The end of school and the beginning of summer vacation are just around the corner. This probably means that you either have lots of assignments coming up or are already working on them. This seems a good time to remind you of our databases which can help you when you are looking for sources of information. They are available from any Internet-enabled computer with your library card number, even when it's late at night and you have that paper due tomorrow.

History Reference Center

        This database allows you to search for information on US history or world history.

Biography in Context

If you need information about a specific person's life, the odds are good that you will find it in this source. It contains lots of good information about persons both living and dead, historical and contemporary.

Opposing Viewpoints in Context

This database overs today’s hottest social issues, from Offshore Drilling to Climate Change, Health Care to Immigration, includes more than 14,000 pro/con viewpoint essays.

Click here to access these databases and more like them. 

Did you hear about the rose that grew
from a crack in the concrete?
Proving nature's law is wrong it
learned to walk with out having feet.
Funny it seems, but by keeping it's dreams,
it learned to breathe fresh air.
Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else ever cared.

~Tupac Shakur from The Rose that Grew From Concrete

April is National Poetry Month. For all you poetry lovers out there, some of the branches are hosting open mic events and poetry contests. Check the listing below and find a good poem to read and share with others or get creative and write your own. 

Beltsville Branch
Poetry Contest Reading
Monday, April 8, 7 pm
Join us for a night of poetry. The winners of the Beltsville Annual Poetry contest will be announced, and prizes awarded to participants who entered in the following categories:
Ages 6-12; Ages 13-18, and Adults.
 

Greenbelt Branch
Poetry Month Celebration @ Greenbelt Library
Saturday, April 20, 2 pm
Poets will perform / read their work or favorite works of others. Plus poetry workshop followed by open mic.
 
Largo-Kettering Branch
Open Mic Poetry
Tuesday, April 9, 7 pm
Celebrate National Poetry Month. Come share your favorite poem during our open mic poetry program. Master of Ceremonies Avery Lanier Tynes.
    
    
Oxon Hill Branch
WORD UP! - Poetry in the Library
Tuesday, April 30, 7 pm
Poets of all ages are encouraged to submit original poems by Saturday, April 20. The winning poems will be read by the poets during the Word Up! program on Tuesday, April 30, 7 pm. This program is sponsored by Friends of the Oxon Hill Library who will award the prizes. Details and entry forms are available at the Information Desk.
 
Upper Marlboro Branch
Upper Marlboro Annual Poetry Contest
Ages 5-18, April 2013
Are you a budding poet? Want to share some of your work and possibly win a cash prize? Submit your poetry to the Upper Marlboro Library by Tuesday, April 30 to be considered in the poetry contest. On the back of your entry print your name, age, telephone number, and your school. You must be 5-18 years old to enter.

CHECK IN @ YOUR LIBRARY

Although the week is almost over, we can't forget about Teen Tech Week. This Teen Tech Week (March 10-16, 2013), invites you to Check In @ your library. This year's theme encourages libraries to throw open their physical and virtual doors to teens and showcase the outstanding technology they offer, from services such as online homework help and digital literacy-focused programs to resources like e-books, movies, music, audiobooks, databases and more.

Check in @ your library anytime. We offer classic book discussions, teen advisory boards, gaming to literacy-infused programs. If you want to stay home, we have free music downloads from Freegal, free e-books from Overdrive, free magazines from Zinio, online homework help from Brainfuse and Maryland AskUsNow virtual reference service. Also, learn a new language from home with BYKI (Before You Know It) or explore new titles for teens with Next Reads and so much more. 

We are here to serve YOU!

Bookmark Design Contest Winners will be Announced Starting the Week of April 29, 2013.

The First Annual Summer Reading Bookmark Design Contest for Grades Pre-K through Adults has come to a close.

We are extremely excited to announce that our contest had over 100 bookmark design entries submitted for consideration.
The winners of this contest will be announced throughout the month of May leading up to the start of the 2013 Summer Reading Program.

All winning bookmark designs will be available for download and in your local library branches starting in June 2013.

Thank you everyone for making our First Annual Summer Reading Bookmark Design Contest such a successful event!

"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," is the first of a trilogy of films from Academy-Award Winning Director Peter Jackson adapting the popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien. For all of those who haven't read the Hobbit, this is set in Middle-earth 60 years before "The Lord of the Rings" starts. This is the story of Bilbo's adventure.

We got Gollum (aka Smeagol), Bilbo Baggins (young version), Gandalf the Grey, hobbits, lots of dwarfs and more hobbits all packed in one almost 3-hour long movie. You just can't resist the awesomeness of Gollum and his absolute obsession with his "precious". Start reading the book before heading out to see the movie.

Read the other three books in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy...

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us!

All Prince George's County Memorial Library System locations will be closed on Thursday, November 22. We'll be open for business until 5 p. m. on Wednesday, November 21. Be sure to stock up on books, audio books, CDs & DVDs by Wednesday. Don't forget if you have a Kindle, iPad, iPhone, e-books are cool too, as well as free music downloads from Freegal and free magazine downloads from Zinio. Check here to get started!

Before you enjoy your helping of turkey, stuffing, yams, pies and cakes, take a look at these insanely crazy turkey cakes from Cake Wrecks. They are hilarious!

This Teen Read Week™ (Oct. 14-20), We dare you to read for the fun of it! Teen Read Week is a time to celebrate reading for fun and encourage teens to take advantage of reading in all its forms —books and magazines, e-books, audiobooks and more — and become regular library users.

Try these books if you dare!

10th Grade Bleeds
by Heather Brewer
As the evil vampire D'Ablo seeks the ritual that would steal half-vampire Vlad's powers, Vlad struggles to resist feeding on the people around him, has a conflict with his best friend Henry, and gives up all hope of a normal year at Bathory High. This is the third installment in the Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series.

Flesh & Bone
By Jonathan Maberry
Benny, Nix, Lou, and Lilah journey through a fierce wilderness that was once America searching for the jet they saw months ago, while evading fierce animals and a new kind of zombie. This is third book in the Rot & Ruin series.

