Calling Teen Writers - Created Equal Essay Contest

I know there are some fantastic teen writers out there. Here's your chance to show your stuff! Fauquier County Public Library is now accepting submissions for a teen essay contest.

The essay theme, Created Equal celebrates the brave people in the United States and around the world who have taken a stand for equal rights - throughout history and today. This contest highlights the outstanding titles on the We the People Bookshelf, a collection of books awarded to the library as part of a We the People Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Read more about it here.




The details:

Write an essay about an individual who has been a champion for equal rights and democracy. Please give examples of how this person has been an inspiration to you and/or others. Keep in mind that your champion may be someone in the public eye, but could also be a personal friend, neighbor, or teacher.

• this contest is for students in grades 9-12


• essays should be 1000-1250 words, typed and double-spaced


• you MUST include a cover page (with your name, age, grade, school, address, and phone number) so we know how to get in touch with you if you win!


• you may submit your essay to any Fauquier Public Library branch or you may email a Microsoft Word document to anna.ellis@fauquiercounty.gov


• all essays should be dropped off or emailed by 9 p.m. on Tuesday, November 4 (election day)


• the winner will recieve a brand new MP3 player

Questions? Post them here or call Anna Ellis at (540) 439-9728.

Mission: Mix Tape #1

Thanks to all of you who participated in the Back-to-School Mix Tape Mission last month. Our first set of mixes were upbeat, eclectic, and lots of fun to find in the drop box each week. If you missed the drop box and would like to submit your own "Ode to Summer" playlist, leave it in the comments section below.

****A special thanks to the young zinester who left a copy of "Rewrite #1" in the box. I loved reading it and I hope you will come to our Zines and Minicomics workshop in November (Watch this space for details).****

I hope some of the songs on these "Summer 2008 Soundtracks" will remind us all of warm sun, and long lazy afternoons during the cold winter months to come.

Jessica's Summer Soundtrack:

1. The Walk (Album) - Hanson
2. The Rising (Album) - Bruce Springsteen
3. A Few Small Repairs (Album) - Shawn Colvin
4. Underneath (Album) - Hanson
5. That Great Love Sound (Album) - Raveonettes
6. In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003 (Album) - R.E.M.
7. Greatest Hits (Album) - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
8. Bringing Down The Horse (Album) - The Wallflowers
9. This Side (Album) - Nickel Creek
10. Eye to the Telescope (Album) - K.T. Tunstall

Jude's Summer Soundtrack:

1. Five Becomes Four - Yellowcard
2. My City of Ruins - Bruce Springsteen
3. Miniature Disaster - K.T. Tunstall
4. Werewolves of London - Warren Zevon
5. Spit on a Stranger - Nickel Creek
6. Strong Enough to Break - Hanson
7. Mendocino County Line - Willie Nelson
8. 88 Lines About 44 Women - The Nails
9. Moonlight Serenade - Glenn Miller
10. Taking the Long Way - The Dixie Chicks

Morgan's Summer Soundtrack:

1. Burnin' Up - Jonas Brothers
2. Get Back - Demi Lovato
3. Goodbye - Miley Cyrus
4. Thunder - Boys Like Girls
5. Stay Young - We the Kings
6. Can't Have You - Jonas Brothers
7. Bottom of the Ocean - Miley Cyrus
8. Forget - Demi Lovato
9. Got Me Going Crazy - Jonas Brothers
10. Simple Song - Miley Cyrus

Don't Trust Anyone Over 25

Imagine a high school where the RFID tags in your books could track your every move, cameras with gait-recognition software prevent you from skipping class, and the "free" standard-issue laptop spies on your every keystroke and reports every website you visit to the administrators.

For seventeen-year-old Marcus, the surveillance system at Cesar Chavez High School, is nothing more than a slight nuisance. He has figured out how to use his clever mind and hacker talents to get around the system. Gait-recognition software is foiled with a handful of gravel in your shoes. RFID tags are a simple matter of zapping your book for a few seconds in the teacher's lounge microwave. Marcus (known to his fans as "w1n5t0n") has even written and published a simple hack for maintaining your privacy on those snitchy school computers. Life is good for Marcus. He is clever, witty, and he is about to win a trip with his three best friends to Japan - the grand prize for an Alternate Reality Game called Harajuku Fun Madness.

Then, everything changes. Terrorists brutally attack San Francisco. Marcus and his friends are in the wrong place at the wrong time. They are picked up by the Department of Homeland Security, taken to a nameless -prison where they are questioned and tortured for days, and finally released back into a city paralyzed by fear and suspicion.

Can one teenage hacker lead a youth revolution against an out-of-control government?

Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow, is a fast-moving thriller with X-boxes, VampMobbers, punk rock, civil disobedience, and true friendship. Check it out!

Teen Read Week: Books With Bite

Next week is Teen Read Week at libraries and schools all over the country. It's a week to stop, drop, and read - for the sheer pleasure of rolling around in a great book. Reading is a) fun, b) portable, and best of all, c) it's FREE. So, find yourself a good book and get caught reading for the FUN of it this week.

Can't seem to find a book that makes you want to stay up all night reading under the covers with a flashlight? Then, sink your teeth into this - Readergirlz is hosting "Night Bites", a series of online chats with authors like Coe Booth, Tamora Pierce, Mitali Perkins, and Annette Curtis Klause. There will be a different topic and group of authors every night during Teen Read Week (October 13-17). Chats begin at 9 p.m. EST.



The theme for TRW this year is "Books with Bite" and the library has events planned all week, so be sure to stop by your local branch for some fun.

• Teen Read Week Kick-off Party - 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14 at Bealeton Library - Help give a book cart an Extreme Makeover and get a free book and t-shirt courtesy of the web comic, Unshelved. Compete in the great library PacMan tournament. Bring a friend or two and sample some yummy snacks while you sample some new books.
  
• Creature Feature - 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 15 at Bealeton Library - Imagine it: over-the-top creepy music, a screaming scientist and a misunderstood amphibious monster from the deep. For copyright reasons, we can't tell you the movie title here, but this 1950s monster movie is one of a kind. Come in costume and take home a free comic book. Bring your parents, if you dare!
  
• Food Fear Factor - Is fear a factor for you? If not, wear old clothes, bring a brave friend and take part in our food fear factor event. Who knows what will be on the menu? All challenges are optional - there will be plenty of fun (and just enough fear) for everyone.
  *Marshall Library - 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 15
  *Bealeton Library - 4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 17
  *Warrenton Library - 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18
  

Hello

My name is Anna and I am the new youth services librarian at the Bealeton Library. I moved back to Virginia over the summer after living in Alabama for a couple of years. It feels great to be back in my beautiful home state and I am really enjoying getting to know all of you who use the library here in Bealeton.

I will be helping to plan teen programs for the library and will also be reviewing YA books and posting other tibits on the Library Lounging blog. If you have an idea for a fun event or know of a book, movie or CD we should add to the collection, please be sure to find me next time you're at the Bealeton library. You can also leave a Meebo message for me here on the blog, or better yet, come to the weekly Library Lounge at Bealeton library on Mondays after school.

I just finished Rick Riordan's The Titan's Curse, the third book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, which has been satisfying my need for Harry Potter-like adventure fantasy as of late. If you have a second, post a reply and let me know what you've been reading.