Wrestlemania Reading Challenge is here!!!

Read 10 items between Oct. 19 and Jan. 15 keeping a log of what you read, and design a bookmark that illustrates why reading is important and you will be eligible to win a trip to Wrestlemania XXVI!

Starting Monday, Oct. 19 come to the library to register and get all the
details.

Open to students in grades 7-12

Click here to read about teens doing good things!

I'm sure some of you read about the beating death in Chicago. It is a very horrific event. I just wanted to post this to reinforce that teens are capable of doing great things.

Click here to vote in the Teen's Top Ten!

If you like to read chances are you've read a few of the books eligible for the Teens Top Ten. Make your voice heard! Choose up to three of your favorite books from the list.

Cashore, Kristin. Graceling.
Cast, Kristin & P.C. Untamed.
Clare, Cassandra. City of Ashes.
Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games.
Fukui , Isamu. Truancy.
Fukui , Isamu. Truancy: Origins.
Gaiman, Neil. The Graveyard Book.
Green, John. Paper Towns.
Harris, Joanne. Runemarks.
Hopkins, Ellen. Identical.
Lockhart, E. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks.
Marriott, Zoё. Daughter of the Flames.
McMann, Lisa. Wake.
Meyer, Stephenie. Breaking Dawn.
Moran, Katy. Bloodline.
Ness, Patrick. The Knife of Never Letting Go.
Noёl, Alyson. Evermore.
Palmer, Robin. Geek Charming.
Pierce, Tamora. Melting Stones.
Scott, Elizabeth. Living Dead Girl.
Smith, Cynthia Leitich. Eternal.
Smith, Sherri L. Flygirl.
Weingarten, Lynn. Wherever Nina Lies.
Werlin, Nancy. Impossible.
Yee, Lisa. Absolutely Maybe.

Click here for Lisi Harrison article in today's Post Gazette!

It's a cool interview in which she talks about her brand new book "Alphas"

Thank you to everyone who participated in summer reading!

This summer was VERY different with the prize auction and Twitter, etc. so I thank everyone for going along and trying it with me. I hope most of you filled out the evaluation because I want your feedback so I can make the program better and better! Congratulations to ALL the summer reading prize winners!

Last Day to log pages!

Tomorrow is the auction. You must log your pages today in order for them to count!!!!

Deadline to fill out Summer Reading Evaluation- THIS Friday, Aug. 14

If you want to win the Summer Reading grand prize of a trip to Kennywood transported by Limo, you have until Friday, August 14th to do so! So make sure you fill out the evaluation today!!!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=yYV8wob_2bBvw9Dh4K2CzUIw_3d_3d

More giftcard winners!

Congratulations to Kaylyn Johnstone, Roslyn Mizgorski and Jenn Sheets!

Click here for a FREE downloadable copy of Uglies!

Click the post title for a free electronic copy of the Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. It's a great dystopic sci.fi./fantasy ish book that I HIGHLY recommend.

Mystery Night and Summer Reading evaluation

Mystery Night is Saturday at 7 pm. Please sign up on our web site or call! Also- if you had trouble filling out the summer reading evaluation form, try again! No problems were reported to me, but I was having problems with it and fixed it.

Coffeehouse tonight AND prize list!

Hi all. Just a reminder that Coffeehouse is tonight. Click on the post title to register.

Also- I thought I might detail exactly what prizes I'm "auctioning" on Aug. 22. So here they are:

$50 cash
Two tickets to the CLO production of "8-Track: Sounds of the 70's"
"Gamers Delight" that includes a Nintendo Gameboy Advanced w/ many games and a few other computer and Playstation 2 games
Tickets to the Carnegie Science Center
The new Kingdom Hearts game (to be released in September)
A private, after-hours party at the library
A bunch of stuff for Wildwood Highlands
Eat n Park gift card for $25
4 tickets to the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium
Max and Erma's giftcard for $25
2 MP3 players
Twilight gift box set
a pizza party at Romp & Roll
the chance to write and shoot your own short film and then screen it here at the library

Register for the prize auction here!

The prize auction is coming up on Friday, Aug. 22 at 7 pm. Please register to let me know that you're coming. Also, if you cannot make it, call me and we will make arrangements so that you can still participate. 412-486-0211

Click here to fill out the Summer Reading evaluation form!

Remember, filling out this form is the ONLY way to try to win the summer reading grand prize of six tickets to Kennywood transported by limo!

Coffeehouse date has changed!!

Instead of it being on Friday, August 7th, it's now on TUESDAY, AUG. 4. The time is still 7 pm! Click the post title to sign up on Event Keeper! Sign up today!

I've been forgetting about the giftcard winners!!!

I told everyone how I'd be choosing names to win giftcards if they logged pages, but I've been forgetting to tell you who has won.

Josiah Johnson
Rachael Cooper
Jacquelyn Klocko
Margaret Gerthoffer

All of these summer reading participants have won a giftcard of their choice, either Target, Barnes and Noble, or Dick's Sporting Goods.

Congratulations all!

I'll try to be more up to date in the future.

Tie Dye has been rescheduled

Since it rained the last time we were supposed to do Tie Dye (and we did Undye Your Clothes instead. Very fun!), it is now set for Wed. Aug 5 at 2:30 pm. Weather permitting of course! I put it on my Google calendar and if you want to reigster please go to http://www.shalerlibrary.org and click on "Coming up @ the Library" to register online or give us a call at 412-486-0211.

Article about teen entrepreneurs here!

Click the post title to read about local teens making money on stuff they make!