I Kissed a Zombie, and I Like It
by Adam Selzer
Living in the post-human era when the undead are part of everyday life, high schooler Alley breaks her no-dating rule when Doug catches her eye, but classmate Will demands to turn her into a vampire and her zombie boyfriend may be unable to stop him.

Something Wicked This Way Comes
by Rad Bradbury
"The carnival rolls in sometime after midnight, ushering in Halloween a week early. The shrill siren song of a calliope beckons to all with a seductive promise of dreams and youth regained. In this season of dying, Cooger & Dark's pandemonium Shadow Show has come to Green Town, Illinois, to destroy every life touched by its strange and sinister mystery. And two boys will discover the secret of its smoke, mazes, and mirrors; two friends who will soon know all too well the heavy cost of wishes... and the stuff of nightmare"--Back cover.

Girl of Nightmares
by Kendare Blake
In the sequel to "Anna Dressed in Blood" months after Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell and sacrificed herself for seventeen-year-old ghost hunter Cas Lowood, persistent visions of Anna being tortured causes Cas to decide to save her as she once saved him.

 Alice in Zombieland (on order)
by Gena Showalter
To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn't careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies. -(Simon and Schuster) 

Zom-B (on order)
by Darren Shan
Forced to tolerate his abusive father's racist views and venting his own frustrations by clashing with the kids at school, B wonders about a zombie outbreak in Ireland and finds himself struggling for survival while forging precarious alliances in the serpentine corridors of his high school. By the best-selling author of Cirque du Freak. -(Baker & Taylor)

Do you like to cook? Watch Food Network or Cooking Channel often? Or aspire to someday be an Executive Chef or be like Rachel Ray, well here's a program that is sure to pique your interest and make your mouth water!

Cooking For Teens

Hillcrest Heights Branch

Monday, October 1, 2012 at 5 pm

Executive Chef Clay started his culinary career after graduating from Washington Culinary School in the District of Columbia, and became an executive chef in his early 20's working in some of Washington, DC and Maryland's most exclusive hotels and fine dining restaurants. He has served as Chef for several restaurants in the Clyde's Restaurant Group including the Old Ebbit Grill and Clyde's Columbia. He was Executive Chef at Clyde's Columbia before accepting the position at Clyde's Gallery Place Restaurant where he supervises a staff of 80 cooks and prep staff. Ages 13-18.

It's that time of year again... back to school time!

Want something to get your mind back into the "schoo" mode? Check these out!

Sleeping Freshman Never Lie by David Lubar

Ah the life of a freshman. The stuck combination locks. The upper classmen bullies. The homework. The girls who don't look at you. This is the life of Scott Hudson our faithful narrator. Join him as he navigates the hallways, joins the school play and tries to find his place in the brand new world of high school.

Airball: My Life in Briefs by Lisa Harkrader

Uncoordinated Kansas seventh-grader Kirby Nickel braves his coach's ire and becomes captain of the basketball team in order to help him prove that NBA star Brett McGrew is the father he has never known.

Schooled by Gordon Korman

Homeschooled by his hippie grandmother, Capricorn (Cap) Anderson has never watched television, tasted a pizza, or even heard of a wedgie. But when his grandmother lands in the hospital, Cap is forced to move in with a guidance counselor and attend the local middle school. While Cap knows a lot about tie-dyeing and Zen Buddhism, no education could prepare him for the politics of public school.

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Miles has never had much luck with other teens his own age. When he has the chance to start over at boarding school he has new adventures, new crushes, new best friends and even a new nickname for his extremely skinny self: Pudge.

Happyface by Stephen Emond

Happyface is starting over because he needs to leave his past behind. So with his drawings and his journey to help him, he's doing his best not to look back. But what happens if the things he wants to forget just won't leave him alone? Don't call Happyface a Wimpy-Kid read-alike.

Have you logged in your minutes or hours for an entry in the last Summer Reading Program drawing? We still have more awesome prizes left to give out to several lucky readers.  Summer Reading ends August 31, 2012. The last Teen Only drawing will be August 31. All you need is at least ONE ENTRY (240 minutes) EARNED.

Oh by the way, here are two winners of the June Prize Drawings winners from the Spauldings Branch. Congratulations to Monica Garvin and Leira Ford! As we get more pictures of other winners, they will be posted soon. Again, Kudos!

Summer Reading Program 2012 is here! Starts June 1, 2012. 

How to Enter

For every 240 minutes (4 hours) spent reading, you'll be entered to win one of our awesome prizes!!!!

*Sign up online here or at your library and get a FREE Gift!

*Read and attend some exciting library programs!

*Log your time under your username or turn in your reading log at your local library.

*Read More! Don't forget after reading the first 240 minutes (4 hours), pick up your Own the Night Sportspack.

Stop by your Library and get these mini giveaways:

Free Book Coupon, Free California Tortilla Bookmark coupon, Pencils, Own the Night Sportspack and Bookmarks!

Prizes Available also include:

Own the Night T-Shirts, $15 Amazon Gift Cards, Amazon Kindles and more!!!!!!!

It's that special party time of the year-PROM!!!!  

It's Our Prom (so deal with it) by Julie Anne Peters
Told in separate voices, Azure, who is a lesbian, and Luke, who is bisexual, help plan an inclusive senior prom while Luke is writing and producing a musical about his life, both are working through the crush they have on their friend Radhika, and all three are dealing with problems at home.  

Ditched: a love story by Robin Mellom
When high school student Justina ends up in a ditch in the middle of the night after prom, she stumbles to a nearby 7-Eleven where she tries to recall exactly how she got there.     

Prom: a novel based on the major motion picture by Ellie O'Ryan
Nova Prescott is the president of this year's Prom Committee at Brookside High. After an accidental fire causes the prom decorations to go up in smoke, Jesse Richter is enlisted by the principal to do so community service and help Nova repair the damage. Will Nova go to the dance with Jesse (to whom she is attracted), or with Brandon Roberts (with whom Nova had wanted for ages to go to the prom)?  

The Anti-Prom by Abby McDonald
On prom night, Bliss, Jolene, and Meg, students from the same high school who barely know one another, band together to get revenge against Bliss's boyfriend and her best friend, whom she caught together in the limousine they rented.  

