Teens Only | I Don't Know About You....

...but I'm ready for this school year to be over so I can enjoy reading books for FUN!

So I thought I'd check out some recommended great books for teens, and found a pretty decent list on the YALSA page. 

Here's what's on my TO READ list for Summer 2014:

1) Just One Day by Gayle Forman 

And here's the blurb: Sparks fly when American good girl Allyson encounters laid-back Dutch actor Willem, so she follows him on a whirlwind trip to Paris, upending her life in just one day and prompting a year of self-discovery and the search for true love.

2) When We Wake by Karen Healey

Here's the blurb for this one: In 2027, sixteen-year-old Tegan is just like every other girl--playing the guitar, falling in love, and protesting the wrongs of the world with her friends. But then Tegan dies, waking up 100 years in the future as the unknowing first government guinea pig to be cryogenically frozen and successfully revived. Appalling secrets about her new world come to light, and Tegan must choose to either keep her head down or fight for a better future.

3) Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers

This is the 2nd in the "His Fair Assassin" series. The first book was Grave Mercy. Here's the 4-1-1 on the 2nd book: Sybella's duty as Death's assassin in 15th-century France forces her return home to the personal hell that she had finally escaped. Love and romance, history and magic, vengeance and salvation converge in this sequel to Grave Mercy.

And don't forget your chance to do something very rewarding this Summer: Sign up to be a Book Buddies Tutor at the Chavez Library. For info, call (209) 937-7012. It will change your life!

Happy Reading!

Teens Only | #onedayonedeed

Greetings!

I know you're all busy with school winding down, so this post shall be short! 

I saw something on TV about the 100 Good Deeds Bracelet. It's a cool bracelet made up of 100 beads. But cooler still is the purpose behind it. Here's the info from the website:

Because work gives dignity and freedom...each purchase employs one vulnerable woman...

Because it opens us to see the need for compassion and to hear the call for kindness...

Because you can change the world one deed, one bead, one act of kindness at a time...

Because you matter.

I don't think I need to say anything more.

I bought one. You don't have to buy one to commit to random acts of kindness, however. 

But I bought one because in this busy, busy world in which we find ourselves, there are many days that -- let's face it -- start out rather crummy and go south from there. Just the other day I slept through my alarm (twice), had no cream for my coffee, got stuck in a huge traffic jam, and spilled coffee (without cream!) all over my new white blouse. That was all before 8 am! 

That was one of those days I could have used a reminder to be kind. To be generous. To do something good for somebody else instead of focusing on my own negatives.

Seriously! This is NOT a promotion to make you buy the bracelet. 

But this IS an opportunity for you to do something really, really good for young people in your community.

Summer Book Buddies will return to the Chavez Library in June. This is a fun tutoring program to help children entering 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades who are struggling with reading. Teens 14 years and older with a 3.0 GPA are very welcome to join us for a fun and rewarding experience.

There will be a training on Saturday, June 7 from 10 am until 12 pm. Refreshments will be provided. Book Buddies runs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in June and July.

Be a part of this wonderful community program. Help others. Do something really good!

Questions? Call (209) 937-7012. 

In the meantime, best of luck with the end of the school year!

   

Teens Only | It's Probably On Your School Reading List

It being Farewell to Manzanar, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston's 1973 memoir describing her family's experiences before, during and after their imprisonment at the Manzanar Concentration Camp. You are all aware, smart students that you are, of how the United States government imprisoned Japanese Americans in internment camps during World War II because of their potential threat to national security. I'm reading it right now, which is rather fitting because the first week of May is Asian Pacific American Heritage week. This date was chosen because two important anniversaries occurred during this time: the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants in America in 1843 and the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad (by many Chinese laborers) on May 10, 1869.

 

But back to the book. I'll finish it today because it's only 203 pages. If it's important to you to know our history, and to develop empathy through understanding the plight of others, then I highly recommend you pick up this book. Seriously. At some point it will show up on a school reading list.

 

Jeanne's father was actually sent to an internment camp in North Dakota before being reunited with his family at Manzanar. Here is what she writes about her father's time there:

 

Papa never said more than three or four sentences about his nine months at Fort Lincoln. Few men who spent time there will talk about it more than that. Not because of the physical hardships: he had been through worse times on fishing trips down the coast of Mexico. It was the charge of disloyalty. For a man raised in Japan, there was no greater disgrace. And it was the humiliation. It brought him face to face with his own vulnerability, his own powerlessness. He had no rights, no home, no control over his own life.

 

I'll just let you think about those words for a while. And I hope that you'll join me in reading this important book.

 

Empathy through understanding.

 

And by the way, the Chavez Library is looking for teen volunteers (age 14 and older) to be part of Summer Book Buddies -- a program that helps children entering the 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades with reading. Join us! You will feel really, really great about giving back to your community. Training is Saturday, June 7 from 10 am until 12 pm. Questions? Call (209) 937-7012.

 

Happy reading!

Teens Only | Random Thoughts

Good afternoon!

As you may remember, I wrote about volunteer opportunities -- namely the Book Buddies program -- a while back. Well, well, well. I never, ever -- in my wildest dreams -- expected the turnout I received.

Our Book Buddies program (at the Cesar Chavez Central Library) is a summer reading help project for children entering the 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades. We've got about 50 kids coming to the library every Monday, Wednesday and Friday getting help with their reading. From the smiles on their faces and their excitement each time they sign in, I think this program is a huge success. They're enjoying reading! Hello!! 