"You've won a prize!"

An "Anonymous" asked below about a prize message s/he got on his/her account. To be honest, I'm not sure why *everyone* is getting a message saying they won a prize. That should not be the case, but it really doesn't matter because everyone is invited to come and get one if they like. We certainly have enough.

I have an "Express Yourself" temporary tattoo, a coupon for one free attraction at Wildwood Highlands and a $10 off coupon for Dick's Sporting Goods for everyone who wants one. Just come up to the desk in the Children's Dept. to pick it up.

Check this out!

Click on the post title to check out Zac Sunderland's web site! He's about to finish a solo sail around the world. His blog is really cool. It just shows you what you can do if you put your mind to it!

Pool party invitations are ready!

Come on over to the library to get your pool party invitation! The party is on July 22nd at 6:30 pm. Be there or be square!

Click here to check out all the library activities and register for them!

Jo-Jo left a comment below asking when Duct Tape Mania is. It's on Friday, July 10 at 2:30 pm. It's part of our Freaky Friday craft series. Check out all our activities by clicking on the post title! You can register for the programs by clicking on the "Register" button at the bottom of each one. If there is no button, that program does not require registration.

Sign up for Twitter!

Don't forget to sign up for my Twitter page! I'll be having a Twitter prize giveaway soon and you don't want to miss out on the opportunity to win a $10 gift card to Barnes and Noble or Target! Click on the Twitter icon to your right and sign up today!

Air Guitar

Teen Air Guitar Contest
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
2:30 pm

Please read the following so that you will be prepared on the day of the event. Failure to comply with these regulations will result in disqualification from the contest. Start practicing!
· Each participant has to play air guitar on stage in two rounds, each lasting for 1 minute.
o Round 1: participant plays a selection of their own choosing. Typically the song has been edited (or a medley has been created) to fit the 60-second format. Please bring your song either on an mp3 player/Ipod or on a CD. Write down the artist and title of the song and what track number it is, so that the DJ can easily find your selection.
Tie-breaker Round: participant plays a section of the song chosen by an organizer or competitor;
usually the song is not announced beforehand and kept secret until the round begins, so a participant has to improvise.
Participant plays alone; backing bands, either with real or air instruments are not allowed; roadies and groupies are allowed to make up some image, but they have to leave the stage before performance.
o Participant has to play air guitar (i.e. air drums, piano and other instruments are not allowed). Air
guitar can be acoustic, electric or both.
There is no dress code and participant is encouraged to use any clothing and props that would add character and make the performance more interesting. However, any real musical equipment or crew (instruments, amplifiers, effect pedals, backing band members, etc) are strictly forbidden. Real guitar pick are forbidden.
o Scoring: Judges will use the same 6.0 score system as in figure skating: there are several criteria, each judge must give the contestant a score from 4.0 to 6.0 on each of the criteria. One lowest and one highest score get discarded, all other scores are summed up. The contestant with maximal score wins.
o The criteria are:
o Technical merit — how much the performance looks like the real playing, including accurate reproduction of all fretwork, chords, solos and technical moves.
Stage presence — a charisma of rock star, the ability to rock, lack of stage fright and power to drive thousands of listeners; involves doing guitar moves and other emotional demonstrations.
Airness — the most subjective criterion, as "presentation" in figure skating — how much the performance was an object of art by itself, not only a simulation of playing guitar.

Sign up by clicking on the title of this post!

logging fixed!

It now will give you the option for 100 pages. Don't worry. If you logged yesterday I know it's really 100 pages and not one.

logging pages

I see that when you log it only reads as one page, I recognize that when you log it is actually 100 pages, but I will work on making the log read as 100 pages as well. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

Summer Reading 2009!!!

Are you looking for a way to express yourself this summer?

If so, then SNHL's teen summer reading program is the place to be!

Registration begins Monday, June 8th and is as easy as a click of the mouse! To register, click on the Summer Reading link over on the right hand side of this blog, and fill out all required information (name, phone number, grade, and school). Once you're registered, you can create a username and password. Make sure to choose something that will be easy for you to remember but hard for others to hack!

Once registered, you can begin logging pages you've read! Read whatever you like; fiction or nonfiction books, poetry, short stories, magazines, or even ebooks! For every 100 pages you log online, you'll earn two raffle tickets to enter to win prizes at our end-of-summer prize auction on Saturday, August 22nd at 7 pm.

Want more chances to win awesome prizes?

For every teen summer reading program you attend, you will earn one raffle ticket. For information on teen summer reading programs, check out the Teen Zone calendar on the right hand side of this blog.

Also, become a follower of SNHL Teen Zone on Twitter. Twitter followers will be notified of special prize winning opportunities that won't be publicized anywhere else! To learn more, click on our Twitter link on the right hand side of this blog.

And lastly, remember to log your pages as you read them! Prizes will be drawn weekly for teens who have logged pages in that week.

So what are the prizes?

Weekly prizes will vary by week, but trust us, they will all be awesome! So don't forget to log your pages as you read to qualify for a weekly prize!

As for the prizes to be auctioned on Saturday, August 22nd, those include:
-Two tickets to CLO's production of 8-Track, Sounds of the 70's
-Two passes to the Carnegie Science Center
-$50 cash prize
-Four passes to the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium
-Eat-n-Park gift cards
-Private after-hours party in the library

So now what?

Check back here often for news, information and cool events that you're sure to enjoy!

And don't forget to register for the Teen Summer Reading 2009 program beginning Monday, June 8th here at Shaler North Hills Library Teen Zone!!!!