Booklist: Vampires, zombies, and faeries, oh my!

Due in large part to the Twilight books and subsequent movie, vampires have been very popular lately. In fact, they are so popular that the library has at least one copy of each book in Meyers' series and they are almost never on the shelf - and there are lengthy waiting lists for both Twilight and Eclipse.

So here is a list of books at the PRHS library that are about vampires, zombies (the new vampires, hopefully), and faeries (which are much more mischievous and evil than you're probably thinking). Enjoy!

Vampires (Books with bite)

Thirsty by M.T. Anderson.

House of Night series by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast.

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare.

The silver kiss by Annette Curtis Klause.

Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer.

The vampire plagues series by Sebastian Rook.

Cirque du Freak series by Darren Shan.

Dracula by Bram Stoker.

Night runner by Max Turner.


Zombies (Books with braaaaiiiinnnnsss...)*

Soulless by Christopher Golden

Generation dead by Daniel Waters.

*Yes, this is currently a short list, but there are more zombie books ordered for the library.


Faeries (Books with...wings?)

Tithe series by Holly Black.

Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer.

The Spiderwick chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black.

Book of broken hours series by C.H. Doherty-Wayne.

Wicked lovely by Melissa Marr.

Faeries of Dreamdark: Blackbringer by Laini Taylor.

Shipment of new books

Fiction

Does my head look big in this? by Randa Abdel-Fattah

A clockwork orange by Anthony Burgess

Nick & Norah's infinite playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Geography club by Brent Hartinger

Luna by Julie Anne Peters

So hard to say by Alex Sanchez

Night runner by Max Turner


Nonfiction

What if someone I know is gay?: answers to questions about gay and lesbian people by Eric Marcus

Stiff: the curious lives of human cadavers by Mary Roach

Burn journals by Brent Runyon

The Week in Rap

Via SLJ's email newsletter comes The Week in Rap, a weekly summary of current events and news in the form of (you guessed it) a rap. While it's definitely focused primarily on the United States and the news and events that occur there, it is certainly worth a look. Below is a special edition about Barack Obama's election victory.


The Week in Rap from Week in Rap on Vimeo.

Great idea!

Remembrance Day 2008

Remembrance Day is tomorrow, and (surprisingly) it looks like the temperature won't be too cold - it would seem like cheating if I didn't stand in cold rain or snow during a Remembrance Day ceremony. It always feels like a small payment for my freedom: standing, shivering, while Taps is played and wreaths are laid.

Over the past couple of years at Parrsboro schools, I've collected over 70 websites about Remembrance Day on the PRHS library Delicious account. Just click the link above to view the list and find out about everything from war brides to the merchant navy, Great War weapons to life after Auschwitz, Vimy Ridge to peacekeeping.

There are also a number of books in the PRHS library about Remembrance Day. Some are listed below.

I wish you well this Remembrance Day, and hopefully I'll see you at the Parrsboro ceremony tomorrow.

New books!

Between the Scholastic book sale at the elementary and a batch of books coming in that I had ordered a while back, there are more than 10 new books this week.


Fiction

Jinx by Meg Cabot

The crow (third book of Pellinor) by Alison Croggon

Arthur: of the crossing places by David Crossley Holland

Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis

The specialists: model spy by Shannon Greenland

Diary of a wimpy kid and Diary of a wimpy kid: Rodrick rules by Jeff Kinney

Schooled by Gordon Korman

Hero by Perry Moore

The death gene by Malcolm Rose


Nonfiction

Between a rock and a hard place by Aron Ralston

November newsletter and December calendar

The Parrsboro Schools' November newsletter is now available online. It includes a copy of the schools' December calendar.

Happy Halloween!

Check out http://delicious.com/prhslib/Halloween for a bunch of Halloween-related links, from Days of the Dead around the world to how to carve a great pumpkin.

More new books!

I just finished processing another batch of new books and they are now available and ready to be borrowed.

Fiction

Mistik Lake by Martha Brooks

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

The number devil by Hans Magnus Enzensberger

Sold by Patricia McCormick

A certain slant of light by Laura Whitcomb


Nonfiction

An inconvenient truth by Al Gore

GLBTQ: the survival guide for queer & questioning teens by Kelly Huegel

Body drama by Nancy Redd

Good masters! Sweet ladies! Voices from a Medieval village by Laura Amy Schlitz

New books at the library

A small delivery of books came in today, including one which has been greatly anticipated.

