Book Domino – World Record

For years I’ve been hanging out to set up a book domino in my library.   Unfortunately I’ve never been able to convince my work colleagues.   So as a ‘frustrated’ book domino builder, all I can do is look on at the feat of others!

Here’s a recent world record attempt to build the longest book domino chain!   Run at the launch of the 2013 summer reading program at Seattle Public Library, the attempt involved 2131 books, 27 volunteers and 112 slices of pizza!

Pop-up Library

A pop-up-library, designed and built by Nick Korody of Los Angeles district Pacific Palisades, has appeared just outside the Canyon Charger School.

Developed as part of his architecture and urban studies course, it’s always pleasing to see any kind of initiative that promotes reading and literature!

The ink bridge – Neil Grant

Grant’s penmanship transports the reader to a world known only by Afghanis.  The abject fear instilled in them by the Taliban and by the poverty, hardship and sheer terror that surrounds them on a daily basis unfold slowly and clearly reaching into the very soul of those reading it.  Grant’s choice of words and phrases and his manipulation of them to create not only a story but a mood and atmosphere make this novel stand out.  Omed and Hec, the two main characters, one an Afghani and the other an Australian, are so credible that they feel as though they are in the room with us as we read.  Never again, on completion of this read, is it possible to consider ‘asylum seekers’ as we had previously.    A poignantly told story of Afghanistan and its people.  A great read.

Rating:  *****
Theme Fiction:  Historical Fiction
Suitable:  Year 9-12+

Friday Brown – Vikki Wakefield

Friday Brown runs away from her grandfather’s home soon after her mother dies.   She is lost and alone when found by a boy nicknamed Silence.   Taken into his ‘home’ Friday learns to live rough with a bunch of street kids.  A power play between the leader of this motley group and  Friday has a feel of being highly contrived.  The characters in this story do not seem real.  It’s a strange novel which is a disappointment following Wakefield’s previous book “All I ever wanted” which was quite gripping.

Rating: ***
Theme Fiction:  Person to Person
Suitable:  Year 10-12

The wrong boy – Suzy Zail

While trying to paint a picture of the bleak and horrific realities of the Holocaust, Zail has aimed to increase readership amongst the young adult audience likely to read this book by throwing in an unlikely ‘love story’ with characters that don’t seem wholly credible.  This tactic however, not only detracts from the novel’s main theme, but tends to ‘ease’ the horror that faced those tortured, starved, gassed and executed at the notorious concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau.  Zail’s writing style, which tends to paint broad sweeping scenes that jump awkwardly in time, place and location, may only be best understood by those readers very familiar with historical facts of the Holocaust.  For those without this in depth knowledge, the picture created tends to be far ‘rosier’ than reality.

Rating: ***
Theme Fiction: Historical Fiction
Suitable:  Year 9-12

Affirming the role of Teacher Librarians!

April is School Library Month in the US.

I came across this video in which five authors talk about the value of both libraries and teacher librarians in their lives.   If you are having any doubts about our value, just have a listen!

Prehistoric Googling

For those of us old enough to remember …..