Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay

Ned Marriner is feeling babied. He's in Provence, France, where his dad, a famous photographer is taking pictures for a book. His mother is in Darfur where she is a doctor with Doctors Without Borders. Normally Ned would love the chance to get out of school and help his dad but he's worried about his mom and he feels that his dad's assistant is treating him like a little child. Melanie has researched all sorts of things for him to do as if he can't take care of himself. But Ned's irritation at Melanie is replaced by fear when he walks into the old chatedral his dad is shooting picures of.

Inside he meets an American exchange student named Kate. And then a strange man climbs out of a grate on the floor, carrying a knife, and tells them to go away because he has killed children before. The weird part is Ned knows things about this man such as where he is when he can't even see him. Then the man follows him and Kate to a cafe the next day where dogs attack them. Needless to say, Ned is getting very freaked out by all this. When his long estranged Aunt Kim shows up, Ned is anxious for answers.

Apparently Ned has been drawn into a story from long ago about two men who are desperate to kill the other in order to have the woman the both love, Ysabel. Even though Ned has been warned, repeatedly, to not get involved, somehow he can't resist. But by trying to find out the answers to what he's feeling, he ends up potentially endangering Kate, his family, and even his dad's assistants. Now, the only way to help them all is to find the mysterious Ysabel, and maybe, just maybe, Ned will also learn the truth about himself.

New Books

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Sometimes I have problems getting to the sign in page for Blogger, I don't know if it is our filters or not.

Okay, on to the news. We have been getting boxes of new books in lately. We have new manga titles such as D.N. Angel and GodChild. We have a set of college football books, and some new forensic science books as well. New fiction titles include Avalon High by Meg Cabot, Deadline by Chris Crutcher, Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay, Red Spikes by Margo Lanagan, and Looking for J.J. by Anne Cassidy. Keep looking at our new book shelf as more books are arriving all the time.

Happy reading!

Books donated to Library!

Thanks to the hard work of the Environmental Academy, noted underwater photographer Ned DeLoach and his wife Anna came to speak and show examples of his work to some of our science students. Their photographs are absolutely stunning. Some were of fish that are rarely seen. They also donated a full set of their Caribbean Fish Identification and Behavior books to the Library Media Center. In the picture above are Anna DeLoach, Environmental Science Teacher Alesa Rehmann, Jodie Delgado, and Ned DeLoach. Thank you for the wonderful books and addition to our Florida section!

50 books and counting...

Okay, somehow I have to find time to read 51 books for the Florida Teens Read committee. I'm on this committee, otherwise known as the "Fun" committee, which it is! The committee members are high school media specialists from around Florida who read lots and lots of teen books (and some adult) for the Florida Teens Read list. I am very happy and proud to be on this committee, although I do admit I have been remiss in my reading lately!

The books that we are reading now have already made the first cut. At our FAME conference we met to go through the original list and narrowed down the titles under consideration. Now, each book must be read a majority of the committee in order to be considered for our final list, which will be determined later in the school year. Which leaves me with a lot of reading.

The books are of many different genres and styles, which I'm enjoying. I have read several titles that I probably would never have picked up, and they are all good, although still not my favorites. It is great to be exposed to so many quality books for teens, and I want them all for the media center. Now, I'd better get back to my books...

Boot Camp by Todd Strasser

Garrett is in big trouble. Just because he feel in love with his teacher who is eight years older, his parents have sent him away to Harmony Lake, a boot camp for troubled teens in upstate New York. Forget all you've heard about boot camps, the reality is ten times worse.

Harmony Lake's purpose is to make kids obedient to their parents. Harmony Lake does this by stripiping away every right and dignity thier prisoners possess, and also by encouraging other kids to beat up the ones that don't conform. It's a brutal system, and it works. Garrett is finding out that nothing he does is right, and there is no faking compliance.

After being beaten repeatedly, put in Temporary Isolation too many times too count, and humiliated beyond belief, Garrett is wondering whether maybe, just maybe, he should think about giving in to these people. Otherwise he'll be here until he's eighteen, and that's several long years away.

