In the hustle and bustle that is Book Fair, how do you select the perfect book?

Below, are some titles that have been released within the last few months that have garnered attention and deserve an extra look.

	City of Orphans Avi Grades 5-8 September 2011  In 1893 New York, thirteen-year-old Maks, a newsboy, teams up with Willa, a homeless girl, to clear his older sister, Emma, from charges that she stole from the brand new Waldorf Hotel, where she works. Includes historical notes.
	The PS Brothers Maribeth Boelts Grades 3-6 October 2011  Sixth graders Rssell and Shawn, poor and picked on, work together scooping dog droppings to earn money for a Rottweiler puppy to protect them from bullies. But when they learn the puppies’ owner is running an illegal dog-fighting they are torn about how to respond.
	Zombiekins Kevin Bolger Grades 3-6 August 2011  The boring town of Dementedyville is livened up by a mysterious stuffed animal called Zombiekins that turns things upside down when exposed to moonlight.
	The Cheerleaders of Doom (N.E.R.D.S series) Michael Buckley Grades 3-6 September 2011  Matilda “Wheezer” Choi, an asthmatic who uses nanobyte-enhanced inhalers and hates anything girlie, must infiltrate the cheerleading squad when former member of NERDS turned villain, Gerdie Baker, becomes a cheerleader and starts pillaging other worlds with the assistance of a device the criminal mastermind Simon helped her make.
	No Passengers Beyond This Point Gennifer Choldenko Grades 5-8 February 2011  Three siblings have less than 48 hours to pack up all their belongings and fly, without Mom, to their uncle Red’s house after they lose their house to foreclosure. But when they land, the driver that meets them at the airport has never heard of uncle Red and they find themselves in a place they’ve never heard of.
	Troublemaker Andrew Clements Grades 3-6 July 2011  When his older brother gets into trouble 6th grader Clay decides to change his own mischief making ways but can’t seem to shake his reputation as a troublemaker
	Wildwood Carson Ellis Grades 3-6 August 2011  When her baby brother is kidnapped by crows, 7th grader Prue ventures intot he forbidden Impassable Wilderness, a dangerous and magical forest in the middle of Portland, Oregon, and finds herself involved in a war among the inhabitants.
	The Magnificent 12: The Trap Michael Grant Grades 5-8 August 2011  Mack MacAvoy, an average-seeming twelve-year-old boy who happens to have special powers has but 35 more days to find 11 other preteens who…can together prevent the world-destroying Pale Queen from escaping 3,000 years of imprisonment.
	The Ghost of Crutchfiled Hall Mary Downing Hahn Grades 3-6 September 2011  In the 19th century, ten year old Florence leaves a London orphanage to live with her great uncle, great aunt and a sickly cousin James, but she soon realizes that the home has another resident who means to do them harm.
	Wereworld Curtis Jobling Grades 5-8 September 2011  After a beast invades his father’s farm, sixteen year old Drew transforms into a werewolf and runs away from his family. Captured by Lord Bergan, he’s forced to fight other werecreatures while trying to prove he’s not the enemy.
	Icefall Matthew Kirby Grades 5-8 October 2011  Princess Solveig and her siblings are trapped in a hidden fortress tucked between towering mountains and a frozen fjord, along with her best friend and an army of restless soldiers, all awaiting news of the king’s victory in battle, but as they wait for winter’s end and the all-encompassing ice to break, acts of treachery make it clear that a traitor lurks in their midst.
	How Oliver Olson Changed the World Heather Maione Grades K-3 October 2011  Afraid he will always be an outsider like ex-planet Pluto, nine-year-old Oliver finally shows his extremely overprotective parents that he is capable of doing great things without their help while his class is studying the solar system.