Arthur: the seeing stone and Arthur: king of the Middle March by Kevin Crossley-Holland

King Arthur and the round table retold by Geraldine McCaughrean

Brisingr by Christopher Paolini

Angus, thongs and full-frontal snogging, Knocked out by my nunga-nungas and Dancing in my nuddy pants by Louise Rennison

Booklist: Survival books at PRHS library

I have compiled a list of survival-themed books, such as Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, and posted it below. Clicking on the linked title will take you to the PRHS library catalogue so you can see if the book is checked in.

Crabbe by William Bell

My side of the mountain by Jean Craighead George

Far North by Will Hobbs

Island trilogy by Gordon Korman

Into thin air by Jon Krakauer

Oblivion Road by Alex MacAulay

Lost in the barrens by Farley Mowat

Two against the north by Farley Mowat

The crossing by Gary Paulsen

Hatchet series by Gary Paulsen

Peak by Roland Smith

The Cay by Theodore Taylor

The Darwin expedition by Diane Tullson

Banner in the sky by James Ramsay Ullman

Survivors! True death-defying escapes by Larry Verstraete

Peak survival by Pam Withers

Raging river by Pam Withers

September School Newsletter and calendar

The September 2008 Parrsboro Schools newsletter and September calendar are now available online as a PDF file.

Book review: Faeries of Dreamdark: Blackbringer

Faeries of Dreamdark: Blackbringer by Laini Taylor

Fierce nomadic faerie Magpie Windwitch and her posse of crows travel the world capturing escaped demons. A couple of strange encounters send them traveling back to Magpie's home, Dreamdark, to investigate some very odd occurrences, and things only get more dangerous with faerie warriors disappearing and a false queen taking the throne.

And that's just the beginning. Things get worse and worse, with Magpie losing friends to the terrible dark power known as the Blackbringer, the only creature that can help them is a cranky old codger who's been asleep for a few thousand years, and even the forgotten fabric of the world is falling apart. Magpie is thrust into the role of saviour of the world, but can she succeed?

Faeries of Dreamdark: Blackbringer is a fantastic adventure that just gets more ominous and exciting as the book proceeds. There are a lot of twists and turns in the plot that I didn't see coming and never would have guessed, and the characters are full of life and humour (I especially enjoyed Calypso the crow and Batch the scavenger imp). Highly recommended.

5 stars out of 5 for Faeries of Dreamdark: Blackbringer.

Author's website.

A review.

Book review: Crank

Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Kristina is 17 and quiet when she goes to visit her father for a few weeks in the summer. She meets Adam in her father's apartment building and quickly becomes involved with him - and with the drug crystal meth, which she calls "the monster." Kristina quickly becomes addicted to both meth and Adam and returns home brokenhearted and high.

That's only the beginning. Kristina, who now calls herself Bree and is more aggressive and flirtatious, makes new friends and finds new ways to get drugs at home to feed her addiction. She'll do just about anything to get another high, and what she does and is forced to do will change her life forever.

Crank is powerful. It's written in free verse from Kristina's point of view, and the author knows what she's talking about as Kristina is based on her own daughter's experience of addiction. Once I picked this up I got so caught up in Kristina's experience that I couldn't put it down. If you at all curious what drug addiction can do and how powerful a hold it can have on your mind and body, read this book.

About Crank and its author, Ellen Hopkins.

Information about crystal meth.

Parrsboro Elementary Library reorganization images

I have put together a slide show of before and after shots of the PRES library and the murals that are in the process of being created on the library walls by the very talented PRES staff member Caitilin Pelletier. Enjoy!

Book review: Monster

Monster by Walter Dean Myers

Steve Harmon is sixteen and on trial for murder. Problem is, he didn't actually kill anyone but instead was accused of being the look-out for a drugstore robbery that went horribly wrong. Was he, or was it just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time? That is what the jury is trying to find out and what Steve's lawyer is determined to prove.

