Origami Yoda

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The tweens at my library love the Origami Yoda series by Tom Angleberger. With so many fans, I knew this series would be great for a program. For’ my program inspiration, I used several of the activities in Art2-D2’s Guide to Folding and Doodling. I was nervous about putting on an origami program, because I am not very skilled at origami myself.

I set up the room with origami paper and additional supplies we would need for drawing our own comics as well as print outs of how to do some of the more difficult origami folds. Nine tweens gathered on a Sunday afternoon at my library to learn how to do origami and talk about the series.

We started the program out by talking about the book series and why they liked it (it’s funny and they liked the drawings throughout). About half of the group had read the books, the other half were attending the program either for the Star Wars or origami aspect. I started the group out with the’ simple five fold Origami Yoda‘ that the author has posted to his website. This also gave me a good way to gauge how well the group could handle origami. Most of them had some trouble getting started but quickly figured it out. Once we made our Origami Yoda’s, we talked about the books some more and talked about favorite characters (Origami Yoda was the ultimate favorite character). While some of the origami was a bit complicated, the group stuck with it and they tried their hardest to complete Darth Paper and Origami R2-D2.’ In addition to origami, we made eraser Wookies and learned how to draw a simple Darth Vader helmet, both from the Art2-D2 book. Read More →

TRW 2013: Dollar General Literacy Foundation Spotlight on Deena Viviani

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Deena Viviani, TRW grant recipient

Deena Viviani, TRW grant recipient

Continuing with our Teen Read Week grant recipient interview series, I chatted with Deena Viviani. Deena is the Young Adult, Programming, and Circulation Services Manager at Brighton Memorial Library in Rochester, New York.

Deena’s winning proposal centers around the Fourth Annual Greater Rochester Teen Read (GRTR)being’  held during Teen Read Week 2013. This year’s Greater Rochester Teen Read features three MCLS library visits and one MCCDC visit by Printz Honor winner A. S. King. Starting in June 2013, MCLS librarians encourage teens across the county to read and discuss EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS by A. S. King in preparation for her visits. There is also a bonus read: DEAR BULLY which includes Ms. King’s essay, “The Boy Who Won’t Leave Me Alone.”

What motivated you to become a librarian? My library career started when I was 15 at the Parma Public Library in Hilton, NY. Going back even before that, I attended the story times and kids’ summer reading programs at that same library where Sue the Librarian (as I knew her then) “hired” me and my sister as tween/teen volunteers to help with those same summer programs that we had attended for years. Then when I turned 15, I was hired as a Page, and I remained there through the rest of high school and undergrad, moving up to Page/Processor and helping at the Reference/Circulation Desk, finally leaving at the age of 21 when I graduated from college and got a full-time job at a legal publishing company. I swore I was sick of libraries and would move forward with my new career and degree, whatever that may be! Um, yeah, after about 3 months in my cubicle office job, I missed the library. I went back to grad school that summer and got my MLS in 2 years. I also realized after taking the YA Services class that I wanted to be a YA Librarian. It took me 3 YA Services job interviews in 3.5 years to get hired in my current library, but it was worth the wait to find the right fit for me.

How did you hear about the TRW grant? On the YALSA e-newsletter! Read More →

Passive Programs for Tweens

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The library I work in is on a very busy side of town. Our tweens tend to become very involved in after school activities and homework during the school year. While they still use the library, they tend to be here for tutoring, homework help, or just running in quickly to grab a book. Sometimes our programming for tweens can be hit or miss. But one thing that has become a popular hit with our school age group are passive programs.’ We put out passive programs several times a year and these are great for tweens on the go who only have a few minutes to spend with a program. A few of our recent ideas:

I SPY HOUSE

This has become a holiday tradition for both Halloween and Christmas. Many years ago the library received a Madeline dollhouse that my staff transform into a large I Spy House. The interior changes every year with new items to find. Sometimes it’s a list of items, sometimes it’s a puzzle with rhyming text, but no matter what the tweens love searching for all the times and seeing how fast they can find everything. Here’s a peek at what our Halloween house looks like this year:

I Spy House

‘ SCAVENGER HUNTS

Our tweens love scavenger hunts. They would do them all day if we had enough! We tie scavenger hunts into a lot of our programs because of their popularity. I’ve used them for our Hobbit Birthday celebration (find the hidden Hobbits around the library) or to kick off summer reading program (find the pyramids using various clues). Read More →

YA Programming Behind the Scenes: Science Experiments You Can Eat

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At our library, we would like to fit more STEM ‘ into our programming, but I struggle with coming up with STEM projects that appeal to our service age group. Anything that sounds remotely like a classroom activity is dismissed by teens.

I was pleasantly surprised when the Science Experiments You Can Eat program passed through our TAG (teen advisory group) vetting! Perhaps the appeal involved using food, as our annual Teen Top Chef competition in the fall is one of our most popular events of the year.

713 Science Experiments You Can Eat

The program had the advantage of being inexpensive, because the supplies were all household ingredients and supplies.

The experiments we carried out included:

Straw through Potato

photo Read More →

Tween Reads: Star Wars

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My library is full of Star Wars fans and we can’t keep anything to do with Star Wars on the shelf. The enduring popularity of the franchise, plus all the toy, movie, and book tie-ins, make it perfect for tween readers. The second annual Star Wars Reads is happening this year on October 5.

starwarsreadsday2

 

Star Wars Reads is an initiative to bring together bookstores, libraries, publishers and readers to celebrate a love of reading through Star Wars. It’s the perfect time to reach out to those Star Wars fans at the library. Try giving your Star Wars fans some of these titles:

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger (and sequels)-Dwight is the strange kid in school and no one is sure what to think of the Origami Yoda he brings to school. This series now has four titles included and there’s even an origami companion, Art2-D2’s Guide to Folding and Doodling, if your fans want to give some Star Wars origami a try.

Star Wars: Jedi Academy by Jeffrey Brown-If you have comic book fans and readers who enjoy humor, this title is perfect. Imagine all the angst and confusion of middle school only set inside of a Jedi Academy where learning to use lightsabers and the Force are key classes. Read More →