Thanks to everyone who showed up for our bookend painting project. It was a lot of fun and they turned out awesome!















Next month we'll do origami (December 6) and candymaking (December 20)! Send me an e-mail if you want to sign up: sjohnson@osterhout.lib.pa.us

Painting and vampires

Hi everybody! I'm sure next week will be busyy as everyone gets ready for Thanksgiving so I just wanted to mention two programs coming up soon.

On Tuesday, we're going to be doing an art project where we paint the bookends in the library. Drop by and create your masterpiece and we'll use it to decorate (and well, to hold up books) in the YA department.

Paint Your Library
Tuesday, November 25, 5:30-7:30 p.m.









And then next Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, we'll also be planning a trip to see Twilight at the theater. Because this is an off-site event, you'll need to have a signed permission slip. Send me an e-mail [sjohnson (at) osterhout.lib.pa.us] and I can e-mail you a permission slip to print and have your parent sign. We have discounted tickets of just $5 per person (bring money with you that day) and we only have three spots left so e-mail me or call me (570-823-0156 ext. 217) to register and reserve your spot!

Twilight the Movie
Friday, November 28, 1:15-4:30 p.m.

Twilight readalikes

Are you finished with the Twilight saga and looking for something to read next? The library has a couple new books that might be popular with Twilight fans.

Whitcomb, Laura. A Certain Slant of Light.
In sensuous prose, Helen, who has been dead for 130 years, describes what it's like to live as Light, clinging to a human host, then reentering an empty human body and becoming physically and emotionally attuned to the world. James, too, is Light, but he has taken over the body of Billy, who almost overdosed on drugs. Their joy at finding one another turns quickly to love, and James helps Helen locate an empty body that she can inhabit.

Hahn, Mary Downing. Look for Me by Moonlight.
Cynda has just moved in with her father after her parents divorced. Her father runs a remote inn in Maine and Cynda is bored and lonely until she befriends a new guest at the inn. He seems to understand her completely, but Cynda finds out he may not have her best interests at heart.

Dunkle, Clare B. By These Ten Bones.

After a mysterious young wood carver with a horrifying secret arrives, Maddie gains his trust--and his heart--and seeks a way to save both him and her townspeople from an ancient evil.

If you still haven't satisfied your thirst for books like Twilight, send me an e-mail [sjohnson (at) osterhout.lib.pa.us] for more suggestions!

Test prep

Turkey, stuffing, and standardized tests. Yeah ... Unfortunately, it's the time of year to start thinking about what tests you'll need to take. The library has a new online resource to make preparing for the tests easier. And best of all, it's free. There are books available online through the site to help you study as well as practice tests. Check out the Testing and Education Reference Center.

Working on your GED? Read review material and test prep info and take practice tests online

Taking Advanced Placement courses? Check out the resources and sample tests for AP exams.

Thinking about college? Try a sample PSAT, SAT, and ACT!

Considering a career in the military? Take a practice ASVAB.

The library has a free trial of this site until December 5, 2008. Check out the site, and then please fill out a quick survey letting us know if you liked it. This will help us decide if we should subscribe to the site permanently. Also feel free to stop by the library for books and other resources to help you prepare!

Wiiiiii (and Xbox too!)

Thanks to everyone who came to open mic night! Next up is National Gaming Day @ Your Library. We're using this as a kickoff for our new gaming equipment - an Xbox 360 and a Wii! Teens ages 11-18 are invited to stop by this Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. to race in MarioKart, jam in Guitar Hero, rock out in Rock Band 2 and more! Hope to see you then!

Dui!

Everyone knows that Melvil Dewey created the Dewey Decimal System. But did you know about his other idea that never quite caught on? Phonetic spelling. From Wikipedia:

In 1906, Dewey was one of the 30 founding members of the Simplified Spelling Board, founded by Andrew Carnegie to make English easier to learn and understand through changes in the orthography of the English language. His theories of spelling reform found some local success at Lake Placid: there is an "Adirondac Loj" in the area, and dinner menus of the club featured his spelling reform. A September 1927 menu is headed "Simpler spelin" and features dishes like Hadok, Poted beef with noodls, Parsli or Masht potato, Butr, Steamd rys, Letis, and Ys cream. It also advises guests that "All shud see the butiful after-glo on mountains to the east just befor sunset. Fyn vu from Golfhous porch."

Most of that didn't stick, although we do spell the word catalog the way we do (instead of the British catalogue) in part because of him.

Hav a butiful day!

