by Tiana Schweim, Litchfield Library
Watercade marks the mid-point of summer for many of us in
Litchfield. With the final flash of
fireworks, the distant cadence of the Mean-Green-Marching-Machine, and the
Medallion tucked away for another long year, teens might just spiral into a
self-proclaimed state of boredom until Labor Day! My advice is to take a deep breath and exhale
as you ponder opportunities at your local public library.
Our summer reading programs are in full-swing! We have 46 students in grades 6-12 who have
officially signed up for Groundbreaking
Reads for Teens and are participating by keeping track of their titles and
submitting book reviews for weekly drawings.
New additions to our
collection are Hunger and Fear which complete our collection of
Michael Grant’s Gone series. Our monthly
teen book club has chosen to read the first book Gone for next month. I
encourage tweens & teens to checkout or download the book and join us for
our next book club meeting on Monday, August 19th at 3:00 here at
the library—all students entering grades 6-12 are invited to show up! We’d love you to join our discussion by
telling us what you’ve been reading this summer.
Also new to our collection:
Close to Famous by
Joan Bauer. Younger fans of television
cooking shows will delight in this quick-paced story laced with current trends
including domestic abuse, inter-racial relationships, and a main character with
a learning disability. Bauer says the
book is infused with humor. About the
process she says, “My best times as a writer are when I’m working on a book and
laughing while I’m writing.”
Speaking of becoming famous, our teen book club participants
have also recently had the pleasure of critiquing an original manuscript by
Chantal Boon. Boon is a local author
from Dassel, MN, and is in the process of securing a publisher for her story The Sky is Watching. It was interesting for the kids to meet and
talk with Chantal about her background and the ideas for her book. We certainly have some very talented writers
in our book club groups and it’s a cool thought to ponder some of them becoming
future authors as well. We plan to keep
in touch with Chantal and cheer her on through the process.
One big change to the programming calendar is the switch
from an All-Night Lock-In to a 4-hour event.
All students who are entering grades 6-12 are invited to stop by the
library and sign up for our July 31st event which will begin at 8:00
PM when the library normally closes its doors and conclude at midnight. We will provide a pizza party for everyone
who has registered. The night will also
offer the chance to play various group games such as Ghost in the Graveyard,
and participate in the Great Library Scavenger Hunt. Best of all, prizes will be awarded! What a great opportunity to hang out with
your friends! We need to thank SAMMIE
(Southwest Area Multicounty Multitype Interlibrary Exchange) who has awarded us
a grant to partially fund this event.
Don’t forget Gaming Night, every Monday from 6-8 PM, and
Teen Tea with Tiana at Cricket Meadow on Tuesday, August 13th at
10:00 AM.
So, you see, even though the Annual Watercade Book Sale has
come and gone for another year, there’s no need to hang your head in
sorrow. Visit the Public Library today!
