Happy to report the first meeting of the VOYA book club was a success. We had a great time meeting everyone, hanging, and talking books.

Love reading and making new friends? We’d love to hear from you!

We’re seeking students in grades 6-8 who like reading nonfiction to join our VOYA book club. We’ll gather a few times this fall and winter for review sessions with food and drinks. The books cover a variety of interesting topics including: technology, nature, sports, poetry, biographies, history, and comics. Students will help compile a list of nominees for the top nonfiction books of the year.

Interested? Write to us at teens@icpl.org.

Weekend Champloo takes a look at things of interest in the Iowa City area for teens to go check out.

Little Hawks Marching Band Invitational

Bates Field, City High, Saturday, October 1st 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Adults $7, students $5. City High School will host 18 of the states finest high school marching bands at this contest. The awards ceremony will begin at 4 p.m.

Graphic Language: The Art and Literature of Comics

Sunday, October 2nd, the public reception for Graphic Language, at the South Room of the IMU, beginning at 2:00 p.m. Refreshments will be served. Don’t miss this innovative exhibition, featuring original drawings for comics!

Graphic Language: The Art and Literature of Comics, at the Black Box Theater in the Iowa Memorial Union, September 24 through December 11, 2011.

The exhibition will feature original art by legendary creators including Winsor McCay, Hal Foster, Frank Frazetta, Milton Caniff, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Carl Barks, among many others: a special section of the exhibit is devoted to original work for the notorious EC Comics by such figures as Wally Wood, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Davis, Johnny Craig, and Bernard Kriegstein. The exhibit also includes stellar contemporary pieces by legendary underground and independent artists such as R. Crumb, Chris Ware, Alison Bechdel, Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez, Joe Sacco, Phoebe Gloeckner, Dan Clowes, Jessica Abel, Craig Thompson, John Porcellino, Jeff Lemire, James Sturm, and Matt Madden. Historic prints from the UIMA collection by Blacke, Goya, Hogarth and Picasso will also be included, in addition to artifacts from the history of comics.

Mayer Hawthorne & The County

First Fleet Concerts Presents, Mayer Hawthorne & The County, Sunday, October 2nd. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. show starts at 7:00 p.m. Tickets $5.00. This event is all ages.

Thought Balloons: Talking About Comics

Tuesday, October 4th, at the Comic Book Café on the 1st floor of the UI Main Library, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Share your thoughts about comics: creating them, reading them, collecting them. Tell us what your favorite comic is (and why). Bring your own creations, or listen to others talk about journaling through comics, or the history of comics, or the comic book industry. Learn about the growing collection of comics and graphic novels in the UI Libraries and some of the comics created by the Federal Government. Anyone who wishes can speak for up to five minutes about some aspect of comic books, but when the egg timer rings, your time is up. Drinks will be provided. Bring your own lunch. Sponsored by the University of Iowa Libraries.

ICPL Book Club

The Iowa City Public Library is seeking students in grades 6-8 who like reading nonfiction to join our VOYA book club! We are participating in the very important VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates) Nonfiction Honor List review of new books geared towards middle school and junior high school students. We’ll gather a few times a month this fall and winter for review sessions with food and drinks. The books cover a variety of interesting topics including: technology, nature, sports, poetry, biographies, history, and comics. Students will help compile a list of nominees for the top nonfiction books of the year; the list is published in VOYA Magazine, which is used by Library professionals in public and school libraries across the country.

Our first meeting will be Tuesday, October 4th 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. Any interested students please contact Jason at teens@icpl.org.

We’re looking for students in grades 6-8 who like reading nonfiction to join our VOYA book club!  We are participating in the very important VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates) Nonfiction Honor List review of new books geared towards middle school and junior high school students. We’ll gather a few times a month this fall and winter for review sessions with food and drinks.

The books cover a variety of interesting topics including: technology, nature, sports, poetry, biographies, history, and comics.  Students will help compile a list of nominees for the top nonfiction books of the year; the list is published in VOYA Magazine, which is used by Library professionals in public and school libraries across the country.

Please contact Jason at the Iowa City Public Library at 319-887-6075 or teens@icpl.org if you’re interested!

Sam is our newest Teen Advisory Group member and we are so lucky to have him!  He is pretty much the most knowledgeable person I know when it comes to music, so if you get a chance, check out his blog here or click the picture above and tell him hello!  :)

Any readers want to share their own blogs or favorite blogs?  Post in the comments below.


The 2011 Anime & Manga Fest is over!  You stopped by, snacked on delicious goodies, created amazing art, sewed some creative hats, and watched some pretty decent Anime on the big screen.  Thanks for attending, and we’ll see you next year!

Special thanks to our Teen Advisory Group volunteers who helped with hats, created displays, made all the candy sushi, and helped with judging and room clean up.  You are great.  If you are interested in joining TAG, and helping out with next year’s Anime & Manga Fest planning (and other cool stuff) click here for more information.

TAG Meeting Minutes
2/8/11
4:30-6:00
ICPL Meeting Room B

Members present: Julian, Tamara, Azzah, McKinley, Kim, Sam, and Maddie. Read more…

TAG Meeting Minutes
1/4/10
4:30-5:30
ICPL Meeting Room B

Members present: Anu, Julian, Yuxuan, Tamara, Azzah, Ellen, McKinley, Kim, Derek, Sam, Naftalia, Shecharya, Maddie, and Jason. Read more…


ICPL is hosting an Old School Board Game Day this Sunday, January 9th, and some TAG members will be there dominating in Zombie Dice AND BananaGrams, so stop by from 1:00-4:00 p.m. in Meeting Room A to join in the fun.  You can bring your own board games, or choose from the classics provided by the library.  Hope to see you there!  If you can’t make it this month, th next one is on February 6th, same time, same place.

sleekocean.deviantart.com

TAG Meeting Minutes
12/7/10
4:30-6:00
ICPL Meeting Room B

Who was there: Julian, Yuxuan, Darian, Azzah, Ellen, McKinley,
Antoine, Derek, Maddie, Jason, and we welcomed new TAG member Sam.  Thanks to Darian for inviting Sam!

Read more…

YA Non Fiction Label

A few weeks ago TAG did some super speedy reviews of Young Adult Non-Fiction.  They reviewed 40 books in 20 minutes, which was pretty impressive.  The picture above shows the label that is on all YA Non-Fiction.  I’m embarrassed to admit I had no idea that YA Non-Fiction books were even labeled, let alone what the little stick figure meant on book labels!

Next time you are browsing your favorite section of Non-fiction on the 2nd floor, whether it is Manga (741.5952), Crafts (745.5 ish), or my personal fav, Cupcakes (641.8653), check for the blue label to find books written and selected just for you.

Here are some of TAG’s favorite non-fiction choices, along with some websites I thought were pretty cool.

TAG Pick: 250 Things You Can Do to Green the World

Website: Teens for Planet Earth

T4PE is a social networking site for teens who want to protect our planet. Choose a project, connect with others, and make a difference.

TAG Pick: Astronomy created by Basher

Astronomy

Website: Live from the Hubble Telescope

Learn about Edwin Hubble and the history of his invention and see what the Hubble views in space.

TAG Pick: The Horrors of Andersonville : life and death inside a Civil War prison by Catherine Gourley

Website: You’re the General Game

April 1862. General Ulysses S. Grant and the Union army are on the move. They need to seize Corinth, Mississippi — but how? If you were Grant, what would you do?  An interactive game for broadband connections.

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