It was a Graveyard Smash!

The Teen Advisory Board at Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library kicked off Teen Read Week with a spooky evening of fun, inspired by classic and contemporary literary horror. Monster Mash drew around 50 teens in their creepiest costumes to enjoy ghoulish games and dance ‘til their feet fell off (literally, of course!)



Some of the night’s highlights:

• “Best Costume” prize awarded to Tinkerbell
• The Mummy Race won by mummy Wes S. and his wrapping partner Ashleigh S.
• The ghoulishly good snack table, featuring treats like cakepop eyeballs (chocolate cake coated in white chocolate and decorated like eyeballs) and graveyard pudding (chocolate pudding layered with crushed oreos with ladyfingers sticking out like little gravestones).

Thanks to the Friends of the Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library for making this night possible!

A Hauntingly Good Time!

Are you ready for a ghoulishly good October? The teens at JBK certainly are after last week’s hands-on workshop for teens, Special FX.  TAB member David F. led this unique and incredibly fun event, sharing tricks of the trade from his favorite hobby, special effects makeup. Almost 20 teens (and a few daring adults) learned the basics to creating burns, bites, gouges and other gruesome makeup effects.  The Friends of the Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library provided plenty of liquid latex, theatrical makeup and fake blood for everyone to get their hands dirty. Now they’ll all be ready for next week’s Monster Mash dance and any other haunted festivities they shamble into!

2012 Teen Talent Show !

Come to the library and cheer on your friends at our upcoming Teen Talent Shows! The winners of each show (middle and high school divisions) will be invited to the grand finale at the John F. Germany Library downtown on April 14th. Cash prizes awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place!

• New Tampa Regional Library - Saturday, March 24, 2:00 PM
• SouthShore Regional Library - Saturday, March 31, 2:00 PM
• Bloomingdale Regional Public Library - Saturday, March 31, 2:00 PM
• Jan Kaminis Platt Regional Library - Saturday, March 31, 3:00 PM
• West Tampa Branch Library - Saturday, April 07, 2:00 PM
• GRAND FINALE! @ John F. Germany Public Library - Saturday, April 14, 2:00 PM

Giving Tree Music Drum Circle @ Jan Platt Library

Hi !

We are having a very special event at Jan Platt Library : a Giving Tree Music Drum Circle on Monday, July 18th from 3:30 - 4:30. Connect our Global Community through Music! Drumming in a group can spark joy in an individual. We provide the drums; all you need to bring is yourself. Sing, drum, dance and laugh as we explore the magic of community and teamwork. We will learn traditional songs and stories, and how to "talk" to each other with our drums.

Check out this awesome Giving Tree Music Drum Circle video:



Go to the Jan Kaminis Platt Regional Library webpage and click on Events calendar (on the right side of the page) to see more summer events for teens on Mondays and Thursdays.

Save the Date : Skype Author Chat for Teens with Pam Bachorz

Pick up a copy of CANDOR at our Teen Book Club display @ Jan Kaminis Platt Regional Library

Jan Kaminis Platt Regional Library
3910 S. Manhattan Ave.
Tampa, FL 33611-1214
813.273.3652

In a town where his father brainwashes everyone, Oscar Banks has found a way to secretly fight the subliminal Messages that turn even the most troubled kids into model citizens. On the outside, he's the perfect Candor teen, and no one knows that he's built an entire business around helping new kids escape before the Messages take hold.

But then Nia Silva moves to town, and Oscar thinks she's perfect exactly the way she is. Soon he must make a choice: let Nia be lost to the brainwashing, or help her stay special and risk himself in the process.

Read the first chapter, see photos of settings that inspired CANDOR, and listen to music that gives you the flavor of the story at the author's website.

March Teen Events @ Jan Platt Regional Library (South Tampa)

[Click to view fullscreen]

