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Great teen reads...for you! |
No one makes a secret of the fact that sometimes what our kids are reading seems more enticing than our so-called "adult fiction." Harry Potter, The Twilight Saga, and The Hunger Games, are just a few of the series parents have unabashedly transferred from their kids' shelves to their own. In last week's Oprah.com newsletter, Oprah's Book Club 2.0 offered up a list of the 25 best books to steal from teens. Here are just a few picks off the list that are available right here at the Wallkill Public Library:  Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson: As the Revolutionary War begins, 13-year-old Isabel wages her own fight...for freedom. Promised freedom upon the death of their owner, she and her sister, Ruth, in a cruel twist of fate become the property of a malicious New York City couple, the Locktons, who have no sympathy for the American Revolution and even less for Ruth and Isabel. When Isabel meets Curzon, a slave with ties to the Patriots, he encourages her to spy on her owners, who know details of British plans for invasion. She is reluctant at first, but when the unthinkable happens to Ruth, Isabel realizes her loyalty is available to the bidder who can provide her with freedom. Anya's Ghost, by Vera Brosgol: Of all the things Anya expected to find at the bottom of an old well, a new friend was not one of them. Especially not a new friend who's been dead for a century.
Falling down a well is bad enough, but Anya's normal life might actually be worse. She's embarrassed by her family, self-conscious about her body, and she's pretty much given up on fitting in at school. A new friend - even a ghost - is just what she needs.
Or so she thinks. Mockingbird, by Kathryn Erskine: Caitlin has Asperger's. The world according to her is black and white; anything in between is confusing. Before, when things got confusing, Caitlin went to her older brother, Devon, for help. But Devon has died, and Caitlin's dad is so distraught that he is just not helpful. Caitlin wants everything to go back to the way things were, but she doesn't know how to do that. Then she comes across the word closure - and she realizes this is what she needs. And in her search for it, Caitlin discovers that the world may not be black and white after all.
Inside Out and Back Again, by Thanhha Lai: For all the ten years of her life, HÀ has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, the warmth of her friends close by . . . and the beauty of her very own papaya tree.
But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. HÀ and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope. In America, HÀ discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food, the strange shape of its landscape . . . and the strength of her very own family.
This is the moving story of one girl's year of change, dreams, grief, and healing as she journeys from one country to another, one life to the next.
 The Arrival, by Shaun Tan: Tan captures the displacement and awe with which immigrants respond to their new surroundings in this wordless graphic novel. It depicts the journey of one man, threatened by dark shapes that cast shadows on his family's life, to a new country. The only writing is in an invented alphabet, which creates the sensation immigrants must feel when they encounter a strange new language and way of life. A wide variety of ethnicities is represented in Tan's hyper-realistic style, and the sense of warmth and caring for others, regardless of race, age, or background, is present on nearly every page. The Scorpio Races, by Maggie Stiefvater: It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die. At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them. Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn't given her much of a choice. So she enters the competition - the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.  Okay for Now, by Gary D. Schmidt: As a 14-year-old who just moved to a new town, with no friends and a louse for an older brother, Doug Swieteck has all the stats stacked against him. So begins a coming-of-age masterwork full of equal parts comedy and tragedy from Newbery Honor winner Gary D. Schmidt. As Doug struggles to be more than the "skinny thug" that his teachers and the police think him to be, he finds an unlikely ally in Lil Spicer - a fiery young lady who "smelled like daisies would smell if they were growing in a big field under a clearing sky after a rain." In Lil, Doug finds the strength to endure an abusive father, the suspicions of a whole town, and the return of his oldest brother, forever scarred, from Vietnam. Together, they find a safe haven in the local library, inspiration in learning about the plates of John James Audubon's birds, and a hilarious adventure on a Broadway stage. In this stunning novel, Schmidt expertly weaves multiple themes of loss and recovery in a story teeming with distinctive, unusual characters and invaluable lessons about love, creativity, and survival.
If you see anything on the linked list that the Wallkill Public Library doesn't have on its shelves, feel free to ask for help ordering what you want! Your book will be delivered - for free - from one of the other 46 other libraries in the RCLS system to the library of your choice for pickup. |
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Coming up at the Wallkill Public Library
Monday - The Library Board of Trustees meets at 7 p.m. at the library.
Tuesday - The fall session of Story Time kicks off with Book Buddies at 10:30 a.m.
