Teens' Top Ten Books of 2007

The books on the following booklist were nominated, selected and seconded by teens according to teen-worthy criteria. The list was compiled as part of YALSA’s Young Adult Galley Project where groups evaluated books published between January 2006 through April 2007. Final nominations for the 2008 Teens’ Top Ten vote will be posted in April at www.ala.org/teenstopten.

And the winners for 2007 are... (drum-roll, please)

1. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2006).
2. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen (Viking Children’s Books, 2006)
3. How to Ruin a Summer Vacation by Simone Elkeles (Flux, 2006).
4. Maximum Ride: School’s Out – Forever by James Patterson (Hachette Book Group USA/Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2006).
5. Firegirl by Tony Abbott (Hachette Book Group USA/Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2006).
6. All Hallows Eve (13 Stories) by Vivian Vande Velde (Harcourt, 2006).
7. Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer (Harcourt, 2006).
8. River Secrets by Shannon Hale (Bloomsbury, 2006).
9. Bad Kitty by Michele Jaffe (HarperCollins, 2006).
10. Road of the Dead by Kevin Brooks (Chicken House, 2006).

Start with this list if you want to familiarize yourself with what makes a good book good for teens, and get hip with teen lit. Happy Reading, jami, ys librarian

Happy Birthday, Mr. Grinch

You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch

You really are a heel.
You’re as cuddly as a cactus,
You’re as charming as an eel.

You’re a monster, Mr. Grinch
Your heart’s an empty hole.
Your brain is full spiders,
You’ve got garlic in your soul, Mr. Grinch.

Next to the Heat and Snow Misers, my favorite negative holiday character is Mr. Grinch. And guess what? He hit the big 5-0 this year! Making his debut in Dr. Seuss’s classic children’s book, Mr. Grinch has been trying to steal Christmas now from the Who’s in Who-ville since 1957. Originally black and white with beady pink eyes, the Grinch perhaps had more of an effect on television in his sickly shade of green. The popular 1966 television episode that we still see today popularized the humorously descriptive song, “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.” Director Ron Howard brought the Grinch to Hollywood (unfortunately with bad reviews) in 2000.

Why does this slinking and slithering dog-abusing emancipated green guy capture our hearts? Probably for the same reasons we love Scrooge, Charles Dickens’ protagonist in A Christmas Carol. Ultimately, we recognize that these characters, in their determination to give away only misery for the holidays, are themselves miserable. We especially love that they recognize this and then admit freely to the errors of their evil ways. We identify with the happy people who joyously accept them nonetheless, and we feel compassionate. And then, of course, we just love happy endings!

So Happy Birthday, and HAPPY HOLIDAYS, Mr. Grinch. ~jami, ys librarian

SONRISAS : LA HORA DE LA SIESTA. #3

Esta mañana terminamos nuestra serie otoñal para niños. Los niños de nuestro grupo gozaron de un tiempo divertido, grupal y educativo aprendiendo acerca de los libros, el canto, el baile y el intercambio social. Sus padres gozaron haciendo nuevas amistades y citando nuevos encuentros.

Una de nuestras metas como bibliotecarios al servicio público es asistirles a alentar a sus hijos a fomentar un aprecio a la lectura. Alfabetización Pujante se basa en el conocimiento preescolar de los niños antes de leer por voluntad propia. Aquellos niños con estas aptitudes tienden a tener más éxito académico.

Nuestra programación infantil es conocido como Toddler-Time . Este programa reanuda el 10 de Enero, repitiéndose cada Jueves a las 10:00 horas. Por mientras tomen en cuenta lo siguiente:

- - El entusiasmo enciende la pasión de la lectura, así que escojan buenos libros para que ambos se diviertan.

- - Utilice un lenguaje rítmico y placente para llamar la atención.

- - Oraciones claras y cortas empleaando entre sí dos grandes palabras cada página para facilitar una conexción entre la historia leída y la palabra escrita.

- - La repitición conlleva la anticipación.

Lo más imprecindible es divertirse leyendo y criando futuros lectores. ¡Verémonos al próximo Toddler-Time en Kid's Place el 10 de Enero!

Time for a Nap

This morning we finished the autumn toddler-time series. The children had a fun, social and educational experience learning about books, singing, dancing and interacting. The parents enjoyed making friends and arranging future play-dates.

One of our aims as youth services librarians is to help you, as parents and caregivers, encourage your children to develop a love of reading. Emergent literacy is what children know about reading before they can read on their own. Children who enter school with these skills are more likely to succeed.

