2013 Teen Talent Show Grand Finale

On April 13, 16 contestants performed at the John F. Germany Public Library in the grand finale of the HCPLC Teen Talent Show.  Previously, each of these contestants competed at either the Bloomingdale Regional Public Library, Jimmie B. Keel Regional Public Library, Jan K. Platt Regional Public Library, New Tampa Regional Public Library, 78th Street Community Library, or West Tampa Branch Library and placed in the top three contestants.

Congratulations to our winners.  Click on the image above to connect to the HCPLC Teens YouTube Channel and see the winning performances.

Upcoming Anime Conventions

Tampa Bay Comic Con is a multi-genre convention featuring anime, comic books, video games, and favorite TV series. The next one will be this weekend, April 6-7, at the Doubletree Hotel.

Tampa Bay Comic Con


Khaotic Kon will be back in Tampa for its second year! Special events include Cirque du Anime, the Combat Musical, and the Evil Shinding of Mal-Intent. This year, Khaotic Kon has a new location at the Tampa Sheraton East. Join Khaotic Kon on the weekend of May 3-5.

Khaotic Kon


BelleCon will be making its debut in Jacksonville, Florida this year. This brand new convention will feature the Starlight Ball, the Kimono Fashion Show, and the Anime Fairytale Theater. BelleCon will be taking place on May 10-12 at the Wyndham Jacksonville Riverwalk.

BelleCon


During Memorial Day weekend, the Florida Anime Experience returns to Orlando for its third year. This con will feature the Animusical Idol, the Cosplay Photography Contest, and the Sword Arena. FAE will be taking place on May 24-26 at the International Palms Resort and Conference Center.

Florida Anime Experience


Last, but not least, we have KnightroKon at UCF. This con will feature the Pokemon Murder Mystery event, anime music video and cosplay contests, as well as special guests Crispin Freeman and David Vincent. Join KnightroKon on June 1-2 at the University of Central Florida's Student Union.

KnightroKon

Fall in Love...with a great book!

Visit the Teen section of the website for great suggestions if you're looking for something new to read. 

Each month, six new books are highlighted on the page.  You can also check out award winners such as the Florida Teens Read book or Sunshine State winners.

At the end of January, the 2013 winners of the Alex Award were announced.  Each year, ten adult books are selected for the Alex Award for having a strong appeal for teens.

Looking for Adventure?

Check out Orca's new series Seven.

After his death at 92, David McLean's unusual will sends his seven grandsons on unique journeys across the world. Read one story or read all seven.

2013 CLSP Teen Video Challenge

Take part in the national Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP)! Create a video promoting Summer Reading at the public library, including your interpretation of the 2013 SLP teen slogan "Beneath the Surface," and you could win $275 and a $125 award for your library.


Any teen, aged 13 -18, can enter the CSLP "2013 Teen Video Challenge" in the state where they live. Videos can be created individually or as a team. The winning video from Florida will become one of the official Teen PSAs for the National 2013 CSLP Summer Reading Program (CSLP Winning Videos).


The deadline for entries is February 1, 2013. The application is available online. For more information visit the CSLP website.

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!

Outstanding Teen Volunteers!

The Teen Advisory Board makes a tremendous difference at the Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library, and few outstanding members were recently recognized by the Library Board for their dedicated service. On September 27, the Library Board presented a Certificate of Commendation from the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners and a pin for Volunteer Excellence to five members of the Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library T.A.B., recognizing each for completing 100 or more hours of service to the library.


Rita M. receives a Certificate of Commendation for 100+ hours of volunteer service.

 Stephanie A., Cydney B., Rita M., Clarissa N., and Wes S. have each gone above and beyond in service to the library and its community, not only participating in T.A.B. projects, but also helping with programs for children and adults and volunteering for special projects with staff.

Ms. Janet and I (and Ms. Annamae too!) are proud of each and every one of them, and we’re thankful to the Library Board for helping express the appreciation that we feel for the support that these special young people have provided to us, our library and our community. Congrats!

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!

Summer may be over, but the fun continues @ your Library

This summer, teens across Hillsborough County attended events at their local libraries and submitted more than 200 book reviews. Now that you're back at school, you have even more reasons to visit the library. 

The library has free programs for teens and a ton of great resources for your school projects. 

Whether you enjoy gaming, anime, crafts, movies or books, the library offers programs. Don't see anything for you? Join a TAB group and receive community service hours for volunteering at the library and helping the librarians plan events for teens.

Own the Night, Own an iPod

If you want to win an iPod for participating in the HCPLC's summer reading program, you still have two weeks to earn tickets.

Remember that you can earn tickets for writing reviews for the books you read this summer.

Jessica read Forever by Judy Blume and highly recommends this book about first love that "ends unexpectedly and leaves you emotionally attached."

If you are looking for a great series, Jasean recommends the Artemis Fowl series.  In Jasean's review of the conclusion of the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer, he says that "the Artemis Fowl series is amazing and had me hanging off my seat."

Two Book Flip participants recommend the Skyship Academy:  the Pearl Wars by Nick James.  According to Garren. "this book was really cool... it was in the future on earth.  Earth was destroyed and there are two groups... the skyship people and the unified party." 

Keep reading and reviewing!

Flipped book clues at New Tampa Regional

Skyship Academy: The Pearl Wars is back! Find this flipped book next to a biography of the evil mastermind of World World Two.
Nightshade has also returned and is hiding behind a poisonous copy of Fine Gardening Magazine.