	The Candymakers Wendy Mass Grades 4-8 October 2011  In the town of Spring Haven, four children have been selected to compete in the national candymaking contest of a lifetime. Who will make a candy more delicious than the Oozing Crunchorama or the Neon Yellow Lightning Chew?
	The Unwanteds Lisa McMann Grades 5-8 August 2011 Thirteen year old twins Alex and Aaron are sorted into different categories in Quill.  Aaron is a Wanted, allowed to cultivate his creative abilities to weave spells in the university.  Alex is an Unwanted, destined to be sent to his death.
	Have a Hot Time Hades! Kate McMullan Grades 3-6 August 2011  In this story with a modern twist, Hades tells his own version of how he became King of the Underworld and Zeus became King of the Gods.
	The Apothecary Malie Meloy Grades 5-8 October 2011 A fourteen-year-old American girl whose life unexpectedly transforms when she moves to London in 1952 and gets swept up in a race to save the world from nuclear war.
	A Monster Calls Patrick Ness Grades 7 and up September 2011  Thirteen-year-old Conor awakens one night to find a monster outside his bedroom window, but not the one from the recurring nightmare that began when his mother became ill–an ancient, wild creature that wants him to face truth and loss.
	Liesl and Po Lauren Oliver Grades 3-6 October 2011  After her father’s death, Liesl is locked away in a tiny attic room by her stepmother, where she meets Po, a lonely ghost, and Will, an alchemist’s apprentice who bungles an important delivery and enlists Liesl and Po’s help in setting things right.
	The Bridge to Never Land (Starcatcher series) Dave Parry and Ridley Pearson Grades 5-8 August 2011  Sarah and Aidan begin to decipher a mysterious document that refers to the origins of Peter Pan and are suddenly pursued by a being that can take any form and will stop at nothing to get what it wants from them.
	The Flint Heart: a fairy story Katherine Paterson Grades 3-6 September 2011  A magical amulet brings power and despair to those who touch it.
	Secrets at Sea Richard Peck Grades 3-6 October 2011  Set in 1887, when the Cranstons decide to take a cruise ship to England in search of a husband for their awkward daughter, the Cranston mice stow away in the luggage. So begins the tale of the upper and lower
	Clementine and the Family Meeting Sara Pennypacker Grades 2-4 September 2011  Third-grader Clementine tries to adjust to the news that her perfect family of four is adding a new brother or sister.
	Sidekicks (Graphic Novel) Dan Santat Grades 3-6 July 2011  Captain Amazing tries to hire a new sidekick when he feels he is getting too old to be a reliable superhero, but his pets have different ideas.
	The Night Fairy Laura Amy Schlitz Grades 3-6 September 2011  When Flory the night fairy’s wings are accidentally broken and she cannot fly, she has to learn to do everything differently.
	Bigger than a Breadbox Laurel Snyder Grades 3-6 September 2011  Devastated when her parents separate, twelve-year-old Rebecca must move with her mother from Baltimore to Gran’s house in Atlanta, where Rebecca discovers an old breadbox with the power to grant any wish–so long as the wished-for thing fits in the breadbox.
	Breadcrumbs Anne Ursu Grades 3-6 September. 2011  Hazel and Jack are best friends until an accident with a magical mirror and run-in with a villainous queen finds Hazel on her own, entering an enchanted wood in hopes of saving Jack’s life.
	Pie Sarah Weeks Grades 3-6 October 2011  Alice’s Aunt Polly passes away and entrusts the recipe for her world-famous pie crust to her cat, which she leaves in Alice’s care, and as everyone, including Alice, tries to discover the secret ingredients, Alice learns some important lessons about faith, love, and family.

