Sesame Street: Cookie Monster in the Library

Poor Cookie Monster. All he's ever wanted was cookies! As the 2013-14 school year begins and I retire from my most fulfilling profession, that of a school teacher and librarian, here's hoping you always find what YOU want in your school media center or public library. Happy Reading!

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm

27 Things Your Teacher Librarian Does by Mia MacMeekin

Teacher Librarian | School Librarian | Media Specialist | School Library Media Specialist

We have many names but we all LOVE our profession and working with YOU! Others may not realize all that we do - this infograhic will help. Whether while in high school or college, seek out the librarians around you. They will help you. And if they don't, speak up! YOU deserve better!

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm

23 Signs You Are Hermione Granger by BuzzFeed

23 Signs You Are Hermione Granger. Some summer fun! Using short video clips of the character Hermione Granger taken from Harry Potter movies, BuzzFeed has created 23 signs to know that you're like Hermione. How many of the 23 match you? :-)

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm

Catching Fire: Movie Trailer

A sneak peek at the Catching Fire movie. November 22, 2013 seems like a long time to wait!

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm

YA Lit Characterized

A new blog has hit the blog-o-sphere and it's sure to fill a niche for readers. YA Lit Characterized is the brainchild of Kara and Natalie - friends who met while studying library science at the University of Michigan. They are avid fans of young adult literature and want to share that love with you.

What sets YA Lit Characterized apart from other blogs about books written by librarians? This blog will have spoilers! The authors are NOT going to hold back. They will delve into the book's characters - heros, heroins, villains, and all those lesser known folks that help to bring every good read together. Kara and Natalie will share the writing responsibilities, they promise several posts each week and a new book every other week. Wow! I'm impressed by their energy and dedication to bringing YOU the real scoop on great literature.

Bookmark this blog! You'll want to check in often.

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm

15 Grammar Goofs That Make You Look Silly by Brian Clark

An infographic that should be kept handy anytime you're writing. Clear to understand, very visual and oh, so helpful. 

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm

A Christmas Carol (ebook) by Charles Dickens

It's time for some Christmas reading - online! There are many publications that are no longer copyright protected, it has expired. These books are now in the public domain. Without the protection of copyright, they can often be found online in full text. That has been the work of Project Gutenberg. From their website: Project Gutenberg offers over 40,000 free ebooks. Choose among free epub books, free kindle books, download them or read them online. We carry high quality ebooks. All our ebooks were previously published by bona fide publishers. We digitized and diligently proofread them with the help of thousands of volunteers.

With all that freedom to use as one wants, a diligent librarian created digital bibliographic records of these free ebooks then shared the records with other librarians. Our BHS library catalog, Destiny, has them. You can search Destiny for all the ebooks or do as I just did, search for ebooks on the subject of Christmas! I discovered that we have these classic ebooks:

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore

All of the Project Gutenberg books can be viewed through your web browser or downloaded to most e-reader devices including the Nook and the Kindle. Be sure to search the collection of ebooks in Destiny. These classics are surely a step back in time.

Merry Christmas!

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm

Read it Maybe - New York State Reading Association

The New York State Reading Association saw the potential from this summer's wildly popular song by Carly Rae Jepsen, Call Me Maybe, and all of the parodies that followed. They gave it a try with their own version. Get your dancing shoes on!!

And here's another parody from the Toledo Lucas County Public Library staff and patrons.

"Hey, I just read this, and Potter's crazy, So scan the barcode, And read it, maybe?"

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm

Meet Ray Bradbury

An interview with Ray Bradbury as part of the National Endowment for the Arts The Big Read project. Mr. Bradbury was the author of several classic fantasy and sci-fi novels. He is best known for Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, and The Illustrated Man. Watching this interview you'll soon realize his love for books and libraries. If you love his work, fantasy or science fiction, or are an aspiring writer, may you find inspiration in this interview.

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm

The Doors (Jimmy Fallon) Sing "Reading Rainbow" Theme

Whether you're a fan of Reading Rainbow, Jim Morrison and the Doors, Jimmy Fallon, or children's literature, you should enjoy watching this video. It's also such a throw back to the 60s and the look of the bands during that era. Have fun!

 
Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm

Defy the Dark Writing Contest

The HarperTeen division of HarperCollins Publishers is sponsoring a writing contest that would get you published, winning $500. and five copies of Defy the Dark!

Their upcoming publication, Defy the Dark, will be an anthology of short stories selected by editor Saundra Mitchell. You must write a 2,000 to 4,000 word story that takes place in the dark or at night. It can be any genre, it's your choice.

If you love to write, are 13 years or older, would like one more challenge before school begins, please check this out. All submissions are due no later than Sept. 1, 2012.

Full details including all of the rules are just a click away here.

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm

Best-Ever Teen Novels? Vote For Your Favorites

Do you have favorite novels? Would you like to ensure that your favorites are included in the "Best-Ever Teen Novels" list? Here is your chance. NPR (National Public Radio) is holding just such a vote for the next few weeks.

Follow this link to read all about it and to cast your vote. You can select up to 10 titles from their list of 235 finalists. I have a quandary - which 10? Can I limit myself to 10? Can't wait to see the results list. Stay tuned!

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm

New York Times Summer Reading Contest

Do you have an opinion about things read in the news? Would you like to have your opinion known? How would you like to have it published in the New York Times? Here's your opportunity.

The New York Times sponsors a summer reading contest for students ages 13-25. After reading any article in the NYT, you simply write and submit a short response. It can be any article of interest to you and any point of view you wish to present - 350 words or less. Concerned about privacy? No worries. They will not publish any comments that include a last name. All comments will be moderated for quality, appropriateness, respectfulness, and on-topic. However, they will not be edited.

