For Teens
Follow us on Instagram
Stay connected and up to date with Teen and Middle Grade book recommendations. You can also reach out via messenger to Grant, the Teen Librarian, if you have questions, want personalized book recommendations, or have program suggestions.
Volunteer Information for Teens
Teen volunteer opportunities open seasonally.
NEW! Magic The Gathering in the Teen Room
Thanks to a MagiKids grant we received materials and cards to create drop-in and tournament-style MTG play here in the Teen Room!
Ask at the Teen Desk about borrowing cards for Jumpstart or Standard deck play. When we host events winners will receive booster packs, art cards, or mythic rares!
Thank you to MagiKids for our stock of Magic cards and materials! Now we can offer free entry to the MTG world!
The Magazine For Teens That Run on Caffeine
The Quills and Parchment Club was a teen led program from March 2021-March 2022. During the COVID19 pandemic, Marisa, the then Teen Librarian, worked with a dedicated group of teen editors, led by two Chief Editors, Acadia Verge and Audra Schliewen. All meetings were held virtually on Zoom, except one. Teens came together to use their creativity to create this digital magazine. A message from our team:
“Thank you all for reading this magazine. We worked so hard to put this together over a year’s length. It took a lot of time and even more caffeine, which is where the magazine’s name originated. We hope you enjoyed the content!”
Here is a link to the magazine, published on FlipSnack.com:
https://www.flipsnack.com/
-
Take Back Your Time: Fall 2026 Program Series
Join us for a series of programs, funded by the Avon Education Foundation, on the topic of phone and social media safety. This series is aimed at youth ages 9-14, and their caregivers. There are programs for each age group, and the community as a whole.
Register here if you’re an adult/caregiver
Register here if you’re a teen
Check out one of 37 copies (including e-books & audiobooks) purchased with funds from the Avon Education Foundation a couple weeks before October 8th, read as much of it as you can before the book discussion, then lend your voice to the conversation!We will discuss the topics within the book using materials from the book’s website, and learn how to talk to one another about the way that tech companies are trying to train our brains to depend on them.
Adult caregivers of youth will meet with librarians in the community room, while youth will meet with the teen librarian in the teen room.
~~
Join us for a conversation with Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge, to discuss the release of her new book, The Dysregulated Kid.In The Dysregulated Kid, you’ll learn how to:
– Break free from the exhausting cycle of yelling, bribing, and punishing.
– Move from co-dysregulation to co-regulation, where calm is contagious.
– Shift from constant reactivity to confident, steady parenting.
– Use small, doable strategies that rewire both your child’s brain and your own.
– Help your child be more focused, independent, and resilient so they can do better in school and in life.~~
Adult caregiver author talk event held at same time as Teen New Hobby Night in Teen Room. Register here for the author talk .
Register here for Teen New Hobby Night.
Adult caregivers will attend an author talk from both Michael Shelby and Paul Teager as they discuss their book Reconnect: A personalized plan to protect your child from anxiety and depression fueled by digital addiction, and the strategies within it.In today’s fast-paced digital world, few issues are as urgent-and as universally misunderstood-as the epidemic of anxiety and depression plaguing our youngest and most vulnerable. An epidemic with ties to digital addiction, ubiquitous screens, and 24/7 connectivity.
Despite mounting evidence of the emotional and psychological consequences, a practical, accessible, and personalized approach to understanding and addressing this crisis has been missing-until now. This groundbreaking book is the result of a unique collaboration between two leading experts in their fields: Paul D. Tieger and Michael Shelby. Their partnership brings together decades of insight from two distinct but deeply interconnected worlds-personality psychology and technology addiction treatment.
Teens will hang out in the Teen Room with mental health experts and librarians while adults meet in the Community Room.
Come hang out in the Teen Room, make friends, play games, and chat with mental health professionals about any of the pressures and anxieties that you feel when you use social media and your phone. Representatives from the Avon Youth Services department, and a community mental health professional will be present with the Teen Librarian to listen to your worries, and offer support.
