The 11th Annual Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival is being held this year in Washington DC on July 15 - 19. The event will feature teen poetry slam champions from cities, rural, and suburban areas, from the Deep South, Native American reservations, Alaska, college towns — even from parts of Europe and Africa!

As part of the 6-day festival, there is a major Global Warming Spoken Word Program, the Grand Slam Finals of the International Youth Poetry Slam, a benefit concert, a town hall meeting on the State of the Union of Youth, many free writing and performance workshops, and more. This is not to be missed! Go out and support our local slam teams from Prince George’s County and DC.

For more information and tickets to the finals (if available), check out the Brave New Voices site.

From Teenreads.com:

What do you dream about?
Falling?
Flying?
Monsters?

Whatever you dream about, Janie knows about it.

She’s been there.

She’s seen you trying to run. She’s seen you in your underwear in front of your classroom. At sleepovers, she sees popular Melinda dream about kissing Janie’s best friend Carrie. Carrie is forever dreaming about trying to save a little boy from drowning. Driving down Waverly Street one night, Janie falls into a dream of a man with knife hands setting a boy on fire. At the Heather Nursing Home where she works, Janie sees a soldier dream of war and a woman dream of having one last night of passion with the man she loved.

Janie knows what everyone else dreams about, but she never has dreams of her own.

Her ability to enter people’s dreams wasn’t so bad when she was younger, but in high school a lot more people sleep in class. A lot more people have nightmares that Janie can’t avoid. People like Cabel Strumheller, former bad boy, suspected drug dealer, total hottie.

And the owner of the nightmare Janie entered on Waverly Street.

With Cabel’s dream, Janie finds that she’s not just a watcher of people’s dreams, she’s a participant. And she’s determined to help Cabel through his nightmare. That, however, isn’t so easy to do when Carrie tells Janie that Cabel is hooking up with another girl and dealing drugs. Janie finds an unexpected ally in a resident of the Heather Home who leaves a note for Janie after her death. The note ends:

P.S. You have more power than you think.

Janie knows she can’t go on forever falling into people’s dreams. She’ll never be able to have a college roommate, and she’ll never be able to sleep with or even live with someone else. What she does know is that she must embrace her powers and help Cabel through his nightmares. If it doesn’t kill her first.

Enter dreams.

Find the answers.

Help those who can’t help themselves.

Lose yourself in a spooky, breathless world of secrets and deceit.

This is a book about dreams that will keep you awake all night.

— Reviewed by Carlie Webber

Sound good? Find it in our Catalog and check it out!

Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you’re too young… At 12 years-old, swimming star Lia Neal qualified for the Olympics after clocking a 56.87 second time in the 100-meter freestyle — and breaking a decade old record! Now 13, the prodigy is competing for a spot on the Olympic team. And, she’s already been compared to Tiger Woods

(From Teensread.com) In this nightmarishly realistic story, Cora Holman’s mother dies of a brain aneurysm. That night Cora’s neighbor loses her life with the same unusual diagnosis, even as Cora and others begin to sicken. Cora’s neighborhood soon fills with government agents who suspect that terrorists have poisoned their drinking water, while in Pakistan a teen computer hacker uncovers clues to the mystery in Cora’s town. Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon.

Sound good? Find it in our Catalog!

The Nestlé USA Very Best in Youth Program honors young people ages 13 to 18 who have excelled in school and who are making their community and the world a better place. There is a maximum award of $1000. Eligible youth must be ages 13 to 18 and demonstrate good citizenship, a strong academic record and show how they have made a special contribution to their school, church or the community.

Also, entrants must have permission from a parent or legal guardian to submit their nomination.

Deadline: November 20, 2008.

Well, as the countdown continues for both Stephenie Meyer’s latest book in the Twilight series AND the release of the movie version of Twilight, I thought you would be happy to see this awesome movie poster…

Don’t forget to reserve your copy of Breaking Dawn. If you forget when it comes out, there is a counter on our MySpace.

Find your voice and share your creativity! Learn to perform your lyrics, poetry or stories with the help of Lyrikal Storm. This is your chance, people — trust me, you don’t want to miss this!

A series of FREE workshops is being offered at the Hillcrest Heights Library in July. The finale will be presented open mic-style as part of Cafe Groove.