But two inmantes have other ideas. Pauly and Sarah have been at Harmony Lake for almost two years, and although they've been beaten, their spirit is not broken. They've come up with a plan to escape. An incredibly stupid, risky plan. But the need Garrett's help. Is the freedom to be yourself worth the risk? Garrett isn't sure anymore, not after months of torture and brainwashing at Boot Camp.

Thank you to the School Advisory Council

The School Advisory Council voted on Tuesday night to donate just over $1000 to the Library Media Center to purchase new books and several playaway audio books. SAC has always been a great supporter of the LMC, and their help is greatly appreciated. I understand how difficult it is to fulfill many school requests with limited funds, and the committee went over each request in detail to determine where the funds could be used to benefit the school community the most. The money given to the media center is a huge boost to our budget and the students will enjoy the newest titles. Thanks to the support from the SAC and the teachers present.

Class book blog

I am very happy to be working with Ms. Pez and one of her English classes on a book blog. You can see it at http://www.pezbookgroup.blogspot.com. The students are answering questions about the different books they are reading. So far we have been having problems accessing the blog with the new school filters, but the studnets have been posting some good comments. I thing using blogs and other web 2.0 tools are a great way of engaging students. What do you think?

Teen Read Week

Come celebrate Teen Read Week, LOL @ Your Library! Regardless of what you may have heard, teens are still reading, and this week we celebrate that! The library media center has some great new books, including: What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones, the new Tolkien The Children of Hurin, Blue Bloods a new vampire series by Melissa De La Cruz, The Road by Cormac McCarthy, a series about cars, and craft books on knitting, beading, and scrapbooking.

During Teen Read Week, teens are invited to go online and vote for their favorite books in the annual Teens' Top Ten poll at www.ala.org/teenstopten. This is the only national list sponsored by the American Library Association and their Young Adult division YALSA that is nominated and voted on by teens.

During Teen Read Week, the Environmental Academy and our Reading Coach sponsored an environmental literacy day with a guest speaker, Dr. Ellen Prager of the Aquarius Reef Project to speak to our students. An environmentally themed art show is currently displayed in the library media center.

Florida Teens Read 07-08

It's time again to read the Florida Teens Read list. This list of 15 books has a variety of genres, authors, themes etc. to appeal to everyone. The deal is, once you read a minimum of 3 books, you get to vote for your favorite in April. The winning author gets receives his/her award at the annual FAME conference for media specialists in October.

You can find more information at http://www.floridamedia.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=12

This year the fifteen titles are:

Hit the Road by Caroline Cooney, The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney, Just Listen by Sarah Dessen, Runner by Carl Deuker, Copper Sun by Sharon Draper, Rash by Pete Hautman, Crossing the Wire by Will Hobbs, 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson, If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where's My Prince? by Melissa Kantor, Sleeping Freshman Never Lie by David Lubar, Sold by Patricia McKormick, Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, Becoming Chloe (mature reader) by Catherine Ryan Hyde, Black and White (mature reader) by Paul Volponi, and Glass Castle (mature reader) by Jeannette Walls.

As for my predictions, sci fi/fantasy has always been popular and therefore I vote for Uglies. Just Listen is also extremely popular, and Sarah Dessen's books never remain on the shelf for long. We'll see if I'm right in May. Remember, my favorite usually never wins!

What's New: Playaways!

The newest device to entrance Hurricanes students is something called a Playaway. It is a small device that holds the audio of an entire book. No more changing Cds. At the end of last school year, the School Advisory Council donated some money to start a Playaway collection. This formed the basis of 25 titles, a combination of classics (Hamlet, Frankenstein, Pride and Prejudice, the Odyssey) and more modern titles (The DaVinci Code, Outsiders, Water for Elephants). Out of the 25 titles, 15 have already been checked out.

Surprisingly, the classics seem to be very popular. Many students prefer to listen to these titles instead of reading them, and the English teachers are promoting reading and listening at the same time. Auditory learners prefer to listen as that makes it easier for them to visualize the story, and provides a good introduction to many books they probably wouldn't read otherwise. Several students have checked out the Playaways if they are going on a trip and they can listen on the plane or in the car.

