Monthly Archives: April 2012

Falling for a good read

Leave a reply

THE BOY WHO FELL DOWN EXIT 43 by Harriet Goodwin
In this book, a boy called Finn’s dad died and he was really upset about it. The dad had been teaching him to drive. Finn took the car and started driving it, but when he was driving the rain got really bad and Finn ended up crashing. As he crashed he fell into a place called the underworld, this is where the people who have died end up. His was Dad was not there as instead of going into the underworld he became a star.
When Finn got there no-one could believe a human was in the underworld. At the same time someone called Jessie from the underworld was stuck on earth. Once Jessie got back it caused water to come through. Water kills people from the underworld. Jessie and Finn end up saving the underworld by completing a very tough challenge.
I think this book fitted really well with the fantasy theme as there was strange characters and lots of potions. I think this was a good fantasy book and I wasn’t expecting it to be very good as I don’t usually like fantasy books.

Jessica S2

I’ll name that in 4

Leave a reply


It’s got pink on the front it’s got black on the front – must be for Goth girls…and well it kinda sorta is.
Girl with name shortened to boys name Rory (to make her funky and cool and hip I’m sure) comes alllllll the way from America to London to go to a posh school- happens all the time – hello Gossip Girl are you listening? And for the first 120 pages I was getting in to it… new school, quirky girl, potentially handsome but smart ( phew!) boyfriend, jolly hockeysticks and someone pretending to the Jack the Ripper – good work Maureen I thought so far so… oh oh and then the book goes all Buffy the Ghostieslayer and I, like a little library balloon, began to deflate.
Sure, the writing was still quirky and sometimes laugh out loud (or LOL for those under 21) but not quite for me. There are two more to this series and the ending did have a little amusing crackle to it BUT the books (my little library owl tells me) have been delayed twice; never a good sign and not sure if I am overly bothered by this.
HOWEVER, don’t just take my word on this quote from a pupil “I loved this – it was so cool can’t wait for the next ones”.
So, why not try it for yourself and see who you agree with OR even dun dun dun have your own opinion. Please let mw know I would really like to hear it.
Mrs B

Librarians are superheros

Leave a reply


Of course, you all knew that but did you know that Batgirl was a librarian?

Unfortunately, most of you will never reach super hero status but do not dispair there is a web site out there to help you.

www.ugo.com/games/superhero-generator-heromachine-2-5

Using this free super dooper site you can create your own goodie or dun dun dun baddie.
E-mail me your best work and I might just pop it up on this very website.

Irish trouble

Leave a reply


‘The Guns Of Easter’ written by Gerard Whelan. In my opinion it was a very enjoyable book. The genre is war and conflict.

The story begins in Dublin, Ireland where a boy called Jimmy and is family live in the slums. He goes through a journey which leads him all over Dublin. Although this is at a time where war has broken out and the Irish rebels are fighting the British for independency. Jimmy however has to go and get money from his Auntie who lives on the other side of Dublin. Jimmy makes many friends on the way both on the Irish side and British side. There are various themes in this book such as friendship and war. Will Jimmy be able to get of the streets in time before the British put a curfew in place to shoot on sight anyone who is seen outside?

Matthew S2

Delicate brilliance

Leave a reply

Lucky old us there are 8 books on the Carnegie short list – which to my mind means it’s not short but medium. My plan, as usual, is to read them all and for once I might actually do it.

One of the contenders this year is Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys. I had not read anything about this book before I opened it which is rare for me; being quite nosy, and I am glad that I did not. I think the impact of the book would have been lessened a little if I had prepared myself for it’s content. This, now makes it hard to review as I do not want to give away much of the story as I want you to experience it in the same way I did.

In the criteria of shadowing a book award one always stands out for me – does this book stay with you when you have closed it?
Between Shades of Gray does that. The characters are so real you feel you could almost reach out and touch them and the settings are so vivid that you forget you have not actually physically been to these places.

The book is set during WW2 but not the WW2 that you recognise from so many other fiction books. This story is different and hauntingly so.
I heartily recommend this book to people who enjoy reading powerful books and please don’t read too much about it before you open it. let the book itself work it’s magic on you.

Retro-gaming site

Leave a reply


http://pica-pic.com/
Is the type of web site that the terms “back in the day” and Old Skool” were coined for.

Show this to any geeky adult over 25 and you might hear a gentle wistful sigh of a lost youth or a Christmas present promised but never delivered.
THIS is how hand held gaming should be – none of your fancy 4 core processors or detailed graphics or 3-Dish ness. This is when pixels rules and blips and beeps were music to the ears.
So, dive into digital history and save the princess or avoid the log or eat the ghost and most of all enjoy!

Display or Datplay?

Leave a reply

Mirror mirror on the wall who is the fairest librarian of them all?Two new lovely displays in the library for you to pop in and peruse at your leisure.
The first pays homage to all things fairy story ; so whether you are a damsel in distress or a very charming Prince or even a frog looking for a snog there is sure to be something for you to enjoy!

The second display pays homage to you dear readers and some of the brilliant reviews I have been getting from pupils in S1-S3. So, if you are not sure what to read next why not come in and see what others are sayiong about the books available in the library or why not have your say – just e-mail your review for a book (good or bad) and see if it pops up on our review wall.

Unforgettable

Leave a reply

Some books are like chewing gum – you chew ‘em up and spit them out and instantly forget them. Others are like bad kebab and leave you with a bad taste in your mouth. Very few are like Ben and Jerry’s chunky monkey ice –cream; you want more and more and once tasted you can’t even remember what life was like before you sampled it!

Such is the way with the book Hatchet  by Gary Paulsen (please Google this man and find out how a librarian changed his life).

Brian’s parents have divorced and his summer is to be split between them. In order to get from one to the other he has to take a shortish ride on a plane, or so he thinks.  When an accident occurs on the plane our hero finds himself lost and alone in the Canadian wilderness with only a hatchet to make the difference between survival and well err the other thing.

I love this character he is brave, he is funny, he is weak and vulnerable; he is us and more.

Try to get hold of a copy of this little gem and you won’t forget it.

Wake up!

Leave a reply

The book I read was The Sleeping Sword by Michael Morpurgo. The beginning of the story was good but it got event better as the story went on! It was about a boy called Michael who goes blind and he and his father find a strange shield and sword on their farm grounds. He has a visit from a ghost who says he has to go give King Arthur his sword back, Michael doesn’t understand how he can do this as the king is dead but he does what he is told. He finds King Arthur with his best friend’s sister who he has a mad crush on! And is cured of his blindness!!!

 

In this book you find out that Michael is an adventurous boy. It is not too long and is quite easy to read and you could follow along with the story no problem. The description throughout the book is good. The book was good and I would recommend it too anyone who likes short fantasy books.

Eve S2

Social Bookmarking – 2 ways to organise

Leave a reply

Yes, yes we all know about social networking – blah blah Facebook,yadda yadda twitter and how super useful they are to tell random people on the Internet that you like soup!

But an actually useful web site or actually couple of web sites (well, I have been on holiday) are delicious and for you visual learners out there Pearltrees.

 

Saving your favourites can be cumbersome and time consuming. The bookmarking element means that you can pop a little widget at the top of your screen and simply click on it whenever you find a site that is of use and the social element means you can link up with other people and share useful sites. You can tag and organise all your sites which makes it easier to search.