Each week the Student Opinion question will be the same: "What interested you most in The Times this week?" Each week begins on Friday and winners are posted Monday. The first week's winners will be published July 2nd.

Digital access to the NYT is free for 10 articles each month. However, if you follow a link to a NYT article from Facebook or Twitter, they will not count toward that limit of 10. Also, any article that is linked from a NYT blog will also not count toward the 10.

NYT blogs to follow include these:
The Learning Network - the sponsor of this contest
NYT Blog Directory - all blogs sorted by topic categories such as news, politics, tech, culture, sports, style, science, health and more.

NYT Online - Caution! Do not pay for a digital subscription. You can read up to 10 articles for free each month. Keep a count.

Post your opinion here.

Full details and rules are found here.
Full details and rules in a printable PDF are found here.

Ready, Set, Read, Write!

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm

How To Be Creative by Jonah Lehrer

Creativity is not inherited, it's a skill. In this Wall Street Journal article, How To Be Creative by author Jonah Lehrer, he summarizes his findings on who is creative and becoming creative. The article is a prelude to his soon to be published book, Imagine: How Creativity Works.

Some quick tips I've learned from this article:

1. Work with others outside your field or expertise.

2. Relaxation will improve your creativity so take a warm bath, relaxing walk, even daydream.

3. Don't give up. Creativity requires hard work.

4. Forget about the work if you sense you've hit a wall. Come back to it later when you feel you might be getting close. Give your brain cells time to work.

5. Have a diverse group of friends, those who may think differently than you. An insight from them may just be the connection you need for creativity.

You'll find Mr. Lehrer's article and video of the WSJ interview here. Watch for his book to arrive in the BHS media center after it's published. I think we'll all want to take a moment to become more creative.

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm

Reading Fiction Helps Your Career by Gini Dietrich

If you read fiction, you learn to be more empathetic. You fine tune your social skills. You become more open to new experiences. Need more proof? Scientific American researcher, Keith Oatley, outlines his findings in the November 2011 issue. Here's a brief cover on the story: Gini Dietrich's Reading Fiction Helps Your Career.

I do read fiction and non-fiction tending toward more fiction when I want something to 'take me away' from days of too much brain work. I find that this research matches my experiences. See what you think - follow the link above.

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

The Gutenberg Project has been making books in the public domain (no longer under copyright) available as free eBooks for a number of years. Their collection of titles is large and growing. Their online indexing provides links to public domain works in many formats for reading on a computer or many other e-readers.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is appropriate to share with you today. Follow this link and enjoy turning the virtual pages of this actual print book published in 1843. Notice the worn pages and crumbling binding. Pause at each illustration by John Leech.

Have a very Merry Christmas with your family and friends!

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm

Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore

Another eBook from the Gutenberg Project. Pour a hot chocolate, find a youngster to read with, and share the excitement in Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore.

Ho, Ho, Ho!

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm

Sync

Good news! Free audio books! I wrote about this last summer and Sync is back! Mark your calendars now so you don't miss any of the titles offered. You can even have Sync text reminders to you. The fun begins June 23rd. Dates, titles, and texting info are below -- see you @ Sync!

Mrs. Boehm

SYNC YA Literature into Your Earphones

2 Free Audiobook Downloads Each Week

June 23 - August 17, 2011

Teens and other readers of Young Adult Literature will have the opportunity to listen to bestselling titles and required reading classics this summer. Each week from June 23 - August 17, 2011, SYNC will offer two free audiobook downloads.

The audiobook pairings will include a popular YA title and a classic that connects with the YA title's theme and is likely to show up on a student's summer reading lists. For example, Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, the first book in a popular series with strong allusions to Romeo & Juliet, will be paired with Shakespeare's classic.

To find out when you can download titles to listen to on the run this summer, visit www.AudiobookSync.com or text syncya to 25827

SYNC Titles

Summer 2011

6/23/11 - 6/29/11

Shiver By Maggie Stiefvater

Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare

6/30/11-7/6/11

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

The Trial by Franz Kafka

7/7/11-7/13/11

Where the Streets Had a Name by Randa Abdel-Fattah

A Passage to India by E. M. Forster

7/14/11-7/20/11

The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney

Beowulf by Francis B. Gummere [Trans.]

7/21/11-7/27/11

Chanda's Secrets by Allan Stratton

Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

7/28/11-8/3/11

Ashes, Ashes by Jo Treggiari

Rescue: Stories of Survival From Land and Sea by Dorcas S. Miller [Ed.]

8/4/11-8/10/11

Immortal by Gillian Shields

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

8/11/11-8/17/11

Storm Runners by Roland Smith

The Cay by Theodore Taylor

Teen Summer Reading @ BDL

It's Summer!! Time to read and relax with a cool lemonade. Be sure to check out the Teen Summer Reading Program at Brighton District Library. If you read even for a little while each day, you'll be entitled to register to win some very nice prizes. Prizes include Target gift cards, Flip cameras, audio books, and more. There will be a party at the end of the reading program and activities to join in throughout the summer. Crafts, gaming, martial arts, Zumba - you name it. There's something for everyone this summer at BDL. Catch all the details at their website: Teen Summer Reading Program. Let's keep reading!

Review by Mrs. Boehm

Have You Looked at Blogger Lately?

Blogger is about to have some major upgrades! This blog that you are reading, BHS Reads, is written on the Blogger web-based platform. Stay tuned for design changes, just as soon as they are available and I explore them. Watch this cute video, Have You Looked at Blogger Lately?, for some amazing stats on blogging and bloggers. We're WRITING!



Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm