February 2011 Archives

For all the fashionistas waiting for the latest fashions to walk down the runway here are a few biographies about famous fashion designers. These books are from the PROFILES IN FASHION series.

Models who walk the runway have worn this designer's apparel; Malaysian born, Jimmy Choo, is best known for shoes. His shoes were worn by First Lady Michelle Obama, Princess Diana and Cameron Diaz. Jimmy was born in 1961 and made his first pair of shoes in 1972, when his formal education ended. At 12 Jimmy began watching his father craft comfortable shoes for their customers. To further his education in shoes Choo goes to England to study and four years later he starts his career. Mr. Choo says, "I consider myself very lucky to where I am today." This book tells his story was only a little bit of luck and lot of hard work.

Every fashionista need a great purse and the Kate Spade is a leader in the fashion accessories area. Kate arrived on December 24, 1962 as the fifth child of the Brosnahan Family of Kansas City, Missouri. Her dream was to become a journalist and she did worked for the magazine, Mademoiselle, but in a tiny apartment in New York City along with her husband, Andy Spade, with very little money Kate started her now famous business. The Kate Spade brand is found in the best stores across the country but Kate has met with the unanticipated problem of success, knock-offs. From $6000 to a multimillion company Kate Spade has earned it all.

Our next designer dreamed of being an Olympic skating champion, studied pre-medicine at Sarah Lawrence, and moved to Paris to work as a shopgirl for Yves Saint Laurent. Who is this woman; it's Vera Wang. Working her way from the bottom to the top of the fashion world, Ms Wang is recognized as the premier designer of wedding dresses. Many a bride has walked down the aisle in a Vera Wang gown. Vera also achieved gold at the Olympics with her figure skating costumes for Evan Lysacek and Michelle Kwan. She is a the top of career with an even brighter future.

If you are into fashion, you should read about these fabulous people.

Mrs. Jackson
Head of Young Adult Services
East Meadow Public Library

The book, ANYTHING BUT TYPICAL by Nora Raleigh Baskin, is about an autistic boy named Jason. Anywhere Jason goes there's a problem but when he writes on the Storyboard website, he turns into a different person. When Jason posts one of his stories a girl reads it and really likes it. So, they start to talk and share their different stories with each other. Since Jason has talked to her, he hasn't been having any problems in school.

Every year there is a Storyboard convention Jason always wanted to go. Because he's been doing well in school, his parents decide to take him. The girl he shares his stories with is also going. The one thing going through Jason's mind is will she hate me or will she like me?

I would recommend this book to middle school students, both boys and girls.

Lauren Moerler
Clarke Middle School
Grade 6

Do you enjoy Harry Potter? Do you love books jam-packed with adventure? Are you interested in Greek mythology? Are you getting sick listening to all these questions? If so, you might want to check out Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Piordan. In this book, Percy Jackson realizes he is a demigod (the child of one of the gods), and he is the son of Poseidon, and starts going to a camp called Camp Half-Blood, a camp especially for half-bloods like him. There, he meets Annabeth Chase, the daughter of Athena, and Grover the satyr (half human, half goat.) He learns that someone has framed him of stealing Zeus's lightning bolt, or as the title suggests, "The Lightning Thief." He goes on a quest with Annabeth and Grover to clear his name and return the lightning bolt to Zeus. The series is compiled of five books, each leading closer and closer to the great Titan war against Kronos, the evil Titan lord. At one time, the gods broke Kronos into pieces and dropped all his remains into Tartarus. Luke, a previous camper at Camp Half-Blood, tries to bring Kronos back to his true form. He wants to bring down Olympus because he thinks the gods have been in charge for too long. I recommend this series to anyone in grades 6-9 in need of an adventure!

The titles of the Percy Jackson books are:
The Lightning Thief

The Sea of Monsters

The Titan's Curse

The Battle of the Labyrinth

The Last Olympian

I hope you enjoy these books as much as I do!

Written by: Nicole Innvar

Grade 8

Woodland Middle School