…in grades 8 and up for our latest Reader’s Theatre production: Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village.

This award-winning book tells the story of teenage life in the middle ages through monologues for 20 different characters. Because it is reader’s theatre, you don’t have to memorize anything. And because it is all monologues, we can rehearse during the week when you are available individually!

Auditions:

Friday, May 2 from 3 - 4 PM at the Main Library

or

Saturday, May 3 from 3 to 4:30 PM at the Main Library

or

By appointment from May 5 - 9. Call the Teen Services department for a time/place.

The performance will be Saturday, June14th. If you love to act, come to the auditions for a chance to shine! 

The book that holds the Guinness record for longest novel is The Remeberance of Things Past by Marcel Proust, at 1.5 million words over 13 volumes. I love to read, but I have to admit - that is just too long! So the next time your teacher tells you that you need to find a book that is 200 pages or more for a report, or in-class reading, remember, it could always be worse!

For those of you who like you books extra-skinny, here is a list of books from the teen collection, with page numbers:

Paranoid Park by Blake Nelson (180)

Cut by Patricia McCormick (168)

Stop Pretending by Sonya Sones (149)

The First Part Last by Angela Johnson (131)

Animal Farm by George Orwell (124)

Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman (114)

The Long Night of Leo and Bree by Ellen Wittlinger (111)

If you are secretly (or not so secretly) a fan of American Idol, I’m here to tell you it’s okay. Here is why I am not ashamed - I don’t watch because I love the contestants. I think America hardly ever gets it right. I watch to see the ‘mentors!’: Huge stars from eras past: Neil Diamond, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Dolly Parton, and Mariah Carey (who is still producing mega-hits, so maybe shouldn’t be categorized as from a past era…) 

Instead of crying when your favorite gets the boot, take some time to add some oldies to your playlist. They will be around a lot longer than whatever terrible song they choose for the winner to sing at the finale:

* Neil Diamond - The Movie Album

* Andrew Lloyd Webber - Evita

* Dolly Parton - Treasures

* Mariah Carey - #1s

Summer isn’t always the best time for TV…lots of silly competition shows with ordinary people displaying secret talents (which mostly should be kept secret!) However, there is one exception to this rule: The return of So You Think You Can Dance!

Okay, maybe dancing shows aren’t your thing. But this one, with truly talented young dancers from different genres competing together, always hooks me.  Here are some dance-themed movies from our collection to get you in the mood!

* Dirty Dancing

* Swing Kids

* Hairspray

* Center Stage

* Mad Hot Ballroom

* Step Up

* Rize

Despite the recent civil unrest in Tibet, the Olympics are going on as planned, beginning on 08/08/08. This summer’s reading game theme will reflect the Olympic spirit, and is titled Faster, Higher, Stronger (which is, by the way, the official Olympic motto.)

So, what does that mean, exactly? Well, we aren’t giving anything away yet, but you can be sure that sports books and a certain boy demigod will be involved…

In the meantime, prove that you are Faster - sign up for our Dance Dance Revolution Tournament during Spring Break. As always, you compete for your highest personal score and win honor, glory, prizes, and possibly the ever-popular ceramic bunny!

When you think of a “How To” book, you think about…well, getting stuff done. Practical tips, helpful advice. But, with the new book How to Be Bad arriving soon at the library [including a possible visit from authors E. Lockhart, Lauren Myracle and Sarah Mlynowski (!)], we’ve noticed a “How To” trend that takes things to, well, extremes! Other books in this not-quite collection:

How to Deal by Sarah Dessen

How to be Popular by Meg Cabot

How Not to be Popular by Jennifer Ziegler

How to Get Suspended and Influence People by Adam Selzer

How to Ruin a Summer Vacation by Simone Elkeles

How to Deal by Sarah Dessen

How to D.J. by Tom Frederikse

How to Survive in Antarctica by Lucy Jane Bledsoe

and, my favorite…

How to Survive a Robot Uprising by Daniel H. Wilson

We just subscribed to a new music service called Finetune…and everyone at the library LOVES it! You create your own unique playlists, and as long as  you don’t select more than 3 songs by the same artist, it is considered Internet radio (and therefore, free.)

You can’t download the songs - it is more like a custom radio station playing only the songs you want to hear! You can also go to their site and listen to Artist Radio - playlists created or inspired by an incredible number of musicians and bands. It’s a great way to find new music. On our Finetune player, we have songs from the teen music collection - some of which might surprise you.

Make your own Finetune playlist, and send us the code - we’ll post it on our page for everyone to hear. And as always, if there is music you need that we don’t have, just tell us - we’ll get it for you.

We often talk about books that get turned into movies on this blog…but here’s a look into what happens here at the library…a sample dialog:

Patron: I’m looking for that new book that just got made into that movie…

Librarian: What is the movie about?

Patron: Umm…college kids playing blackjack in Vegas…

Librarian: The movie is called 21. It is based on a book called Bringing Down the House. Let me grab it for you… 

(Walking with the patron over to the bookshelves)

Patron: It’s not a new book?

Librarian: Nope. The book came out in 2002.

Patron: *jaw drops*

The moral of the story: There’s a really good chance that the movie you want to see has been out for years - as a book. Get a head start and impress your friends. Check out Bringing Down the House, The Ruins (written in 2006,)  Nim’s Island (2001) and, of course, Horton Hears a Who! (from 1954!)

In celebration of Fairfield’s One Book, One Town celebration, the Teen Services department will sponsor the Extreme Everest Adventure on Saturday, March 29 from 1 to 4 PM at the Fairfield Woods Middle School.

At this event, you will prepare for a trek up the big mountain - Amazing Race-style! Find the best flight to Nepal, gather your gear, hire a guide and get to base camp! There are traps and challenges at every turn, and you’ll need to use your wits to get to the mountain on time. When you finally get to the summit, you’ll get to climb a rock wall.

Registration begins on March 3rd. Sign up early for this exciting, one-of-a-kind event!

With the popularity of High School Musical, everyone seems to think they have what it takes to be a star…wanna find out if you do?

 Then take a look at some of these titles, about life on and off stage:

Better Off Famous? by Jane Mendle

Drama! series by Paul Ruditis

Secrets of My Hollywood Life by Jen Calonita

Dramarama! by E. Lockhart

Teen Idol by Meg Cabot

Bass Ackwards and Belly Up by Liz Craft

Diva by Alex Flinn

Confessions of a Backup Dancer by Tucker Shaw

Pop Princess by Rachel Cohn