The Falcon Report… May 15, 2009

The Loft’s falcon, usually found perched atop the bookshelves in the Loft (and occasionally spotted lounging in the egg chair), will be posting a list every Friday of some of the books he has spotted leaving the Loft during the week. (BTW – rumors are circulating that the falcon is part of an undercover investigative team operating out of the Loft. More information about this investigative team can be found here) The sheer volume of books that circulates every week makes it possible for the falcon to report only a mere fraction of them. When the Loft is closed, you may see him flying with his falcon friends that perch (and nest) on the south side of the library.

 

5/10 – 5/15

 

Shift by Jennifer Bradbury

Get Well Soon by Julie Halpern

Evolution, Me, & Other Freaks of Nature by Robin Brande

Bleach by Tite Kubo

The Singing by Alison Croggon

Strays by Ronald Koertge

Ultimate Iron Man by Orson Scott Card

Being Nikki by Meg Cabot

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Red Hulk by Jeff Loeb

Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr

Lifeblood by Tom Becker

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson

Game by Walter Dean Myers

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (the movie)

What Does Dating Violence Look Like? February 28, 2009

“Hiding the bruises and the hurt Paul inflicts on her is harder than getting straight A’s. But Paul’s happiness soon becomes more important to Johanna than her own. More important than her relationship with her parents and friends. More important than her grades, her safety, and her future.”-Things Change by Patrick Jones (Walker & Company, 2004).

The first week in February was National Teen Dating Violence Week and though the month’s last day has dawned, I figured better late than never.  So, what does dating violence look like?  What does it feel like? The novels below do a really great, unflinching job of capturing the hurt, the anger, the frustration, and the intense emotions involved when a person is caught in an abusive relationship.  Sometimes it’s hard to confront the fact that we’re in an unhealthy relationship because the abuser makes us feel like what’s wrong is somehow our fault.  As we saw in the situation between Rihanna and Chris Brown, sometimes the person who seems perfect in every way isn’t showing us the whole truth. Love can be confusing, complex, and uncertain. But here’s something for sure: Everyone deserves a healthy relationship. There is never an excuse for intimidation, harassment, emotional abuse, or physical violence.

Leslie’s Journal: A Novel by Allan Stratton. Leslie endures a harmful relationship with an abusive boyfriend. She finds solace by writing in her journal.

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen. After her sister runs away from home Caitlin begins an abusive relationship with a boy who is mysterious, brilliant, and dangerous.

Breathing Underwater by Alex Flinn. Sent to counseling for hitting his girlfriend, sixteen-year-old Nick begins a journal and examines his controlling behavior and anger, and describes living with his abusive father.

Past Forgiving by Gloria D. Miklowitz. Fifteen-year-old Alexandra finds that her boyfriend Cliff demands all her time, isolates her by his jealousy, and then his behavior worsens.

Things Change by Patrick Jones. Sixteen-year-old Johanna, one of the best students in her class, develops a passionate attachment for troubled seventeen-year-old Paul and finds her plans for the future changing in unexpected ways.

Falling Through Darkness by Carolyn MacCullough. Seventeen-year-old Ginny unexpectedly gets help from her father’s new tenant while struggling to cope with her guilt and confusion over the death of her daredevil boyfriend.

When Something Feels Wrong: A Survival Guide About Abuse For Young People by Deanna S. Pledge. Provides checklists, journaling ideas, and other positive ways of dealing with being physically, sexually, and/or emotionally abused, emphasizing the importance of talking about what has happened and getting help.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. A traumatic event near the end of the summer has a devastating effect on Melinda’s freshman year in high school. A contemporary classic told in journal-entry style.

Inexcusable by Chris Lynch. High school senior and football player Keir sets out to enjoy himself on graduation night, but when he attempts to comfort a friend whose date has left her stranded, things go terribly wrong.

Looking for a book that depicts love between two people as it should be – positive, respectful, equal, and secure? Check out:

What They Found: Love on 145th Street by Walter Dean Myers. The author of Street Love returns to the world of 145th Street to show how love can be found, and thrives, in the most unlikely places.

Feel like you or someone you know might be in an abusive relationship? Jennifer Ann’s Group, a website devoted to educating people about the dangers of dating violence will help.

Book Fest at Dr. Bessie Rhodes Magnet School February 19, 2009

I had a fantastic time at the Book Fest and  celebration of  Black History Month at Dr. Bessie Rhodes Magnet school today! I listened to students sing beautiful music, and I even got to play the drums. The students welcomed all of us there, and the whole event was incredibly inspiring and so well organized! Congratulations to all the staff and students!

