A $500 Prize, wow!

I'm so excited to tell you about how one of our great Teen patrons won $500 for the Library! Read on...
In honor of YALSA’s Teen Read Week™, held every October, author Donna Labermeier sponsored a contest for 6th – 12th graders to win money for themselves and their Library. Marlborough resident Sophie Caplan, age 13, entered the contest and won third prize in her category! The contest had something for every talent and interest – whether you liked acting, writing, public speaking, art, film‐making, music and more. Sophie made a book trailer based on the author’s first book, The Healers. Here is a link to her video on YouTube: 
YouTube Book Trailer

In addition to winning $500 for herself, Sophie won $500 for the Richmond Library. The Library also received the second book in the author’s Healers Trilogy. The money will be put toward Teen materials and/or programs. Thanks to Sophie for being so creative and for thinking of us! 

More on the Healers book:
"They live in separate countries and don't know each other, but three teenage heroes share an astounding destiny: they were born to heal the world...They are “The Healers”.
With the guidance of an old master named Agostino, the three teenagers embark on separate missions around the globe to vanquish the planet's darkest forces. Koemi saves people from self‐destruction. Harata thwarts would‐be terrorists. Eleanor helps others grow their natural psychic abilities. Individually, The Healers are powerful agents of good. Working together as a group, who knows what unimaginable energy might be unleashed?!
The question is, what drives the villainous Venceslao, who is on a mission to capture the three Healers and others like them, then harness their talents for his own malevolent purposes? It will be up to The Healers to find a way to stop this deadly adversary in time to save all of humankind from utter annihilation."

From the author:
In Donna's own words, she says, "I sincerely hope that my readers will come away from these books with the realization that they have more power than they ever dreamed possible.”

It's a Wrap!

Thanks to everyone who participated in our Teen Summer Reading Program! We had our largest number of registrants ever!
Special thanks to those of you who played some of our 'games'!

Here is a list of the WINNERS from the weekly drawings, as well as names of participants who earned the most 'raffle entries' and who didn't win a weekly prize - you can stop in and choose a runner-up prize or book from our Teen cart!

Weekly Winners
Week #1: Kylie D. (Starbucks gift card)
Week #2: Kara G. (3 Fellas Pizza gift cert.)
Week #3: Kaitlin N. (Jessica's Garden gift cert.)
Week #4: Adam W. (Colchester Cinemas gift cert.)
Week #5: Erin M. (Barnes & Noble gift card)

Grand Prize Winner: Anya V. (Amazon gift card)

Runner-Up Winners (book or prize from Teen Cart)
Khalia C.
Ryan D.
Natalie D.
Dante M.
Mary Grace O.
Maeve O.
Alexis P.
Reagan F.
Caitlyn L.
Isaiah V.

Games Update & Doodle Program

This is the last call for anyone interested in the Doodle Art program on Monday - if we don't get enough teens to sign up, we will have to cancel the program!!! So please call by Saturday!

Scientific Scavenger Hunt - 2 chances still available for our last clue post. Here it is:
Scientific Scavenger Hunt #3: 
Marlborough is home to a rather large, 83-acre oligotrophic mass with
low nutrient concentrations and low plant growth.
Go find it and take a selfie with it! Then stop in RML for a prize book and extra raffle entries.

POISONOUS THINGS THAT KILL YOU - FINAL WEEK
Clue for Week #5:
With 'Science' being the theme of the Summer, staff members Nancy M., Sandy, Aubrey and Christine were in charge of planning a great science program for the Library kids. They got together one night after hours here at RML to plan and make sure their experiments would work. After closing themselves in the storytime room to prevent any weird smells from getting into the rest of the Library, they started experimenting. After testing out their 'Fizz, Boom, Pop' reactions, they realized how late the time was. They quickly threw the chemicals and mixtures into the sink for cleanup, forgetting that you should never mix sodium hypochlorite and acetic acid together. Ever. Or your Fizz and Boom could cause your lungs to go 'Pop'!
What 2 common household products did they accidentally mix?

This is the last 'Posionous Things' clue - bring in your orange sheet with all 5 correct answers to earn 5 extra raffle entires in our weekly drawings!

Doodle Art & Games Update!

You asked for it so here it is! Staff member Heidi (the doodle art queen) is back with a Doodle Art program just for teens! She'll introduce you to doodling in magazines, and finding 'new' poetry in old books! 
Monday, July 28 at 1pm. Registration required, ages 12 & up.

Games Update:
Scientific Scavenger Hunt #3: 
Marlborough is home to a rather large, 83-acre oligotrophic mass with
low nutrient concentrations and low plant growth.
Go find it and take a selfie with it! Then stop in RML for a prize book and extra raffle entries.


