Library Web Page-What is on it?

  I think it is a good idea to periodically check  your Library Web Page. 

1. Are all the links working?  Check the databases or  give student helpers a job and check them. Check other links as well. Sometimes students or teachers may tell you, but more than likely they will just turn to something else on the page or go to Google. 

2. How does the catalog look? is is up to date-sometimes just changing the background if you can , will grab some more attention.

3.If you have a place for comments or questions, check those at least weekly. Or if you have a place for student comments, that needs to be checked.( Glogster, Library Blog, ect)

4. If you have a review section, add reviews weekly. Some catalogs let students review which is a great tool.

5. If you use Google Classroom- make sure it is linking up correctly and looks right.

Weekly Reading- So Be it

  Heidi and her mother (So B. it) live in Reno, next to Bernadette. Bernadette and Heidi take care of mother (who is mentally challenged) . Heidi has been with Bernadette and her mm since Heidi was a week old. Heidi doesn’t have aby other family that she knows of. 

   But when she finds some old photos, she being to wonder and ask questions about who the people were in the pictures. Her Mom’s limited vocabulary includes Soof. Heidi cannot figure out what it means. Heidi and Bernie start making calls to Liberty, NY to try and find out about the people in the phots..

  Heidi travels to liberty and finally gets the answers she is looking for. This is a bittersweet story that I would totally recommend.

Weekly Reading- The Magnolia Story

    I am a big fan of Fixer Upper(HGTV) , so my husband got me "The Magnolia Story"  by Chip & Joanna Gains for Christmas.  Chip and Joanna met at her Fathers Firestone store  when Chip was there with a friend. Chip was outgoing and an entrepreneur. Joanna  called her self an introvert.  After dating , they were soon married and lived in their first renovated home.

  There story is told in both their voices , but mostly Joanna's. It details their many projects , setbacks, and problems. This was both interesting to learn about their early married years , and also inspiring   in ways they managed their personal and work lives in the businesses they pursued. This is  well written and show cases how they appreciate their hometown and the simple values of family and their ethic of hard work.

Weekly Reading- Eleanor & Park

     Eleanor & Park / Rowell was a book I just couldn't stop reading! Eleanor is a back with her mother and stepfather.   She wears weird clothes to conceal herself, and trys to manage her read curly red hair. She doesn't really fit in with most of her school mates.

   Park is part Asian, very cute, and also doesn't fit in with most of the school either. The two are thrown together on the bus- there is no where else for Eleanor to sit. They slowly develop a friendship and then a more serious relationship. 

  Rowell writes tight with great description and dialog that is just what teens sound like. This book make me laugh and cry. A true ending that is real life.  I loved this book and doesn't want it to end.

Weekly Reading

Into The Wilderness by Sarah Donati  is a book I could't put down. A historical novel series  begins in the 1790's . Elizabeth Middletown, an educated spinster of 29, comes from England to join her Father in upstate NY. She wants to be a teacher  to the children living in the area. Her Father wants her to marry Dr. Richard Todd,

 Elizabeth has no intention of marrying anyone. But she is drawn to Nathaniel, a backwoodsman, son of Hawkeye ( Hero of the The Last of the Mochicans)

  Nathaniel's people want to buy back Hidden Wolf mountain  from her Father's property. Elizabeth will inherit  the mountain as part of her wedding gift.

 The novel is  full of action, adventure, romance, and family life in that time period. NOw I can wait to get the next in the series- there are 6 in all.

Weekly Reading- The House at Riverton

  Kate Morton has done it again with The House at Riverton !  Before WWI , Grace went to work at Riverton House for the Hartford family.  There is a movie to be made about the family and the tragedies that befell  them - and the tragic death of a family friend.  Grace,w as one of the witness actually knew the truth about what happened.

 The story is told in flashback pattern and brings to life the story of the wealthy family, and how life was lived in the 1920's and up to WWII. Grace tells the story of the family and the members of the household who worked at the house. We get a clear picture of what life was like.

Weekly Reading/American Heiress

   American Heiress is another great novel done by Daisy Goodwin .  Set in the 1890's , it begins in Newport, RI.  Cora Cash , as a young American " Princes"becomes a young lady, and is from one of the wealthiest family's in the East Coast.
   Her mother is intent is for her to marry well and into a title. After her debut,  she arrives in England to be brought out in English Society.  Quite by accident ( a horseback riding accident actually) Cora meets a very eligible ( but poor) Duke who rescues her. Their love story ends in a marriage that is both full of love, mystery, and scandal. A very good read you won't want to end.

Weekly Reading- The Lake House

     Kate Morton's  The Lake House was excellent! Although in the middle I was wondering where it all was going . But at the end I could not believe how it turned out.  The novel spans a time frame of 70 years , so it goes back and forth between the two story lines.