For more details and to register, call the Library at 301-630-4900 or stop in. Ages 15-18.

The group originated at Parkdale High School. Check them out here…

I know, I know… working is hard! You don’t make a lot of money and you’d rather hang out with your friends. Guess what? You’re not the only one who thinks that. The number of teens working over the summer continues to drop. And it’s not for lack of jobs, people!

From an article in USA Today, successful CEOs share their first jobs, advice, and why it’s so important to WORK.

Executives’ advice to teens starting their first jobs
		First job		Advice
Chris Kearney, 52 CEO of SPX		Loaded beer trucks.		Approach every job as if it’s the most important thing you will ever do. If you are committed, you will be successful.
Frank MacInnis, 61 CEO of Emcor Group		Blaster at a nickel/silver mine.		Working with people and taking responsibility as a team member will be more rewarding than working at a keyboard.
Judy Odom, 55 Co-founder of Software Spectrum		Tuxedo rental shop clerk.		If the job doesn’t interest you, look for nuggets to learn and apply later in life.
Herman Cain, 62 CEO of consulting company The New Voice		Jackhammer operator.		Don’t be picky. Experience is cumulative.
Andrew Cosslett, 53 CEO InterContinental Hotels Group		Cleaned rooms at a French resort.		Tackle offbeat jobs. Challenge conventional wisdom within reason. Come into contact with people from all walks of life.
Donald Trump, 61 CEO Trump organization		Visited construction sites with his father.		Learn all you can. Try to view your job comprehensively as if it were your own business. Ask yourself: “What kind of employee would I like to have?” Be that kind of employee.
Patti Moss, 54 CEO Cascade Bancorp		Picked strawberries, worked in ski manufacturing.		Show an interest, demonstrate you want to be on the job.
John Shiely, 55 CEO Briggs & Stratton		Mowed lawns.		Start your own business to have the flexibility to play Little League, go fishing, attend summer school and avoid the hassles of working for someone else.
Susan Story, 47 CEO Gulf Power		Reporter for small newspaper in Albertville, Ala.		Never limit yourself. Look beyond to what needs to be done, or should be done. Then do it. Stretch. Go beyond what others expect.
Joe Herring, 52 CEO Covance		Door-to-door book salesman.		Find a job that forces you to work effectively with people. No matter what you end up doing, dealing with others will be critical.
Joe Moglia, 59 CEO Ameritrade		Worked in father’s produce store.		You’re not likely to get a job you’re passionate about. That comes later. Bring your best to the table every day. Learn professional responsibility and how to handle difficult situations.
Jack Stahl, 55 Former president Coca-Cola, former CEO of Revlon, author of Lessons on Leadership		Mystery customer who visited retailers and reported on service.		Focus on details and get things done on time and with quality.
Tig Gilliam, 43 Head of North American operations for Adecco		Delivered newspapers.		Teens working for gratuities should test strategies to see what type of service increases tips.
Edward Nusbaum, 53 CEO Grant Thornton		Delivered newspapers, worked in his father’s hardware store.		Listen carefully to what customers want.

Now that I have your attention…. I wasn’t kidding. You can actually have your name carried aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, spacecraft that NASA will eventually use to send humans back to the Moon. This is all part of the big plan for a human return visit to the Moon by 2020, but your name could reach their first — if you sign up. And the spacecraft is being built right here in Greenbelt, at Goddard, which is pretty cool.

So, if you’re interested in being a space pioneer (kind of), sign up to have your name added to the list that will be carried aboard the LRO for NASA’s historic flight. You’ll also receive a certificate. Oh, and the deadline is June 27, so don’t wait too long!

Okay, so I have to admit I was totally a fan of the show Beverly Hills 90210 in the 90s. Huge crushes on both Brandon and Dylan. But I am a little skeptical about the show making a return in 2008. Granted, it has a new cast (although Jennie Garth’s character Kelly Taylor will return as a guidance counselor), but still…

Anyway, if you guys are into 90210-type shows (which I suppose are the pre-cursor of Gossip Girls), you might be interested in some of these books:

Degrassi: The Next Generation series

Seven Deadly Sins series

Luna Bay Roxie Girl series

Gossip Girl series

The A-List series

Check out these and more at the library!