I'm going to be off for a few days here at the end of the year. I'm going to clean up the Christmas mess, work on my novel and kiss my grandson and tell him Happy Birthday! Just generally get ready for the new year.
Have a happy and safe New Year. Talk to you next year!!
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Every 60 seconds on the Internet.....
Cool infographic about how many things happen on the Internet--what did we do without it?
Monday, December 26, 2011
Perfected by girls
My most recent review submitted to School Library Journal:
Perfected by girls
grades 9-12
Melinda Radford is a pretty typical teen age girl. She loves designer clothes, hanging out with her best friend and participating in school sports. Trouble is, her sport is wrestling, and she’s the only girl on the school’s championship wrestling team. She gets crude comments from classmates, and members of opposing teams refuse to wrestle with her. But she hangs on because she really loves the sport. Off the mat she has the usual teenage girl problems—her best friend and her older brother are making eyes at each other, and her grandmother insists on a boring summer internship at her company for Melinda. And then to top it off, her mother forbids her to see her hot new boyfriend! What’s a girl to do? Melinda has to navigate the normal pitfalls of high school with the added burden of being the lone girl in a boys’ sport. Her situation turns even uglier when she makes an off-hand comment to a writer who turns out to be a reporter for the local newspaper, and she’s seen as not being a team player or supportive of her coach. The article causes a bad situation to turn even uglier, but by the end of the story, when Melinda starts to question her commitment to the sport, she gets a surprise chance to move from the JV to the varsity team and really compete instead of warm the bench. The story has an authentic female voice and shows the loneliness of being the sole girl on the team—the lack of dressing facilities, the opposing teams that forfeit rather than wrestle with her, the ugliness of some of the fans. At one point Melinda attends a girls’ wrestling clinic held at a local college and she, along with the reader, gets a much better picture of the world of female wrestling. Readers will empathize with Melinda’s isolation throughout the school day, although some may tend to gloss over the detailed wrestling descriptions, especially if they aren’t familiar with the sport. But the romance and other aspects of Melinda’s life will outweigh the unfamiliar parts of the story. It should strike a chord with girls, even those who don’t participate in athletics.
Perfected by girls
grades 9-12
Melinda Radford is a pretty typical teen age girl. She loves designer clothes, hanging out with her best friend and participating in school sports. Trouble is, her sport is wrestling, and she’s the only girl on the school’s championship wrestling team. She gets crude comments from classmates, and members of opposing teams refuse to wrestle with her. But she hangs on because she really loves the sport. Off the mat she has the usual teenage girl problems—her best friend and her older brother are making eyes at each other, and her grandmother insists on a boring summer internship at her company for Melinda. And then to top it off, her mother forbids her to see her hot new boyfriend! What’s a girl to do? Melinda has to navigate the normal pitfalls of high school with the added burden of being the lone girl in a boys’ sport. Her situation turns even uglier when she makes an off-hand comment to a writer who turns out to be a reporter for the local newspaper, and she’s seen as not being a team player or supportive of her coach. The article causes a bad situation to turn even uglier, but by the end of the story, when Melinda starts to question her commitment to the sport, she gets a surprise chance to move from the JV to the varsity team and really compete instead of warm the bench. The story has an authentic female voice and shows the loneliness of being the sole girl on the team—the lack of dressing facilities, the opposing teams that forfeit rather than wrestle with her, the ugliness of some of the fans. At one point Melinda attends a girls’ wrestling clinic held at a local college and she, along with the reader, gets a much better picture of the world of female wrestling. Readers will empathize with Melinda’s isolation throughout the school day, although some may tend to gloss over the detailed wrestling descriptions, especially if they aren’t familiar with the sport. But the romance and other aspects of Melinda’s life will outweigh the unfamiliar parts of the story. It should strike a chord with girls, even those who don’t participate in athletics.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Too true to be funny!