Students provide their own earbuds/headphones, although we do have some available for students who need them. The device runs on a AAA battery, which we provide. Battery life tends to last for about 10 hours of listening time. Listeners can bookmark passages and chapters to come back to. Check-out time is 2 weeks, same as books, and can be renewed if needed.

Most students like the idea of the Playaways. And when I first showed them to the teachers, they were amazed at the idea of having iPod-like audio books in the Library Media Center. With new titles being released, more Playaways will soon join the original 25. Instead of seeing kids just listening to iPods, hopefully they will now be listening to quality literature too!

Hooked on Books Donates to the Media Center

The local bookstore, Hooked on Books, made a donation of $300 to both Coral Shores High School and Plantation Key School Media Centers. A percentage of sales of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on the opening weekend made up the donation.

In the picture are Katie Regelmann, PKS, Penny Bower, Hooked On Books, and myself.

Thank you Hooked On Books!

Passwords

Please forgive the lateness of this post, I am ashamed to admit but I forgot my password to log on. That will teach me to change any settings at 6:30 in the morning after staying up all night to read Harry Potter #7. Can you say brain dead?

I know having lots of passwords is a way of life in the 21st century, but I think so is forgetting them all. A brief (unscientific) survey of several people in the media center shows that this is a wide spread problem. Several people keep notebooks with passwords, others have a file saved. Neither is a fool proof method. What happens if you lose your notebook or your file is hacked into? And using the same password for everything doesn't work either. Of course, to be perfectly safe, each password should be different with weird combinations of letters (lower and upper case), numbers, and symbols. Not only does that make it harder for criminals to steal your passwords, but it makes it virtually impossible for you to remember it. Or, at least it is hard for me. Maybe everyone else has a better memory.

Well, now that I'm back in with my blog, hopefully I'll remember to update it. There is lots going on this year in the media center to share with you.

Good luck remembering all your passwords!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows SPOILER ALERT!!!

I just finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I'm not in tears at the moment, but I definitely was when a certain sweet person/creature died. There were some surprises, but many things were foreshadowed in the previous books. I think it is a fitting ending to the series, although I was worried that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were wandering around aimlessly. The book was definitely very bleak in tone, especially in the middle!

Neville didn't kill who I thought he would, but he was very instrumental in the last battle. I am trying not to say too much for those who haven't yet read it. I'm glad it ended as it did, although I would have liked more detail there. I'm also glad Harry found out the truth about Snape. All I know is that there is no way I could have been as brave as Harry. He is very noble, and loving, and a true hero.

Even though I'm tired I think I might start rereading it. Somehow I can't go to bed just yet. Of course, now that it's over, it's a matter of what happens now. I wanted the book to finish because I wanted to find out what was going to happen, but now the magic is over. For good, and forever. Thanks J.K. Rowling, it's been incredible.

Mischief managed.

Harry Potter

Okay, it's been forever since I've posted. Sorry, it has been summer vacation after all.

I have reread all the Harry Potter books, watched the movies (seen #5 two times), and I am now ready for the most amazing literature event, the release of Harry Potter #7, the Deathly Hallows. I will be dressing up and attending the party tonight. And then, my diet coke and chocolate are ready to keep me awake all night reading. I don't intend to fall asleep without knowing the answers to these two questions: Does Harry die? and is Snape good or bad?

My prediction is that Snape is really good, why else would he not kill Harry at the end of Book 6. But I do think that he will die, probably in saving Harry. I could be wrong, it has happened before, but... I also want Harry to live and get back with Ginny. I do have this awful feeling that J.K. Rowling might kill him off though. I have the kleenex ready just in case. My husband is hoping that I won't spoil the ending for him if he hears me crying.

I'm also betting on Neville to get Bellatrix Lestrange. He has a great line in the movie, when Bella asks him how his parents are he says that they're better now they are getting avenged. He has come a long way in the series, and I really want to see him grow up and become a force to be reckoned with. As for Hermione and Ron, they will FINALLY get together (although I really can't see what Hermione sees in Ron, I think her and Harry make a better couple but Harry does have Ginny). And hopefully the Dursleys will realize how mean they are to Harry and will regret it. I'm not sure what I wish for Draco, he did refrain from killing Dumbledore, but he is a huge git as Harry would put it. He may be redeemable but his father definitely isn't. And will Dobby have a role at the end? I hope so, I like Dobby.

