rms booktalks 10/25/2010

• McKernan, Victoria. THE DEVIL'S PAINTBOX

  McKernan, Victoria. THE DEVIL'S PAINTBOXNew York : Knopf, p2009, c2009IL YAISBN 0375937501If you enjoyed playing the computer game Oregon Trail, The Devil’s Paintbox by Victoria McKernan is for you. It takes the grainy greenish picture of the old game and paints a vivid picture of what life on the Oregon Trail might have been like. The book chronicles a young man’s journey into adulthood in the Wild West, starting at age 15, poor and destitute, eating a grasshopper a day if lucky to stay alive- into turning into a man working off a debt to himself and others. Aiden relentlessly tries to protect and at the same time allow for his sister to grow up. Aiden, during the journey, befriends some unlikely candidates and in the end is forced to go against his white society in aid of his Native American friends in the struggle against smallpox -- the devil’s paint. Aiden and his younger sister Maddy endure hardships unknown to readers of today, all the while maintaining an ever-present desire to move onward and upward. The book is not so much uplifting as is it insightful, and even inspiring. The Devil’s Paintbox is a gripping historical fiction that does not gloss over events of old, rather tells of life as an everyday struggle to survive, and survive knowing that you did what you had to do.Prepared by: Jen Seay for South Carolina Young Adult Book Award Nominees, 2010-2011

  tags: podcasts stateawards southcarolina blueduke

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

rms booktalks 10/23/2010

• Pfeffer, Susan Beth. THE DEAD AND THE GONE

  Pfeffer, Susan Beth. THE DEAD AND THE GONEHarcourt, 2008Alex Morales is a good kid. He’s seventeen, living in New York City, and works at a pizza parlor when he’s not attending school at St. Vincent de Paul Academy. He also looks out for his two younger sisters and studies hard so he can go to college. One especially overcast day, Alex and his sisters arrive to an empty apartment to find the power is out, along with the cable TV and radio. With his mother working at the hospital, his father in Puerto Rico attending a funeral, and older brother Carlos serving with the U. S. Army, it is up to Alex to assess the situation and reassure his sisters. Little does Alex know that his world is about to change forever. As in the author’s previous book, Life As We Knew It, an asteroid has hit the moon and knocked it off its orbit, wreaking havoc on the world. But in New York City, only those with money or connections will be able to escape the chaos. And Alex has neither money nor connections. He soon realizes that he will be the sole provider and caretaker for his siblings. As days roll by, and essentials for living are harder to come by, Alex will be forced to “bodyshop” – stealing warm clothing and other items he can trade for food from those unfortunate beings left lying in the streets. Throughout the nightmare, the Morales’ strong faith, and the faith and help of other survivors keep them going. But for how long? The Dead and the Gone is a terrifying tale, especially in the setting of New York City, the scene of other horrible tragedies. It is so realistic that you may find yourself re-thinking your own emergency survival plans.Prepared by: Karen Tisdale for South Carolina Young Adult Book Award Nominees, 2010-2011

  tags: podcasts stateawards southcarolina blueduke

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Roland Smith author visit

What a day the 7th graders had with Roland Smith!

Julie Hahnke author visit

On May 25, Julie delighted the 6th graders with her tales of fantasy and raptors.

Great Stone Face award nominees 05/26/2010

• Klise, Kate. DYING TO MEET YOU

  Klise, Kate. DYING TO MEET YOU
  Orlando : Harcourt, 2009
  IL 3-6, RL 4.4
  ISBN 0152057277
  
  Ignatius B. Grumply, children’s mystery writer, had had writer’s block for twenty years. In hopes of finding inspiration, he rented an old Victorian mansion, seeking solitude and quiet. Iggy had not read the fine print…
  
  Clause 102 (a) of the rental agreement stated that Seymour Hope, aged 11, should be allowed to remain at 43 Old Cemetery Road, and whoever rented the property should look after Seymour and his cat, Shadow, and return both in good condition to his parents at the termination of the contract, if they so requested.
  
