School Library Week

I love the Ryan Gosling memes going around these days.  He even appreciates those of us in school libraries!

Happy School Library Week!

I ran across this lovely infographic--it shows all the things your Teacher/ Librarian can do for you! 

You know, so much information is floating around the Internet--without Twitter, I would miss most of it!

The original is posted here.

Evolution of educational technology

So this is interesting....an infographic on the evolution of educational technology.  Sad thing is I remember most of these innovations!!

This is from Ian Jukes--he is a good person to follow in Twitter.

If you like the Hunger Games....

Here's a great column from a blog entitled 2busybrunettes.  The ladies went through and made a list of other novels in the same genre as The Hunger Games.  Here's the link to their blog with some annotations on each title.

School Librarians Make a Difference

A great infographic on how a school librarian can impact students.  Joyce Valenza calls this a portable elevator speech--information at your fingertips when you have those few precious minutes to talk to someone who can impact your program.


http://www.lrs.org/documents/school/school_library_impact.jpg

Book review--Pretty Sly

Pretty Sly by Elisa Ludwig

Grades 7-10 (cover photo courtesy of Goodreads.)

Willa Fox has a slight problem; she likes to steal things.  She just got out of juve for stealing items from the rich, mean girls at Valley Prep High School, where she got the nickname Sly Fox.  This story is told in the novel’s prequel Pretty Crooked, and the first of this story refers back to it enough to catch the reader up.   Willa and her mom have moved numerous times in her young life so her artist mom can find new “inspirations” for her artwork.  Paradise Valley was their latest stop but being here caused her mom to act strangely, and then all the notoriety surrounding Willa’s “Robin Hood” style heists has made things worse.  And as this story opens, instead of getting ready for her first day back at school, she is standing in the middle of her ransacked house looking for some trace of her mom.   A cryptic email and a stash of cash is all Willa has to get her started.  Along with her hunky friend Aidan, who has his own shady past, Tre, who is trying very hard to walk the straight and narrow, and Cherise, who has become her ex-best friend, Willa sets out to find out what’s happened to her mother.  She tries to follow her mom’s trail, but along the way, loses all her cash, fights with Aidan and runs in to the seriously bad guys who are chasing her mom.  Corbin, an FBI agent following the case, offers helps several times and when Willa finally accepts his help, she learns her family has deeper secrets than she ever imagined. Willa is a spunky girl, more than willing to jump into the middle of the action before she actually thinks things through. The story moves quickly, with barely a break for Willa or readers to catch their breath.   Fans of the Heist Society series will enjoy this one as well, but be prepared to purchase the final one in the trilogy as well.

Noodletools ShowMe boxes

Noodletools has rolled out another great addition to the site.  They now have something they are calling ShowMe Information Literacy Modules.  These link directly to the ShowMe boxes within Noodletools and help to explain source types to kids.  For example, one link showis exactly what a journal article looks like and where to find the citation information. 

I've already started adding this box to my Noodletools LibGuides.  For more information, check out this page from Noodletools.com
http://www.noodletools.com/guide/showme/index.html


Here's an example of what the advanced version looks like:

choose your source...

Series review

I'm so excited--I write reviews for School Library Journal.  Well, last month I had a whole column of reviews published in a supplement to SLJ, called Series Made Simple.  I read about ten sets of books, assigned grade levels and wrote reviews over each.  It was fun and also interesting to see the different approaches from each publisher to books supposedly on the same topics.  I even got a by-line!

Here's a link to my column if you'd like to see it...that sounds so cool to say--my column!  

Occupational Success: Careers

Book review

Cinders & Sapphires by Leila Rasheed
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book reminded me of a PBS "Upstairs, Downstairs" kind of story, with the upper class and their household of servants. I worry that the target audience--young adults--might not have the historical background needed to understand some of the nuances of the story. And as with many YA books these days, the book's ending screams, "Sequel coming!!!"

View all my reviews

Long time no blog......

Well I've been a slacker of late with my blog.  Numerous personal reasons have prevented me from writing---at the top of the list was a recent illness, which I'm still recovering from.  I've had to let some things go, including my writing time.  I will try to do better in the future!  I've at least been able to publish some of my current reviews for SLJ--last month I had two reviews published at once!  They were side by side on the page--I must admit, I still get goose bumps when I see my name in print in a magazine.  You'd think after all this time, I'd be used to it, but it never gets old.....

Book review

(cover art courtesy of Amazon.com)

My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century.