 

I visited Ms. Nichols’s 7th grade class and want to thank her and all of the students for welcoming me. We listened to some of the great African American musicians of this century. There are so many but time was limited, so we heard some tunes, read from books of poetry and biographies about the musicians, and jotted down reactions to the music. Books and music are inseparable in many ways. Here are some of thoughts that the students in Ms. Nichols’s class shared:

 

 

When listening to Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie & Charlie “Bird” Parker, Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday: Bebop, Jazz, Cool Jazz, Hard Bop, Rhythm & Blues…

 like grooving, dreaming, like flying, like sleeping…    very rhythmic and fast, gentle, smooth, spunky, mysterious, inspiring, I’m an alto saxophonist as well…    happy, excited, cool, calm, silly, inspired…  calm, peaceful, sleepy, happy…  relaxing, cool, happy, soothed. Ella sounds really good and has a smooth voice and she and Louis (Armstrong) really complement each other…   relaxed, inspired. Ella and Louis sound real good together… Aretha Franklin has a powerful voice, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong are calming, I feel hungry…   Aretha Franklin sounded more happy and loud…   Billie Holiday sang slow songs, had some rough times,   Ella has a beautiful and calming voice, there were different instruments but all very memorable, Aretha Franklin has a classically good voice…  safe and calm. Bebop makes me want to get up and do something and be more active…  Ella has a very strong and pretty voice…   I feel relaxed, calm, all my problems are resolved…   tiring, they sing about love…   

 

When listening to several Jimi Hendrix tunes…

 I feel energized…   crazy all over…   happy, excited…   open-minded, happy, excited…   pumped up, sad, happy, fast…   like I can do anything, crazy…   funky, spunky, slow, soothing…  it flows well, Hendrix is a classic, Hendrix has different sounds… loud…  Jimi Hendrix’s music really moved the main character in the book  Jimi & Me  (by Jaime Adoff), makes me feel alive and energetic.

 

We read Tupac’s poem: The Rose That Grew from Concrete*, and listened briefly to  a rap tune…

crazy… I have no idea why but I’m hungry when I listen to rap…   like I’m at home…   rhythmic…   happy, cool, calm…  peaceful…     excited, makes me want to sing along, good, new….   collected…  I feel at home, I can relax to most of the lyrics…   like vibrating

 

The playlist (tunes and books):

Books

Becoming Billie Holiday  by Carole Weatherford

Ella Fitzgerald: A Twentieth Century Life  by Tanya Lee Stone

Jimi & Me by Jaime Adoff

Jazz A-B-Z by Wynton Marsalis

Jimi Hendrix: “Kiss the Sky” by Edward Willett

Miles: The Autobiography by Miles Davis

*The Rose that Grew from Concrete by Tupac Shakur

After Tupac and D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson

Tunes:

Wee - Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie “Bird” Parker, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus, Max Roach

Lady Sings the Blues – Billie Holiday

Venus de Milo - Miles Davis

Dream a Little Dream of Me - Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong

Spanish Harlem – Aretha Franklin (& B. E. King)

The Wind Cries Mary, Crosstown Traffic – Jimi Hendrix

-Ms. Christie Chandler-Stahl

Books and Movies For Valentine’s Day February 11, 2009

Love Valentine’s Day? Hate it? Or are you totally indifferent, thank you very much?

Whatever your feeling towards this 14th of February check out The Loft list of recommended love-themed books and movies to see you through the week and beyond. Come talk to one of the Loft staff members for more information or for more recommendations.

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1. Read What They Found: Love on 145th Street by Walter Dean Myers. The author of Street Love returns to the world of 145th Street to show how love can be found, and thrives, in the most unlikely places.

 2. Read Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause. She’s a werewolf, he’s an unsuspecting human boy. Should she reveal her true, violent, animal nature or keep it a secret from him.? For fans of Twilight!

 3. Watch Pretty In Pink. When she falls in love with Blaine, a boy from a nasty clique of rich kids, Andie suffers humiliations and a rift with her goofy new-wave best friend Duckie (who “worships” her) that test her character. With a soundtrack that features The Psychedelic Furs and The Smiths, this is one of John Hughes’s best films.

 4. Read Blushing. This is your one-stop shop for poems on love and loss, heartache and cupid’s chokehold. Shakespeare, Nikki Giovanni, Pablo Neruda – they’re all here.

 5. Read Love Is Hell. Five sci-fi/fantasy authors tell five different tales about the power of love in futuristic and magical settings.

 6. Watch Say Anything. John Cusack with a boombox lifted high above his head blasting “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel to the girl he loves – it’s an iconic moment from one of the best teen romance films of the 80s.

 7. Read Empress of the World by Sara Ryan. What do you do when you think you’re attracted to guys, and then you meet a girl who steals your heart?

