Design a Tee program on Monday for grades 6-12

There's no school on Monday, so why not head to the library to make a fun and easy project! Design a Tee is for grades 6-12 and will be held in the downstairs Craft Room. Please register in advance!

Bring along a plain t-shirt and a design on 8 1/2 x 11 paper (or use one of the designs on hand). Choose a simple design for your shirt; silhouettes are good.

Here are the step by step instructions for designing your own t-shirt that we will use at the program. First, choose your design.

Next, trace the design onto freezer paper. Freezer paper can be found in the aisle with aluminum foil and plastic wrap at the grocery store.

 The shiny side of the freezer paper should be face down.

Once you finish tracing the design, carefully cut along the lines using an exacto knife.

Place your shirt over the ironing board and iron the shirt first to smooth any wrinkles. Be sure to center the design.

Using an iron, press down onto the paper. The heat will adhere the freezer paper to the t-shirt.

Once the design is ironed on to your shirt, move your shirt to a table. Insert a piece of cardboard inside of the shirt under the design. Make sure the cardboard is under the area where you will be painting.

Choose your color of paint. We are using Tulip Soft Matte Fabric Paint. Joann Fabrics sells small bottles or larger tubes of this paint.

Small craft foam brushes work well to apply the paint for this project.

Apply the paint from the outside of the stencil to inside. This prevents paint from leaking under the seam between the freezer paper and the shirt.

Allow the first coat to dry and apply additional coats as needed.

When you are done, simply peel back the freezer paper from the t-shirt to reveal your creation!

Allow the shirt to dry flat for 24 hours before you wear your shirt. This project was inspired by the  Tuts + craft blog.

I hope to see you at Monday's Design a Tee program!

"I want to hold your hand": Books about love and relationships

If you are in the mood for a good love story because of Valentine's Day, or just because you enjoy reading romantic books, stop by the display in the teen area for some recommendations.

Or click on one of the following lists I compiled with loads of dreamy and romantic reads!:

• Love Stories (part 1)
• Love Stories (part 2)
• Love Stories (part 3)

For more themed lists filled with reading recommendations, follow DundeeReads through your BiblioCommons account!

38 days until the Divergent movie opens!

Movie tie-in editions of Divergent are out today!

Shailene Woodley as Tris is featured on the cover....

 

...and Theo James as Four is on the back cover.

!!!

Vampire Academy movie is out today

The day is finally here! See Rose, Dimitri, and Lissa on the big screen -- the movie adaptation of Richelle Mead's book Vampire Academy is now playing.



Vampire Academy is the first of six books (Frostbite, Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise, Spirit Bound, and Last Sacrifice) in a series about students at St. Vladimir's Academy, a school for both vampires (Moroi) and their guardians-in-training. Guardians train in order to prepare themselves to fight Strigoi (evil vampires). The books are filled with action, humor, romance, and of course everyday high school drama. The Vampire Academy books are fun reads if you are looking for another series to start! And, it even has a spin-off series, Bloodlines!

