Art by ULTRA

I just wanted to share this picture, drawn by a member of ULTRA, in a Christmas card she gave me! It's awesome! ULTRA rocks!

(Click to see a larger image)

Just added to the Young Adult collection ....

come see what's new ... !

ULTRA's new book purchases!

On Friday, November 14, seven members of ULTRA participated in our 3rd Annual Book Buying Field Trip!

In 2006, we shopped at Tatnuck in Westboro (click here.)

In 2007 we went to Barnes&Noble in Millbury, and were treated like royalty!

So that's where we returned this year! We were met at the store by the Community Relations Manager, Nevart Asadoorian, who once again gave us First-Class treatment! She treated us to a special tour of the store, introducing ULTRA as "The Teens from Upton Library" to all department staff ... and then served us complimentary snacks in the Cafe ... super-delicious Hot Chocolate and trays of amazing baked goods!! Then members had about 45-minutes to shop for the Library! After making their selections, we all met back at the Cafe and discussed all the books chosen and decided, as a group, what to purchase. A variety of titles were chosen, representing Graphic Novels & Manga, as well as PreTeen Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, non-fiction, Science Fiction and Mystery. Pictured here are just a few of the books selected!

The members who represented ULTRA on this excursion were Will, Jay, Charlotte, Emily K (all 3rd-year participants!) along with Grant & Brandon (who also attended last year) and first-time participant, Lindsey. They all did a great job of choosing books for the library's Young Adult collection! Be sure to look for the sticker that says "Chosen by members of ULTRA" in the new books, which should be on the shelves later this week!

Brisingr is here!

Brisingr, or, The Seven Promises of Eragon Shadeslayer and Saphira Bjartskular by Christopher Paolini has arrived!

The further adventures of Eragon and his dragon Saphira as they continue to aid the Varden in the struggle against the evil king, Galbatorix. Inheritance series, book #3

ULTRA BakeSale!

THANK YOU to all ULTRA members who donated baked goods and/or worked at the BakeSale table during the Friends of the Library BookSale this weekend!!
Pictured here are Emily K, Lindsey, Will, Charlotte, Brandon and Jay .... missing from photo are Hannah S, Emily D, Grant, Hannah L-A, Olivia, Emma & Monica, other ULTRA members who helped this weekend!!
thanks!

New YA Books ...

Just in ...
Fans of the Twilight series: check out his new book about vampires in love ... Evernight by Claudia Gray

The latest installment in the Maximum Ride series is here: The Final Warning by James Patterson
and Here's a brand new one:
Ghostgirl by Tonya Hurley

New YA Books ...

Come see what's new in the Young Adult section ...

Gossip Girl, The Carlyles

The prequel to The Golden Compass!

Another Bloody Jack Adventure!


and MORE ....

Breaking Dawn is here!!

The 4th book in the Twilight saga by Stephenie Meyer was just released on Saturday ... and we have 2 copies available here in Upton! Be sure to read Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse first, though!!

BubbleMania: 7/7@7!

Don't miss BubbleMania!!!
click here for more info!

New Library Hours, starting in July

Due to town-wide budget reductions for fiscal year 2009, and the failure of a prop 2 1/2 override proposal, the Upton Town Library must reduce its hours of operation from 40 to 38 hours per week.
We will be closing 2 hours earlier on Friday afternoons.

Starting July 1st, 2008 our new hours are:
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: 10am-8pm
Friday and Saturday: 10am-2pm
Sunday and Monday closed.

If you have any questions about our change in hours of operation or other effects of the town budget reductions on library services, please contact Matthew Bachtold, library director.

Teen Tuesday is Today!

Happy First Day of Summer Vacation!
Just a reminder that TODAY is TEEN TUESDAY!
This Friday will be the first drawing in the Teen Reading Raffle. Remember to sign-up for the Summer Reading Program when you come to the library this afternoon! Some of the prizes include: $10 gift certificates to Upton House of Pizza, Dunkin'Donuts and Target.

Summer Reading Program for Teens!

Wild Reads
at the
Upton Town Library

A special Summer Reading Program just for Teens!

(ages 12-18)

Step 1: REGISTER!

for the Summer Reading Program
(green bag is optional!)

Step 2: READ!!!

(anything!)

Step 3: REVIEW!

Write the Title and Author of each book you read this summer on a Wild Reads book review form,
along with YOUR name and phone number, and Rate the book (1-5 stars).
Feel free to add a brief review, as well!

Step 4: RAFFLE!

Every book review form will be entered into a lottery for that week.