New books this November, part 2

We've got more new books! If none of these catch your eye, leave a comment or send an e-mail (sjohnson (at) osterhout.lib.pa.us) telling me what kind of books you'd like to see more often!

Blundell, Judy. What I Saw and How I Lied.
In 1947, with her jovial stepfather Joe back from the war and family life returning to normal, teenage Evie, smitten by the handsome young ex-GI who seems to have a secret hold on Joe, finds herself caught in a complicated web of lies whose devastating outcome change her life and that of her family forever.







Bray, Libba. The Sweet Far Thing.
At Spence Academy, sixteen-year-old Gemma Doyle continues preparing for her London debut while struggling to determine how best to use magic to resolve a power struggle in the enchanted world of the realms, and to protect her own world and loved ones.








Downham, Jenny. Before I Die.
Tessa has just months to live. Fighting back against hospital visits, endless tests, drugs with excruciating side-effects, Tessa compiles a list. It’s her To Do Before I Die list. And number one is Sex. Released from the constraints of ‘normal’ life, Tessa tastes new experiences to make her feel alive while her failing body struggles to keep up. Tessa’s feelings, her relationships with her father and brother, her estranged mother, her best friend, and her new boyfriend, all are painfully crystallised in the precious weeks before Tessa’s time finally runs out.

This could be you!

Kelsey, at the last teen party, rocking her awesome hippie hair

Sound like fun? Come to our next event!

Open Mic Night
Wednesday, November 12, 6:00-7:30 p.m.

Open Mic Night is an intimate venue for poets and musicians. Whether you sing, speak, or rap, come and share with fellow artists. Feel free to perform your own material or the work of someone you admire. Not up for performing? Every show needs an audience.

Any questions? E-mail Sarah (that's me!) at sjohnson (at) osterhout.lib.pa.us

New books this November

We just got another shipment of new books! Stop by the young adult department and check these out these new titles:

Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

Another New York Times bestseller from Laurie Halse Anderson! High school senior Tyler Miller used to be the kind of guy who faded into the background. But since he got busted for doing graffiti on the school, and spent the summer doing outdoor work to pay for it, he stands out like you wouldn’t believe. His new physique attracts the attention of queen bee Bethany Milbury, who just so happens to be his father’s boss’s daughter, the sister of his biggest enemy— and Tyler’s secret crush. And that sets off a string of events and changes that have Tyler questioning his place in school, in his family, and in the world.


The Patron Saint of Butterflies by local author Cecilia Galante

Agnes and Honey have always been best friends, but they haven’t always been so different. Agnes loves being a Believer. She knows the rules at the Mount Blessing religious commune are there to make her a better person. Honey hates Mount Blessing and the control Emmanuel, their leader, has over her life. The only bright spot is the butterfly garden she’s helping to build, and the journal of butterflies that she keeps. When Agnes’s grandmother makes an unexpected visit to the commune, she discovers a violent secret that the Believers are desperate to keep quiet. And when Agnes’s little brother is seriously injured and Emmanuel refuses to send him to a hospital, Nana Pete takes the three children and escapes the commune. Their journey begins an exploration of faith, friendship, religion and family for the two girls, as Agnes clings to her familiar faith while Honey desperately wants a new future.

Everything Beautiful in the World by Lisa Levchuk

The only good thing about having a mother with cancer is that people are willing to let you get away with pretty much anything. Like failing a Latin test. Or being late to class. Or skipping tennis practice. But there’s one thing Edna’s fairly certain even she can’t get away with – her burgeoning romance with Mr. Howland, her fourth-period Ceramics teacher. That day when Mr. Howland kissed her in his office, she felt like she was floating, like she could levitate right out of her skin. It’s Mr. Howland, with his tousled blond hair and his beautiful guitar and his spot-on impression of Dracula, who makes Edna feel happy for the first time in a long time. But what does Mr. Howland want? And how does Edna really feel – about her mother, about Mr. Howland, about moving forward? Set in New Jersey in the 1980s, this is a piercing story about decisions both heart-wrenching and wonderful, and how life and love so often lead us down unexpected paths.

Dear Julia by Amy Bronwen Zemser

Elaine Hamilton has never wanted to be the center of attention. She'd like nothing more than to cook quietly in her kitchen, mastering French cooking with the recipes of the great Julia Child. So how did she end up with cameras zooming in on her and a crowd cheering her on? Well, it involves an eccentric best friend named after a font, five lively brothers constantly asking, “What's for dinner?,” a rotten fig and a weakness, a feminist congresswoman mother, a yoga-practicing father, a chest full of unsent letters, and many, many roast ducks.