Blog

By Alix-Rae

The Library has a cool contest going on right now! The Last Word on First Words: A Contest Celebrating Indigenous Writers celebrates all Indigenous writers of North America, whether it's First Nations, Métis or Inuit talents.

In order to enter, you must submit via email, in 250 words or less, your recommendation about a story, poem, song, play or other creative piece by an Indigenous writer that you think everyone should read or hear. There's a Youth and Adult category for this contest with some great prizes to be won! The contest runs from May 1 - June 30. Be sure to get your emails in by June 30th! Find the full list of contest rules and regulations here.

Youth category (for entrants ages 12-17): prize of a Sony eReader, plus a starter "library" of great Indigenous lit with a focus on young adults – graphic novels, great teen reads, plus some classics too.

Adult category (for entrants ages 18+): prize of a Sony eReader, plus a starter "library" of great Indigenous lit – classics, up-and-comers, poetry, graphic novels, language learning and more!

Now, you may already have a certain piece of writing in mind. If not, check out this list of great reads all available at the Library.

Here are a few books, graphic novels and short stories from the YA collection.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.

Initiations: A Selection of Young Native Writings edited by Marilyn Dumont

In this collection, you will hear new voices from across the Canadian landscape.

The Life of Helen Betty Osborne: A Graphic Novel by David Robertson, illustrated by Madison Blackstone

The story of the tragic murder of Helen Betty Osborne told through text and illustration in this graphic novel.

The Night Wanderer: A Native Gothic Novel by Drew Hayden Taylor

Sixteen-year-old TIffany's life on the Otter Lake Reserve revolves around her father, with whom she frequently quarrels, school, at which she is failing, an astute grandmother, and Tony, her new boyfriend. The romance brings bliss, but also more conflict with her father, who can't axxept that she's dating a white guy.

Sugar Falls: A Residential School Story by David Robertson, illustrated by Scott B. Henderson

Based on a true story. A school assignment to interview a residential school survivor leads Daniel to Betsy, his friend's grandmother, who tells him her story.

The Warriors by Joseph Bruchac

To the Iroquois, the game of lacroose was more than recreation, more than competition. It was sacred. Jake, one of the best players on the reservation, felt at home with his people and with himself. Then his mother took a job in Washington, D.C., and Jake entered a very different world.

Will's Garden by Lee Maracle

This coming of age story of a young Sto: loh man is set in Sto: loh territory. Will takes the time to re-look at the women in his life and considers his future as a Sto: log caretaker of the land in the modern world.

X-Indian Chronicles: The Book of Mausape, A Novel by Thomas M. Yeahpau

Mausape and his friends Brando, Hoss, and Maddog are Indians by birth, Americans by lifestyle. Hyperrealism collides with magical relaism in this startling collection of stories by Yeahpau.

All of these are inspirational reads. It should be no problem at all coming up with a 250 word blub explaining why you think it's a good book that you feel others should read and enjoy as well.

Good luck!

Alix-Rae is the Teen Services Librarian for WPL. She loves riding her bike, playing the clarinet, surfing the web and reading good stories. She aims to learn something new every day.

By Abdullah

My favourite thing to read are Japanese graphic novels called Manga. These are Japanese comics that are read from right to left and back to front. There are lots of popular Mangas available at the Library.

I consider the most popular one to be Naruto, and the second most popular one is called Bleach, which was written by Tite Kubo.

One of my favourite Manga series is called Yu-Gi-Oh Gx. It is an offshoot of Yu-Gi-Oh. They were both created by Kazuki Takahashi. Yu-Gi-Oh Gx is about students in a dueling academy. They duel with cards called Yu-Gi-Oh. They are really fun to read because the pictures on the cards come to life when they're summoned in a duel. The series is full of adventure and people challenging each other to duels with their Yu-Gi-Oh cards. It also teaches you a little bit about dueling and encourages people start collecting and creating their own Yu-Gi-Oh decks.

I would highly recommend this particular Manga series because it is exciting and full of adventure!

There's also a ton of Manga you can find to read online. Check out http://www.mangareader.net/ and discover an endless array of other Manga series.

Happy reading!

By Sophie H.  

Now that the Hunger Games movie has gotten such a buzz, it is time we look past the books, and the movie, and take a look at the soundtrack.

Featuring artists such as The Civil Wars, The Decemberists, and Birdy, the soundtrack takes a more indie, blue grass, country look at the Hunger Games. Instead of taking the more pop music route, the producer of the album, T. Bone Burnett has gone back to the roots of music. Many of the songs being the kind of tunes you'd expect to be sung in District 12.

