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May 22, 2007
THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET: A NOVEL IN WORDS AND PICTURES
In THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET by Brian Selznick Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station. He is an orphan, clock keeper, and thief. In the train station his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. The old man who runs the toy booth and a young girl who loves books enters Hugo's life, and everything is at risk including Hugo's most precious secret. The secret includes a notebook, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father. This is a mystery you can not put down. Although the book appears very big, 526 pages big; wonderful illustrations replace words to move the story along.
I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK FOR YOUNG TEENS IN GRADES 6 TO 8.
Mrs. Jackson
Head of Young Adult Services
Posted by fjacksonem at 9:35 AM | Comments (0)
May 16, 2007
THE 3 APPLE BOOK AWARD -- NEW YORK TEEN'S CHOICE AWARD
The New York Library Association is proud to announce the 15 finalists for the first annual Teen 3 Apples Book Award, a New York State Teen's Choice Award. This award is jointly sponsored by the Youth Services Section and the School Library Media Section of the New York Library Association.
Teens across New York State have nominated the following titles:
BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA
by Katherine Paterson
Jess and Leslie, two outsiders who become friends, create a magical kingdom called Terabithia where their imaginations set the only limits.
A CHILD CALLED IT
by David Pelzer
Based on the story of Dave PelzerÕs childhood and how he dealt with the abuse and neglect from the very people he should have been able to depend on.
THE CLIQUE
by Lisi Harrison
Can Claire the new girl at an exclusive private school fit in? The CliqueÉthe only thing harder than getting in is staying in.
ELDEST
by Christopher Paolini
After successfully evading an Urgals ambush, Eragon is adopted into the Ingeitum clan and sent to finish his training so he can further help the Varden in their struggle against the Empire.
GREEN EGGS AND HAM
by Dr. Seuss
Would you eat green eggs and ham? DonÕt say ÒNo!Ó to Sam I Am!
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE
by J.K. Rowling
Year 6 Ð Harry learns more about VoldemortÕs past and is convinced that Draco Malfoy, his Hogwarts enemy, has become a Death Eater.
HATCHET
by Gary Paulsen
When the pilot of a two-person plane has a heart attack and dies, Brian has to crash-land in the Canadian wilderness, and learn how to survive on his own with only a hatchet.
HEAT
by Mike Lupica
Pitching prodigy Michael Arroyo is on the run from social services after being banned from playing Little League baseball. Rival coaches doubt he is only twelve years old and he has no parents to offer them proof.
HOLES
by Louis Sachar
Living under a family curse brought about by his ÒNo-Good-Dirty-Rotten-Pig-Stealing-Great-Great-Grandfather,Ó Stanley Yelnats is wrongly convicted of a crime and sent to Camp Green Lake where his punishment is to dig holes. What will he dig up?
MY BROTHER SAM IS DEAD
by James Lincoln Collier
A family is divided when one son joins the Revolutionary Army while the rest of the family sympathizes with the British.
THE OUTSIDERS
by S. E. Hinton
The struggle of three brothers to stay together after their parent's death and their quest for identity among the conflicting values of their world.
SON OF THE MOB
by Gordon Korman
Vince's life is constantly complicated by the fact that he is the son of a powerful Mafia boss, a relationship that threatens to destroy his romance with the daughter of an FBI agent.
SPEAK
by Laurie Halse Anderson
A traumatic event near the end of the summer has a devastating effect on Melinda's freshman year in high school.
THE THIEF LORD
by Cornelia Funke
Things are not as they seem when runaway brothers Prosper and Bo decide to hide out in Venice where they fall in with the Thief Lord, a thirteen-year-old boy who leads a crime ring of street children
TWILIGHT
by Stephenie Meyer
Bella falls in love with Edward after she moves from Phoenix to Forks, Washington. He is exquisitely handsome and a vampire.
TIMETABLE OF EVENTS
1. April - December 2007
READ! READ!! READ!!!
Teens read or listen to the finalists at their local library during the summer reading programs and at their school library in the fall. Each teen must read or listen to a minimum of three books from the list of 15 finalists in order to vote.
2. January 2008
Voting will take place in libraries all over New York State.
Ballots will be made available at school and public libraries, and can be printed from the 3 Apples Book Award website.
Only teens in grades 7-12 (ages 13+) who have read or listened to at least 3 of the finalist titles are eligible to vote.
Each eligible teen has one vote, cast at either their school or public library.
Teen voting ends on January 20.
3. February 2008
The award winner will be announced on the website on February 10th.
The 3 Apples Book Award has been developed to encourage the joy of reading for pleasure, and to give the teens of New York State the opportunity to participate in honoring their favorite books.
Each year teens in grades 7-12 (ages 13+) nominate their favorite book, creating a statewide ballot of fifteen of the most popular titles. After reading at least three of the finalist books, the teens vote to select one as their favorite. That book and its author are honored with the presentation of the 3 Apples Book Award, and celebrations take place across the state in school and public libraries.
