2nd Annual Harry Potter Party!!!

Whoa, guys. You should be soooo stoked for the Harry Potter party on July 31 (check out the deets at the bottom). To get in the mood, here are some cool HP links to check out:

• Daniel Radcliffe said he can't wait to see Fantastic Beasts, but will he be in the movie? He says no, but of course people are speculating that he will.
• Speaking of Fantastic Beasts, you could be the newest star! Producers are holding a casting call in London on July 18 to find an actress for the role of Modesty. Luna Lovegood herself is signal boosting the call!
• How much would it cost to go to Hogwarts? Research has been done, and the result is staggering. Reports say that with Galleon-to-Dollar conversion, Hogwarts tuition would be around $43,031 a year. WHOA. Makes you appreciate Ron's parents even more.
• Fandoms collide! Here is a selfie of cast members for Game of Thrones, Doctor Who, and Harry Potter. [If you don't know what a fandom is, check out The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy: A Handbook for Geek Girls by Sam Maggs (YA 302.23 M).]

I think this photo is gonna make the world implode..... Last night was really great #sdcc2015

A photo posted by @maisie_williams on Jul 12, 2015 at 11:01am PDT

• 100 Things You Didn't Know About Harry Potter
• Test Your Knowledge of Spells
• What's in Hermione Granger's inbox?
• 23 Times Harry Potter Characters Made Deeply Questionable Choices
• What Job Would You Have in the 'Harry Potter' Wizarding World?
• Can You Guess The "Harry Potter" Character By These Emojis?
• Can You Guess Which "Harry Potter" Book These Chapter Illustrations Are From?
• Fans of Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl know about HP-style fanfic. Here is one HP fanfic that has been gaining attention lately, even though it was published in 2001. What do you prefer: Harry Potter fanfic or "Carry On" by Fangirl's protagonist, Cath?
• There is mass hysteria surrounding Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman. Some bookstores are preparing for Harry Potter-like crowds. But this article from Quartz claims that the excitement surrounding the books is J.K. Rowling's fault. What?! Do you blame Queen Jo for fervent children's book fans?
• This fan-made Marauders prequel is everything.

Happy Birthday, Harry Potter! @ Main Library

7/31/2015

July 31 is Harry's birthday, and it marks when he first gets his Hogwarts letter. Come out to the Library and celebrate this super wizard's birthday with crafts, games & snacks! Don't forget to dress as your favorite character!

Location:
Main Library - downtown Harrisonburg




UPDATE: 
The director of some of the HP movies wants to make more!! Yes, please!!!

Bonus Post: New Mockingjay Part 2 Stuff!!!

Via Forbes.com

Via moviepilot.com

Book Parody Songs!!

This is a different kind of literary playlist. Here are all kinds of book/library parody songs. Hit play and you'll be LOL'ing all the way to the library! (Yes, there are a lot of "All About Them Books" songs. Just go with it.)

July Book Club Post!

Title: Vivian Apple at the End of the World

Author: Katie Coyle

Copyright: 2015

Call Number: YA Fiction COY (at North River)

When Vivian Apple goes home the morning after the supposed apocalypse, she finds two holes in the ceiling of her parents' bedroom. In fact, a lot of people turn up missing. Most of them were devout believers in the Church of America. Vivian and her best friend, Harp, never believed, and now they've been left behind.

In this first book in a series (Vivian Apple Needs a Miracle is due out Fall 2015), Vivian sets out across the country to find the truth. Where did her parents go? Was Beaton Frick, founder of the Church of America, right about the Rapture? What should she do next?
What she discovers may be more than she can handle.

Katie Coyle does an amazing job with Vivian Apple at the End of the World. It's everything you want from a book: major character progression, complex themes relevant to today's society, nice mix of comedy and action. There also ISN'T a love triangle! How rare! Coyle also offers some extras to complete your VAatEofW (that's way too long, never mind)-reading experience. She posted a road trip playlist and excerpt of the book here, and here is the official book trailer:

Bonus Post: Movie Adaptation News!!!

via TheCapitol.pn

THE NEW MOCKINGJAY PART 2 POSTER IS AMAZING AND SO IS THE WEBSITE WHO ELSE IS WAY TOO EXCITED?!???!

