High school juniors and seniors (including homeschoolers) can enter this Student Scholarship Essay Contest sponsored by Penguin Publishing, and try for one of 5 $1,000 scholarships for college! Plus the winner receives a Signet Classic Library set for their school or public library. Entries due by April 14, 2011. Details at the website. Get writing and good luck!

Nominate your favorite book of 2010 at teenreads.com for the Children's Book Council Teen Choice Book of the Year. The book has to have been published new in 2010, so if it was a paperback, be sure to check the original publication date on Amazon.com or our library catalog.

Come watch or play our Lifesize Monopoly games on Dec. 30! Spend your holiday break on Boardwalk! You become the hat, the car, or token of your choice, as you walk around our room-size playing "board." Roll giant dice--including the new SPEED DIE--and buy properties, land in Jail, do everything as in the regular game but at LIFE SIZE! Sign up with a friend to play on a team of 2 players, or be randomly assigned to a team.  The 12:30 game for 3rd-5th graders is filled up, but there's still room at 3:00 p.m. for 6th grade & up.

Astronomy Club meets Wednesday, November 2 at 7 p.m. in the upstairs computer lab. This intergalactic club is for 8- to 12-year-olds. We’ll do some crafts, use iPads and more.

Since our Young Writer's Group has had to disband for a few months, I thought I'd share 2 other sources for teen writers. Figment is a new online community where you can share your writing, connect with other readers, and discover new stories and authors. Whatever you're into, from sonnets to mysteries, from sci-fi stories to cell phone novels, you can find it all there. Browse an extensive library of creative writing. Compose and store your writing all in one place.

We're getting down to the end of the Playaway Picture This! Contest, and we need everyone to vote for us who possibly can (all you need is an email address).

Join us Saturday, December 3rd between 10am and 2pm for a wondrous adventure in Candyland. Children will enjoy the magical world, and the whole family can participate in a live version of the famous board game. No registration required.

Now is the time to vote for your choice among the five nominees for Teen Buckeye Book Award! These are books chosen by other teens as their favorites of the year. Voting runs through Nov. 10. Go to http://www.bcbookaward.info/teens/vote.html to cast your vote, as often as you like! The titles are:

The Death of Jayson Porter, by Jaime Adoff

JUST ANOTHER HERO by Sharon Draper

HUNTED: WHITEOUT by Walter Sorrells

Stop by the children’s room’s new author’s corner, featuring a tree that changes with the seasons and books featured by a single author that changes each month. Sometimes friends drop by the corner and make their home there, like the squirrel in this picture of our new display. Learn fun facts about each featured author while dropping by the corner, and don’t forget to take some books home too!

Our photo contest is over, and the photos have been taken down. If you entered the contest, you may now come in and pick up your photos at the Information Desk on the first floor. Thank you again, everyone, for entering and making our contest such a success! We'll be holding another contest next summer!