The Norris HS library will be featuring author Christopher Paolini this month. His final installment in the Eragon series will hit shelves November 8th.
Here is our animoto featurette: Paolini Spotlight
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
NSD Titans Book Club
We have started our Twitter book club at Norris High School. Our first title is Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. Members of the book club can either follow us at Twitter with the hash tag #nsdtitanbookclub or at the NSDTitansBookClub in the groups of nsdtitans.org.
Curious about what Shiver is about? Here's a quick synopsis:
Grace, 17, loves the peace and tranquility of the woods behind her home. It is here during the cold winter months that she gets to see her wolf—the one with the yellow eyes. Grace is sure that he saved her from an attack by other wolves when she was nine. Over the ensuing years he has returned each season, watching her with those haunting eyes as if longing for something to happen. When a teen is killed by wolves, a hunting party decides to retaliate. Grace races through the woods and discovers a wounded boy shivering on her back porch. Who is he, and how will this boy change her relationship with the wolves in the forest?
Curious about what Shiver is about? Here's a quick synopsis:
Grace, 17, loves the peace and tranquility of the woods behind her home. It is here during the cold winter months that she gets to see her wolf—the one with the yellow eyes. Grace is sure that he saved her from an attack by other wolves when she was nine. Over the ensuing years he has returned each season, watching her with those haunting eyes as if longing for something to happen. When a teen is killed by wolves, a hunting party decides to retaliate. Grace races through the woods and discovers a wounded boy shivering on her back porch. Who is he, and how will this boy change her relationship with the wolves in the forest?
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks
Why should we care? Frankie is out to take down the "good old boy" system. She knows where the power lies and with her keen eye for strategy and detail, I am sure she can find some new icons to overthrow. I am also dying to know what happens in several of her unresolved relationships. Author E. Lockhart has left the second semester wide open and too many characters hanging. I want/need to know more.
The book trailer doesn't do it justice, but here it is anyway:
History of Frankie Landau Banks Trailer
Friday, August 19, 2011
Starting a Twitter Book Club
The Norris HS students will be starting a Twitter Book club this fall. My hope is to have the first title chosen soon and announce it when we come back from Labor Day weekend. To sign up and or nominate a title check out the book club page.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Getting Ready for School!
I'm in BACK TO SCHOOL mode, frantically inputting new students into the library database and coding all of the magazines that came in this summer. I'm still reading, just not as much.
I have just started Feed by M.T. Anderson. It is a story about a future world where television and computers are connected directly into people's brains when they are babies. The result is a chillingly recognizable consumer society where empty-headed kids are driven by fashion and shopping and the avid pursuit of silly entertainment--even on trips to Mars and the moon--and by constant customized murmurs in their brains of encouragement to buy, buy, buy. Click here to read an excerpt.
I have just started Feed by M.T. Anderson. It is a story about a future world where television and computers are connected directly into people's brains when they are babies. The result is a chillingly recognizable consumer society where empty-headed kids are driven by fashion and shopping and the avid pursuit of silly entertainment--even on trips to Mars and the moon--and by constant customized murmurs in their brains of encouragement to buy, buy, buy. Click here to read an excerpt.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
My most recent bookish exploits
I have been relentlessly pawing through the racks of graphic novels at every library and book store I visit. I have found many good titles and I hope to bring them over to Norris this fall. Best news? Turns out my soon to be 5th grader LOVES the graphic novels, so I can get a second opinion on them before I make that final book order.
Macey's fav so far is Smile by Raina Telgemeier. It follows the harrowing and true life of a MS girl who knocks out her two front teeth running home from Girl Scouts one evening. I loved it too, it will really click with any MS reader who has or will have braces, glasses, or anything they feel uncomfortable about. Awesome book.
I am all caught up with the Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi. This is another graphic novel and these will be out on the shelves when schools starts and I am guessing they will always be checked out. Book four comes out in September.
