Inkys Shortlist announced!

Check out the Inside a Dog website for the next installment in the INKY awards. Vote on your choice of the best young adult book of the year. Read the books at Noosa Library. Make sure you have your PIN up to date to reserve new titles.

Sick of being told what to read?

Have a look at this from Insideadog.
They have started the first ever book award for teenage readers. There is currently a long list from which judges will select 3 Australian and 3 International books. Then we all get to vote. Voting opens 24 September.
Check back at the Insideadog website for progress reports.

Books of the Year 2007

Crikey! It's August already, and book week has hit. The winners were announced on the CBCA website - here.

Voices on the Coast - coming soon

The Youth literature festival is back again for the 11th year. See their website and go if you can. Many schools will be taking students. Noosa Library will be participating by taking a community bus with 20 lucky people to see and hear their favourite authors. Highlights include Isobelle Carmody, John Boyne (author of "The boy in striped pyjamas") and Gregory Rogers whose book "Midsummer Knight" is shortlisted for the Children's Book Awards. Greg will also be coming to visit us at Noosa for a trip to some hinterland schools, and an evening "conversation with ..." Don't know who Greg is? See an interview with him on ABC's Rollercoaster.

Will

Looking at this blog, I realise that nothing has been written for ages, so I must add some news about reading materials. The YA novel I have at my bedside now is "Will" by Maria Boyd. It opens with a fight scene in a school yard. Actually I haven't read much beyond the first 2 pages. So anyone who has read it already, don't tell me. More later, when I've had a chance to read more. If you can't wait, there's a review (kind of) at the Avid Reader's Digest Then there is the first chapter on Inside a Dog

Holes, by Louis Sachar

Only one person is responsible for Stanley Yelnats going to Camp Green Lake, himself. Or at least that's what the camp counselor tells him. But Stanley, accused of stealing the used sneakers of baseball champion Clyde Livingston, is innocent. He knows that himself being at the camp (a juvenile detention center for boys), is just part of the curse that has plagued his family for generations. His bad luck is the fault of his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather. But that's another story.
And so Stanley begins his routine at the camp. Along with the other boys in the D tent - Zero, X-Ray, Armpit, Squid, Magnet, and Zigzag - Stanley gets up every day before dawn to dig a hole in the desert that's five feet in every direction. Though the digging is supposed to be character-building, the counselors let the boys know that the Warden wants to be alerted if anyone digs up anything "interesting." A fossil that Stanley finds doesn't qualify, but a gold-colored tube with the initials KB does. With each hole he digs, Stanley comes closer to the truth that KB stands for Kissin' Kate Barlow, a schoolteacher whose love for an onion seller turned her into an Outlaw who roamed the area of Camp Green Lake when there was still a lake there.
Holes is a great book which is very witty and page turning. You just want to keep on reading it.
Star rating: 4/5
Age range: 10 years old and up.
By George Anyon of Saint Kentigern school, Auckland.
Do you like Trivia games and quizzes? Here's a quiz based on the book Holes. It contains links to more trivia and word games.

Soldier, Soldier ...

George from Auckland, holidaying in Noosa, has left us with his enthusiastic remarks about a book he read: "Boy Soldier" by Andy McNab. Here it is.

Danny Watts, aged 17, is trying to get to his lifelong dream to become a soldier. But one news story is the end of his career - "SAS HERO TURNS TRAITOR".
Danny's Grandfather, who he's never met, SAS hero Fergus Watts, was suppposedly selling to Columbian drug cartels. And he was to have died rotting in jail. But the story of Fergus rotting jail is just a big fib; and now Danny is out to find him.
While Danny is living at Foxcroft he meets a new friend called Elena who seems to know what she's doing with computers. Elena tracks a call through her laptop to find out where Fergus lives and works. But when Danny finds his Grandfather something unexpected happens. Fergus takes Danny under his wing and they start taking refuge in the country until it's safe to come out again. As they take refuge the adventure begins for Danny.
Boy Soldier is an explosive, fast moving and page turning book. It is packed with some of Andy McNab's own experiences in the SAS.
Rating 10/10
Reading age: 12+
My age: 11

If you have read this, or other books by Andy McNab, leave your comment.
More reviews like this from young readers, wherever you are, are needed. Have you read any other great books about soldiers?

Colin Thiele

On September 4th, Colin Thiele died from heart failure. Colin was a teacher and an author of some very Australian children's fiction. Storm Boy was the most well known, but I really liked Blue Fin - a very powerful book about a fishing community. Both books were made into movies and it would be pretty difficult to find copies of them in video stores today. Colin Thiele's website gives some information on his background. Colin Thiele was one of the great Australian writers of books for young readers. His stories held adventures around the sea and the beach, where many of us live.

The winners ...

