Craft Books for the Holidays

Whether you are celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa this winter season, here are some craft books you might find interesting:

Checkout Books from DPL ~ ONLINE!!

Did you know you can “borrow” books ON-LINE from the Denver Public Library?  All you need is a DPL card!  Already have a Denver Public Library Card?  GREAT!!  Go online to http://tinyurl.com/ntjezff and search their eBook collection!!  You can upload the eBook to any electronic device or computer as long as you have some type of eReader program (such as Kindle’s FREE eReader program)!

Don’t have a DPL card?  Register online @ http://tinyurl.com/nbx9shd. (FYI …You will be asked to list your “home” branch when registering … the closest “library branch” to Skinner is the Smiley Branch.)

Chasing Down This Book!

Brooklyn has suffered a lot in this past year ... the death of her boyfriend and one of her best friends.  What's more, she's being haunted by a ghost ... the ghost of her best friend.  Why is he there?  What does he want?

Nico is also being haunted, but he's being haunted by the ghost of his brother Lucca, Brooklyn's dead boyfriend. Nico knows what Lucca wants, but he isn't sure he can do it.

Chasing Brooklyn is an amazing story of survival, young love, and ghosts intertwined and shared via two character's voices through the words of poetry.

It is most definitely a book you want to pick up and devour!

LOTS to smile about in SMILE!

Middle school is tough!  Yesiree, just ask Raina in Raina Telgemeier's graphic novel Smile.

I remember getting braces when I was younger.  It was kinda a right of passage.  Most students were getting braces, so I wasn't too worried about being teased. But then again, I didn't have ANY of the issues that Raina faced!!

Telgemeier does an amazing job pulling the reader into Raina's drama.  You are right there with every tear, frustration, heartbreak, and hope.  And when Raina exclaims "being a teenager is no fun at all", you'll find yourself nodding in agreement.

THANKFULLY things work out for Raina, but not in an unrealistic-life-is-happily-ever-after-with-singing-and-talking-animals way ... you know there are going to be other issues in Raina's life, but you are confident she'll manage, AND you can't wait for the next book to be right there as she does.

New Books @ Your SKINNER LIBRARY!!!

They have arrived!!!  Yep!  Over 200 new books have recently arrived at Skinner Middle School!
Be sure to stop by and take a peek!   I hope to soon post reviews about these four (4) books:

I am REALLY excited to read these four novels!  They all come with GREAT recommendations! Let's see if I agree ...

Sorry for the poor lighting on these next pics.  For some reason my phone camera wouldn't access the flash.  Bummer.  

Newest Books in EJ's Corner

Here are the latest books added to EJ's Corner:

Not all stories are told through words ...

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School

There's a new book on the horizon!  That's right!  Jeff Kinney has a new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book coming out this November!

National Banned Book Week

September 27th - October 3rd, 2015 is National Banned Book Week!

Throughout the world, and throughout time, people and organizations challenge various books.  A challenge is when a person or organization states a book should be taken off the shelf or out of the library or not offered to people to be read.  The reasons WHY a book is challenged is not easy to explain.  It can be because someone disagrees with how a character is portrayed; that someone feels the book's message conflicts with one's religious beliefs; that people feel words or actions included in a book do (or would) make a person feel uncomfortable or goes against their values; that people believe it is unsuited for a specific age group; and more.

Sometimes the challenges are successful and the books become banned ... this means NO ONE can have access to read that book at that specific location.

Here are a few books that were frequently challenged and/or banned from 1990 - 2014.  How many of these have YOU or your family read during your lifetime? 

* Scary Stories (series) by Alvin Schwartz* Bridge to Terabithia by Katerine Paterson* The Giver by Lois Lowry

* The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie* My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier* Goosebumps (series) by R.L. Stine* The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katerine Paterson

* A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer

* The Call of the Wild by Jack London

* The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros* The Witches by Roald Dahl

* Looking for Alaska by John Green* A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle* Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

* The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky* Blubber by Judy Blume* Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George* The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton* To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee* Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes* Harry Potter (series) by J.K. Rowling* A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein* Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher* Lord of the Flies by William Golding* ttyl by Lauren Myracle* Captain Underpants (series) by Dav Pilkey* The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B Cooney* Junie B. Jones (series) by Barbara Park

 What are YOUR thoughts on challenging and or banning books?