Plus: PIZZA! For youth 9-14 (18 yrs max)
Adult caregivers will listen to a panel and Q&A from Greater Hartford Wellness while teens participate in a Rebel Night in the Teen Room.Join a panel of experts hand selected by Greater Hartford Wellness to discuss mental health, anxiety and phone use in our youth!
Those scheduled on the panel:
- Marriage and Family Therapist
- Psychologist & School Neuropsychologist
- Board Certified Child and Adolescent Nurse Practitioner
- Occupational Therapist
- Pediatrician, MD
Come with inquisitive minds, we will collect questions at the start and pick some of our most-pressing/most popular to bring to the panel.
-
America’s 250th
The Avon Library is working in conjunction with Avon’s 250th Coordinating Committee to plan events and programs to celebrate this anniversary.
(Avon resident Shane Leighton created Avon’s 250th logo) For a complete list of town-wide events, click here
For a reading list, click this link: America’s 250th AFPL Reading Guide
Thursday, September 17 at 6:30 pm. Tavern Music. Details here; no registration required.
Saturday, September 19, 11am-3pm. Printing Press Demo! Andy Vope from the Museum of Printing will be demonstrating historical printing with a rolling printing press. This interactive program will be in the atrium on the first floor of the library.
Saturday, September 19 at 1:00 pm. Cato in the Revolution: Spies, Slavery, Church, and Chocolate (in-person). Cato’s story, once mere legend, comes to life with details of an assassination plot against Washington, enslavement in the powerful Schuyler family, Cato’s religious life at St. Paul’s Chapel, and the intersection of colonial chocolate making and slavery. Register here
Saturday, September 19 at 3:00 pm. Remember Liss: A New American Founding Figure” (in-person). Liss was enslaved by the Townsend family of Oyster Bay, New York, whose most famous member was Robert Townsend aka “Culper, Jr.”, George Washington’s lead spy in Manhattan during the Revolutionary War. Register here
Completed 2025/2026 events:
From Trenton to Yorktown: Virtual Author Event with John R. Maass; virtual event was held on 2/19/25
Shots Heard Around the World: Virtual Author Event with John Ferling; virtual event was held on 4/9/25.
Angelica: Author Event with Molly Beer (in-person); held on 7/14/25
The American Revolution is Coming! Three part history lecture series with Dr. Matthew Warshauer, CCSU. These lectures included: The British Invasion!! // Reading the Connecticut Courant: A Window into Revolution //The Declaration of Independence: A Minute Reading into Meaning, Memory, and Fantastical Misunderstanding! These programs were held on Thursday evenings in July.
The American Revolution: Artifacts & Stories from Across Connecticut, was on display in the Art Gallery from 7/1/2025-7/31/2025.
War at Home: The Battle of Ridgefield (In-Person Event). History lecture by educators from Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center was held on 8/12/2025.
“Forming a New Government in the Midst of War: The Articles of Confederation” was held on 9/23/25
“The Critical Period: From Articles to Constitution” was held on 10/1/25.
“The New Nation: Washington Takes the Reigns…and Gets a Headache!” was held on 10/6/25.
Tuesday, October 7 at 7:00 pm. War Without Mercy: Author Event with Mark Edward Lender. (Virtual) was held on 10/7/25.
History display case exhibit at the library, We Are The Sons of Freedom, was presented from March–November 2025.
Ken Burns: The American Revolution Discussion Group met twice in November, 2025
At the Canton Library: To Form a More Perfect Union: American Law was Created in Canton, CT was held on 11/20/25 . Learn about this series here
The Boston Tea Party (virtual event) was held on 12/9/25.
Founding Mothers: Women of the American Revolution (In-person) was held on 12/10/25.
Revolutionary War Roundtable was held on Thursday, January 8, 2026.
Being Thomas Jefferson: Virtual Author Event with Andrew Burstein. (virtual) was held on 1/15/2026.
Environmental History: From Theodore Roosevelt to Modern Environmental Law with Professor Joseph MacDougald (in-person, offsite) was held on 1/29/26 at the Simsbury Library.