Australian Children's book awards were announced on Friday 18th August - here's the full list. Australian young people are very lucky to have such a wide range of excellent books to enjoy. And, as James Moloney mentioned to us last week, the most important people in the world of children's books are ... the readers. Find information about JC Burke here. Elizabeth Fensham, who wrote Helicopter man, has had a very interesting life. Read an interview and find out what inspires this author. A quick excerpt from the book is also included. Enjoy your reading, and share your opinions here.

2006 Book of the Year Awards Short List

The Children's Book Council 2006 Shortlist & Notable Books were announced today in Sydney. You can see the complete list at their website: http://www.cbc.org.au/notables06.htm
We'll be running a competition at the library to see who can pick the winners in each of the categories, so why not get reading and see if the judges agree with you!

Holiday Reading - more

After dipping into some fairly blokey books, with the boys in my family, I took some time to seek out some interesting female characters in teenage fiction. Here are some of them:

"Denial" by David Belbin is not a new book, but I found it interesting because the cover and title don't give away the real story inside. The book explores the relationships between students and teachers, but with a twist - a popular teacher is accused by a student of inappropriate behaviour. This teacher has a daughter in the school, which adds drama to the story. The daughter takes it upon herself to check out the allegations, which she apparently denies. (Well, everyone is in denial, I think) The ending is surprising and startling, so I won't give it away.

I am interested in the Belbin book because lately I read Jacqueline Wilsons "Love lessons" which deals with the same issue from an entirely different perspective. The love connection between a student and teacher is the theme once again, but treated in an entirely different way. There are lots of readers views on this book at this link .

Then, for some escape from reality, I found "The Nine lives of Chloe King" Bk 1 - The Fallen. Chloe King is a reasonably achieving teenage student who decides to take an unauthorisized day off from school just before her sixteenth birthday. With her friends she visits "the tower' and accidentally falls off - but survives. Following this miracle Chloe continues to live among her family and friends, but ... in what form. Reminiscent of Buffy, the story takes Chloe into a parallel world of (?) people with superhuman powers. This is the first in a series that might take off. See what you think of the reviews from Teen Central.

Holiday Reading

After such a long break from blogging - much too busy with work - it's great to get away and just read, read, read. Aren't the holidays terrific? Here's a selection that I noticed over the holidays:

"Lost property" by James Moloney - a renowned Queenland writer of books for young adults. The book has lots of symbolism around the "lost property" theme. Josh has a holiday job at Sydney railway station's lost property office. His family is also suffering the loss of their eldest sibling who left home in bitter circumstances. Josh is also losing some of his childhood beliefs. There's some romantic interest and stuff about garage bands and travelling north. Many Australian novels have succeeded with less. For James Moloney's own explanation follow this link.

"The legend of Kevin the plumber" by Scot Gardner - award winning young adult author. Scot Gardner is the master of the gross terrible accident. In his first novel, One dead seagull, the main character Wayne loses his hand in a brick saw accident. In this book, lots of plumbing accidents add colour to the story of a seventeen year-old who is fed up with school and takes an apprenticeship with a plumbing firm known to his step-father. See what the kids at Gold Creek said about it.

"Silverfin" by Charlie Higson - best known for writing comedy shows in the UK. This is the first novel in a series that has James Bond as a teenager as the main character. His parents had died when he was young then he was educated by his aunt Charmian, then sent to Eton boarding school in London. The first adventure takes James to a remote Scottish castle where the wealthy father of a classmate has been engaged in some very alarming experiments. It's full of action, and very creepy in parts. I never really liked eels, but now...
Fans of the original Ian Fleming 007 might be intrigued at this creation of a fictional boyhood of their fictional hero.
Book 2 in the Young Bond series: "Blood Fever" is due out in January 2006.

ROCKtober

Saturday October 15 - 3pm.
The regular library crowd shuffles reluctantly out as teenagers start to take over the library for the afternoon.
Inger Fountain of Sealight Books, brought a big exhibit of Graphic Novels from which to choose titles to include in the library collection. She also had comics to give away. Young cartoonists took advantage of the chance to see a wide array of quality comic art and literature.

Local Bands: Karma, Awkward Silence, and No Parkin' - all teenagers - and Solo performers FreeLance and Josie Cubis, entertained the crowd in the amphitheatre outside the library.

Meanwhile, back inside the library, artists had the floor.
Mary Anne Vale from Noosa Community Theatre led the troupe in a round of theatre games and improvisation exercises. Got the urge to show off your acting talents? Then this was the the gig for you! There's plenty more happening in the next few months. Check the entertainment pages for Mary Anne's plays at Theatre S at Noosaville during the summer holidays. And if you want to be involved in another "Theatre Games" event at the library, just contact us and we'll put you on the list.

Far from the madding crowd, Jo Brooker led a devoted crowd of keen cartoonists, practising some of the ingenious techniques developed over years of experience in the art. You would be surprised how quickly you can draw a caricature of ... just anyone!
Our artists came away with actual cartoon pictures and lots of inspiration to do more art.
A repeat of this workshop in the January school holidays will happen by popular demand.

