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Trouble by Gary Schmidt

Posted by bj neary on January 18, 2009 at 8:10am

bookshelves: read, multicultural-fiction, realistic-fiction, ya status: Read in January, 2009 review: Just finished this 3rd book by Schmidt and I was sooooo moved by this tense, funny, suspenseful story and you really get to know each character and will love them, hate them or decide you can just plain accept them. Henry, just like Holling in The Wednesday Wars, is unforgettable. I love the way they both look at the world, their families and how they make decisions, good, bad or indifferent. Schmidt really has a way with words----just love him. Keep the great books coming. This will be one...more Just finished this 3rd book by Schmidt and I was sooooo moved by this tense, funny, suspenseful story and you really get to know each character and will love them, hate them or decide you can just plain accept them. Henry, just like Holling in The Wednesday Wars, is unforgettable. I love the way they both look at the world, their families and how they make decisions, good, bad or indifferent. Schmidt really has a way with words----just love him. Keep the great books coming. This will be one of my favorites to booktalk, hope the students like it just as much. I learned you can't run from Trouble (just like Henry) but you have to learn how to live with it and learn to find happiness with life as it really is. Also, people need to accept immigrants and not judge them on what their race, origin, etc. is but to get to know them as people, just people, like you and me

One Night by Margaret Wild

Posted by bj neary on January 18, 2009 at 8:07am

bookshelves: read, novels-in-verse, realistic-fiction, ya (edit) status: Read in December, 2008 review: Wow, what a great novel in verse!!!I loved Wild's other book, Jinx----but this one is even better about four teens with their own kind of baggage and the mistakes they make and the changes they make to correct. A compelling read with a very sweet satisfying conclusion.

Tweak by Nic Sheff

Posted by bj neary on January 18, 2009 at 8:05am

bookshelves: read, biography (edit) status: Read in December, 2008 review: I found Nic Sheff's account of his many relapses and ongoing battle with addictions very believable. Addictions make you a person who doesn't care what you do to others as long as you are high on meth, cocaine, whatever your drug or alchohol of choice is....until the next time and the next time. You become a liar, a thief, an enemy to your family and friends just to continue your craving for the next and even more lethal high. I can't wait to read Beautiful Boy, his dad's account of his son's...more I found Nic Sheff's account of his many relapses and ongoing battle with addictions very believable. Addictions make you a person who doesn't care what you do to others as long as you are high on meth, cocaine, whatever your drug or alchohol of choice is....until the next time and the next time. You become a liar, a thief, an enemy to your family and friends just to continue your craving for the next and even more lethal high. I can't wait to read Beautiful Boy, his dad's account of his son's addictions. I find these memoirs compelling, teens love them and the fact that Nic is now recovering is what is most important---not that he is a great writer---just that he is a person who now cares about his family, friends and being a better person and making it through each day with honesty and integrity

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt

Posted by bj neary on January 18, 2009 at 8:03am

bookshelves: read, historical-fiction (edit) status: Read in January, 2009 review: I love Holling Hoodhood---where does someone think up a name like that? I totally enjoyed his voice, his humor, his angst. The Shakespeare plays during the afternoons with Mrs Baker were so much fun to read about (helped me remember why I liked them!!!) and Holling's father was a complete A_ _ who became even more annoying and threatening as the book progressed. The coverage of the times--the Vietnam War, Bobby Kennedy, MLK and baseball will be easily digested by readers, there is even the dr...more I love Holling Hoodhood---where does someone think up a name like that? I totally enjoyed his voice, his humor, his angst. The Shakespeare plays during the afternoons with Mrs Baker were so much fun to read about (helped me remember why I liked them!!!) and Holling's father was a complete A_ _ who became even more annoying and threatening as the book progressed. The coverage of the times--the Vietnam War, Bobby Kennedy, MLK and baseball will be easily digested by readers, there is even the dreaded standardized testing. I love Gary Schmidt and I think I will just go right into his next book, Trouble. For those of you that enjoy great historical fiction, also read his other book, Lizzy Bright and the Buckminster Boy!

Playing Traffic by Gail Giles

Posted by bj neary on January 18, 2009 at 8:01am

Love Gail Giles---Playing in Traffic is aptly titled, about a teen, Matt, who is pretty pathetic when it comes to girls, he has about 2 friends and mostly absentee parents. He is really close to his kid sister, Katy, because of his hands off parents and something he overheard when he was 10 years old. After that, Matt was Kayt's parents, best friend and confidant. Now Matt is being set up and seduced by bad girl, Skye. He knows "she plays in traffic"----and he doesn't, but it feels so exciting to be with her---AND no one knows about this relationship, either....The mind games these two play on each other is unnerving, a quick read that teens won't be able to put down and what an ending!!! I learned that if you can't trust yourself, you shouldn't trust someone else, especially if they are as unbalanced as SKYE!