Flipped over Flipped!

I absolutely LOVED this book!  It was funny ... it was suspenseful ... it was eye opening.

In Wendelin Van Draanen's novel Flipped the reader is given the opportunity to see the same events from two different character's points of views and WOW who would have thought that would make a difference!

When we first meet Bryce and Julianna, I'll admit, I truly believed Julianna was a bit over-the-top, and yes, a wee bit stalkerish.  But then in the very next scene, I got to see things from Julianna's view and ... my thoughts totally turned around.  What she was doing made sense and suddenly I was in her corner.

Things are not always as they seem, and I love how Van Draanen slowly allows the reader to see the WHOLE PICTURE and not just the part that was originally in focus.  The extra nice part?  The novel doesn't really end.  Yep.  There's no "wrap up" or "epilogue", which does throw me a bit, but comes across as more realistic.

If you like a light romance with touches of humanity and family growth, definitely pick up Flipped!

Evil? Maybe ...

 So I read Michelle Knudsen's Evil Librarian.  First of all, let me say LIBRARIANS ARE NOT EVIL!!!!  Well, most aren't.  I'm not.  At least I don't think I am.

But I digress ... Evil Librarian has promise in the beginning ... I was engaged by the thought that the librarian was pulling a little "mind control" over certain students and I was really wondering WHY the mind control wasn't working on Cynthia.  As the story went on, however, I lost interest.  I suppose I was hoping for just a "horror/mystery/suspense" story, but a romantic element was thrown in at the beginning and then drug through the entire novel.  It just bothered me.

As I've mentioned before, my opinion about a book shouldn't really matter in whether or not you choose to read it yourself.  There are MANY books that I'll love and you won't (sniff - sniff) and books that you'll love and I'll despise.  ;)  But no matter what, we'll remain friendly and will continue to talk books!

Neat Happening @ Denver Library This Weekend!!

Cereal Saturday:

 Pilot Project Saturday, October 3, 8 a.m.-noon.
Central Library, Level B2 Conference Center 

 Calling all kids! And that means all grown up kids, too, who love watching Saturday morning cartoons while devouring a big bowl of cereal. Denver Public Library is hosting this tribute to the days of ‘yore’ youth – we’ll be screening great cartoons from the 60’s right up through to the new millennium. Lots of fun retro stuff. And we’ll serve it up with a cereal bar of fun, nostalgic cereals – and healthy choices, too! But it gets even better for the real kiddos in the audience.

Have homework that you need help with? Working on a project for school that is lacking good resource materials? Our reference librarians will be on hand to help with any homework or research project needs you have for school.

So, yes, Moms and Dads – you are reading that right. Bring the kids and their research needs, and while you are feasting on Count Chocula and watching The Pink Panther, your mini-me can get some research assistance.

This Saturday event is a test run and may return in the future! Free and open to the public.

Some Weekend Humor

Yes, Don't Stay Up Late. In Fact ... Go To Bed Early.

NOT impressed with R.L. Stine's Don't Stay Up Late.  Not at all.

I've read a variety of Stine's works through the years.  Some are scarier than others and some are a bit on the weird side, but this novel?  This novel was all mixed up!  Over-protective parents = fatal car crash = hallucinations = monsters = no, not really monsters = yes, monsters = friendships questioned = murders = who is the monster?  I thought "so-and-such" was = confusion ... YES, CONFUSION!!!  On the part of the reader!  What in the world is going on???

I will admit, at one point I decided to stop reading.  Instead I moved to skimming through the pages.  Then, skimming became even too much for me and I moved to glancing here and there and then reading the last pages as a follow-up.