Pop Fiction

We've just spent a day with Sarah and Chris making Pop Fiction. That's where we take a story, define some characters and make an animation online at bumble.com.au
Students from Sunshine Beach State High School took time out from their busy day to attend a morning workshop at Noosa library. While they were doing this, their artistic colleagues were preparing for the school's annual Arts Extravaganza.
After a quick lunch, Chris and Sarah moved on to Noosaville State School to share their knowledge with the year 7s. Check the weblog for comments.
Thanks Sarah and Chris. We hope we'll see you again soon on the Sunshine Coast.

Youth take over the library

Saturday October 15th from 2:30-5:00 pm. Local new bands will raise the noise levels of a quiet Saturday afternoon at the library while teenagers enjoy a range of activities. Try your hand at cartooning - a cartoon workshop run by Joanne Brooker owner of Purple Spider Studio, and member of Artists without Frontiers. There'll be theatre games, with director and acting teacher Mary Anne Vale from TheatreS in Noosaville, young rappers, songwriters, and poets. While that's all happening, a great exhibit of Manga titles will be available to choose for the library collection. Manga is more than just comics, and the art and literary form originated in Japan, where even WANTED posters and Government publications now come in manga format! The manga books we know have spread worldwide - the biggest other than English language being French, Portuguese and Italian. Funny pictures just seem to need no translation!

EXTREMES

Desperate to get another entry in before two months pass between...
Many of us have been reading and talking over the holidays, and we're seeing some extremes in our interests. Like those who like Darren Shan versus those who are thinking about reality! The library will host some very grounded meetings with author Anita Bell during October, and if you're interested in money (and who isn't?) you should be there.
And there are some new books arriving on the scene, as varied as they are interesting. Check them out - Quick! - before the holidays are over! You know you can reserve them - we'll let you know when they are available.

fav ... ourite books ... the lists

fave books ... the lists

Greeting YPLibbers!

Sorry I can't be at the meeting in Ipswich today. However, I'm with you in spirit, as they say. If you have had time to look at my new experiment - you'll be looking at it right now! Here are some points I have noticed since beginning this blog. Hope it makes some sense.

1. Blogs are very easy to maintain, once the initial set-up is achieved. I experienced the same frustration as new users of free email systems like Hotmail - eg, finding a memorable username and password that isn't already taken.

2. You don't have to be too clever to make a blog look OK, such as adding images, but you do need to be a bit organised, and sometimes very patient. If at first you don't succeed ...

3. Because blogs are chronological it's easy for everyone to see how committed you are by the recency and regularity of the posting.

4. It's easy to link to other sites, and a lot of blogs seem to be mainly links. I found it was possible to link to our library catalogue, so each title mentioned in reviews takes you back to the record where you can reserve the item if you want. The links to the left stay there, and can be changed or added to by modifying the template.

5. I think it would be necessary to publicise a blog like this one, to get some interest among young readers and to gather some feedback. I had thought of developing one for homework topics, or to run a trivia quiz online, or maybe a young writers' group.

6. The comments function can be manipulated a little, so you can delete unwanted remarks or restrict those allowed to comment in a number of ways.

7. Anyhow ... that's all for now. Back to your meeting. See you all next time.

Golem

Golem: n. a human image brought to life; a robot; a shapeless thing
Golem, a five-part series written jointly by three authors, has been called a " funny, scary and streetwise techno-thriller". I'm half-way through the second book and I must keep reading ...
The series hosts a multitude of characters whose perceptions of the "golem" phenomenon all differ and overlap. There's Majid, who began it all by winning a state-of-the-art computer, his English teacher and part-time computer gamer who helps him instal it, the year 8 class with it's usual ratbags and the residents of Hummingbird Tower. Golem appears to be a pirate game which installs itself on Majid's new computer and lures the player into the game only to shut down abruptly just when it gets interesting. The many story threads include mysterious events in the basement of Hummingbird Tower, sinister characters who must have Majid's computer, an inexplicable attraction to a product called "farting goo". There's a great scene in the school library when all the computers become "infected" with the Golem virus, to the consternation of Miss Minx, the school librarian. It's far too much to talk about here, and anyway this is keeping me from reading. Check out the website. And here's a reader review.

Chasing Charlie Duskin

Cath Crowley's second novel about teenage girls, their trials and triumphs, "Chasing Charlie Duskin", has finally reached the top of my enormous mountain of books that must be read. Cath Crowley's characters have many talents - they just need some help discovering them. In "The life and times of Gracie Faltrain" Gracie's passion is soccer. With Charlie Duskin it's music. Charlie's story is told alternately from the viewpoints of two girls: Charlie (Charlotte) from the city - introverted, bullied throughout her school life, alone - on holidays for the summer at her grandparents' in a small country town; and Rose who's brought up in the country - bright, confident and bossy - wanting to get out and see the world. You can read about it in the Courier Mail - or catch a review by a teenager reader - or better still read the book yourself. It's terrific.