Advice on selecting an MLA program

Posted by Mike Jurkiewicz on January 16, 2009 at 5:24am

Help!!! I need advice on what to consider when choosing a Library Science Masters Program.What is the difference between an ALA approved Masters program and a Teacher-Librarian program/certification?Is it less expensive to complete a classroom program, a hybrid program, or an on-line program?In your opinion, which program will be most beneficial to me as I continue working in a school library?Are there any scholarships or grants specifically available for males/more "mature" students/first time librarians?

library activities

Posted by Marites G. Regalado on January 15, 2009 at 7:18pm

anyone who can suggest for more library activities?

Power Point for Elementary Librarians

Posted by Brad Riffel on January 15, 2009 at 5:56am

I''m an elementary school librarian in Amarillo, Texas. I've written a children's book about some of the things that drive me crazy about little guys and the library. Specifically about putting books back on the shelf where they found them and putting them on the shelf correctly. The book is Callie: The Missing Book. It also tries to teach students about the spine label and the importance of a call number.I had hoped to sell the 250 books needed to get me in the "black"before releasing the powerpoint to the public. However, I've decided to go ahead and make it available to librarians in the hope they may purchase the book.You can find the power point at www.bradriffel.com/bookI hope it helps you to convey to your students the importance of putting the books back where they go.Brad

Book challenges in two districts end with library retention of materials.

Posted by Kimberly Brosan on January 15, 2009 at 5:23am

According to the Associated Press, The Bunny Suicides will remain on the shelves in Central Linn High School Library. Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian will be removed from classroom study but will be allowed to remain in the library. Full article is available from AP. I've had some positive resolutions to book challenges, but I also had one outrageous situation where a parent made her teenage foster child burn a library book Drawing the Human Form and it took me quite some time to recover from the shock that someone would actually burn a book instead of following through with a challenge. If anyone else would like to comment on their experiences with book challenges, I'd be interested to hear about them.

Book Clubs at Lunch

Posted by Cathy on January 14, 2009 at 11:33am

I work at a middle school in Bryan County, Georgia, and we have begun having a once a month Book Club meeting. The idea originally started with a former student of mine last year. When he went off to the high school, we nominated upcoming 8th graders who took over the sessions. We all read the books, and Lauren and Daniel lead the discussions while we all eat. I have been surprised and impressed by the high level of discussion that the students involved contribute. We have students from 6-8th grade. We have no formal attendance, if you don't like the book, you can drop out for a month and pick it up again later. I work with our media specialist to supervise, but that is all that we do. I really enjoy my lunch on that day!

A Family of Readers

Posted by teacherninja on January 9, 2009 at 5:45am

Do you come from a family of readers? Check out a wonderful post on just this subject. It reminds me of the picture of my daughter and I in the photo I use for this Ning. I was rereading one of the Harry Potter novels right before the movie came out and my infant daughter picked up a board book to imitate me. Love it.

I was nominated for best poem-please vote!

Posted by Kathy Stemke on January 4, 2009 at 1:00pm

My poem, "An Empty Stage" has been nominated by the Preditors and Editors Poll. Please take a minute to read it, then follow the link if you want to vote for me.AN EMPTY STAGECoiled torso frozen on an empty stage,a living sculpture trapped and placedwith no gown of tulle to hide her agebut with weeping knees below her waist.Framed in light her insides groanwith pent up passion poised for release,she now waits long and alonefor rhythm to carry her into peace.But I remember her unencumberedprance, so light for one who was held downby unfulfilled dreams remembered,floating above her tattered gown.Kathy Stemke 2008Thanks, God bless! Click here to vote: http://www.critters.org/predpoll/poem.shtmlKathy StemkeFreelance Writer/teacherWebsite: http://kathystemke.weebly.comSample Articles: http://www.helium.com/users/406242 http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/237923/kathy_stemke_dancekam.htmlBlogs:http://educationtipster.blogspot.com/http://freelanceranthonystemke.blogspot.com/

Time to get Social Bookmarking

Posted by Dennis O'Connor on December 28, 2008 at 11:02am

I've been teaching social bookmarking as part of my e-learning classes for some time. Social bookmarking is always a difficult concept to get across. Truly, it's something you need to actually do in order to begin to grasp the power of this web 2.0 technology.On a basic level, you move your bookmarks from your browser to a website where you can get to them from any computer connected to the Internet.On a social level you can build a trusted community of searchers who share their results by 'tagging' the content with descriptive words.This technology lets you go beyond searching to sharing results and insights with other humans. Hear are some resources I tagged and/or annotated using Diigo, a user friendly social bookmarking service. Try it! You may like it!

Information Fluency Social Bookmarking Resources
These tools let you store and share your bookmarks online. Once you’ve configured your account and customized your browser it becomes easy to bookmark, describe and tag your Internet discoveries. Just click the toolbar icon and you will be prompted to save your bookmarks (including comments and tags) to the online service you have chosen.
tags: social bookmarking, diigo, bookmarks
Teaching Generation Z » Blog Archive » Del.icio.us Made Easy
Delicious tutorials for educators... use for WEMA Moodle Course
tags: moodle, del.icio.us, bookmarks
Wired News: Social Bookmarking Showdown
tags: web2.0, bookmarks
The Social Bookmarking Faceoff
tags: web2.0, bookmarks
Ma.gnolia.com - Find Web Sites & Build Community Online
tags: tags, bookmarks, web2.0
Social Bookmarking in Plain English
7 Things You Should Know about Social Bookmarking (Educause Connect)
delicious blog: who says librarians (and teachers) don't like tags?

