Spring Break in the Loft!
April 1, Tuesday, 2 pm.
Chainmaille returns! Learn the art of European 4-in-1 chainmaille, or try Queen’s Links or Byzantine! Make a bracelet or a key chain in the Loft.
Please register: call (847) 448-8625 or stop by the Loft. We have new colors! Teens only. Supplies provided; just bring yourself.
My Interesting Eyes
My interesting eyes are like
the moon and sun mixed together.
Half of my eye is bright
the other side of my eye is dark.
In the morning they match
my clothes and breakfast.
At night they match
with my pjs and dinner.
Whenever the lights are off,
my eyes are like sharks.
When the lights are on,
my eyes are like cat’s eyes.
When I wake up,
it was a dream.
-Alexis J.
New York is My Home
New York is my home it’s where I’m free, when I’m not there it’s like a shell you see
I want to go home yes home that’s my home, I don’t live there that’s for sure I live in Evanston
but that’s not where I’m from
I love the sound of taxicabs it’s so wonderful I’m never sad
I’m one thousand miles away that’s what I say, I tell my Dad it’s just a plane ticket but that’s not the case
I wish I could go home just for the summer so I can smell the sweet New York luster,
you think I’m bluffing just wait and see, this ain’t no type of game to me
I express the best when I’m in my New York dress
I cry, I try, I do what I can, but nothing will help me fulfill my plan.
Who knows how I feel I’m so bottled up here, you just see a face that smiles every day
but do you see me inside when I cry?
You see my laughter the place where I live ain’t no Sherman
It’s New York understand it, don’t ever judge if you don’t know where I’m from
you don’t know my background New York is my home
I try and try and try to be free, to express myself but it’s not that easy
Step in my shoes if you dare I’m telling you now just beware
New York is my home and I can’t get there but you know what? That’s just not fair.
Me happy go lucky Ashley is what you see, but is it really?
But do you really know I’m in a deep hole crowded by pain,
New York is the only place I can be plain and simple me.
-Ashley L.
*This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.
N
If you are 16 & up, come to the Youth Job Fair here at the Evanston Public Library on Thursday, April 3, 2008, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m, in the Community Meeting Room.
The fair is hosted by the Youth Job Center of Evanston. It is free and open to all job-seekers 16 & up.
The focus will be on retail, hospitality and seasonal positions in Evanston, Skokie, Niles and Chicago. The YJC recommends that attendees bring resumes and wear appropriate interview attire. The fair ends promptly at 3:00 p.m.; job seekers should arrive no later than 2:30 p.m.
For further information, call the Youth Job Center at 847-864-5627.
Slam Dunk
Basketball is my life
I would make Spaulding my wife.
Only playing one-on-one with the best
to put my skills to the test. There’s
no time for rest.
I just wanna ball but they wanna
see me fall. I can prove to my
fans once and for all that I
can ball. No need for side track
just stick your best D and pack that.
Interrupt the opponent and go for
the layup. Time for the checkup,
go for the jumpshot. Don’t comment
just say it was hot.
I’m skilled and I’m lucky like
the number thirteen. My moves are
clean and my attitude is mean.
Have to be the most valuable player
in the game ‘cuz no other is the same. All the time was worth, put
the other team in a hearse.
Going for the fast break
the whole court’s gonna shake.
Sweat drippin’ down, situation
Like slow motion.
Now for the signature move,
back flip has the fans drop a lip.
slam dunk, now the game is
over. I just won but just for
Fun.
-Knight W.
My Lil’ Mama
I got the blues
My lil mama won’t look at me no mo’
Oh y’all I got the blues
My lil mama won’t look at me no mo’
I guess I’ll go on back to Mississippi
I’ll just pack my bags and hit the do’
Tuggin’ me back n’ forth
I don’t know what to do
Ya tuggin me back n’ forth, baby
I just don’t know what to do
The way I see things right now baby
You tellin’ me “I don’t want you.”
You’se a mean woman
You treatin me so wrong
Ooooooh you’s a mean woman
You know you doin’ me so wrong.
I’m so shocked I don’t know what
To say so this is the end of my song
-Chauncey G.
*This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.
Just because I am from another country,
doesn’t mean I should be your servant
doesn’t mean I don’t know your language
doesn’t mean I can’t follow the rules.
Just because I’m bigger
doesn’t mean you can call me giagantor
doesn’t mean I am like a tree trunk
doesn’t mean I’m a meany
Just because I’m black
doesn’t mean I can’t learn
doesn’t mean you should treat me like a slave
doesn’t mean I’m from the chocolate world
It’s just how I am.
-Alexis J.