For those of you reading the Giver over the summer, there’s been whispers that it’s going to be made into a film set to be released sometime in 2013.

Early reports state that David Yates, the director of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows parts 1 and 2, will be at the helm, and notable screen star Jeff Bridges has been trying to adapt the 1994 Newberry award winning book for several years.

Students have found much to discuss about the book and if you check, there are a handful of homemade/classmade videos floating about.

Buried in the mix, there’s an interview with Lois Lowry about writing the Giver, which is worth a watch:

What do you think of the book? Post your thoughts on the Giver 8th grade discussion forum!

The Summer Reading blog is up and running from June 17th through August 20th.

Head on over to: http://www.literacylibrarian.com/summerreading to join in the discussion.

Remember to sign up to get approved for posting, and if you have questions head on over to the Questions section for some answers.

Happy reading.

It’s that time of year again, for fun, sun and summer reading!  Soon, you will find the 2011 Summer Reading List for K-8 students here on literacylibrarian.com.

To direct you to the appropriate documents, we’ve rearranged the layout of this site. If you’re looking to download the entire K-8 reading packet, please do so by clicking on the link in the right hand column under Hot Downloads.

New this year is the option to comment on books read over the summer for 5th – 8th graders. Starting June 17 through August 20, 2011, you can click here to talk about your summer reads via a discussion forum.

Stay tuned for more news and information on our Summer Reading 2011 experience and happy reading!

Every year, the American Bookseller’s Association holds a little event known as Book Expo America, where tons of authors, booksellers, librarians and retailers  gather together to talk about all things books (think of it as huge and unique book fair for adults!)

In preparation for the event, major publishers release Advance Reader Copies of upcoming books and publicize them during the 4 day extravaganza in New York, where some authors are even on hand to personally autograph them.

Kirkus Book Reviews had this handy dandy PDF which examines over 150 of the books featured at this year’s BEA. Having glanced at the reviews, there are of course a handful which look to be standout titles.

But soon to be added to the library shelves include such titles below:

	Brian Selznick: Wonderstruck Release Date: September 13, 2011  A follow up to his 2008 Caldecott Medal  Winner The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Selznick presents two independent stories, set 50 years apart that follow Ben (his tale is told in words in 1977) and Rose (hers is told in pictures in 1927) as they weave back and forth to find what is missing in their lives. How they unfold and ultimately intertwine will surprise you, challenge you, and leave you breathless with wonder. With over 460 pages of original drawings and playing with the form he invented in his trailblazing debut novel, Brian Selznick once again sails into uncharted territory and takes readers on an awe-inspiring journey. Rich, complex, affecting and beautiful, Wonderstruck is a stunning achievement from a uniquely gifted artist and visionary.
	Maggie Stiefvater: Forever Release Date: July 12, 2011  The final book that concludes the Wolves of Mercy Falls saga has the stakes raised for Grace and Sam. In Shiver, they found each other. In Linger, they fought to be together. Now in Forever, the Wolves are being hunted and lives are being threatened. Will love be harder to hold onto as death comes closing in?
	Maggie Stiefvater: The Scorpio Races Release Date: October 18, 2011  A standalone, paranormal young adult novel involving blood, beaches and kissing, author Stiefvater has not been able to say much about the novel (read her own words about it on her blog here) except to say it’s her favorite book written so far. Ever. (Hey, I thought authors weren’t suppose to have favorites….) There’s a promise that more information will be petered out closer to the release date but expect the same lyrical writing found in her other novels as the suspense builds.
	James Dashner: The Death Cure Release Date: October 11, 2011  The final book in the Maze Runner Trilogy, will anyone survive the Death Cure? Thomas knows that Wicked can’t be trusted, but they say the time for lies is over, that they’ve collected all they can from the Trials and now must rely on the Gladers, with full memories restored, to help them with their ultimate mission. It’s up to the Gladers to complete the blueprint for the cure to the Flare with a final voluntary test.

Some Native American homes, created by 3rd graders, are on display in Hodgins Library. Come by the library to view the amazing creativity, and check out the slideshow below for a preview:

For those in 8A working on their culminating research project, you’ll need to research one of the following individuals:

Billy the Kid (William H. Bonney)
Ulysses S. Grant
Andrew Jackson
Sarah Bernardt (Sarah Henriette Rosine)
Nat Turner
Claude Monet
Sacajawea
Edgar Degas
Van Gogh
Sitting Bull
Queen Victoria
Jane Austen
Butch Cassidy (Robert Leroy Parker)
Robert E. Lee
Matthew Brady
Edgar Allen Poe

There’s a bibliography sheet that you can download here, and Mrs. BKL has directed you to Purdue University’s awesome OWL (Online Writing Lab).

