Midnight Sun: The Twilight Saga Continues

Midnight Sun, Edward's version of Twilight, is making its rounds on the Web. Hear what Stephenie Meyer has to say about the copyright violation, read the manuscript, and tell us what you think.

Make the Library Yours

Is there a Teen Advisory Group (aka Teen Council) at your library? Check with your local library to find out if there's a group you can get involved in. And if there's not one, why not get one started? Don't leave planning teen events* to us dorky librarians--we need to hear from you!

*Teens have planned vampire proms, Yu-Gi-Oh tournaments, book clubs, video game parties, movie nights, anime clubs and more for Fresno libraries.

Join the Queue

Every Tuesday new books, CDs, and DVDs are released into the world. Instead of buying them, check them out at your library!

Here are some of the August 26, 2008 releases that the library has on order. Place your hold now to get it sooner!

Books:

All We Know of Love by Nora Raleigh Baskin

Identical by Ellen Hopkins






I am Apache by Tonya Landman

CDs:

All Hope is Gone by Slipknot

DVDs:

The Duchess of Duke Street - Complete Collection

Entourage - Season 4

Heroes - Season 2

NCIS - Season 5

Redbelt

The Shield - Season 6






The Untouchables - Season 2, Vol. 2






What Happens in Vegas

Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?

Free the Artist in You

Let your inner artist out with these cool interactive sites.

Art
REMIX Create a work of art with this interactive collage from the Museum of Modern Art. REMIX provides a palette of photographs, simple shapes, lines, and sizing tools that enable you to recreate new images out of existing ones.

Architect Studio 3D Design a house in 3D with Frank Lloyd Wright! On this Web site, you can design a house, walk through it in 3D, then share it with the world.

Drawing in One-Point Perspective How do artists draw things so they look three-dimensional? This site explains the principles of one-point perspective, and provides some hands-on activities to help you learn!


Poetry
Teen Ink From the angsty to the sentimental, it's all here: Haiku, sestinas, love poems, free verse and rhyme. Submit your own and check out one of the books.

Chance Words Dada artists experimented with new forms of art in order to challenge expectations and norms. Use this site to create your own 'chance' Dadaist poem from cut-up newspapers.

PYROWORDS The page may look plain, but what a cool idea! Add lines to poems others have started or start your own and watch it grow.


Music
Rhythm Web Open your ears to the rhythms of the world! This site focuses on rhythm through audio clips, articles, and Web links.

Energy in the Air Learn about every instrument in a classical orchestra and hear examples of each on audio clips specially selected to highlight each one.

Strange Fruit This overview highlights some of the American songs and songwriters whose words and music served as catalysts for thought, action and even social change. Listen to protest music and read lyrics at this thought-provoking companion Web site to the film by the same name.


Dance
Bust a Move Learn hip-hop dance moves with beginner, intermediate and advanced animated instruction.

Belly Dance Get advice, tips and tricks to master backbends and stomach rolls and learn about Middle Eastern costume and music.

Ballroom Dancing Learn to dance like a star! Each section begins with a general introduction, description of the music style and then a practice lesson.

Join the Queue

Every Tuesday new books, CDs, and DVDs are released into the world. Instead of buying them, check them out at your library!

Here are some of the August 19, 2008 releases that the library has on order. Place your hold now to get it sooner!

Books:

Savoy by Celia Rees





CDs:

Illusions of Progress by Staind

One World (Original Soundtrack) by The Cheetah Girls

DVDs:

Camp Rock

Dexter - Season 2

Gossip Girl - Season 1

House - Season 4

Life Before Her Eyes

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Perry Mason - Season 3, Vol. 1






Recount

The Small Back Room - Criterion Edition

Street Kings

Terminator - The Sarah Connor Chronicles - Season 1

What's on Tap

Check out what the library has going on this week:

Thursday, August 21: Teen Video Game Hour (Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 on the wii) @ Woodward 5:30pm-6:30pm

Thursday, August 21: Connect with Classics (book discussion on The Call of the Wild) @ Woodward 7pm-8pm

Saturday, August 23: Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! Tournaments @ Sunnyside 2pm-4pm
(Visit http://sunnysidegamers.blogspot.com for details.)

Free Online Photo Sites

Need to crop a pic? Add an animated pic to your myspace? Check out these fun and free online photo editing sites, accessible wherever Internet is.

BeFunky
Cartoonize yourself or create an uvatar (a less boring version of an avatar). Video cartoonizer is coming soon!



MyTheme.com Animator
Beyond cropping and sizing, this site allows you to put your stills into motion with reflecting water, polaroid piles, flickering flames, blinking eyes, blurring and other effects. Myspace friendly.

Image Chef
Put your photo on a wanted poster, a jumbo tron, on a billboard and so much more.



Big Huge Labs
Put your face on the cover of a magazine or CD, create a photo puzzle, or add bubble captions to your pics.



Flauntr.com
As close as you'll get to Photoshop except it's free and way easier to use. Flauntr integrates with most social networking sites like myspace, Facebook and Flickr so you can add your pics with one click.