Written in the form of a screenplay for a movie, Monster is Steve's experience in prison as well as in the courtroom. From witnesses on the stand to his parents' visits to him in jail, everything is covered in the movie he's writing, directing and producing. This is an intense and riveting story that I read in one sitting. Highly recommended.

4.5 stars out of 5 for Monster.

Read a review of Monster.

About the author.

New books for September

Fiction

Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block

A great and terrible beauty and Rebel angels by Libba Bray

Darkest hour (Mediator #4) by Meg Cabot

Deadline and Staying fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher

Ingo by Helen Dunmore

Things left unsaid by Stephanie Hemphill

Magic or madness by Justine Larbalestier

Margaux with an X by Ron Koertge

Girl, 15, charming but insane and Girl, 16, absolute torture by Sue Lamb

Wicked lovely by Melissa Marr

One of those hideous books where the mother dies by Sonya Sones

Under the baseball moon by John H. Ritter

Spud by John van de Ruit

The rules of survival by Nancy Werlin




Nonfiction

Canada in space: the people & stories behind Canada's role in the exploration of space by Chris Gainor

Canadian women adventurers: stories of daring and courage by Tamela Georgi and Lisa Wojna

Disasters of Atlantic Canada: stories of courage & chaos by Vernon Oickle

Greatest goalies of the NHL: stories of legendary players and World's greatest soccer players: today's hottest stars by J. Alexander Poulton

Book review: Wicked Lovely

Wicked lovely by Melissa Marr

Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries.
Rule #2: Don't speak to invisible faeries.
Rule #1: Don't ever attract their attention.

Aislinn has always been able to see faeries and now two particularly frightening ones are following her everywhere she goes. Not only that, but one of them makes himself visible and tries to talk to her. It turns out that he is Keenan, the Summer King, and he's determined to make Aislinn his Queen regardless of how she happens to feel about it. Fighting alone for her future, Aislinn must decide whether or not to tell her best friend about her secret or risk losing him, too.

I really got into this book and read it in a couple of days. There's a lot of tension between characters - Donia and Keenan, Aislinn and Seth, Beira and Keenan - which helped me get to know them and their different moods and dynamics. Despite the fact that there were a lot of characters, Marr somehow made it easy to keep track of everyone and get to know them. In the end, I couldn't put this book down.

4 stars out of 5 for Wicked Lovely.

Reviews (on the author's website).
Interview with the author.

Summer reading

Ahh, summer. Time for sun, swimming, scooping blueberries, and roasting marshmallows over a bonfire. Also time - lots of it - for reading!

There are dozens of summer reading lists to be found on the internet and I've rounded up a good variety. If you're stuck for something to read (I won't be - I have about 30 books on my list to read over the summer!), you shouldn't be after taking a look at these lists.

ALA Booklists - dozens of booklists of award winning fiction from the American Library Association, including Best Books for Young Adults and Quick Picks.

ReaderGirlz - not so much a book list as a book club for girls that includes author bios and book playlists.

Top books for boys - a list 167 books long from the United Kingdom.

TeenReads Ultimate Reading List

Don't forget to sign up for the public library's Teen Summer Reading Club! For every 2 hours you read you can qualify to win gift certificates and other prizes.

Have a great summer and see you in September!

Book review: Shark Girl

Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham

Jane Arrowood is fifteen, loves cooking, and is an accomplished artist. Her life changes one day at the beach when she is attacked by a shark and loses most of her right arm. Not only does she find it incredibly difficult to come to terms with the loss of her arm, but a man at the beach caught the attack on video and it was shown on the news across the country. While hundreds of people write to say how brave she is and that they are pulling for her, Jane struggles with anger and frustration at not being able to do the things she could do before. And how can she even go out in public when everyone knows what happened to her and will be staring?

Shark girl was a captivating read. Jane was very realistic: angry at the world (and herself) for what happened, frustrated that the things she most loved to do now seem impossible, and anxious about going out in public knowing that absolutely everyone has seen the horrific footage of the attack. The reactions of the people around her - her mother, brother, relatives, friends, therapist - are all different yet realistic. All this, and the novel is entirely in verse form.

I didn't think
things could get much worse
when the doctors told me,
their voices penetrating
some faraway cloud
I'd been inhaling,
"Jane, we've had to amputate.
Your right arm, Jane.
Above the elbow."
I didn't think things could get worse.
But then I was in a coma for
the first ten days. (excerpt from page 6)

I'd never read a poetry novel before but I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading others in the library collection. Bingham does an excellent job.

4 stars out of 5 for Shark Girl.

Author's website.

Author interview (discussing Shark Girl).

Sunset on Mars

Mars sunset, taken in May 2005 by the NASA Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. The sun appears so tiny! From NASA image of the day.

Breaking Dawn cover

The cover for Breaking Dawn, the fourth book in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer, has just been released.

I'm not sure I like it - it has a computer-generated/artificial look to it that the previous books didn't have with the apple, flower and ribbon on the covers. I can't really put my finger on exactly what I dislike about it, though. Perhaps it just reminds me too much of Through the Looking Glass. :)

**You can read the first chapter of Breaking Dawn online.

Author Vicki Grant to visit PRHS

Vicki Grant, author of popular book "I.D." and several others at the PRHS library, will be visiting the grade 7 and 8 classes at the high school tomorrow, May 28th. We're really excited to have her visit as her books are some of the most popular of the Orca Soundings series, which is a series of books that is widely read in the school. We are looking forward to meeting her!

NASA's Phoenix Lander parachutes to Mars surface

Photo courtesy of http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/images/press/PHX_Lander.html

That is a photograph of the Phoenix Mars Lander taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter as the Lander parachuted down to the surface of Mars. I watched part of the live coverage of the landing on CNN on Sunday night and it was pretty exciting! It's hard to imagine spending years working on a project like the Phoenix Lander, launching it into space, waiting months and months for it to get to where it's supposed to be, and then crossing your fingers and hoping it lands safely 400 million miles away.

You can see more images taken by Phoenix and learn about how it works on the NASA site.

Also, the Discovery space shuttle is launching on Saturday, May 31st, at about 6pm Atlantic time.

City of Ember trailer

A movie version of The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau is coming out in October, and you can now watch the trailer. It looks like it'll be quite good!

PRHS Library toolbar

Last weekend (May 9-10) I attended the Atlantic Provinces Library Association (APLA) annual conference in Charlottetown, PEI. One of the many excellent sessions I attended was entitled "Top Tech Tools" which involved 8 library staff members from different institutions do a quick 5-minute overviews of their favourite new technological tool. One of the presenters spoke about Conduit library toolbars and it really piqued my interest, so one of the first things I did when I got back to work was make my own toolbar.

Voila:

It's a little small to see, but the toolbar gives users a quick link to the library catalogue, RSS feeds of new books in the library and new Del.icio.us links, and links to other useful tools. You can look at the PRHS Library toolbar in more detail here and start creating your own here.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Lifelong literacy ads

I discovered these ads created by the Ad Council, Walt Disney Studios and Brigham Young University the other day and thought I'd share.

Click here or on the video screen to link to the ads.

Gutsy Girls book display

I put up a new book display on Monday entitled "Gutsy Girls" - and you can view the books I chose on that theme in the GoodReads widget below.

I'm waiting on a couple of orders to add more books to the display - there are a few gems coming in, like Sold and Before I die. Woot!

Happy Earth Day!

Today is Earth Day, a day to learn about and consider the Earth, its environment, and our impact on it. Parrsboro Elementary students and staff are celebrating by picking up trash on and around school grounds, and have asked everyone to have a "litterless lunch" today. With practice, hopefully we'll have litterless lunches every day!

Have a great Earth Day and don't forget that Fast Food Nation is showing (for free - but donations are accepted) at the Band Hall tonight at 7:30 pm.

Upcoming books

There are a number of books being released in the next few months that are part of some popular series here at the PRHS library, so I thought I'd give a preview.


Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire by Derek Landy (release date: April 25)

Percy Jackson & the Olympians 4: The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan (release date: May 9)









Pretty Little Liars 4: Unbelievable by Sara Shepard (release date: May 27th)










Twilight Series 4: Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (release date: August 2)


Inheritance Cycle book 3: Brisingr by Christopher Paolini (release date: September 20)

Lots of new books!

Thanks to a donation from the PRHS Student Council, I purchased more than 30 new books for the library and have copied their covers below. There are already some new favourites that have waiting lists!