LHBookBlog

Clementine's Letter by Sara Pennypacker

2008-11-14T13:49:00.005-09:00

Clementine is getting along much better in 3rd grade because her teacher has discovered some personal "rules" to help her know when to listen, when she is doing well, etc. But she falls apart when a sub takes the teacher's place - because he has been nominated for a teaching experience in Egypt. Clementine is certain her negative letter of recommendation will ensure her teacher's return to the 3rd grade class! (This is the third book in the "Clementine" series!)

Fairy Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley

2008-11-14T13:40:00.004-09:00

Samantha and Daphne think they are orphans until they are claimed by Grandmother Grimm. Turns out they are related to Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the famous fairy tale collectors, and are needed to help take care of some fairy tale problems. Many years ago the magical creatures in fairy tales (called Everafters) were sent to one town, Ferryport, to live separately from humans. Now, one giant is running loose destroying the town. Samantha and Daphne help solve this problem and learn about their own family history!

Welcome to the 2008-09 School Year!

2008-08-29T15:14:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Lake Hood Library! I am enjoying my 13th year at Lake Hood and love being the “books teacher” to all students! Students generally check out 2-3 books each week during library class and are encouraged to read them within two weeks, then return them for a new selection. (Replacement prices for lost or damaged hard-bound books are $20 this year, paperbacks $7.)

Here are some ways you can Encourage Reading in Your Home:

Ask your child to share their library books with you.
Create a cozy reading area.
Be a reading role model.
Keep lots of age friendly books and magazines in your home.
Turn off the TV and computer.
Notice and compliment your child’s reading effort.

Battle of the Books practice sessions will begin in November. Fifteen titles were chosen for grades 3/4 and fourteen titles were chosen for 5/6 this year – it is time to start reading them! Complete book lists are available at: http://www.akla.org/akasl/bb/bbhome.html

Our first Book Fair will be held October 28-30, during parent-teacher conference week! New books are purchased on an ongoing basis with recommendations coming from students, staff, publisher book catalogs, periodical reviews and other librarians. If you have a recommendation for new book purchases please let me know! I look forward to hearing from you this year.

Sincerely, Mary H. Hacker, LH Librarian 742-8406 wk

Lake Hood Library home page http://home.gci.net/~hh

Lake Hood Book Blog http://lhbookblog.blogspot.com

Dragons : Two Very Different Tales

2008-04-23T09:20:00.000-08:00

Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George (c)2007

Creel is originally given to a dragon in order for her poor family to benefit financially from her rescue by a prince. Instead, she makes a bargain with the dragon - the noise and fuss of the rescue won't have to happen if the dragon allows her to choose one item from it's hoard...of shoes! She makes her way to the King's Seat to seek employment at a dress shop, as she knows how to embroider beautifully. But her new shoes attract the attention of the evil princess, now betrothed to the royal prince, who wants them for her foreign kingdom's selfish purposes!

The Last Dragon by Silvana de Mari, (c) 2006

It seems that the world has descended into a Dark Age with continual rain and flooding. Yorsh is the only remaining elf to survive the flooding of his village, so he is wandering miserably when he stumbles into a cabin and is befriended by woman and her dog, then later a hunter. With their help, Yorsh is able to find the last dragon, fulfill an ancient prophesy and bring back the sun...and that is only Part 1 of Yorsh's story!

Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick

2008-04-03T15:37:00.001-08:00

Five-year-old little brother Jeffrey is annoying to 8th grader Steven, but even more annoying is Steven's whole life, after his little brother is diagnosed with leukemia. His mother has to quit her job and practically lives at the hospital while Jeffrey is getting treatment. His father has sunk into a miserable emotional void and can't communicate at all with Steven. The only real part of his world is being able to escape into his music as a drummer, getting ready for the All-City concert. Now, even that may be in jeopardy as Steven has been "space-walking" through school and is failing his classes.