Zombie queen of Newbury High by Amanda Ashby
While trying to cast a love spell on her date on the eve of the senior prom, Mia inadvertently infects her entire high school class with a virus that will turn them all into zombies.   

Books with a Kiss!

Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony
After her mother died, Glory retreated into herself and her music. Her single father raised her as a piano prodigy, with a rigid schedule and the goal of playing sold-out shows across the globe. Now, as a teenager, Glory has disappeared. As we flash back to the events leading up to her disappearance, we see a girl on the precipice of disaster. Brilliant and lonely, Glory is drawn to an artistic new boy, Frank, who moves in next door. The farther she falls, the deeper she spirals into madness. Before long, Glory is unable to play anything but the song "Chopsticks." But nothing is what it seems, and Glory's reality is not reality at all. In this stunningly moving novel told in photographs, pictures, and words, it's up to the reader to decide what is real, what is imagined, and what has been madness all along....

Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles
Living on the University of Colorado-Boulder campus with his older brother Alex, a college student and ex-gang member, high school senior Carlos is not ready to give up his wild ways until he meets a shy classmate named Kiara and becomes unwillingly involved in a drug ring.  

Try Not to Breathe by Jennifer Hubbard
The summer Ryan is released from a mental hospital following his suicide attempt, he meets Nicki, who gets him to share his darkest secrets while hiding secrets of her own.     

The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard
Take Romeo and Juliet . Add The Outsiders . Mix thoroughly. Colt and Julia were secretly together for an entire year, and no one, not even Julia's boyfriend knew. They had nothing in common, with Julia in her country club world on Black Mountain and Colt from down on the flats, but it never mattered. Until Julia dies in a car accident, and Colt learns the price of secrecy. He can't mourn Julia openly, and he's tormented that he might have played a part in her death. When Julia's journal ends up in his hands, Colt relives their year together at the same time that he's desperately trying to forget her. But how do you get over someone who was never yours in the first place?

Played by Dana Davidson
"When one of Ian's boys dares him to get plain-faced Kylie Winship to sleep with him in just three weeks, he thinks it'll be a breeze. Tall and fine, with honey-colored skin and eyes, Ian is used to getting what he wants from girls. And if he succeeds in playing Kylie, he'll be down with the most popular crew in his high school. But this girl, who everyone considers a nobody, is turning out to be more surprising than he ever could have imagined"--Back cover.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by  Jennifer E. Smith
Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything? Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's in seat 18C. Hadley's in 18A. Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.

Middle Schoolers! Join Read Across Maryland: 30 for 30 Program

Prince George's County Memorial Library System in partnership with area Title 1 middle schools, launches the Read Across Maryland Program in which students read at least 30 minutes for 30 days.  Beginning March 2 through March 31 celebrate Read Across Maryland month by reading with family, friends or by yourself.  Participating students in the middle school with the most reading minutes will be eligible for prizes like a Kindle Fire or gift card. Read 30 minutes for 30 days and make reading a habit that will last a lifetime.

This year Maryland State Educators Association (MSEA) has chosen Andrew Jackson Academy and Walker Mill Middle School in Prince George's County as pilot locations to see what happens when an entire school competes to read 30 minutes for 30 days. How many will keep the pace? How many will stay the course? How many will start to see reading in a different way? What kind of readers will we see at Andrew Jackson Academy and Walker Mill Middle School at the end of thirty days?

A Kick-off event was held at the Spauldings Branch Library featuring Prince George’s County author, hip-hop musician and actor Tray Chaney, best known as “Poot” from HBO’s The Wire. Tray was joined by 93.9 WKYS radio personality, Angie Ange and County Executive, Rushern L. Baker who together challenged students from each of the schools to read, read, read!

For more details about Read Across Maryland, visit www.readacrossmaryland.org.

Check out Tray Chaney, aka "Poot" from HBO's The Wire- Radical Readers video, which was shot at Andrew Jackson Academy in Forestville, MD.   

The William C. Morris YA Debut Award

Started in 2009, honors a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens and celebrating impressive new voices in young adult literature.

It is a cool, but honorable way to bring attention to writers who are relatively new to the YA lit world. Of course, we have to spotlight has be cast upon the 2012 winner and the 2012 finalists. Be sure to check them out in your spare.

2012 Winner

Where Things Come Back
by John Corey Whaley
Seventeen-year-old Cullen's summer in Lily, Arkansas, is marked by his cousin's death by overdose, an alleged spotting of a woodpecker thought to be extinct, failed romances, and his younger brother's sudden disappearance. 

2012 Finalists

The Girl of Fire and Thorns
by Rae Carson
Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness. Elisa is the chosen one. But she is also the younger of two princesses. The one who has never done anything remarkable, and can't see how she ever will. Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king-a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs her to be the chosen one, not a failure of a princess. And he's not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies, seething with dark magic, are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people's savior, and he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake. Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn't die young. Most of the chosen do.

Paper Covers Rock
by Jenny Hubbard
In 1982 Buncombe County, North Carolina, sixteen-year-old Alex Stromm writes of the aftermath of the accidental drowning of a friend, as his English teacher reaches out to him while he and a fellow boarding school student try to cover things up.     

Under the Mesquite
by Guadalupe Garcia McCall
Throughout her high school years, as her mother battles cancer, Lupita takes on more responsibility for her house and seven younger siblings, while finding refuge in acting and writing poetry. A novel in verse.

Between Shades of Gray
by Ruta Sepetys
In 1941, fifteen-year-old Lina, her mother, and brother are pulled from their Lithuanian home by Soviet guards and sent to Siberia, where her father is sentenced to death in a prison camp while she fights for her life, vowing to honor her family and the thousands like hers by burying her story in a jar on Lithuanian soil. Based on the author's family, includes a historical note.     

Today is a big day in the world of Libraries. It's the day of the American Library Association's Youth Media Awards. The ALA Youth Media Awards honor children's and young adult authors and illustrators, as well as producers of children's audio and video materials.  They'll be announcing the winners in the big categories like Caldecott, Newberry Award, the Coretta Scott King Book Awards, Alex Awards, Margaret A. Edwards Award and of course, Printz.