Here is the review from Publisher's Weekly:
Almost too clever and poignant, Amulet is, on the surface, about navigating the murky waters of adolescence and, beneath that, an exploration of abandonment and survival. Emily and Navin are lost children, literally lost in a dark, new world and struggling to save their mother, who has been kidnapped by a drooling, tentacled beast. With stellar artwork, imaginative character design, moody color and consistent pacing, this first volume's weakness lies in its largely disjointed storytelling. There is the strong, young, heroine; cute, furry, sidekicks; scary monsters—all extraordinary components, but pieced together in a patchwork manner. There is little hope in his dark world as Kibuishi removes Emily and Navin's frame of safety. Their hopes rest in a magic amulet that seems to be working in the interest of the children—until it suddenly isn't. The most frightening element of Amulet is the sense of insecurity we feel for Emily, fighting her way through uncharted terrain with no guide and no support system. This first volume of Amulet isn't a disappointment, but it does feel like a warmup to the main event. If anything, it's a clear indication that Kibuishi has just begun skimming the surface of his own talent.
Ms. Wilhelm suggested an author to me at the end of school and I loved her adult fiction. Maryjanice Davidson writes great, funny "Chick Lit", the kind you read at the beach like candy. I discovered that she has written a few Young Adult books and I like the first one quite a bit. Dying for Ice Cream is about Austin Opitz and the girl he never meant to fall for, Yvonne Robinson. She is rich and spoiled, a lethal combination. But when he saw her sobbing in the hospital cafeteria with a plate of ice cream melting in front of her, he couldn't walk away. So begins a strange friendship between two opposites: Diabetic Yvonne, bitter about the mandatory change in her lifestyle; and jokester Austin Opitz, who hides his own recent tragedy by playing class clown. This is a story about teenagers getting a taste of life's ups and downs, and how they cope, despite tremendous odds.
Macey's fav so far is Smile by Raina Telgemeier. It follows the harrowing and true life of a MS girl who knocks out her two front teeth running home from Girl Scouts one evening. I loved it too, it will really click with any MS reader who has or will have braces, glasses, or anything they feel uncomfortable about. Awesome book.
I am all caught up with the Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi. This is another graphic novel and these will be out on the shelves when schools starts and I am guessing they will always be checked out. Book four comes out in September.
Here is the review from Publisher's Weekly:
Almost too clever and poignant, Amulet is, on the surface, about navigating the murky waters of adolescence and, beneath that, an exploration of abandonment and survival. Emily and Navin are lost children, literally lost in a dark, new world and struggling to save their mother, who has been kidnapped by a drooling, tentacled beast. With stellar artwork, imaginative character design, moody color and consistent pacing, this first volume's weakness lies in its largely disjointed storytelling. There is the strong, young, heroine; cute, furry, sidekicks; scary monsters—all extraordinary components, but pieced together in a patchwork manner. There is little hope in his dark world as Kibuishi removes Emily and Navin's frame of safety. Their hopes rest in a magic amulet that seems to be working in the interest of the children—until it suddenly isn't. The most frightening element of Amulet is the sense of insecurity we feel for Emily, fighting her way through uncharted terrain with no guide and no support system. This first volume of Amulet isn't a disappointment, but it does feel like a warmup to the main event. If anything, it's a clear indication that Kibuishi has just begun skimming the surface of his own talent.
Ms. Wilhelm suggested an author to me at the end of school and I loved her adult fiction. Maryjanice Davidson writes great, funny "Chick Lit", the kind you read at the beach like candy. I discovered that she has written a few Young Adult books and I like the first one quite a bit. Dying for Ice Cream is about Austin Opitz and the girl he never meant to fall for, Yvonne Robinson. She is rich and spoiled, a lethal combination. But when he saw her sobbing in the hospital cafeteria with a plate of ice cream melting in front of her, he couldn't walk away. So begins a strange friendship between two opposites: Diabetic Yvonne, bitter about the mandatory change in her lifestyle; and jokester Austin Opitz, who hides his own recent tragedy by playing class clown. This is a story about teenagers getting a taste of life's ups and downs, and how they cope, despite tremendous odds.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
13 Reasons Why
What a great, yet sad story. 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher starts when Clay receives a brown paper package in the mail. Inside he finds seven audio tapes from his HS crush. Hannah committed suicide two weeks before the box arrived will reveal the her reasons for committing suicide on the tapes.
