With everything going on, there are many stress factors. So here are some calming and enjoyable crafts you can do at home!
All of the following materials can be bought online!
Perler Bead Designs
You can create designs to your liking by placing the perler beads on a plastic template. Next, iron the design using ironing paper. The beads will melt and weld together from the iron’s heat, creating the finished product!
Materials:
Perler beads (come in mixed or organized by color sets)
When ironing your design, be sure to use the Masking Tape method! Otherwise you’ll melt the plastic template.
Set the iron to medium heat so you can learn how to melt the beads efficiently first. Also, move the iron in circular motions to distribute the heat evenly throughout the design.
Knitting
There are countless helpful websites that teach knitting through simple instructions. Sheep and Stitch has plenty of easy, short videos that help with knitting! Here’s the link to the site: https://sheepandstitch.com It’s not as hard as it seems!
Materials:
Yarn (varies from texture to thickness)
Knitting needles (varies with length and material)
Crochet
With crochet, you can create soft designs using stuffing. There are also plenty of resources online that can teach you.
If you enjoy the feeling of thrill and suspense, these books are for you!
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder – Holly Jackson
A girl is determined to find the real killer of a closed case with no definite answer.
House of Salt and Sorrows – Erin A. Craig
Annaleigh is rushing to reveal a darkness that has overcome her family before she’s next. Her encounters with a stranger intensify throughout this dark, magical story.
We Were Liars – E. Lockhart
The seemingly perfect Sinclair family go on their yearly trip to their private island, oblivious to the deadly path ahead.
Truly Devious – Maureen Johnson
A triple murder case has been grueling Stevie for years. A homicide at her academy hasn’t occurred for years until her classmate is murdered.
You Owe Me a Murder – Eileen Cook
Kim is dragged into a murder in the middle of a school trip with a charismatic woman, Nicki.
TAB Meeting tomorrow, Thursday, January 14, 2021, from 7:00 – 8:00pm.
Join TAB to gain leadership and volunteer experience and share your ideas about how to make the library a wonderful place for teens! Volunteer hours granted. Register to receive a link to join this virtual event. Ages 13-18.
Looking for fun events? Here’s a list of virtual events happening throughout Fairfax County!
Teen Otaku Club
Welcome to the Teen Otaku Club! ”Otaku” is Japanese for someone who likes anime and manga. In this club, teens participate in discussions about their favorite anime and manga! Every meeting will include an activity. Meetings are virtually hosted by Pohick regional Library.
Next meeting: Tuesday, January 12th 2021, 5:00 – 6:00pm
Join us for a virtual discussion of a book with LGBTQA+ themes. This month’s title is All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens throughout the Ages edited by Saundra Mitchell. The book is available as a book and an ebook. Grades 9-12. A link to the event will be emailed to those registered prior to the event.
Next meeting: Wednesday, January 13th, 2021, 4:00 – 5:00pm
Talk about books with other teens. We will review “The Fountains of Silence”. We have a few books set aside for book club members. Please call the Herndon Library during the Curbside Pickup times to have staff check out and set aside your copy or visit the Herndon branch. A Zoom invitation will be emailed to registrants one day before the event. To use Zoom you will need a computer or smart phone and an internet connection, or join by telephone. Log in to the meeting up to 15 minutes before the start time. Ages 12-18.
Next meeting: Tuesday, January 19th, 2021, 6:30 – 7:30pm
Join the Dolley Madison teen librarians to play the popular mobile game Among Us. Veteran and beginner players welcome. We will use Zoom to chat while we play the game. A link to the zoom meeting will be emailed to registered participants in the morning of January 25. Game is played either on a smart phone or tablet. Among Us can be downloaded for free from either the App store or the Google Play Store. Registration opens at 4:30pm, Monday, January 2021.
Next meeting: Monday, January 25th, 2021, 4:30 – 5:30pm
Join TAB to gain leadership and volunteer experience and share your ideas about how to make the library a wonderful place for teens! Volunteer hours granted. Register to receive a link to join this virtual event. Ages 13-18.
Next meeting: Thursday, January 14th, 2021, 7:00 – 8:00pm
Here’s a list of books to enjoy during the cold season!
