We are happy to announce the release of the 7th edition of our literary magazine, Elementia! To celebrate, we are holding a reception for all the writers and artists who contributed and everyone is welcome to come and listen to them read their work. The event begins at 7pm on Tuesday, February 23rd at the Central Resource Library.

Elementia is a literary magazine that comes out once a year featuring short stories, poems, art and more from teens around Johnson County. Each submission is judged by a group of teens who choose the content of the magazine.

As an extra treat this year, author Brent Crawford will also be attending to share his experiences and creative process writing his first book Carter  Finally Gets It, some of it based on his experiences growing up in Merriam, KS and attending Shawnee Mission North High School. Join us for refreshments and writing from the talented teens of Johnson County.

Wondering what good books you should read next? Come hang out in the meeting room at the Lackman Library and talk books the second Monday of each month. Find out the new hot titles, share your favorites, and rant about the ones you’ve hated. We'll have a selection of books to recommend and will be interested in hearing about what you’ve been reading. For ages 10-15. It starts at 4:15 p.m. and runs for an hour. Our first meeting will be on Feb. 8, 2010. You don't need to register, just show up!

The president of the United States is African-American. Does this mean that race, as a topic of discussion, is obsolete in this country?

The Johnson County Library will celebrate Black History Month with an exhibition of teen artwork, poetry and prose which explores the subject of race and its relevence in this day and age. The exhibition will be highlighted by an artist's reception at the Cedar Roe Library on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2010, from 2-4 p.m.

The exhibition is open to children and teens ages 11-18. Submissions can be turned in to any Library Youth Services desk, no later than Feb. 1, 2010. Art submissions should be no larger than 9" x 12" and should be labeled on the back with the artist's name and phone number.

We've also put together a reading list related to the discussion on race.

Pow! Bam! In 2010, the Johnson County Library will offer a three-part workshop series on writing and drawing comics. The workshops will be run by teen writer Ayah Abdul Rauf and former teen artist-in-residence Michelle Willard. You can work alongside your peers to enhance your manga/comic drawing and creative writing skills.

The workshops will be held at the Central Resource Library on Sundays, Jan. 17, Feb. 21 and March 21, 2010. You must be 12-17 years old to attend the workshops. Registration begins on Sunday, Jan. 3, 2010. Call 913-495-2490 to register.

In February, Ayah Abdul Rauf will begin leading a monthly creative writing group at the Shawnee Library. This writing group will be for ages 11-13. Call 913-962-3807 for more information.

It's almost time again for the annual Bookmark Contest co-sponsored by the Johnson County Library and the Friends of the Library. The contest is open to all ages, and the winning designs will be printed as actual bookmarks that will be available at all Library locations during the summer.

The Bookmark Contest begins on Monday, Jan. 4, 2010. More information, as well as the contest entry form and past winning entries, can be found at www.jocolibrary.org/bookmarks.

Upcoming events at the Library:

The Library is the fashionable place to be this season. Can't wait until February for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week? Then check this out.

Andy, a local teen, avid reader and Young Adult Advisory Council member, has won a t-shirt design contest from clothing store/record label Volcom. Andy's design will be in the spring 2010 collection and you can get one for your very own and wear it to the 2010 Teen Fashion Show. Tell Heidi Klum to mark her calendar, the event is 7-9pm Saturday, April 17th at the Central Resource Library.

Check out the pictures from last year to get in the mood.

Upcoming events at the Library:

Tuesday saw the Central Resouce Library packed with teens and friends and family for our MarioKart Tournament on the Nintendo Wii. We had 64 competitors who raced for the ultimate prize, GameStop gift cards!  Each round of the tournament was on a different track and each player was able to choose their own character and vehicle.

The semi-finals were a heated and the competition was fierce. The four finalists competed for the title of champion in the track "Wario's Goldmine". Third place received a $25 gift card to GameStop, second place received a $50 gift card and first place took home a whopping $75 gift card. Thanks to everyone who came and competed or cheered on a competitor. Make sure to keep your eye out for our next tournament in March and keep up to date on the latest gaming activities at www.jocoteenscene.org/gaming.

Saturday, November 7th, the Central Resource Library was overrun by almost 150 otaku for the second annual Teen Anime Festival. This year was even bigger than last year's festival as it was expanded to two rooms. The festival kicked off with a showing of Howl's Moving Castle and DDR. The highlight of the afternoon was a performance by Olathe's Ki Daiko Taiko Drum Group who performed several original pieces and talked about the tradition of Taiko drumming in Japan. Their music could be heard throughout the library, bringing in more than just anime fans.