The Printz Award is awarded every year to a book that "exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature." It's definitely like the Grammy or Oscars for the young adult lit world. The ALA Youth Media Awards are selected under a cloak of secrecy. This year, the announcements were made at 7:45 a. m. CT in Dallas and librarians, book sellers and authors across the world tuned in to their computers to see who was awarded the grand prize.

Follow the link to see who the winners are... http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/news/ala/american-library-association-announces-2012-youth-media-award-winners. 

Happy New Year!

Want to start the new year off with a good book? Wondering what to read next? Sign-up with NextReads e-newsletter. You can receive monthly book suggestions on all your favorite topics for teens in your email.

All you need is an email. Subscribe to our NextReads newsletter. It's free!

Best known for The Wolves of Mercy Falls series and her new bestselling novel The Scorpio Races, Maggie Stiefvater is definitely a writer to discover! She writes about homicidal fairies. She writes about werewolf love. Some are about neither. She's an avid reader, an award-winning colored pencil artist, and plays several musical instruments, including the Celtic harp, the piano, and the bagpipes. She also makes great cocktail party conversation.

In her latest book The Scorpio Races, nineteen-year-old returning champion Sean Kendrick competes against Puck Connolly, the first girl ever to ride in the annual Scorpio Races, both trying to keep hold of their dangerous water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. As she did in her bestselling The Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy, author Maggie Stiefvater takes us to the breaking point, where both love and life meet their greatest obstacles, and only the strong of heart can survive.

 To get the latest news on Maggie Stiefvater's novels, travel dates, and more, follow her blog.

Other Books to Read By Maggie Stiefvater:

Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #1)

Linger (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #2)

Forever (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #3)

Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception ( Book of Faerie, #1)

Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie (Book of Faerie, #2)

Are you a writer? Here's a challenge that is fairly easy to take on during the month of November. November is National Novel Writing Month. During the entire month, you can attempt to write the first draft of your novel. Check out the National Novel Write Month web site for more information on how to get started. Maybe some day we might see your novel listed on the New York Times Best Sellers List.

If you decided to take on the National Novel Writing Month Challenge, let us know, how is it going. Give us an update on our PGCMLS Teen Facebook page!

Guess what teens? The YALSA TEEN TOP TEN has been decided by you (teens from all over the country) and posted. Check out the results right here!

1. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

2. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

3. Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

4. I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

5. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

6. Matched by Ally Condie

7. Angel: A Maximum Ride Novel by James Patterson

8. Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

9. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

10. Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

The cover art is priceless! The title, on the other hand, makes you scratch your head and wonder is Mr. Darcy a flesh eating zombie or is Elizabeth Bennett out to kill him despite her attraction to him? Not really! 

It’s a new literary mash-up called quirk classics, which humorously fuses old classic favorites like Jane Austen’s, Pride and Prejudice with flesh eating, brain consuming zombies or Louisa May Alcotts’ Little Women with werewolves.

Check out Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: the graphic novel and see Miss Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy kick some zombie butts. Here are more quirky classic series titles with more zombies, sea monsters, killer androids, and werewolves.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: the graphic novel by Seth Grahame-Smith

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls: a prequel by Steve Hockensmith

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dreadfully Ever After by Steven Hockensmith

Little Women and Werewolves by Porter Grand

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Ben H. Winters

Android Karenia by Ben H. Winters

Happy Teen Read Week!

Teen Read Week is an initiative of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), which started in 1998. This year's theme is Picture It @ your library®, which encourages teens to read graphic novels and other illustrated materials, seek out creative books, or imagine the world through literature, just for the fun of it. You heard it, read graphic novels and other illustrated materials just for the fun of it. This week we will highlight new graphic novels we think you may like to read for fun, showcase books to help you create your own graphic novel or comics, and give you the low-down on which classics have turned graphic. Here's a hint for you - Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliette in full color.

You might wonder why we celebrate Teen Read Week? Here's a good answer taken straight from YALSA's website...

Teens have so many options for entertainment, so it's important to remind them to spend time reading for pleasure: it's free, fun, and can be done anywhere! Research shows that teens who read for fun have better test scores and are more likely to succeed in the workforce. Also, it’s a great chance to let your school or your public library communities know how important teen services are! Let teens know the possibilities that exist within your doors, and within the covers of books.

So check out which branches are hosting programs during Teen Read Week! Don't forget to check here to see which graphic novels and other illustrated materials will be highlighted and picture yourself reading them.

October is here! There's a crisp, cool chill in the air. What better way to start off the month with some books that will give you goose bumps and hopefully bring your core temperature down a few degrees.  Get ready for teeth-chattering thrills that will leave you shaking.

Flip by Martyn Bedford
One December night, 14-year-old Alex goes to bed. He wakes up to  find himself in the wrong bedroom, in an unfamiliar house, in a different part of the country, and it's the middle of June. Six months have disappeared overnight. The family at the breakfast table are total strangers. And when he looks in the mirror, another boy's face stares back at him.  A boy named Flip. Unless Alex finds out what's happened and how to get back to his own life,  he may be trapped forever inside a body that belongs to someone else.  Questions of identity, the will to survive, and what you're willing to sacrifice to be alive make this extraordinary book impossible to put down.

Nightspell by Leah Cypress
Here be ghosts, the maps said, and that was all. In this haunted kingdom, ghosts linger-not just in the deepest forests or the darkest caverns, but alongside the living, as part of a twisted palace court that revels all night and sleeps through the daylight hours. Darri's sister was trapped in this place of fear and shadows as a child. And now Darri has a chance to save her sister . . . if she agrees to a betrothal with the prince of the dead. But nothing is simple in this eerie kingdom-not her sister, who has changed beyond recognition; not her plan, which will be thrown off track almost at once; and not the undead prince, who seems more alive than anyone else. In a court seething with the desire for vengeance, Darri holds the key to the balance between life and death. Can her warrior heart withstand the most wrenching choice of all?

Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
Charlie Bucktin, a bookish thirteen year old, is startled one summer night by an urgent knock on his bedroom window. His visitor is Jasper Jones, an outcast in their small mining town, and he has come to ask for Charlie's help. Terribly afraid but desperate to impress, Charlie follows him into the night. Jasper takes him to his secret glade, where Charlie witnesses Jasper's horrible discovery. With his secret like a brick in his belly, Charlie is pushed and pulled by a town closing in on itself in fear and suspicion. He locks horns with his tempestuous mother, falls nervously in love, and battles to keep a lid on his zealous best friend. In the simmering summer where everything changes, Charlie learns why the truth of things is so hard to know, and even harder to hold in his heart.

I Don’t Want to Kill You by Dan Wells
Dan Wells introduced us to John Wayne Cleaver in the chilling novels I Am Not a Serial Killer and Mr. Monster . In I Don't Want to Kill You, Cleaver faces his toughest challenge yet. John Wayne Cleaver has called a demon---literally called it on the phone---and challenged it to a fight. He' s faced two monsters already, barely escaping with his life, and now he' s done running; he' s taking the fight to them. As he wades through the town' s darkest secrets, searching for any sign of who the demon might be, one thing becomes all too clear: in a game of cat and mouse with a supernatural killer, you are always the mouse. If you are fan of Jeff Lindsay's Dexter series, you will

Hispanic Heritage Month - September 15 to October 15

Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, by celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.

Great Books For You (Teens)!

Learning to Die in Miami: Confessions of a Refugee Boy by Carlos M. Eire

Following the National-Book-Award-winning Waiting for Snow in Havana, comes the story of a stranger in a strange land, Eire (Waiting for Snow in Havana), one of 14,000 children airlifted out of Cuba in Operation Peter Pan in 1962, describes the classic American immigrant experience in Miami, Fla., with a mix of insightful observation, humor, and heartfelt emotion.    

Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles

Living on the University of Colorado-Boulder campus with his older brother Alex, a college student and ex-gang member, high school senior Carlos is not ready to give up his wild ways until he meets a shy classmate named Kiara and becomes unwillingly involved in a drug ring.   

Messed Up by Janet Nichols Lynch

With his father out of the picture and his mom in prison, Mexican American fifteen-year-old R. D. has been living with his grandmother and her boyfriend, Earl. RD is repeating the eighth grade and planning to have an easy year. But after his grandmother takes off with a new boyfriend and Earl, unexpectedly dies heartbroken but determined to stay out trouble and a group home, R.D. is left to fend for himself while avoiding being caught. But how long can R. D. keep up the front?

Carmen: An Urban Adaptation of the Opera by Walter Dean Myers

Intense and gritty, the latest young adult novel from award-winning, critically acclaimed author Myers updates Bizet's opera with a hot, urban beat. A policeman's obsessive love for a tempestuous wig factory worker ends in tragedy in this updated version of Bizet's Carmen, set in Spanish Harlem, and told in screenplay format. 

Look out for these ...

♦ The Fortune of Carmen Navarro by Jen Bryant

♦  You Don't Have a Clue: Latino mystery stories for teens: credited by Sarah Cortez

♦ Sweet 15 by Emily Adler and Alex Echevarria

♦ Addicted to Her by Janet Nichols Lynch

♦ What Can (t) Wait by Ashley Hope Perez

♦ The Last Summer of the Death Warriors by Francisco X. Stork

♦ The Fortune of Carmen Navarro by Jen Bryant

♦ He Forgot to Say Goodbye by Benjamin Alire Sá enz

♦ Mexican Whiteboy by Matt de la Peña

♦ Cuba 15: a novel by Nancy Osa

♦ Estrella’s Quinceañera by Malín Alegría

As the 10th anniversary of this epoch moment approaches, Americans find themselves reflecting back on the historic day and its aftermath. Some of our readers were probably too young or perhaps vaguely remember the events that occurred on that tragic day. It will forever be remembered by those that survived, their loved ones, and the high school students at Stuyvesant High School, located only a few blocks away from the World Trade Center. It will remain a day in history none of us will ever forget.

With their eyes : September 11th : the view from a high school at ground zero

Tuesday, September 11, seemed like any other day at Stuyvesant High School, only a few blocks away from the World Trade Center. The semester was just beginning, and the students, faculty, and staff were ready to start a new year. Within a few hours that Tuesday morning, they would experience an event that transformed all their lives completely. Here, in their own words, are the firsthand stories of a day none of us will ever forget.
 

September 11, 2001: Attack on New York City (Updated) by  Wilborn Hampton

Recounts one horrifying day in history through the eyes of several who experienced it firsthand. A blind man and his dog struggling to escape from the burning North Tower, a company of firefighters risking their lives to help with the evacuation, an ordinary citizen turned rescue worker sifting through debris after the towers collapsed - each of these individuals endured a personal nightmare, and each carries a separate memory. The updated 2011 edition includes an Epilogue by the author that spans the decade since 9/11/01 and concludes with the death of Osama Bin Laden.
 

Love is the Higher Law by David Levithan

Three New York City teens--Claire, Jasper, and Peter, express their reactions to the bombing of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, and its impact on their lives and the world.      
 

Shine, Coconut Moon by Neesha Meminger

Samar is an Indian-American teenager whose mother has kept her away from her old-fashioned family. It's never been a problem for Sam, until after 9/11. A man in a turban shows up at Sam's house and turns out to be her uncle, who wants to reconcile the family and teach Sam about her Sikh heritage.
 

TimeRiders by Alex Scarrow

Maddy should have died in a plane crash. Liam should have died at sea when the Titanic sank. Sal should have died in a tragic fire. But a mysterious man whisked them away to safety. Maddy, Liam, and Sal quickly learn that time travel is no longer just a hope for the future; it is a dangerous reality. And they weren't just rescued from their terrible fates. . . they were recruited for the agency of TimeRiders created to protect the world from those seeking to alter the course of history for personal gain. By reliving the highly documented events in New York City on 9/11, they can closely monitor history for any deviations--large or small. When just such a change is detected, they are alerted that a threat is at hand unleashing the evil of the Nazis to wreak havoc with Earth's present and future. Can Maddy, Liam, and Sal fulfill their destinies as keepers of time to save the world from utter destruction?

