Secret Agent Training Library Program

Last week, I ran a super fun program as part of my "Diggin' into Fun" series for tweens (ages 9-14) at our Library, SECRET AGENT TRAINING.  Since it was a lot of fun, I thought I would share it with you all.

I started out the program dressed in a black trench coat and black fedora (sorry, I forgot to take a picture!). Though several of the kids told me how much they liked my outfit and I thanked them, we then began with a discussion about why my outfit was the worst possible choice for a spy!

We talked about how cover stories and blending in were important skills for spies.  They each got to pick a random job description that was their "cover story" and then I had some mustaches, a hat, some sunglasses, and two ties that they could hold up as their disguises while they demonstrated their cover personalities for everyone to guess.

Each little spy then received a scratch ticket that I made (I'll put the "recipe" at the end of this post - they were super easy to make!!) that revealed their code names (Agent 0021 or Agent 0013, etc) so that they safeguard their real identities.

We sat down and played a game of "telephone" with some neat spy sounding phrases to practice both our whisper enunciation and our eavesdropping skills.  Turns out the kids were *really* bad at it, but they had fun trying to make funny phrases instead, LOL.

Next, we talked about why a spy might choose certain weapons for attacking or defending themselves. Stealth versus firepower, etc.  I set up three bulls-eyes and let the kids line up to shoot a cheap suction cup bow and arrow set at the targets. While they were in line, I also taught them how to send secret messages in class or on the go with rubber bands.  If you stretch a rubber band and write a message in small letters, when the band is shrunk back down to regular size you can't even tell it's really writing on the rubber.  Then you can drop the rubber band nonchalantly on someone's desk or near their feet and they can stretch the band back out to read your secret message! Super easy.

Lastly, we ended with the biggest hit.  A "laser maze" and a tunnel to practice their spy agility.  It wasn't anything amazingly spectacular, but the kids LOVED it.  They each went through at least twice and were scrambling to see who could do it without touching the yarn I strung up for lasers.

All in all, this was a pretty easy program to set up and the kids had a blast!

In case you're interested, here is the "recipe" for the homemade scratch tickets: 

Ingredients -
1 tablespoon dish soap (any brand will work)
2 tablespoons acrylic paint in whatever color you choose

Mix until paint starts to bubble, then let settle so that you don't end up with too many bubbles on your scratch tickets.

Next put a piece of packing (or book) tape over the section of card that you want kids to be able to scratch and reveal.  Paint over that section.  Allow the paint to dry.  Once it's dry, you'll be able to scratch the paint right off with a coin!  Super easy.

Mini Reviews: The Growing Up Graphic Novels Edition

Meet Lou! She's hardly your average 12 year old. Her handmade outfits are the talk of the school (even though they make the other girls laugh), and her homework gets a lot of attention from her teachers (even though it lands her in the shrink's office). Home sweet home is an apartment she shares with her couch-potato mom and a cat named Cat. At least she can pour her heart out to her best friend, Mina, and scribble her dreams in her secret diary.

 

Secret Diary

by Julien Neel



Lou! series, book one

Now that she's almost a teenager, Lou's life is becoming even more interesting. Playing with dolls has lost its appeal and the boy across the street gets cuter every day. The new neighbor, Richard, just might be the perfect match for Lou's mom. But will Lou or her mom ever pluck up their courage and actually talk to their crushes? (description from Amazon.com)


This was a very cute series starter.  Though the cover art makes it look a little on the young side, this would actually be a great choice to hand to tween girl readers.  Lou and her mom have a wonderful relationship! They tackle life, love, and the pursuit of happiness together.

Summertime Blues

by Julien Neel

Lou! series, book two

 

Summertime is here! But there's no sun, surf, or sand for Lou. Instead, it's Brussels sprouts, mud, and mosquitoes. Lou and her mom are off to spend the summer with Memaw in the most boring town on earth. Lou's mom keeps busy by exchanging love letters with her new sweetheart, Richard, but Lou's crush, Tristan, only sends her a lousy postcard. Will meeting a new boy chase Lou's blues away? Paul's not exactly a heartthrob, but he's sweet and . . . unusual. He's nothing like Tristan, but could he be just as crush-worthy? (description from Amazon.com)

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Book two continues this cute series into the summer. Both Lou and her mom are totally bummed out, but they stick together.  I loved the addition of Memaw into their relationship and think they actually have a really strong family unit.  I can't wait to see what's in store for them all next...

He's a teen, he's a boat...He's TeenBoat!!

