Monster Bash: A Frightfully Good Time

What does a proximity to Halloween get you?? A fantastic Teen event called a Monster Bash lol.
Here are a couple of the things that we did to celebrate:

Decorations
Turns out that our dollar store had some fantastic things to terror-fill our library. Saw posters, bloody handprints, eyeballs floating in lemonade, and some disembodied ears worked nicely for us.

Costume Competition 
Ask your Teens to dress up and hand out prizes to all that participate, and then something special to the Teen voted best-dressed. If you don't think they will dress up, maybe have a station set up with t-shirts they can tear up, some creepy makeup, and some spray-on hair dye.

Creepy Photo Booth
Our dollar store was another treasure trove for this activity. Debilitated hands, a couple blades, masks, stuffed animals, some skeletons, and a boa rounded this one out. 

Zombie Tag
We've done this game at other events recently, but it just never gets old =D Have one or two people start as Zombies, complete with slow-moving feet, reaching hands, and the occasional growl, and when they tag a victim, that person is infected. Keep playing until only one human is left, and then that person is the Zombie for the next round.

YouTube Dance Fest
Finally, it wouldn't be a Monster Bash without the bash part, so we turned to the ever helpful YouTube. We got a sign-up sheet going around, and looked up the songs on YouTube (making sure that we looked for the clean versions on some of them lol). But a word of advice, nothing got the Teens dancing like looking up the Just Dance version. Luckily, many players have screen captured their records on YouTube (AverageAsianDude being one of them). This way, anybody that wants to can dance all at the same time instead of waiting for the controller. Good times!!
 

The Prey: Refuge or Prison

The Prey by Andrew Fukuda

Why did I read it?

Because I really, really liked The Hunt, and I was on a library trip to Boise so I had some time to fill.

What happened?

SPOILER ALERT

The heper hunt did not go as Gene had anticipated. Now he is on the run, surrounded by the uncivilized 'hepers' he was supposed to be hunting, with hunters thirsting for his blood on the shores of the rivers, and no idea how he is going to survive in The Vast.

But, things start to take a turn for the better when they find a secluded heper sanctuary in the mountains surrounding The Vast. Initially surprised by an entire village of others like them, Gene and Sissy, one of the hepers he helped escape, start to feel better about their chances of survival. Until they start to realize that things aren't as they should be. Rigid community rules, harsh punishments, a feeling of uneasiness, and a complete lack of anybody but young girls and controlling elders has Gene and Sissy worried.

Not comfortable with this 'haven' they have found, Gene and Sissy start to long for the land 'flowing with milk and honey' that they had both been told about by Gene's father. But, leaving the 'haven' might not be as easy as they think, and the supposed safety from the hunters may be merely an illusion...

What did I like or not like?

This book picks up just where The Hunt left off and does an amazing job continuing the story. We are offered some revelations of how the world got to this place, but still have many questions that need to be answered in The Trap, which is coming out soon. While I surmised what was going on, Fukuda keeps the story interesting with complex characters, interesting circumstances, and difficult challenges that keep you turning the pages.
 

Scratch: Build your Own Game, Story, or Animation

Similarly to last week's post, I got this idea from that Makerspace project I've been doing with the Idaho Commission for Libraries. One of my fellow Makerspace buddies mentioned a website called Scratch, and I had to check it out.

Basically, its another opportunity to teach kids to code in a sneaky way. Scratch is an online platform that allows kids, teens, and adults to create their own games, stories, or animations. Rather than using an HTML text editor, Scratch uses a visual system to let people code. Think of it like puzzle pieces that you add and attach together to make characters and backgrounds move and interact.

I made two projects a little while ago. Dance Party has some characters that move around, and When a Bird Flies lets you fly a bird toward a destination. Now, these seem super simple, but I don't have very much coding experience, so getting an avatar to do anything was an accomplishment for me lol. But, the cool thing is that Scratch can be used for the super simple, or the ridiculously complex. I even found a 2D version of Minecraft on Scratch!!

Another cool aspect of Scratch is that it lets you view how other people made their projects work, and then start to remix them. So not only does Scratch give you first-hand experience dealing with critical thinking and problem solving, it also lets you learn from what others have done. Scratch won't teach you C+ or anything, but its a simple, fun way to get some coding experience or to make your own game.
 

Cardboard Robots: A Fantastic MakerSpace Idea

So I've been involved with a pilot project with the Idaho Commission for Libraries dealing with the concept of a Makerspace. In its simplest form, a Makerspace is an area (either temporary or stable) where human beings (anybody and everybody) are encouraged to build whatever they want (with stuff provided for them, or stuff that they bring).

Many of our programs have a Makerspace feel to them (we're building stuff without too many instructions lol), but our most recent program, Cardboard Robots, was birthed out of the Makerspace idea. Take a look at this video about Caine's Arcade, and you'll see why we got so excited to participate in the Global Cardboard Challenge.

So, those are the ideas behind our little event, but how do you do it? We gathered up the supplies below, laid it all out on two tables, and let the kids go crazy with it :) It was a great event, and a ton of fun!!

Recycled Boxes (Cereal, pudding, crackers, noodles, etc.)
Tissue Paper Rolls
Robot Clipart
Buttons
Bottle Caps
Aluminum Foil
Packing Tape
Stapler
Gluesticks
Hot Glue (for those really annoying things that refuse to stick)

The Hunt: Hiding Among Hunters

The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda 

Why did I read it?

In the past, my boss has mentioned that she doesn't like violent books, but her current love of young adult dystopian novels, which he really wants me to read, would suggest otherwise hehe.

What happened?

Gene is your typical teenage kid; he'd rather not be in the spotlight, and he'd rather not stick out. But, for Gene, it is a matter of survival. See, he is not like everyone around him. Everyone else has sharp fangs, heightened senses, and an insatiable thirst for 'heper' blood. Even though Gene looks just like them, even wearing a set of fake fangs, he would be ripped to shreds within a minute if 'people' knew the truth.

So, when Gene is selected for The Heper Hunt, a rare opportunity to hunt down and feast on the flesh of the last remaining hepers on earth, he is less than ecstatic. How is he supposed to stay on the down-low if every eye at The Institution is thirsting and craving for fresh heper flesh? Especially since most 'people' weren't chosen for the honor of participating in the hunt, and have an even higher lust for a fresh heper...

And then there are the 'hepers' about to be hunted. While Gene would like to think he is somehow separate from them, having lived with civilized 'people,' things might not be at all what they seem.

What did I like or not like?

Have you ever noticed that many dystopian books read the same? Now, don't get me wrong! I absolutely love this genre. Young people trapped in an unfair world are forced to accomplish some goal for the betterment of society; no matter the cost!

This one has all those great, essential elements, but a human is surrounded by vampires ready to devour him at the slightest slip-up, and consequently, this is just a fantastic, chilling, suspenseful read.

P.S. Just like The Testing, I'm definitely going to finish this series. In fact, what is this book in my bag that I brought to the Idaho Library Association Annual Conference? Oh yeah, its The Prey, the second one in the series lol.