There are so many good books to choose; I know I would have a hard time picking my favorite. You must read three to vote and I am sure with this list it won't be a problem.
Mrs. Jackson
Head of Young Adult Services
Posted by fjacksonem at 3:25 PM | Comments (0)
May 15, 2007
SEMIPRECIOUS
SEMIPRECIOUS by D. Anne Love was a very touching book. In the book, Garnet’s mother decides to pursue her dream of becoming famous, but ends up dumping her two children, Opal and Garnet, with her sister. At first, the sister’s are very upset about leaving Mirabeau, Texas, and going to Willow Flat’s, Texas. Their mother’s sister is poor, and the lifestyle is very different then they are used to. Garnet’s sister instantly becomes popular, but it’s harder for Garnet. During her time in Willow Flats, she discovers that her mother isn’t really cut out for being a mother, and that she can find family in the most unexpected places. By the end of the book, Garnet and Opal are going to return with their father to Mirabeau, and Garnet is finally accepting on who she is, and who has made her that way.
I RECOMMEND IT FOR ANYONE IN GRADES 6 TO 8.
Alison Verderber
Grade 8
Kellenberg Memorial Latin School
Posted by fjacksonem at 10:43 AM | Comments (0)
May 1, 2007
A LOOK AT GRAPHIC NOVELS
Alex Zuckerman, a senior at East Meadow High School, did his community service internship at the East Meadow Public LIbrary. Alex is interested in filmmaking, including anime. Unfortunately our anime collection is very small, so I asked Alex to review some of the titles in our graphic novel collection.
WAR OF THE WORLDS by Stephen Stern and Arne Starr
The graphic novel is only slightly better then the movie, because Tom Cruse isn’t in it. What more can I say but if you like pointless action sequences that are only running away scenes and really bad artwork, then be my guest and pick this one up today. The real thing that got me mad, was the ending made no sense. Thanks to the bad art work, you can’t tell what’s going on in the story because it looks like the illustrator took a nap as they were drawing this piece of garbage. Now don’t get me wrong, the original book is great but this one isn’t.
CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON by Wang Du Lu and Andy Seto
This one is a great choice to read. If you like the movie then you’ll like the book too. With detailed art work, color and story line this one is a must read.
JU-ON 2 by Takashi Shimizu and MEIMU
Just like the Sarah Michelle Gellar movie this graphic novel is really bad. The art work is atrocious at best and uninteresting. The original movie version from Japan is well written, acted and well thought out, certainly not like this graphic novel. The graphic novel is based on the Japanese movie but with really poor art work. This version it is just a pathetic attempt at a once good movie.
WAR CRAFT: THE SUNWELL TRILOGY by Richard Knaak and Jae-Hwan Kim
Well written story line, art work and based on one of the best video games ever, This is a must read. The only bad thing about it is that the mane character hair is so ugly that it makes it look like a mop is on his head.
MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL by Gary Reed and Frazer Living
One of the best graphic novels the Library has to offer. It’s an adapted version of the Mary Shelley’s book. With its detail art work, classic story and its look into the world of true horror, this one isn’t just a must read, it’s a must own as well.
FLIGHT VOLUME 1
Flight is a beautiful graphic novel that is a mixture of short stories that all have a different art style to each of them. The stories are for all ages. It is a must read.
WONDER WOMAN: LAND OF THE DEAD by Greg Rucka and Geoff Johns
This is one of the best graphic novels the Library has to offer. It is so well written that I take this graphic novel out all the time. I strongly recommend this one.
NORTH COUNTRY by Shane White
This book is not based on the movie. This is truly one of the best graphic novels ever made. It’s about a man going back to visit his childhood home and on the plane ride there he thinks about all of the bad things that happened to him there. He was beaten by his drunken Dad, he tried to kill himself and likes to pretend that he is a comic book character. The best part about this book is that it’s not all talking. There’s a shoot-out, a motorcycle accident and a suicide. I strongly recommend this graphic novel to everyone. It’s meant for older readers.
ROBIN: TO KILL A BIRD by Bill Willingham and Damion Scott
This graphic novel is about Robin fighting the penguin’s evil plan to rule Gotham city. If you like Batman then why not pick this one up.
GALAX ANGEL BETA by Kanan
If you’re a fan of Asian stereotypes then this is the one for you. It has girls in bikinis, something to do with space and a bazaar plot. If that sounds like something you like, then you should pick it up today, but I won’t.
FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST by Hiroumu Arakawa
In all honesty, I found this to be very boring. Here’s why. It said on the back that it’s supposed to be non-stop action but for me it was non-stop boredom and the background art is just bland, no detail at all.
Alex Zuckerman
Grade 12
East Meadow High School
Posted by fjacksonem at 1:53 PM | Comments (0)