One winner will be chosen at random every Friday, from the forms received that week, beginning on Friday, June 20 until Friday, August 15

(NO raffle on July 4^th - Library closed)

8 weeks total

Prizes to be announced soon!

(Last year’s prizes included gift cards to Starbucks, movie tickets,

gift certificates to JJs Ice Cream)

Babysitting Class is FULL --- waitlist started

The next session of the American Red Cross Babysitting Class, scheduled for June is now FULL. If you're interested in taking this class, please ask to be put on our waiting list; we may be able to offer a second session if there's enough interest.

New Young Adult Magazines??

We're thinking about adding some new titles to our teen magazine collection .... What do you think?
Please let us know your suggestions! Some suggestions so far include Dirt Bike Magazine , Seventeen, and Anime Insider.
We'd love to hear other suggestions as well!

TeenTuesdayTomorrow!

Reminder: TeenTuesday is this week, May 13th. Come find out how you can help with plans for this year's Summer Library Adventure!

DVDs ... free for a week!

I just saw the coolest movie over the weekend .... Tin Man on DVD .... it's like a whole new version of Wizard of OZ ... check it out ... or request it with your library card!
Also:
Here's a list of the new DVD's we'll be getting at the library soon!

Library Closing Early for Annual Town Meeting

The Library will close at 6pm this Thursday for Upton's Annual Town Meeting.
Click here for more info.

TeenTuesday: Next Week!

The next TeenTuesday will be held on
Tuesday, May 13th
in the Upton Town Library, beginning at 4pm.
Come and hear about plans being made for this Summer,
and find out how you can help, with some volunteer opportunities ...

Pizza and snacks provided for all participants!

ULTRA book group . . . .

On May 30th, the ULTRA book group will be discussing the book, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah.

Several copies of this book are currently available at the circulation desk. Please check one out, read it, and plan to join us on May 30th! This book won an ALEX AWARD in 2008, being named a top-10 adult book with special appeal to Young Adults.

From School Library Journal
Adult/High School—This gripping story by a children's-rights advocate recounts his experiences as a boy growing up in Sierra Leone in the 1990s, during one of the most brutal and violent civil wars in recent history. Beah, a boy equally thrilled by causing mischief as by memorizing passages from Shakespeare and dance moves from hip-hop videos, was a typical precocious 12-year-old. But rebel forces destroyed his childhood innocence when they hit his village, driving him to leave his home and travel the arid deserts and jungles of Africa. After several months of struggle, he was recruited by the national army, made a full soldier and learned to shoot an AK-47, and hated everyone who came up against the rebels. The first two thirds of his memoir are frightening: how easy it is for a normal boy to transform into someone as addicted to killing as he is to the cocaine that the army makes readily available. But an abrupt change occurred a few years later when agents from the United Nations pulled him out of the army and placed him in a rehabilitation center. Anger and hate slowly faded away, and readers see the first glimmers of Beah's work as an advocate. Told in a conversational, accessible style, this powerful record of war ends as a beacon to all teens experiencing violence around them by showing them that there are other ways to survive than by adding to the chaos.—Matthew L. Moffett, Pohick Regional Library, Burke, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

For more info about the topic of child soldiers, and similar experiences to what is described in this book, check out InvisibleChildren.com or see the DVD, Invisible Children.

Teen YOGA Class being offered at Town Hall!

FYI:

The Upton Recreation Commission
is offering a new YOGA class for teens, beginning on April 30th and running for 7 weeks, on Wednesday afternoons, in the Upton Town Hall.
Cost is $40 for the 7 sessions.
For more info,
click here!

Teen Book Group updates ...

ULTRA's Book Group met last Friday and the discussion was very good, but it would have been nice to have a few more participants!!! We discussed FEATHERS by Jacqueline Woodson and all concluded that there's an awful lot of STUFF packed into so few pages! LOTS of issues to think about ... general consensus: We liked it!

For April, we'll be discussing The Wednesday Wars, another 2008 Newbery Honor book, and I've just started reading it ... and am REALLY enjoying it so far!!! There are several copies available here at the Library for you to check out, so PLEASE: Pick up a copy -read it- and plan to join our discussion on Friday, April 25th!! That date happens to fall during School Vacation week, so please let me know if you'll be able to make it, and if we could maybe plan to meet a bit earlier than usual, say 2pm?? thanks!
Hope to see you soon @ the Library!
~Lisa
:)

TeenTuesday: This Week!

Just a quick reminder that TeenTuesday is THIS Tuesday, March 18th!

Hope to see you @ the Library!
~Lisa
:)