Here is author and poet Nikki Grimes where she explains the role of the library in her younger years. She is a wonderful author and an inspiration to all!
Teen Read Week has a great Wiki page full of ideas. Here just a few of my favorites I found:
2010 Theme ideas:
Read Beat (Audiobooks)
It's Got a Beat (Music and dance)
To the Beat of a Different Drummer (Iconoclasts)
The Beatdown (Awareness about bullying, abuse, and violence)
Beat Generation (Beatniks and poetry)
On the Beat (Crime, detectives and mysteries)
A Beating Heart (Love and romance)
Check Your Heartbeat (Medicine and health)
We Can Beat 'Em (Sports and Athletics)
These are great ideas, and I can picture the displays!
51 Ideas for Teen Read Week
by Pam Spencer Holley (reprinted with permission)
1. Extended library hours
2. Addition of lots of paperbacks
3. Open House with food and volunteers to explain teen activities
4. Set up a Suggestion Box, then post suggestions with responses
5. Establish a Teen Advisory Group
6. Design and set up a website/blog/MySpace location
7. Collect and post teen reviews [offer some instruction in review writing]
8. Amnesty Week to coincide with TRW
9. Sleep-in with teens reading all night, followed by breakfast
10. Books to Movies festival
11. Laugh-In film festival with lots of old funny movies
12. Stand-up Comedy Night
13. Pizza Tasting Contest
14. Ice Cream Sundaes Contest
15. Night/afternoon of gaming
16. Sponsor a Battle of the Bands
17. Redesigned book jacket contest
18. Anime/Manga Character contest
19. Self-defense training session
20. Salsa dancing [or any other dancing style--hire an instructor]
21. Teen photo contest [ex. Potentially Funny Situations]
22. Talent Show
23. Program on being a clown
24. Book giveaways
25. Karaoke night
26. Scavenger Hunt
27. Duct-tape or other crafts
28. Murder Mystery Night [rewrite to murder a comedian]
29. Librarian Challenge [offer something silly in exchange for # books/pages read]
30. Free rentals of DVDs, VHS, audiobooks during TRW
31. Teen-produced Public Service Announcements
32. Partner [school and public library]
33. Family Activity--teens read to younger kids at library
34. Which book would you save from a fire?
35. Trivia contests [about comedians perhaps]
36. Contest to create new Knock-Knock jokes
37. Display photos of teens reading
38. School-wide read-in [during the day; after school; at a mall, etc.]
39. "Sock It to Reading"
40. Bulletin board filled with book title suggestions from teens
41. Teen Book Column in local newspaper; teen reviews
42. Teens read books to kids at hospital, day care centers, etc.
43. Paperback and/or Comic Book swap
44. Media Swap
45. Joke Swap
46. Tickets to a concert for readers
47. Contest to select teens for TV PSA [local station]
48. Radio talk show interview--teens and reading
49. Write a letter to your favorite author
50. Read-a-thon of teen writings
51. Podcast teens reading scary short-stories and put it on the internet
What can YOU do to celebrate Teen Read Week? Me...I'm off to volunteer at Austin Public Library!
Happy Reading!