 8. Watch West Side Story. Arguably the greatest movie musical of all time. Tony and Maria are the Romeo and Juliet of New York City, their love forbidden because she’s a Puertro Rican immigrant and his gang is at war with the “dirty PRs.” Astonishingly gutsy and vibrant dance numbers combined with tunes you’ll be singing for days. Highly Recommended!

 10. Read Who Am I Without Him? by Sharon G. Flake. Teens laugh, cry, scheme, and dream about the opposite sex in this fascinating short-story collection spanning the scope of adolescent love.

 11. Read Boy Proof by Cecil Castelucci. Victoria Denton hides behind the identity of a favorite movie character until an interesting new boy arrives at school and helps her realize that there is more to life than just the movies.

 12. Watch Sense and Sensibility. Love, repression, and drama on the English countryside! This 1996 film directed by Ang Lee is considered by many to be the best adaptation of a Jane Austen novel.

 13. Read An Abundance of Katherines by John Green. What do you do when you keep getting dumped by girls named Katherine? You take a road trip with your best friend when high school ends and you find what you’re looking for in a town called Gutshot. Funny and moving, this tale about a prodigy lost at emotional sea is a great read for anyone about to graduate high school.

 14. Read The Possibilities of Sainthood by Donna Freitas. Fifteen-year-old Antonia Labella prays to assorted patron saints for everything from help with preparing the family’s fig trees for a Rhode Island winter to getting her first kiss from the right boy.

 15. Watch Across the Universe. This 2007 film directed by Julie Taymor (who directed The Lion King on Broadway) features a beautiful young cast singing an all-Beatles soundtrack. Set in the 1960s, it’s the story of an artist and an activist who fall in love against the violent backdrop of the 1960s anti-war movement. You’ll hear songs like “I Want To Hold Your Hand” and “Let It Be” (sung as a gospel hymn) in fresh renditions that will deepen your love for The Fab Four.

 16. Read Upstate by Kalisha Buckhanon. Antonio and Natasha’s world is turned upside down, and their young love is put to the test, when Antonio finds himself in jail, accused of a shocking crime.

 17. Read We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier. As The Avenger searches for the teenage boys who trashed the Jerome home and left 14-year-old Karen Jerome in a coma, Buddy, one of the trashers, increases his drinking in order to cope with his parents’ separation and his obsession with Jane Jerome, Karen’s sister.

 18. Watch Save The Last Dance. Sara (Julie Stiles) wants to be a ballerina, but her dreams are cut short by the sudden death of her mother. When she moves to Chicago’s South Side, she meets Derek (Sean Patrick Thomas), a popular fellow student with a passion for hip hop dancing and a future brighter than his troubled past. As Victoria’s relationship with Derek grows, her repressed ambition is released through a revitalized interest in dance.

 19. Watch Once. Once is the story of a young street musician who meets a lonesome, yet warm-hearted young woman with a beautifully eerie singing voice. As they write songs (and perform them) together their feelings for each other deepen until she is forced to make a difficult choice between her past life and her new musical one. The duo (featuring the lead singer of The Frames) won the 2007 Oscar for Best Song and have since released an album together called The Swell Season. A romantic, but totally unsentimenal love story.

The Results Are In! October 25, 2007

Teens all across the country voted last week for their Top 10 Books.  Here are the results:

1. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2006).

2. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen (Viking Children’s Books, 2006)

3. How to Ruin a Summer Vacation by Simone Elkeles (Flux, 2006).

4. Maximum Ride: School’s Out – Forever by James Patterson (Hachette Book Group USA/Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2006).

5. Firegirl by Tony Abbott (Hachette Book Group USA/Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2006).

6. All Hallows Eve (13 Stories)by Vivian Vande Velde (Harcourt, 2006).

7. Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer (Harcourt, 2006).

8. River Secrets by Shannon Hale (Bloomsbury, 2006).

9. Bad Kitty by Michele Jaffe (HarperCollins, 2006).

10. Road of the Dead by Kevin Brooks (Chicken House, 2006).

What do you think? Agree or disagree? Let us know!

It’s Teen Read Week! October 16, 2007

In celebration of Teen Read Week’s theme, LOL@yourlibrary, we’re doing lots of fun stuff in the Loft!

Tonight (Tues, Oct 16) @ 6pm: High School Teen Advisory Board meeting. Always a laugh-riot!

Friday, October 19 @ 4pm: Let the Games Begin! Drop-in and play Nintendo Wii in the Loft.

Saturday, Oct. 20 @ 4:30pm: Junior High School Teen Advisory Board meeting. Sure to be hi-larious! 

Also Saturday, Oct. 20 @ 2pm: LOL while watching The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

And don’t forget to take the survey. We want to know your top 10 books!!