"Cress" and more new books

Cress by Marissa Meyer	Third book in the Lunar Chronicles series, after Cinder and Scarlet. Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they're plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and prevent her army from invading Earth. Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl trapped on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company.
Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi	Final book in the Under the Never Sky trilogy. In their effort to reach the fabled Still Blue, Aria and Perry will have to rescue Cinder, defeat Sable and Hess, and unite the Dwellers and the Outsiders once and for all.
A Breath of Frost by Alyxandra Harvey	When three cousins in 1814 London discover their magical powers and family lineage of witchcraft, they accidentally open the gates to the underworld allowing the spirits of dark witches known as the Greymalkin Sisters to hunt and kill young debutante witches for their powers.
Minders by Michelle Jaffe	Sadie, a wealthy, success-oriented sixteen-year-old joins the prestigious Mind Corps Fellowship program as an observer in the head of Ford, a troubled, possibly murderous boy, with whom Sadie falls in love.
The Scar Boys by Len Vlahos	Written as a college admission essay, eighteen-year-old Harry Jones recounts a childhood defined by the hideous scars he hid behind, and how forming a band brought self-confidence, friendship, and his first kiss.
The Social Code by Sadie Hayes	Eighteen-year-old twins Adam and Amelia Dory grew up in foster care relying on each other, but as scholarship students at Stanford University shy Amelia's ingenious computer "app" and gregarious Adam's yearning for a life of privilege lead them to start a new company--and into a world of conflict.
The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant by Joanna Wiebe	From the moment Anne Merchant arrives at Cania Christy, a boarding school for the wealthiest teens, she has questions that remain unanswered, including why everything is a competition to be valedictorian and what mysterious reward comes with that title.
No One Else Can Have You by Kathleen Hale	As sixteen-year-old Kippy of Friendship, Wisconsin, reads her best friend Ruth's diary, she is shocked at what she learns and spurred to solve Ruth's murder, certain that the boy who was arrested is innocent.
Vitro by Jessica Khoury	A death-defying tropical adventure delivers a frightening message about dabbling with creation from the talented author of Origin . On a remote island in the Pacific, Corpus scientists have taken test tube embryos and given them life. These beings--the Vitros--have knowledge and abilities most humans can only dream of. But they also have one enormous flaw. Sophie Crue is determined to get to Skin Island and find her mother, a scientist who left Sophie behind years ago. She enlists hunky charter pilot Jim Julien to take her there. But once on the island, Sophie and Jim encounter more than they bargained for, including a charming, brilliant Vitro named Nicholas and an innocent, newly awoken one named Lux. In a race for their lives, Sophie and Jim are about to discover what happens when science stretches too far beyond its reach.
Hollow City by Ransom Riggs	Sequel to Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Having escaped Miss Peregrine's island by the skin of their teeth, Jacob and his new friends must journey to London (circa 1940), the "peculiar" capital of the world.
The Offering by Kimberly Derting	Final book in The Pledge trilogy. When the negotiation of a peace agreement with the Queendom of Astonia goes awry, Charlie receives a brutal message that threatens Ludania, and it seems her only option is to sacrifice herself in exchange for Ludanian freedom. But is she walking into a trap set by Sabara, the evil former queen of Ludania?
The Unbound by Victoria Schwab	Sequel to The Archived. Starting her junior year at Hyde School, Mackenzie Bishop, a Keeper tasked with stopping violent Histories from escaping the Archive, becomes the prime suspect when several people vanish without a trace.
Her Dark Curiosity  by Megan Shepherd	Sequel to The Madman's Daughter. Back in London after escaping from her father's island and the secrets she left behind, Juliet Moreau strives to stop a killer while searching for a serum to cure her own worsening illness.
Double Digit  by Annabel Monaghan	Sequel to A Girl Named Digit. Digit attends MIT, where she hopes to lead a normal life. But Jonas Furnace, the ecoterrorist she foiled before, knows where she is, and he's gunning for her.

Book Bite: "Wintergirls" by Laurie Halse Anderson

The snow drifts into our zombie mouths crawling with grease and curses and tobacco flakes and cavities and boyfriend/girlfriend juice, the stain of lies. For one moment we are not failed tests and broken condoms and cheating on essays; we are crayons and lunch boxes and swinging so high our sneakers punch holes in the clouds. For one breath everything feels better.

Then it melts.

The bus drivers rev their engines and the ice cloud shatters. Everyone shuffles forward. They don't know what just happened. They can't remember.

- Wintergirls (2009) by Laurie Halse Anderson

Teen review of "The Coldest Girl in Coldtown" by Holly Black

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
TEEN BLACK

It takes a lot for me to get excited about a vampire novel. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown was one of those books that just screamed for me to get it. After reading and absolutely loving The Immortal Rules, I was interested to see where Coldtown went with the premise of vampires. From the jacket flaps they sounded quite similar. It took me a little while to fully get into the story, but once it got going, I could not stop reading. (Which was a good thing since I was snowed in and had nothing better to do with my time.)

I was absolutely fascinated at how the vampires were completely integrated into pop culture. Unlike The Immortal Rules where the world falls into dystopia, everything pretty much stays the same, with the only difference being the existence of vampires. There are reality shows about vampires, commercials stating that their chicken nuggets will make you “hungrier than a new born vampire,” feeds of parties broadcasted from inside the Coldtowns. These video feeds being broadcasted from inside the quarantined cities make it seem that being a vampire or living among with them makes life one big party. There are message boards, blogs, and communities for those who want to move to a Coldtown, willingly. We get to see characters, all with different reasons for being in Coldtown. Those who are infected by a vampire, those who want to become creatures of the night, those who already are, and those who were stuck when the walls went up. The latter especially reminds me of the Berlin wall.

This whole concept of vampires becoming celebrities to those outside the Coldtowns really reminded me of how vampires became huge after the Twilight franchise hit the big time. It really amuses me because vampires have become so romanticized in the public eye, through movies, books, etc. Holly Black does an amazing job of exemplifying that fact by almost satirizing those obsessed with the vampire culture, and then turning it around to show how desolate and dangerous the Coldtowns really are. The writing itself was amazing. I was completely mesmerized by the eloquence of it all and how the syntax fit the story and the world completely. I knew Holly Black was a popular author, but I hadn’t really read any of her novels before now. Now I need to read all of them.