Wednesday - Mommy and Me meets at 10 a.m.; Toddler Story Time at 11 a.m.; and Book Buddies at 1 p.m.
Later this month: - Four vacancies need to be filled on the Library Board of Trustees - you can vote for the candidates of your choice Sept. 25, from noon to 8 p.m. Those interested in running for the board must get 50 signatures from qualified voters in the district by Sept. 12 in order to qualify. Petitions are now at the circulation desk.  - Celebrate Elephant Appreciation Day with an elephant story and craft at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21! All ages are welcome! - The Harvest Faire will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29 (with a rain date of Sept. 30). Antique dealers, crafts people, garage sale and food vendors, and more will all be open for business on the library lawn that day. The event will also feature music, a kids' games corner, tricky tray baskets, mums and pumpkins, a Farmer's Market, and a book sale. Those interested in renting a space at the Faire should contact Donna at jdrich612003@yahoo.com. - Mini Masterpieces is an art program that will be offered at 10:30 a.m. Mondays starting Sept. 24! That day your little ones (ages infant to toddler) can make their own Andy Warhol footprints! Other projects featured throughout October will include:  Oct. 1 - Giuseppe Arcimboldo funny faces (ages 2+)- Oct. 8 - Louise Nevelson 3D art (ages 3+) - there's no school, that day, so be sure to sign up!
- Oct. 15 - Wassily Kandinsky trees (ages 4+)
- Oct. 22 - Eric Carle bugs (ages 3+)
- Oct. 29 - Laurel Burch crazy cat heads (ages 4+)
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Blume still a testament to girl power  Judy Blume's the one who helped us through the emotional angst of puberty, who showed us that mean girls exist everywhere (not just in our classroom!), who dared to openly examine subjects like racism and divorce....not necessarily taboo topics, but certainly ones not many people had thought to include in books read by 10-year-olds.
I can't think of another author who managed to churn out so many books that made such an impact on such a challenging demographic - as probably anyone will agree prepubescent girls are. Depending on what age you began reading her novels, they may have been the first to offer up characters with whom you could relate - which is precisely what makes them so powerful. Your brothers had Tolkien - you had Blume - witty, honest, observant Blume, who let us know we weren't alone, even though it felt like it a lot of the time, back then. And now the queen of tweens has revealed that she was diagnosed with breast cancer in June. And though the diagnosis must have stunned Blume, though her heart must have felt like it stopped for a moment as the shock and fear washed over her, she still managed to joke about it, telling her surgeon "the exercises didn't work for me" while discussing the size of her Margaret Simonesque breasts. I don't know if Blume, 74, will turn her experience into a work of fiction. She has written about it in the form of blog posts, though, injecting her signature brand of humor into her own ordeal, and in doing so giving those of us who read her years ago something else we may be able to relate to... thereby empowering us once more. Just by - yet again - letting us know we're not alone. |
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Will bigger Kindle beat smaller iPad?  Amazon got a jump on the holiday shopping season Thursday with its release of four new Kindle Fire models.
The new Kindle Fires are bigger, with screens measuring 8.6 inches diagonally, as compared to the original Fire's 7-inch screens and the iPad's 9.7-inchers. Rumor has it that Apple's soon-to-be-released mini iPad will feature a 7.85-inch screen. Amazon's also coming out with the Kindle Fire HD and the premium Kindle Fire model. The HD will have more storage as well as two WiFi channels for faster transfers, while the premium model will be able to connect to 4G networks. Amazon's new e-reader is called Paperwhite, and features a black-and-white screen with 25 percent more contrast and decent readability even in direct sunlight. |
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Volunteers needed for Harvest Faire
 | | Friends' vice president Donna Richardson, top, clowns around with president Adrienne Gelfand-Perine at last year's Faire. |
Those in need of community service hours have the perfect opportunity to glean them Saturday, Sept. 29, during the third annual Harvest Faire on the library lawn.
The Faire will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. that day. Volunteers are needed for all or part of the day - whatever they can do. The rain date for the event is Sept. 30. Teens and adults interested in lending some time should contact library director Mary Lou Carolan ASAP at 895-3707 or mlcarolan@rcls.org.
Thanks to the library's volunteers in perpetuity, too - the Friends of the Library contribute countless hours to planning and organizing popular events like the Faire, especially members Adrienne Gelfand-Perine, Donna Richardson, and Merle Bercow.