Okay found this video via a friend--is it scary that I knew exactly how the conversation was going to end up? I've had this conversation way too many times and I bet if you've been teaching a while, you've had it too.
Try to laugh.......
"I'm worried about my grade."
Try to laugh.......
"I'm worried about my grade."
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
The best holiday gift for your children
This is the season of finding the "exact" perfect gift for everyone in your life. Kids, especially, get innudated by toys, toys and more as parents, grandparents and relatives want to show their love. However, this article from Business Insider struck a chord with me. "A Holiday Gift your Kids Will Still have in Twenty Years" talks about the most important gift you can give a child--the gift of your time and undivided attention. Making memories to last literally a lifetime is by far the most important thing a parent can do for children.
I was a single mom for many years and didn't have a lot to spend on Christmas. I also never knew from year to year if my daughter would be home with me or at her dad's. So I tried to make the holidays meaningful in different ways--we'd bake cookies together and make decorating the Christmas tree a big day. She would get so many gifts from all the family I would hide some to make New Year's presents so she could open them later and enjoy them. I don't know if it was the right thing to do but I do know it's still a memory we have together.
I would love to see more parents reading to their children over the holidays--share the poem, "A Visit from St. Nicholas" or as it is more commonly known, Twas the Night Before Christmas.
Sing carols together or drive around looking at lights. These activities share the true meaning of the season--time for your family.
But too many people these days buy, buy and buy for their kids. I know when school starts back we'll see the proliferation of new gadgets, clothes, shoes, etc (these are the toys of high school kids!) I would ask how many of the kids got time with their folks but I'm afraid the answer would be too depressing.
So just for this year, let's all make a pact to do something for our family to make a memory. I'll share mine--my grandson is far away from me so I bought some some books that I can read and record for him. Right now he's still a toddler and Gramma isn't all that important, but hopefully "reading" with me over the years will help bridge the distance and make a memory for the future.
Merry Christmas!
I was a single mom for many years and didn't have a lot to spend on Christmas. I also never knew from year to year if my daughter would be home with me or at her dad's. So I tried to make the holidays meaningful in different ways--we'd bake cookies together and make decorating the Christmas tree a big day. She would get so many gifts from all the family I would hide some to make New Year's presents so she could open them later and enjoy them. I don't know if it was the right thing to do but I do know it's still a memory we have together.
I would love to see more parents reading to their children over the holidays--share the poem, "A Visit from St. Nicholas" or as it is more commonly known, Twas the Night Before Christmas.
Sing carols together or drive around looking at lights. These activities share the true meaning of the season--time for your family.
But too many people these days buy, buy and buy for their kids. I know when school starts back we'll see the proliferation of new gadgets, clothes, shoes, etc (these are the toys of high school kids!) I would ask how many of the kids got time with their folks but I'm afraid the answer would be too depressing.
So just for this year, let's all make a pact to do something for our family to make a memory. I'll share mine--my grandson is far away from me so I bought some some books that I can read and record for him. Right now he's still a toddler and Gramma isn't all that important, but hopefully "reading" with me over the years will help bridge the distance and make a memory for the future.
Merry Christmas!
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Year in Review from Goodreads
With an eye toward the end of the calendar year, I found an interesting blog posting on Goodreads--the Year in Review in Books! I especially like it after the comment from my boss about "books dying out." Still makes my blood boil.
But this infographic shows reading and books are still a powerful force. I still say stories will be around --the delivery medium is just changing! Just like the changes caused by the printing press, the digital revolution is causing great upheaval in the whole publising industry. But I think, in the end, it will all be for the better. More words shared with more people. And as this infographic shows, 2011 was a year for books!
Enjoy!
But this infographic shows reading and books are still a powerful force. I still say stories will be around --the delivery medium is just changing! Just like the changes caused by the printing press, the digital revolution is causing great upheaval in the whole publising industry. But I think, in the end, it will all be for the better. More words shared with more people. And as this infographic shows, 2011 was a year for books!
Enjoy!
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