  But young Seymour was not living alone…Olive C. Spence, original owner of the house, kept him company and prepared his meals, and once in awhile, she allowed him to actually see her. Had she still been alive, she would
  have been 190 years old.
  
  Mr. Grumply was not a believer in ghosts; but if he didn’t become one soon, how could he ever get the annoying pranks to stop? And how could he possibly get over his writer’s block?
  
  The sequel to the delightfully humorous 43 Old Cemetery Road series is already out; OVER MY DEAD BODY is equally enjoyable. (New Hampshire Great Stone Face nominee, 2011)

  tags: podcasts, nhgsf

• Cody, Matthew. POWERLESS

  Cody, Matthew. POWERLESS
  New York : Knopf, 2009
  IL 5-8, RL 5.3
  ISBN 0375855955
  
  Welcome to Noble’s Green, Pennsylvania---the safest town on earth!
  
  “The safest town on earth?” thought Daniel, “Couldn’t sound lamer.”
  
  When he moves to his new home in Noble’s Green, 12-yr-old Daniel Corrigan notices that there’s something distinctly odd about some of the kids in town. After one of them literally saves his life, he discovers that some of them are equipped with superpowers, and they’ve been using them to protect the local citizens.
  
  There is one power that his classmates don’t have, however. They haven’t been able to discover the source of these powers, or an explanation for why, when a “super-kid” turns 13, both their powers and all memories of having had them, disappear. When Daniel embarks on a mission to solve this mystery, he uncovers a plot that is more serious, and more evil, than any of them could have imagined.
  
  Will Daniel and his new friends be able to triumph over evil before their 13th birthdays arrive, and leave them POWERLESS??? (New Hampshire Great Stone Face nominee, 2011)

  tags: podcasts, nhgsf

• French, S. Tirrell. OPERATION REDWOOD

  French, S. Tirrell.
  OPERATION REDWOOD
  New York : Amulet Books, 2009
  IL YA
  ISBN 0810983540
  
  “Sibley Carter is a moron and a world-class jerk.”
  
  When 12-yr-old Julian Carter-Li intercepts an angry e-mail message intended for his high-powered uncle, he finds himself caught up in the fight to save some of the oldest trees in the world.
  
  Over the course of the summer, normally cautious Julian will do many things he would never have dreamed of doing before:
  
  · Promise to help a girl he’s never met,
  · Milk a goat,
  · Take a vow of silence,
  · Mastermind an office break-in,
  · Live in a tree,
  · And, most important, stand up for what he believes.
  
  This funny, fast-paced adventure shows the power of determined individuals, no matter what their age, to change the world. (New Hampshire Great Stone Face nominee, 2011)

  tags: podcasts, nhgsf

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Great Stone Face award nominees 05/23/2010

• Yohalem, Eve. ESCAPE UNDER THE FOREVER SKY

  Yohalem, Eve. ESCAPE UNDER THE FOREVER SKY
  New York : Chronicle Books, 2009
  IL 5-8, RL 5.1
  ISBN 081186653X
  
  You’d think that being the daughter of the American ambassador to Ethiopia would be one adventure after another, right? Wrong. Thirteen-year-old Lucy Hoffman never gets to see anything beyond the walls of the embassy compound. All she can do is read about the exotic and exciting world outside and imagine what it would be like to be a part of it.
  
  Until she gets kidnapped.
  
  All alone in the Ethiopian wild, Lucy must use her knowledge of African animal life along with her inventiveness, will, and courage to escape and find her way to freedom.
  
  Inspired by a true story, this suspenseful tale will have readers riveted from start to finish. (New Hampshire Great Stone Face nominee, 2011)

  tags: podcasts, nhgsf

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Doors of Rundlett

Doors of Rundlett: "Enjoy our third annual door decorating contest"