Wilton Library Teens Blog » Current Events

Award-winning books!

Marissa — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 00:31:43 +0000

The American Library Association announced its Youth Media Awards on January 28th. These are kind of a big deal. This group of awards includes the Caldecott Medal, the Newbery Medal, and the Printz Award. Of those, the Printz is given to a book demonstrating excellence in literature for young adults (the other two are for picture books and children’s literature, respectively). You can read the American Library Association’s press release with all the awards here. Follow the links below to view the books in the library’s catalog and place holds on them, if you wish. If there is no link, we don’t own the item, but we can always get materials for you through interlibrary loan.

Michael L. Printz Award (excellence in literature written for young adults): In Darkness by Nick Lake

Alex Awards (10 best adult books that appeal to teens): Caring is Creepy by David Zimmerman, Girlchild by Tupelo Hassman, Juvenile in Justice by Richard Ross, Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan, My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf, One Shot at Forever by Chris Ballard, Pure by Julianna Baggott, The Round House by Louise Erdrich, Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt, and Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple

Margaret A. Edwards Award (lifetime achievement in writing for young adults): Tamora Pierce

Mildred L. Batchelder Award (outstanding children’s book originally published in another country and language, then translated into English for publication in the United States): My Family for the War by Anne Voorhoeve

Odyssey Award (best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults): The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, narrated by Kate Rudd

Pura Belpré (Author) Award (honoring a Latino writer whose children’s books best portray the Latino cultural experience): Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award (most distinguished informational book for children): Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin

Stonewall Book Award (English-language children’s and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience): Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz (again!)

William C. Morris Award (debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens): Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

and last but not least…

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults: Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin (again!!)

If you’re in need of a good read or listen, or you have to pick a book for school, or you just need something to flip through when you’re riding in the car, these are some excellent choices. YALSA (rhymes with salsa) stands for Young Adult Library Services Association and they are completely dedicated to awesome library service and materials for teens. Check them out here and browse around their other lists. They even have a YALSA Teen Book Finder app.

Never forgetting

Marissa — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 16:15:10 +0000

The events of last Friday, December 14, in Newtown, Connecticut are shocking, scary, and sad. It has always seemed to me that Fairfield County is really just a big town. Odds are that all of us have some connection to Newtown, whether it’s playing on a rival sports team, living in a neighboring town, or knowing someone who lives or works there. This shooting has not just shaken Newtown, but the entire county, state, and nation. Keep loved ones close and stay safe.

President Obama’s speech at Newtown High School last night may be watched on the Washington Post website if you didn’t get to see it live. There is also a transcript.

12/12/12

Marissa — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 23:26:37 +0000

It’s the last time this century we’ll have a day like this! Happy 12/12/12! From reading the news, there are lots of marriages happening today, and there is of course the 12/12/12 concert being held to raise money for those affected by Hurricane Sandy back in November. You can also check out Mental Floss, a cool knowledge-and-trivia website posting “lists of 12″ all day. Read the first post of the day here and then go read the dozens and dozens of lists they’ve put together. Fun facts by the dozen. Have a great day!

It’s NaNoWriMo time!

Marissa — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 19:00:28 +0000

It’s the first of November, and that means it’s time for NaNoWriMo! What’s that, you ask? NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It’s a challenge to write a full-length novel in the span of one month! Go ahead and write– let your imagination take over! For adults, the goal is 50,000 words, or almost 2000 words a day. For the NaNoWriMo Young Writer’s Program, you can set your own reasonable goal. The NaNoWriMo website likes to track how many people are participating, so if you’re going to write the next great American novel, make sure you get all the info and sign up. If you’re over the age of 18, check out the regular NaNoWriMo website to sign up.

Good luck!

Writers who got their start at a young age (click the links for title info):

S.E. Hinton, The Outsiders

Alexandra Adornetto, Halo, Hades, Heaven

Christopher Paolini, Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr, Inheritance

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

Maureen Daly, Seventeenth Summer

Alex and Brett Harris, Do Hard Things

Isamu Fukui, Truancy, Truancy: Origins

43 days to go!