The songs on the soundtrack don't just focus on the love story between Peeta and Katniss. Although many predicted that it would be another Taylor Swift heartbreak album; it has gone beyond that, and looked at Katniss's loss of her father, her stance against the Capitol, and many more themes that are enticing to fans.

The songs on the album stay true to the story, idea, and emotions of the book, without becoming too 'Hollywood'. The soundtrack is a reminder that the Hunger Games is not just a love story but that its plot touches upon important lessons for society as a whole, and its characters provide role models for young people across the world. The soundtrack manages to stay serious, while at the same time tickle the ear buds of listeners.

By bringing the Hunger Games back to its roots, and really taking a more serious look at its thematic elements, the soundtrack is a wonderful addition to the trilogy.

If you're looking for more motion picture soundtracks to borrow from the Library, do a subject search with the terms 'Motion picture music'. There are over 500 movie soundtracks to browse through!

If it's individual tracks you're looking for, be sure to check out the Library's popular music database: Freegal Music. It includes the entire Sony Music catalogue of over 450,000 songs as well as Sony's 200 - 300 weekly new releases. You'll find 12,000 music labels (700 Canadian) and almost 3 million songs from the Independent Online Distribution Alliance (IODA). Freegal is both PC and Mac friendly, all songs are free MP3 files and can be burned to a CD or transferred to your iPod or MP3 player! 

By Sophie

I came across this article while browsing around in the Flipboard app on my iPad the other day: it's a paintbrush that's designed to work on the iPad's capacitive screen ("capacitive" means it reacts to the electrical charge in your skin, rather than to the pressure of your finger, which is why smartphones don't work with your gloves on!)

Sensu Brush - Image from Fastcodesign.com

The brush apparently has nano-technology in the brush-tip that allows the screen to sense the motion of the brush. It can't sense different widths or pressure, so you still need to use a painting app with different "brushes" to get different effects. But because the feeling of painting with a brush is so much more natural than painting with your fingertip, I think this kind of brush technology will make USING those apps so much more enjoyable!

What has this got to do with the library? Well, our Teen Summer Reading Club (July 3 - Aug. 26) is fast approaching, with early-bird registration now open (sign up before June 29 to be eligible for our first prize draw!) and one of our four summer-long contests (opens July 3) will ask you to grab your camera or pick up a paintbrush and share with us what makes Manitoba “home” to you. And while digital photography is great, we'd LOVE to see some digital paintings as well!! Just imagine: with a paintbrush like this, you could grab your iPad and brush, head over to the Forks, paint a picture of a gorgeous Manitoba summer afternoon, then enter it in the contest with a few taps on your screen. Amazing!

 
Sophie is Information and Virtual Services Librarian for WPL.  She makes website things happen, and talks about eBooks an awful lot. She also gets to spend a bunch of time teaching people how to interact with the Library on their iPads and phones, which is officially the coolest thing ever.

By Sarah C.

Though the number of great YA authors is limitless, why not take a moment to reflect on one of the best: John Green. Not only has Green won over teen audiences with his witty tone and wide body of works, but he continues to thrive with fans given his consistent presence on the web. He can be followed on Twitter under the (very logical) username @realjohngreen.  He frequently updates the world with tweets about his written work, vlog (video blog), and life in general - providing a great resource to help fans stay informed.

Additionally, he has also partnered with his brother, Hank, to produce a series of vlogs periodically released via Youtube - making for some great moments (or hours, if you have the time) of entertainment. Find their vlogbrothers Youtube channel here. Through some good-natured brotherly banter, the vlog creates a great platform for discussing anything and everything - from thoughts on growing up to the creepiness of abandoned hospitals. So, if you haven't done so already, definitely find a free moment to check it out!

Having started his career with 2005's Looking for Alaska (winner of the Michael L. Printz Award back in '06), Green has now expanded his repertoire to include four additional independent novels (as well as some collaborative works) - all of which can be located, read, and loved via quick search on the WPL catalogue.

His most recent work, The Fault in Our Stars, has already created a great deal of buzz and a movie deal with Fox 2000 is presently in the works. The story follows a young cancer patient, Hazel, amid the trials and tribulations of teenagedom. Though the hurdles of growing up are never easy, the fact that Hazel must do so while fighting for her life only makes things worse. Unexpectedly, however, life takes a turn for the better when she meets the irresistible Augustus Waters; another teen cancer patient (in remission) whom she meets at a cancer kid support group.

In addition to the movie deal, the book has also spawned its own website: http://onlyifyoufinishedtfios.tumblr.com/, though the link should ONLY be followed by those who have already completed the novel, as it may be heavy with spoilers (and we wouldn't want to give anything away!).  

Between novels, web presence, and a movie deal in the works, there is no doubt that John Green is definitely a YA writer to keep an eye on!