If you’re anything like me, back-to-school time has become more stressful the older you become. When I was a small child, it was exciting. I got new school supplies! I had so many opportunities to make new friends! It felt like the world was in my hand. For me, that changed around middle school. Instead of excitement, I felt trapped by the weight of expectations. Instead of being happy to meet new people, I feared to learn what they thought of me. Instead of excitedly anticipating fun activities, I began to dread homework. It all felt frankly overwhelming. If this sounds like you, I promise you aren’t alone, and you don’t just have to grin and bear it. Over my years in high school and college, I learned ways to manage this back-to-school stress. Whether you’re just starting high school or you’re in your last year of university, hopefully, some of these hard-learned tips will be helpful for you! Continue reading “Managing Back To School Stress”
For this month’s theme, I’ve got all graphic novels! I know that the school year has already started for a lot of people. Maybe it seems too daunting to tackle that 500-page novel you’ve been eyeing, but graphic novels are the perfect size book to squeeze in between all of the syllabus introductions.
“The Bodyguard Unit” by Clément Xavier, Lisa Lugrin, Albertine Ralenti and translated by Edward Gauvin
First up is a graphic nonfiction about British suffragettes who were trained in jujitsu! You knew we have a graphic nonfiction section, right? It’s right next to the YA graphic novels, and the books cover a wide variety of topics. This one 100% sent me down a Wikipedia rabbit hole, in the best way possible. Edith Garrud was England’s first female jujitsu teacher, and she was passionate about teaching women self-defense. She and her husband were giving women tools to protect themselves both in the streets and in their homes, at the same time as the British suffrage movement was reaching a crescendo. Women fighting for the vote often faced violent arrests and beatings, and Edith was invited to teach them martial arts. Dubbed “jujutsuffragettes” by the media, and calling themselves the Bodyguard Unit, these women defended each other and their leaders. Never fear that this nonfiction book will be boring, there are plenty of action scenes! Continue reading “The Selector’s Selections: August 2023”
We had 42 entries for this year’s Cosplay Costume Contest and they were all wonderful and unique! After much deliberation, this year’s winners were selected. Thanks to our judges and all of our participants! Be sure to check out the DBRL Teen Instagram (@dbrlteen) for more pics!
Continue reading “DBRL Cosplay Costume Contest 2023 Winners”
Watching movies is one of my favorite pastimes, but it’s even better when you can do it with friends! Better still is when you get so immersed in the movie that it feels like you are actually there. Hosting an interactive watch party is the best way to feel like you are IN the movie! Below we’ve included actions, printables and snack ideas so you can assemble your crew and watch along. Don’t have a printer at home? Don’t worry! Come to any of our buildings and we can help you print everything you need.
Continue reading “Host Your Own “The Avengers” Interactive Movie Party”
We are excited to announce that we have the winners of this year’s Teen Photo Contest! We had many entries and they were all outstanding! The teens have submitted their photographic interpretations of this year’s Summer Reading theme “All Together Now: Friends and Family” and after much deliberation, we have selected this year’s winners. Below are the top three winners. Continue reading “2023 Teen Photo Contest Winners”
How’s your Summer Reading going? If you need a few more books to finish up, try these! I have no theme this month, except general awesomeness.
“Give Me a Sign” by Anna Sortino
Lilah has severe hearing loss, but with hearing aids and lip reading, she’s able to get along well enough. Still, she misses the feeling of connection she had when attending Camp Gray Wolf as a kid, a camp for deaf and/or blind kids. The summer before senior year, she applies to be a counselor at the camp and is accepted. While she never felt like she fully fit in with the hearing world, she also struggles to fit into the Deaf community—especially because her ASL is nowhere near fluent. But she makes patient and supportive new friends as she starts to define and embrace her identity. It doesn’t hurt that her sweet and attractive fellow junior counselor volunteers to help her improve her signing. This debut by a Deaf author explores many different aspects of Deaf culture, including perspectives from people with supportive families and not-so-supportive ones. It also gives good examples of difficulties Deaf folks might face in the hearing world, especially with things like interactions with the police. A summer romance with excellent diverse representation. Continue reading “The Selector’s Selections: July 2023”
When Shakespeare wrote “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,” it was King Henry IV moaning that people with great responsibility don’t sleep very well. While riches and power don’t seem like much of a problem to me, fictional royalty often has a lot of kingdom-saving and evil battling to do.
So if you’d like to forget your troubles and read about queens and princes and knights with some worthy struggles, take a look at some of these titled titles. Continue reading “Uneasy Lies the Head”
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, not Christmas in July and not halfway to Halloween. We’re only about 4 weeks away from our annual cosplay contest. Join us on Monday, August 14 from 6-9 pm at the Columbia Public Library for our first in-person CosPlay Con in 3 years! Dress up as your favorite character, be it superhero, anime, sci-fi or your own original persona. We’ll award prizes for the best costumes and characterization in different age categories, so be ready to show off your cosplay game! Photos and registration will begin at 6 p.m., followed at 6:30 p.m. by a runway show. All ages are welcome!
If you’ve been paying attention we’ve been hosting cosplay programs all year long to help you build your cosplay skills (or costume). Don’t worry if you haven’t attended them all. Below is a quick rundown of all the projects you might have missed. Continue reading “Cosplay @ DBRL”
If I tell you to guess the theme this month, I think you’ll get it without having to try too hard. Enjoy!
“Starlings” by Amanda Linsmeier
Kit just lost her dad unexpectedly, and now she and her grieving mother have been invited to spend Christmas with her paternal grandmother. The problem is that Kit’s dad always claimed his mom was dead. When they arrive in the small town of Rosemont, everything is perfect. Roses bloom all year round, the townspeople are super friendly, there’s a cute boy (and girl!) to crush on, and everyone treats her grandmother Agatha Starling—and Kit by extension—with a deference bordering on reverence. Kit and her mother aren’t planning on staying past the holidays, but everyone else seems to think otherwise. When things start to go wrong, Kit has to discover the truth about the town, and why her father never wanted her to know it existed. With a bisexual main character, nuanced character development and suspenseful plotting, this horror novel has a lot to offer. Continue reading “The Selector’s Selections: June 2023”
While we can’t guarantee that these crafts will make you happy, who can be blue when you’re crafting with rainbows? Below are some fun, queer crafts you can try at home! Some of these activities are more difficult than others so we have ranked them with rainbows, so the more rainbows the more challenging the craft. Enjoy and happy crafting! Continue reading “Be Happy. Do Crafts.”