POISONOUS THINGS THAT KILL YOU
Clue for Week #4:
Director Nancy Wood is a cyclist. Having recently organized RML's 90th Anniversary Bike Ride, she was looking for a relaxing ride through the wooded areas surrounding her home. Having recently been reading (she IS the Library Director ya know) a field guide to mushrooms, she decided to take a roadside water break and go in search of some to add to her dinner. She spent more time than she wanted to wandering around, and realized it was getting late and her doggies at home would be very hungry.
Just then, she spotted the white caps of what she thought was Agaricus campestris, commonly known in North America as the meadow mushroom. It is a widely eaten gilled mushroom closely related to the cultivated button mushroom known as Agaricus bisporus. 
But in her haste to get home, she grabbed another variety of mushroom that is not one you would want in your dinner. She actually cooked up Amanita bisporigera, of one of the most deadly poisonous mushrooms known to mycologists.
It's amatoxins cause gastrointestinal distress (diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain) after five to twelve hours. However, symptoms usually remit after that, and one might assume that the worst has passed without going to the hospital. By the time the symptoms get worse again, after a day or two, it's usually too late for the victim.
Luckily for Nancy, her doggies knew something was wrong when they smelled dinner cooking. Lizzie was just glad she wouldn't have to eat it, but Ruggles was smart enough to know to call 911, as Nancy had taught him.
What is Amanita bisporigera also known as?

Teen Program This Thursday!

This Thursday at 5pm we have a fun program for Teens ~ Kitchen Science! Join Ms Patty as she takes over the Senior Center kitchen to experiment with food and science! (She may even blow something up.)

Call us at 295-6210 to register, or go to our website at richmondlibrary.info and find the pink 'register now' button. Ages 12 & up.

Poisonous Things Week #3 & Games Update!

 Be sure to check out our Scientific Scavenger Hunt game! We haven't had anyone find the Week #2 answer and bring in a picture of themselves with the item. You get a free teen book and more entries in our weekly prize drawing!

Weekly Prize drawing #1 Winner: KYLIE D. She wins a Starbucks gift card!


POISONOUS THINGS THAT KILL YOU
Clue for Week #3:
Staff member Mike went away on vacation to Cape Cod. He and all his buddies thought it would be a great idea to have a bonfire on the beach after a long day of sun, sand, and swimming. Being city boys not from the Cape, they weren't that knowledgeable in building fires, having learned the little they knew from teen beach movies. Unfortunately for them, they thought some nearby plants, growing as a low shrub, would make a great addition to the bonfire, along with some driftwood. Little did they know that the plant leaves would emit something called urushiol, which when it attaches itself to the skin would cause itching, swelling, rashes, and oozing blisters. And they had breathed it in all night.
It wasn't a pretty sight. Mike was last seen being carried off on a stretcher to the Cape Cod Medical Center, yelling (in a garbled voice due to all the blisters in his esophagus), "But I wasn't finished roasting my hot dog!!!". Not a fun way to end a vacation. 
What was the poisonous thing they breathed in?

***PLEASE DON'T COMMENT WITH THE ANSWER! WRITE IT DOWN ON YOUR OWN GAME SHEET AND HAND IN AT RML FOR A RAFFLE ENTRY! 

(You can find the game sheet on the GAMES page on this blog)

Scientific Scavenger Hunt #2

Your clue is:

Asclepias syriaca

Habitat loss due to development and the widespread use of chemicals on crops and roadsides has seriously reduced the number of these critical plants, with negative consequences for butterflies.
Why? Monarch butterfly offspring, emerging as caterpillars, must eat the leaves of only this plant to reach the next stage of growth.

 

Your mission: go find this species and take a 'selfie' with it. Bring it to RML and earn a free YA book as well as 3 raffle entries in the Summer Reading Program.
(If you need more help, shoot me an email at ewashburn@richmondlibrary.info for another clue)

Poisonous Things Week #2 & some Read-alikes!

(You can find the game sheet on the GAMES page on this blog)

POISONOUS THINGS THAT KILL YOU
Clue for Week #2:
Staff member Heidi, is a professional photographer. Last week, she was out on a shoot for a couple who was getting married, and wanted some lovely nature shots of them walking the woods. Always trying to get the best angle, Heidi climbed some rocks and was backing up to get the perfect picture, when she stepped into a den hidden in a rock crevice. A den of what, you ask? Well, it is one of 2 venomous species of snakes found in CT. Normally, a bite from this guy isn't enough to take down a healthy adult, but the snakes in this den seemed to be having a good ol' summertime family reunion...poor Heidi.

***PLEASE DON'T COMMENT WITH THE ANSWER! WRITE IT DOWN ON YOUR OWN GAME SHEET AND HAND IN AT RML FOR A RAFFLE ENTRY! 

And on to Summer reads:
I found this on Buzzfeed from back in May. May give you some more titles for your Summer beach reads...

Books to Read if You Liked Fault in Our Stars

Or if Game of Thrones is more your speed, check out Epic Reads:

Books to Read if You Liked Game of Thrones 

Now for something completely different....

I know you guys are out of school, and thinking of teachers is likely the last thing on your list. But I wanted  to share this post on the Nerdy Book Club website by Marlborough's own Lynda Mullaly Hunt - I hope you've read One for the Murphys by now (if not, you must).

Fish in a Tree cover reveal

Speaking of upcoming titles - we have a bunch of prize books for various SRP contests that we got from Book Expo in NYC. Many are ARC's (Advanced Reader Copies) that aren't going to be available until later this year. So think of them as a preview!

