Upcoming anime conventions

Anime Festival Orlando- July 31 to August 2, Wyndham Resort, Orlando.

Anime Festival Orlando returns for its 10th year!!!


Mini MegaCon- August 23-23, Orange County Convention Center Hall E1, Orlando.

For the first time ever! A miniature version of the huge yearly MegaCon will be taking place.

Two days. Five movies. Two librarians. Almost 30 teenagers.

Harry Potter Movie Madness Marathon

South Tampa teens prepared for the release of Harry Potter and the Half –Blood Prince in theaters by watching the first five movies in the Harry Potter series, marathon style, at the Jan Kamanis Platt Regional Library.

The teens were sorted in their respective Hogwarts house and Harry Potter trivia filled the space between the movies, with the houses competing against each other. Ravenclaw was the winner of the trivia contest on both days. Wands were constructed out of paper, as well as edible wands from pretzels and frosting. The teens put their name in the running for a chance to win hardcover Harry Potter books, provided by the Friends of the Jan Kaminis Platt Regional Library . Seven lucky teens went home with a book. They had another chance to win by seeing who could guess the number of jelly beans in a jar. The lucky teen whose guess came closest got to take the entire jar home. The teens spent their time drooling over Sirius Black, debating whether or not the book or the movie was better and discussing the various characters.

A big thank you goes out to Elizabeth Payment from the Library System's School Age Services Department (SAS) who came to assist with the program, as well as to the Friends of the Jan Kaminis Platt Regional Library, who provided the refreshments, including pizza delivered by Westshore Pizza.

--by Michelle F. , Librarian at Jan Platt

School not your thing?

I just saw a great article about a program for high school students who want to learn the skills needed to succeed in a career... especially students who might not be headed to college.

There are apparently 4 Career Centers in Hillsborough County that offer students the opportunity to earn their diploma while training for careers in fields like nursing, auto repair, web design, culinary arts, construction, or law enforcement (plus many others too!).

Check out the programs at these schools!
Bowers-Whitley Career Center
D.W. Waters Career Center
Simmons Career Center
South County Career Center

Pretty cool, huh?

Fantasy & Faeries & Earth

Want to Read a book about Faeries? How about a trilogy about girls who haven't had an 'easy' life? Try the books in this series.

Read Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr...

Aislinn was told, never let the Faeries that surround her know that she can see them. The only problem is, now they are stalking her, is she being hunted by Summer King Faerie. Aislinn must come to grips with love, immortality.

Read Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr...

Leslie, Aislinn's friend, is drawn into the Faerie world by a dark, shadowy presence. it seems every one wants to claim her, even the Tattoo that she wants to use to claim her independence. The power struggles of the Faerie world draw her in. Her life, full of turmoil, and a shadow presence, She is offered and escape, but should she...

Read Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr...

Seth never expected he would want to settle down with anyone—but that was before Aislinn. She is everything he'd ever dreamed of, and he wants to be with her forever. Forever takes on new meaning, though, when your girlfriend is an immortal faery queen.
Aislinn never expected to rule the very creatures who'd always terrified her—but that was before Keenan. He stole her mortality to make her a monarch, and now she faces challenges and enticements beyond any she'd ever imagined.
In Melissa Marr's third mesmerizing tale of Faerie, Seth and Aislinn struggle to stay true to themselves and each other in a milieu of shadowy rules and shifting allegiances, where old friends become new enemies and one wrong move could plunge the Earth into chaos.

These are not your typical fairy tales.

It's a whole other story in manga...