I love the stories, the language, and the tone of all the characters. I like how you learn the secrets from many different perspectives. Below you'll see a video of Hannah's first tape.
http://www.thirteenreasonswhy.com/
I love the stories, the language, and the tone of all the characters. I like how you learn the secrets from many different perspectives. Below you'll see a video of Hannah's first tape.
http://www.thirteenreasonswhy.com/
Monday, June 20, 2011
Charles and Emma
Just started Charles and Emma: The Darwin's Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman It is fantastic, even though it is not what I expected. I really thought it would be appropriate for Middle School, but after starting it, it belongs in the HS. Pretty high reading level, length and serious discussion about faith shove me into the HS camp.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Okay, I have been hooked ALICE IN WONDERLAND MANGA
I have found a Manga I really enjoy, but then I am fascinated by all things "Wonderland"
Alice in the Country of Hearts vol 1 (http://goo.gl/TIAib) is an Alice in Wonderland alternate reality. Everyone in this Wonderland is falling in love with Alice for some unexplained reason and I guess we'll find out why in volume 2
Now Manga is not for everyone, you start at the back of the book and work backwards from right to left. I had a bit of a learning curve as I adjusted to reading the comic-book style frames from top right to bottom left.
This is the first manga I have found that I would continue, but this book would probably not be in my top 100. But...for fun summer reading it is entertaining.
Alice in the Country of Hearts vol 1 (http://goo.gl/TIAib) is an Alice in Wonderland alternate reality. Everyone in this Wonderland is falling in love with Alice for some unexplained reason and I guess we'll find out why in volume 2
Now Manga is not for everyone, you start at the back of the book and work backwards from right to left. I had a bit of a learning curve as I adjusted to reading the comic-book style frames from top right to bottom left.
This is the first manga I have found that I would continue, but this book would probably not be in my top 100. But...for fun summer reading it is entertaining.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Reading Graphic Novels this week
Well I've started on my quest to find the best Graphic Novel this summer! So far I have read three different books and I have not found a favorite, but I will keep searching.
My biggest challenge with the Manga is reading backwards. You start at the back of the book and work from back to the front. Then, within the pages you start at the top right corner and move down and left. It is challenging!
My biggest challenge with the Manga is reading backwards. You start at the back of the book and work from back to the front. Then, within the pages you start at the top right corner and move down and left. It is challenging!
Thursday, June 9, 2011
What I am reading this summer!
So far I have been tackling next years Golden Sower Nominees. In case you haven't had the opportunity to see what is coming up for next year, here is the 2011-2012 list of intermediate nominees that I have finished reading:
Clements, Andrew. Extra Credit.
Illustrated by Mark Elliott.
As letters flow back and forth between the prairies of Illinois and the mountains of
Afghanistan, sixth-grader Abby, ten-year-old Amira, and eleven-year-old Sadeed begin to speak
and listen to each other. This is a fast read, and you really discover just how different the world of a child in Afghanistan is.
Dowell, Frances O'Roark. Shooting the Moon.
When her brother is sent to fight in Vietnam, twelve-year-old Jamie begins to reconsider
the army world that she has grown up in. I taught in Bellevue, Nebraska for almost a decade and it is a true military community. I thought of my former students when I read this... all those air force and army kids who make a huge sacrifice when their parents and siblings are deployed.
Kelly, Jacqueline. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate.
In central Texas in 1899, eleven-year-old Callie Vee Tate is instructed to be a lady by her
mother, learns about love from the older three of her six brothers, and studies the natural world
with her grandfather, the latter of which leads to an important discovery. I loved how Callie just can't sit still!
