Thank You for Your Support!

Summer has ended and school has begun, but the businesses that supported our teen summer reading program are open year-round!  Huge thanks to these community businesses for their donations to our teen program:

• Battleship New Jersey
• Chick-Fil-A 
• Dairy Queen of Drexel Hill
• Dunkin Donuts
• Eastern State Penitentiary
• Jano's Italian Pizza Kitchen 
• McDonald's of Drexel Hill
• Pica's Restaurant
• Sproul Lanes
• Swiss Farms
• Walmart Foundation
• Wynnewood Lanes

Please show them some love! 

End-of-Summer Craft Closet Cleanout

Yesterday, 19 teens showed up for our last program of the summer--Craft Closet Cleanout!  Many of our craft regulars were there, plus some new people, so it was a good mix.  We did two projects from our recent outdoor art programs, as well as resurrected a bunch of older projects.  Here's what people made:

• Robot Keychains (and necklaces)
• Scratch-Painted CD Magnets
• Marble Magnets
• Shrinky-Dinks
• Denim Dog Chew Toys
• Safety Pin Bracelts
• Hair Chopsticks
• Pop Top Bracelets

Sad you missed it?  I'm planning two CCCs for the fall because the attic is full of old craft supplies!

 This table was making pop top bracelets and robot keychains.

 This table was working on hair chopsticks and scratch-painted CD magnets.

Shrinky dinks are awesome!

Teen Summer Reading Winners, Week 10

Today, I did the very last drawing for our teen summer reading program at Sellers.  Don't despair, though!  We're taking slips through August 27th, so bring them in if you still have them to get your free book and free food coupon.  Delaware County still has a Nintendo DS Lite and a Nook to give away before the end of the month, so you could still win big!

Our winners this week:

Ghada Ayad, grade 7
won a hardcover book, mini-highlighers, and candy.

Nathaniel Lacy, grade 9
won a hardcover book, a card game, and candy.

Jessica Dinh, grade 6
won a hardcover book, hair barrettes, and candy.

Alan Ooi, grade 6
won two free games of bowling at Wynnewood Lanes.

Jackie Ersek, grade 8
won a gift certificate for a free 16” cheese pizza from Jano’s Italian Pizza Kitchen in Drexel Hill. 

Teen Summer Reading Winners, Week 9

We had five more winners in our library's teen summer reading program this week!  We still have one more week of prizes, and the county has two more big prizes to award.  Summer reading officially ends Saturday, August 20, but you have an extra week to turn in the slips!

Adrian Israel, grade 7

won a hardcover book, a card game, and candy.

Guleen Kaur, grade 6
won a hardcover book, hair barrettes, and candy.

Gabriel Bury, grade 10
won a hardcover book, a $5 gift card to Five Below, and candy.

Briet Ha, grade 6
won a gift basket with a dolphin keychain, orca puzzle, dolphin paperweight, and sea creature stickers.

Sujoy Das, grade 8
won two free games of bowling at Wynnewood Lanes.

CSI: Ancient Egypt

On August 2, we had a big crowd for our CSI:  Ancient Egypt presentation!  Over 40 teens and adults came out to hear Dr. Stephen Phillips from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology talk about dead bodies!!  I didn't know what to expect, but it was so fascinating that no one minded when his presentation ran overtime.  Dr. Steve is a museum research assistant, but he should be a professor.  He's a great teacher! 

Dr. Steve talked about what forensic anthropologists do, connecting it to current TV shows like Bones and CSI.  He also briefed us on how bodies decompose, talking about the University of Tennessee Anthropological Research Facility (a.k.a. the Body Farm).  Then, we learned some key parts of the skull structure that would help us identify male from female and give an approximate age range.  We looked at the shape of the back of the skull, the forehead and brows, and the jaw, as well as examined the presence and condition of teeth.  He had lots of interesting examples in his slides and kept the presentation interactive.  Finally, we examined the evidence surrounding the death of King Tut:  Was it murder by a blow to the head?  We decided that it wasn't, but the evidence did not rule out another form of murder like poison. 

The whole event was educational, but it was also fun.  Anthropology is really intriguing!  This program was funded by the Commonwealth Lecture Program and the Sellers Library Teen Advisory Board.  Thanks to everyone who showed up!  We hope to have Dr. Steve back again soon.

Teen Summer Reading Winners, Week 8

It's already Monday again, and time for a new batch of winners.  We have five of our own, and another one for the county drawing!  You still have three more weeks to earn prizes here, so don't delay turning in your slips.  The county also has two more prizes to give away before the end of the month:  another Nintendo DS Lite and a Barnes and Noble Nook eReader!!  Summer reading ends on August 27...just in time for school to start.

This week's winners:

Tu, grade 9
won a hardcover book, a card game, and candy.

Jasmine, grade 8
won a hardcover book, mini highlighters, and candy.

Fatima, grade 9
won a hardcover book, a stretchy book cover, and candy.

Josiah, grade 7
won a gift certificate for a free 16” cheese pizza from Jano’s Italian Pizza Kitchen in Drexel Hill.

Quentin, grade 11
won a $10 gift card to GameStop.

Noella, grade 10
won a Nintendo DS Lite from the Delaware County Library System in the county-wide drawing.

Outdoor Art: Marble Magnets

Last Wednesday, 23 people stopped by the craft tent to make marble magnets!  This is a simple craft that looks really awesome, and is great for your fridge or locker.  Just get flat-backed glass marbles (I got three different sizes at Dollar Tree!) and find magazine pictures, words, or patterns that look cool under them.  Use a drop of white craft glue to attach the picture so it shows through the marble (it will dry clear).  Use a glue gun to attach a magnet to the back.  Let the whole thing dry for 24 hours, then enjoy.

Huge thanks to Judy, Genni, and Christine for being my craft volunteers this week! 

Making magnets

Some finished products

Teen Summer Reading Winners, Week 7

Week 7 of the teen summer reading program is complete, and we have five more winners!  Didn't turn in your slips yet?  Don't worry!  I have saved some good prizes for the last three weeks of the program, plus Delaware County still has big stuff to give away.  Keep reading!  Here's what we gave away this week:

Siaka, grade 6
won a hardcover book, a card game, and candy.

Hazara, grade 10
won a hardcover book, an anklet, and candy.

Christelle, grade 8
won a hardcover book, a set of Alice in Wonderland movie pins, and candy.

Abbey, grade 7
won a hardcover book, a Hello Kitty ring, and candy.

Owen, grade 8
won two free games of bowling at Wynnewood Lanes.

Multicultural Author Visit!

Join us for an amazing author event on August 17, from 7:00 to 8:00 pm! To wrap up our summer theme of One World, Many Stories, Pennsylvania authors Marie Lamba, Josh Berk, and Allison Whittenberg will all be a part of a discussion on multicultural teen fiction. This event is made possible by a grant from the Wal-Mart Foundation. The program will be held in the adult library, so all are welcome to attend.

All of the authors will be available for book signing after the event. Bring your wallets (or your parents with their wallets) because book sales will be provided by Children's Book World from Haverford. They take cash and credit!

Want to read the books before the event? Check them out of the library! Allison Whittenberg is the author of Sweet Thang, Hollywood and Maine, Life Is Fine, and Tutored. Josh Berk is the author of The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin. Marie Lamba is the author of What I Meant... and Over My Head.
You don't have to register for this event, but anyone can accept our Facebook invitation!

Teen Summer Reading Winners, Week 6

We have five more winners at Sellers this week, plus one from the county!  Go us!!  Continue turning in those slips, because we still have four weeks to go in the summer reading program.

Here are this week's winners:

Zainab, grade 9
won a hardcover book, a stretchy book cover, and candy.

Talia, grade 8
won a hardcover book, locker magnets, and candy.

Mashfi, grade 8
won a hardcover book, a card game, and candy.

Teferi, grade 7
won a signed copy of Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, and candy.

Sarah, grade 9
won a gift certificate for a free 16” cheese pizza from Jano’s Italian Pizza Kitchen in Drexel Hill.

Zahra, grade 6
won an iPod Shuffle from the Delaware County Library System in the county-wide drawing.

