Use The Library & Save Big $$

What is your library worth to you?

Find out here! Fill in this library calculator with the number of books, CDs, DVDs, and magazines you check out each month. Using average retail prices for these items, this website will calculate your monthly savings. Don't check things out? It still works. Enter the number of hours you spend using the library computers. Or the number of programs you attend. Or even the number of questions you've asked your friendly librarian. I tried it and discovered I save nearly $300 each month--just by using the resources and services offered by my library! (wow!) So what is your library worth to you? The answer will surprise you!

A Classic Favorite.

This was one of my favorite poetry books growing up! And it's still amazing! Not exactly a "teen book". Rather, it's a book anyone (regardless of age) can appreciate. The poems in Where the Sidewalk Ends are short, quirky, sometimes funny, sometimes serious, and always awesomely creative! And the illustrations... Just as good! Like this? OPL has lots of other books by Shel Silverstein. Check them out. --AJL

Facing Future

You may have never  heard of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (known as "Brudda IZ" to Hawaiian locals), but chances are you've heard some of his music featured in a recent movie or TV show. Best known is his rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, a highlight of his Facing Future album. But the rest of his music is just as fantastic and well worth checking out! The album is a mix of Hawaiian language songs and those sung in English. With only a few exceptions, most songs are enhansed only by ukulele and some light percussion. A total departure from the overly-produced music that's flooding on todays Billbord's charts. No matter your taste, you'll enjoy this! Check it out today! --AJL

Shopping is Heaven. Really!

After getting knocked unconscious by a rogue dodgeball, Tessa, 16, wakes up in her town's Mall. But this is really an in-between place, a place between the living world and the afterlife. Here, Tessa relives her life from birth to present day, experiencing both happy memories and those she'd like to forget. Will she find the answer to the ultimate question?

Written in verse, Heaven Looks A Lot Like The Mall isn't as lighthearted as the title may imply. Rather, it is in-depth look into the meaning of a teen's life and who she really is (not just who she wishes she was or how she tries to present herself to the world). What would you do in Tessa's situation? Would you be able to accept yourself as you really are? --AJL

Family Values

After being expelled from boarding school, Cyd Charisse is back home in San Francisco with her doting stepfather, high-maintenance mother, and spoiled younger siblings. As punishment, Cyd is forced into community service where she befriends an elderly woman and meets the love of her life. But all is not well. When Cyd's rebellious nature gets her into trouble once more, she flees the west cost in favor of spending the summer with her estranged father's family, whom she's never met, in New York City. She believes the grass must be greener there (like, for sure!). But reality doesn't exactly match Cyd's daydreams of an idyllic family waiting for her on the east cost. But maybe she's not what they imagined either.

Gingerbread is the first in a great trilogy about growing up, learning from past mistakes, the meaning of family, and a romanticized belief in True Love. Characters are realistic and likable, although sometimes you'll wonder what Cyd sees in her pint-sized surfer boy love interest. And if you like this one, there are two more books in this charming trilogy: Shrimp and Cupcake. --AJL

Poetry Month!

That's right, April is National Poetry Month.  Find your next great read from our large selection of fiction and non-fiction poetry books.  Try Honeybee: Poems & Short Prose.  It's one of my favorites!  Also, read a poem to a librarian and be entered to win a magnetic poetry kit.  You may enter once a day throughout the month of April.

KR

Vote & WIN!

What's your favorite book? Stop by the Teen Area April 1-11, 2012 and nominate your favorite title (or titles) for the 2012 Teen Choice Book Awards. Your nomination can be a new book you just read and loved or an old favorite. It can be something popular or something obscure. Fiction or nonfoction. It doesn't even have to be a Teen book. We just want to see what books Oxford teens (you!) enjoy most. Winners will be randomly chosen on April 12 to receive prizes. A special bookmark will be created from all the nominations. Stop by and cast your vote today!