April Fool's Day

What is your favorite April Fool's Day prank?

Here's a prank suggestion list from AprilFoolZone.com.  Just remember, it is only funny if both parties are amused in the end.

RI Teen Book Award Winners

The RI Teen Book Award Committee announces the 2012 winner;

 "Matched" by Allie Condie.

The 2 runner up books are: "Ghostopolis" by Doug TenNapal, and "Before I Fall" by Lauren Oliver. All three books are available through the Newport Public Library.

Best Recent Teen Lit . . . That Adults Are Reading Too!

A list of great teen titles, available at the library, 
that adults will love too,

 from Library Journal 

Frannie Billingsley's Chime

Libba Bray's Beauty Queens

Jack Gantos's Dead End in Norvelt

Melina Marchetta's The Piper's Son

Patrick Ness's A Monster Calls

Mal Peet's Life: An Exploded Diagram

Craig Silvey's Jasper Jones

Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Check them out at the Newport Public Library's 

Young Adult Department!

Free Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream

Ben & Jerry's customer appreciation day is Tuesday, April 4. Visit one of their two Newport Locations (Thames Street and Bannister'sWharf) for a free cone!

Jinx by Meg Cabot

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I am definitely a Meg Cabot. While all of her novels are about teens, they are also very different - Princess Mia, Airhead and now Jinx. That woman has a fantastic imagination and she spins a good yarn with it!



Jinx, that's what they call her and the name seems to fit. It all started with a power outage in the hospital when she was born and the bad luck has followed her through life. Having dabbled in ways to control it, she now comes face to face with cousin Torrence who believes that she (Torrence) is the recipient of Grandma Branwen's "gift", but the truth is Jean (Jinx) has had it all along. In order to save herself, and Tory, Jinx must embrace the thing that frightens her most, but will she do it in time to save the day and get the guy?



It's Meg Cabot, so of course she gets the guy, but this is still a fantastic yarn with lots interesting characters and a topsy turvy plot line that's tons of fun to follow.



View all my reviews

Review Hunger Games--the Movie and the Book!

The weekend's blockbuster movie was, of course, Hunger Games. It's one that many teens have been anxiously waiting to see. If you caught the film but still can't get enough--or even if you haven't seen it yet--you might enjoy a thoughtful review of Collins's new classic, along with other titles, in Fresh Hell: What's Behind Dystopian Fiction for Young Readers,which appeared in the New Yorker (June 14, 2010), when Hunger Games first came out. 

You also might consider writing your own review. This summer, our Newport Public Library Teen Summer Reading Program will include the option of gaining points towards the grand prize raffle by writing reviews for our TeenTalk blog. So sharpen those pencils, writers! And if you'd like to submit your review while the movie is fresh in your mind, speak to one of the teen librarians. We'd be happy to take a look at it for possible posting now on our blog!

Encyclopedia Britannica Out of Print!

It started out as a three-volume set. That was in 1768. Turns out that its last edition--in print, that is--is the 2010, 32-volume set. In essence, Wikipedia, the hugely popular and questionably authoritative online encyclopedia has killed the print version of the venerable Encyclopedia Britannica, a fact that made the front pages of newspapers worldwide recently, including many of those newspapers' online editions!

In an online world, the bulky print Britannica could no longer find a foothold. But many readers are now  belatedly decrying the complete digital migration of encyclopedias and other reference works. These folks invariably mention the happy hours they spent just perusing the pages of encyclopedias, whether at home or in a library. They lament the loss of this form of serendipitous fun. But from now on, the Britannica Company will only maintain an online edition of their famed work, along with, at the moment at least, a DVD edition--oh, and an iOS for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, for those who can never sit still . . . It's the world we live in. What do you think about the end of the Britannica as we knew it?

And by the way, yes, you can consult the digital Encyclopedia Britannica Public Library Edition, for free via our website. Under Research on the front-page banner, click on Databases A-Z and scroll down to Encyclopedia Britannica. 

The Official SAT Question of the Day

courtesy of http://sat.collegeboard.org/practice/sat-question-of-the-day?

Critical Reading > Sentence Completions

Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted in the sentence, best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole. 
Despite their------- proportions, the murals of Diego Rivera give his Mexican compatriots the sense that their history is ------- and human in scale, not remote and larger than life.

• (A) monumental . . accessible
• (B) focused . . prolonged
• (C) vast . . ancient
• (D) realistic . . extraneous
• (E) narrow . . overwhelming
•  

Teens Only Book Chat

Join Ms. Kathy on Monday, March 26, at 3:30pm in the library Rotary Room for what we hope will be a rousing discussion of Fallen by Lauren Kate.  Snacks provided.  Please try to read some if not all of this book before attending.  Copies are available at the Newport Public Library.