The 2009 festival also included a cosplay contest, which had more than 20 contestants! Teens cosplayed as characters from their favorite series, L from Death Note making several appearances. And the contest ended in an unexpected double tie! As the judges tallied up the scores everyone made their own candy sushi creation and settled in to either watch Bleach the Movie 2: the diamond dust rebellion or attend a manga drawing workshop taught by a previous teen artist in residence.

Throughout the day you could see people in costume browsing the anime and manga selections, playing DDR and drawing their favorite anime characters. For pictures of the Ki Daiko Taiko Drum Group, Cosplay winners and drawings from the manga workshop please check out our anime page at www.jocoteenscene.org/anime.

The first, second and third place winners (as well as honorable mention) have been selected for the 2009 Teen Photo Content. This year's contest had the theme "Read Beyond Reality," and we got a lot of fantastic submissions! Just like in past years, selecting the winners was difficult with so many great photos submitted.

You can see the photos at www.jocoteenscene.org/teenphoto or by visiting one of our libraries as the photos make a tour of the Johnson County Libraries. The photos will follow this schedule:

• Oct. 17 – Nov. 7, 2009: Central Resource Library
• Nov. 14 – Dec. 5, 2009: Antioch
• Dec. 12, 2009 – Jan. 2, 2010: Cedar Roe
• Jan. 9 – Jan. 30, 2010: Oak Park
• Feb. 6 – Feb. 27, 2010: Lackman
• March 6 – March 27, 2010: Blue Valley
• April 3 – April 17, 2010: Gardner
• April 24 – May 8, 2010: Leawood Pioneer
• May 15 – May 29, 2010: Corinth

The Festival of Faiths is in its third year of celebrating religious diversity here in Kansas City, and this year Johnson County Library will help celebrate with a special event for teens! On Sunday, Nov. 1, the Library and the Kansas City Interfaith Youth Alliance will show the film Arranged followed by discussion. This event will be held from 2-4 p.m. at the Central Resource Library. It is for teens ages 13 and up, and refreshments will be provided.

Are you an otaku? Just enjoy experiencing Japanese culture?  You should come to the second annual Teen Anime Festival!  If you attended last year's anime festival you know how much fun it was to see cosplayers in the library and hear the shouts of the KC Kendo Club demonstrators.  This year we have even more!

Come watch two full length anime films, attend a manga drawing workshop, make candy sushi (even better than last year), and watch a demonstration by the Ki Daiko Taiko Drum Group of Olathe. 

The Teen Anime Festival is open to all ages but is geared towards teens 12-18.  The films shown are rated PG-13.

For more information about the Festival check out the website www.jocoteenscene.org/anime and find out about all of our anime clubs as well!

Are you ready for a night like no other? From May to September you went online and you nominated your favorite books for a Boscar award. Now you can vote for your favorite books of the year to receive the coveted Boscar. But the fun doesn't have to end there.

On Saturday, October 24th don the costume of your favorite literary character, from Oliver to Bella and everywhere in between, and come to the Central Resource Library from 7-9pm for a Boscar Lock-In Party. That means the only people in the library besides staff will be teens!  We will have all sorts of fun events including a Boscar Jeopardy (study up on your Boscar nominated books!), a Boscar murder mystery to solve...a character is found dead in the library and we need your help solving the mystery and more!

You can go online to register or call 913-495-2400. Also check out our Facebook event and invite your friends!

Photo courtesy of unsure shot on Flickr.

Teens at the Oak Park Library got creative last month and scripted and filmed a movie in just three hours! Their inspiration: ninjas, Star Wars, bunny rabbits and a stapler. Check out their movie about a staple murderer who crashes a teen slumber party at the local library. Luckily for these teens, Bunny is there to help them. But can this cuddly rabbit stop the caped murderer?

Click on "Full story" to watch the video.

You had three months to nominate your favorite books, characters and authors for a Boscar award.  The nominating period is over and it is time for the voting to start.  You have until October 23 to vote for your favorite main characters, villains, sci fi books, fantasy books, authors, series and more!

Once you have voted make sure to mark your calendars.  We will be awarding the Boscars on Saturday, October 24th.  Celebrate with us at this after hours event, and get a chance to hang out in the library after it is closed!  Dress up as your favorite character and come ready to play Boscar Jeopardy and solve a Boscar murder mystery.  The event will be on Saturday, October 24th from 7-9pm.  Sign up for a reminder or register anytime after October 3rd here.

