Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Books and beach towels

 
Soon to be in the library......
 
 
 
the books, not the beach towel! I just finished reading these and thought I would tempt you with some good reads to convince the kids that the school is worth rentering this fall.. Maybe that's a little far fetched, especially in July, but school supplies have hit the shelves.
 
Throne of Glass (YA) by Sarah J. Maas
LOVED IT!! Although the fantasy- adventure  genres are appealing to me, the cover screamed of chick lit. Surprisingly, it wasn't! This was a page turner and even though it is a hefty 404 pages, it only took me two beach days to read. The female protagonist, Celaena Sardothien, is one tough cookie. She is a professional assassin banished to the mines for hard labor. Being one of the very few to survive this torteous ordeal, she is pulled from her sentence to compete against other hardened crimals for the title of the King's Champion. Facing, danger, monsters, truly scary beings, and people she ,must rely on but cannot trust, she must win this competition or go back to the mines. Although it was somewhat predictable in places, it kept me engaged and I'll even consider buying the sequel.
 
Also Known As (YA) by Robin Benway
Another spy book but this time the main role is played by Maggie Silver. Maggie has grown up in a spy family; she is the resident safe cracker. Rather than turn to the dark side, she uses her powers for good. Sadly, Maggie has never known the normal\ life of a kid, UNTIL she gets her new assisgnment in a private school where she must wear a uniform.Maggie needs to save the Collective before someone exposes all the spies, including herself and her family, to the public.  Adventure, danger, and a little bit of romance, this is sure to be a hit with girls wanting a different kind of role model in their books.
 
Zeus and the Rise of Olympians (3grade and up) by Ryan Foley
Not a lover of graphic novels, but understanding their importance, I thought this book to be well done. The illustrations are good and the characters are not scantily clad (which seems to be the norm in some of these books). The format is perfect and not too busy, at least for me. Kids will read about the story of Zeus and learn a thing or two that they may not have known. I can see this being a big hit with mythology lovers and reluctant readers.
 
 Grab your beach towel and keep reading,
The Noisy Librarian


Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Shhh it's summer

It is hot today. Not just summer hot, but pavement searing, warm lake water hot. Not that I am complaining, I love this kind of weather. However, I am in the library where it is cool, quiet, and quite messy. Most people believe schools shut down during the summer, but that couldn't be further from the truth. A lot happens when the kids are gone. It also happens to be the ONLY time this library is quiet. No kids, and no noisy librarian trying to teach and engage. So what am I doing here? Working in the silence. I am pouring through websites and magazines hand picking the books I want displayed when the kids come back. I am writing lesson plans and coordinating author visits. I am secretly downloading apps to play with so I can introduce them to students. I am working on units for other people and grabbing resources for them. I am investigating all the Google "stuff" I learned about at a recent conference and I am gazing at the library wondering if I will have it all cleaned up and ready come fall.

See, it's messy but I know that when push comes to shove at the end of August, I'll be ready for those kids. I'll be armed with books, apps, research tools and new Google lingo to jump start them back into school. 

Until then, I am going to grab a book and head to the beach!
Happy reading everyone,
Jill (AKA The Nosiy Librarian)