Overall, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown was one of those works that will stick with me. I absolutely loved that it was a standalone. When it comes to paranormal/supernatural books, they always seem to be in trilogies, which is nice in some cases. But because it is only one book, I felt completely satisfied upon my completion. It was the perfect balance of everything that a story needs.

- Caroline
Originally posted on The Attic blog.

New books to check out

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner	Two star-crossed lovers must fight for survival when they crash land on a seemingly uninhabited planet.
The Vow by Jessica Martinez	Mo is not only eighteen-year-old Annie's best friend, he is the one who helps her cope with the loss of her older sister, so when he learns he must leave Kentucky and return to Jordan with his family, Annie suggests a shocking alternative.
The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine	When the passive strategy she has always adopted proves injurious to her heart's goals, ordinary girl Wren inadvertently saves the life of expelled lacrosse player Grayson and embarks on an awkward romance that compels both to start over.
World After by Susan Ee	In this sequel to the bestselling fantasy thriller, Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world. When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken. Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans, where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go. Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?
The Third Lie's the Charm by Lisa & Laura Roecker	Third book in The Liar Society series. To avenge her best friend's death, Kate must put her relationship with Liam on hold to infiltrate the Sisterhood, a secret society at Pemberly Brown Academy.
The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean by David Almond	Trapped in his bedroom by a father who fills his mind with mysterious tales and warnings, Billy Dean goes outside for the first time when his father disappears, and he discovers his abilities to heal the living and contact the dead.
Swagger by Carl Deuker	High school senior point guard Jonas Dolan is on the fast track to a basketball career until an unthinkable choice puts his future on the line.
Daylighters  by Rachel Caine	While Morganville, Texas, is often a troubled town, Claire Danvers and her friends are looking forward to coming home. But the Morganville they return to isn't the one they know; it's become a different place--a deadly one. Something drastic has happened in Morganville while Claire and her friends were away. The town looks cleaner and happier than they've ever seen it before, but when their incoming group is arrested and separated-vampires from humans-they realize that the changes definitely aren't for the better.
Killer of Enemies by Joseph Bruchac	In a world that has barely survived an apocalypse that leaves it with pre-twentieth century technology, Lozen is a monster hunter for four tyrants who are holding her family hostage.
Firebrand  by Antony John	Second book in the Elemental series. In a dystopian United States, the colonists of Roanoke Island must find safety at the mysterious Fort Sumter, but as they get further from their home, their elemental powers begin to fade.
The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson	Hayley Kincaid and her father move back to their hometown to try a 'normal' life, but the horrors he saw in the war threaten to destroy their lives.

Online Photo Editing for Teens

If you enjoy taking pictures and want to learn how to make those photos even better, come to our Online Photo Editing for Teens program on Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m.

I will introduce you to a few free, easy to use photo editing sites that will allow you to make awesome photos and graphics. Transform photos for birthdays, holidays, any celebration, or just for the fun of it. Create amazing collages and graphics to use on blogs and other social networks. I promise warn you, once you start on one photo, you won't be able to stop.

In this post I'll share a few examples of how I transformed my own photos. Here is a picture I took of Cinderella Castle at Disney World:

Here is the picture with the added radiance effect from PicMonkey:

Here is a neon version of the castle, an effect available on FotoFlexer:

One of my favorite effects, Pop Art, also from FotoFlexer:

I don't know if you can tell, but I love chipmunks and squirrels. As a result, I have tons of photos of grey squirrels, black squirrels, red squirrels, white squirrels, and nutty chipmunks. I had fun adding overlays and text to my photos, with the following results:

For this photo I used overlays from PicMonkey's Celebrate theme, and added the birthday message at the bottom. I know what you're thinking. I can add tiny birthday hats to chipmunks and other small mammals?! Best news ever! 

I first created a collage of this adorable red squirrel in PicMonkey, then edited the collage using the Sweethearts theme. I added heart bokeh, a few heart graphics, a banner, plus text.

I also created this collage using PicMonkey (obviously it's my go-to site for collages). I opened a couple photos I had already edited, and then inserted them into a FB Cover layout. I decreased the size of the margins as much as possible, and made sure the photos were centered in each of their respective slots. Once I was happy with everything, I saved the file, and then uploaded it to my Facebook page as my cover photo!