The 2009 Teen Photo Contest theme is “Read Beyond Reality.” Use your camera to show us something out of this world! Photos selected by our judges will be used to create a traveling display at Johnson County Library. Photos must be at least 5" x 7”, color or black-and-white, and must not be mounted. All photos become property of Johnson County Library. Entry forms are available at all Johnson County Library locations and online at www.jocoteenscene.org/teenphoto

The Teen Photo Contest is for grades 6-12. The deadline is Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009.

The Teen's Top Ten Award is given to ten books each year chosen by teens for being awesome. The books are nominated by teens and voting will continue from now until September 18th and the winners will be announced at the end of Teen Read Week on October 24th.  Vote for your favorite books of 2009 now!

Don't see a book on that list that you want to win an award? Nominate it for a Boscar.

I can smell the new backpacks, the crisp notebooks and the sharpened pencils. It can mean only one thing...new school year! Is that a moan I hear? The start of a new school year is always filled with promises "this year I will get all my homework done on time" or "I will start all my assignments early" or "I vow to have a date to homecoming." Whatever your promise to yourself may be Tutor.com can help (well OK it isn't going to find you a date)!

To help your reach your academic goals in any subject from geometry to social studies we now offer access to Tutor.com 24/7. All you need is your Library card number and PIN to log in from home, or come and use it at the library. There are study guides and practice worksheets to complete with answer key! Not to mention links to hundreds of websites that will help you get your homework done faster and correctly.

As the late Billy Mays would say, "but wait! There's more!" Not only do you get access to all their practices quizzes and resources but from 8am to 11pm you can log on and get help from an online tutor. Upload your papers and get them proofed by a live English tutor.  Make sure you wow your teachers on the first assignment.

If that still isn't enough for you we have even more great resources at the Johnson County Library Homework Help Web site. And come to the Antioch or Oak Park library to get help from one of our homework coaches starting on Monday, August 24th.  With all of these great resources you should be on the honor roll in no time!

On Friday, July 31st, four bands competed for the ultimate glory of being crowned Battle of the Bands 2009 champions! The evening started off with free pizza and pop for band members and their fans. And the first band, Indigo Cape Squad, kicked of the evening's festivities with some surfer tunes and tie-dye fashion. Although their musical superiority was challenged by Cross Factor, who even broke out a fiddle to prove their talent!

The crowd was given a chance to get in on the prizes between sets with prize drawings for t-shirts and gift cards to places like Best Buy, Target, Starbucks, Borders and more! But you can't count on luck alone, and six brave audience members competed in a dance-off to Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean".

The rockin' evening continued with performances by Shadow in the Dark, a heavy cover band, and Virtual Unknown(kudos to Virtual Unknown to competing even when the drummer had broken his hand only days before the Battle of the Bands). The crowd voted for their favorite, and was even given the chance for extra tickets if they participating in the upcoming Boscars. The votes were tallied and Indigo Cape Squad was declared the winners of the 2009 Battle of the Bands! Each of the band members took home a $30 gift certificate to Best Buy and the pride of being named crowd favorite. All of the bands and volunteers did a spectacular job of making this a Battle of the Bands no one will soon forget!

This is the last week for Summer Reading, so if you haven't turned in your reading log and picked up your free book, you've got until this Saturday, Aug. 1 to do that. Don't miss out!

What started out as a simple way to get teens interested in reading turned out to be a huge return on investment for the Oak Park Neighborhood Library. Assistant Manager Stephanie Iser explains, "I was looking for something for our frequent teen visitors to do, so I thought I'd sign our library up for the Wrestlemania Reading Challenge. One of our 5th grade participants designed a winning bookmark that won the library 2,000 dollars".

The Wrestlemania Reading Challenge ran from October to January and challenged teens to read 10 books and complete an activity. Participants had the chance to win an all-expenses paid trip to see Wrestlemania 25 while staying in a 5-star hotel room with $300 spending cash. Winners also earned $2,000 to expand their library's teen collection. The 2009 challenge asked teens to read 10 books and design a bookmark about "Why reading is important."

Designed by a panel of professional librarians from the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), the challenge is intended to get teens interested in reading for pleasure, especially the reluctant readers. "We work with a handful of teens that normally complain about reading," said Mrs. Iser. "One these reluctant readers, hoping to win a trip to Wrestlemania, found that he enjoyed reading manga series. Since then, he has continued checking out lots of manga and graphic novels."