Marissa — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 14:59:29 +0000

It’s hard to believe, but the 2012 election is only forty-three days away. That’s about seven weeks. No matter what your political leanings, it doesn’t mean a thing unless you’re registered to vote! DoSomething.org is running a campaign called Vote Up or Shut Up to encourage unregistered young voters to register in time for the election. There are 44 million young people under the age of 30 in the United States. Imagine if every one of those people voted? If you are 18 or older, you can register on the Vote Up or Shut Up page. If you are under 18, you can pre-register and DoSomething.org will send you a reminder to register on your 18th birthday. Want a little more encouragement? If you sign up with DoSomething.org and tell them which five of your friends is least likely to vote, you could win a $4000 scholarship.

For more voting information regarding deadlines in various states, surf on over to MyTimeToVote.com and click the “Voting Requirements” tab on the top. There, you can select specific information for your state. (Connecticut– you have to register at least seven days before the election in order to be eligible.)

Make your voice heard this November and vote!

Will a mouse dissolve in Mountain Dew?

slauricella — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:57:44 +0000

Find out by hitting Snopes, the authority on the urban legend. Here you can find out if that picture of an 80 pound cat is true, and customer really try to use a million dollar bill to buy items at Walmart? A better question would be – was it accepted? So go to Snopes and find out the truth (and falsehoods) behind what your friends email you!

What’s up with Wikipedia today?

Marissa — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:13:40 +0000

You may have gone on Wikipedia today, January 18, 2012 and noticed that it’s all blacked out. You can’t search for anything, and it prompts you to enter your zip code. What’s going on? Wikipedia and other websites are protesting two pieces of legislation in the House of Representatives and the Senate that would cut off pirating movies, music, and other web content by limiting search engines like Yahoo and Google, online payment sites such as PayPal, and other sites that allow pirating sites to work. While stealing another’s work is definitely not okay, these online giants– including Wikipedia– claim that the two bills limit open access to information.

The House bill is called the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Senate bill is called the Protecting IP Act, or SOPA and PIPA. This article from the New York Times gives more details on what would actually happen if the bills were passed. Here’s an example: Since that link I just posted goes to the New York Times website, and the article is under copyright, this blog could be blocked even though I credit the newspaper.

What can you do? Head on over to Wikipedia today, enter your ZIP code, and you can get the names and contact info for your local representatives. Whether you support the bills or don’t support them, you can let your voice be heard.

NY Times + You

Marissa — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 16:23:44 +0000

For the second year in a row, the folks at The New York Times are encouraging you to stay current with what’s going on. They’re running a Summer Reading Contest where students ages 13-25 read and comment on what they read in the Times each week, and the best responses are posted in a special section on the Times website. To get an idea of how the contest worked last year, go here and to read the rules and get the details for this year’s contest, go here.

Don’t get The New York Times? Don’t worry– we keep the week’s issues in the library. Come in, cool off, and comment on current events. If you get picked as the weekly winner, let us know!

Ever see a meteor?

slauricella — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 17:02:10 +0000

If not tonight may be your luck night. The Perseid meteor shower is at its height tonight, August 12th. WHAT? You don’t know what the Perseid meteor shower is? Well here is a link to the American Meteor Association, that will explain it to you, just scroll down the page. Also in their site is a map of where to look in the sky and recommendations of the best viewing times. You can watch when the sun sets, but unfortunately the best viewing time is right before sunrise. So, we don’t blame you if you can’t wake up that early. And, since they make an annual appearance, there is always next year…

How can you keep up with all of the news?

slauricella — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:10:05 +0000

There is so much of it! And with everyone talking about the latest stories, you need to keep up unless you will look like a…well, you know. But don’t despair! BBC news has a quick way to get a week of facts – their “1o things you didn’t know” section. And CNN has a new “News Pulse” section that lists all of the top stories, so you can see them at a glance. Also on CNN, a breaking alerts service that can send the latest to you via a computer pop up, email, or right to your phone. So don’t let the sheer volume of news get you overwhemled, after you visit one of our suggested sites or sign up for alerts, you will be the one leading the conversation about the latest breaking news!