Grades 7-10


A trip to Italy suits Cat Crawford just fine for her birthday, but she is not happy about the huge sweet sixteen party her soon-to-be-stepmother wants to throw. A solitary afternoon of sight-seeing ends at a gypsy tent, where the fortune teller says, “A great adventure is in store for you. Keep your mind open to the lessons ahead.” When she leaves the tent, Cat finds she has traveled back in time to Renaissance Italy as Patience DiAngeli, a distant cousin of her family. Her one reminder of the present time is her backpack of makeup and gadgets. To avoid suspicion, she must be mindful of everything she says and does and keep the backpack out of sight. She finally shares the time travel secret with her younger cousin, Alessandra, who willingly accepts her story and who then tries to help Cat fit in as a proper young lady of Renaissance Italy. Lorenzo, a dashing young man and fellow artist, catches her eye, but as is customary for the time period, Cat finds herself betrothed to a much older, “creepy” guy. All turns out well in the end—Cat finds her way back to modern day Italy and along the way, learns to open her heart to others, including her future stepmother. Girls will like the romance of the story and all the gorgeous young men—past and present—Cat encounters. The details of the Renaissance costumes and art work, which add to the story’s historical setting, clash with Cat’s modern day slang terms, providing a good amount of humor. Cute, light and romantic, the story will appeal to those who want to leave the real world behind for a while.

Butter

Here's my Goodreads review of a new YA book by Erin Jade Lange. Butter by Erin Jade Lange
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The author combines the current hot button topics of chilhood obesity, teen suicide and cyberbullying into a compelling story. It is told with a first person narrator which gives an interesting perspective.

View all my reviews

Power of Habit

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fascinating reading-- from a personal stand point as well as professional. This book explains in my mind anyway why I've had trouble trying to make some changes at work. I hadn't found a "keystone" habit to change. The book also gives one pause and makes you think about how much information companies have about our buying habits. Very interesting book.

View all my reviews

Educational technology

I found a great infographic on the changes in Educational Technology over the past few years. The infographic is pretty big and so I'm including the link for it here:

http://edudemic.com/2012/09/the-teachers-quick-guide-to-education-technology/


Here's a small version so you can see what I mean:

Debbie Downer today

Wow, school is off and running. I've found myself going in circles trying to figure out what fire to put out first. So I haven't had time to do much writing and posting here. I'm also working on a column of reviews for SLJ and that's taking my free time. I'll post it when the column is published--I think it's in November. It's been a rocky start to the school year again or maybe that's just the norm these days. Trying to help with technology only to be told that's not our job. Trying to help teachers find resources only to be told, "I don't want your help." Trying to be a team player only to find the rules are changing daily. I feel sad that I have many days when things happen that I can't control yet I must manage. I guess this is all part of the process of change, which we all know is happening exponentially in the library world. But some days I don't think I can keep up.Sorry to be such a "Debby Downer" today. I will get back to my usual sharing of tips and tricks to help teachers and librarians as soon as I can!

What Happens Next

It's not every day you get a thumbs up from the author of a book you've reviewed! What Happens Next by Colleen Clayton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Excellent story of a teenager who is the victim of a date rape. Sid Murphy doesn't remember the incident but knows something happened. She starts trying to literally run away from the pain--running through her town at night. Coupled with the onset of bulimia, she starts to lose so much weight her mother and friends worry about her. An incident sparks her memory and with the help of her mother and a caring boyfriend, she is able to pull herself away from the eating issues and get on with her life.

The story is very good--the rape is mentioned but not in a graphic way so I think even younger readers (middle school) could read this one. And the eating disorder issues are discussed but again in a way that even younger readers can handle the story. Very well done.

View all my reviews

The Fred Factor

The Fred Factor: How passion in your work and life can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary by Mark Sanborn
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The book was okay--a gentle reminder to live mindfully every day and go above and beyond because it's the right way to live. All well and good but I kept waiting for the reasoning behind the theory. Basically the reasoning is what we've all been taught--The Golden Rule.

It was a light and easy read, a nice, gentle reminder that the way we behave each day determines our character. But I didn't really find an "ah ha" moment from it.


View all my reviews

Simple tips to use Twitter

Great slideshare/ infographic on using Twitter.  We have a lot of new Twitter users in our district and I think they might like this.

How to use Twitter [Infographic] from Cheryl Lawson

Educational technology buzz words

Here's a great infographic showing some of the most current trends in educational technology and their definitions.  I found this via Twitter at the blog entitled Mr G Online.

Interesting graphic--education technology of the future

from Edudemic