 Hey everyone, we're here to tell you all about the Summer Reading Club at the West Bend Cooper Memorial Library. Yes, Summer Reading Club is still on. And we have something for everyone in all grades and all reading levels. This video is for anyone in grades 6 to 12 as of June 2021. For those of you in grades 7 and up, the Teen Reading Club is the right program for you and we will get to that in just a second. Now for those of you in grade 6, you have a choice to make. You can choose to do one more year of the Kids Summer Reading Club, where you read for 15 minutes a day for 50 days throughout the summer and earn yourself a medal at the end. Or you can choose to make this the first year you join the Teen Reading Club. As you will soon learn, the Teen Reading Club is more about the number of books you read and there's a chance at getting way bigger prizes. But you have to choose. You can't do both. Now we are going to tell you what the Teen Reading Club is, why you should join, how you sign up, and some of our very favorite new books that you can get at the library. Teen Reading Club or TeenRC is all about celebrating the books that you already want to read this summer for fun and helping you read a bit out of your comfort zone. So if you feel stuck in a reading rut and need help finding great new titles, TeenRC is also a great way to do that. But more than reading TeenRC also encourages you to be creative and get out into the community safely. To complete the Teen Reading Club, you need to complete two different types of challenges. Reading challenges and beyond reading challenges. First, the reading challenges. You get to choose 10 reading challenges from the list for a total of 10 books over the summer. Don't worry, the challenges are broad enough that you'll still get tons of choice about what you get to read this summer. One challenge asks you to read a book that was published before you were born. One asks you to read a book from an author that you've never read before. And one asks you to choose a book with a cover design that you would like to hang up in your room. Many of the challenges comes with lists of books that we recommend, so you won't have trouble finding something. The beyond reading challenges are community-related challenges, like reviewing a title on our library catalog, hiking a local trail, or making a story or comic. You only have to finish three beyond reading challenges to complete the Teen Reading Club. There are a lot of reasons to join the club, besides getting to choose what you read. Reason number one, it's totally free. It doesn't cost you any money and you don't even need a library card to join. You really have nothing to lose. Number two, prizes. Everyone who completes the Teen RC gets entered into a draw, and I can tell you we have a lot of prizes, prizes that you'll actually want. Number three, beat boredom. We know you might not get to do some of the things you'd normally do in the summer this year, but reading is the perfect escape. If you've never tried Teen RC, this is the year to give it a try. Number four, make your brain happy. Did you know that even when you read for fun, you're getting smarter and giving yourself a head start for going back to school in September? It's true. So signing up for Teen RC is easier than ever. This year it's completely virtual, so you don't even have to come into the library. All you need to do is go to the teenrc website at wvml.ca slash trc and click the link that says register now. Just enter your first name, current grade, school, and email address, and you will be registered. You'll receive a confirmation email with your Teen RC starter kit within 48 hours, and that has everything else you need to know. And if you don't live in West Vancouver, no problem at all, anyone can sign up for our Teen RC. Once you're registered for Teen RC, you complete the challenges at your own pace throughout the summer. You don't even need to come into the library, but if you do, we're always happy to see you. At the end of the summer, just email us your completed challenge card and you'll be entered into the prize draw. And remember, you choose the reading challenges you complete and the titles that you read for those challenges. That can include reading a graphic novel or non-fiction book, listening to a digital audiobook on Libby. Libby by Overdrive is the name of the free app with e-books and e-audio books that you can access with your library card. If you haven't tried Libby yet, you have to. It's just as good as using the Amazon Kindle Store or Audible, except instead of paying for a membership or titles yourself, the library pays that bill for you. To get started, just search for Libby by Overdrive in any app store and use your library card to set up your account. We can help you or do this over the phone, by email, or in the library. Listen to a play away. These are self-contained audiobook players you can borrow from the library. We have lots of popular titles for upper elementary and secondary grades. Read in any language or multiple languages. We have books in all these different languages that you can borrow from the library. Plus, you don't just have to read library books or books labeled teen or young adult. You can read whatever you want. The choice is yours. But now that we have you here, we can't really resist giving you some recommendations. I mean, we're librarians, okay? We can't help ourselves. We need to talk to you about books. All 13 by Christina Suntranbaat. If you like real-life survival stories and fascinating nonfiction, this is a book for you. This incredible story details the 18 days a Thai boy soccer team was trapped in an underground flooded cave and the amazing people over 10,000 involved in their rescue. It's inspirational, action-packed, and thrilling. You will not be able to put it down. Stars are scattered by Victoria Jameson and Omar Muhammad. This is a graphic novel about Omar's life in a Kenyan refugee camp when he and his family fled the Somalian Wars. Him and his little brother got separated from their parents. So now it's up to Omar to study hard and build a life for the family that he has left. This is a heart-breaking, but also heartwarming, novel all about perseverance. And even though it's a graphic novel, it's also an onboard-winning audiobook. So if listening to books is your thing, this is definitely one you'll want to check out. So you are about to get a recommendation for a graphic novel about sports. From someone who thought they absolutely did not care about sports. Dragon Hoops by Jean Luen Yang is a true story that is perfect for anyone who loves compelling edge-of-your-seat documentaries. So if you liked the last dance or cheer on Netflix, you will love this. I mentioned that I am not a sports fan, but I was totally enthralled by this account of a California high school basketball team and their quest for a championship. I learned so much. I cried at the end. This is really one of the few books I can honestly recommend to someone who is 12 years old or 25 years old or 80 years old. It really is for everyone and I just adored it. Narnia meets traditional Indigenous stories in this fantasy adventure story by David A. Robertson. It's called Baron Grals. Morgan and Eli are Cree teens living in Winnipeg. They meet in a foster home. Together they discover a portal in the attic that leads to another parallel world that needs their help. The barren lands are stuck in winter and its inhabitants, the walking and talking animals, are dying. This is the first in the series. So I am a huge graphic novel fan and don't ever let anyone tell you that graphic novels or comics don't count as real reading because they do. And if you loved graphic autobiographies like Smile or Roller Girl or Real Friends but are ready for something a bit more mature, I can't say enough good things about Almost American Girl by Robin Ha. Robin moves from Korea to the United States and simply put it totally sucks. Her mom has met a new guy and Robin has to adjust to his entire family and being in a school where she doesn't speak the language and you actually get to follow Robin all the way through college in this graphic novel. So I felt like I got to know her really well and this is another one I just could not put down. You can find all of these books in the library catalog but please make sure to place a hold even if there is a waitlist so we can order more copies. You can also look for these books on our brand new Lucky Day shelf. Lucky Day books are special extra copies of our most popular books that you'll only find when you visit the library. Finding one means you get to skip the waitlist. It's like winning the lottery. So that's everything you need to know about Teen Reading Club. Don't hesitate to reach out if you have questions. We are always happy to help. You can visit wvml.ca slash trc or send us an email, call us on the phone or stop by the youth department on the second floor of the library. We are pumped for an awesome summer of reading and we can't wait for you to join the club. Remember no matter what's going on you always belong at the library and we can't wait to see you. Happy reading!