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Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Sign Up for May Programs Now!

It's almost May!  Don't forget to sign up for these great programs now!

Teen Movie Night
Wed. May 1
5:30-7:45 p.m.

Join us for popcorn and see the "Teenage Dream" star in action in the documentary "Katy Perry: Part of Me."




















Teen Advisory Board
Thurs. May 2
5:00-6:00 p.m.

Hang out with friends and help with planning programs and choosing library materials while possibly earning community service hours.

Teen Book Discussion Club
Wed. May 15
6:00-7:00

Join us for pizza and a chance to discuss what you liked (or didn't like) about this month's pick, Delirium by Lauren Oliver.  Free copies are available at the Circulation Desk.




















Teen Crocheting
Wed. May 22
6:00-7:00 p.m.

Come learn basic patterns and techniques to impress your friends and make them gifts!  Yarn and hooks provided.

You can sign up for these programs in person at the library, by phone at 973-835-5044, by email at riverdalelibrarykids@nac.net, or online by clicking here.

Monday, April 22, 2013

Top Ten Historical Fiction for Teens

Love reading about the past?  Here are the top ten historical fiction books for teens, from Booklist.

Sophia's War: A Tale of Revolution by Avi: In Avi's intriguing novel based closely on historical events, 12-year-old Sophia, who is living in British-occupied New York City in 1776, becomes a spy who helps alert American forces to Benedict Arnold's treachery.  Juvenile Fiction Avi
 
The Diviners by Libba Bray:  Bray dives into the Roaring Twenties and mixes a little bit of murder, a little bit of the occult, and a whole lot of fun in this novel that's focused on a 17-year-old New York City flapper.  New Teen Fiction Bray

The Lightning Dreamer: Cuba's Greatest Abolitionist by Margarita Engle: Told in multiple voices, Engle's richly metaphorical novel-in-verse is a fictionalized biography of the 19th-century Cuban abolitionst poet Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda, known as Tula.  Available through interlibraryloan

Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen: Debut author Gaughen offers an affecting take on an old tale in this rip-roaring adventure narrated by Scarlet, who has joined Robin Hood's gang disguised as a boy.  Available through interlibraryloan

The Fire Horse Girl by Kay Honeyman: When Jade Moon is born in 1906---the year of the Fire Horse, an ominous sign for Chinese girls--her father ships the stubborn teenager off to California where danger waits at every turn.  Available through interlibraryloan

Keeping the Castle by Patrice Kindl: In Yorkshire, England, 17-year-old Althea Crawley is on a quest to marry rich so that she may secure the family's only inheritance, a dilapidated castle. This witty take on classic Regency offers frothy fun for Jane Austen fans.  Available through interlibraryloan
  
The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano by Sonia Manzano: When Evelyn's activist grandmother arrives from Puerto Rico in 1969, the 14-year-old is inspired to join the Young Lords, who are working closely with the Black Panthers. Manzano based this honest novel on real-life political events.  Available through interlibraryloan

Jump into the Sky by Shelley Pearsall: After young Levi travels to North Carolina to meet his father, an elite paratropper in WWII, he experiences Jim Crow-era racism for the first time, as well as poignant emotions as he gets to know his dad.  Available through interlibraryloan

Dodger by Terry Pratchett:  Rich language, sharp characters, and a well-realized Victorian setting combine this story of a trickster hero who expertly navigates the underbelly of London in search of justice and love.  New Teen Fiction Pratchett

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein: In 1943, a British fighter plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France and the survivor tells a tale of friendship, war, espionage, and great courage as she relates what she must to survive while keeping secret all that she can.  Teen Fiction Wein

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Poetry Writing @ the Library

Are you curious about cinquains?  Tempted by tankas?  Come celebrate National Poetry Month at Riverdale Public Library by bringing your original poems to workshop while learning new, fun ways to express yourself through the written word.
 
Teen Poetry Writing is Thursday, April 25 from 5-6 p.m.  You can register in person, by phone at 973-835-5044, by email at riverdalelibrarykids@nac.net, or online by clicking here.


Thursday, April 11, 2013

April Teen Book Discussion Club/How to Save a Life

It's not too late to sign up for April's Teen Book Discussion Club.  This month we're reading How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr.

Jill MacSweeny just wishes everything could go back to the way it was before her dad died.  When her mom decides to adopt a baby, it feels like she's trying to replace a lsot family member with a new one.

Mandy Kalinowski understands what it's like to gorw up unwanted.  So when Mandy becomes pregnant, one thing she's sure of is that she wants a better life for her baby.

As their worlds change, Jill and Mandy learn that nothing is as easy--or as hard--as it seems.

Come enjoy a pizza party and a chance to discuss what you liked (or didn't like) about How to Save a Life on Wed. April 17 from 6-7 p.m.  Free copies of the book are available at the Circulation Desk.

