Word Out 2014TEEN SUMMER READING

Mini-Writing Contest # 9 -- August 27 to September 1

Hey everyone! Welcome back for Mini-Writing Contest Number 9. :)

Since this is the last mini-writing contest of the summer, I'd like to end with something very fun. 
Have you ever heard of a “spoonerism”? A spoonerism is a pun that happens when you accidentally switch the letters or sounds of two words in a sentence, creating something very funny. Here’s a great example of what can happen:

RUNNY’S HEW NOBBY
Runny Babbit kneared to lit,
And made a swat and heater,
And now he sadly will admit
He bight have done it metter.
(from pg. 24 of Runny Babbit: a Billy Sook by Shel Silverstein)

Try experimenting with some of your own spoonerisms and try writing a funny short story or a poem using them.

Please keep in mind the following contest rules:
1. You have to live in Toronto to win this contest.
2. You have to provide a valid e-mail address so we can contact you if you win a prize (see privacy statement for more info)
3. Your entry must be submitted by Monday at 11:59pm to be considered to win.
4. Winners will be announced the following Tuesday.

Have fun!

Your name, your e-mail address, the books you read and your thoughts about them are your personal information. Why do we need your personal information here? Well, we want to publish your reviews, and we need your name and e-mail address to help administer the contest. The Public Libraries Act is the law that lets us do this. We'll be protecting your privacy every step of the way, but if you have any questions about how we're going to do that, you can contact TPL's Privacy & Records Management Officer, 789 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON, M4W 2G8, 416-395-5658 or by e-mail at [email protected]

Weekly Trivia 8: The Osamu Tezuka Edition

For this week's edition of our literary trivia challenge, we're asking you about a legend of Japanese Manga!

Considered to be a master of the form in Japan, Osamu Tezuka at one point trained to become a doctor, before he (wisely) chose to follow his heart and become a manga artist. One wonders if some of the adventures of his character Black Jack came from his experiences as a medical student...

In one of Tezuka's best known series, he chronicles the life of one of the world's great religious figures. Tell us who Tezuka wrote about for a chance to win a book!

OR:

Tell us what world leader's life would make a great comic and why! If we like who you choose, you could win a book too!

There are only a couple of rules to this contest:

1) You have to be a resident of the city of Toronto to win a prize.

2) Your answer has to be submitted by Thursday (August 21) at 11:59 PM if you want to win.

3) You need to provide us with a valid email address if you want to be considered for the prize. Otherwise, how will we get in touch with you? Don't worry, we'll keep your address secret (see below for more info).

Winners will be contacted at the end of the week.

Your name, your e-mail address, the books you read and your thoughts about them are your personal information. Why do we need your personal information here?  Well, we want to publish your reviews, and we need your name and e-mail address to help administer the contest.  The Public Libraries Act is the law that lets us do this.  We'll be protecting your privacy every step of the way, but if you have any questions about how we're going to do that, you can contact TPL's Privacy & Records Management Officer, 789 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON, M4W 2G8, 416-395-5658 or by e-mail at [email protected]

Mini-Writing Contest # 7 -- August 13 to August 18

Hey everyone! Welcome back for Mini-Writing Contest Number 7. :)

Let’s try another kind of poetry this week – a lantern or lanturne. This is another short form of poetry written with only 5 lines. The first line is a one-syllable noun, which will be the subject of the entire poem. The next four lines will describe the subject in this fashion: line 2 will have 2 syllables; line 3 will have 3 syllables; line 4 will have 4 syllables; and then line 5 goes back to one syllable. All of the lines should be centered on the page, so that the poem will be in a shape similar to a Japanese lantern. Here’s an example that I like:

Bees—
flying,
hardworking
honey makers –
buzz.
(pg.22, If It Rains Pancakes: Haiku and Lantern Poems by Brian P. Cleary;
illustrations by Andy Rowland)

So what would you write a lantern poem about? Pick any subjects that you like to write about, try out this style in your own words, and then pick 5 of your favourites to submit. You can submit them either one at a time or all together as one entry.

Please keep in mind the following contest rules:
1. You have to live in Toronto to win this contest.
2. You have to provide a valid e-mail address so we can contact you if you win a prize (see privacy statement for more info)
3. Your entry must be submitted by Monday at 11:59pm to be considered to win.
4. Winners will be announced the following Tuesday.

