Join us on Saturday, Dec. 13 from 12:00-5:00pm for a KDL-wide Nintendo Wii Tournament at the Kentwood Branch! (4700 Kalamazoo Ave. SE)

It’s round 4 of our popular KDL Wii Tournament series, and this time we decided to go back to everyone’s favorite tournament game, Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

In an effort to answer a few questions before they are asked, here are a few details of the game play:

• It will be single player, with most battles consisting of 4 players.
• The battles will be 3 minute timed battles.
• There will be a few prelim battles before the top 28 participants are placed in the tournament bracket.
• Wiimotes and nunchucks will be provided, but if you wish to use a classic remote or Gamecube controller you may bring one with you.
• Not all of the characters and levels have been unlocked on the systems, but if any are unlocked throughout the tournament game play they may be used.
• There will of course be prizes for the winner and runner-up as well as refreshments for all.

Let’s Brawl!

Join us next Saturday, October 11, from 1:00 to 6:00, to enjoy round three of KDL’s Wii Tournament Series featuring Mario Kart.  This time you will have to pit your racing skills against opponents from all over Kent County to see who will be crowned the Mario Kart Champion.  There will be snacks, prizes, and lots of Mario Kart.  Open to teens in grades 6 through 12.

The tournament will be hosted at the Grandville Community Room on 3843 Prairie St. (between Barrett Ave. and Ottawa Ave.) in Grandville, which is just a block or two away from the Grandville Branch.  Click here for directions from the library, or call the Grandville branch at 647-3890 for more info.

For those of you wanting more details, here are a few.  If you have more questions, leave a comment and we will answer you.

• No characters, courses, or vehicles have been unlocked.  However, if they are unlocked during the course of the tournament you may use them.
• It will be a single player tournament, with 4 people playing during each race, with the exception of the final two rounds, which will just have two people playing.
• Everyone will compete in a few preliminary rounds to narrow down the field to a 28-man Tournament.  The scores from the prelims will be recorded and that will determine which 28 participants advance. From there it will be single elimination races, with two of the four players advancing each round until we narrow it down to the end.
• The amount of preliminary rounds and the amount of races in each round will be dependent on time and the amount of challengers who show, but it will likely be 2 or 3 in both cases.
• All controller schemes will be allowed.  We will provide Wii Remotes, Nunchucks, and Wheels; if you wish to use a classic controller or GameCube controller you must bring your own.

Let’s Race!

The Grandville Branch of the Kent District Library would like to invite you, on July 31 at 6:00pm, to the 5^th annual Amped at the Amphitheatre.  If you are a music fan this is the event for you.  Amped is a concert, where you get to watch a number of local teen bands perform live, for free!

Check out our line up of bands for the night!

• Blessed Ambrosia

• Ras Tyger

• Tobaganing For California

• The Outer Vibe

So, if you want to enjoy some great music, and have a wonderful evening stop by the Grandville branch on July 31 at 6:00pm.  See you there!

Amped @ the Amphitheatre 2008 is made possible thanks to our sponsors The Corner Record Shop and Coat of Many Colors. 

It appears that Laurie Halse Anderson, the fabulous author behind Speak, Catalyst, Twisted, and many other young adult novels, is offering a contest on her website.  You will have to click here to get all the rules, but the basic premise is that she is looking for people to create a video trailer for one of her books, either Speak or Twisted specifically.  At the end of the summer she will pick a winner and that person will receive an 8GB iPod touch. 

So if you’re interested, check out her website for more info on the contest.  If you have not read any of her books yet, or just need a refresher, you can check our catalog for any of her books and have them sent to the library of your choosing.  Good luck.

Not a fan of superheroes but you still find Graphic Novels intriguing? If so this new list is for you. It includes Graphic Novels about topics such as WW2, Vampires, Epilepsy, and even a tale about a former cast member from MTV’s The Real World. 

This list is a great place to start if you have never read a graphic novel before but it also has some hidden gems for those of you who have read every graphic novel you can get your hands on. So go to the teen booklists and check out Getting Graphic.