On campus or off, we have a number of online databases which will help in your research, particularly Biography in Context:
An authoritative resource for biographies on notable figures, with more than 450,000 biographies on more than 380,000 people.

As well, we’ve ordered a number of books and have many reference sources (biographical dictionaries, encyclopedias, etc) that can aid in your research. If you’ve any questions, stop by to ask us and we’d be glad to help! Happy researching!

Sooooooo…..

Ms. Lin and Mrs. Guyer were off campus today, enjoying the absolutely beautiful afternoon all the way down in San Juan Capistrano.

There was a presentation from the reps from World Book and the highlight giveaway for the day was Atlas, the dog with continents imprinted on it’s body:

Atlas, the World Book Plush dog

Director of IT from St. Mary’s, Erfan Mojaddam,was also on hand to talk about how libraries can lead the future of digital learning, and afterwards, participants were encouraged to head next door to tour Mission San Juan Capistrano.

Personally, the first presentation took up the bulk of the morning and I would’ve liked to hear more from Erfan as he had to rush through his presentation, but the day provided a welcome change from the ordinary going ons within the walls of Hodgins Library.

See?

Hey 3rd graders! You’ve been assigned a Native American report, due April 11th, and you’re responsible for

1) a written report detailing the tribe’s home, food & clothes; and
2) a model of the home of the tribe you pick.

Many of you may want to begin by looking at some images of Native American homes to see which is something you’d like to build, so to begin, let’s think of some alternate words that can be used for the word “home” (A thesaurus is a great tool for this job!)

Next, think about how living in different parts of the United States would result in using different materials for house building. Would you build a house in sunny Hawaii or California with the same materials as you would if you lived snowy Montana and New York?

Keep in mind that Native Americans had to draw on their surroundings and use what materials were available to their best advantage in order to (comfortably) survive in their area as the seasons changed. Also, unlike us in 2011, some tribes had to be nomadic, or wandered in search of food, which often meant that their houses had to be mobile too.

Given these two tidbits of information, when you do a smart and safe Google image  search (thanks Mr, D!) try to determine which region of the US a tribe’s house is from. Warm? Cold? Wet? Thinking about this may help you better understand your tribe’s house as you prepare to make the model.

Take a look at the slide spiral of some Native American homes below to see if there’s something you may be interested in:

The photos were all taken from World Book Online’s database of Early Peoples. On Tuesday, March 8th, you’ll be introduced to this database, and we’ll show you a few other tools that can help you with your report.

We’ll also show you that the skills you use in perusing through a print document (an encyclopedia, book, magazine) is not that different from how you search using electronic resources (MJS’ online databases comprised of Brittanica, Grolier and a good list of others). Can you think of some examples?

So put on your thinking caps 3rd grade and get set to push up your sleeves for an amazing day of research!

It seems pretty fitting that the end of  Winter Break wraps up with one of my favorite networking/professional development events: SCIBA, or the Southern California Independent Bookseller’s Association and their 5th annual books and literacy dinner.

Lots of good booksellers and vendors were on hand to share their upcoming releases and as always, authors were present to discuss the love of reading and writing. Someone at the event even caught the MJS team chatting with Patrick Nelson, from Mrs. Nelson’s:

The MJS crew talking books @ SCIBA 2011 (Photo from SCIBA Books on Facebook)

The highlight of the evening had to be emcee Cecil Castellucci playing a literary friendly song:

Castellucci sings @ SCIBA 2011 (MP3)

(The above was originally a video but it’s very grainy. Apologies too for the clanking of cutlery. Ms. Castellucci was kind enough to delay the noise of dinner being cleared for presenting authors so they could be heard, but took to the stage before such a courtesy could be made for her).

Cecil Castellucci rocking @ SCIBA 2011. (Photo from Andrew Smith @ ghostmedicine.blogspot.com)

All in all, another wonderful evening. Up next is a trek to San Jan Capistrano for Library Science Professional Day as part of CAIS. Hopefully, it’ll be just as fun.

El Adobe de Capistrano