Paper Tube Foxes 2
Red, burgundy, gold, and bronze! I found some cool metallic colors at Michael's, including metallic brown, bronze, and red.

Paper Tube Owls 1
Vibrant owls! I was inspired to make these owls from Flickr user decoralia.

Paper Tube Owls 2
All you have to do is grab your favorite colors, paint the tubes, and then add the faces and details once the base coat is dry.

Paper Tube Owls 3
*Wink*

Paper Tube Squirrels 1
And I had to make squirrels. The tails actually turned out pretty well, because of how the paper towel tube is already rolled up.

Paper Tube Squirrels 2

Paper Tube Foxes Reading 2
Then I decided to make mini books for the critters to read!

Paper Tube Foxes Reading 3

Paper Tube Foxes Reading 4
I see you.

I hope to see you at the Recycled Crafts program on Monday. If you can't make it, go ahead and make your own winter critters at home!

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

New books to warm you up!

Some are new to our shelves and other were just released in the first weeks of 2013! Find a book to curl up with during the cold weather.

Starting from Here by Lisa Jenn Bigelow
Sixteen-year-old Colby is barely hanging on with her mother dead, her long-haul trucker father often away, her almost-girlfriend dumping her for a boy, and her failing grades, when a stray dog appears and helps her find hope.

Shadowlands by Kate Brian (just released this month)
Rory, a girl in witness protection, thinks the serial killer she turned in has found her and is killing people around her. But as she investigates, she discovers a dark, disturbing truth about her new hometown.


What Happens Next by Colleen Clayton
The stress of hiding a horrific incident that she can neither remember nor completely forget leads sixteen-year-old Cassidy "Sid" Murphy to become alienated from her friends, obsess about weight loss, and draw close to Corey "The Living Stoner" Livingston.

Rise by Andrea Cremer (just released this month)
Everything Conotus stands for is at risk, and Ember must involve herself in a deception that ultimately brings about the Witches' War.

The Essence by Kimberly Derting (just released this month)
Seventeen-year-old Charlaina "Charlie" Hart has defeated the tyrant Queen Sabara and taken control of Ludania, only to have Sabara's soul fuse itself with her own.

Angelfall by Susan Ee
It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back. Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel. Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl. Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

Just One Day by Gayle Forman (just released this month)
Sparks fly when American good girl Allyson encounters laid-back Dutch actor Willem, so she follows him on a whirlwind trip to Paris, upending her life in just one day and prompting a year of self-discovery and the search for true love.

Rootless by Chris Howard
In a world devastated by war and disease, a young tree builder searches for the last trees on earth.

The Tragedy Paper by Elizabeth Laban (just released this month)
While preparing for the most dreaded assignment at the prestigious Irving School, the Tragedy Paper, Duncan gets wrapped up in the tragic tale of Tim Macbeth, a former student who had a clandestine relationship with the wrong girl, and his own ill-fated romance with Daisy.

Catherine by April Lindner (just released this month)
In this retelling of "Wuthering Heights," Catherine explains how she fell in love with a brooding musician and left her family to return to him, and her daughter describes searching for her mother many years later.

I Am Number Four: The Lost Files: The Legacies by Pittacus Lore
I Am Number Four: The Lost Files: The Legacies contains three action-packed novellas that give the heart-pounding backstories of some of your favorite Loriens. Originally published as the e-novellas Six's Legacy, Nine's Legacy, and The Fallen Legacies, now, for the first time ever, their backstories are together in one volume. You know we're out there, living among you. You know we're waiting for our day to come. You have seen the power of our legacies. You know this is why they hunt us. You may think you know our stories. You are wrong. We each have our own story. We know the time has come to share them with you. Our legacies are your only hope.

Samurai Awakening by Ben Martin
While living as an exchange student in Japan, David Matthews is possessed by a Japanese god with amazing powers and, trained by his host family, he must fight desperately to save his host sister from a hoard of Japanese monsters.

Amber House by Kelly Moore, Tucker Reed, and Larking Reed
After her grandmother's death Sarah Parsons, nearly sixteen, delights in exploring her family's centuries-old Maryland estate with new friend Jackson, but soon she is having vivid visions of her ancestors, one of whom may be a threat to Sarah's autistic brother, Sam.


Echo by Alyson Noel
Daire Santos and her boyfriend, Dace, team up again to find the Richters, a dark family of sorcerers, before they upset the balance between good and evil, and Dace's brother Cade, who forces Daire to confront the horrifying prophecy that brought them all together and claim her true destiny as a Seeker.

Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi (just released this month)
It's been months since Perry was named Blood Lord of the Tides, and Aria was charged with an impossible mission; now they are about to be reunited. But their reunion is far from perfect. The Tides don't take kindly to Aria, a former Dweller. And with the worsening Aether storms threatening the tribe's precarious existence, Aria begins to fear that leaving Perry behind might be the only way to save them both.

Nerve by Jeanne Ryan
As a player in NERVE, an anonymous game of dares broadcast live online, high-schooler Vee is unhappy to be watched constantly but finds it exhilarating to be paired with handsome Ian taking ever riskier dares--until the stakes become too high.

Live Through This by Mindi Scott
From the outside, fifteen-year-old Coley Sterling's life seems imperfect but normal, but for years she has buried her shame and guilt over a relationship that crossed the line and now that she has a chance at having a real boyfriend, Reece, the lies begin to unravel.


Hollywood High by Ni-Ni Simone and Amir Abrams
Traces the scandals and dramas of Hollywood High teen socialites Rich, London, Spencer, and Heather, whose status as their private school's most popular "it girls" is threatened by respective secrets.

Then You Were Gone by Lauren Strasnick (just released this month)
Adrienne and Dakota's long-term best friendship has been over for two years, but when Dakota goes missing, a presumed suicide, Adrienne is overwhelmed, leading to problems at school and with her boyfriend.

Paper Valentine by Breanna Yovanoff (just released this month)
Followed everywhere by the ghost of her recently deceased best friend, Hannah investigates the serial murders of young girls in her community.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Be on the lookout for these January book releases

Here are some notable books that will be released this month. Are you looking forward to the next books in any particular series? I can't wait to read Shades of Earth by Beth Revis!

Gates of Paradise by Melissa de la Cruz
Seventh book in the Blue Bloods series


Shades of Earth by Beth Revis
Third book in the Across the Universe series


Everbound by Brodi Ashton
Second book in the Everneath series



The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd
First book in a new series


Prodigy by Marie Lu
Second book in the Legend series