teen.services's blog

The Austin Public Library announces a call to artists 10 -17 years old for YomiCon Artists Alley 2013. Application deadline: JUNE 7, 2013. All media accepted: Drawings, Paintings, Mixed Media, Sculpture, Photography, and Digital. Drop off at your local branch, or email your art to carlos.rodriguez-brondo@austintexas.gov.

If you need homework help after school, Brainfuse provides online tutoring for students in grades K-12. Live tutors are available Monday - Sunday, 2:00 PM - 11:00 PM. 

Brainfuse ofrece maestros en español y servicios de tutoría en línea para los grados K-12: disponibles lunes a viernes, 2 PM - 11 PM.

YomiCon, Austin Public Library's teen anime & manga convention, takes place at the Carver Branch, 1161 Angelina St. ​on Friday, June 14, from 3-8 PM. YomiCon is for teens, but parents are welcome too! We are not going to have an online registration this year. Just show up Friday, June 14 at 3 PM and come on in. The first 750 people will get in.

You know that annoying feeling you get when you finish a really good book? You're driven crazy because you WANT TO KNOW! What happens next?! Is that all?! It's going to be such a long time before you get the next one! Argh! After I finished Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix, I found myself in the grips of the biggest and baddest case of TEABS.

William Shakespeare's 449th birthday is April 23. Are you slogging through one of his plays right now in school? Hopefully you are at least enjoying the stories he tells...once you get past the iambic pentameter. There are so many amazing stories, and I have to admit I'm a huge fan of seeing Shakespeare remixed and adapted. I love the film 10 Things I Hate About You, based on the play The Taming of the Shrew. 

Did you know you can make your own lists in our online catalog, Bibliocommons, and you can follow other users? If you are looking for books for babies through 7th grade, check out the lists made by AustinPLChildrensSvcs. If you are a teen look for something new to read, check out the lists made by AustinPLTeenSvcs.

Spring is here! And that means bluebonnets! Have you done your annual "buried in bluebonnets" picture yet?  If you're new to Texas, it's a tradition in these hereabouts parts to find a field thickly encrusted with bluebonnets and smile for the camera to celebrate springtime in Texas. You may have also heard that it's illegal to pick the bluebonnets. Every Texan has heard this rule and most will argue this point until they're blue in the face.

Let's say you are browsing the Llibrary shelves and you pull out a copy of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are or Scott O'Dell's The Island of the Blue Dolphins. Chances are there was a big gold or silver sticker on the cover showing that the book had won some kind book award. Guess what? There's one for the best Young Adult book of the year, also known as the Printz award.

The search for the perfect gift is fraught with obstacles and lots of soul searching.  No wonder, gift-giving and receiving can be pretty intense experience—especially those rare gifts that leave you speechless with joy...or horror! In my case, my grandparents had just come back from a trip to the Yucatan and brought back some souvenirs. I was so excited to be getting presentspresentpresents (I was 8 years old at the time)!