The Dark Pond

The Dark Pond by Joseph Bruchac

from the back cover:

As soon as he arrived at the North Mountain School, Armie sensed something strange about the dark pond in the forest. An eerie presence haunts his dreams and keeps drawing him back to the pond - something dangerous that lurks in its depths.

Armie turns to the tales of his Shawnee ancestors for help-but if he's right about what lives in the still, black waters of the dark pond, he may need more than his wits to survive...

Much like Skeleton Man - Bruchac creates a story based around Native American mythology and then gives us a thrilling good suspense ride. If you've enjoyed some of his other stories you'll probably like this one too. I did.

Read On

Shooting the moon

Shooting The Moon by Frances O'Roark Dowell

This is one of the books I picked up from our book fair. I really enjoyed how the main character Jamie evolved from being an army brat to becoming a thoughtful, more realistic person ( I know that doesn't make a whole lot of sense but when you read the story you'll understand.)

Here's the summary:

When twelve-year-old Jamie Dexter's brother joins the Army and is sent to Vietnam, Jamie is trilled. She can't wait to get letters from the front lines describing the excitement of real-life combat: the sound of helicopters, the smell of gunpowder, the exhileration of being right in the thick of it all. After all, they've both dreamed of following in the footsteps of their father, the Colonel.

But T.J's fist letter isn't a letter at all. It's a roll of undeveloped film, the first of many. What Jamie sees when she develops T.J.'s photographs reveals a whole new side of the war. Slowly the shine begins to fade off a Army life- and the Colonel. How can someone she's worshipped her entire life be just as helpless to save her brother as she is?

As one reviewer writes " Shooting the Moon will draw you in with it's simplicity and astound you with its powerful story."

This family is driving me crazy

This Family is Driving Me Crazy edited by M. Jerry Weiss and Helen S. Weiss

Ten stories about surviving your family.

Families are something that link us all together, we all have one, whether they're biological, step, foster, far-flung, or even that tight group of friends that seem as close and crazy as family. How we deal with them is something we also have in common. So for me, coming from a family that consists of seven biological siblings, eight step siblings, and a few strays that have been adopted into our family along the way, this was a book that I wanted to read (mostly to see if their families are as wacky and fun and frustrating as mine can be.)

I enjoyed all of the stories, and I loved some of them. The first one that starts off the book Wimp of Sparta by Gordon Korman was hilarious, and I loved the poem by Mel Glen about being the middle kid. In fact now as I page back through - I think I really enjoyed them all, for they were all very, very unique - just like our families.

From the cover:

What if your dad was a preacher at the mall? What if your sister made you dress like Little Lord Fauntleroy for her wedding? What if your grandfather was wanted by the law in three states?

Ten of today's most talented authors have come together to tell these hilarious, poignant stories, showing how our families drive us crazy and how we love them anyway.

If you've ever wanted to trade in your own family for a new one, this thoughtful collection will make you realize that things may not be as bad as they seem. Or at least let you know there are other out there who can sympathize...

Book Fair Thanks

Thanks to all of you who came down to the library and supported the Book Fair.
We've once again had a successful fair, giving you a chance to purchase a new title and with the profits we buy more new titles for the G.S. Lakie Library.

Most of all I want to Thank Mrs. Truscott who came and helped us everyday this week with running the fair. Next time you see her, make sure you give her a smile, and a thank you. She was a wonderful person to have help us with the fair.

I think the most popular seller of this years Fair was : Diary of a Wimpy Kid ; Dog Dogs by Jeff Kinney.
I'll be writing some about the titles we add to the library collection in future blog posts, so keep your eyes open for some of those.

Read On

Book Fair Sneak Peak

Hi,
Here's a sneak peak at some of the titles included in this years Book Fair.
First up - Zoobreak by Gordon Korman


Next - Cyberia by Chris Lynch


Next - Tentacles by Roland Smith


And another - Allie Finkle rules for girls by Meg Cabot

Football Genius

Football Genius by Tim Green

A couple of interesting things - last night I was watching Monday night football, the Atlanta Falcons vs New Orleans Saints. Tim Green played football with the Atlanta Falcons and Football Genius puts you right on the sidelines of the Atlanta Falcons with the main character Troy White.

Troy White loves football, plays football but is frustrated by the fact that he spends most of his time on the bench, even though he has a crazy ability to see what the opposing team is about to do, just by the way they've positioned themselves on the field. Even crazier he has this special talent of predicting what's going to happen even while watching games on TV. So when his Mom takes a job with the Atlanta Falcons, Troy knows he's gotta do something to get the team out of their losing slump. But how do you get the attention of a bunch of superstar athletes? How do you get down onto the field and get them to listen and believe a twelve-year-old kid?