   Alice,in the 1930's, and her family in Cornwall- and their privileged life.  The family's country estate is well hidden  but the home of a proper English family.The tragedy of  what happened with her Father and her Mother is kept secret from the world.  ( Father's shell shocked/ disappearance of  11 month old baby Theo)

   Sara, nearly seventy years later when visiting her grandfather, stumbles upon the estate  .  As a Detective she is intrigued by the story of the missing  and adored baby, so she is determined to find the answers of happened all those years ago.

Weekly Reading/ Clockwork Angel

ClockWork Angel by Cassandra Clare is the first in a series called The Infernal Devices. Tessa is trying to find her brother and be reunited with him, He is all the family she has left, Her parents died when she was very young, and now her beloved Aunt who had taken care of her and Nate has passed. She is on a mission to find Nate.
    Tessa is doing what she needs to do to find Nate- she travels  to England. She  gets entwined with the Dark Sisters because they are the link to getting to brother - but then she is tapped. The sisters teach her how to' change' and are trying to get her ready for the Magister.

  To me this is fantasy and horror rolled into one. Will and Jem and the Institute  become Tessa's new "family". When the Dark sisters are partially eliminated, The Institute  helps Tessa find her brother- but that brings up a whole new set of problems for them. Slowly they begin to unravel  how the Shadow hunters can save Nate and the Institute.  This leads into the second book of the series so  you will want to keep reading.

 The novel is well written and riveting  until the end. And then you are wondering what will happen next?

Weekly Reading- Summer Time! Victoria/ Goodwin

  This is my weekly reading series again! It is so nice to have time to read! ( That is what I do best!)
I just finished reading Victoria/ Goodwin and it was excellent. We had seen the PBS special in the winter and when I saw the book  ,I grabbed it.
 Goodwin follows the life of Queen Victoria in great detail. In the end papers , she notes that she wrote the novel while they were filming the shows. She had done extensive research  and brought Victoria to life.
 Victoria is the young queen who had a hard time being taken seriously , but it was a role she was meant to do. The descriptions of the 1830's and how life was for Victoria and her family are outstanding and interesting. If you saw the series ,and loved it , I would definitely recommend this book. I Only wish there was a second book-who knows maybe there will be. I would love to read more about Victoria and Albert !

May Bulletin Boards

  It  is the end of April , so I am thinking of what to do about those bulletin boards.
 Here are some ideas of what I have used in the past.

Sneaking around with a good book- copies of sneakers , students will put on their favorite spring books  and put them on the board.

-"When we read we Grow.'May flowers-  Blue Back ground
  Battle of the Books - groups. scores , announcements.

"We're wild about Books!"- Jungle theme ( animals , trees) around slogan, maybe even titles on tree leaves, or book jackets if you have more room.

"Read, Return, Repeat"  Make slogan like the Recycle, Reduce, Reuse green arrows- put book jackets around that.

"Don't be angry -Read a Good Book"   Angry birds and book jackets or titles

April bulletin board ideas for library and classroom

      I've got a poem in my pocket!-- pockets with poems typed stuck in- these can be changed  weekly. Or let  students put in their  favorite poems.

     Get Graphic@ the Library!  Scan covers of some of your Graphic Novels and put on a colorful Bulletin Board.

      Get Hooked on  Books!- Fishing line with book titles or covers along the line.
( Fishing for a good Book)

     Spring into Reading with Great Books

      Sports Stories

      It's Raining Books- Put an umbrella in the corner of the bulletin board. Then place large blue and grey raindrops with book titles on them.( Again let students put up their favorites.

     April showers bring great books! ( Similar to above idea)


National Humor Month
School Library Month
DEAR- Day April 12

Weekly Reading - Winter Street Trilogy

     I read all three in this series and I wish  there would be more! They were in order Winter 
Street, Winter Stroll, and Winter Storm.  Elin Hilderbrand's stories are magical and brings you right in with the characters and the setting.
    The focus is on the Quinn family and most of all it members have their own issues and problems. There are twists and turns  in this family saga. Head of the family is Kellely Quinn and his second wife Mitzi, not to be outdone by the Margaret Quinn , his first wife and mother to the first three grown children. Kellely and Mitzi run an Inn on Nantucket Island .Their son is Bart.
     You'll just have to read this engaging family story- you 'll want to read all of them if you like family stories. Now I am going to seek out some more of Hilderbrand's books  because I am believing they will be just as good.

