Monday, November 30, 2009

Today's Podcast 11/30/2009

  • Hopkins, Ellen. BURNED
    New York : Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2006
    IL YA
    ISBN 1416903542

    Pattyn is a good Mormon daughter, 17 years old. She is good at school, happily wears homemade clothes, and takes care of her six younger sisters. But Dad is a drunk who beats up on Mom and Mom is literally only there to make babies. Dad had a family - a wife and two sons - once before but has lost them all and wants nothing more than a son. But he has seven daughters. Then Pattyn meets Derek. Derek teaches her to drink, to kiss, to feel pretty, and Derek almost - just almost - gets her virginity. Dad finds out and suddenly Pattyn is sent to her Aunt J's ranch in Nevada for the summer. Aunt J is strong, independent, and *not* Mormon. She teaches Pattyn to drink coffee, to drive a car, to wrangle cows, and all about real love. Pattyn grows up a lot that summer and likes who she has become. But then she has to go home, back into that abusive household where she'll never be good enough. In fact, things only get worse. How would you deal if you were in Pattyn's shoes?

    The main character of this novel written in verse is Pattyn Von Stratten the eldest of 8 sisters. Her parents are religious, and strict, but her father is an abusive alcoholic and her mother is a docile, unfocused, obedient, and always pregnant wife. Pattyn questions God, love, sex, and the church’s definition of "a woman’s role". Discovered dating a non-Mormon boy, Pattyn’s father banishes her to the Nevada wilderness to live with his sister for the summer. But time, Pattyn Aunt J welcomes and accepts her, she discovers her strengths, and finds her true love, Ethan. She learns of the effects nuclear weapons testing years earlier in the Nevada desert have had on Aunt J and her neighbors. Aunt J reveals the tragedy of her relationship with her brother, Pattyn’s father, and the story of her own struggle for independence and self-confidence. The story does not end happily, as Pattyn returns home to even greater unhappiness and moral dilemmas, and the reader is left

    tags: podcasts, stateawards, colorado


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

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Today's Podcast 11/29/2009

  • Riordan, Rick. BATTLE OF THE LABYRINTH
    New York : Hyperion Books for Children, 2008
    IL 5-8, RL 4.1
    ISBN 1423101464

    In this fourth installment of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, Percy goes on a quest with his demigod friend Annabeth in search of Daedalus. They must find him and convince him to help the Olympians by preventing the demigod traitor Luke and the growing Titan army from invading Camp Half-Blood through the Labyrinth. Originally created by the mortal inventor Daedalus for King Minos, the Labyrinth, like Mount Olympus, has shifted locations and now continues to grow beneath the cities of the United States. Annabeth, a daughter of Athena, the Greek goddess of Wisdom, breaks the sacred rule of three and asks Percy, his Cyclops half-brother Tyson, and Grover, the satyr seeker, to accompany her on her quest. Along the way they encounter numerous monsters and mythological creatures that seek to impede their progress. Lord Kronos gathers strength and war between the Olympians and the evil Titans seems imminent.

    Author Rick Riordan has written a compelling episode that will continue to delight readers interested in Greek and Roman mythology. Percy is a likable hero who falls into unbelievable circumstances that are only possible in the world of fantasy. Although readers not familiar with the previous three novels in the series may have some initial questions, enough background is provided that permits novices to get caught up in the story and root for the heroes. All four novels are great companions for a mythology unit and bring the ancient world to life in contemporary American society. The Battle of the Labyrinth even features a scene set in our beautiful state of Colorado.
    Reviewed by Jenna Obee for Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award

    tags: podcasts, stateawards, colorado


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Saturday, November 28, 2009

Today's Podcast 11/28/2009

  • Colfer, Eoin. ARTEMIS FOWL : THE LOST COLONY

    Long ago, the fairy families fought a battle for Ireland. When it was apparent that they could not win, they went underground, all except the eighth family, the demons.

    Suddenly the demons are reappearing. If a human should catch one, all of the fairy families would be exposed to humans. To the rescue comes the fourteen year old, boy genius and millionaire, Artemis Fowl. He is the only one who can decipher the complicated equations to stop the demons from appearing. He goes to Sicily to capture the next demon to appear, but someone else has figured out the equations, Minerva Paradizo. Minerva as a twelve year old, seems to be Artemis Fowl’s equal in brains and guts. She has kidnapped the demon. Artemis and his companion Holly Short must find this demon, the last demon warlock, before the lost demon colony returns to Earth.Reviewed by Cindy Fiegenbaum for Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award

    tags: podcasts, stateawards, colorado


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

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Today's Podcast 11/24/2009

  • Knowles, Johanna.
    JUMPING OFF SWINGS
    Cambridge : Candlewick, 2009
    IL YA
    ISBN 0763639494
    "Their words made me feel beautiful. Irresistible. Even powerful for that one brief moment before it was over. But I was none of those things. I was nothing" Ellie has learned the hard way that she can be used. She believed the boys when they lied but then saw them just leave when it was over. Even Josh. Ellie thought he was different. But he just left her in the car and went back to the party. She saw him through the window laughing with the other boys. Laughing at her. Her depression deepens when she finds there are more serious consequences to her actions than talk in the boys lockerroom.