Midnight Snacks @ JFG

On Tuesday July 31, the John F. Germany Library invites all teens to join us for our Midnight Snacks program.  Come by the Auditorium at 2 p.m. to learn how to make s'mores without a campfire or to turn the assorted snacks in your cupboard into a great snack.

All teen participants will also earn a ticket to enter the Own the Night, Own an iPod drawing.

Own the Night Book reviews

Looking for a great book to read before school starts again?  It is not too late to earn tickets for the Own the Night, Own an iPod drawing. 

Destiny earned two tickets for her review of Suzanne Selfors' Coffeehouse Angel.  In this YA novel, a teen's kindness to a stranger results in the granting of deepest wish.  Destiny also recommended Seflors'
novel Saving Juliet about a young actress that finds herself transported to Shakespeare's Verona in time to try to save Juliet and Romeo from their tragic fates. 

Looking for a book with some action?  Nick recommends The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson.  After his parents are killed by an alien, Daniel discovers "awesome powers that make him unstoppable."

Visit your local library to find one of these great books!

Own the Night, Own an iPod Book Reviews

Jennifer recommends Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver.  She gives the book 4.5 stars and says "you don't want to put the book down...you want to know what she'll do to change."  In this great read for high schooler readers, Samantha dies in a car crash, but she continues to relive the day of her death until she is able to make a life altering change.

Each year, a set of books are selected by the Florida Association of Media Educators (FAME) to help high school students find great non-required reading books.  This year's Teen Reads include Queen of the Water by Laura Resau.  A teen from the Town N' Country library highly recommends this book set in Ecudaor.  "Virginia's story will speak to anyone who has ever struggled to find his or her place in the world." It will make you laugh and cry, and ultimately, it will fill you with hope."  After she is taken from her small village to be an unpaid servent to a wealthy coupl, Virginia fights to find a place for herself and secretly learns to read and write.  Even once she manages to find her freedon, she continues to struggle as "she is caught between two cultures."

Own the Night with Giving Tree Music!

Hi !

You are invited to a very special summer teen event at Jan Platt Library : a Giving Tree Music Drumming event on Monday, July 9th at 3:30!

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.

You will also get a ticket for our "Own the Night Own the IPod" contest.

Own the Night, Own an iPod Book Reviews

Looking for a great book to read this summer? Julia and Salena recommend The Trouble with Half a Moon by Danette Vigilante. This 2012-13 Sunshine State Reader tells the story of a girl who makes friends with a young boy in her apartment building after the death of her brother.

Julia also recommends Saint Louis Armstrong Beach by Brenda Woods a novel set at the brink of Hurricane Katrina. Saint is a young musician that must help save his neighbor Miz Moran, his neighbor and his canine best friend Shadow.

Remember that every time you check out a Sunshine State or a Teen Reads book, your book review earns you three entries into the Own the Night, Own an iPod drawing for an iPod Touch.

Current Book Flip Clues @ Jan Platt Regional Library

One copy of Nightshade was recently returned and hidden with a new clue!

Here are the current clues!

There are two copies of Skyship Academy: The Pearl Wars by Nick James hidden at Jan Platt Regional Library. Find one and Book Flip it! Here are the clues:

• If the young protagonist Cassrus Stevenson were to write a children’s picture book, where would he put it in the library?
• In world ___ II the Japanese bombed _____ Harbor. You might want to learn the real “Pearl War” before reading this one.

There are two copies of Nightshade by Andrea Cremer hidden at Jan Platt Regional Library. Find one and Book Flip it! Here are the clues:

• If you wanted to know what is happening in your town that week/day/month you would look here.
• Nightshade is a flower known for its poisonous attributes, however if you didn’t know that, then you would look here.

Own the Night, Own an iPod Book Review

This summer, your reading can earn you an iPod Touch. After you finish a book, fill out an Own the Night, Own an iPod book review to receive entries into the end-of-summer drawing. Throughout the summer, we will post reviews to help you find a great book for your next checkout.

Katherine recommends The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff. She describes the writing as "descriptive and realistic." Sutcliff’s historical fiction novel follows the journey of a young Roman officer named Marcus Flavius Aquila as he attempts to discover the whereabouts of his father and the other 4,000 members of the Ninth Legion after they disappeared after passing Hadrian’s Wall in northern Great Britain. Katherine also praises the novel for being "well-researched." In 2011, a movie adaption titled The Eagle starring Channing Tatum and Jamie Bell was released.

New Book Flip clues at New Tampa Library

One copy of Nightshade was just found and checked out! Soon to be flipped! One copy of Skyship Academy: The Pearl Wars was just found and checked out! Also soon to be flipped.
Stay tuned for new clues when they come back.

New clues! New clues!
There is still a copy of Skyship Academy: The Pearl Wars at New Tampa Library, but it has migrated to a spot next to Fodor's Seattle guidebook.
There is also still a copy of Nightshade at New Tampa Library. It's conducting some research into lycanthropy by studying Gary Jeffrey's Werewolves: Stories of Deadly Shape-Shifters.

A new clue for Skyship Academy @ Upper Tampa Bay Library!

We have a copy of the novel Skyship Academy by Nick James! We have a new clue as to the location of this book. Can you solve it and claim this copy of Skyship Academy?

If you wish to read this book, go gaze upon the stars in Galaxy 522.