Weekly Reading- Fever

   Fever  by L.H.Anderson is another winner in my book. In fact, it appears on many award lists . Ms Anderson won the Margaret A Edwards award in 2009 . This award is given by the ALA for Historical fiction for teens and YA's

   Mattie Cook lives and works at her families coffee shop with her mother and grandfather in the late 1790''s. When the yellow fever breaks out, Mattie's world becomes more intense. Her mother falls ill, so Mattie is sent away  from the city. Her mother does not want her to get the fever.

  She and her grandfather go to the country but the fever is everywhere. MAttie is thrown into being  more grownup and resources in order to survive both her and her grandfathers sickness. She just wants to go back to the city and find her mother.

  Based on real events, Ms, Anderson brings the year 1794 and the epidemic in Philadelphia to life.  You can put yourself in Mattie's shoes as she travels back to the city to open the coffee shop and find out what happens to  bring her life back to almost normal,

Weekly Reading- Bella at Midnight

   Bella at Midnight/ Diane Stanley is a story of an  girl who becomes a knight and a princess by the end of the book. Isabella's other dies  when Isabella is only days old. So she is sent to a cottage of a wet nurse. Her Father does not want anything to do with her because of the reminder of her  mother , so continues to stay in the lowly cottage even under protests from  her aunt.

   Her best friend is Julian who was also cared for by the family for a while His Father  is the King , but he is the last  one of 4 brothers.  Isabella and Julian  go  their  separate ways when it they are older because Julian is of royalty , although Bella still cares for him deeply. They are reunited in rather unlikely way to come to a very satisfying conclusion  of the story.

  

Weekly Reading-Listen to the Moon

  I have been  doing a lot of reading. One of my favorites was Listen to the Moon ( M. Morgurego) .  This is the amazing story of the author's grandmother who 'came out of nowhere'.   ' Lucy"was rescued  by Alfie and Jim Wheatcroft and taken to their  home on the islands by Sicily.

She is loved  and taken care of , even though she is found with a blanket with  German words on it. This is during the time of the beginnings of WWI. Traumatized by something or someone , she does not speak for the longest time.
Alfie ( the son, who is  a couple years older than she) makes the most progress with her, She listens to him and he can tell that she understands what he is saying. He protects her at school.

 The doctor is also supportive of the Wheatcroft. Mary the wife and mother dotes on the girl and loves her like the daughter she never had. The town is not so good to the family, because the girl is believed to be German.

The story unfolds slowly  as 'Lucy'  gets better, A piano, a German, and time bring the story to a very satisfying conclusion, I just wish there was another book so we can see what happens next.

Weekly Reading

I was so happy to get Dicey's Song  ( Voigt) !  It lead me into Dicey's and the children's life with their grandmother.  I was wondering how it turned out after reading Homecoming which I really loved!  After many rough patches, life at Grandmas' was getting to a relatively calm  place. The children were settling in and they were finally having a normal life like children are supposed to have . The town was accepting . Grandma was letting them into her life.  But there are still sad and disruptive spots but  this tells so well
about the lives of the children that they are real , and you  find yourself caring deeply about what happens next.

Weekly Reading

   In the first book, FableHaven ( Mull) Kendra and Seth have to go to stay with their Grandparents during a long vacation that is being taken by their parents. Their Grandfather has a hidden refuge called Fablehaven. This refuge is full of magic,  fantastic plants, faeries and strange creatures. Kendra and Seth think they are safe, but really they are not. Of course  they don't follow Grandfathers rules, and bad things start to happen. Powerful forces are unleashed , They have to figure out  a way to save themselves . I'm not finished yet , but I think this series will be liked by a lot of students who are onto fantasy and fantastic adventures.  I got the first three  so if they go out a bit I will order more in the series.

Weekly Reading

I just finished Homecoming (Voigt) and it was excellent! What a difference when you have several days off  like the Thanksgiving break.   I wondered how it would turn out and I was very satisfied at the ending  with the Grandma. The little family of 4 went  through a lot together and not  a thing was easy, butt they stuck together !  How they traveled  was truly amazing and most of the time they were very  resourceful. I am hoping that there is another book to say  what happens next  but I will have to check that out.

Library Calendar of classes and activiites.

 I just finished this posting my library calendar on the school library's website.   It was there before  but not up to date or very visible to the staff. What I did was place the link to the calendar in the middle of the main page. 

 On the calendar, I have posted the classes that will be in the library for that week. This way  teacher can look at the calendar and see if the library is open for students to  come and  check out books or be sent to do computer work or research.   Also teachers can look at it and plan  when to bring students or have students work on projects.

  Many times during the course of the week, I am into classrooms and or in the lab helping students do research  so this is also helpful to know if I am there or not. My assistant is not always there , so I may find a way to indicate that information.

   I then sent a mass email to staff and told them about where the link was to the calendar. I am hoping this will also serve as a reminder  that they can reserve the library and it resources for their classwork.