Join the Junior Friends of the Library

Kids in grades 5 and up are invited to join this new group. Junior Friends will help with children's activities, plan the young adult summer reading program, give input on young adult book purchases, and more. Meetings will be held the first Tuesday of each month beginning February 7 at 3:45 pm. For more information or to sign up, call the library at 802-885-3108 or email yaloft@gmail.com.

Teens' Top Ten

Your favorite books are here and ready for checkout! YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) has compiled a list of the top ten books voted as 2011's best by teens. Get your free bookmark with the list and look for books with the orange "Teens' Top Ten" sticker on the spine. For more information, click on this link: http://www.ala.org/yalsa/teenstopten

NaNoWriMo for Young Writers

Do you enjoy writing? Are you writing a novel? Do you aspire to write a novel? November is NaNoWriMo (aka National Novel Writing Month)! You can check out all of the excitement at http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/. And if you need a quiet (somewhat) space to let your creative juices flow and receive encouragement, come to the Springfield Town Library anytime in November. Refreshments to keep you going will be served Monday, November 14 from 5:00-8:00 pm. Of course, you are always welcome at the library, whether you are writing, reading, using a computer, or just hanging out (quietly, please).

Writing Contest

The Vermont Department of Libraries and the Vermont Center for the Book invite young readers in grades 4 – 12 to participate in Letters About Literature (LAL), a national reading and writing program of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. To enter, readers write a personal letter to an author, living or dead, of any genre—fiction, nonfiction, or poetry, contemporary or classic—explaining how that author's work changed the student's way of thinking about the world or themselves.

There are three competition levels: Level I for children in grades 4 through 6; Level II for grades 7 and 8, Level III, grades 9 - 12.

State winners, announced in March each year, receive a $50 gift certificate to Target as well as a prize from the local sponsoring organizations. National winners, announced in late April, receive additional prizes and earn for their school or community library LAL Reading Promotion Grants valued at thousands of dollars.

LAL focuses on reader response and reflective writing. The program provides free teaching materials, including lesson plans, writing samples, assessment checklists, and teacher tips--all downloadable through the program’s website at http://www.lettersaboutliterature.org.
Submissions must be postmarked by January 6, 2012. For information about entering the contest, visit http://www.lettersaboutliterature.org. You can also email questions to the Vermont Center for the Book at wendy@mothergooseprograms.org or to the Department of Libraries at grace.greene@state.vt.us

New Facebook Site for Teens

Thisisteen is a new Facebook site launched by Scholastic where teens can interact with friends and authors plus:
Participate in weekly author Q&As
Check out event listings
Find book suggestions based on their interests
Explore videos and events
Check out the comprehensive author and book gallery, and book finder
click here www.facebook.com/thisisteen or on the logo to the right.

Vote for your Favorites!

Cast your vote for the Teens Top Ten now through September 15! Visit www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/teenreading/teenstopten/teenstopten.cfm
The winners will be announced during Teen Read Week, October 16-22.

Like to Read? Like to Write?

YARN (Young Adult Review network) is a website for you: http://www.yareview.net/