Toddler-time will resume on January 10th, every Thursday at 10 a.m.
Until then, consider the following points when selecting good books for your toddler:

--Enthusiasm ignites a child's love of reading so choose books that entertain both of you.
--Rythmic and other pleasing language appeals to children.
--Colorful and simple illustrations draw children into a story.
--Short clear sentences with just a couple of big words per page help children make a connection between the written word and a story.
--Repetition leads to anticipation for children.

Have fun reading and raising readers, and we’ll see you at Toddler-Time here in Kids’ Place on January 10th ~Jami, YS Librarian

Kids in the News Making Things Work!

It seems that a 9-year old boy may have solved one of the more pervasive sources of domestic discord. Weary of consistent reminders, Jake Wulf of Iowa has created a foot-activated toilet seat lifter he’s calling the “Privy Prop.” He got the idea from observing a trash can with a similar mechanism.

I wonder if one of the books on Jake’s shelves is David Macaulay’s The Way Things Work. Large and colorful diagrams guide your eyes around the mechanics of the daily items we take for granted, like a hand-held can opener, to the more obscure ones we only wish we could get our hands on, like a virtual reality headset.

Ever stop to consider those enticing red laser beams and the barcodes they pass over on your library books? Those black stripes and white spaces are little storage bins that contain bits of computer-coded information. These bits combine in infinite ways to form unique identification tags, which are represented by infinitely unique barcodes. The job of the red laser beam is to reflect this unique code back to the scanning device in the form of light. The scanning device converts this light signal to an electric one and sends it to the computer. The computer then translates this electric signal into the barcode number, which uniquely identifies the item that you are checking out. (Hint: you can leisurely and discreetly ponder this if you use the self-check machines.)

Macaulay’s book is a delight for all ages, and he wrote it especially for those who find technology a “bit” intimidating. We’ve got the book as well as his updated The New Way Things Work; check them out! What will we invent next?

by Jami, Youth Services Librarian

SONRISAS: ARTISTAS JOVENES NECESITADOS!! #2

Nuestra bibliotecaria Jami Trawick está solicitando a la juventud de Sacramento y sus anexos en someter ejemplares de arte. Ejemplos tiene que ser artefactos genuinamente elaborados por el artista y no reproducciones. Sí tienes algún interés que tu arte sea exhibido al público en nuestra biblioteca por favor comunícate con Jami llamanado al 916-264-2973.

SONRISAS: UN HALLOWEEN ESPECIAL EN KID'S PLACE! #1

REUNENSE CON SUS ESPRITUS FANTASMALES Y PRINCESAS PARA HALLOWEEN EN KID'S PLACE EL 27 DE OCTUBRE DESDE LAS 1400 A 1550 HRS. ESTAREMOS LEYENDO HISTORIETAS ESCALOFEIANTES, DECORANDO CALABAZAS Y REPARTIENDO "GOLOSINAS O BROMAS" POR TODA LA BIBLIOTECA CENTRAL.

QUIEN PEDIRA POR MAS ESTE HALLOWEEN Y TENER OTRA OPORTUNIDAD PARA PONERSE ESE DISFRAZ ESPELUZNANTE? ADEMAS CADA SABADO HAY APARCAMIENTO GRATIS EN LA ESQUINA DE LAS CALLES 10 E "I"! POR FAVOR REUNENESE CON NOSOTROS ESTE 27 DE OCTUBRE PARA GOZAR ESTE FESTEJO ANTIGUO!

SU FIEL SERVIDORA JAMI TRAWICK , BIBLIOTECARIA DE SERVICIOS JUVENILES EN KID'S PLACE.
PARA HACER RESERVARVACIONES LLAMEN AL 916-264-2920 Y ASEGURENSE UN RATO PLACENTERO!

HALLOWE'EN
Esta fiesta de origen pagano se celebra en los países anglosajones la víspera del Día de Todos los Santos, ocasión en que se suponía que los muertos visitaban a los vivos. La tradición continúa hoy en día: se vacían calabazas para convertirlas en farolillos con forma de calavera y los niños van de casa en casa disfrazados de brujas o fantasmas. Actualmente, en el Reino Unido se está adoptando la costumbre americana del "treat or trick" (golosina o broma) por la que los niños piden un regalito a los residentes de las casas que visitan y les amenazan con gastarles una broma si no acceden a ello.

A Special Halloween in Kids' Place

Gather all you ghostly ghouls and princesses for Halloween at Kids’ Place on Saturday, October 27 from 2-3:30 p.m. We’ll be reading spooky stories, decorating pumpkins, eating goodies and Trick-or-Treating through the Central Library! Who could ask for more than Halloween treats and another chance to don your Halloween costume? Plus, there’s free parking now on Saturdays! Please register for event online at www.saclibrary.org or by calling 264-2920. Hope to see you on the 27th. Jami, Youth Services Librarian @ Kids’ Place