Klise, Kate. Dying to Meet You. (Book One of 43 Old Cemetery Road)
Illustrated by M. Sarah Klise.
Children’s book author I. B. Grumply gets more than he bargained for when he rents a
quiet place to write for the summer. The story is told mostly through letters. This book is hilarious and the illustrations really make the story. First in a series.
Platt, Chris. Storm Chaser.
When a fire forces her family to turn their home into a guest ranch, aspiring horse trainer
Jessica finds herself working with her favorite horse, Storm Chaser, to tame the wild filly for
snobbish, spoiled Ariel, Storm Chaser’s future owner. If you love horses, you will love this book!
Prineas, Sarah. The Magic Thief.
A young thief is drawn into a life of magic and adventure after picking the pocket of the
powerful wizard Nevery Flinglas, who has returned from exile to attempt to reverse the decline
of magic in Wellmet City. This is my favorite book so far. I would suggest it for kids who love the Ranger's Apprentice or the Last Apprentice series'. You feel like you are completely immersed in this world.
Rollins, James. Jake Ransom and the Skull King’s Shadow.
Connecticut middle-schooler Jake and his older sister Kady are transported by a Mayan
artifact to a strange world inhabited by a mix of people from long-lost civilizations who are
threatened by prehistoric creatures and an evil alchemist, the Skull King. This book is like Indiana Jones meets Percy Jackson. Great adventure genre.
Clements, Andrew. Extra Credit.
Illustrated by Mark Elliott.
As letters flow back and forth between the prairies of Illinois and the mountains of
Afghanistan, sixth-grader Abby, ten-year-old Amira, and eleven-year-old Sadeed begin to speak
and listen to each other. This is a fast read, and you really discover just how different the world of a child in Afghanistan is.
Dowell, Frances O'Roark. Shooting the Moon.
When her brother is sent to fight in Vietnam, twelve-year-old Jamie begins to reconsider
the army world that she has grown up in. I taught in Bellevue, Nebraska for almost a decade and it is a true military community. I thought of my former students when I read this... all those air force and army kids who make a huge sacrifice when their parents and siblings are deployed.
Kelly, Jacqueline. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate.
In central Texas in 1899, eleven-year-old Callie Vee Tate is instructed to be a lady by her
mother, learns about love from the older three of her six brothers, and studies the natural world
with her grandfather, the latter of which leads to an important discovery. I loved how Callie just can't sit still!
Klise, Kate. Dying to Meet You. (Book One of 43 Old Cemetery Road)
Illustrated by M. Sarah Klise.
Children’s book author I. B. Grumply gets more than he bargained for when he rents a
quiet place to write for the summer. The story is told mostly through letters. This book is hilarious and the illustrations really make the story. First in a series.
Platt, Chris. Storm Chaser.
When a fire forces her family to turn their home into a guest ranch, aspiring horse trainer
Jessica finds herself working with her favorite horse, Storm Chaser, to tame the wild filly for
snobbish, spoiled Ariel, Storm Chaser’s future owner. If you love horses, you will love this book!
Prineas, Sarah. The Magic Thief.
A young thief is drawn into a life of magic and adventure after picking the pocket of the
powerful wizard Nevery Flinglas, who has returned from exile to attempt to reverse the decline
of magic in Wellmet City. This is my favorite book so far. I would suggest it for kids who love the Ranger's Apprentice or the Last Apprentice series'. You feel like you are completely immersed in this world.
Rollins, James. Jake Ransom and the Skull King’s Shadow.
Connecticut middle-schooler Jake and his older sister Kady are transported by a Mayan
artifact to a strange world inhabited by a mix of people from long-lost civilizations who are
threatened by prehistoric creatures and an evil alchemist, the Skull King. This book is like Indiana Jones meets Percy Jackson. Great adventure genre.
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