Teen FAP Review: Double Identity

**The review below was written by Lynn as part of the Teen Fine Alternative Program.  If you’re interested in working off fines owed on CLP materials and are between the ages of 12-18, please contact your local CLP location.**

Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix

1. Name two characters (or if a magazine, two people you read about) and give brief personality descriptions.

Bethany: Observent, reseacher, presise, smart

Joss: Hot head, smart

2. Write a sentence or two about what happened in the plot:

Bethany’s parents are acting strange and then one day she is dropped off at an unknown Aunt’s house and left there. When she finds out about a sister she has never heard about and people start look at her and think she is a ghost, she wants answers and is determent to find them.

3. Write two sentences about what it was that you enjoyed about this work (or about what you didn’t enjoy):

I like the mystery and the suspence. The twisted ending is very exciting and creepy.

J.D. Salinger

“Life is a gift horse in my opinion.” – From 9 Stories, “Teddy” (1953)

Jerome David Salinger, perhaps the world’s most popular cult author, literary recluse, and American genius died today, apparently of old age. (He was 91 years old, so that stands to reason.)

The author gained lasting and unwelcome fame when his story of put-upon teenage misanthrope Holden Caulfield, The Catcher in the Rye, was published in 1951. (The New York Times calls Holden “America’s best-known literary truant since Huckleberry Finn.”)

Salinger found his most vociferous audience among those teenagers and young(er) adults who saw in his characters kindred spirits, a literary cadre of friends as world-weary as any young person has a right to be.

In the decade after Catcher in the Rye‘s publication, Salinger released three more books (the short-story collection 9 Stories as well as compilations Franny & Zooey and Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour - an Introduction all featuring his Glass family characters) before withdrawing from society to an estate in New Hampshire where he lived out the rest of his life in near solitude. From that point on, the writing continued but the publishing stopped. “I like to write. I love to write.” Salinger said, “But I write just for myself and my own pleasure.”

Now is a great time to revisit Salinger, or pick up one of his books for the first time. If you enjoy authors like John Green, Ned Vizzini, and Per Nilsson or titles such as The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You, and King Dork, chances are you’ll love J.D. Salinger.

Here’s one of my favorite Salinger quotes (leave yours in the comments section as a tribute!):

“The worst thing that being an artist could do to you would be that it would make you slightly unhappy constantly.”

- Corey – Main

What are you doing this summer?

It’s not too early to start thinking about summer plans, especially to keep your mind from of the coldness outside.  I’m on the email list for Pittsburgh Cares, a local organization that aims to centralize volunteer opportunities around the region.

It turns out they also partner with the United Way and Pittsburgh Public Schools for something called the Pittsburgh Young Leaders Academy, and now, this summer, will hold a Summer Dreamers Academy for 9th and 10th graders in Allegheny County.  The camp is  described as a mix of  “volunteer opportunities, leadership development training, and youth organizing activities over the summer of 2010, during a five week camp period.”

If you are a 9th or 10th grader who wants to learn how to be a leader, or who needs volunteer and community service opportunities, check out Pittsburgh Cares, especially their Youth Engaged in Service page.

Teen FAP: We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

**The review below was written by Josh as part of the Teen Fine Alternative Program.  If you’re interested in working off fines owed on CLP materials and are between the ages of 12-18, please contact your local CLP location.**

We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank By Modest Mouse

1. Explain what genre you think this music fits into and why in one or two sentences:

Light rock, alternative.

2. Write a sentence or two about what mood the music creates and why:

It creats a calming, happy mood because of the high pitched guitars, smooth bass lines, and the calming lyrics and singing.

3. Write about how you would recommend this to a friend, or why you wouldn’t recommend the music:

I would recommend this CD because it is very unique and is very hard to find any other artist that shares the same musical attributes as Modest Mouse does. It is definitly a good CD to listen to if you are interested in alternative. It is also a good choice to listen to to at night if you are having trouble sleeping because the music is very relaxing.

Census 2010 – It’s in Our Hands.