Just Because…
Just because I talk ghetto
Doesn’t mean I’m simple or slow
Just because I am chubby
Doesn’t mean I always “Have it My Way”
Just because my teeth are crooked
Doesn’t mean I’m a freak
Just because I fight
It doesn’t make me a bully
Just because I rap
Doesn’t mean I qualify for the senseless statistics
Just because I’m hard
Doesn’t mean I can’t be soft
Just because I’m black
Doesn’t mean I always eat chicken
Doesn’t mean I always eat watermelon
-Chauncey G.
Don’t Judge Me
Just because I’m a girl
Doesn’t mean I’m weak
Doesn’t mean I can’t win
Doesn’t mean I’m bossy
Just because I’m a nerd
Doesn’t mean I can’t let loose
Doesn’t mean I’m a stick in the mud
Doesn’t mean I’m a geeky bookworm
Just because I’m tall
Doesn’t mean I’ve been held back
Doesn’t mean I’m a giant
Doesn’t mean I’m a freak
That’s just how I am so you
Either take or leave it
-Tyler D
*This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.
The Truth Behind My High Voice
Just because I have a high voice.
Does not mean I’m not loud.
Don’t let that fool you.
Don’t listen to how I sound listen to what I say.
Does not mean I don’t get mad, doesn’t mean I’m not heard of.
I have a voice so I’m gonna use it
and I’m gonna say what I’ve got to say.
Just because I have a high voice
Does not mean I’m not LOUD.
-Juliana N.
ARIEL
Just because I’m a small thirteen year old girl.
Doesn’t mean I don’t have feelings.
Doesn’t mean I can’t understand what you older kids are going through
Doesn’t mean that my size can tell you what I can do.
Just because I look like a nice person
Doesn’t make you think I’m so easy
Doesn’t mean I can’t be sassy
Doesn’t mean I can’t bring out the ghetto in me.
Doesn’t mean I can’t be loud.
Just because I’m small
Doesn’t mean I don’t play sports.
Doesn’t mean I can’t run track
Doesn’t mean I can’t be tough
Doesn’t mean I can’t play football
Just because I’m reading this poem
Doesn’t mean this is all of me.
-Ariel M.
*This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.
Chat with your favorite YA authors through March 27 on Simon & Schuster’s blogfest! Over 120 authors are participating.
Come to the monthly Teen Knitting Club meeting this Thursday, March 20, from 4:30 to 6:00 pm in the Loft.
Bring your own project to work on, or help us make a baby blanket to donate to Evanston Hospital.
We have needles and yarn for the baby blanket and can teach you how to knit.
March 16, Sunday afternoon, 3 pm in the Loft.
Award-winning author and poet Marilyn Nelson comes to Evanston Public Library! Marilyn Nelson has won two Pushcart Prizes, two creative writing fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and was poet Laureate of the State of Connecticut for five years. Several collections of her poetry have been finalists for the National Book Award.
Nelson’s Carver: A Life in Poems, tells the story of George Washington Carver, an African American inventor, botanist, and scholar. Carver’s life unfolds in 44 poems in a stunning use of poetry as biography. Nelson will start her visit in the teen Loft, when B.O.O.K.: Theatre with a Spine (teen reader’s theatre troupe) performs scenes from Carver at 3 pm. Teens and adults are welcome to attend the performance! Then, at 4 pm, all ages are invited to hear Nelson read from selected works in the Community Meeting Room.
B.O.O.K. performs with permission from, and in gratitude to author and poet Marilyn Nelson and Front Street and Boyd Mills Press.
Slam by Nick Hornby (Penguin, 2007)
What do you do when you find out that your kind of ex-girlfriend is pregnant? You talk to Tony Hawk of course, or rather, a Tony Hawk poster. At least that’s what Sam Jones does. It sounds like the most bizarre of premises, and one that would only interest those who skateboard, or skate, as Sam says, not to be confused with roller or ice skating. Many people I’ve talked to about the book couldn’t get past the idea of a skateboarder who talks to Tony Hawk. But because he is ridiculously clever, Nick Hornby makes it work. He makes it worth your while to swallow the odd premise and go with it. Sam isn’t crazy, he doesn’t hear Tony Hawk talking to him. But talking to Tony Hawk, or TH as he calls him, is for Sam what a journal is for others. It could be a poster of Einstein, but because Sam is a skateboarder, it is TH that he turns to.
Sam of course feels panic and terror at the idea of impending fatherhood, even more so because he is the product of a teen pregnancy and knows all that it entails. There are more than a few laugh-out-loud moments in the book, so consider yourself fairly warned. This is Nick Hornby’s first book specifically for young adults. However, those familiar with his previous books will find his trademark humor and human foibles here. And for those who are not, it’s a funny, fast read (Bridget, The Loft).
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