60 Second Video Contest Winner!!! from Darien Library on Vimeo.

2010 FIFA World Cup

The 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa is almost at its finale, and has been an amazing event filled with many surprises, upsets, smashing victories and humbling defeats. History has been made, as Spain and the Netherlands are in the finals for the first time since the inception of the Cup. Germany and Uruguay were defeated in the semi-final stage and will play in the third place consolation match. Come join us for these matches, and watch as history unfolds on the big screen in the Community Room!

Third Place Match: Saturday, July 10 Kick-off @ 2:30 PM

Germany	vs	Uruguay

Final Match: Sunday, July 11 Kick-off @ 2:30 PM

Spain	vs	Netherlands

Which team will come out on top? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Teen 60 Second Video Contest from Darien Library on Vimeo.

Photo courtesy of miss rogue on Flickr.

2:00 p.m. in the Tech Center

Make the summer playlist to rule them all. 

Create, share & remix your playlists for summer with grooveshark. 

Here's my list of ultimate summer songs:

Will Halpin is Deaf, and it’s his first day at mainstream public school.  Being a lip reader and ignored (to the point of near invisibility) gives Will the opportunity to observe a lot about his classmates.  He gets through the day by writing his wry (read: snarky) comments in his notebook and generally trying to make sense of high school culture.  Basically, Will Halpin is hilarious:

“It is pretty much a directly rising slope of coolness from the front of the bus to the back.  From me to a weird skinny guy in a football shirt who clearly isn’t on the team, to Marie (whose last name is Stepcoat) to the trio from my morning bus stop: A.J. Fischels, Teresa Lockhart, and Gabby Meyers.  If you keep going, you’d fly out the back of the bus onto the road itself and land in the cars belonging to kids far too cool to ever set foot on a bus.”

Then, on a field trip to Happy Memory Coal Mine, the quarterback (and first-rate bully) falls to his death.  The police say it was an accident, but rumors swirl that it was murder.  Will has been watching the quarterback with fascination: his father mired in political scandals, the planned huge and exclusive birthday party the students would kill to be invited to, the looks from the flirty math teacher, the beautiful girlfriend with a sad look in her eyes…  Will may be the one with the keys to a mystery, if he can put them together, and all of a sudden he has a Hardy Boys obsessed friend to help him out.

The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin is great.  Funny, a good mystery and all around a great read! 

 

It's Wednesday, July 7th and that means it's time for our 60 second video contest! Come to the Teen Lounge at 2 p.m.. grab a Flip camera and go to your fav spot in the Library.  Film a one minute video about why you love the Library.  We'll watch the videos and vote. The winner will take home a sweet gift card and have their video honored on our website!

See you there!

Erica yay!

Erica Leone is our newest teen librarian. She has been at Darien Library for a while, but she has just now joined the teen staff. You teens are SO LUCKY to have her. Erica is getting her MLS at Pratt in NYC. She is running a ton of sweet programs this summer, including the sneaker workshop on 7/21, Skate Day on 7/31, and No-Bake Snacks on 8/10.

Stop by the teen lounge and say hi to Erica the next time you're in! To learn more about her, check out her answers to our poll:

Favorite book: East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Mac or PC: I'm a PC but secretly a wannabe Mac.

Guiltiest TV pleasure: Jersey Shore/ Gossip Girl

Dream vacation spot: Italy

Coolest thing you own: are you really going to make me choose between my longboard and snowboard?

Irrational Fear: being late (in general)

Favorite thing about Darien Library: my co-workers are some of the coolest people I know.

How would you like to interview your favorite authors? Imagine chatting with Maureen Johnson (author of Devilish) or Carrie Ryan (The Forest of Hands and Teeth series)? Well the Darien Library is looking for teens to do just that. Via the video conferencing wonder that is Skype, we'll set you up with all the technology you need to have a face-to-face chat with some of the biggest YA writers out there. We'll then post your interview on our website for fellow fans to see. 

Oh and no need to be camera shy - you can interview in pairs or groups and take turn asking questions. Plus we'll prep you in advance with all the interview skills you'll need to make a stellar presentation. 

The Art of the Video Game

Write What You See: 99 Photos to Inspire Writing by Hank Kellner---Do you ever have trouble writing stories for your English class or on your own? Well Write What You See is packed with 99 intriguing photos, writing prompts and key-words that will surely motivate you to write stories that will blow people away. The ideas and stories these pictures can help you come up with are endless. You'll never have trouble writing again!

Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow by Susan Campell Bartoletti---Everyone knows the story of Hitler and his Nazi Army's quest to control the world and exterminate the Jewish race. However, many people don't know about Hitler's plan to affect the children of Germany as he tried to create a new world. This book takes you back to the 1930s and 40s to tell the unimaginable story of the dedication and devotion that millions of children had for Hilter and the Nazis. Hitler Youth, which includes tons of photos from the times, is incredibly insightful and will show you exactly what it was like to be a kid when Hitler ruled Germany.

Your Name in Print by Elizabeth Harper and Timothy Harper---If you've ever had hopes of getting your writing published in a magazine, newspaper, online, or even in a book, this book is for you. It contains tips and information that will help you in every step of the writing process: from subjects and ideas of what to write about to numerous websites that will either publish your writing or help you reach your goal of becoming published. No other book will give you as much insight on how to get yourself out there into the world or writing or how manage your writing career!

Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul on Tough Stuff by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Kimberly Kirberger---Have you ever been put in a stressful or scary situation and feel there is no way out? This book is filled with countless stories of people just like you; only, they've all learned lessons from their hardships and pain. These stories are being shared to help you realize that there are other people in the world going through the same thing as you and so you can learn the same lessons others have.

The Art of the Video Game by Josh Jenisch---The Art of the Video Game has amazing pictures from dozens of well-known video games on every page. It also explains to you how the animation, visual effects and even more came to be. Along with captions for every picture and video game explainations, this book contains numerous interviews with the game creators themselves! This book is perfect for all gamers who want to know more about how their beloved video games work.

Courtesy of flickr user Adam Foster.

We’ve got what you need to beat summer boredom.

First things first: review a book and tell us in the comments of this post for a chance to win a $25 gift card!
 

July 6th at 7 p.m. in the Community Room:
The Open Mic Night is on Tuesday night.  It will be so fun.  Tempest is going to play, and anyone can get up on stage to share their talent (poetry, dance, music, bands, singing, comedy, anything!)  Please email teenstaff@darienlibrary.org if you know you’d like to perform.  

July 7th at 2 p.m. in the Teen Lounge:
The 60 Second Video Contest is on Wednesday!  We’ll shoot one minute videos in the library and vote on the best one!  And you can win a gift card!
 

July 8th at 2 p.m. on the Lower Level:
The Ultimate Summer Playlist is happening on Thursday afternoon.  Whether it’s Green Day or Rick Astley, we’ll make playlists that set the mood for summer!
 

Oh, and by the way… if you use foursquare to check-in to teen events over the summer, you could become Mayor and win prizes!
 

Any questions?  Email teenstaff@darienlibrary.org
 

And here’s a little Tempest to set the mood: