~ Summer Program Preview ~

The start of the Summer Reading Program is only a month away!  Time to start getting excited, I certainly am!

We have some changes to the program this year based on what teenagers suggested last year to improve the program.

You will still be earning raffle tickets toward prizes, but instead of drawing one prize per week, we will draw all prizes at the Summer End Party on Friday, August 8th.  Also, you can put your raffle tickets in whatever prize you want now!  You choose where to put your tickets! 

This year's prizes are...

(drumroll please)

~ Two snack baskets filled with candy, snacks, and drinks

~ $20 gift certificate to Cozy Corner Pizza

~ $10 gift certificate to Durham Dari Serv

~ Solar Robotics Kit

~ Two $15 Metro Movies giftcards

 ~ Two Mincraft Loot Bags

 ~ A Kindle Fire tablet



Exciting right?  Want to know how to earn your raffle tickets?  YOU BET YOU DO!

This year you can earn raffle tickets in 4 ways...

1. Reading - 1 ticket per every hour of reading logged
2. Programs - 1 ticket for every program you attend
3. Reviews - 1 ticket per week for a book review
4. Badges - 1 ticket for every 10 badges you earn

As you may have noticed above, we are changing how you track reading this year!  Instead of getting a raffle ticket for reading a book, now you get a raffle ticket for every 60 minutes of reading.  So, if you log 2 hours of reading, you get 2 tickets.   Log 6 hours of reading, get 6 tickets.  Get it?  Got it?  GOOD.


As for programs, oh boy do we have fun programs this summer for you!  LET ME TELL YOU!  (in chronological order, even!)

Registration for all events begins Monday, June 9th

After Hours Teen Kick Off Party
Saturday, June 28th 7:30-9:00pm
Ever wanted to have the library all to yourself?  At this party, we will!  We will have a glow in the dark themed party at the library, while the library is closed.  Glow sticks, glow bracelets, glowing tattoos, blacklights, games, music, food, and more!
Ages 12-18, please register

Robotics Club
Tuesdays 3-4pm
Session 1 - July 1, 8, & 15
Session 2 - July 22, 29, and August 5
Want to build a robot?  How about 14 different robots?  Join the robotics club where we will be using a solar robotics kit that can be built into 14 different robots.
Ages 11-18, please register

Hair Chalking, Henna Tattoos, Flame Nail Art, and Glitter Tattoos
Thursday, July 3rd 3:00-4:00pm
Let's play with body art before we celebrate our country's Independence Day!  Temporary henna and glitter tattoos, fiery nail art tutorial, and color your hair in bright streaks!
Ages 10-18, registration suggested

Teen Advisory Group
Saturday, July 5th 3:00-4:00pm & Saturday, August 2nd 3:00-4:00pm
Earn community services hours and help to improve the library.  Share your ideas, suggestions, and recommendations for the library and enjoy a snack while chatting with other teens.
Ages 12-18, drop in

Coding Club
Mondays in July 3:00-4:00pm (July 7, 14, 21, & 28)
Want to learn computer programming and coding?  Or, already know and want to practice and share with others?  You belong at the Coding Club!
Ages 11-18, drop in

Cracked Marble Pendants
Tuesday, July 8th 7:00-8:00pm
When you gently heat up a marble and then dunk it in cold water, you get an amazing piece of art!  We will be cracking marbles and then making necklaces with them.
Ages 12-18, please register

Teen Knitting Club
Wednesday, July 9th 5:30-6:30pm and August 13th 5:30-6:30pm
Learn to knit, or come and share what your knitting with the group while we chat!  New members always welcome.
Ages 10-18, drop in

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Potions Class
Saturday, July 19th 2:30-4:00pm
In this introduction to potions we will be brewing the Arcturi Antidote, the Felix Felicis Minor Potion, the Thius Trio potion, and the Detoxinous Draft.  Two will be edible, while the others are for use on objects only.  Wands and robes suggested, but not required!
Ages 11-18, please register

Teen Cuisine: Spicy Food
Wednesday, July 23rd 4:30-6:30pm
In our next cooking class for teens, we will "Spark a Reaction" in your mouth with our spicy ingredients!  Learn cooking skills and kitchen safety all while preparing (and eating!) an entire meal!
Ages 12-18, please register



Teen Book Club
Tuesday, July 29th 6:00-7:00pm
Ashfall by Mike Mullin
Grab a copy of the book in early July and then join us for our discussion the last week of July!  We will be SKYPING LIVE WITH THE AUTHOR!
Ages 12-18, drop in

ALSO, don't miss out August meeting either!
Wednesday, August 27th 6:00-7:00pm
Hysteria by Megan Miranda
Grab a copy of the book in early August and then join us for our discussion the last week!  We will be SKYPING LIVE WITH THE AUTHOR!
Ages 12-18, drop in

Bubble Art Painting
Thursday, July 31st 3:00-4:00pm
Make art by blowing colored bubbles at canvas!  We will also have free paint to paint whatever you want.
Ages 10-18, please register


End of Summer Party
Friday, August 8th 3:30-4:30pm
Food, games, music, and the drawing of the raffle prizes!
Ages 11-18, please register




WHEW!  That's a lot of programs for only 6 weeks!  I hope to see you all at all of them!  Ok, well maybe at some of them.  That's up to you! :)  But they sure will be funn....

Now maybe you noticed earlier that I mentioned that you could earn an extra raffle ticket for every 10 badges you earn.  This year we are adding badges to our summer reading program, which are like acheivements.  Below is a partial list of the badges you can earn.  There are a total of 150 badges possible to earn!

There will be a special page online where you can view the badges you have earned, and the leaderboard of who has earned the most badges. 




Well...that's a lot of information.  If you have questions, feel free to come in and ask me, or email me at kgardiner@durhamlibrary.org


Online registration for logging your reading time will begin Monday, June 9th.  Look for another blog post on that date on how to do that!

MAY I have some New Books Please? (Part 2)

In this book, readers learn how to grow things in even the smallest of spaces, source eco-friendly food, think about water, energy and packaging waste, and prepare delicious dishes. 

 Nearly a year after the eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano, survival has become harder than ever and Alex and Darla must risk everything to try to create a community that can withstand the ongoing disaster.

Drawing Cute Animals in Colored Pencil offers simple step-by-step drawing instructions that help you to learn how to draw your favorite animals. Adorable animals like rabbits, squirrels, deer, and pigs come alive with vibrant color and beautiful detail. Using colored pencils learn tips and techniques to easily draw an elephant, polar bear, lion, alpaca, hippopotamus, and more adorable creatures.The instructions are simple to follow, but detailed enough so anyone can easily achieve great success in replicating each figure. Author Ai Akikusa loves animals and she shares interesting details about each animal in each section.

 While on suspension, Shelly, Eric, and Fatima, who have nothing else in common, try to identify and stop the person who blackmailed each of them by phone to perform very specific acts of bullying at their high schools.

When Laurel starts writing letters to dead people for a school assignment, she begins to spill about her sister's mysterious death, her mother's departure from the family, her new friends, and her first love.

New November Books~ Part 3

Skinny by Donna Cooner

Check the Catalog

After undergoing gastric-bypass surgery, a self-loathing, obese teenaged girl loses weight and makes the brave decision to start participating in high school life, including pursuing her dream of becoming a singer and finding love.

Black Butler, vol 1 by Yana Toboso

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Just a stone's throw from London lies the manor house of the illustrious Phantomhive earldom and its master, one Ciel Phantomhive. Earl Phantomhive is a giant in the world of commerce, Queen Victoria's faithful servant ... and a slip of a twelve-year-old boy. Fortunately, his loyal butler, Sebastian, is ever at his side, ready to carry out the young master's wishes. And whether Sebastian is called to save a dinner party gone awry or probe the dark secrets of London's underbelly, there apparently is nothing Sebastian cannot do. In fact, one might even say Sebastian is too good to be true .. or at least, too good to be human ...

Breathe by Sarah Crossan

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In a barren land, a shimmering glass dome houses the survivors of the Switch, the period when oxygen levels plunged and the green world withered. A state lottery meant a lucky few won safety, while the rest suffocated in the thin air. And now Alina, Quinn, and Bea--an unlikely trio, each with their own agendas, their own longings and fears--walk straight into the heart of danger. With two days' worth of oxygen in their tanks, they leave the dome. What will happen on the third day?

 Marshmallow Madness: Dozens of Puffalicious Recipes by Shauna Sever

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If you've never tasted a fresh, homemade marshmallow, are you in for a treat! Marshmallow Madness! shows how to whip up dozens of fluffy, puffy flavors--from Strawberry and Vanilla to Buttered Rum, Root Beer Float, Maple Bacon, and more. Author Shauna Sever also includes easy recipes for homemade graham crackers, drinks for mallow dunking, and a host of irresistible desserts, including Lemon Dream Whoopie Pies, Blonde Rocky Road, and S'mores Cupcakes.

Ashen Winter by Mike Mullin

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More than six months after the eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano, Alex and Darla retrace their steps to Iowa hoping to find Alex's parents and bring them to the tenuous safety of Illinois, but the journey is ever more perilous as the remaining communities fight to the death for food and power.

New books for the new year part 2

Ashfall by Mike Mullin

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After the eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano destroys his city and its surroundings, fifteen-year-old Alex must journey from Cedar Falls, Iowa, to Illinois to find his parents and sister, trying to survive in a transformed landscape and a new society in which all the old rules of living have vanished.

 Under Dogs by Markus Zusak

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Three novels in one book, including The Underdog, Fighting Ruben Wolfe, & Getting the Girl.

The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch

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Twenty years after the start of the war that caused the Collapse, fifteen-year-old Stephen, his father, and grandfather travel post-Collapse America scavenging, but when his grandfather dies and his father decides to risk everything to save the lives of two strangers, Stephen's life is turned upside down.

 The Watch that Ends the Night by Allan Wolf

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Recreates the 1912 sinking of the Titanic as observed by millionaire John Jacob Astor, a beautiful young Lebanese refugee finding first love, "Unsinkable" Molly Brown, Captain Smith, and others including the iceberg itself.

 Boyfriend Season by Kelli London

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First boyfriends, first love, first mistakes--and an invitation to the hottest teen society party of the year sends three friends into a tailspin. Can they handle the pressure of getting everything they think they want?

 Variant by Robison Wells

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After years in foster homes, seventeen-year-old Benson Fisher applies to New Mexico's Maxfield Academy in hopes of securing a brighter future, but instead he finds that the school is a prison and no one is what he or she seems.