So, you may be wondering why you  should even care about the census.  Every ten years people walk around, counting other people.  Ho, hum.  But it’s a really a much bigger deal than that.  Here’s some more concrete answers, as to why you should care about the 2010 Census:

1.  Backed by the US Constitution.  Kind of makes it important.  Just a little.

2. Decides the number of representatives Pennsylvania will have in the House of Representatives = Number of politicians routing for what we want!

3.  Establishes school district area assignments.  Now, I know you don’t want them sending you to another school district, because not enough people sent in their census forms!

4.  Determines the services offered in your community, AKA How much money the government will distribute to build roads, new schools, and get help for the elderly.  The federal government provides $400 BILLION dollars in funds each year.  Only, if it doesn’t look like anyone lives in your neighborhood because no one filled out the 2010 Census, your representatives in Harrisburg and Washington D.C. will have no clout because they won’t have the population numbers to back them up!

5.  Provides us with fantastic facts about Pennsylvania, like there are:

• 10,559 Fast Food Restaurants (as of 2007)
• 5, 277 Dentist Offices (as of 2007)
• 79,479 Twelve Year Old Boys (as of 2008)
• 5% of the population takes Public Transportation (5%!!!! C’mon, PA!  You can do better than that!  Where’s your Go Green mentality?!?)

So, “It’s in my hands!” you exclaim.  “What can I do?” you ask.  Well, you can…

• Ask the adult in your house to please, please, fill out the 2010 Census form that will be sent to your house in March.

• Visit Census 2010′s Teen Page to play games and test your census knowledge.
• Follow the census online, via Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
  
• Speak up!  If you hear of anyone saying they’re not going to complete the census because of:

  - Privacy.  They don’t want to tell the government their business.
  - Confidentiality.  They’re worried the information they give out could be used against them.
  -Immigration and Citizenship Issues. They don’t want to draw attention to themselves, and their family.

  Tell them the Census Bureau understands their concerns, and privacy.  And it’s the law.  The census will protect your personal information.  Every Census employee, who will see your data, has taken an oath to protect it, sworn for life.

• Finally, remember, it’s in YOUR hands!

Rozlynn’s Review

Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson

The book locomotion is about a boy named Lonnie Collins Motion. He is a fifth  grader in New  York.

His teacher tells him  to write a book  about his self in poetry form. Some of the stuff he writes about is his sister Lili and  how they were separated. They were separated because their parents  died in house fire. Now Locomotion lives with a lady named Ms. Edna. She is very nice person to Locomotion. TO FIND OUT MORE READ TO FIND OUT!!!!!! What’s next????

Review by Rozlynn

**The above reviews was written by Rozlynn as part of the Teen Fine Alternative Program.  If you’re interested in working off fines owed on CLP materials and are between the ages of 12-18, please contact your local CLP location.**

Madden NFL 10 Teen Tournament & Super Bowl Pre-Game Party

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Think you got what it takes to win in Madden NFL 10 for the Xbox 360? Join up to sixteen teens as they compete for prizes and prestige.

Registration is required. Sign up by January 31st for your chance to win, or just come enjoy some free food before the Super Bowl. Register for your chance to win here or by calling 412-622-3121.

The rules:

Participants/players:
16 teens grades 8-12

Prizes:
$50 gift card winner
$25 gift card semi-finalist

• We will update the rosters before the tournament.
• Players will be seeded by playing each other randomly in 1 minute quarters on All-Pro. Point differentials will determine seeding (i.e., a player who wins by 14 will be seeded higher than a player who wins by 10; conversely, a player who loses by 10 will be seeded higher than a player who loses by 14).
• The first two games will be 3:00 minute quarters on All-Pro difficulty; semi-finals and finals will be 4:00 minute quarters on All-Madden difficulty.
• Each player will have one minute before the game to set their audibles and depth charts.
• The home team will be determined by seeding.
• Rewinds will be turned OFF.
• Negative trash talk will get a player a warning. After the first warning, the player will be disqualified. Players are welcome to get excited about their own plays, but not at the expense of others. Players’ friends will be removed after their first warning.