License Plate Journals

Last Friday, 21 teens showed up for our summer journal workshop.  We made journals out of old license plates!  (Big thanks to my dad for the donation of some old license plates from his basement!)  It was really simple.  We just hooked them together with some report rings. The hardest part was punching the holes in the paper to fit inside; everyone's hands got really tired.  We created special title pages with stickers and drawings, then broke them in with some writing.

Special thanks to Nitha and Caitlin, library grads who love to write.  They helped me out with the event, and each taught a writing exercise to the group!  Caitlin had everyone brainstorm three characters, three settings, and three props, and then use at least one of them to write a paragraph.  Nitha talked about different kinds of haiku and had people write their own.  I talked about six-word memoirs, and gave away some copies of I Can't Keep My Own Secrets while people worked on telling a story in six words.  We definitely had some creative writers in the group, and it was fun to hear everyone read their work aloud. 

I have some leftover supplies, so look for this project at Craft Closet Cleanout in August!  And, if you have some license plates of your own hanging around, try this easy License Plate Memo Board.

 Cleaning the license plates--very important!

 Assembling the journals and making title pages.

Writing!

Outdoor Art: Button Jewelry

Last Wednesday, 19 teens showed up for our outdoor craft program.  This is smaller than previous weeks, but that's probably because of the heat!  It definitely wasn't because of the projects--they were really cute.  We made button and bead bracelets, button jumble earrings, and knotted button necklaces.  The earrings were especially awesome.

Thanks to Katie, Amie, Kimberly, and Emily for helping with set-up and staying for the whole time.  Special thanks to Asa for jumping in to help clean up.  There is no craft next week, but come back on August 3 to make magnets.  See you then!

 Everyone was concentrating!

 A cute pair of button earrings

 Jasmine adapted her necklace into an anklet!

Want to make more stuff with buttons?  Try these:

• Button and Wire Pin
• Button Hair Elastics
• Button Rings
• Button Post Earrings
• Button Flowers for Your Houseplants!

Teen Summer Reading Winners, Week 5

This week, five more lucky winners got prizes in the teen summer reading program!  We are only halfway through the summer, so you still have plenty of time to participate.  Keep those slips coming!!

Philip, grade 6

won a hardcover book, a free Mini Blizzard coupon, and candy.

Noella, grade 10

won a hardcover book, cupcake magnets, and candy.

Rihanatou, grade 9

won an Uno game, an anklet, and candy.

Samantha, grade 6

won a journal, mini gel pens, and candy.

Joey, grade 6

won two tickets to visit the Eastern State Penitentiary.

Outdoor Art: Handmade Gift Tags

Last Wednesday, 26 people showed up to make gift tags at our outdoor craft table.  This project was easy and the results were cute!  All we did was cut the pictures out of old greeting cards, glue them on cardstock, and add a string to each one.  Of course, we had fancy scissors and shaped hole punches to make it more exciting.  Everyone had fun choosing their pictures, and most people made a whole bag of gift tags. 

The weather threatened us a few times with mists and sprinkles, but luckily we didn't have to pack up and run like last week!  Special thanks to Kaitlyn who came to help set up and Sarah E. who didn't mind being drafted, and cheers to everyone who helped pack up at the end.

Teen Summer Reading Winners, Week 4

We have five new winners this week at our library, plus one from the county.  Keep turning in your summer reading slips...you could be next!!

Whitney, grade 12
won a hardcover book, an anklet, and candy.

Jalahan, grade 8
won a hardcover book, a stretchy book cover, and candy.

Kathy, grade 12
won candy and a copy of Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist signed by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan.

Mallory, grade 7
won a gift certificate for a free 16” cheese pizza from Jano’s Italian Pizza Kitchen in Drexel Hill.

Annmarie, grade 6
won two tickets to visit the Battleship New Jersey.

Richard, grade 6
won a $25 gift card for iTunes from the Delaware County Library System in the county-wide drawing.

Outdoor Art: Stamped Shoelaces

We have done many tie-dyed shoelace crafts over the years, but this is the first time we ever tried stamping!  Thanks to librarian Ms. McDevitt for loaning us her creative homemade dot stampers.  By gluing a pony bead onto an unsharpened pencil, you get an open circle on one end and a full circle from the eraser on the other!  Just add permanent ink stamp pads, and you're set.  We also got out the Sharpies for anyone who wanted to add words or designs.  The shoelaces laces turned out really well!