This program would never have gotten off the ground without the dedication -- and I should say Dedication with a capital "D" -- of our teen volunteers. They arrive 30-45 minutes early each session and pull materials (books, activities, etc.) to share with their young person or small group of young persons. They read. They encourage. They build confidence. Oh my goodness: they are creating readers!!! Am I slightly over the moon about this? You bet!

I tell the volunteers all the time how much I appreciate them. I hope they hear me. I really do. I hope they know -- if not now, then someday -- what an incredible impact they are making on the lives of young people.

If they need a little help realizing their wonderfulness, here's a thought. And a thought for all of you.

Have you heard of the website www.futureme.org? Let me explain. It's a website where you can write a letter to your future self. Pretty cool, right? You can set the date for the letter to be emailed to you. Set it for a month. Set it for a year. Set it for 10 years. It's up to you. Of course, you'll have to keep the same email address, but that's not a huge thing. 

I'm going to write a letter right now to my future self. I'm going to write about the community spirit I have observed in my teen volunteers this summer. I don't know when I'll have the letter emailed back to me. But if it happens to arrive on a day when I'm in a blue mood, I know I'll be uplifted to remember this awesome group of teens and how they gave of themselves to help others. That will turn around any blue mood...most definitely.

So what are you waiting for? Write a letter to your future self. Have fun.

P.S. If you're wondering about volunteer opportunities at the library, stay tuned. There will be lots more wonderful chances to share your time come September.

In the meantime, be well.

Teens Only | Don't Believe Everything You Hear

You've seen that commercial -- and I can't even remember what it's advertising -- with the woman who says "It's true...I read it on the Internet."

We don't believe everything we read or hear, right?

Made me think of those urban legends. What's an urban legend, you ask? According to Merriam-Webster, an urban legend is an often lurid story or anecdote that is based on hearsay and widely circulated as true. 

The Library has quite a few books on urban legends, or urban folklore as the library catalog likes to say. One of them you might want to check out is Ngaire Genge's Urban Legends: The As-Complete-As-One-Could-Be Guide to Modern Myths. It's cool to figure out whether those legends are really true...or totally false!

I had always heard a "rumor" that there is a private club in Disneyland. When I went there a few years ago, I searched high and low for this private club. Couldn't find it. But then I asked my Disneyland expert, Amy, and she confirmed that one does exist! It's called Club 33 and it's in Disneyland's New Orleans Square. And not that I can't trust everything Amy tells me, but I checked snopes.com just to make sure; it's true. There is a private club in Disneyland. Who knew!?!

Then I started thinking about other things I've been told over the years. Are they really true or just some silly made up story? You probably remember being told by a parent or other adult not to swallow your chewing gum because it takes 7 years to pass through your digestive system. It freaked me out completely the first time I accidentally swallowed a piece of Juicy Fruit gum. That thing was going to be inside my digestive system for 7 years? OMG! So I went to snopes.com to check this out. 

Whew! Not true. You can find the explanation for the debunking of this childhood myth here. (But it's still not a good idea to swallow gum.)

If you're wondering what this snopes.com thing is, let me explain. Snopes.com is a website which researches urban legends, Internet rumors, e-mail forwards, and other stories of unknown or questionable origin. It is a well-known resource for validating and debunking such stories in American popular culture.

 

I think there's a good lesson here: don't believe everything you hear. You can always check snopes.com or, novel thought, visit the library and do the research on your own! Every library branch has a reference section filled with dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a whole bunch more.

 

And if you need another reason to visit the library, check out the calendar of events for exciting programs at a library near you, or if you want to volunteer to be a Summer Book Buddy at the Cesar Chavez Central Library, give me a call at (209) 937-7012.

Have a great week!

Teens Only | Read This If You Want To Make a Difference

Good afternoon!

Today I am presenting an opportunity that is sure to make you feel good, look great on your college application and future job resumes, and really, truly help others.

kidlutions.blogspot.com

This summer, the Cesar Chavez Central Library is hosting a Book Buddies program for children entering 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades. This program is geared to those kids who are really struggling with reading. Reading, as you know, is the foundation for academic success. So we are trying to help these kids now so that their futures are bright!!

Summer Book Buddies needs volunteers! Teens must be 14 years of age and show proof of a 3.0 GPA or provide a letter of reference from a teacher or principal. All you have to do is fill out a volunteer application and show up for this exciting program.

The program will be held Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 3:30-4:30 pm from June 10 through August 16, 2013. Of course, we realize volunteers will have other things going on in the summer, but we hope you'll be able to come to most of the sessions.

A mandatory training will be held Saturday, June 8 from 11 am to 1 pm at the Chavez Library. The training will be repeated Saturday, June 15 as well. Lunch will be provided.

And did I mention that volunteers who attend at least 15 sessions receive a special gift at the end of Summer Book Buddies? It's true. I wouldn't lie.

Here's a chance to do something really positive this summer. And we'll give you training and all the materials you'll need. You'll see. It will even be fun.

If you are interested, please contact me at suzy.daveluy@stocktongov.com or call me at (209) 937-7012. Phone lines are open. :)

Still thinking about it? Consider this quote from Winston Churchill: You make a living by what you get, but you make a life by what you give. 

Make a difference!