 So, what are some of your favorites that you think should make the list?

Having trouble finding a good book this summer?  If so, there are a couple of places you can look for some good suggestions.  The first place that you should check would be the Teen Summer Reading Club page.  If you scroll toward the bottom of the page, you will see some book reviews written by teens that have already signed up for the club.

If you don’t see anything there that you want to read, you can always check out some of the Summer Reading Club booklists on the KDL website.  They have booklists for a variety of genres such as mythology, urban lit, best books of 2008, and much more.

After all that, if you are still having trouble don’t forget that you can always stop into your local library and ask a librarian, as we are always here to help you find just the right book.  Good luck and have fun reading!

Summer Reading Club starts today!  If you are entering grades 6 through 12 you can stop in at any of our branches to sign up or sign up right here on our website. 

For those of you who don’t know how Summer Reading works, the point is to read a lot during the summer.  The more you read the better chance you have of winning some prizes.  For every 4 items (books, magazines, graphic novels, audio books, etc…) you read between June 9 and August 2 you can fill out a raffle ticket and enter to win a prize.  The grand prize will be your choice of an IPod or a Rivertown Mall gift certificate.  There are also a bunch of other prizes including gift cards to places like Best Buy, GameStop, Schuler Books and Music, and much more.

So, sign up, read, and enter for a shot to win prizes.  It’s that simple!  We also want to encourage you to use our online form to keep track of the books you read and review them so other people can find a good recommendation. 

If you have any questions feel free to check out our FAQ page or call any one of our branches as we would love to here from you.  Let the reading begin!

On May 25 there is a special day that you might not know about.  According to Wookieepedia, “The Universal Day of the Jedi is an ‘annual Star Wars fan holiday’, on May 25. It was originally pushed by fans to begin on May 25, 2007, the 30th anniversary of the release of the original Star Wars film. It was created as a geek holiday, similar to that of Hobbit Day or Towel Day.”

Celebration of this most auspicous of holidays can include viewing and or discussion of the movies, reading a Star Wars book, dressing like a Star Wars character, or simply saying “May the Force be with you” to people throughout the day.  A simple search for Star Wars in our library catalog will give you plenty of reading and viewing options if you are interested.  How do you plan to celebrate?

Fun Fact:  According to the Religion News Blog,

“More people claim their religion to be Jedi in England and Wales than those who follow Sikhism, Judaism and Buddhism. And the cause has global support.

There are also 70,000 Jedi knights in Australia, 53,000 in New Zealand, and 20,000 in Canada.”

The East Grand Rapids branch author visit involving the Green brothers and Maureen Johnson last week was a great success despite the late notice.  Almost one hundred Nerd Fighters (defined below), some from as far afield as Toledo, came to meet these authors and hear what they have to say.  Below is a brief video created by Hank Green showing a bit of the event. Enjoy.

 httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ClMoJrR4-0&eurl=http://nerdfighters.ning.com/

Nerd Fighters: Fans of Brotherhood 2.0 often refer to themselves as Nerd Fighters, which Urban Dictionary describes as “A special kind of nerd, who instead of having blood and organs and tissues inside, is made entirely of awesome. Nerd Fighters are best known for their efforts to decrease world suck.”

The East Grand Rapids Branch is hosting a special author visit by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Hank Green on Thursday, May 8th at 6:30pm! 

John Green is the award winning author of Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines, while his brother Hank runs a website called EcoGeek, which explores the symbiosis between nature and technology.  Together they are the Vlog Brothers behind last years very popular Brotherhood 2.0, where the two brothers attempted to spend the whole year communicating through a series of video blogs sent back and forth to each other daily.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqwGEV8exUs

Maureen Johnson is an author of teen books – all written with a female teenage audience firmly in mind, the latest of which, is Suite Scarlett.   She also appeared regularly on Brotherhood 2.0 with the Green Brothers. 

Their books and websites are all great, and now is your chance to see them in person.  Make sure to stop by the East Grand Rapids branch on Thursday, May 8th at 6:30pm for this exciting event!