It was another busy day at our craft tent...26 teens showed up before noon.  Unfortunately, it started raining right around then, so we grabbed all of our stuff and ran to the lobby.  Luckily for us, the room upstairs was free until 1:00, so everyone was able to finish their crafts.  However, people who showed up later weren't able to make shoelaces.  I do have more, so this craft may be available at Craft Closet Cleanout in August. 

Thanks to Anas, Emily, and Alissa, who helped set up the event.  I also appreciate everyone who helped take all of the supplies, tables, chairs, and tent into the lobby when the rain started, and who helped deliver them back to the barn when the rain let up.  See you all next week...hope for better weather!

 Outside, before the rain...

 Emily's awesome shoelace design.

Invading the library's Board Room to get out of the rain!

Teen Summer Reading Winners, Week 3

The teen summer reading program is off to an amazing start!  Keep those slips coming...there are seven more weeks of prizes from Sellers, plus you could win one of the prizes in the Delaware County teen drawing!!

Here are this week's winners:

Saranjeet, grade 9
won a hardcover book, UDHS silly bands, and candy.

Amber, grade 6
won a hardcover book, mini gel pens, and candy.

Alvin, grade 8
won a copy of 12 Brown Boys signed by Omar Tyree and candy.

Genevieve, grade 11
won a $10 gift card to GameStop.

Brendan, grade 6
won five free games of bowling at Sproul Lanes.

Outdoor Art: Crafts for Your Hair

Yesterday, 34 teens stopped by for our first outdoor craft event of the season!  (There were so many teens there that some moms thought our tent was the place to sign up for the township's playground program.  Ha!)  We made three different crafts to wear in your hair, so this was definitly a girly event.  We made nail polish painted bobby pins, beaded ponytail holders, and hair sticks.  The hairsticks were definitely the most popular, and they turned out beautifully!

Are you sad that you missed it?  Mark your calendar for Craft Closet Cleanout on August 24 from 3:00 to 5:00, when craft leftovers from the summer will reappear!  Thanks to Genni, Katie, and Christine for their help in setting up this event and keeping it running.  Extra thanks to Genni and Christine for helping clean up!

Want to make more stuff for your hair?  Check out these links:

• Cute and Easy Beaded Bobby Pins
• Flowered Hair Clip
• Bohemian Floral Headband
• Preppy Flower Headband
• Ribbon and Bead Barrettes

 Craft mob!!!

 Check out our homemade hairsticks!

Happy crafters

Teen Summer Reading Winners, Weeks 1 & 2

I have so much stuff to give away this summer that I am going to do five prizes for each weekly drawing!  I combined weeks one and two because the program was just getting started, but there are eight more weeks to go.  Bring in your five-book slips each week and get your free book and free food coupon.  Those slips are your entries for my weekly prizes and the county's prize drawings!

Anyway, here are the first weekly winners for the summer:

Kimberly, grade 9
won a hardcover book, UDHS silly bands, and candy.

Najia, grade 7
won a hardcover book, mini highlighters, and candy.

Angelise, grade 12
won a copy of Flyy Girl signed by Omar Tyree and candy.

Laurel, grade 10
won a gift certificate for a free 16” cheese pizza from Jano’s Italian Pizza Kitchen in Drexel Hill.

Ashish, grade 8
won two tickets to visit the Eastern State Penitentiary.

Book Swap and Board Games Extravaganza!

Yesterday, 30 teens descended on the library program room for an afternoon of book swapping and board/card games.  I have never run this event for four hours before, but I declare it a success!  Exactly half of the people brought books to trade, and their swaps added up to 70 books.  That's a lot of new reads!  The longer time gave people room to play some time-consuming games, as well as shorter ones.  I had little candy for short games and big candy for long games, and it worked out really well.  I had to cut off some people from too many games of stuff like Uno and Connect Four, however, because they were taking all of my candy!  We had a wide variety of games in play, including Munchkin, Quelf, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Life, and Apples to Apples throughout the afternoon.  Thanks to the 20 people who stayed to play all day!!  We'll definitely do this again, probably over winter break.