After the Snow – S.D Crockett
Willo Blake encounters outlaws, half men and an abandoned girl while in the search of his family during a surging ice age in 2059.
Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod – Gary Paulsen
Paulsen and his team of dogs endure frostbite, moose attacks, sleepiness, snowstorms and hallucinations in the push to go on.
Five Total Strangers – Natalie D. Richards
Mira flies home for Christmas to accompany her grief-ridden mother but a blizzard results in a cancelled layover. Mira hitches a ride with a group of people and realizes mid-way of the trip, none of them actually know each other.
Trapped – Michael Northrop
A group of friends are the last ones to be picked up till they realize no one is coming for them. It doesn’t seem so bad to spend the night at school until the power goes out, then the heat and the snow piles higher.
Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares – Rachel Cohn
Two teens carry on a wintery scavenger hunt during Christmas time in New York, neither knowing what or who they will find.
Happy New Years! Here’s a list of some of the most anticipated YA books for 2021, so keep an eye out this year!
Concrete Rose – Angie Thomas
In this prequel to The Hate You Give, Angie Thomas tells the reader more about Maverick Carter and his life before Starr was born.
Tales from the Hinterland – Melissa Albert
Delve into some enthralling stories from Althea Proserpine’s Tales from the Hinterland, where a woman spends a night with Death, and an enchantress is killed twice but still lives.
The Girls I’ve Been – Tess Sharpe
This thriller follows Nora O’Malley, who is the daughter of a con-artist, as she is held hostage during a bank heist.
The Nobleman’s Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks – Mackenzi Lee
Adrian Montague, who was diagnosed with hysteria when he was younger, has a breakdown at his engagement party, which causes everyone to think he is unable to run the family estate. In order to avoid this, Adrian goes to the Caribbean to find the last of his mother’s possessions, and along the way, he learns he has two siblings – Monty and Felicity – who disappeared over a decade ago.
Pumpkin – Julie Murphy
Set in the same universe as Dumplin’, this story follows Waylon Russel Brewer, who is fat and openly gay, and stuck in Clover City, a small Texas town. In order to get out of Clover City, Waylon sends an audition tape to his favorite drag show, but when the tape is leaked, he is nominated for prom king as a joke. He decides he might as well go along with it and make his senior year fun.
Have a wonderful start to the new year!! Happy reading!
Hello book lovers! Throughout this past year, we have had many new books, from both debut and older authors. Here’s a list of some of the most popular books this year!
Fable – Adrienne Young
After being abandoned by her father on an island, Fable must discover a way to get off the island and find her father, then earn herself a place with her father and the crew on his ship.
Felix Ever After – Kacen Callender
Felix Love feels as if he is too marginalized, being Black, queer and transgender, to ever fall in love. However, after an anonymous student begins posting transphobic messages, Felix finds himself in the middle of a love triangle, while also discovering new things about himself.
We Unleash the Merciless Storm – Tehlor Kay Mejia
Carmen Santos has been part of the rebel group La Voz for a long while, and is one of their best soldiers. However, after returning to La Voz’s base to find her leader under the influence of a dangerous new recruit, Carmen must decided whether to stay with La Voz or save the girl she loves.
The Conference of the Birds – Ransom Riggs
Jacob Portman is entrusted with a mission: bring the peculiar Noor Pradesh to someone only known as V. He must figure out how to find V, using only the limited number of clues he has and with enemies following close behind.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes – Suzanne Collins
This prequel to the bestselling Hunger Games trilogy follows an eighteen year old Coriolanus Snow as he mentors the female District 12 tribute, but as he begins to feel for her, he is faced with difficulty of following the rules or trying to survive at all costs.
Here is a list of books our TAB members have read and loved recently! The call numbers have been included so you can come and check them out at Reston Regional Library. (All summaries are taken from Novelist unless stated otherwise.)
Crazy Rich Asians – Kevin Kwan (FIC KWA)
Envisioning a summer vacation in the humble Singapore home of a boy she hopes to marry, Chinese American Rachel Chu is unexpectedly introduced to a rich and scheming clan that strongly opposes their son’s relationship with an American girl.
Dear Martin – Nic Stone (YFIC STO)
Writing letters to the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., seventeen-year-old college-bound Justyce McAllister struggles to face the reality of race relations today and how they are shaping him.
