Posts by Lindsy Serrano

I can't say that I've always been the biggest poetry fan. But lately I've been getting into novels in verse, which have been popping up all over the YA Fiction scene for awhile now. Ellen Hopkins is the queen of this and if you've never read her work before, do yourself a favor and check out Crank as soon as possible. You will be hooked... freaked out... and hooked.

I made a

The NYC Teen Author Fest is BACK, and the Mulberry Street Library is happy to host a panel with some of your favorite authors on Monday, March 18th at 6 p.m.! The panel's title is "I'll Take You There: A Change of Scenery, A Change of Self" and will focus on characters getting pushed into new places and forced to revel their true selves. Sounds pretty great! Take a look at the authors that are stopping by!

Gayle Forman broke our hearts with the novel If I 

The teens at the Mulberry Street Library had a special treat at their weekly Crafternoon, a workshop with Mehndi artist Mengala Bühler-Rose of MehndiNYC!

First, we learned about the history of henna and how it's made. Then we had some time to practice on sheets of paper, people were pretty nervous about putting the

A few years ago, I put together a list of my favorite back to school books. It was a list of fun books to read after all of the mandatory summer reading that you had to do. Over the last two years, I've read some more really great books with a common theme: transformation.

If you want to shake up your identity, there is no better time than the first day of school. Unless you did something EXTREMELY memorable (i.e., super embarrassing), chances are people's perception of you is 

We have some fun upcoming craft programs at the Mulberry Street Library and you are invited!

Wednesday, August 22nd: Decorate your own tote!  We've got some drawstring backpacks courtesy of the library's Summer Reading program and a bedazzler.  You do the math!

Thursday, August 28th: Make your own hair accessories! Barrettes, headbands, maybe even a scruchie?  It's up to you!

Both programs start at 4 p.m. and are for ages 12-18.  All materials will 

We have a Crafternoon every Tuesday at the Mulberry Street Library. Sometimes we make bracelets, sometimes we make greeting cards. But last month we were able to play with 3D.

You may not know this, but the library has a department called NYPL Labs that creates exciting ways for patrons to explore our vast digital collections. One of these projects was the

The library has started a  "Protect Your Roots" campaign, where you can find your local branch's badge and download/pin/post it with pride. The teens at Mulberry Street took it a step further and made their own personalized buttons to support our library.

To make your own button, you need a print out of your library's “Protect your Roots” icon, paper or fabric for your background, any add-on decorations (we used cut out hearts and stars) and a button making 

The last time I was in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, being classy, I literally stopped in my tracks when I saw this painting:

It's called Mr. and Mrs. I.N. Phelps Stokes and it was painted by

Every week the Teen Advisory groups from Jefferson Market Library and Muhlenberg Library take a photo of what's happening during their meeting. Here's last week's photos:

Jefferson Market's TAG

Muhlenberg's TAG

Find a Teen Advisory group close 

Every week the Teen Advisory Groups from the Jefferson Market Library and the Muhlenberg Library take a photo of what's happening during their meeting. Here's last week's photos: 

Jefferson Market's Pic

and 16 blocks away: 

Muhlenberg's pic

Get ready for one of the darkest books I've seen written for YA readers. 

Janne Teller's Nothing is the story of a group of eighth graders trying to find meaning in the world.  Sounds pleasant enough, right?

In the middle of class Pierre Anthon stands up and declares that life is meaningless and therefore there is no point to care about anything: school, friends, family, nothing at all. With that he turns and walks out the door and climbs into a plum tree outside of the 

I was drawn to Colin Meloy's Wildwood for two very superficial yet important reasons.  

First, the cover is spectacular!

Carson Ellis has done illustrations for Lemony Snicket's The Composer is Dead and Trenton Lee Stewart's The Mysterious Benedict Society. In Wildwood, Ellis gives the readers a beautifully illustrated 

In The Magnolia League, Alex is a free spirit that is forced to move in with her grandmother after her mother’s mysterious death. Alex doesn’t want to leave her commune in California, and Savannah, Georgia seems like a world away from everything she knows. 

What Alex doesn’t know is that she is part of Savannah royalty. She is a rightful, albeit unwilling, member of the Magnolia League, Savannah’s longstanding and mysterious debutante 

Hey there summer campers!

We are working on a great new blog post that includes making your own mini loom! Until then, check out a blog post from last year, Graphic Ts! Enjoy!

Have you ever gone to a trendy clothing store, looked at very cool graphic tees, and said, "I could totally make that!"

I've had these moments a lot (I'm looking at you Urban Outfitters!) and finally decided to become an amateur T-shirt designer, using a fun project that I found in Todd Oldham's easy-to-follow craft book

What do you get when you combine 11 teenagers, two brave judges, and a shopping bag filled with after-school snacks? Muhlenberg Library’s first annual “Top Chef” competition!

Last Friday, teens at Muhlenburg Library used everyday food to make extra-ordinary after school snacks. The results were simply delicious! (Most of the time.)

To host a “Top Chef” program, you’ll need a grab bag of snacks (the more random they are... the more interesting the finished products will be!), and a variety of utensils, plates, cups, and 

Welcome back to Summer Camp! I hope you had fun with Jessica’s paper people — I know I did! This week, we’ll be using lace as a delicate and unique stencil. You can use fabric lace or paper doilies (as I used in this project) on any number of things: t-shirts, paper, or one of the many free tote bags everyone seems to have nowadays.

This week's craft was inspired by a project in the book Print! 25 Original 

Sunny is accustomed to being different. She was born in New York City but lives in Nigeria. She has the same features as her West African family, but she is an albino. The people in her community don’t know what to make of her, so they stay away or call her names.

In school, Sunny makes new friends in Orlu and Chichi, who reveal that they have magical powers and suspect that she does too. It turns out that Sunny is a “free agent,” someone who’s powers are not hereditary. Usually, people with these powers are from a magical family and 

Hi there!  Our next craft will be posted on Tuesday, May 31^th  and until then, here are some fun project ideas that we found online: If you liked the checkerboard card project, then you'll love: pop up cards!  I found this project (complete with very helpful pictures) on the blog Oh Happy Day. The project was created by Michaela who has her own great blog

Hello and welcome to Hand-Made's Summer Camp!

Our first project is making woven cards, adapted from Sarah Swett's book, Kids Weaving.

For me, weaving has always been a summery craft. The summer before second grade my mother took me to visit a family friend in New Mexico who worked on a large loom in her home. She took the time to show me the ins and outs of working with a loom but I