You can sign up in person, by phone at 973-835-5044, by email at riverdalelibrarykids@nac.net, or online by clicking here.




Wednesday, April 3, 2013

New Books for April!

Check out these new books coming soon to Riverdale Public Library!

The Mapmaker's Sons by V. L. Burgess:  When a man with a wooden leg appears at the Lost Preparatory Academy for Boys, Thomas Hawkins must leave the life he knows or chance not reaching his next birthday, which is only days away.  After years of scaling the school's rooftops, engaging in swordplay, treasure hunts with his friends, and fighting off blood-thirsty pirates, this imaginary world suddenly becomes all too real.  And as if a close encounter witha pirate isn't enough, Thomas discoves a brother he never knew and a gift that will eventually save both their lives: he can make maps come alive.  New Teen Fiction Burgess


Obisidan Mirror by Catherine Fisher:  The obsidian mirror. Its power is great and terrible. Men have been lost in it, the dead brought back to life through it, and the future annihilated by it. Or this is what will happen unless the mirror is destroyed. Three people seek the mirror: the first has been sent from the future to shatter its power; the second will protect the mirror at all costs, and the third needs the mirror to find a murdered father and save his life. B ut only one can succeed. The mirror can send you to the past, but it will not bring you back.  New Teen Fiction Fisher


Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell:  Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.  Eleanor is the new girl in town and her wild red hair and patchwork outfits are not helping her blend in.  She ends up sitting next to Park on the bus, whose tendencies towards comic books don’t jibe with the rest of his family’s love of sports. They sit in awkward silence every day until Park notices that Eleanor is reading his comics over his shoulder; he begins to slide them closer to her side of the seat and thus begins their love story. Their relationship grows gradually as they try to overcome any obstacle standing in the way of their happiness.  A New York Times bestseller!  New Teen Fiction Rowell


Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi (Under the Never Sky series):  It's been months since Aria learned of her mother's death, months since Perry became Blood Lord of the Tides, and months since Aria last saw him.  Now Aria and Perry are about to be reunited. It's a moment they've been longing for with countless expectations.  And it's a moment that lives up to all of them.  At least, at first.  Then it slips away. The Tides don't take kindly to former Dwellers like Aria.  And the tribe is swirling out of Perry's control. With the Aether storms worsening every day, the only remaining hope for peace and safety is the Still Blue.  But does this haven truly exist?  Threatened by false friends and powerful temptations, Aria and Perry wonder, Can their love survive through the ever night?  Find out in this sequel to Under the Never SkyNew Teen Fiction Rossi


Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys:  It's 1950 and the French Quarter of New Orleans simmers with secrets. Known among locals as the daughter of a brothel prostitute, Josie Moraine wants more out of life than the Big Easy has to offer. She devises a plan get out, but a mysterious death in the Quarter leaves Josie tangled in an investigation that will challenge her allegiance to her mother, her conscience, and Willie Woodley, the brusque madam on Conti Street.  Josie is caught between the dream of an elite college and a clandestine underworld.  New Orleans lures her in her quest for truth, dangling temptation at every turn, and escalating to the ultimate test.  New Teen Fiction Sepetys


Orleans by Sherri L. Smith: First came the storms.  Then came the Fever.  And the Wall.  After a string of devastating hurricanes and a severe outbreak of Delta Fever, the Gulf Coast has been quarantined.  Years later, residents of the Outer States are under the assumption that life in the Delta is all but extinct...but in reality, a new primitive society has been born.  Fen de la Guerre is living with the O-Positive blood tribe in the Delta when they are ambushed.  Left with her tribe leader’s newborn, Fen is determined to get the baby to a better life over the wall before her blood becomes tainted. Fen meets Daniel, a scientist from the Outer States who has snuck into the Delta illegally. Brought together by chance, kept together by danger, Fen and Daniel navigate the wasteland of Orleans. In the end, they are each other’s last hope for survival.  New Teen Fiction Smith


Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls by Scott Snyder (graphic novel): After a series of brutal murders rocks Gotham City, Batman begins to realize that perhaps these crimes go far deeper than appearances suggest.  As the Caped Crusader begins to unravel this deadly mystery, he discovers a conspiracy going back to his youth and beyond to the origins of the city he's sworn to protect.  Could the Court of Owls, once thought to be nothing more than an urban legend, be behind the crime and corruption?  Or is Bruce Wayne losing his grip on sanity and falling prey to the pressures of his war on crime?  New Teen Fiction Snyder
 
 
The Care and Keeping of You 2: The Body Book for Older Girls by Cara Familian Natterson:  This thoughtful advice book will guide you through the next steps of growing up. With illustrations and expert contributors, this book covers new questions about your growing body, peer pressure, personal care, and more! Written for girls 10 and up, The Care & Keeping of You 2 follows up the original bestseller with even more in-depth details about the physical and emotional changes you're going through.  A New York Times bestseller!  New Teen Non-Fiction 612.6 NAT