And also this screencap posted by Jennifer Lawrence????!!!

Also also Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne (from Les Miserables, The Theory of Everything) is going to play Newt Scamander in Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them!

Also also also two other popular YA books are getting turned into movies!!! One of the writers for the show The Blacklist will be adapting The Selection, and the producers of The Hunger Games will tackle Blackbird!!!

Also also also also here's the new Paper Towns trailer!!!

UPDATE: 

THE FEELS.

UPDATE 2: 
J.K. Rowling recently announced that in the upcoming film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Newt Scamander will meet people from the U.S. VERSION OF HOGWARTS!!! We read in the FBaWtFT book (a special released for Comic Relief, which we just so happen to have copies in the library system) that wizarding schools are all over the world, including one in Salem, Massachusetts. Which leads us to wonder...

What do you think American wizarding schools are like? How are they different from or the same as Hogwarts? Comment with your ideas!

2015 Summer Reading Games!!!

It's here, everyone!!! You can now officially enter the Summer Reading Games!!! Sign up at any of the MRL branches (Main, North River, Grottoes, Village, Elkton, Page, or Shenandoah). You'll get a...

1. Gameboard
   Keep track of your reading! Every two hours, you'll get a Hero Prize. At ten hours, you'll receive a Superhero Prize Pack. For every hour after that, you can enter the drawing for one of our awesome prizes. All prizes have been graciously donated by these fantastic sponsors.
2. Super Pool Pass
   Get into a local pool for free next week (June 7-13). Participating pools are listed here.
3. Free Friday Wristband
   You can visit a new place every Friday for free! All you need is your Free Friday Wristband! Here is the Free Friday schedule this year. 

We also have some exciting programs planned. Here's what's coming up this summer: 

Every Hero Has a Story (ages 0-10)

• Dome Theater @ YOUR Library
• Fancy Nancy: The Musical @ YOUR Library
• Stories from Aunt Nelly's Mountain Home @ YOUR Library
• Family Flicks @ Main Library
• Join us for a family friendly movie in the Community Youth Center in the Youth Services Department!
• Films and dates are listed here.
• Summer STEM: Heroes of Design @ North River Library
• On Saturday, June 6, and Saturday, June 11, drop in to the North River Library between 10:30 AM and 12 noon to celebrate a well known hero who has created designs that better lifestyles for humankind and complete a creative design challenge of your own!
• Mission Rescue: Dogs in Need of Forever Homes @ North River Library
• Come to North River Library Thursday, June 11 @ 2 PM to hear from Laura Burchfield, a local teen whose family has made it their mission to rescue stray dogs and foster them until they find a forever home.
• Everyday Heroes @ Main Library
• Kids Like You! Saturday, June 6 @ 1 PM - stories from local kids who we think are real heroes!
• Harrisonburg Police Department, Saturday, June 13 @ 1 PM - Police vehicle display including a cruiser, the DARE Mustang, a motorcycle, a bicycle, and possibly a command post truck! Plus more fun activities inside.
• Fire Department, Saturday, July 11 @ 1 PM - A fire truck to check out as well as other interaction with real-life firefighters!
• Job of a Firefighter @ North River Library
• Local firefighters will share their stories of why they decided on their job, how they became firefighters, and what it takes to continue in their job on Thursday, June 18 @ 2 PM.
• Read to the Rhythm with the Handley Puppeteers @ Village Library
• Stop by the Village Library Thursday, July 16 @ 2 PM and welcome the teen puppeteer troupe from Handley Library! They will present a puppet show set to music with zany antics and designed to promote reading.
• Read with... @ YOUR Library
• Andy the Armadillo, the Chick-fil-A Cow, Police Officer John, the Turks, and a Firefighter are coming for storytime! Dates and locations are listed here.
• Storytimes @ YOUR Library (storytime schedule is here)
• Hero Construction @ YOUR Library
• Kids in grades K-5, dig into craft conundrums and tunnel through intriguing books @ YOUR Library's Hero Construction craft time June 8-July 31. Dates and times are listed here.
• Lego Club @ YOUR Library
• Let your imagination go WILD! Create and build with Legos. Bigger blocks for smaller hands also available. Dates and times are listed here.
• Dogs 2 Read 2 @ YOUR Library
• Grab a book, get comfy & read to YOUR library's very own registered therapy dog. All reading levels are encouraged.
• North River: 4th Tuesdays @ 4 PM
• Main: Thursdays @ 2:30 PM