My "official" recommendation?  Try one of R.L. Stine's other books.  He does have many good ones out there.  I promise.  

It's Almost Here!!

I cannot believe how close we are to the beginning of the school year!  Yikes!!  At least all of you still have a week and a half to sleep in, hit the pools, or take in an afternoon movie.  Skinner staff officially returns this THURSDAY!!!

That being said, I have just downloaded a whole bunch of books to read and (hopefully) review before your year actually starts!  Here they are ...

 

     

  By the way ... have you seen the preview for the upcoming R.L.Stine movie????  Looks creepy and a bit funny.

Classics To Try

Alright ... I get it ... while there is only a few weeks left, it is still summer vacation.  All you probably want to do is sleep in ... hit Water World or Elitches ... hang with your friends ... maybe even take in a movie or two.  Books are probably pretty low on many of your lists.  BUT just in case ... just on the off chance you are thinking, "Hmmm.  I'd really like to read a book and not just any book, but perhaps a classic of some sort," here is the first AMAZING - MUST READ classic book to add to your list!!

Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.  This is truly a great read; HOWEVER, be sure to pick up the abridged edition.  When I first read Hugo's novel I called my sister and asked her to read it as well (always better to read with a friend so you can talk about the book and the characters).  She was having a real difficult time getting into the story and I couldn't figure out why.  Come to find out she was reading the original version which had lots and lots and lots of descriptions in the opening pages and chapters ... descriptions that I had only gotten a glance of as I was reading the shortened version. Hah!  Well, maybe not "hah," but I will admit I am glad I wasn't bogged down with all those words so I could jump into the meat of the story!

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame follows several characters whose lives are interwoven by ... fate?  destiny?  the musings of an author on a given day?  Let's just say the characters range from a priest who really isn't a good guy; a guy who looks all big and bad and scary on the outside, but is actually a good guy; a girl who just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time; and a cathedral ... a massive, beautiful, breathtaking cathedral that sits within the city of Paris, casting its shadow down on all who visit.  The story isn't a happy one.  Not in any shape or form.  But don't let that dissuade you from taking a chance with this tale.  Although the characters do not receive their "happily ever after," some do receive justice and a chance to become more than they thought they ever could.

On a personal note,I was really lucky this summer as I had the chance to actually visit the Notre-Dame Cathedral!  Oh, it is spectacular - a must see for everyone who comes to Paris, France.  Be sure to take the walk up to the towers ... all 400 steps UP and all 400 steps DOWN.  Agh!  Our legs were wobbly jello after that walk!

Wasn't really a horror book ... kind of disappointed

So, I was reading that horror book, you know the one I said I was going to read even though I. DO. NOT. DO. HORROR. and ... it wasn't actually a horror book. It dealt with vampires and such, but nothing scary at all. Honestly,  I am a bit bummed. As such, I am going to try again. Yep. I will find a different horror story (one with real scares) to read and report back to you asap.

I. DO. NOT. DO. HORROR.

I was scarred as a young child.  Yes, I was.  Emotionally scarred.  By my father.  By my father's love for horror stories.  Yes, indeed.  Horror stories and I DO NOT get along in any way, shape, or form.  Nope.  Not. At. All.

BUT, because my goal is to recommend ALL TYPES of books I am putting myself on the line for YOU!  I have picked up a scary book and I'm about to dive in and immerse myself into the gory, sickening details that will probably cause nightmares for the remainder of these summer days.

Just remember, I'm doing this for YOU!!

I'll be back in a few days ... hopefully still sane and functioning, to write my review.  *eek*

I'm sorry ... I just couldn't get into this book.

I really REALLY tried to get into the latest book by Alex Flinn.  Really, I did!  I enjoyed her previous book Beastly and had thought the novel Bewitching (a sort of "pre" Beastly novel) was interesting, but I just could not get into Towering.  Not. At. All.   Why?  Personally, I found the story jumped around too much, and I didn't buy the main character's interest in the mystery.

