Out with the Vampires and in with the Zombies

In my desperate search for a satisfying fantasy novel that had nothing to do with shimmering vampires or underdog wizards, The Forest of Hands and Teeth was brought to my attention. With a novel that lives up to its mysterious and enticingly morbid title, Carrie Ryan feeds her readers a beautiful story surrounded by death and chaos.

From the first line I found myself consuming every word with an eagerness that by the second chapter turned into a savage and gnawing desire to discover the truth about Mary's isolated world.

As Carrie Ryan's story unfolded, I could smell the fog and decaying leaves, taste the musty air that coats the village and was absorbed deeper into the Forest of Hands and Teeth.


Watch the Trailer Here:

Geekin' Out

Here's a look at what we did today at the Tween Program "Geekin' Out"!

Saturday, the 20th of June @ 1 p.m.: The Very Creative Caterpillar

I would hope that we are all familiar with Eric Carle's book The Very Hungry Caterpillar. This teen event is in celebration of all his stories and illustrations that bring such whimsy and joy to anyone that reads them.

Saturday, June 20th at 1 p.m., we will meet in the Secret Garden and everyone will recreate a famous Eric Carle illustration of their choice! It looks complicated, but creating an illustration like Eric Carle is a lot of fun.




As an example, I chose to try out Mister Seahorse.
Notice how his illustrations look like a collage of colors? Eric Carle actually uses colorful tissue paper to create this effect.

To make my seahorse look like Mister Seahorse, I first paint a few sheets of tissue paper with bright, random colors, almost creating a rainbow on the paper. If I wanted, I could even paint little designs on the paper, like polka-dots or zig-zag lines.


After the tissue has completely dried, I sketch parts of the seahorse on random parts of the sheets. Then I cut out the parts and place them together like a puzzle, overlapping the pieces.

The next step to finalize my art is to brush watered-down glue over the top of the tissue paper. This not only locks the tissue in place, but also makes the collage look like one piece of paper, not a bunch of pieces.



Does that look cool, or what? Hope to see you all there!

Memory Boxes for Teens Saturday, June 13

Come make cool memory boxes in the Teen Scene this Saturday at 1 p.m.! You can decorate them however you like, we'll supply the boxes. Take your box home and put ribbons, awards, photographs, notes, and other trinkets you'd like to keep safe inside it. They'll be absolutely perfect for those memorable moments :]

DDR and Pizza for Teens on Saturday, June 6

Hey there, teens! Work up a sweat playing Dance Dance Revolution with us on Saturday! We'll have pizza and plenty of fun. It'll be in the Community Room at 1 p.m., so come sporting socks and your cool dance moves. :] Hope to see you there!