Teen Boat!

by Dave Roman

ill. by John Green

 

High school can be a time of terrible angst—Fs on tests, bullying jerks, broken hearts,
and late-stage puberty are just some of the potential issues that all teen boys face. But
what about the issues facing a Teen Boat? In this hilarious send-up of teen story tropes,
the best-selling author Dave Roman and the cartoonist John Green deliver high school
and high seas drama with a boatload of laughs. (description from Amazon.com)

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This book made me laugh out loud! It was funny and quick, out there, yet totally dealing with normal everyday teen issues, too.  I loved all the Dawson's Creek references, too. LOL.

Full disclosure: Lou series books borrowed from my library, Teen Boat borrowed through interlibrary loan

My Life in Pink and Green

My Life in Pink and Green
by Lisa Greenwald

Twelve-year-old Lucy Desberg is a natural problem-solver. At her family’s struggling pharmacy, she has a line of makeover customers for every school dance and bat mitzvah. But all the makeup tips in the world won’t help save the business. If only she could find a way to make it the center of town again—a place where people want to spend time, like in the old days. Lucy dreams up a solution that could resuscitate the family business and help the environment, too. But will Lucy’s family stop fighting long enough to listen to a seventh-grader? (description from Amazon.com)

This was a very cute tween read. Perfect for a girl that wants to learn to become more confident in her own abilities. Great for a tween who's just starting to think about boys.

Lucy is a very sweet and smart girl. She makes a goal for herself and she sticks with it. She treats everyone as well as she can, even if she doesn't like them. She wants the best for her friends and family.

This is one of those books that you will breeze through and just end up smiling when you are done reading it. It probably won't stick with you forever, but if you're looking for a "beach" type read, this would be a great choice.

Mixed Messages

Mixed Messages
by Tina Wells
Mackenzie Blue, book four

Mackenzie Blue and her crew are plugged in!

Zee and her band, The Beans, are getting ready for their biggest show yet! Everyone's talking about it online at Bluetopia—the coolest social-networking site ever.

Top three reasons that Bluetopia is the best:

*I can keep all my thoughts safe in a private blog, and I won't have to worry about anyone stealing my diary (finally)!

*The Beans have a huge show coming up, and we can make sure everyone knows about it!

*Jasper (my best guy friend) is in the spotlight for creating the site. He's so talented—he deserves it.
(description from Amazon.com)

This series really is a lot of fun. I love easy it is to read, how there are little pictures of the characters breaking up the story, and the great little messages that are worked into the story without being at all preachy.

Zee is still one of my favorite middle grade characters. She is very real. She's uber creative and fun, but also gets wrapped up in real-life worries and makes mistakes. She's who I wanted to be in middle school - not afraid to do my own thing, but still fun and totally approachable. Zee rocks!

I love the budding romance in this book. I don't want to spoil it for anyone that might check the series out, but things that have been building for awhile might finally come to fruition soon!! :)

I love that Zee balances her friendships so well. She has to work at it, but that only makes her that much more of a positive role model to middle grade readers out there.

The whole addition of the Facebook like site, "Bluetopia" in this book seems very timely and fresh. It's also a really great way to introduce the need for internet safety on social networking sites without lecturing tween readers.

Well done.

Karma Bites

Karma Bites
by Stacy Kramer and Valerie Thomas

Life seems to have it in for Franny Flanders. Her best friends aren’t speaking, her parents just divorced, and her hippie grandmother has moved in. The only karma Franny’s got is bad karma. Then Franny gets her hands on a box of magic recipes that could fix all of her problems. It could even change the world! Finally, life is looking up. But Franny is about to learn that magic and karma aren’t to be played with. When you mess with the universe, it can bite back in unexpected ways. Ouch!
(description taken from Amazon.com)

This was such a cute middle-grade read! Written by two authors used to doing TV and movies, including "Lizzie McGuire" which I loved, this book reads like you could see it on a screen. The characters just about jump off the page at you and the plot is hilarious.

I really liked Franny, the main character. She's twelve and sort-of generally unhappy with life, but she's also plucky and warm-hearted. When she gets the chance to try and "fix" things for everyone around her, she jumps at the chance...

Her two BFFs, Joey (uberpopular cheerleader) and Kate (eclectic skatergirl/band geek), are each special in their own ways, balance out each other and their roles in Franny's life, and each end up respecting her and showing their BFF love in their own way. Franny's Granny, Mathilda, just generally rocks and totally had me in stiches. LOVE her!

This book was great because it was fantasy, but in a light way. There was mostly just realistic middle school angst and humor...it really reminded me of being back in middle school. The recipes that were included in the book were easy, interesting, and just a little "mystical," as they included Franny's special instructions from the recipe box.