BUT that doesn't mean YOU won't like it!  In fact, we'll find over time there are a number of books that I dislike and you love as well as books that I adore and you hate!  That's one of the wonderful things about books ... while not every book is meant for every reader, every reader has a book out there meant for him or her!

Now, if you like fairy tales (Towering is a retelling of the fairy tale Rapunzel), magic, secrets, and teenage love you may very well enjoy this novel.  Mix in some unsavory people (you know, guys who are up to no good) along with a missing child ... a mystery meant to be solved is right in front of you.

Take a chance!  You may find yourself "tangled" in a good read.

Day Ten of the Ten Day Quick Recommendations: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

It's the final day of our "Ten Day Quick Recommendations"!  While that doesn't mean I won't still be recommending books this summer, it does mean that I won't necessarily post every day as I will be READING!!! READING!!! and READING!!!

For my final recommendation on this mini-tour I want to recommend The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

If there are three books that have had an impact on my life, the first two being Judy Blume's Are You There God, It's Me Margaret and Orson Scott Card's Speaker for the Dead, Markus Zusak's The Book Thief is the one that rounds out that trifecta. 

In all of history, WWII and the holocaust are the two major events that regularly influence the world around us ... from political and social comparisons that are often  made to lessons (we hope have been) learned to story lines for books and movies ...  the lives that were lived and lost during the second world war are never far from people's minds.

The Book Thief is unique in that the narrator, the "person" telling the tale, is Death himself.  Death follows the life of a young girl living and surviving during the years of WWII in war-torn Europe.  He offers her story as a gift to the reader, pulling the reader into her life, her decisions, her fate. The "it" factor of this book is that while sharing her life, he also offers insight into the lives of those around her -- other victims, other survivors, other people who are simply trying to live in a world that is changing no matter what their personal, political, or religious beliefs or convictions. 

Usually I read a book in one setting.  I sit down and read - from beginning to end - from the first word to the last.  I couldn't do that with this book.   I HAD to take breaks.  I HAD to stop reading to process the images and thoughts this story provoked.  I HAD to think and live my life beyond the book before returning to the characters and their lives.  Never before, and I truly mean NEVER, has a book had such a profound and powerful pull on me.  And at the end of the book?  I sobbed ...body-shaking-tears-pouring-crying-out-loud sobbed for twenty minutes or more.  And then, after I pulled myself together, I called a friend to tell her about the book and sobbed again.  

THIS BOOK is one book you must read at some point in your life.  Whether today or tomorrow ... whether when you are in high school, college, or beyond ... just remember to put it on your list of "must reads" and read it.  It may very well join the list of books that influence your own life.

Day Nine of the Ten Day Quick Recommendations: Ghost Stories

Day Eight of the Ten Day Quick Recommendations: Nonfiction Graphic Novels

As I've admitted in a previous post, I was never a fan of history class (or what we call Social Studies in middle school).  I just didn't get it ... the facts ... were, well, to me they were just plain dry.  I needed the "story" behind the facts!  Now, if there had been these kind of nonfiction books when I was a student, I would have been up front and center in my history class every day!

Day Seven of the Ten Day Quick Recommendations: GRAPHIC NOVELS

One of the fastest growing sections in our collection is that of Graphic Novels and Manga. 

 

* Side note: Did you know the difference between manga and anime is that one is print while the other is animation in movies and television shows?

If you are already a fan of graphic novels and/or Manga, you may already be familiar with the titles in today's quick recommendation.   Feel free to add your thoughts and own recommendations in the comments section!!

- Hikaru no Go by Yumi Hotta

- Lunch Lady by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

          

hey, wait!!!!  Is this one saying that librarians are                                                     evil???????  Agh!!  Nooooooooooo!!!

* sidenote:  Manga and Graphic Novels are found in the 700 section of non-fiction because of the ARTWORK.

- Amulet Series by Kazu Kibuishi

- Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa

Oh, and did you know that A LOT of popular novels are now being reissued as graphic novels??