Heads up....poetry contest!

Robert Frost once said, "A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness." Then again, he also said, "A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom."

Whatever reason people choose to write them, millions of poems have been written over the ages to signify beauty, heartache, joy, despair and every other conceivable emotion or thing. I myself have penned one or two over everything from the loss of a love to the runniness of my morning eggs. Now it's your turn.

The Well Versed Teen Poetry Contest is your opportunity to wax poetic. You can submit up to two original poems by the April 17th deadline. The form and content are open, but please, no offensive or vulgar language. Complete rules are available here. From there you can print out the entry form or you can drop by the library and pick one up.

As always, if you have any questions, please call us. 407-623-3300 ext. 4. Happy writing, and I'll see you at the Library.

The Deathly Hallows are upon us.

Hooray for Harry! As you have probably heard by now, a release date has been set for the 7th and final book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows...July 21! We'll definitely be having a teen program to celebrate the Order of the Phoenix movie and the new book. Stay tuned for more info.

If ever you're stuck at home but need a reference question answered, check to see if I'm online at Yahoo Messenger and IM me. My user ID is wpplteen.

Next entry, I'll tell you about the Well Versed Poetry Contest coming up in April. Check back soon, and I'll see you at the Library.

Pants and snippets

Greetings and salutations (kudos for knowing which teen movie that's from),

I just finished reading Forever in blue: the fourth summer of the sisterhood by Ann Brashares. All I can say is awwwwww. What a lovely way to finish off a series. I've grown to love and care about Tibby, B, Carmen and Lena. Their fictional future looks bright, and I will miss them lots. If you haven't yet read it, plop yourself on the reserve list to check it out! If you have no idea what I'm talking about, start here.

Speaking of Traveling Pants, you can enter for a chance to win a trip for you and 3 friends to New York City to meet Ann Brashares. All you have to do is describe in 250 words or less how your group of friends remains close. You have a bit of time, the deadline is March 12. Click here and good luck!

As for other good reads, I've discovered a Scholastic podcast that has excerpts from new YA novels. Right now you can hear a bit from The murder of Bindy Mackenzie by Jaclyn Moriarty, author of The year of secret assignments. This podcast is a good way to sample what's new and decide if you want to give the whole book a try.

That's it for today. Happy reading, and I'll see you at the Library.

Online homework help

It's 9 p.m., your algebra homework is due tomorrow, you're stuck on problem 12 and neither the friends that you called nor your mom or dad know how to solve it either. Don't panic. There is still one place you haven't tried. With Live Homework Help powered by tutor.com you can talk live with a real tutor who can help in math, science, English and social studies, grades 4-12. They're open from 2 til 10 every day, so even at 9 p.m. you're not doomed. Best of all, it's free!

To get to Live Homework Help, first visit our Library's Kids & Teens page. Then click on the "Live Homework Help" logo. That's all there is to it!

WPPL 2.0

Welcome to the shiny and new Teens Place! You may have noticed (or you may not have if this is your first online stop at the library today) that our entire Library’s Web site has been redesigned by our dedicated Web committee and design genius Alex. Since this small corner of the cyberverse is under my care (me being Lisa the YA Librarian…Hi!), let me take you on a brief tour.

To your left, you will see a future library book that I think is worth giving you a heads up. I’m a big fan of the Sisterhood series by Ann Brashares, and this looks to be the last one, so….heads up! If you click on the book cover, you will be taken to the catalog record where you can get dibs on checking the book out when it finally arrives. Also, below the cover, you can click for more new stuff and see everything new in the YA department including CDs, video games, movies and those rectangular things we call books.

Directly below the blog is a list of what programs are coming up for teens. Right now you can register for Basic Yoga Techniques, which will take place on January 23. Upcoming programs that I haven’t listed yet include making calligraphy valentines for your sweeties and a Mardi Gras party with king cake and my now famous gumbo! Stay tuned for more info.

The purple box below Happenings is your gateway to What to Read Next. Need to read a biography that’s over 100 pages? Looking for some good vampire books? This is the place to click. Keep checking back! I’m adding new stuff all the time.

Lastly is the Web links section. Now I know you all have favorite sites and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love Google for finding quick answers. The problem is that everyone and their Uncle Joe can post stuff on the ‘net. Do I trust Uncle Joe to tell me the reasons behind the creation of the United Nations or what the bestselling PS3 games are? Um, I think not. The sites included on this page are reliable sources of info and/or seriously fun things I’ve found while clicking. Take a gander. I’d even love to hear your suggestions for cool Web sites.

Ok, this first blog entry is almost as long as my first college essay, so I’ll say adios for now. Stay tuned, and I’ll see you at the Library.