Teens

Each year, the Dover Public Library has a call for submissions of art, poetry, nonfiction, and fiction from teen creators across the county for publication in Tornado Alley, the Teen Literary Magazine of Dover High School and Dover Public Library.

In the six years we’ve been doing this, I’ve seen a lot of things. Horror stories and fantasy stories. Essays on being a vegetarian and political viewpoints. Limericks and comical haiku.

I’ve also seen some pretty seriously dedicated teen editors. From the beginning, teen editors have called the design shots. They’ve helped decide what goes in and what stays out. I’ve seen teens have serious and open discussions on censorship and diversity. I’ve seen teens who come to meetings through thunder storms. I’ve seen teens work on library computers to put the magazine together, working hard to make sure this magazine gets done every year.

One thing I haven’t seen before is a pandemic putting some giant wrinkles in our plans.

But, Tornado Alley is a creative endeavor. Those involved are creative people. And we came through with creative solutions. A closed chatroom for Senior Editors. Collage pages to showcase art. A new forum space (Tornado Alley Online) for teens to post their work and support each other online. We’re getting this done. The magazine must go on.

There are only a few things that can’t be helped. Each year, I send each teen creator an official letter stating whether their piece has been accepted or rejected. This year, due to limited access to things like, oh, printer paper, ink, and stamps, this is not going to happen by my usual deadline of April 1. Teens will receive their letters, just not as soon as I would have liked.

This being the case, I wanted to give a special shout-out to all those teen creators who will be featured in the Spring 2020 edition of Tornado Alley:

• Aimee Basnett, Grade 9
• Andrew Richard Basnett, Grade 8
• Eryn Basnett, Grade 12
• Caitlyn Bragg, Grade 11
• Belle Fockler, Grade 9
• Alaina German, Grade 8
• Max Hershberger, Grade 10
• Claire Lenhart, Grade 12
• Lexus Marsh, Grade 12
• Jasmine Montanez, Grade 8
• Marissa Montanez, Grade 7
• Elizabeth Peterson, Grade 10
• Noah Peterson, Grade 7
• Emily Summerson, Grade 10
• Mary Vogel, Grade 11
• Grace Williams, Grade 10

Thank you all for your hard work and for sharing your talents with us! I hope you continue to develop your skills and keep finding ways to share what you create with the world.

-Liz Strauss, Teen/Outreach Services Manager

There are a lot of great artists who create beautifully illustrated webcomics. Some of my favorite graphic novels at the library, like Cucumber Quest, Spaceboy, and Tea Dragon Society started out as webcomics. Here are some webcomics I enjoy, that you can read online for free. 

Stutterhug created by Sam Davies

Stutterhug is an ongoing collection of short silent comics with cute animal characters. Suitable for soft creatures of all ages.

Blindsprings created by Kadi Fedoruk

A magical adventure about lost princesses, ancient spirits, magic, and growing up.

Namesake by Megan Lavey-Heaton & Isabelle Melançon

Emma Crewe doesn’t care for books, but has the power to literally be lost in one.

GaMERCat by Samantha Whitten

This slice-of-life comic features an appropriately-named cat with access to a large library of games and an over-active imagination, who literally dives into popular franchises and tackles topics in gamer life from a cat’s perspective.

Lackadaisy by Tracey Butler

Set in a Prohibition-era 1927 St. Louis with a population of anthropomorphic cats, the plot chronicles the fortunes of the Lackadaisy speakeasy after its founder is murdered. The comic mixes elements of comedy, crime and mystery.

Kochab

Kochab is a YA fantasy comic about two girls lost in a pile of ruins under the woods, inspired by various myths and fairytales. The story follows Sonya, a lost skier trying to survive a snowy wilderness and find her way back to her village, and Kyra – a fire spirit trying to fix the home that she’s let fall apart around her.

-Mallory Thompson, Librarian

Merriam-Webster defines “Collection” as “something collected – especially: an accumulation of objects gathered for study, comparison, or exhibition or as a hobby.” 

Another definition would be “the act or process of getting things from different places and bringing them together.” 

“A collection of interesting or beautiful objects brought together in order to show or study them as a hobby” would be another definition. 

A collection can be anything – stamps, rocks, seashells, hats, baseball memorabilia, Legos or antiques. 

Do you have a collection that you would like to share with the library and our patrons? We would love to display your items for a month. We have two display cases in the foyer as you walk in the front doors, plus an additional display case by the front desk.

Please contact Jan Ridenour at 330-343-6123 at the library if you are interested and would like to book a month to show off your hobby! Kids’ collections are always welcome.

We have exhibited pottery, 3-D print items, decorated eggs, glass shoes, old photos, vintage purses and gloves, historic fire department items, folk art, cork screws – just to name a few. Let yours be the next! 

-Jan, Library Assistant