Ask Me No Questions by Marina Budhos

Fourteen-year-old Nadira and her family are illegal aliens, fleeing to the Canadian border -- running from the country they thought was their home. For years since emigrating from Bangladesh, they have lived on expired visas in New York City, hoping they could someday realize their dream of becoming legal citizens of the United States. But after 9/11, everything changes. Suddenly, being Muslim means being dangerous, a suspected terrorist. And when Nadira's father is arrested and detained at the border, Nadira and her older sister, Aisha, are sent back to Queens and told to carry on, as if everything is the same. But of course nothing is the same. Nadira and Aisha live in fear they'll have to return to a Bangladesh they hardly know. Aisha, always the responsible one, falls apart. It's up to Nadira to find a way to bring her family back together again.

Here on this blog and on Facebook, you may see references to TAB and wonder how you could be part of this cool sounding acronym.  TAB stands for Teen Advisory Board, the library's version of a group for teens only between the ages of 13 to 18 (unless otherwise specified).

It's a fun time to get to talk to teens from other schools, plan and host events that are of interest to you, voice your opinion about what you and/or dislike about the Library and learn what everyone has been up to and reading in school and out. If you like to talk, hang out with a group and have fun - joining a TAB group may be just for you.  Here’s something else that may spark your interest- some TAB groups offer volunteer service hours. Plus, you get a free snack.  You can’t beat that!

For more info, stop by the branch closest to you and stay for a meeting:

►Laurel Branch   Wednesday, September 14, 7 pm
►New Carrollton Branch  Saturday,  September 17, Noon
►Oxon Hill Branch  Monday, September 12, 7:30 pm  
►Surratts-Clinton Branch  Tuesday, September 27, 7 pm
►Upper Marlboro Branch  Wednesday, September 28, 5 pm

The deadline is here. Today is the last day to sign up for summer reading!

3rd Drawing is September 1st. Tomorrow! Prizes include Flip Video Camera, Netbook, XBox 360 w/ Kinect and Playstation 3.

Grand Prize is Apple iPad, 16 GB (Must log at least 40 hours).

Thanks to everyone who has made this a great summer for reading!

I hate to be bitter grapes, but summer is slowly reaching an end. School just started and Maryland tax free week is over, we thought this would be a safe way to present you with a *super* short list of books for heading back to school. Here are some suggestions of books for those of you starting out somewhere new this school year.
 

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Before, Miles “Pudge” Halter’s whole life has been one big non-event. Then he heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into a new life, and steals his heart. Nothing is ever the same.
 

 What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen

Who is the real McLean? Following her parents' bitter divorce as she and her father move from town to town, seventeen-year-old Mclean reinvents herself at each school she attends until she is no longer sure she knows who she is or where she belongs.

Happy Face by Stephen Emond

Just put on a happy face! After going through traumatic times, a troubled, socially awkward teenager moves to a new school where he tries to reinvent himself.

     The Big Crunch by Pete Hautman

June is starting at her sixth school in four years when she meets Wes, who has just broken up with a girlfriend, and although they do not share an instant or intense connection, attraction turns to love and they wonder where it will lead.

I like TV a lot. Seriously like a ridiculously embarrassing amount. Two of my favorite shows, So You Think You Can Dance has ended and MTV’s Teen Wolf is coming to the end of its season. And I'm definitely not ready to let go of Hell's Kitchen and MasterChef  just yet, either. After their summer runs I will be left with major t. v. withdrawal.  At least I still have my cooking shows. I figured now would be a good time to take a look at some books that may help the werewolf and dance voids in my life.

MTV's Teen Wolf is loosely based on the 1985 film starring Michael J. Fox. It is nothing like the Twilight series, with the exception of the werewolves all have rock hard abs and a six-pack like Twilight's Jacob, but the show has those typical teen clichés. It tells the story of Scott as he tries to walk the fine line between embracing his newfound powers after being bitten by an alpha werewolf or wanting to be with Allison, a girl he can’t get enough of. Warning: Most of the werewolves in these books don't have rock hard abs to visualize.

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
After a Ferris, or werewolf, killed their grandmother and almost killed them, sisters Scarlett and Rosie March devote themselves to hunting and killing the beasts that prey on teenage girls, learning how to lure them with red cloaks and occasionally using the help  their old friend, Silas, the woodsman's son.

Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright
This is a dangerous new vision of a classic fairy tale. The body of a young girl is discovered in a field of wheat. Her flesh mutilated by telltale claw marks. The Wolf has broken the peace. When Valerie learns that her sister has been killed by the legendary creature, she finds herself at the center of a dark mystery, one that has plagued her village for generations. It is revealed that the werewolf lives among them, and everyone in the village immediately becomes a suspect. Could her secret love Peter be behind the attacks on her town? Is it her betrothed, Henry? Or someone even closer to her? As the men in the village hunt for the beast, Valerie turns to her grandmother for help. She gives Valerie a handmade red riding cloak, and guides her through the web of lies and deception that has held her town together for so long. Will Valerie discover the werewolf's identity before the town is ripped apart?

Nightshade by Andrea R. Cremer
Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she'll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But when she violates her masters' laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything - including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice?

So You Think You Can Dance is like American Idol except no singing, all out dancing. And it’s awesome! Dancers from the show have started popping up everywhere like Dancing With Stars’ Lacy Schwimmer and Chelsie Hightower and several are featured in the Step Up 3D movie. Hopefully these books will spark the inner dancer within you.

Raven by Allison Van Diepen
Zin dances with fire in every step, speaks in a honey-sweet voice, and sees with eyes that can peer into your soul. Nicole's friendship with him is the only thing that saves her from the boredom of school and the turmoil of her family life. It's no wonder she is madly in love with him. But she can't understand why he keeps her at a distance, even though she can feel his soul reaching out for hers. Zin is like no man Nicole has ever met, and he carries with him a very old secret. When Nicole uncovers the truth, her love may be the only thing that can save him from it.

Entwined by Heather Dixon
Azalea is trapped. Just when she should feel that everything is before her . . . beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing . . . it's taken away. All of it. The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. And so he extends an invitation. Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest. But there is a cost. The Keeper likes to keep things. Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.