Throughout the book Steven's internal dialogue is revealed in italics - about girls, his feelings about his family and friends - giving a lighted tone to a very serious subject. The feel-good ending had me in tears and wishing that all 8th graders had amazing friends like Annette and Renee!

War Horse by Michael Morpurgo

2008-03-31T20:42:00.000-08:00

Joey, a young Thoroughbred colt, arrives on Albert's farm as the result of his father's drunken dealings in town on market day. Immediately, Joey and Albert form a friendship that deepens as they both grow up and learn trust and love for each other. These happy days are interrupted when Albert's father sells Joey to the British cavalry at the start of World War I and Albert is not old enough to enlist and follow his horse.

Throughout WWI, Joey finds other friendships with other humans and another horse to sustain him as he first carries soldiers astride into battle, later pulls an ambulance cart and finally hauls cannons on carts to the front lines. He survives near starvation, overwork, heartbreak, fear and injury. But will he ever find a home with Albert again?

(I bought this at the recent Romig Middle School book fair and read it in one sitting while waiting for Sunday dinner 3/30/08!)

"Harry Potter Read-Alike"

2008-02-05T15:45:00.003-09:00

I can’t wait for The Tapestry series, Book 2, to continue the story of Max, a modern child infused with “Old Magic.” I love The Hound of Rowan by Henry H. Neff because it is truly a “Harry Potter read-alike” in a thoroughly enjoyable way! To give you an idea of the similarities I did a quick list, using key themes and ideas from HP:

The unexpected awakening of magic:
Snakes escaping the zoo / Viewing a mysterious Celtic tapestry in the Chicago Art Institute
First contact with magical representative:
Hagrid, the Groundskeeper / Nigel, the Recruiter
School:
7 yrs at Hogwarts / 6 yrs at the Rowan Academy
Wise guide:
Dumbledore / Ms. Richter, Director of the the Academy
Weird kitchen help:
House elves / reformed hag and ogre
Fantastical elements: Magical animals
Special Abilities:
Using wands and spells / Ability to “amplify” natural talents
School rival:
Malfoy / Alex
Enemy:
Voldemort / Dark magic of Astaroth, long thought to be dead but really imprisoned in a painting!

What did you read today?

2008-02-04T20:45:00.000-09:00

Thanks to the "Teacher's Choices" class this winter, my range of reading topics has expanded to include topics that I don't usually find on the top of my reading list. Tonight, for example, I read four different dinosaur books:

Dinomummy. Manning, Dr. Phillip Lars. Kingfisher, 2007.
This book tracks the efforts of excavating and studying one particular dinosaur, a hadrosaur found by a 16-year-old in North Dakota, that had been preserved quickly enough to produce a fossil mummy, a rare happening. Great panoramic illustrations.

Dinosaur Eggs Discovered! Dingus, Lowell. Twenty-first Century Books, 2007.
A series of excavations to a single site in Argentina produces new information about Titanosaur eggs and possible nesting habits. Additional finds include an Aucasaurus skeleton and Titanosaur skeletons. Engaging reading for a fossil excavation enthusiast of middle school age or older.

Dinosaurs. Long, John. Simon and Schuster, 2007.
This "insiders" book is organized into two parts: introducing and infocus. Introducing covers general dinosaur basics such as the Mesozoic era, life habits and how fossils are found and studied. Infocus give the details on a dozen popular and well-known dinosaurs. This is the one I will buy for Lake Hood!

Extreme Dinosaurs. Mash, Robert. Atheneum, 2007.
Buy this book for a dinosaur lover in your own home! This sturdy edition contains moveable parts, folding pages, flaps to lift, pieces in envelopes, and is well-organized into readable chunks of text to pick and choose from for the nightly read aloud!

The bottom line: Well-written books about dinosaurs are a welcome and even refreshing change of pace for this reader!

2007-08-18T10:03:00.000-08:00

I finally finished the 7th Harry Potter - just in time for the start of school! I didn't want to confess to the dedicated students who are HP fans that I wasn't done - plus there was always the chance that someone would have told me a "spoiler"!