Heartstopper – Alice Oseman (YFIC OSE)
Charlie and Nick are at the same school, but they’ve never met until one day when they’re made to sit together. They quickly become friends, and soon Charlie is falling hard for Nick, even though he doesn’t think he has a chance. But love works in surprising ways, and Nick is more interested in Charlie than either of them realized.
The Inheritance Games – Jennifer Lynn Barnes (YFIC Barnes Jennife)
Avery Grambs has a plan for a better future: survive high school, win a scholarship, and get out. But her fortunes change in an instant when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves Avery virtually his entire fortune. The catch? Avery has no idea why — or even who Tobias Hawthorne is. To receive her inheritance, Avery must move into sprawling, secret passage-filled Hawthorne House, where every room bears the old man’s touch — and his love of puzzles, riddles, and codes. Caught in a world of wealth and privilege, with danger around every turn, Avery will have to play the game herself just to survive.
The Faerie Path – Frewin Jones (YFIC JON)
Anita, an ordinary sixteen-year-old girl, is transported from modern-day London to the realm of Faerie where she discovers that she is Princess Tania, the long-lost daughter of King Oberon and Queen Titania.
Things Fall Apart – Chinua Achebe (FIC ACH)
Traces the growing friction between village leaders and Europeans determined to save the heathen souls of Africa. But its hero, a noble man who is driven by destructive forces, speaks a universal tongue.
The Help – Kathryn Stockett (FIC STO)
Limited and persecuted by racial divides in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi, three women, including an African-American maid, her sassy and chronically unemployed friend, and a recently graduated white woman, team up for a clandestine project.
City of Bones – Cassandra Clare (YFIC CLA)
Suddenly able to see demons and the Shadowhunters who are dedicated to returning them to their own dimension, fifteen-year-old Clary Fray is drawn into this bizarre world when her mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a monster.
They Both Die at the End – Adam Silvera (YFIC SILVERA ADAM)
In a near-future New York City where a service alerts people on the day they will die, teenagers Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio meet using the Last Friend app and are faced with the challenge of living a lifetime on their End Day.
Pride & Prejudice – Jane Austen (FIC AUS)
Human foibles and early nineteenth-century manners are satirized in this romantic tale of English country family life as Elizabeth Bennet and her four sisters are encouraged to marry well in order to keep the Bennet estate in their family.
TAB would like your help to create the recommended reading list for summer reading this year! The books recommended should be books that you have read that you REALLY enjoyed. Make sure the books were published in the past two years (2019-2020), and they should already be owned by the library. Adaptations of books that have been previously published count as well if they were published in the aforementioned time frame. Please write a a very brief summary of what the book is about, and if the book is part of a series, talk a small amount about the series as well. These lists are due by January 10th.
Calming Crafts Video Series
The library is considering creating a Calming Crafts video series by teens, for teens! If you do a craft that helps you relax and de-stress, make a video (under 15 minutes) that shows how to do that craft! If the library decides to go forward with this series, the videos will be published on YouTube. Service hours will be given as long as a video is made. There is no current deadline, but the sooner, the better!
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the TAB Coordinator!
Happy Holidays, friends! If you have been searching for some good books to read this month, then look no further! Here is a list of books you can read while curling up and drinking hot chocolate in front of a fire!
The Afterlife of Holly Chase – Cynthia Hand
Holly Chase was paid a visit five years ago by three ghosts, who attempted to convince her to fix her selfish behaviors, but she did not listen. Now, after having died, Holly is stuck working as the current Ghost of Christmas Past, but this Christmas, everything will change.
Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances – John Green, Maureen Johnson & Lauren Myracle
After a Christmas Eve snowstorm, one small town has become somewhat of a romantic haven. A stranded train, a snowy hike to a Waffle House, and an early shift at Starbucks lead to three festive stories about love.
Carols and Chaos – Cindy Anstey
In this Yuletide season novel, it’s 1817 and a counterfeit scheme has made its way to a country estate, Shackleford Park. Kate, who is the lady’s maid, and Matt, the estate’s valet, get caught in the mystery — and in romance.
My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories– Various Authors
Enjoy a collection of twelve holiday love stories written by some of YA’s most popular authors, whether you like to celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, or New Year’s!
