At the end of September, Hinsdale South High School and Eisenhower Junior High are in the lead, with Cass Junior High and Gower Middle School in a close race for third place to win a visit from Chris Crutcher on Tuesday, November 11!

There there are still plenty of programs to attend in October to increase your school’s chances of winning!

• Anime Club, Oct. 11
• Game Day, Oct. 13
• Spice up your Diet, Oct. 17
• RU Game Open Play with Mario Kart Wii and Guitar Hero for PS2, Oct. 24
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl Tournament, Oct. 25.

If your school isn’t the winner you can still catch Chris when he visits the library on November 11 at 7 p.m.

Check out all of the Write On Festival programs at ipplteenlinks.org.

We have a new addition to our fabulous line up of Write On programs.  If you’re a songwriter or have dreams of becoming one, you’re not going to want to miss our workshop with local guitarist and songwriter Dave Benziger on Tuesday, Oct. 28th.  Dave has been a professional guitar player and songwriter for years, and is ready to share all his tricks of the trade-from his creative process, to his experiences as a musician, to tips on how you can get started writing your own songs!  Spaces are limited, so sign up in Youth Services today!

Write-On is sponsored by The Gift of Carl Foundation

This Friday and Saturday starts the fall season of gaming @ IPPL.  Head to the Library on Friday night from 6:30 - 8:30 for free play with Super Smash Bros. Brawl for Wii and Rock Band for PS2.  Saturday morning, you’ll want to get up early to get a spot in our Mario Kart Wii tournament.  You can register at the Youth Services desk any time, and last minute registration will be from 10 - 10:30 if there are still spots available.  Questions?  Call the Youth Services desk at 630-887-8760 ext. 264.

You can now download or pick up your applications for the third annual Write On Cool Compositions Contest!  This year there are three categories: poetry, short stories, and song lyrics.  We will award cash prizes for first, second and third place for all three categories!  This year they will be awarded by Chris Crutcher on Tuesday, Nov. 11, when he visits IPPL to share his experiences as a writer.   Head on over to the Write On page for more information about this program and all of the programs that will be part of this year’s festival.

Write On is sponsored by The Gift of Carl Foundation.

The third book in the Inheritance Trilogy will be released on Saturday Sept. 20, but you can catch your first glimpse at the book now–watch author Christopher Paolini read an excerpt!  And don’t forget to reserve your copy today!

IPPL’s 3rd annual Write On Festival, Oct. 28–Nov. 28, 2008. Sponsored by The Gift of Carl Foundation.

The 26 nominees for the 2008 YALSA’s Teen’s Top Ten book list have been announced!  This is the only book list made up of books nominated and voted on by teens. Teens all over the country have been reading and reviewing books all year long and have chosen these 26 as the best!  You’ll  have the chance to vote for your faves during Teen Read Week, Oct. 12-18 at the Library or online, so it’s time to get reading.

The nominees are:

• Before I Die by Jenny Downham
• Betrayed by PC Cast and Kristin Cast
• City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
• Daemon Hall by Andrew Nance
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
• Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
• Extras by Scott Westerfeld
• Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks
• Genesis Alpha by Rune Michaels
• Glass by Ellen Hopkins
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
• Ironside by Holly Black
• Jango by William Nicholson
• Jinx by Meg Cabot
• The Luxe by Anna Godberson
• Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports by James Patterson
• Penelope by Marilyn Kaye
• Saving Zoe by Alyson Noel
• Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica George
• The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray
• Tamar by Mal Peet
• Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson
• Unwind by Neal Shusterman
• Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
• Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
• Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier

If you want more info on any of the titles, you can get an annotated book list or download and listen to a podcast on your Ipod or MP3 playerabout the nominated titles.  Have an opinion?  Leave us a comment below!

Happy Reading!

The lineup of fall teen programs @ IPPL is here!  Gaming Tourneys, Open gaming, Anime Club, The Gift Of Carl Foundation’s Third Annual Write-On Festival & more!

We are now accepting applications for this year’s Teen Advisory Board (TAB). TAB is made up of IPPL teens who want to earn community services hours while coming up with great ideas for library programs and services for teens!  TAB meets once a month on the Third Saturday of the month, and the first meeting will be October 18 at 2:30.  Past Teen Advisory Boards have helped plan summer programs, organized warm clothing drives for local shelters, and helped to redesign the Teen website.  This year, we want help with posting to The Lounge blog, running our gaming tournaments, and more!

Interested?  Visit the TAB page of ipplteenlinks for more information, or download an application!

Do you dream of designing your own space?

You may have noticed all of the new paint, wall art and carpeting throughout the library. This fall your teen space, THE LOUNGE, is being redesigned as well, and we need your ideas to make it happen!

THE LOUNGE is getting a new entryway, and we are inviting all teens in grades 7-12 to submit their original design ideas for the entryway walls.

Teens can submit ideas individually or in groups of 2 or 3. Ideas must be submitted in color, and should reflect THE LOUNGE in style, image, feeling and personality!

Ideas should be submitted in color on one 8 1/2 x 11″ paper, and they must be adaptable to paint (oil acrylic, or interior wall paint). Wall specs and applications are available on our website.