If you watched Skyfall and need more James Bond in your life, what do you do now?  There are plenty of great options to immerse you in the James Bond Universe, like reading the original novels by Ian Fleming. Fleming’s first book, Casino Royale, is a good place to start and it was also the first Daniel Craig film as Bond. There are 12 original novels by Fleming plus some short stories, though some authors have taken the series further, including Jeffery Deaver who wrote Carte Blanche: 007.

There are also Bond books for teens, like Charles Higson’s Young Bond series that begins with SilverFin. In SilverFin, a 14-year old James is fighting evil villains in the 1930s.  Another good choice is the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz, which is heavily inspired by James Bond. In Stormbreaker, Alex’s uncle dies a mysterious death, leaving Alex to discover the truth and become a superspy himself.

If you are looking for similar action-filled novels with a bit of the James Bond aesthetic, try out Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt books and Ted Bell’s Alex Hawke novels.  There is plenty to watch and read for any Bond fan while waiting for the next movie installment.

The game of basketball is going full force for fans, whether you follow high school, college or the NBA. Earlier this year a great new book was released by Paul Volponi, The Final Four. Volponi follows four players trying to win a March Madness tournament game between the touted Michigan squad and the underdog Troy Titans. You find out how each player became a college star along with exciting play-by-play action.

Similar fiction on basketball includes Walter Dean Myers’ Game and Matt de la Peña’s Ball Don’t Lie, where you learn why their characters are in love with the game.

If you are more into mysteries or crave books about college basketball, national sportswriter John Feinstein’s sports mysteries include Last Shot. Two eighth-grade reporters win a contest that allows them to cover the Final Four, where they discover that the game might be rigged.

And for manga and graphic novel fans there’s Slam Dunk, a furious comic series from Japan featuring two rival basketball players.

Author and Illustrator Mark Crilley will visit the Cascade Township and East Grand Rapids branches in March.  The Michigan author is the creator of Akiko, Miki Falls and other great books and graphic novels. 

Mark was raised in Detroit and while teaching English in Japan, he created Akiko in 1992. He went on to publish many Akiko comics and several novelizations of Akiko for young readers.  Mark has also published the Billy Clikk series, the Miki Falls manga series and the new graphic novel, Brody’s Ghost. 

Make sure to come see Mark Crilley at one of his two stops at KDL branches!

Cascade Township Branch: Thursday, March 8, 5:00 to 6:00 PM.  Mark will host an interactive program featuring his books for school-age and teen audiences. Sponsored by the Friends of the Cascade Library and Forest Hills Northern Trails School.

East Grand Rapids Branch: Monday, March 12, 3:30 to 4:30 PM.  Teens, come for a cartooning workshop with Mark!  Sponsored by EGR Middle School and the Friends of the EGR Library.

The next round in the KDL Wii Tournament Series is taking place at the Cascade Branch on Saturday, April 10 from 12:30pm to 5:00pm.  The tournament, for teens in grades 6-12, is the always exciting Super Smash Bros. Brawl!  So plan to join us for this awesome tournament.

 Here are a few of the guidelines:

Been too busy to get your film ready for our contest?  No worries!  The new deadline for the 3rd Annual Filmmaking Contest is Tuesday, February 3rd.  Go to our contest page to see the rules and get an entry form.  Submissions must be turned in to the East Grand Rapids Branch by February 3rd.  Happy filmmaking!

Are you ready to make an award winning film?  Do you feel like the next Steven Spielberg?  All Kent County teens are invited to take part in this contest and to submit your films by Monday, January 19, 2009.  See the contest rules and print out an entry form.

A special screening of these films will be at the KDL Teen Film Festival at the East Grand Rapids Branch on Saturday, February 7 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm.

 So, fire up your cameras and join the fun!

Do you want to recieve updates on teen programs from Kent District Library?    Would you like to join our online community?  Are you a big fan of KDL already?  Are you reading this blog?  If you have answered yes to any of these, join us on our new Facebook page.  Become a “fan” of Kent District Library to see what is happening for teens at our libraries.

This summer’s reading club just ended, but we are busy planning for next year.  We have a list of ideas for programs and would love to hear what you think.  The theme for ’09 is Express Yourself @ Your Library. 

 Here is a list of ideas:

Altered Books

Artist Trading Cards

Bleached T-Shirts

Coffee Tasting/Coffee House program

Cooking Class

Crafts

Duct Tape Crafts

Geocaching

Graffiti Art

Hip-hip Dance

Ice Cream Social

Lawn Games

Pizza Tasting and Creation

Stained Glass Art

Teen Summer Carnival

Tie-Dye T-Shirts

Vote on your favorites or give us some new ideas by commenting to this post.  Thanks everyone!

Fans of Christopher Paolini’s Eragon and Eldest are invited to celebrate the release of Brisingr with awesome games and crafts!  Try your hand at making soap, braiding leather bracelets and creating some dragons. Also join us for a chance to win a copy of the new book!  The event will be held at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, September 20 at the Cascade Township Branch at 2870 Jacksmith Ave SE, Grand Rapids, MI.

The Thumbs Up! Award is chosen each year by Michigan librarians and teens. The winner for 2008 is Evolution, Me, & Other Freaks of Nature by Robin Brande.

One of the honor books and teen vote winner is Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson. The other honor books are Don’t Call Me Ishmael by Michael Gerard Bauer, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie and Freak Show by James St. James.

Check out lists of past winners and our bookmark highlighting the Top Twenty books.  The chance to vote for the next Thumbs Up! Award will be in early 2009, so get ready to choose your favorites from this year!