Definitely a fun read for your tweens!

Full disclosure: ARC received from publisher at author's request

Tween Tuesday - The Strange Case of Origami Yoda

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda
by Tom Angleberger

In this funny, uncannily wise portrait of the dynamics of a sixth-grade class and of the greatness that sometimes comes in unlikely packages, Dwight, a loser, talks to his classmates via an origami finger puppet of Yoda. If that weren’t strange enough, the puppet is uncannily wise and prescient. Origami Yoda predicts the date of a pop quiz, guesses who stole the classroom Shakespeare bust, and saves a classmate from popularity-crushing embarrassment with some well-timed advice. Dwight’s classmate Tommy wonders how Yoda can be so smart when Dwight himself is so clueless. With contributions from his puzzled classmates, he assembles the case file that forms this novel.
(description taken from Amazon.com)

This was a cute book. I loved how it was set up as a "case file" by Tommy and the other boys. Their individual stories about the Origami Yoda and its advice were all fun, and together they did compile a very interesting story about Dwight himself!

I loved that Dwight and the Origami Yoda were able to help his classmates, though they didn't always understand what the help was right away. It made for an entertaining moment in each story when the reading got an idea of what would happen before the kids did.

The differing fonts, cartoons in the side margins, and the instructions for making your own Origami Yoda in the back make this a great book to give to someone that loves the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series or "Dear Dumb Diary." It's a fast and fun read for both boy and girl tweens!

Tween Tuesday - The Trouble With Cupid

Tween Tuesday is a weekly meme to highlight great reads for tweens hosted at GreenBeanTeenQueen. My pick for this week is:


The Trouble with Cupid
by Laura Langston

What does Erin Morris have to do to get the school's most popular hottie, Zach Cameron, to ask her out?

When a dog food company announces a competition for the "new face of Cheesebarkers" TV ad campaign, a school committee forms to find a school mascot and train it so they can win prize money for the school. And Zach Cameron is on the committee. What better place to show off her talents as a dog trainer and impress Zach?

What's great about this book is that it deals with a very serious issue, animal rights, without hitting tween readers over the head with it. The focus is on Erin and her crush on Zach. As the competition heats up, Erin not only learns some things about Zach that make her think that maybe he's not the guy she should be after, but she also realizes that the animals in the competition are being used and might even be abused! She stands up for what she believes in and learns how to trust her own feelings and express them to others.

This was a fun, mostly light read, with several great messages...and a cute cover!

Mackenzie Blue: Friends Forever

Friends Forever
by Tina Wells
Mackenzie Blue, book three

Mackenzie Blue is hitting the trails!

It's time for Brookdale Academy's camping field trip, but Zee has much more to deal with than a lesson about nature.

I'm not sure how I feel about spending an entire week in the woods away from home.

Pros: 1. My BFF, Ally, is visiting all the way from Paris! Ooh la la!
2. My friends and I are so going to win the environmental scavenger hunt!

Cons: 1. We have to stay in teeny-tiny log cabins. How will we all fit?
2. The legendary (and terrifying) Mountain Man...

Zee is determined to have a great time at Brookdale Mountain, but when her friends stop getting along she can't help but wonder: Will the trip be a bust?

This is a series I wish had been around when I was entering middle school. Mackenzie is such a relatable character...she's started a new school, her BFF moved away so she had to make all new friends, and she's starting to have real feelings for boys.

What makes Zee stand out, though, is that even when she's unsure or scared, she's still herself. She's unapologetic about the things she likes and she really cares about everyone around her. She is a fantastic role-model for tween readers! Zee likes to customize her clothes, room, accessories...everything. She is in an awesome new band. She loves adventure and wants to be a rock star.
I want to be Zee!!

In her newest adventure, Zee and the other "Beans" head out on the school's week-long camping trip. Zee has never been away from home before and is somewhat anxious. When she starts to have encounters with the legendary "Mountain Man" her tension really amps up. Add to that, awful stomachaches, her fears that the band might be breaking up, and her two girl BFFs not getting along, and Zee is facing one stressful trip!

Wells does a great job building tension, exploring tweens' fears and feelings, building awesome friendships and even popping in environmental and social concern issues without overwhelming the characters and basic plotline. It flows really well and is fun to read.

Tween girls will love this series as it is peppered with diary entries, drawings, instant messages, emails, and lots of "things" to look at along the way. If they liked Diary of a Wimpy Kid definitely steer them in this direction.

Don't forget to check out Mackenzie Blue and The Secret Crush!

Highly recommended for the tween set.

Full disclosure: Provided by publisher for review