Hi ! I’m John, a librarian at the Jan Kaminis Platt Regional Library in South Tampa. I'm writing today to tell you about our programs for teens (middle and high-school) at the library this month (March, 2011). On Wednesday this week we had an Origami event. The event was a big blast; we made the cat mask, the swan, the peacock, and the flapping crane. If you missed it this week we will have another origami event this summer. On Thursday we had our first “Om Café,” an international multi media exploration dedicated to the United Nations Year of the Youth. We had great conversations, artistic explorations, coffee, chai, sweets and more. This great program is part of a series and will be meeting the first Thursday of the month through June. Each “Om Café” meeting will focus on a different Spotlight Value. Come and join the conversation! On Thursday March 10th: Make your own mash-ups for Teen Tech Week using music downloaded from our new music database Freegal. Learn how to mix and mash your music using Audacity audio editing software. Our next Teen Advisory Board meeting is on Saturday March 19th at 3pm. Have ideas for teen events and clubs at the library? Bring them to share! Enjoy snacks, laughter and fun while planning events and creating videos, podcasts, photos and more. TAB members also earn community service hours for graduation and scholarships! Directly after our TAB meeting we have our Teen Book Club (pick up your copy today @ Jan Platt Library!) We will be hanging out and discussing Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi, winner of the 2011 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature. Our GameZone meets on Tuesdays from 4:00 – 5:15pm. Play Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 2 at the library on our large projection screens. Some of our video games titles are: Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Guitar Hero Series and Rock Band. See you after school for some gaming fun! On Wednesdays, March 16th and 30th from 4:30—5:30 pm our Teen Anime/Manga Club will be meeting and screening Anime titles and talking about all things Anime/Manga. On Wednesdays, March 9th and 23rd from 4:30 - 5:30 pm we have our Teen "Go" Board Game Club. Come learn and play one of the oldest games in the world: the ancient East Asian board game “Go.” A popular Anime/Manga series called “Hikaru No Go” has made many very curious about how to play the game. Now you can learn and play with your friends. The rules are simple, the strategy complex. Learn in minutes, play for a lifetime. We also have our Teen Talent Show this month on March 26th! Read all about it and sign up today at Jan Platt Library to be in the show! Space in limited, do not delay! Click here for more info on Teen Talent Shows at libraries around Hillsborough this month!

Try something new in the new year...

2011 is here! Start the new year right by trying something new (for free!) at your library.

Need to relax? Learn the ancient art of Tai Chi at the Bloomingdale Regional Library, Thursday, January 6 @ 3:30 PM and Thursday, January 20 @ 6:30 PM.

We've got Yoga classes, too: Wednesday, January 12th at the SouthShore Regional Library and Wednesday, January 19th at the Bloomingdale Regional Library.

Tired of your same-old stuff? Trade your old stuff for some new stuff at the Teen Swap Meet, Saturday, January 15th at the Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library. The swap starts at 3:00 PM.

Ladies, learn the art of self-defense starting this Saturday, January 8th @ 10:00 AM at the New Tampa Regional Library. Sign up for this three-week series is limited to 20 people.

Click here for the full calendar of upcoming teen events.

Seffner-Mango Library After-Hours Teen “Get in Character!” Ball !!!

Werewolves! Vampires! Zombies! Pirates! Superheroes! And more!
Get in Character! Come to the library in costume as a character from a favorite book (Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Steampunk, Graphic Novel, Manga, Mythology, Folk Tale, and many more genres are out there to choose from).

On October 29th the Seffner-Mango Branch Library will be hosting a special after-hours Teen “Get in Character!” Ball from 7pm to 10pm (just for you!). Enjoy dancing, food, games, and crafts! There will also be a costume contest with awesome prizes!

Are you ready to Thrill the World?

Sat 10/24
North Tampa Library

Registration opens 6:30pm
Rehearsal begins 7pm
World Record Attempt 8:30pm

A FREE event for zombie & Michael Jackson lovers of ALL AGES

Thrill the World is a simultaneous worldwide attempt to break the World Record for the largest simultaneous dance to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” Thousands of people around the world will learn “Thriller” and dance and perform it together on October 24, 2009.

All ages are welcome to participate, and costumes are encouraged. Come early to learn the dance and be ready to Thrill the World at 8:30pm!

You can also learn the dance at this special event:
Sat 10/17 @ 2pm
College Hill Branch Library

Visit the Thrill the World page at teens.hcplc.org to get a registration form (a MUST to count towards the world record!) or watch the instructional dance videos. To get more info, email libraryteens@hillsboroughcounty.org.

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

Zowie! Doesn't that sound cool!

2009 Game Zone Teen Tournament

Teen Tech Week 2009 is coming! That means that it's time once again for the Game Zone Teen Tournament! And this year we're featuring a...

Rock Band 2 Battle of the Bands

Want to compete? Enter one of the qualifying events to win a prize pack and an invitation to play in the Grand Tournament.

• Thursday, 2/5 @ 5.30pm - Southshore Regional Library
• Saturday, 2/7 @ 6:30pm - Brandon Regional Library
• Saturday, 2/14 @ 1pm - Upper Tampa Bay Regional Library
• Sunday, 2/15 @ 1pm - New Tampa Regional Library
• Thursday, 2/19 @ 5.30pm - Bloomingdale Regional Library
• Saturday, 2/21 @ 1pm - Town 'n Country Regional Library
• Thursday, 2/26 @ 5.30pm - Jan Kamanis Platt Regional Library
• Saturday, 2/28 @ 1pm - Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library

Just want to play for the fun of it? Drop at any of these events for some open game play!