I will show even more effects and helpful tips on these sites on Tuesday. Registration is open to grades 6-12 for this program. If you cannot make Tuesday's session, we will hold a second session on Tuesday, February 4.

Teen review of "The Immortal Rules" by Julie Kagawa

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
TEEN KAGAWA
RO TEEN KAGAWA

I’ve had a bit of a string of books that were not so good and The Immortal Rules made up for all of it. I absolutely loved everything about it. Now, I’m not a huge fan of vampires. They’re okay, but I don’t really see the appeal. It takes a lot for me to really get into a vampire book, and boy, it didn’t really take me long to get into this one. I love Julie Kagawa’s writing and I’m a huge fan of The Iron Fey, but I believe that, not only has this series become my favorite of her’s, but that she can also write anything. If it wasn’t for her name on the cover, I would have never guessed that it was written by Julie Kagawa. The tone is so completely different from The Iron Fey. It’s much darker and morbidly sarcastic then her romps through the land of faerie. But the one thing they have in common: fantastic world building.

The dystopian landscape was just so well imagined and put together. I had no trouble picturing the landscapes. One element that really added to the experience were the rabids. The rabids are pretty much failed vampires that are almost zombie-like. The rabids mixed with the dystopian setting was really what I need to fill the hole that the mid-season finale of The Walking Dead left. And speaking of rabids and other monsters, I thought The Immortal Rules had the best depiction of vampires and vampire life that I have ever read. I feel that vampires are so romanticized in popular culture, and the book does a really excellent job of dispelling that. They may have been human once, but the will never rid themselves of the hunger and the demon inside them.

And speaking of vampires, Allison has to be one of the best heroines ever. I absolutely loved her character and her progression into becoming a vampire. She is such a strong character. She’s grown up pretty much on her own, living on the fringe of this vampire city and is always on the run, trying to survive, and I think that is what makes her an even strong vampire. She knows how to take care of herself and she’s not afraid to get her hands dirty if she has to. I was also quite happy to see that, although there is a romance, there were no love triangles and it wasn’t that prominent. Allison is a loner and her way of life requires her to be. I guess I like my protagonists to be tortured in some way.

Overall, The Immortal Rules was an excellent novel, and was just the thing I needed to help me wrap up the year and get me out of a reading rut. It had twists that I wasn’t expecting and elements in the plot that made me want to *bookshimmy* (Especially when that have to take a detour to a run down, dystopian Chicago. I always love me some dystopian Chicago). And if anything, it has just exemplified my need to read everything by Julie Kagawa. I’m so glad I already have the second book.

- Caroline
Originally posted on The Attic blog.

Teen review of "Into the Wild Nerd Yonder" by Julie Halpern

Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern
TEEN HALPERN

I don’t read much realistic fiction. It just doesn’t appeal to me. But when I saw this at the library book sale, I just had to get it. I mean, Dungeons & Dragons, nerds, skirt making? Yes please! I was a little wary when starting the novel, but upon completion, I wanted to start over and read it again. This rarely happens.

There were two main factors, other than the awesome nerdyness, that really caused me to love the story. One was the main character. Jessie sews her own skirts (something I would love to do), loves Harry Potter and audiobooks (I always have an audiobook to listen to), and just has a funny, quirky personality. The only thing we don’t have in common is that fact that she loves math. Numbers allude me… The second factor was the fact that the storyline kind of mirrored my senior year. Not the my-best-friend-betrayed-me part, but all the rest of it. Jessie has to expand her horizons and find a new group of friends to be around, and she finds the nerds.

Despite the premise and the title, it’s not super nerdy. If you absolutely nothing about Dungeons & Dragons, you can totally go into the book without any problems. While I’ve never played D & D (I really want to), I knew enough to go on. What’s really at the heart of the novel is the journey one takes to find oneself. Jessie has to go on a quest to find out where she really belongs, and through that she create an alternate personality, her in game character Imalthia. Imalthia takes out all Jessie’s anger and frustration, and by doing that, I think Jessie becomes much happier. That’s one of the reasons why I love RPGs. You can become anyone you want to be and act a certain way that you probably wouldn’t in real life, but then you can go back to real life with none of the consequences.

I’m really sad that the novel is so short. That’s one thing I would’ve liked: more nerddom. Other than that, I think this has earned the spot of Favorite Realistic Fiction. Into the Wild Nerd Yonder was hilarious, well written, and really nailed the stereotypes of high school. And it also made me realise that I need to find friends who play D & D.

- Caroline
Originally posted on The Attic blog.