Author Archives: Mrs Baird

Unforgettable

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!

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

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.

Fantasy as it should be

The book I read was The Wind Singer and it was a really good example of fantasy because there was lots of magic and made up people. It started in a city called Aramanth where Kestrel and Bowman live in a district called Orange. Endless exams and ratings are the only way forward after the Morah took over. However Kestrel wasn’t having any of it and runs away from everything and ends up at the top of the highest tower in Aramanth its self. She bangs on the door and a small grey-haired, old man answers the door, wearing a blue cloak (the only person who can wear blue is the emperor.)

So he tells Kestrel to go on a quest to destroy the Zars. She does so with the help of her twin brother Bowman and their school mate- Mumpo – and eventually the wind singer sings again.

I enjoyed this book because it was a good example of fantasy and kept me on the edge of my seat!

Luke S2

New Windows

Nothing to do with Microsoft it’s the library windows I am on about.

The library wordled

If you have not been into the forum in the past few days you might have missed the beautiful additions to the library windows ( thanks to Techie dept and my creative ideas).

Come and admire

If you like them why not come in to the library and have a look at the others adorning the rest of the library?

An emotional journey.

To be frank I would not have picked this book up if it had not bee on the Carnegie long list – I am quite glad I did because it is now on the short-list.

My Sister Lives on the Mantlepiece by Annabel Pitcher tells the story of 10 year old Jamie (please do not let the age of the main character put you off) who, much to his father’s frustration has not cried since the death of his sister; the girl on the mantelpiece.  

Jamie is a silly, funny heart-warming little boy that you can not help liking/feeling frustrated with/laughing at/with and the core themes of the book or loss and acceptance and growing up are delicately portrayed by his character.Big issue are not flinched from such as racism, divorce and terrorism but it is to the credit of the author that they never become preachy or overpowering.This book may not take you too long to read but it just might stay with you once you have closed the last page.

The End of Boring Powerpoints

It is no secret that one of my pet hates is bad power point presentations and to be honest most power point presentations are bad.

Part of the problem is I can not understand why people are not just that little bit more creative. Sure they are quick and easy but are the memorable and effective.

So, you all cry what should we be using – why Prezzi I reply.

My Web site of the week is 

http://prezi.com/

Once you get the hand of this software you will never look back – it is fun and free and funky!

Please try it out and put an end to the snorefest that can be power points.

One slight little warning – may cause sea-sickness! Try it and find out why.

One Choice can transform you

Well, that’s what it says on the cover of the book so it must be true!

If you Google the word Twilight at the moment you will invariable find someone wittering on (wrongly) about how if you liked drippy Bella and her unhealthy dead boy fascination you will like The Hunger Games – not true don’t listen to them – listen to me instead.

If you liked The Hunger Games there is a good chance you will enjoy Divergent by Veronica Roth. Another chunky monkey dystopian thriller of a book so set aside a good few days to indulge.

We have another strong female lead in the form of Triss who faces her own tough choices in an extremely regulated society much in the same way as Katniss Everdeen has to. However, Triss is a very different type of character – I would say she is harder to like and that is actually part of the appeal of the book – you can distance yourself from her and ask yourself what would you do and where would you choose to put yourself ? Unlike Katniss, Triss seems to want to put herself in danger by making a very difficult choice right at the beginning of the book. But, it is this choice that defines her future. She had to forget everything from her past life and recreate herself in the image of the… oh well that would be telling too much.

Go read, go enjoy and go be annoyed that the sequel – Insurgent is not out … yet!

Colourful Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice (Graphic Adaptation)   By Jane Austen

I enjoyed reading the graphic adaptation of the Jane Austen classic ‘Pride and Prejudice’ because I’d heard about it and I wanted to read it.  The story was full of tense twists and turns that were always unexpected. The pictures were bright and colourful and the shadows made the characters jump out of the page.  The speech bubbles were brief and summed up the story but still gave the reader enough information to follow the storyline easily.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I would recommend it to anyone who liked classic, old-fashioned novels but without the excessive reading!

Paula S2

Winning Web Site

Want to win some books?

Why yes Mrs Baird I do!

Super – go log on to the world book day web page  HERE and enter the competition.

Why not check out some of the other competitions on the go at the moment and you could win an X-box 360 , signed Skulduggery books or have your own book published or… well check out the pages and jump in. Entries must be in soon so get your skates on!

(Please note if you are 13 or younger you will need guardian/parent permission to enter these competitions)