But we also have some that were already released earlier this year, and we would love readers to find these undiscovered gems! Our first book winner on Tuesday (for playing the Scientific Scavenger Hunt) got to select a book, and chose The Crossover by Kwame Alexander. Ms Patty and I got to hear author and educator Kwame Alexander speak on a panel about diversity at School Library Journal's Day of Dialogue in NYC in May. He is one of my new favorites!

So make sure you play some of the games associated with the Teen Summer Reading Program - you never know what great gem you'll walk away with!

Scientific Scavenger Hunt #1

Your clue is:

Celastrus Orbiculatus

This invasive, out of control ornamental woody vine was brought to the U.S. from China around 1860, and has been in CT for at least 90 years. It's sale in CT has been banned since 2004. You can find it strangling and smothering tall trees and anything else in it's path.  It prefers sunny areas, but will tolerate partial shade. It's just nasty stuff.

Your mission: go find this species and take a 'selfie' with it. Bring it to RML and earn a free YA book as well as 3 raffle entries in the Summer Reading Program.
(If you need more help, shoot me an email at ewashburn@richmondlibrary.info for another clue)

Games Update!

You can stop in and get the 'Retro Tech ID game' sheet- I'll also try to get that up here on the blog today.


Beginning Tuesday, July 1, we will start the 'Scientific Scavenger Hunt' game.  Here on the blog I will post the scientific name of a plant, rock or other natural item that can be found in Marlborough.  Your job is to figure out what it is, then go find it and take a 'selfie' with it.  The first 3 people to bring the pic into RML each week will earn a new book and (5) raffle entries.

Here is your first clue for "Poisonous Things That Kill You". Stop in and get an answer sheet where you can write down your weekly answers. 5 clues posted on Fridays.  Earn a raffle entry for each correct answer. Submit all 5 correct for 5 more raffle entries.

Poisonous Things

POISONOUS THINGS THAT KILL YOU
Clue for Week #1:
Ms Patty was vacationing in California with her family, when they stopped to admire the view from the side of the road. Looking down, Patty (being a gardener) noticed some lovely shrubs with vibrant flowers that gave off a fragrant aroma. She picked a few, and decided they would make a lovely garnish for the dinner she was making that night with some fresh, local ingredients. Fortunately for the rest of her family, Patty noticed numbness in her fingers while plating the garnish. This was followed by eye irritation, then after taking a nibble to see how the flower tasted, a severe gastrointestinal and cardiac reaction. Luckily, her daughter Anna is studying to be a nurse, and noticed Patty face-down in the fish tostadas. 
What was this pretty yet potentially lethal plant with pretty flowers?

***PLEASE DON'T COMMENT WITH THE ANSWER! WRITE IT DOWN ON YOUR OWN GAME SHEET AND HAND IN AT RML FOR A RAFFLE ENTRY!

Teen Summer Reading Program at RML!

It's getting to be that time of year again! Our Summer Reading Programs here at RML kick off on Wednesday, June 25 at 6pm with a show by the Yo-Yo People at 6:30.

Stop in the Library to get a prize for signing up - while supplies last!

The theme of this year's Summer Reading is Science, and for teens, it's called:

Stop in at the Library to pick up the flyer that explains how the program works - it's up to you how much or how little you participate. Simply earn raffle ticket entries for things like reading books, coming to a program, or playing some of the 'games'. We will draw weekly raffle winners for prizes throughout the summer.

YA Book Trailers on YouTube

CT State Library Summer Reading

Nutmeg Awards 

Finally! A YA Nonfiction Section!

It may be small, but we are finally creating a little young adult non-fiction section! (Currently YA nonfiction is either added to the children's section, or if not appropriate, added to the Adult nonfiction section with a YA sticker).
Obviously not everything you want to read in non-fiction will be there, but it will be a place for those books that are just right for teens and focus on subjects that you may be interested in.
So, to add to the books that we've taken out of Adult nonfiction, I ordered some great titles that come recommended by our Capitol Region Young Adult Roundtable members! Stop in and check them out!

Added January 2014

 The How-To Handbook: shortcuts and solutions for the problems of everyday life by Martin Oliver & Alexandra Johnson

Spilling Ink: a young writer's handbook by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter

My Anxious Mind: a teen's guide to managing anxiety and panic by Michael A. Tompkins, PhD and Katherine Martinez, PsyD

I Am A Seal Team Six Warrior: Memoirs of an American soldier by Howard E. Wasdin & Stephen Templin

                                                                       IraqiGirl: Diary of a teenage girl in Iraq

The Nazi Hunters: How a team of spies and survivors catured the world's most notorious nazi by Neal Bascomb

Made by Dad: 67 blueprints for making cool stuff by Scott Bedford

Guinness World Records 2014 Gamer's Edition
The Ultimate Player's Guide to Minecraft by Stephen O'Brien

Becoming Vegan: the everyday guide to plant-based nutrition by Brenda Davis & Vesanto Melina

Doodles Unleashed: mixed-media techniques for doodling, mark-making & lettering by Traci Bautista