*Thanks to the readers who wrote to tell me that many of the links in this post were dead. I've revised the post with new resources! ~ Dennis

Reading like crazy!

Posted by Liz Deskins on December 24, 2008 at 11:47am

Now that the quarter is over, my elementary school is on winter break, and all the Christmas cookies are baked; I can settle down and read all those books I have missed since September! I've read "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix, "Savvy", and am reading "House of Many Ways" by Diane Wynne Jones. I have the book "Dark as Gold", a Rumplestiltstin variation, but am looking for a few more that may be on Newbery lists. Any suggestions out there?

Sample Vision/Mission statements

Posted by Andrew van Zyl on December 14, 2008 at 11:29pm

Dear AllGreetings from a muggy Pretoria! It is at times like this that South Africans really long for a "white" Christmas! Anyway, i hope you are all taking a well-deserved break from educating and enriching your charges...I am busy doing some background reading for a new media center that we are planning to build in 2010 (hopefully!) I am working through Designing a school library media center for the future by Rolf Erikson and Carolyn Markuson which is proving absolutely invaluable, and am now casting around for some ideas for Vision and Mission Statements, Program goals and activities etc. Does anyone have statements/guidelines along these lines that they would be willing to share? I have an absolute paranoia about re-inventing the wheel, so any help would be most welcome!Thanks and take care, Andrew van Zyl

Right Behind You by Gail Giles

Posted by bj neary on November 30, 2008 at 6:46am

Gail Giles has done it again, a superb psychological thriller with a 9 year old boy setting his friend on fire, being sent to a juvenile detention center and learning through many mistakes, good psychiatrists and a supportive family that he doesn't deserve the unhappiness and self hate for the rest of his life. This book kind of reminded me of Boy Toy by Barry Lyga and how kids can be so damaged by what has been done to them or by them. They feel insecure, are not honest with their own feelings and really need the expert help of counseling to wade through to a cartharsis and awaken to self-acceptance and that maybe they do deserve some happiness?? in life. But unlike her other books---there is the hint of a happy ending in the future for Wade and Sam. And in the end, even though it is soooo difficult- honesty is the best policy.

Paper Towns by John Green

Posted by bj neary on November 30, 2008 at 6:44am

Quentin ("Q") is a teen who has loved from afar crazy, sexy neighbor Margo Roth Spiegelman (and you must always say all three when you mention her name). When they were nine, they came upon a dead man in the park where they went to play. Q's parents told him to take a nap and forget about it but Margo slipped out of her house and investigated the suicide. That is just how Margo Roth Spiegelman is, adventurous, alluring but also lots of scary fun. One night she slips in Q's window and she takes him on an all night of hair-raising fun and revenge. Q can't wait to continue this renewed friendship the next day. Only Margo disappears and Q starts turning up clues he believes Margo has left for him. Undaunted he becomes obsessed with finding her dead or alive and his loyal friends are right there to help him out. What did I learn from this funny, engrossing, can't put it down book? Keep your good friends and loyalty will reward you with love 4ever! Read the book and find out why John Green has a 3rd totally entertaining book

Paranoid Park by Blake Nelson

Posted by bj neary on November 30, 2008 at 6:42am

Gripping, intense and thrilled to go to Paranoid Park to use his skateboard, a 16 year old kid ventures back a 2nd time without his friend and meets up with scary skater dudes and decides to hop the train with him, just for fun. What happens when they get to the train yard forever changes his life. A guard tries to yank them off the train with a fierce club that he uses visiously on both guys. In their effort to defend themselves, they kick him and then hit him with his skateboard. The guard ends up being dragged under the train, mangled and killed. With taut prose Blake Nelson captures the teen's fear, loathing with himself for not owning up to the accidental crime and the guilt and torment he now carries around. Couldn't put this one down, skater dudes will love this!

Tutorial & Game: Determining Website Accuracy

Posted by Dennis O'Connor on November 23, 2008 at 12:05pm

Free Online Materials from the 21st Century Information Fluency Project

We've just posted a revised version of our Accuracy MicroModule.We've also added a practice game that helps students practice:finding embedded evidencechecking evidence for accuracytriangulation of dataThis is one of about 50 tutorials we have online. We'll be revising these resources over the coming year. We plan to add links to our new games and update the contents accordingly.Drop in and give this new edition a try? We'd love to hear what you think.As always, you're free to link to & use this resource in your professional practice.~ Dennis & Carl (Information Fluency Partners)

Biographies

Posted by Carmela V. Petraitis on November 18, 2008 at 2:58am

My biographies are mixed up as B, 92, 921 and I would like them to bethe same. How should theses books be cataloged?

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