Nominations for the Boscar Awards are rolling in and YAAC has been having a great time reading the books and seconding them in our meetings. If you have a book, character, series, author or cover that you think deserves an award please go nominate them right now. Then come to YAAC on the third Saturday of the month from 12:30-1:30 in the Carmack Room of the Central Resource Library to help us go through the list of nominations.

If you come to YAAC we can make a cool video like the ones below for your nominations! Or make your own and upload them to YouTube with the tag jocoboscars. 

Are you looking for ways to express yourself this summer? The Oak Park Library is offering our Teen Tech Challenge, three creative events for teens interested in technology. On Wednesday, June 16, you can create and publish your own online comics. On Wednesday, July 15, you can record and broadcast an online radio show. On Wednesday, July 29, you can create your own three-minute film. All three events run from 2-5 p.m. and are free to attend. A permission slip is required for the film class. Call (913) 752-8700 for more information. You can register by phone or through our online calendar:

• Create Online Comics
• Radio You
• Three-Minute Movies

Throughout April, teens sent their artwork to the Johnson County Library to participate in the Teen Art Spectacular. The month culminated in the Teen Art Spectacular Reception at the Central Resource Library on Saturday, May 9th.

Thirty-six artists contributed more than eighty pieces of art to the exhibition. But that was only the beginning. The display was open for two hours, Saturday afternoon and artists, family, friends and library patrons were invited to visit the Reception and look at the art. Each visitor was given two tickets and encouraged to vote for their favorite artists.

The five artists with the most tickets at the end of the day one a $15 gift certificate. It was a tough count, with a very close race! The winners were: Maria Katina, Kylie Wooten, Marisa Boles, Tracy Hansen and Gavin Carter.  Congrats!  Thanks to all the artists who participated.

Summer Reading has begun! Running from Tuesday, May 26 until Saturday, August 1, our theme this year is "Express Yourself @ Your Library." In line with that theme, not only do we have book recommendations and suggested Web sites for you, we have a Teen Artist-in-Residence and Teen Writer-in-Residence to help boost and inspire your own creativity. You can pick up your reading logs at any Johnson County Library location or print them off here.

Remember, everyone gets a free book just for participating in Summer Reading, and everyone who turns in a reading log at the end is eligible to be entered into a drawing for one of three $100 VISA cards! And if you want to express yourself online, you can always submit your poems and stories to us, to be posted right here on JoCoTeenScene!

More than ninety teens around Kansas City participated in the Big Read Teen Writing Contest this April. Writers were given the challenge to write a short story in the style of their favorite author and the Johnson County Library had twenty fantastic submissions.

Two stories were chosen from each age category (12-14 and 15-18) to move on to the metro-wide competition These stories were judged by Matt Bolch and Shawn Schmelzle, from the Greater Kansas City Writing Project, Elizabeth Bunce, author of A Curse As Dark As Gold, and Daniel O'Connor, author of Dragon Moon Rising. There were three winners from each age category, who received gift cards from Barnes and Noble.

Both Johnson County Library entries placed in the top three for their age categories. Nathan Goldman won third place for his story "Myths My Parents Told Me" which was inspired by J.D. Salinger's writing style. Anna Kucera won first place for her story "She is Sinking!!" inspired by Felix Sutton Anna's story will be appearing in the Kansas City Star along with "Growing Up French" by Stephanie Griffith from the Mid-Continent Public Library.

Congratulations to all of the winners and contestants!

Photo courtesy of bgblogging.

Come to the Central Resource Library on Saturday, May 9th from 2-4pm to enjoy art from teens around Johnson County. We have had more than 50 submissions for the Teen Art Spectacular; there are photos, sketches, oil paintings, pottery, jewelry and more. You can come and experience all of it and vote for your favorites, for those artists to win gift cards to places like: Michael's, Target, Vintage Stock, Hobby Lobby and Wal-Mart. 

If you submitted art, come with your family and friends and have them vote for your work! Or if you know someone has submitted work, please come and support them.  Or just come and enjoy a wide variety of art and cookies.

This program is brought to you by the Young Adult Advisory Council, a group for teens who want to participate in the Johnson County Library.  You can find out more about YAAC and meeting times at www.jocoteenscene.org/yaac. 

Photo courtesy of Terance J. Sullivan.

The most fashionable teens in Kansas City were at the Central Resource Library on Saturday night for the fashion show; Poetry in Motion. Forty-six models and more than 10 designers show their struts on the runway. Each piece was inspired by a poem, song or book.