Attitude! : eight young dancers come of age at the Ailey School by Katherine Davis Fishman
Follows eight young dancers through a year of study at one of our nation's premier dance schools and reveals how each ones artistic talent emerges and develops , at The Ailey School.

If you need something to distract you from the intense heat wave, hopefully this will help. These are a couple of trending websites for teen readers and pop culture enthusiasts we thought you should stay inside and check out.

Snakkle, a totally cool name for a website. Its a hot, new pop culture trending website with amazing pictures of stars before they became famous. Take a look at Jay-Z as a kid in the Before They Were Stars- celebrity baby and kid photos or the 90s Nickelodeon kid stars like Saturday Night Live cast member, Kenan Thompson or Wild 'N Out host and Mariah Carey's hubby, Nick Cannon.

GotYa has a cool collection of international teen cover art and cover revamps plus interesting tidbits on newly published teen novels from an eclectic group of writers.
 

Omnivoracious is a blog by Amazon.com books featuring delicious news, reviews, interviews and guest author blogs. It has something for every genre reader, including teens and graphic novel readers. 

What does Lena, identical twins- Melody and Harmony, Cassia, and Amy all have in common? Its being a teenage girl and dealing with the drama in trying to live in these grim, futuristic societies.  Katniss Everdeen got the ball rolling as the leading lady in Suzanne Collin's bestseller, the Hunger Games. Now here are a few other ladies who face the challenges of living in these futuristic worlds of bias societies, destruction and crazy government control. If you can't get your hands on these books, some are available as free ebooks and audio books thru Overdrive.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Can love make you delirious? Lena looks forward to receiving the government-mandated cure that prevents the delirium of love and leads to a safe, predictable, and happy life, until ninety-five days before her eighteenth birthday and her treatment, when she falls in love.

Bumped by Megan McCafferty
To be a prize member of society, all you have to do is be a teenage girl and able to conceive a child. Sounds interesting?  In 2036 New Jersey, when teens are expected to become fanatically religious wives and mothers or high-priced surrogates for couples made infertile by a widespread virus, sixteen-year-old identical twins Melody and Harmony find in one another, not just DNA, but the courage to believe they have choices.

Matched by Allyson Condie

All her life, Cassia has never had a choice. The Society dictates everything: when and how to play, where to work, where to live, what to eat and wear, when to die, and most importantly to Cassia as she turns 17, who to marry. When she is Matched with her best friend Xander, things couldn't be more perfect. But why did her neighbor Ky's face show up on her match disk as well?  Like, seriously awkward?

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, 300 years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end 50 years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules. Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone - one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship - tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next. Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

The summer is heating up and so are your local libraries.
There are events for teens nearly every week until the start of school.
Call your local library for more information.

 Cake Decorating
 at the Oxon Hill Library on July 27, 2011 at 3 pm.

 Cupcake Decorating Contest
 at the Beltsville Library on July 28, 2011 at 2 pm.
 

 Duct Tape Crafts
 at the Hyattsville Library on July 21, 2011 at 2 pm.
 at the Laurel Library on August 24, 2011 at 7 pm.

 Manga and Comic Creation
 at the Largo-Kettering Library on July 28, 2011 at 2 pm.
 at the Greenbelt Library on August 9, 2011 at 7 pm
 

 Tie-Dye Shirts!
  at the New Carrollton Library on July 23, 2011 at 2 pm.
  at the Laurel Library on July 27, 2011 at 2 pm.

Plus, we have Gaming, Art Cards, Jewelry Making, Mural Design, Mehndi for Teens and Sidewalk Chalk Art Programs happening all the way up until September.
Registration may be required for some events.

Monday is "Nelson Mandela International Day", declared by President Barack Obama and 192 other U. N. member states to honor the African leader's birthday and his acts of community service. Mandela will be 93 years old.  I share the same birthday, too. I will be celebrating my personal milestone of turning the big 30. I feel privilege to share a birthday with one of the most revered statesman in the world. Here are some interesting facts about Nelson Mandela and myself:

Now that you know little more about Mandela and me, you can find some interesting books to read like for one Mandela's autobiography and other stories of people growing up in Africa facing harsh circumstances and overcoming adversaries.

Long Walk to Freedom: the autobiography of Nelson Mandela by Nelson Mandela

The famously taciturn South African president reveals much of himself in Long Walk to Freedom. A good deal of this autobiography was written secretly while Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years on Robben Island by South Africa's apartheid regime. Among the book's interesting revelations is Mandela's ambivalence toward his lifetime of devotion to public works. It cost him two marriages and kept him distant from a family life he might otherwise have cherished.  

A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah

My new friends have begun to suspect I haven't told them the full story of my life. "Why did you leave Sierra Leone?" Because there is a war.‚"You mean, you saw people running around with guns and shooting each other?" Yes, all the time. "Cool". I smile a little.‚"You should tell us about it sometime." "Yes, sometime." This is how wars are fought now: by children, hopped-up on drugs and wielding AK-47s. In A Long Way Gone, Beah, now twenty-five years old, tells a riveting story: how at the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he'd been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. InA Long Way Gone, Beah, now twenty-five years old, tells a riveting story: how at the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he'd been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. This is a rare and mesmerizing account, told with real literary force and heartbreaking honesty. 

Chanda's War by Allan Stratton

 She promised her mama she'd keep them safe. It's been six months since Mama died, and Chanda is struggling to raise her little brother and sister. Determined to end a family feud, she takes them to her relatives' remote rural village. But across the nearby border, a brutal civil war is spreading. Rebels led by the ruthless General Mandiki attack at night, stealing children. All that separates Chanda from the horror is a stretch of rugged bush and a national park alive with predators. Soon, not even that. Before she knows it, Chanda must face the unthinkable, with a troubled young tracker as her unlikely ally.

Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton

Okay, I had to throw in a classic. Eventually must of you will have to read it for school. The most famous and important novel in South Africa's history, and an immediate worldwide bestseller when it was published in 1948. It tells the story of South Africa in the 1940s, a land divided by racial injustice, and of Stephen Kumalo, a Zulu Christian pastor, and his son, Absalom, who has been accused of murdering a white man.   a chris c, A Zulaa, a land d  It   It  It ii it   kkk

What's New....

Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol

Anya could really use a friend. But her new Bff isn't kidding about the "Forever" part... Of all the things Anya expected to find at the bottom of an old well, a new friend was not one of them. Especially not a new friend who's been dead for a century. Falling down a well is bad enough, but Anya's normal life might actually be worse. She's embarrassed by her family, self-conscious about her body, and she's pretty much given up on fitting in at school. A new friend even a ghost is just what she needs. Or so she thinks.

Level Up by Gene Luen Yang

What do you get when you pair four pesky little angels and a video game obsessed teen who is undecided of his future?  Meet Dennis, the son of Chinese immigrants, yearns to play video games like his friends and, upon his strict father's death, becomes obsessed with them but later, realizing how his father sacrificed for him. He chooses a nobler path with the help of four adorable and bossy angels straight out of a sappy greeting card and take charge of his life.

The Maltese Mummy by Tina Robbins

As the founders of the Chicagoland Detective Agency, a haiku-writing girl and a boy with a talking dog have more than enough cases on their hands (and paws) when a friend vanishes, a mummy's amulet disappears, and an evil scientist stalks human brains and hearts. This is the second volume in the Chicagoland Detective Agency graphic-novel series with teen sleuths Megan and Raf and their talking-dog partner, Bradley. Don't forget to read the first volume in the Chicagoland Detective Agency graphic-novel series, The Drained Brains Caper.

Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge

Paige Turner has just moved to New York with her family, and she's having some trouble adjusting to the big city. In the pages of her sketchbook, she tries to make sense of her new life, including trying out her secret identity: artist. As she makes friends and starts to explore the city, she slowly brings her secret identity out into the open, a process that is equal parts terrifying and rewarding. 

The 2011 Miss USA Pageant came down to a battle between two best friends. Now imagine, teen beauty queens, a LOST- like island. Mysteries and dangers. No access to email. No spray tans, Vaseline, exfoliating creams or curling irons. Oh, the horror, the torture! OMG! Oh, how funny!

From best-selling, Printz Award-winning author, Libba Bray comes the story of a planeload of teen beauty queens who crash on a mysterious island, struggle to survive and get along with one another, combat the island's other diabolical occupants, and  learn their dance numbers in case they are rescued in time for the competition.

Get your copy of Beauty Queens by Libba Bray. Libba Bray conducted an interview with herself (interesting enough) talking about her latest book, Beauty Queens. Enjoy!

Have you purchased your card or polo shirt for dad yet? Father's Day is fast approaching and here are some recommendations for books that are a good (though weird) match for the day. None of these fathers are in the running for a Father of the Year award, but the relationships they have with their children will keep you reading and wanting more.   

Teens are invited to come (free of cost) to join librarians, authors and teachers in discussing their favorites in teen literature.

The morning guest speaker will be Kenneth Oppel, author of Darkwing, Sunwing and Silverwing.

In the afternoon, Melissa Marr, author of the Wicked Lovely series, will be joining local author Felicia Pride for a panel discussion.

Books for the Beast will be held on Saturday, October 22, 2011.

Calling all Teens!
Are you feeling artistic, creative and want to have your art published?
Submit your original artwork for the Current Cover Design Contest...
The winner will have their artwork published on the cover of the Fall 2011 issue of Current. 

The Fine Print:
1. Submissions will be accepted from Teens (ages 13-17) with parent's approval.
2. Submissions must be original artwork.
3. Artwork must be no larger than 8 1/2" x 8 1/2", high resolution (300 dpi and up) JPEG or PDF files.
4. Submissions must be emailed to publicrelations@pgcmls.info by 5 pm on Monday, May 16, 2011.
5. Emails must include:
        your full name, age, school, telephone number, address, parent's approval to participate and your artwork as an attachment.
6. Limit one entry per teen.
7. Judges will select first and second place winners. The judges decision is final.
8. Artwork may be disqualified if it is inappropriate or not original.
9. All artwork will be the property of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System.
 

According to Christopher Paolini, this thrilling conclusion to the Inheritance cycle will finally answer all "the burning questions asked by fans around the world." Due to be released this November, Inheritance, is expected to be just as popular as the first three books in this series.

In a time where the United States has fallen, a new nation emerges that is divided into a shiny Capital, surrounded by 12 distinct districts. Every year, each district is forced to choose one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to compete in the Hunger Games, a fight to the death contest broadcast on live tv to every district. Katniss Everdeen is selected to compete for her district and there's really only one way to survive the Hunger Games...find out if Katniss can survive the competition?

Stop by your local library to get your own copy of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins today.
 
And as for the news, director Gary Ross announced his choice for the role of Katniss in the real life movie adaptation of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Katniss will be played by Jennifer Lawrence, of Winter's Bone fame.
 

Are you a big fan of Glee?
Can't get enough of their show stopping mashups?
Not only does your library have the Glee Soundtracks from Volume 1 to Volume 4, including their Christmas album and the special Power of Madonna album, we are now carrying the Glee Series...visit your local library to get your copy today!

Are you wondering about how you're going to be able to pay for college? To be able to afford your textbooks, computers and other necessities when you get to college? If so, we've spotted a couple of scholarship opportunities floating around out there in cyberspace and have collected a small collection of them here for your perusal.

Redskins Foundation
Open to high school seniors attending either a District of Columbia Public School or Prince George's County Public School.
Deadline is April 8, 2011.

UNCF
A listing of multiple scholarship opportunities for students in both high school and college.
Deadlines vary depending on the scholarship program.

MassMutual Multicultural Scholars Program
Open to students with multicultural backgrounds. See scholarship site for more details.
Deadline is May 2, 2011.

Don't forget to check out the many books available in your local library about scholarships, grants and other funding opportunities for college students. 

Let your voice be heard! Tell us what interests you, what drives you and what you want from life! This is the spot for you! We'll post things that we, as librarians, think is interesting, but we want to know what you find exciting and appealing. Don't forget to Like our Teen Facebook Page to get information about current programs, events and other entertaining bits of information.