And the Friends' Used Book Shop - which is completely volunteer-run - wouldn't be what it is today without the hard work of Paulette Snyder and Leslie Soto. Thanks to all! |
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New eatery comes to River Rock vacancy  There's a new restaurant in town - Pudgy's is now in the Wallkill River Plaza, in the space formerly occupied by the River Rock Cafe.
The new owners are in the process of remodeling the building in preparation for their grand opening. An Italian/American/Mexican fare will be offered for eat-in or take-out for lunch and dinner. Heroes, pizza, pasta dishes, salads, and much more are featured on the restaurant's extensive menu. River Rock owners Justin Connolly and Tony Scotto endorsed the new eatery, saying in a faxed release, "We put a lot of time and effort into our restaurant and felt it was a positive addition to the community. The community was always good to us so now I would like you to show the support you gave to us to Pudgy's." Pudgy's will be open from 11-9 Monday through Thursday; 11-10 Friday and Saturday; and 12-9 Sunday. |
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Park plans revised for environment's sake An article in the Sunday, Sept. 2 edition of The Times Herald-Record described how plans for Shawangunk's Galeville Park have been scaled back to preserve more of the environment.
Where initially seven athletic fields were planned for 15.4 acres of the grasslands located four miles northwest of Wallkill, the plans now call for five athletic fields, four of which would be located in environmentally sensitive areas.
The town has applied for a permit allowing for the accidental killing of protected owls, sparrows, or sandpipers during the park's construction.
The park, which will include three soccer fields, a football field, and a softball diamond, is set to open in 2014 if construction is finished on time. |
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Website a new, improved way to learn
 60 Minutes viewers may have seen this week's featured website on the show - Khan Academy has drawn a lot of attention for its mission of "providing a world-class education for anyone, anywhere."
The site began after founder Sal Khan agreed to tutor his 7th-grade cousin, who was having trouble with algebra, remotely back in 2004. He posted his recorded lessons on YouTube, and they not only helped his cousin, but a host of strangers who tuned in to glean tips, as well. Eventually Khan quit his job as manager of a hedge fund to run the site full time.
He now works with a small team on the site's extensive video library,
which covers K-12 math, science topics such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and even reaches into the humanities with playlists on finance and history. Each video is a digestible chunk, approximately 10 minutes long, and especially purposed for viewing on the computer.
Whether your child needs tutoring or just some extra reinforcement of a particular lesson, this site is perfect. |
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Tough says some kids have it too easy  I heard author Paul Tough interviewed on NPR earlier this week and my mind starting buzzing with ideas. He argues that while society and schools focus on developing our children's cognitive skills, success isn't always about IQ scores or standardized tests or the fattest vocabularies. It's often about the ways young people build character.
In his book, How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character, Tough highlights experiences he has had with children who have grown up in rough neighborhoods and had horrible things happen to them, yet overcame these obstacles with a tenacity and grit that gave them a sense of confidence and determination to succeed later on. He notes that kids who have things really easy in life and coast through college can find themselves lost in their 20s and 30s because they have not gone through many character-building experiences.
Teaching kids how to confront failure and manage stress builds psychological strength. Standing back and letting our kids go through challenges on their own, allowing them to struggle and succeed, to make mistakes, feel frustrated, and learn, is essential to building character.
While our teachers are confronted with curricula that pretty much enables them time to teach to the test, libraries offer opportunities to support teachers and the schools by focusing on helping kids learn non-cognitive, character building skills offered by the library curriculum - promoting and supporting a lifelong love of curiosity, discovery and learning.
This winter, we will preview a program called, "Figure it out!" There will be a series of workshops, offered by local talented people, working with kids to learn and experience hands-on building, design, culinary, music, mathematical, theatrical, agricultural and environmental skills.
Our premise will be primarily student-driven, instructor-supported. The kids will be presented with information, ideas, and tools around a given subject and will be encouraged to work together to discuss, debate, wonder, manipulate and try to figure out how something is made, or why it works, through a step-by-step discovery process.
If you have a particular skill or talent, from making bird houses to fixing appliances, to baking, creating music, juggling - you name it - I would like to hear from you. We believe we have the creativity and talent right here in our community to work together to foster character development, tenacity and perseverance in our kids. Want to help? Call 895-3707 or email me: mlcarolan@rcls.org.
Mary Lou Carolan
Director
Wallkill Public Library
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