As a parent, I feel like I have a load of local resources at my disposal for my toddler. The handful of publications that focus on family, such as Red Tricycle, ParentMap and Northwest Child, all offer great ideas for families with kids under 10 or so. But what about the next stage? I have been trying to educate myself on what is out there for the older set, once called youth, now tweens or teens, and I keep on being excited by all the arts programs in Seattle.

My latest discovery was the teen blog on the Seattle Public Library Web site, called Push to Talk. Written by SPL librarians who work in the Teen Center at the Central Library, the blog offers capsule reviews of new books, discusses resources in the library, links to authors' blogs and keeps readers up to date on items of interest, such as the upcoming anime conference, Sakura-Con. I am sorry to say I discovered this blog too late to share the Zines 101 workshop that happened last weekend at the University Library.

It is not too late, however, to let you know about the upcoming All Ages Art Night at the Central Library. On Friday, May 2, teen-created music, fashion, dance and hip-hop will be showcased and celebrated from 4 to 9:30 p.m. It looks like there will be art demos as well; I see the the Seattle Center for Book Arts will be doing a book-making demo that night.

I would love to hear about favorite resources of families with older kids in the city...

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