Heard of some better sites? Share your favorites in the comments!

Join the Queue

Every Tuesday new books, CDs, and DVDs are released into the world. Instead of buying them, you can check them out at your library!

Here are some of the August 12, 2008 releases that the library has on order. Place your hold now to get it sooner!

DVDs:

Caroline in the City - Season 1

Dave's World - Season 1






Love Boat - Season 1, Vol. 2






Prison Break - Season 3






Smart People

South Park - Season 11







The Wire - Season 5

Not Quite What I Was Planning

Everyone has a story. If you had to tell your story in 6 words, what would you say? Share your 6 word memoir in the comments section, and then submit it here for a chance to be included in the next 6 word memoir book. (The first book, Not Quite What I Was Planning, is available for request.)

Watch the youtube below to see what famous people came up with.

Hell Week

Hell Week by Rosemary Clement-Moore


With blood-red nails, flashing white teeth, and gleaming scarlet lips, Maggie Quinn is battling evil again in this sequel to Prom Dates from Hell. While working undercover on a series of stories for her campus newspaper, college freshman Maggie reluctantly endures mixers, rites, and peculiar rules, but soon learns that members of the sorority to which she has pledged have strange powers and a terrible secret. Even the sorority from hell is no match for Maggie Quinn. Horror has never been so snarky!

They're Online Too

Most of your favorite authors are online--check 'em out.


Sherman Alexie, (The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian)
Read Grapes of Wrath before age 5

Meg Cabot (Mediator series, Princess Diaries)

-Freshman algebra flunky, don't ask her to cut your bangs

John Green (Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines)
-Has a very funny blog with topics that include conjoined twins, dental surgery, & surveys (Okay, that doesn't sound very funny, does it? You'll just have to trust me.)


E. Lockhart, (Dramarama, The Boy Book)

-Wore a 1920s flapper dress to prom, is vegetarian


Cecily von Ziegesar (Gossip Girl series)
-Got her ideas for Gossip Girl from her real-life high school experience


Scott Westerfield (Uglies, Peeps)
-Used to edit textbooks, doesn't want to have kids, never wears jeans

Your Two Cents: Breaking Dawn

Of course there's lots of buzz going around about the newly released Breaking Dawn--but what did you think? Love it? Hate it? Refuse to read it? Like the ending? Have your say by posting a comment here. (Caution: comments and links may contain spoilers.)

Update:

• Right now, 684 Readers on Amazon give it 5 stars; 480 give it 1 star.
• Publisher's Weekly says "This [book] isn’t about happy endings; it’s about gratification."
• Natasha (Maw Books Blog) thinks it was okay, but says, "I do think that the characters lost their voice and personality."

Join the Queue

Every Tuesday new books, CDs, and DVDs are released into the world. Instead of buying them, check them out at your library!

Here are some of the August 5, 2008 (and a couple from late last week) releases that the library has on order. Place your hold now to get it sooner!

Books:

Ghostgirl by Toyna Hurley





Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Claire by Lisi Harrison






DVDs:

The Counterfeiters

Life in Cold Blood

Nim's Island

What's on Tap

Check out what the library has going on this week:

Tuesday, August 5:
Money 101 @ Woodward 11am-12pm

Thursday, August 7:
Dance Dance Revolution @ Fowler 3-4pm

Friday, August 8:
Guitar Hero & Dance Dance Revolution @ Cedar Clinton 3-4pm

Ghostgirl

Ghostgirl by Tonya Hurley

For Charlotte Usher, life is better after death.





Catch this series from the beginning:

1. Ghostgirl
2. Ghostgirl: Homecoming
3. Ghostgirl: Lovesick

Mexican White Boy

Mexican White Boy by Matt de la Pena

Danny's dad is Mexican and his mom is white, but that doesn't mean Danny knows who he is.

The Year We Disappeared

The Year We Disappeared: a father-daughter memoir by Cylin Busby and John Busby (2008)

Cylin and John Busby share the challenges they faced after their family was forced into hiding to protect themselves from a killer who had already shot John, a police officer, and was determined to finish the job.

No Choirboy: Murder, Violence and Teenagers on Death Row

No Choirboy: Murder, Violence and Teenagers on Death Row by Susan Kuklin

In their own voices--raw and uncensored--inmates sentenced to death as teenagers talk about their lives in prison, and share their thoughts and feelings about how they ended up there.

Identical

Identical by Ellen Hopkins

From the outside, the Gardella family is the image of perfection: beautiful twin daughters, a successful congresswoman mother and well-respected judge father. But secrets are what holds this family together. Ever since the accident 7 years ago that destroyed more than their car, Mom has escaped home by diving into her political career. Dad escapes in a different way--with alcohol, drugs, and misdirecting his affection for his absent wife onto his daughter, Kaeleigh. Meanwhile, Raeanne parties and has meaningless sex in order to forget what's going on at home with her sister and father.

Pretty messed up, right? Well, there's more. But I can't tell you...you'll have to read it for yourself. I know books by Ellen Hopkins are popular but this is the first one I've read. It definitely makes me want to read the rest.