    tags: podcasts


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

Monday, November 23, 2009

Today's Podcast 11/23/2009

  • Frost, Helen.
    CROSSING STONES
    New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009
    IL YA
    ISBN 0374316538
    They've been best friends just about all their lives. Muriel and Ollie Jorgensen and Emma and Frank Norman. They've grown up on adjacent farms and have jumped over the stones in the brook many times to get to the other farm. But now Frank has enlisted to fight in World War I. He is leaving for Europe and he asks Muriel if she will be his girl so he'll have someone to come home to. Is that a good reason? And then Ollie lies about his age and enlists as well. Told from the four perspectives, we see how war effects those who fight and those who wait.

    tags: podcasts


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

Sunday, November 22, 2009

AASL 2009



Well, I am finally coming down from the high of AASL Charlotte. It was an amazing few days filled with excitement, information and the chance to hang with friends. The AASL Smackdown was a lot of fun. I got to be on the panel with some absolutely incredible librarians. Here I am with Nancy White. We co-presented Web 2.0 applications for reading promotion.

The final event was an evening at the Imaginon. This is the children's library of Charlotte. It is an amazing place. And was filled with amazing people. Here I am with Sara Kelly Johns at the party!

Today's Podcast 11/22/2009

  • Patterson, James.
    WITCH & WIZARD
    Boston : Little, Brown, 2010
    IL YA
    ISBN 0316036242
    Think it doesn't matter who is in charge of the country? Do you think that it is all the same if it Democrats or Republicans? Maybe you don't even pay attention to such things. Well, let's hope you never wake up to banging on your door in the middle of the night. Now that the New Order has taken over, things are changing rapidly. And the leader of the Order, The One Who Is The One, is trying to eliminate the children. And he really wants to get rid of Wisteria and Whitford Allgood. They don't understand why they are arrested and tortured. But when they are rescued by the resistance they learn the truth about their lives. And their destiny.

    tags: podcasts


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

Monday, November 16, 2009

Today's Podcast 11/16/2009

  • Willems, Mo.
    NAKED MOLE RAT GETS DRESSED
    New York : Hyperion Books for Children, 2009
    IL K-3, RL 2.9
    ISBN 142311437X
    OK, what do you think of when you hear the word "naked"? OK, it means not wearing any clothes, right? So naked mole rats don't wear any clothes, right? Right. What's a naked mole rat you ask? “1. They are a little bit rat. 2. They are a little bit mole. 3. They are all naked.” Except for one. Wilbur. He is very different from his friends. He likes to wear clothes. And he has lots of clothes to choose from. Now his friends want him stopped. What will the colony ruler do?

    tags: podcasts


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

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Today's Podcast 11/15/2009

  • Westerfeld, Scott.
    BOGUS TO BUBBLY : AN INSIDER'S GUIDE TO THE WORLD OF THE UGLIES
    New York : Simon Pulse, 2008
    IL YA
    ISBN 1416974369
    Have you read Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series? Well, if not let me tell you a little about it. It takes place in the future when physical beauty is very important. As a matter of fact, everyone undergoes surgery to make them beautiful. Before then, they live together as a society of uglies. In the first book, we meet Tally who ends up not being sure that she wants to be like everyone else. The next 3 books follows the story through the end. This guide book is intended to be an overview of the world and help readers understand what is going on. You'll find out about the cliques. And the gadgets involved in the story. And so much more.

    tags: podcasts


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

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Today's Podcast 11/12/2009

  • Walsh, Chloe.
    FASHIONISTAS
    New York : HarperTeen, 2008
    IL YA
    ISBN 0061370886
    Can you imagine what it would be like to get a job as an intern at a Vogue-like magazine. Wow, what a chance of a lifetime. The four girls in this story have done just that. Join them as they cover the teen fashion scene for the magazine.

    tags: podcasts


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

Monday, November 09, 2009

Today's Podcast 11/09/2009

  • Vega, Denise.
    GRANDMOTHER, HAVE THE ANGELS COME?
    Boston : Little, Brown, 2009
    IL K-3, RL 3.0
    ISBN 0316106631
    As we get older, we change. Our hair may get a bit whiter. Our eyesight dims a bit. It gets harder to hear. As a young girl asks her grandmother about these, her grandmother has wonderful answers. “Grandmother, Grandmother have the angels come and painted your hair?” “Yes, my darling granddaughter. / They have painted it white / so I may become more like the clouds.”

    tags: podcasts


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