I really enjoyed this book, I know I'll never make it down onto the sidelines of an NFL game but this book let me join the pandemonium and gave me the feeling that I was part of the team.

Here's a clip of Tim Green talking about being an author.

Read On.

Archer's quest

Archer's quest by Linda Sue Park

From the back cover -Twelve-year-old Kevin, a Korean American math whiz, is shocked beyond belief when a young man carrying a bow and arrows crash-lands in his bedroom. And that's jsut the beginning. The man, called Skillful Archer, claims to be a legendary ruler from ancient Korea. While Kevin tries to explain contemporary life to the man he nicknames Archie, Archie teaches Kevin how to focus his thoughts in an attempt to help the young ruler return to his kingdom. There's not a moment to lose as Kevin uses Korean history and folktales, math, and the Chinese zodiac to help his friend travel back through time. If Archie can't get home before the Year of Tiger ends, history will be forever changed.

I enjoyed this time-travel story, and how Kevin presented realistic questions about how and why the crazy event happened and mostly how to get the Archer back in time before his parents get home. I also liked the part of the book where Kevin gets the Archer to be less serious by saying "in the outhouse" after reading the fortunes from their fortune cookies. The Archer imparts practical knowledge and also gives Kevin reasons to see himself in a new light.

"to contribute to a great mission. The most ordinary among us have it within ourselves to be extraordinary, should we so choose."

Read On.

How to ditch your fairy by Justine Larbalestier

How to ditch your fairy by Justine Larbalestier

From the back cover--
If you lived in a world where everyone had a personal fairy, what kind would you want?

• A clothes-shopping fairy (the perfect outfit will always be on sale!)
• A loose-change fairy (pretty self-explanatory.)
• A never-getting-caught fairy (you can get away with anything...)

Unfortunately for Charlie, she's stuck with a parking fairy - if she's in the car, the driver will find the perfect parking spot. Tired of being treated like a personal parking pass, Charlie devises a plan to ditch her fairy for a more useful model. At first, teaming up with her archenemy (who has an all-the-boys-like-you fairy) seems like a good idea. But Charlie soon learns there are consequences for messing with fairies - and she will have to resort to extraordinary measures to set things right again.

So my review, this was a fun, clever, good book , but it could have been a great book if the author would have tied up a few of the loose ends. This alternate world of Avalon was okay, I liked the made-up slang (but would have liked the glossary at the beginning of the book - rather than the end). I liked the fact that Stefan was from the outside and that he questioned why Avalon was so great, why sports were soo important, and the fact that Charlie started to look around and see her world a bit differently. I liked thinking about the different fairies that everyone might have (I think I have a good-nights-sleep fairy or a don't-worry-too-much fairy), but I didn't like how convenient it was after Charlie finally got rid of her fairy that she could just dream up a new one.
And your left hanging about Charlie and Stefan in the end.
Like I say - this is a fun book but it kind of just scratches the surface of being a great book with a rave review.

What's your fairy?
Read On.

The Cheat

The Cheat by Amy Goldman Koss

The summary:

Cheating on a geography midterm is only the beginning. It seemed simple enough - they were given the answers from last year's test and they used them. But they got caught, and what was done without much thought leads to greater and greater consequences. Now they are facing punishment at school, tension at home and no one is sure how or when it will end.

This book is told through the voices of six, eighth graders who are involved in the scenario of what would you do if you were given the answers to a mid-term exam and the emotional roller coaster the follows them, when they're caught.Was there a snitch? What will this mean outside of school?

I've got mixed feelings on this one, I felt that only half of the narrators seemed believable , one I even questioned what importance she had at all on the story. I liked the premise of the story and think it leaves room for some excellent discussion. I did like how Katie saw everything as multiple choice, and I enjoyed Sarah's poetry and sarcastic attempts at the essay on cheating she has to write.

Here's one of the poems:

'Tis a lie to pretend that I read the text.

'Tis a lie as well for which I'm hexed.

For I do NOT know the sea from land,

I'd still be lost with map in hand.

For I did not cram

For this exam.

You bet I regret not doing the work,

And now I feel like a total jerk.

But that's not punishment enough!

It must be meaner! Must be rough!

Unless I rat, I'll have to roast.

Tattle or I'm freaking toast!

But though you burn me as a witch,

You gots to know: I ain't no snitch!

This is a quick read with only 176 pages.

The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas

I took some time this afternoon to finish reading and create a book trailer for this title that is part of the Scholastic Book Fair preview box. I thought it would be a fun way to promote the book fair.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com