In less than 10 hours I will have the book in my hand and I'll be starting to find the answers. It's been a great time reading about Harry's world. I really don't want it to end. Maybe if I keep rereading the books and rereading and rereading...

Stay tuned for the answers to my predictions. But don't check until you've read Book 7 yourself, because there will be spoilers! Until tomorrow!

Florida Teens Read Winner

The winner of the Florida Teens Read for 2006-2007 has been announced, Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. I haven't had a chance to read this novel yet, mainly because copies never stay on the shelf long enough for me to grab one! It (and the sequel, New Moon) have been extremely popular at our school.

The list for 2007-2008 has been posted at http://www.floridamedia.org/teensread/teensread.html
I've already read two of the titles, Just Listen by Sarah Dessen and Sold by Patricia McCormick. I have my reading list for the summer now. How about you?

Superintendent's Ultimate Readers Award

We had our Superintendent's Ultimate Readers Award ceremony and breakfast on Friday. This award is for students who have read a minimum of 15 books from August to April. We had 50 students receive the award, and they read a grand total of 1255 books combined. Congratulations!

Superintendent Acevedo hand out the award certificates, and then we all were treated to a wonderful breakfast in the cafeteria. See, reading does pay off!

End of School Year

Well, we have less than a month until school year 2006-2007 is finished. Of course, that means inventory will be starting soon. Every year I say that if I stopped buying new books, I'd have less to inventory, but I keep adding new ones!

All books are due in by the 16th of May. If students have any obligations, they need to be taken care of before Prom this weekend. Inventory will be starting the week of May 21st, so we'll be closed to classes then. The computers will still be available and we'll remain open at lunch. Thanks for understanding.

73 days to HP7!

Countdown to Harry Potter

The local bookstores are selling Harry Potter #7. I will be attending the party at Hooked on Books in Islamorada, from 10pm until 12:01 when the book is distributed. Hooked on Books is also donating a portion of all proceeds from sales of HP and the Deathly Hallows over opening weekend to the Coral Shores Media Center. If you haven't yet purchased your copy, come get sorted and drink butterbeer at Hooked on Books!

79 days and counting...

National Library Week

I'm a little late to be posting seeing as National Library Week was last week. We celebrated with a trivia contest, which turned out to be a lot of fun. I posted the questions in the LMC window and also had them on the announcements. The week started off slow, but we had 45 students participate in Thursday's question. Way to go! The questions (and answers) are as follows:

1. What is the website address where our online resources (netTrekker, Britannica and the databases can be accessed? (www.keysresearch.net)
2. What is the title of the Coral Shores Media blog? (CSHS Hurricanes Media Bulletin. Points to everyone who is currently reading this!)
3. What was Mrs. Delgado's favorite book as a teenager? (Gone With The Wind. Thanks to everyone who said Harry Potter, but unfortunately I'm not that young)
4. What degree do you need to become a librarian? (Masters of Library Science)

Thanks to everyone who participated. Our daily winners were: Dustin, Alex, Ian, and Mimi, who each received a gift card to Cover to Cover books.

The trivia contest was popular, so we'll try to do something similar next year, and maybe add more contests in the future. Let me know your ideas.

...86 days and counting the hours...

Shameless self promotion

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to share with you my latest article, this one was written for FMQ (Florida Media Quarterly), the magazine for Florida Association of Media in Education. http://www.floridamedia.org/fmq/fmq.html is the link, and the pdf file of the magazine is available at the bottom of the page. My article was on switching over to the secondary school, and tips a media specialist should know. Working in a high school is very different from elementary and middle. I like all the age groups, but working with teenagers definitely requires a different mindset! Read the article and let me know what you think.

Also, 93 days, 12 hours and 42 minutes to Harry Potter #7. I can't wait!