The Ungrateful Dead by Cooper- Scary Stories for Tweens.

Hello all,
The Wacky Librarian is here to service all your spooky story needs for October. Check out this fun story about a tween named Annabel Cravel who just wants to be normal. This deems impossible because.... dead people text her! Keeping this secret from her stepsister proves to be a difficult task especially when a ghost girl named Harper begs Annabel to help her live again.
Do dead people text you?

Check out this wonderful story by Rose Cooper for humor and horror !

More fun reads:
Goosebumps: The Haunted Mask by R.L Stine
Ghost Dog Secrets by Kehret
The Beast of Baskerville by Annette and Gina Cascone
Ollie Osley and the Ghost Series by Schmid

Halloween crafts for kids

Create a fun and easy craft for Halloween. Use die cuts or a free template online to create this fun piece to decorate your home. Remember those cute paper chains we used to make for Christmas in the 80s? This is what inspired the center of the piece. All you need is:
1. Ghost and bat template. Find one on word
2. Foam or construction paper
3. Strips of purple, orange and black construction paper
4. Curling ribbon to hang your piece

What to do:
1. Hole punch the top and bottom of your desired piece.
2. Link and create the chains at the bottom of the first piece, then attach it to the second.
3. Decorate with ribbon, googly eyes, and fun festive pieces to create your desired look.

Read book like:
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz
Goosebumps Series  R.L Stine
Sleepy Hollow (various authors)
Fear Street by R.L Stine for teens to inspire you!

It Ain't So Awful Falafel and Other Funny Books

Looking for something humorous to read? Try these awesome humorous books for tweens/teens. Two of them are by my favorite author, Firoozeh Dumas whose books I received while working at East Whittier Middle School many moons ago!
Here's the list:
I, Funny by James Patterson
It Ain't So Awful, Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas
Funny in Farsi, by Firoozeh Dumas
Body Swap by Katrina Kahler
Camp by Kayla Miller
Last Kids on Earth Series by Bralier



Enjoy!!

The Author Behind the Blog

Good morning readers! With the increase of traffic on my blog, I thought I would take the opportunity to tell you a bit more about my experience and how this blog came to be. I am a children's librarian in the Los Angeles area who works with tweens, toddlers, and school aged children. I have worked in public libraries for over 12 years,  been a children's librarian for seven years, and prior to that worked as a middle school librarian for ten years. The road has been fun.
This blog is all about inspiring you to help your tween or teen find the next fun read and also to give librarians ideas for programs. It started off as a hobby, and one day I hope it will highlight  my own fiction book that I am working on. Feel free to subscribe or comment.

Enjoy!

Teen Books I'm Dying to Read

What books are you dying to read? I got my hands on Guts by Raina Telgemeier and it was great! I have never read Drama or Sisters, so that will be on my next "to do" list.

Here's a couple of titles that have grabbed my interest...
Elizabeth Eulberg's " Just Another Girl," tells a tale of how we often hear the story of the "it" girl and want to pull our hair out. How do we mirror ourselves to be like her and/or avoid her at the same time? What is her life really like? This realistic fiction title seems like the perfect high school read:

Interference by Honeycomb

This book has all the fall feels as it discusses the popularity of football in a Texan town and a daughter of a politician who is trying to fit in even though her best asset is to not fit in... I started the audio book and it sounds promising. Enjoy!

#fallfeels
#realisticrfictionforteens

Scary Stories for Tweens

How scary is too scary? I suppose it depends on the reader. Here are a couple of my favorites for tweens and teens, grade level will vary.
I also love the following authors for added suspense and spooks:
Mary Downing Hahn
Phyllis Naylor
Vivian Vande Velde
R.L Stine

Comment below if you have any questions!

Shake It Off by Suzanne Nelson

I absolutely love the "Wish" books from Scholastic. They feature fun stories about young teens who are in love with cute boys, food, or are striving for better friendships. They cover so many topics and have started to add diverse characters to the mix. I just completed "Shake it Off" by Suzanne Nelson.
Review:
Bria is not excited when her parents send her off to work at her aunt's dairy farm in Iowa. When she arrives, she tries to win everyone over with her fashion sense and her knowledge of creative milkshakes but no one is impressed. She learns to cope with farm life, reunites with her cousin, and learns a lesson or two about being selfish. This was a fun easy read that young teens will enjoy and includes delicious milkshake recipes to boot! If your a "foodie" this is a must read!

What Every Middle School Student Needs

It's back to school time. One of the busiest time of the year for parents and kids alike. As some of you know, I worked as a middle school library clerk for many many years. Some things have changed since the early 2000s but some things still stay the same. Here are a list of supplies and just common sense tips on how to get your child through the first couple of days:

What every child should have in grades 6-8

1. A quality calculator

2. A USB drive and the knowledge of how to attach a document with a safe email address that you have access to.

3. Extra pens, paper and pencils of course!

4. Bookcovers ( yes, they are still needed)

5. A library card

6. A pocket dictionary and thesaurus



Tips!
1. Keep asking "How was your day?" and "What was the best thing that happened today?"
- I can't remember a time when any of my middle school students, whether in the school library or public library wanted to chat and share their day. You never know how things went for them, and even though they might not tell you... be sure to keep asking and watch for their tone.

2. Encourage them to stand up for themselves. Many children at this age struggle with self identity. Help them realize it is okay to stand up for themselves and that it is okay to make mistakes; whether it be socially or academically. Everything is dramatized at this age, let them know its okay and share stories from your childhood if you feel comfortable.

3. Limit social media and internet access.

Here's a few fun titles for girls this age as well. Enjoy!

What am I reading now?

It's the dog days of summer. August is here with its heat, air conditioning ( Thank God!) and many, many books to read before school begins.
Currently, I'm working on Dear Ally, How Do You Write a Book? which is Ah-mazing! Its a contemplation of teen authors giving their best writing advice with Ally Carter leading the discussion.

Girl Online, by Zoe Sugg
Full of British characters and humor; this book tackles anxiety and teen friendships.

My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella (Audiobook, for my hour long commute from OC to East Los Angeles) and its a good one!

Tell me what you or your teen is reading in the comments below:

Girl Online by Zoe Sugg 

Teens Who Like to Write

There are many teens and tweens who are self-proclaimed authors. We should encourage these creative individuals to hone in on their craft and continue writing stories.
Here's a fun book that is full of ideas for novice teen writers or for those adults who are interested in writing for young adult, written by the infamous Ally Carter, author of the The Gallagher Girl Series and many more. Enjoy!

Books by Ally Carter 

Get Smart on Art for Tweens

Hello all,
Here's a new idea for a fun art program for tweens. It can be scaled up for high school students or scaled down for the young ones as well.
Host a Get Smart on Art Program featuring the abstract art of Wassily Kandinsky and have student create their own impression of Squares with Concentric Circles 1913.

Art for Children and Tweens

Supplies needed:
1. A simple biography book on the artist
2. Large colored construction paper
3. Construction paper circles cut out in advance.
4. Crayons, paint, and/ or colored pencils.

Describe the artist and talk about the elements of art, which include:
1. Line
2. Form
3. Shape
4. Texture
5. Color
6. Value
7. Space

Draw out a sample of how these elements are used in art and print out pictures of work by Kandinsky to demonstrate how he may have used these elements in his work. Then, allow tweens to create their own masterpiece! Voila!