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I think Auden and the other teens are presented a bit too maturely. For example instead of hating Auden for unwittingly hooking up with her boyfriend like most teen girls wood, Maggie realizes Auden probably did her a favor and the two become good friends. Also, most of the boys seem to have lived on their own for years yet they just graduated high school. How many teen do you know move out of the house early in their high school years?



If you can look past this short-coming, which I could, this is a fascinating journey of self discovery. Auden saves Eli from the life halting depression that has gripped him since Adam's death while Eli teaches Auden, the child born at 30, how to be a kid. Two insomniacs on a quest to have a life time of childhood experiences in one short summer break. Throw in an uptight mother, a not quite as flaky as she first appeared second wife for dad and a very colic-y newborn baby girl and Auden has the summer experience of a life time, including a second chance at prom, just in time to head off to college. Join her on this mostly realistic, gently paced journey; you won't regret it.



View all my reviews

Starcross by Philip Reeve

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A delightful romp through time and space, by way of asteroid belts, disappearing oceans, clunky spaceships, and grand hotels, with Mr. Titfer's Toppers (those dreadful hats of the subtitle) always in hot pursuit. Moobified fish and fishy Moobs are the mere backdrop to a cast of characters too wonderful not to name: the mischievous Miss Delphine Beauregard, Sirs Waverley Rain, Launcelot Sprigg, and Richard Burton, Professor Ferny, Jack Havock, Nipper, Mr. Grindle, Mr. Munkulus, the Tentacle Twins, the Moobs, of course, both good and bad, and the lovable Mumby family--Art, Myrtle, Mother and Father. This is the Victorian world meets the outer limits of believability, not to mention the outer boundaries of the space-time continuum. But nothing, not even the creakiest plot twist, abridges the fun. This book is, like the exhaust trumpets of the spaceship Sophronia, a blast. To prove the point, here are a couple of lines from the last chapter:

You would imagine that Myrtle would think it unladylike to be forever kicking, punching and boxing the ears of a mere innocent child, e.g., me. But she says that being beastly to one's younger brother is a genteel sport in which ladies are quite able to participate, like grouse-shooting, or riding to hounds.

.



View all my reviews

Teens, Come to a Meeting of the Teen Advisory Board!

Teens, what activities, programs, and services would you like to see offered by the Young Adult Department? If you're a student in grade 7 to12, you can join in the discussion and make your voice heard this Thursday, March 15, 7-8 p.m. in the Library Program Room.

Once a month, through the spring, we'll be asking teens to drop in for an hour-long chat about what the library can do to improve the quality of life for Newport teens. Would you like to see more craft programs? More free movies? Different prizes for the Summer Reading Program? Would you like us to invite Justin Bieber to visit??? Only kidding. Unfortunately, we don't have the budget for that! But there are lots of fun things we can plan. You can have an impact on what happens at the library for teens!

So join us for a relaxed hour of idea-sharing and fun. As always, yummy snacks will be provided!

Numbers by Rachel Ward

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Excellently woven story; no happy ever after, but that would have been unrealistic. Nice twist at the end. Characters were very individual, but well crafted and when necessary fleshed out. I could see Spider dancing in the roof, Karen sleeping, the preacher's wife pleading with her eyes. Surprisingly, the only character I couldn't picture was Jem, herself.



Definitely worth reading.



View all my reviews

Book Trailer - What I Saw and How I Lied

TV Favs.

What is your favorite TV series? Tell us and we just might order it on DVD or Blu-Ray!

NPL on Twitter

Newport Public Library is now on Twitter.  Follow us for current events and news!

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Try this great career research resources:

Occupational Outlook Handbook tells you the training and education needed, earnings, expected job prospects, what workers do on the job and the working conditions for hundreds of different types of jobs. In addition, the Handbook gives you job search tips, links to information about the job market in each State and more.

High Five by Janet Evanovich




Money is tight so Stephanie is doing (read messing up) odd jobs for Ranger while searching for her cheapskate Uncle Fred. Fred disappeared leaving behind a mess with his trash collection service and pictures of body parts in a trash bag. What has he gotten himself into?!



Found this one a bit slow and no surprise ending. I figured it out about midway through.



Still love Stephanie though! :-)



View all my reviews

Chasing Ray: A Great Blog on Teen Fiction

Sitting around wondering what to read next? This fantastic blog dedicated to teen titles might help you answer the question. Blogger Colleen Mondor is also a reviewer for Booklist, Eclectica Magazine, and elsewhere, an Alaskan aviator, and a writer. Now that's an interesting combination! Her review of Queen Elizabeth in the Garden by Trea Martyn made me want to get out my trowel, or perhaps just browse through a few gardening books. Spring's a-comin' so this is a good time to read about gardens. Besides, there's love to be found 'neath the boxwoods! 

If you like her writing style, you might want to pick up her book. She's written a memoir of working for a small commuter airline in Alaska, called Map of My Dead Pilots.

http://www.chasingray.com/