Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I just finished the last Harry Potter and was very pleased with it. This is not really a review because I do not want to give anything away but I will stress this one thing- this is not a children's book. It is definitely a young adult book.

Cheap new books and furry friends

Looking to enhance your stuff animal collection? Want cheap, new books? Kohl's runs a promotion entitled "Kohl's cares for kids" (very cheesey but wait) and each season they feature a children's book which one can purchase for only $5. I am not talking about some softcover, special "Kohl's" edition book; it is the real deal hardcover. Five dollars!!!!! Not bad. But wait, there is more. They also feature one or two fuzzy friends to accompany the book. Those are also $5. It changes each season. For the spring, Kohl's is featuring the Mark Teague series of "Dear Mrs. LaRue." You can purchase the two Mrs. LaRue picture books (remember, they are the hardcovers) and two stuff dogs from that series all for $20. They make a great addition to any library or classroom.

To learn more about "Kohl's care for Kids" campaign, visit their web site :
http://www.kohls.com/main/vendor_home.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=373986851&bmUID=1182125107253

Book Review: Today I Will Fly

Book Review:
Mo Willem's Today I Will Fly!

Today I Will Fly! is part of the Elephant & Piggie series. Written for primary age students- Elephant sees everything "half empty" while Piggie is more of a "half full" animal. In this addition- Piggie is insisting that he will fly. Elephant begs to differ. Simple text and simple illustrations help portray Piggie's plight.

Truth: I love Mo Willems! He is a Russell Crowe among children's authors (he's a babe!). So it will be no surprise that I adore Today I Will Fly. It is perfect for a read out loud and ideal for beginning readers to practice.


Oh, and I have been adding more to my "Catalog". Please check out my "library thing" :
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/kcerasale

Come on- I dare you.

Book Review: The Virtual Life of Lexie Diamond.

Book Review:
Victoria Foyt's The Virtual Life of Lexie Diamond

Lexie Diamond is a middle school outcast. More comfortable with her Mac, she prefers the company of her online friend "webrider" then the so called "Barbie Dolls." To get her mom off her back, Lexie lies and said she is the President of the Virtual Computer Club at school (she is really just the treasurer). Then her mom is tragically killed in a hit and run. Lexie finds even more solace in her computer. One afternoon, Lexie finds her mother in cyberspace. Her mother gives her clues about her killer- Lexie's father's new girlfriend Jane. Can Lexie convince her father that her mother's spirit visits her via Internet? With the help of some unlikely new friends- Zoe, the popular fashionista (and real President of the Virtuaal Computer Club), and Wilson, cute slaker skater boy- Lexie may just stop her father from making a big mistake.

Truth- Very cheesey sci-fi novel. Everything is resolve into a neat little package (hope that does not ruin the end for anyone). The computer and tech terms are very outdated- almost as if Lexie is a 40 year old woman and not a 14 year old girl (which is not a slight at the author who may or may not be 40). The book jacket flap is somewhat misleading: states that Lexie father's suddenly starts dating after her mom's death; he doesn't start dating Jane until 6 months after the hit and run. There are also these where montages that do not hit the story. Quick read though.

Bookmaking

I just came back from a professional development workshop on bookmaking. It was held at the Metrowest Regional Library Systems office and it was pretty cool. Ok, very cool. The instructor was Carol Kelly and her passion for bookmaking was infectious! Anyone in the Boston area interested in bookmaking and learning basic books, I highly recommend her workshops, classes, courses, etc. She was awesome.

Carol taught us how to create Starburst, Accordings, some simple binding techniques, and a Dose-e-Doe. All sound as complicated as than they are- I was surprise how simple some of these books are with a little patience. Even more, how easy it could be for children as young as kindergarten to create their own book using one of thse techniques. I walked away from this workshop with at least two lesson plans for next year.



This is an example of an letter book. Inside there are a couple of pages glued to the square part of the envelope.



The pages are sewn together using signature stitch.

Frappr map

While checking my google alerts today, I received a link for Frappr Map. You can customize map locations then post them to the blog of your choice. I tried it out for myself and that it to be at first another socialization tool for mid-20 somethings for like your's truely. Frappr works by typing in a city and state (or country) and the site creates a map pin pointing the send location. Ideally its for friends to create maps to show how they are in location to one and another. However, the more I thought about it, the more Frappr could be used as a tool for a class project.

For example, one could use Frappr to create a map of Napoleon's 1812 campaign. A student can create a blog writing about the soldiers experience then log onto Frappr to create a map showing the different battlefields. This could be use with ELA blogs as well. Want to show the different cities andd countries of Hemingway's writing, create a Frappr map.

Frappr does not have the graphics of Google Earth. It's zoom in function does need some work (I tried zooming into Salem, and found my city to be in the Atlantic Ocean). The map itself does have a crude computer graphic quality to it. However, if you are using Frappr for a mere representation, it does the trick.

Library Thing

Have you always wanted your own personal library- complete with online catalog- or OPAC as we librarians refer to it? Well now you can! Library Thing (www.librarything.com) is a service that allows post what books you have in your library.

The service is free for up to 200 books, however for a mere $25 you can post as many books as you like for a life time. The process in which you input your information is easy, just type in the title of your book, select your edition, and them click on the title to add to your library. The book entry includes its MARC record from the Library of Congress, the cover art (if available), the number of Library Thing members that also own the book, and a link to World Cat to show other near by libraries that circulate the book. Members can also write their own reviews of the book. And, if you do not like a book- you can "Unsuggest" it.

I have worked in a library where there was no public access OPAC and it is frustrating to not have that sort of information available for patrons. For a school library where there not be an OPAC, Library Thing can be a helpful to for library media specialist, school staff, and students. This will allow lms an opportunity to have a public access catalog and it is relatively easy to maintain. An ideal volunteer project for Library volunteers and students.

Please feel free to investigate what is in my personal library (please keep in mind that it is a new tool for me and I just starting inputting books):
http://www.librarything.com/catalog.php?view=kcerasale