Red Ribbon Week

It's Red Ribbon Week at Briarcliff Middle School and the SADD Club, sponsored by Mrs. Kersh the Student Assistance Counselor, has been putting up signs and making announcements to let our school community know about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse. The Library Media Center got involved too. The SADD Club gave me some informational posters to put up in the library to go with a book display with information about alcohol, drugs and addiction and their effects. Here are some pictures of our book display:

A wide range of books...

This week I finished three more books and they really couldn't be more different from each other.

First this week I read the 8th book in the Ranger's Apprentice series, The Kings of Clonmel by John Flanagan. Will, Halt and Horace travel to Clonmel to take on a cult of so-called religious men who are really murderers and thieves. When they get to Clonmel Will and Horace discover that Halt has a brother (!) - a twin brother (!) - and he's a king! I love these books, they never disappoint!

 Next up was The Popularity Papers by Amy Ignatow. Told in the form of a scrapbook, this book is filled with pictures, drawings, notes and even knitting. Lydia and Julie really want to be popular. They just have no idea how to make that happen. So they decide to take notes on what the popular girls do to be popular and keep them in a notebook. After several months that range from almost-becoming-popular to even-more-unpopular-than-ever, Lydia and Julie's friendship is put to the test. The girls learn more about friendship than they ever do about popularity and find some new friends along the way.

Saving the best for last, A Thousand Never Evers by Shana Burg was fantastic.  It's 1963 in Mississippi and Addie Ann loves her brother Elias and her Uncle Bump more than any other people in the world.  Elias goes missing after saving Addie Ann and her cat from a bad situation and now Uncle Bump is accused of a crime he didn't commit. Reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and The Help by Kathryn Stockett this book captures the frustration, anger,fear, hope and dreams of African Americans at this time in our country's history. Great book.

Sad Looking Book Tree

I put up a Book Tree in the library and will add leaves with the titles of books as I read. So far, the tree doesn't look too healthy (but the squirrel and birds look so happy!). The kids are going to help me fill up this tree by adding leaves of their own. Hopefully soon the tree will look a little healthier!

Just finished Overboard by Elizabeth Fama. Inspired by actual events this is the story of an American girl who survives the sinking of a ferry in the waters off Sumatra. Incredible story. I was exhausted after reading it!

Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey draws on some of the ancient Maori myths and legends from New Zealand. Ellie must use her tae kwon do skills and her new-found magic to save the north island from destruction by mythical creatures. These are supernatural creatures I'd rather not meet in person!

OK, that's 10. Double digits - Yay!!!!!

Still Going...

I read a few good ones this week:

Notes from the Dog by Gary Paulsen is about two boys who befriend a woman suffering from breast cancer. In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, I thought that would be appropriate. As usual, Gary Paulsen didn't disappoint.

Ghost Boy by Iain Lawrence. Have you ever wanted to run away with the circus? That's just what Harold Kline does. He meets friends and animals that he will never forget. I don't think I'll forget them either.

Cloud Tea Monkeys by Mal Peet, Elspeth Graham, and Juan Wijngaard is a beautiful book about tea pickers in India. The illustrations are lovely and I've never quite read anything like it. 

Vampire High by Douglas Rees is a fun read. What would it be like to go to a school for vampires? Cody doesn't like to do homework being accepted to Vlad Dracul Magnet School seems like a total win. Since vampires can't go swimming, all Cody has to do is be on the school's water polo team and he'll get straight A's. Great deal, right? Seems perfect, until he falls in love with the beautiful Ileana.

OK, 8 down, 92 to go!

A few more down...

I just finished The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. What a sad story, but so beautifully told. I also read a fun graphic novel, Cat Burglar Black by Richard Sala. I really liked it, but will K. ever figure out who's behind the voice in the statue? I'm looking for a sequel.

 I've started Vampire High by Douglas Rees. It doesn't sound like this is a good place to go to school!! Yikes!

I love Halloween Decorations

While the 8th grade teachers try to decide what to be for Halloween, I thought I'd post some pictures of the Halloween decorations in the library. You can never have enough tacky decorations in the library...

October has great reading weather!!

2 down - 98 to go

Just finished A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth Bunce. It's a great story in the tradition of "name the helper" fairy tales. I've always had a little trouble with the Rumplestiltskin story (why would the father lie about his daughter's abilities? Why would a troll/goblin/magic man want a baby?), but Bunce gives a great history to her mysterious helper.

I also finished The Black Book of Secrets by F.E. Higgins. Another good read with a little mystery to it. We all have our secrets - some more sinister than others. Would you want your secrets recorded in a black book?

Now I'm working on Guardian of the Dead. It's just mysterious and scary enough to be PERFECT for October. I love Halloween and this book is getting me in the mood!

Here we go!

OK - What can I do to read lots of books in a short amount of time and make sure I stay on track? Make a pledge to read 100 books during this school year then post it on the internet and tell all the students in my school so they can keep me honest, of course!

My plan is to read 100 books during the 2010-2011 school year. I'm going to read all kinds of stories - funny, sad, scary, adventurous, quiet, long, short, with pictures, without pictures. All kinds of stories.

Wish me luck and give me suggestions! I’ll keep you posted on this blog!