Reed Hearts Workshops (in-person) were held on 2/4/26.
Civil Rights and Housing with Nadiyah Humber (in-person) was held on 2/12/26.
Fun With Fashion: A Paper Doll Workshop (in-person, for children) was held on 2/28/26.
Ultima Ratio Regum:” Henry Knox and the Noble Train (in-person) was held on 3/10/26.
Historical Pottery Demonstration with Steinhagen Pottery (in-person) was held on 3/10/26.
The Three Sisters Garden (in-person). was held on 3/19/26.
Elizabeth ‘MumBet’ Freeman: One Minute a Free Woman (in-person, dramatic event) was held on 3/21/26
“Pot Herbs, Sallads and Roots”: Kitchen Gardens in Early America (in-person) was held on 3/24/26.
Avon Then & Now: Art Contest. The contest begins on January 21, 2026, and all art must be submitted by March 30, 2026. Submissions will be displayed at the Avon Library in May 2026. Avon Then & Now is a community art challenge and part of Avon’s America 250 celebration of the semi-quincentennial anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Residents are tasked with creating their own original art piece based on a topic from the Farmington Valley’s rich history. There are five categories of submission, with prizes! Students in grades K-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-12, and adults are all encouraged to enter. Learn more here
The History of Chocolate: 18th c. Chocolate-making Demonstration (in-person) was held on 3/30/26
Teen event America 250th Teen: Black Resistance, was held on 4-9-26
Founding Mothers Storyteller was held on 4/25/26.
“Remember Liss: A New American Founding Figure” was held on 4/25/26.
Battlefield Connecticut: Three British Incursions During the War of the American Revolution was held on 5/7/26
A Revolution of Her Own: Deborah Sampson (dramatic event, off-site), was held on 5/16/26
America 250 Teen: LGBTQ+ Resistance, Teen event was held on 6/10/26.
America 250 Teen: Native Resistance, Teen event was held on 7/1/26.
A Community Reading of The Declaration Of Independence: Meet The Connecticut Signers was helpd on 7/8/26.
Connecticut’s Declaration of Independence, was held on 7/16/26.
The American Revolution Wasn’t Fueled by Water! Rum, Cider, and the Punch of Independence” on 7/23/26.
Learn to Write Your Name Like John Hancock: A Calligraphy Workshop (for teens and adults) was held on 7/28/26.
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, Their Historic 50 Year Friendship (in-person, dramatic event) was held on 8/6/26.
From the Declaration of Independence to the Gettysburg Address (dramatic event, in-person) was held on 8/27/26.
Teen Events
Events
-
-
Teen Art Exploration
Teen Room 281 Country Club Rd CT, Avon, CT, United StatesTeen ProgramsJoin us the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 3:30 to explore our art supplies! Want to try your hand at a new art style, medium, or material? This is […]
-
Teen Magic The Gathering Club
Teen Room 281 Country Club Rd CT, Avon, CT, United StatesTeen ProgramsJoin our MTG Club the 2nd Wednesday of every month at 3:30! As we build our club we will be able to set up tournaments and games. The library has […]
-
Teen Giant Games Day
Teen Room 281 Country Club Rd CT, Avon, CT, United StatesTeen ProgramsDrop in to the Teen Room on the 2nd Thursday of each month to play giant versions of classic games! Giant Connect 4 Giant Jenga Giant Tumble Tetris Giant Uno […]
-
Teen Open Mic
Teen Room 281 Country Club Rd CT, Avon, CT, United StatesTeen ProgramsIt's time to put on your public speaking/performing shoes and step up to the microphone! Enjoy great vibes, hop on the mic to sing, play an instrument, read poetry or […]
-
Teen Homeschool Hangout
Teen Room 281 Country Club Rd CT, Avon, CT, United StatesTeen ProgramsJoin us in the Teen Room at the same time as our other tandem Homeschool programs to hangout, play games, and make new friends! Board and Card Games Art Supplies […]