Have fun!

Your name, your e-mail address, the books you read and your thoughts about them are your personal information. Why do we need your personal information here? Well, we want to publish your reviews, and we need your name and e-mail address to help administer the contest. The Public Libraries Act is the law that lets us do this. We'll be protecting your privacy every step of the way, but if you have any questions about how we're going to do that, you can contact TPL's Privacy & Records Management Officer, 789 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON, M4W 2G8, 416-395-5658 or by e-mail at [email protected]

Weekly Trivia Question: A Romantic Date

The trivia question for this week comes from John Green's popular The Fault in Our Stars.

 

Where did Hazel and Augustus take an adventure together?

Or

Describe an awesome date idea to impress someone special.

 

Remember the following rules:

1) You have to be a resident of the city of Toronto to win a prize.

2) Your answer has to be submitted by Monday (August 18) at 11:59 PM if you want to win.

3) You need to provide us with a valid email address if you want to be considered for the prize.

Winners will be contacted at the end of the week.

Your name, your e-mail address, the books you read and your thoughts about them are your personal information. Why do we need your personal information here?  Well, we want to publish your reviews, and we need your name and e-mail address to help administer the contest.  The Public Libraries Act is the law that lets us do this.  We'll be protecting your privacy every step of the way, but if you have any questions about how we're going to do that, you can contact TPL's Privacy & Records Management Officer, 789 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON, M4W 2G8, 416-395-5658 or by e-mail at [email protected]

Mini-Writing Contest # 6 -- August 6 to August 11

Hey everyone! Welcome back for Mini-Writing Contest Number 6. :)

This week, it’s all about using similes and metaphors. So, what’s the difference between a simile and a metaphor, you might ask? A simile can be defined as a sentence in which two completely different things are compared together using the words like or as. Some similes you might be familiar with are “easy as pie” or “happy as a clam.”

A metaphor, on the other hand, is another figure of speech when two unlike things are compared but without using like or as. Instead, it says that an object is the thing it’s being compared to. A very famous example of a metaphor is from a monologue in William Shakespeare’s play As You Like It (2/7):

“All the world’s a stage
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;…”

Try making up some of your own similes and metaphors, and see what kinds of stories you can tell.


Please keep in mind the following contest rules:
1. You have to live in Toronto to win this contest.
2. You have to provide a valid e-mail address so we can contact you if you win a prize (see privacy statement for more info)
3. Your entry must be submitted by Monday at 11:59pm to be considered to win.
4. Winners will be announced the following Tuesday.

Have fun!

Your name, your e-mail address, the books you read and your thoughts about them are your personal information. Why do we need your personal information here? Well, we want to publish your reviews, and we need your name and e-mail address to help administer the contest. The Public Libraries Act is the law that lets us do this. We'll be protecting your privacy every step of the way, but if you have any questions about how we're going to do that, you can contact TPL's Privacy & Records Management Officer, 789 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON, M4W 2G8, 416-395-5658 or by e-mail at [email protected]

Weekly Trivia Question: Arthur Edition

Hello, this week's trivia question is brought to you courtesy of my childhood! Growing up my parents never subscribed to cable tv so I was stuck watching a combination of CTV, CBC and of course TVO. I would wake up really early in the morning just to catch Magic School Bus and Arthur before the bus came.

I also read Marc Brown's Arthur books and I loved everything about them.

Your question this week is:

In the Arthur franchise, what country is the Brain's family from?

A second prize goes to the person who writes the best Word Out inspired re-mix of Arthur's Spelling Bee rap!

 

 

 

 

 

Mini-Writing Contest # 5 -- July 30 to August 4

Hey everyone! Welcome back for Mini-Writing Contest Number 5. :)

To start, let me ask you a few questions. Where do you like to keep things? Do you have a special place where you hide the things you want to keep forever? Is it out in the open where everyone can see, or is it hidden in a place that only you can find?

Listed below are ten containers that can be used to store things. Pick one from the list, or make up your own, and write down what kinds of things you would place inside of it.