Three sites that can help you improve your game are MaddenTips.com, TheMaddenLab.com, and AskMadden.com. Or, you can come to our featured gaming program on January 31st, where we’ll have Madden set up and available for teens city-wide to come practice.

~Joseph
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Main

A Teen Recession?

According to this week’s issue of Time magazine, teens having a hard time getting and keeping jobs in the current economic climate.  In the article, available online, Andrew Sum, the head of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University is quoted as saying:

“Proportionally, more kids have lost jobs in the past few years than the entire country lost in the Great Depression.”

Read more

Why is this?  Stephen Gandel, the article’s author, speculates that older people are taking the jobs for which teens usually apply.  More people losing their savings equals more people re-entering the job market, and applying for lower-paying jobs than they previously held (like delivering newspapers).

 “Sum estimates there are 4.2 million teens who can’t find a job, have stopped trying or would like to be working more than they are. That’s up 84% from 2007.”

Read more

Why does this matter?  Apparently, your first job has something to do with how much you will earn throughout your life.

Are you one of the many teens with cut hours or trouble finding a job?  Maybe the library can help…

We have a virtual and physical space focused on resources for Jobs, Careers, and Education, which includes many books on how to write a resume, how to interview for a job, or practice for a number of tests like the GED or the SAT.

The CLP teen site has a list of websites that can help you get an after school job or decide your next step after high school.

If you have a job, maybe you’d like to make sure that you’re doing everything you can to stretch your cash out.  If so, we have books like:

Smart money : how to manage your cash / Danielle Denega.

 

 

 

 

Savings and investment information for teens /Karen Bellenir

 

 

 

 

…and more!

Help Haiti

It’s been 7 long days since the horrendous earthquake hit Haiti, and help is still desperately needed.   There are many ways to give, but please beware of scams.   

Here are some links to ogranizations currently on the ground in Haiti:

American Red Cross:  Food and shelter are provided for emergency victims by this longstanding institution.

Brother’s Brother:   Soap, washcloths, and toothbrushes are among the items you can give to this Pittsburgh organization that is forwarding donations to Haiti.

Direct Relief International: This organization provides medical attention to those in emergencies.

Medecins sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders): Haitian obstetrics and trauma hospitals will benefit from your donation.

Mercy Corps: With your donation food, water, and shelter will be given to Haitian earthquake victims.

Partner in Health: You may donate time, materials, or money to this organziation that works to allieviate health problems in the poorest places in the world.

UNICEF: UNICEF will provide emergency relief for children, as it had done for many other emergencies throughout the world.

After you give, please take some time to get educated on Haiti’s rich history and culture.

Click on the cover photos to find the library records.

Be Counted!

 

Did you know that only 67% of Pittsburgh’s population was counted in the last census? Do you know what that means?

Let’s put it differently: What would it mean if you brought home an exam with a grade of 67%?

When you or your parents fill out a census form, you’re making a statement about your community’s needs. More than $4 trillion dollars over the next 10 years will go to the cities and communities that need it–well, if they are represented in the census, that is.

Census data helps your community get money for your school, afterschool programs, libraries, hospitals, job training, emergency services, senior centers, and road repair.

The stakes are especially high for cities with large groups of people who are difficult to count. Renters are one of these groups, and Pittsburgh is one of these cities–along with Atlanta, Baltimore, Detroit, and Houston. Is everybody really leaving Pittsburgh, or is our population just changing and inaccurately counted?

Check out these resources for more information, and make sure that you are counted!

U.S. Census Bureau

http://2010.census.gov/2010census/how/index.php

Why Some Cities are Struggling with the Census

http://www.pewtrusts.org/news_room_detail.aspx?id=55388

New Pittsburgh Courier: To Be Equal

http://www.newpittsburghcourieronline.com/index.php?id=1110:to-be-equalcoalition-calls-for-accurate-census-count-&option=com_content&catid=40:opinion&Itemid=54

Sara Dora, CLP-Hazelwood