The evening began with poems ready by librarian, Angel Dew and National Slam Poet Champion, Gino Morrow, then it was kicked into high gear by the designs of Blue Valley Academy students, Missouri designer Ross Schartel and newcomer Jeffery Willard. There was an intermission in fashion for local poets to come up and performed kicked off by Miss Conception, a local poet and rapper.

After the poetry it was back to the fashion with designs from Broadmoor Technical Center and special designs from local boutiques. Everyone agreed that it was a night to remember.

Keep your eyes on the Fashion Show Web Page for the video, coming soon!  And check out the slideshows from Creative Life Studios who photographed the event for more pictures.

Name: Aja Quincy, Hannah Gasaway, Chelsea Yanak

Inspiration: “I Spy” books (Aja and Hannah), “The Rainbow Fish” (Chelsea)

Hannah and Aja sigh with boredom, dreaming of Spring break—just a week away. They’ve been finished with their “I Spy” pieces for a week now. To show me they pull out the tights, hat and shirt they’ve adorned with countless bric-a-brac. Meeanwhile, Chelsea painstakingly hand sews ivory circles, representing scales, onto a silk ivory tank top. Her collection is the very contrast of Hannah’s and Aja’s—stark and pastel. Hannah and Aja offer Chelsea they’re sequins, reassuring her that a little sparkle is exactly what her collection needs. Afterall, Chelsea’s inspiration book is “The Rainbow Fish”.

Come see Aja, Hannah and Chelsea's designs at the Fasion Show on Saturday, April 18th from 7-9 at the Central Resource Library. For more information about the event check out the website www.jocoteenscene.org/fashion.

Name: Caroline Sheridan

Inspiration: Ralph Lauren biography

Caroline’s grandmother was her first sewing instructor, so it’s not surprising that she’s repurposed her elder’s leather skirt for one of her fashion pieces. Now it’s a vest, backed with her grandfather’s ties. Caroline’s literary inspiration comes from Ralph Lauren’s biography. To date, he’s an icon for the preppy look, but his career began with tie-making. Hence, the tie skirt—another piece in Caroline’s collaborative collection. Caroline is working with fellow student, Tonya.

Come see Caroline's designs at the Fasion Show on Saturday, April 18th from 7-9 at the Central Resource Library.  For more information about the event check out the website www.jocoteenscene.org/fashion.

Name: Colin Coit

Inspiration: Japanese death poems

Colin squints as he snips the shirt, then peers at me over his dark-rimmed specs. He explains to me why he chose Japanese death poems as his inspiration for the clothes he plans to show. Colin paraphrases, “They came in with nothing. They leave with nothing.” The simple, militaristic menswear he’s created reflects this ideal. Colin rips the seams from the pocket of the grey and black striped shirt. Standing in his black Converse high-tops, he tells me how the tailored, armored shoulder pads and zippered front were inspired by the clothing of dying samurais on the battlefield. Studying martial arts himself has also influenced his collection—from the bronzed panels to the “simple, but daring lines.”

Come see Colin's designs at the Fasion Show on Saturday, April 18th from 7-9 at the Central Resource Library.  For more information about the event check out the website www.jocoteenscene.org/fashion.

Choose your weapon and your inspiration! It's time for a good old fashioned writing contest! You may or may not know that it is the time of the Big Read in Kansas City when all of the libraries in the metro area have come together to encourage everyone in Kansas City to read Old School by Tobias Wolff. The book is the story of a guy going to a prep school in New England in the 60's. Every couple of months this prep school asks a famous author to come visit, then they offer the students the opportunity to compete in a writing competition. The winner of the writing competition gets to meet the famous author who is visiting the school. Obviously, everyone wants to meet these famous authors, but how far would you go?

Well we won't make you read Tobias Wolff but you can still participate in the Big Read by submitting a story to the Big Read Teen Writing Contest!  This is your chance to pick the author you admire most and write a short story or poem using their writing style.  Mo more than 1,200 words because if you win you get your story printed in the Kansas City Star!  Not to mention you can win $50 from Barnes and Nobles and breakfast with famous Kansas City author Elizabeth Bunce (A Curse as Dark as Gold).  So choose your weapon, pencil, pen, laptop, stone tablet and chisel, and get writing!

For more details, deadlines and judging rubric check out the Kansas City Big Read Web site.

Photo courtesy of Ayumina.

For details on past events, browse our Features Archives.