Keep an eye out here and on the teen website for rules , weekly tournament standings and more info or call the library at 273-3652.

Teen Boot Camp Update

Online registration is NOW AVAILABLE for Teen BootCamp!

Want more info? Try here or leave me questions in the comments!

More Summer Fun!

Announcing our...
Wizard Rock Extravaganza

On July 10, 2008 @ 6 p.m., Wizard Rock hits the Library. Some of the best bands in the Wizard Rock world- The Remus Lupins, The Whomping Willows, Draco and the Malfoys and Justin Finch-Fletchley- will entertain Muggles and Wizards alike with their Harry Potter-influenced tunes.

John F. Germany Library
July 10, 2008
6 – 9 p.m.
Free Admission

Visit The Remus Lupins’ MySpace page for more info on the band.
http://www.myspace.com/theremuslupins

GRAND TOURNEY RESULTS

How was the Grand Tourney at MOSI, you ask? EXCELLENT!



We estimate that almost 250 people came... some to play, some to hang out and watch, some just to check out all the commotion.
We started the day by selecting 4 wildcard players to join the 12 pre-qualified regional winners in each Grand Tournament. We ran double-elimination tournaments, playing one random song per match, until we ran our 16 contestants down to the top 2, who headed to the Finals.

<--- In the GH3 Finals: Johnny AK and The Raw

The Finals were Best 2 of 3. As the undefeated player, Johnny AK got the pick the 1st song, Raining Blood, which he won. As the challenger, The Raw, selected Number of the Beast as the 2nd song, which he also won. This brought us to a nailbiter of tiebreaker, selected by the judges... Metallica's One. And the winner... The Raw!


In the DDR SN2 Finals: maxninja and Matt -->

The Finals were also Best 2 of 3. The undefeated maxninja selected Volcano as the 1st song, which he won. Matt, the challenger, picked next: Calico Cat Rock, which he also won. As the tiebreaker, the judges picked Wind it Up. And the winner... Matt!


As the 1st Place winners of the Grand Tournament, Matt and The Raw each took home Rock Band! Johnny AK and maxninja each received a (PRODUCT) RED iPod Shuffle. (Our thanks to everybody who voted in our poll for helping to choose the prizes!)

More photos and more about the Tourney day fun to come soon!

Teen Library Club Meeting November 27 & Dec 4

Time: 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Location: Mary Noel Moody Community Meeting Room
Dates: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 &
Tuesday, December 4, 2007

• Middle School and High School Students Only!
• Tells us what books, DVDs, graphic novels, and PC games you think the library should purchase.
• Help plan and implement library activities for teens your age.

For more information visit the club on myspace: http://myspace.com/teenlibraryclub

FREE COMIC BOOKS! WHOOHOO!!!!

How exciting is this weekend gonna be! Not only do we have the much awaited Spiderman 3 swinging into theaters, but on Saturday we get free comics!

Visit a participating local comic shop to get some of the free comics supplied by several major publishers. Many are special editions only available on Free Comic Book Day!

Thanks to Paul, the Librarian at Pasco County's New River branch, for telling me about the this last week and to the folks at Westport Library in CT for reminding me to post about it.

It's National Library Week!

Hey! Guess what? It's National Library Week! Come celebrate with us at your favorite library branch!

Can't make it? Why not take part in the festivities with us here online?

We're especially excited that the first Support Teen Lit Day is April 19, only 2 days away.

Want to take part in this celebration?

• Check out some hot Teen Lit titles…
• Join an online book club!
• Book talk on the blog!

And in the spirit of the day, here's

Today's Teen Picks
by Robin @ North Tampa

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause

Firestarter by Stephen King

More Teen Picks

Continuing our countdown, it's 6 more days 'til Support Teen Lit Day, and here's...

Today's Teen Picks
by Antonio @ North Tampa

The Trigun Maximum Series by Yasuhiro Nightow

The InuYasha Ani-Manga Series by Rumiko Takahashi

InuYasha: The Art of InuYasha by Rumiko Takahashi

Drop Everything!

... And READ!

Did you know that April 12 is Drop Everything And Read Day? Me, neither! (until just a moment ago, that is.)

So what better time to bring you our next set of Teen Lit Picks!

Today's Teen Picks
by Jesse @ Seminole Heights


Eragon by by Christopher Paolini

The Naruto series by Masashi Kishimoto

The Bleach series by Tite Kubo