Goldfish bowl
Golf bag
Knapsack
Pencil case
Cardboard box
Rubber boot
Coffee cup
Pocket
Lunch box
Steamer trunk

The items inside the containers can be anything you’d like, big or small, real or imagined, and you can name as many as you want. So, what kinds of things would you keep?

Please keep in mind the following contest rules:
1. You have to live in Toronto to win this contest.
2. You have to provide a valid e-mail address so we can contact you if you win a prize (see privacy statement for more info)
3. Your entry must be submitted by Monday at 11:59pm to be considered to win.
4. Winners will be announced the following Tuesday.

Have fun!

Your name, your e-mail address, the books you read and your thoughts about them are your personal information. Why do we need your personal information here?  Well, we want to publish your reviews, and we need your name and e-mail address to help administer the contest.  The Public Libraries Act is the law that lets us do this.  We'll be protecting your privacy every step of the way, but if you have any questions about how we're going to do that, you can contact TPL's Privacy & Records Management Officer, 789 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON, M4W 2G8, 416-395-5658 or by e-mail at [email protected]

Trivia Question #5- Super Powers!

Hi All, here is your triva question for this week:

In Lisa McMann’s Wake, what is Janie's power/curse?

OR!!

What power would you like to have?

Don't forget, there is a prize for the most creative answer as well, so let those imaginations soar!

And of course, here are the rules to participate:

1) You have to be a resident of the city of Toronto to win a prize.

2) Your answer has to be submitted by Thursday (July 31) at 11:59 PM if you want to win.

3) You need to provide us with a valid email address if you want to be considered for the prize.

Winners will be contacted at the end of the week.

 

Your name, your e-mail address, the books you read and your thoughts about them are your personal information. Why do we need your personal information here?  Well, we want to publish your reviews, and we need your name and e-mail address to help administer the contest.  The Public Libraries Act is the law that lets us do this.  We'll be protecting your privacy every step of the way, but if you have any questions about how we're going to do that, you can contact TPL's Privacy & Records Management Officer, 789 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON, M4W 2G8, 416-395-5658 or by e-mail at [email protected] 

Five Frames From . . . Friday July 25th - Thursday July 31st

What movie based on a book are these images from?

1-You have to live in Toronto to win the contest

2-You have to provide a valid email address so we can contact you if you win a prize (see privacy statement for more info)

3-Your entry must be submitted by Thursday July 31st  at 11:59 PM if you want to be considered to win.

 

Boring legal stuff:

Your name, your e-mail address, the books you read and your thoughts about them are your personal information. Why do we need your personal information here?  Well, we want to publish your reviews, and we need your name and e-mail address to help administer the contest.  The Public Libraries Act is the law that lets us do this.  We'll be protecting your privacy every step of the way, but if you have any questions about how we're going to do that, you can contact TPL's Privacy & Records Management Officer, 789 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON, M4W 2G8, 416-395-5658 or by e-mail at [email protected] 

Mini-Writing Contest # 4 -- July 23 - July 28

Hey everyone! Thanks for all of your entries from last week.
It was great reading through all of your answers to those 5 questions.

So let's get started with Mini-Writing Contest #4! This week is all about acrostics.
An acrostic is a poem or a piece of prose where the first letter of each line will spell out a word or a simple message. It can be about anything and everything that's interesting to you, like the name of a flower, a person, or a favourite object. Here's an example:

S wimming in sunshine
U nder umbrellas
M aking meetings
M oonlit meanderings
E vening events
R estful reading

Now try writing your own using some of your favourite words. Pick your best three acrostics to submit for this contest, either one at a time or all three together.

Please keep in mind the following contest rules:
1. You have to live in Toronto to win this contest.
2. You have to provide a valid e-mail address so we can contact you if you win a prize (see privacy statement for more info)
3. Your entry must be submitted by Monday at 11:59pm to be considered to win.
4. Winners will be announced the following Tuesday.

Have fun!

Your name, your e-mail address, the books you read and your thoughts about them are your personal information. Why do we need your personal information here?  Well, we want to publish your reviews, and we need your name and e-mail address to help administer the contest.  The Public Libraries Act is the law that lets us do this.  We'll be protecting your privacy every step of the way, but if you have any questions about how we're going to do that, you can contact TPL's Privacy & Records Management Officer, 789 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON, M4W 2G8, 416-395-5658 or by e-mail at [email protected]