Another YA title: The Burn Journals

Well we are entering into a routine at the middle school, and I have finally learned where everything is kept. My media center walls were even painted last night--- but the "accent" walls are pepto bismal pink--- Yuck. It gives me an upset stomach just thinking about the color. Nut the good news is that we will get rid of the accent colors.

We will have reading quotes... that will be nice. So what else is new in the Middle School Media Center? I have reaffirmed that my students really have no clue about all of the information they are being bombarded with. They were under the impression it was just all out there for free and that there was no money involved. They were AMAZED to discover that those advertisements on webpages make money for somebody. Really what else could they have been doing there.... amusing people? Anyway my vote is for a media literacy rotation in the 6th grade.... not a foreign language!

Ok so what have I been reading lately? I just finished The Burn Journals by Brent Runyon. It was non-fiction and really quite a compelling read. It chronicles his suicide attempt by trying to set himself on fire and his 8 month recovery. It also provides tremendous insight into the musings of a 14 year old boys mind. It is not for the faint of heart as the language is realistic particularly for someone undergoing such a painful physical experience. But I think it belongs on library shelves particualry 8-12 grades. I won't give it to a 6th grader... but it is a great book.

That reminds me, I'll have to Blog about my first experience with a parent challenge. Actually it went well. Very Well.

A New Author to Love

Sara Lewis! I love her writing. Of course I have only read one book-- The Answer is Yes but I can tell already she will be one of those authors that I will want to read all of her works. My book club met today and we had the fantastic pleasure of having a phone call from Sara during our meeting. She was delightful on the phone.

She answered our many and varied questions about the book. No it is not autobiographical, and she is not adopted. Her characters are realistic and charming, and the powerful positive message within the book has touched me. It reminds me of a pasta place I used to visit with my husband in Virgina. "Pete's Positive Pasta and Pizzeria" It was a cheery place with huge servings and friendly staff. I mean we all have a choice to greet each day and be the better for it or not. We can choose to miserable or not.

Anyway the book is great. It follows the main character Jenny who is at a crossroads in her life, and by circumstance, or perhaps by being quiet enough to allow the natural rhythm of life to occur she finds her inner self. Along the way she meets delightful characters all rich in their own way. The book reads beautifully. It is as if she Jenny is a friend just chatting with you on the phone. I am going to go check out her other books as soon as possible. Also her website is great and the blog too. Check them out.
http://intuitivewriting.blogspot.com/

And... she has 3 other novels waiting to be published, so come on you people in the industry... We need Sara Lewis' books!

AAAARGHGHH!

Technology! I love it and I curse it. At least if you set down a piece of paper you have written on it doesn't just evaporate into the netherworld. Anyway, I just hit the wrong button, and my last blog entry disappeared.... where did it go? I imagine it there are many words and letters jumbled around in cyberspace lost.

Anyway I was blogging that I didn't have as much time to blog now that school has started again. Figures, but I love to write so I suppose I will just have to make time. My students are blogging on the blog I set up fro the media center. BUT... the comments are so inane! "6th grade is so coooooll!" or "i just love it here i think...." AARRGH. I know the younger generation is all hip with the online speak, but come on. You have to capitalize the pronoun I. I find it impossible to hit the approve button for these posts with terrible grammar. So----- I edit them. I do. I go in and add capitalization and periods. I leave the other errors that don't bug me so much.

And then I have this moral dilemma. What do you think? Should I edit the posts? I don't want garbled gook to be out their for a world audience. They will think our students are pathetic.
I would love to hear some feedback on this issue. So let me know what you think.

First Days Again!

Let's just say--- I love Middle School! Teachers are truly meant for one level or another-- and now having taught from pres-school through college, I know without a doubt that I love middle schoolers. They are caught up in so many changes from goofy to surly often with mood swings from moment to moment. I even got non-reading 8th grade boys excited about reading William Sleator's The Beasties. The were unable to resist the lure of people who walked around with ears missing, noses bitten off, and strange other injuries that no one talks about. I gotta love Sleator for reluctant readers--- he really draws them in.

Of course would I choose to go through middle school again as a student--- NO WAY! Man they are vicious to one another. I remember very little about my own middle school years except perhaps for the few close friends I had. One of whom I still keep in touch with-- here's a shout out to ya' Paula!

Anyway-- I haven't had much time to read this week-- Go figure-- New school for me, the kids, and the husband too. It is busy here- but new on my bookshelf is The Alchemist's Daughter by Katherine MacMahon, an adult book for a change. I have a feeling I am going to enjoy it quite a bit. It mixes my love of history with science all blended nicely with a page turning plot. I'll write more about it and the goings on at the middle school soon.

The Fiction Section

I was helping a fellow librarian today who was moving back into the library after a "redo". New shelves furniture, carpet--- the works. I unpacked the fiction section and it was like visiting a bunch of old frineds. How often do you get to actually touch and look at every book in the entire fiction section? There were old friends--- Austen, and Tolkien, mixed in with newer titles--

I had fun reliving titles that I recognized from libraries in the past Son of The Mob and Olives Ocean, Boston Jane, Stormbreaker, . It got me thinking about some of the titles I had seen in my elementary school, middle school, and now in this high school. Some stories are good books and a good book and can work at every level. If an author is lucky enough or talented enough to write such a story then it will have staying power.

Well school starts for me on Monday--- hmmmm I am still in denial---- and I wonder how much time I will have to blog. Guess time will tell. Is anyone out there reading anyway? Otherwise it is me just writing away. Sort of like those journals I still have tucked away that I wrote in Middle School. Ah well--- it is the writing experience I enjoy. Perhaps it will get me back n the writing/publishing track.

Middle School vs High School books?

What makes a book appropriate for HS versus MS? As I am currently switching levels I am reading books that were purchased but not yet put on the shelf to determine if they belong in the MS library. Now I think of myself as pretty liberal, but I still believe that a book for Middle Schoolers is devoid of casual sexual content. I don't believe middle schoolers should find novels in their school libraries that portray the norm as every 16 year old losing their viriginty even if they are using condoms.

Anyway while the above scenario is found in Paranoid Park --- the book is primarily about a skateboarder boy who accidentally is involved in a gruesome killing and decides not to tell anyone. Will students find it a good read---I am sure reluctant readers-- particularly boys would find it hard to put down. But at least for my middle school boys, they will need to wait a few years until high school for this one. There are other books that will fill the void until then.

Heat and King Arthur

Wow... it is hot. The only thing to do is stay inside and read... Or bake. I don't know why I tend to fire up the oven when it is 100 degress outside. Anyway, the bread dough rises nicely and quickly outside on the porch. I tried a new recipe--- Jalapeno Bread. It was good and spicy--- While the boys eat it just as is, I think it would make for a good grilled cheese sandwich.

So the book I finished yesterday was The Book of Mordred by Vivian Vande Velde. I like her books and think they are great for the MS or HS student. This was no exception. It follows Kiera a child who has magical abilities and thus is a target for those who wish to use her powers. Kiera's is stolen away as a child and who comes to her mother's rescue to help find the child--- a young Mordred. THis sets in motion a relationship that will continue through the years. THere are battle scenes, magic, suspense, as well as a bit of mystery thrown in with the adventure. At 342 pages it is not for your reluctant readers, but those who devour Arthurian legends will find this a welcome addition to the genre.

So what's next.... Paranoid Park-- Very interesting. Stay cool!