Unmask! (ages 11-17)

• Incredible Afternoon Movie @ Main Library
• Come out Saturday, June 20 @ 1 PM, watch a great movie, and grab a snack from our popcorn bar, courtesy of DuPont Community Credit Union
• Superhero Survival Skills @ Main Library
• Who doesn't need some great survival skills?
• June 10 @ 7 PM - First Aid
• June 24 @ 7 PM - Car Maintenance
• July 8 @ 7 PM - Managing Money
• July 22 @ 7 PM - Cooking (without a stove)
• Happy Birthday, Harry Potter! @ Main Library
• Celebrate this super wizard's birthday, Friday, July 31 @ 12:30 PM! We'll have potions, fortune telling, prizes, snacks and more! Don't forget to dress as your favorite character!
• After Hours Teen Lock-In @ Main Library
• Have you ever wanted to know what the library is like when it's empty? Saturday, August 15 @ 3:30-7 PM is your chance! We'll play the Awesome Library Race, decorate bookends, kind-bomb the library, eat pizza, and more! You'll even walk out of here with a free book. How cool is that?? Must register by August 8.

Escape the Ordinary (18+)

• Escape... @ Main Library
• Monday, June 1 @ 7 PM - Escape the Ordinary: In Search of the Paranormal 
• Monday, June 8 @ 1 PM - Escape the Ordinary with Local Hero & Founder of Our Community Place Ron Copeland
• Thursday, June 18 @ 7 PM - Escape Your Diet: The Gluten Lie
• Monday, June 29 @ 1 PM - Escape the Funny Pages with Cartoonist John Rose
• Monday, July 13 @ 1 PM - Escape the Ordinary Garden - Hobby Hydroponics: The Weedless Garden
• Thursday, July 23 @ 7 PM - Escape the Planet: Why Do We Explore Mars?
• Monday, July 27 @ 7 PM - Escape the City with Local Nature Photographers Ann & Rob Simpson
• Super Screenings @ Main Library
• Select Saturdays and Mondays in June and July, you can visit the Main branch of MRL for an awesome superhero movie! Look here for more info.

Whoa. That's a lot. Make sure you sign up for Summer Reading at any of the MRL branches to get started!

And finally, here are the hilarious videos the L.O.L. group made to promote the SRG. Hope you enjoy!

Earth Day + Recycled DIY Crafts Event!!!!

On Earth Day (April 22), we'll be making super-awesome DIY crafts using discarded trash! That's right, trash!! Here are the deets:

Recycled DIY Crafts

4/22/2015

Celebrate Earth Day by creating cool crafts with recycled products, Wednesday, April 22, from 6-7 PM! Make a duct tape wallet, soda box pencil case, book safe, and more! Enjoy snacks and book paper origami, too.

Location: 

Main Library - downtown Harrisonburg

And while you're here at the library, be sure to turn in your essay and/or artwork for the Honored Teachers Contest!

Honored Teacher Essays/Artwork Due

4/22/2015

All students, K-12th grade, are eligible to enter the Robert B. and Gladys Hopkins Strickler Honored Teachers Writing and Art Contest. Essays/artwork are due today.

Location: 

Main Library - downtown Harrisonburg

And finally, how perfect is this compilation of 2014's greatest hits using household items? We are so going to watch this on repeat during the Recycled DIY Crafts event.

Prim Dances!

If you're a THG fan who watches Dancing With the Stars, you may have gotten a treat. In this week's challenge, contestants had to commemorate their most memorable year in dance. Willow Shields, who plays Prim in The Hunger Games movie series, themed hers around THG!!! Check it out below:

Books + YouTube???

Young Adult books have found a new outlet: YouTube! Tons of kids, teens, and adults are reading YA books and posting video reviews in all forms.

Some people have even gone further with book videos. Book trailers are great new ways of giving the plot of a book in a video. Even book publishers are releasing official book trailers! Here are some great examples.... (Can you tell the official trailers from the fan-made ones?)

(Do you have a book trailer or an idea for one? Send it to us!)

It's not just book trailers and reviews that go online. Authors make videos and post them. Some are related to their books (before its release, John Green read chapters of The Fault in Our Stars--and it's hilarious hearing him talk about how cuuuute Augustus Waters is). Other videos are just for the fans. Maggie Stiefvater (who was born in Harrisonburg, thank you very much!) posted a video about how a car looked in her book The Dream Thieves:

One channel, with over 100 million views, is itself a YA book! Nick Hagen and Mercedes Rose released a video series called The Haunting of Sunshine Girl. It's about a girl who finds out she lives in a haunted house--and tries to fight off all the scary, terrible things that happen to her. Now they've adapted it into a book, which was released this month, and the Weinstein Company will be adapting that into a movie series! That's a lot of adapting. Here's the first video of the first season, but--WARNING!--it's a seriously scary series, so watch at your own risk!

And speaking of adaptations on YouTube, check out the Paper Towns trailer (which just released today!!!):

So there you have it: YouTube is the new library. (Just kidding! Please don't stop coming to the library!)
Have fun--and be safe!--on the Interwebs!

Adaptation Newzzz!!

• In case you haven't heard, The Duff is out in theaters this weekend! It's based on the YA novel The Duff: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger. The movie's got a crazy good cast, and the trailers look pretty promising.
  
  Unfortunately we don't have The Duff in our library collection, BUT you can always request that we purchase an item you want to check out! We love to hear what people want to read. We may not purchase the book, but if we do, we'll put you on the holds list and you can check it out as soon as we get it in! You can get a purchase request form at your local library branch. Check out the synopsis from Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “the Duff,” she throws her Coke in his face. 
Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone. 

But things aren’t so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.

• Remember when we talked about TV adaptations? Cindy Callaghan's YA book Just Add Magic is going to become a TV series! It will be available to watch through Amazon. Here's the synopsis from Goodreads:

Take three friends. Add an old cookbook. Combine with cute boys and a pinch of magic…and see what kind of chaos ensues! When Kelly Quinn and her two BFFs discover a dusty old cookbook while cleaning out the attic, the girls decide to try a few of the mysterious and supposedly magical recipes that are inside. To their surprise, the Keep ’Em Quiet Cobbler actually silences Kelly’s pesky little brother and the Hexberry Tart puts a curse on mean girl Charlotte. Is it possible that the recipes really are magic? Who wrote them and where did they come from? And most importantly of all, when boys get involved, what kind of trouble are the girls stirring up for themselves?

This is another book we don't currently have in our collection, so if you'd like to read the book before you watch the show, be sure to request it!

via Deadline.com

Book Dominoes Video!!!!!!

Okay, no one's as excited about the book dominoes video as I am. But it's so cool! I love it! If you haven't seen it yet, here it is:

During one week of the 2014 Summer Reading Games, the Massanutten Regional Library circulated 1,189 young adult items and 10,857 items in the children's section. We asked our teen and tween volunteers to help show you what that looks like. They set up 1,189 books like dominoes...and then they knocked them over!

For more information about MRL and our services, visit our website!www.mrlib.org

The Maze Runner + The Giver + eBooks + more!

So if you guys saw TFiOS this weekend you may have seen trailers for some other movies that are based on Young Adult books. Here were some of them:

And lucky for you, we have them all available for checkout! But did you know that we also have some of them available for online checkout? All you have to do is log in using your library card and pin and download them to your device. They work like normal checkouts, so you'll have them available for two weeks only. Here are some:

 The Maze Runner series

The Giver Quartet

The Book Thief

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children series

Matched Triology

Wonder

The Hobbit

Beautiful Creatures series

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series

The Maximum Ride series

The Iron Fey series

...and we have tons more available. We also have magazines and audiobooks! Start browsing now!

'80s Manga Cyber Punk Harry Potter Vid

The title says it all.

If I Stay + TFIOS News!

The trailer for If I Stay was released this week and it looks awesome! (Although we think it should have ended halfway through, but...wishful thinking.) Check it out for yourself below, then check out the book from the library!

The TFIOS metaphor scene debuted at the MTV Movie Awards and stirred up a little controversy. BUT, before you watch the clip, know that the award show cut out two minutes from what's going to be in the movie. So reserve final judgement!



Now, the controversy was that people thought Augustus was pretentious in the clip. Uh, yeah, that's how Gus was in the beginning of the book. John Green defended him, saying:

Gus wants to have a big and important and remembered life, and so he acts like he imagines people who have such lives act. So he’s, like, says-soliloquy-when-he-means-monologue pretentious, which is the most pretentious variety of pretension in all the world. 

And then his performative, over-the-top, hyper-self-aware pretentiousness must fall away for him to really connect to Hazel, just as her fear of being a grenade must fall away. That’s what the novel is about. That is its plot.

People also complained about the clip's flow, saying it was too choppy. We turn now to director Josh Boone:

Yes, the clip you saw last night on MTV was edited for time, which is why the cutting seems choppy. 1 min clip. They cut 2 minutes out of it
— Josh Boone (@JoshBooneMovies) April 14, 2014

Feel better now? Now, let's get to the cool stuff. If you have a Tumblr, you can Demand Our Stars. Reblog your state's post and the most popular posts will get special visits from Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff, and John Green! You only have until April 25, so if you have a Tumblr, get to reblogging!

Oh yeah, and it's National Library Week, in case you didn't know! Enjoy this quote from Neil Gaiman. We know we do!

It's still National Library Week. You should be especially nice to a librarian today, or tomorrow. Sometime this week, anyway. Probably the librarians would like tea. Or chocolates. Or a reliable source of funding.

Ms. Marvel + Guardians of the Galaxy

Since we missed last Thursday, enjoy this double-post about the new, exciting things happening in the Marvel universe this month.

First of all, the new Ms. Marvel was released, and if you haven't read it yet, what are you waiting for?! Kamala Khan is the perfect representation of the modern American teen girl. She's constantly struggling with where she fits in, between her parents and school. Oh, and she's a shape-shifter. As if high school wasn't difficult enough.

Here are two cool articles about why her character is so amazing:

Why does Marvel’s latest book succeed? Because its new Muslim teen superhero is ‘sweet, conflicted and immensely relatable’

The New Pakistani American Ms. Marvel And The Shifting American Narrative

And secondly, the Guardians of the Galaxy trailer is out, and it's incredible. It's got an amazing cast, and Chris Pratt already looks perfect as Star-Lord. If you have no other reason, see it for Rocket, a raccoon with OCD and laser pistols. Also Karen Gillan shaved her head for the role, so either she's nuts or it's good, or both.

Watch the trailer, then read all the comics, then see the movie, then read the comics again because the movie was so good.

The Fault in Our Stars Trailer

Check out the TFIOS trailer for John Green's award winning YA novel. Then see the movie, coming out June 6. Be sure to read the book first! Okay? Okay.


An interesting short film that explores mankinds realtionship with earth, space, and the delicate balance of life.

TELESCOPE from Telescope on Vimeo.

Happy New Year!

New World from oliver sin on Vimeo.

Happy Holidays!

2010 Christmas on Yorkdale -- The Goonies Medley of Themes / He's a Pirate from Christmas on Yorkdale on Vimeo.

What is the world outside your window like?

The World Outside My Window - Time-Lapses of Earth from the ISS from David Peterson on Vimeo.