Get ready for another Read-a-thon during the month of April!
If you are between the ages of 3-13, you could win prizes and be eligible to win a raffle!
How to participate?
Register between March 31 and April 17
Register online: http://www.readsinma.org/needham or visit the Children's Library at the Needham Public Library.
Log your books between April 1 and May 1.
For more information, view the rules or call (781) 455-7559 ext. 204.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Will Jealousy Come Between Two Best Friends?
Haworth, Danette (2008). Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning. Grades 4 - 6.
Violet Raines and Lottie are best friends and have lived in Florida their entire lives. The two girls enjoy Sunday fish frys and hanging out, but when new girl, Melissa arrives from Detroit, she becomes a threat to Violet and Lottie's friendship--or at least that's how Violet feels. While Lottie and Melissa's friendship develops, Violet refuses to accept any changes and chooses to hang out with her childhood friend Eddie instead. It might just take a disaster for Violet to accept Melissa as a friend!
Violet Raines and Lottie are best friends and have lived in Florida their entire lives. The two girls enjoy Sunday fish frys and hanging out, but when new girl, Melissa arrives from Detroit, she becomes a threat to Violet and Lottie's friendship--or at least that's how Violet feels. While Lottie and Melissa's friendship develops, Violet refuses to accept any changes and chooses to hang out with her childhood friend Eddie instead. It might just take a disaster for Violet to accept Melissa as a friend!
Monday, March 23, 2009
A dark and sinister tale...
Horowitz, Anthony (2008). Groosham Grange. Grades 5-8.
Thirteen-year-old David Eliot is the son of a wheel-chair bound father who is abusive towards him and his mother. When David is expelled from his boarding school, his father is furious and considers his son a complete failure. Then a letter mysteriously arrives from another private school, Groosham Grange, offering David an instant placement, and his father doesn't hesitate to pack him up and send him off. On the train ride to the school, David meets two other students, who also received a similar letter. They share their feelings about attending this boarding school and vow to stick together. David soon realizes that something sinister and evil is happening at Groosham Grange. Cult-like meetings in the middle of the night, and secretive behavior by teachers and students lead him to believe that something horrible is happening. But what is really going on? It is up to David and his two friends to discover the truth, before they are forced to make a difficult decision.
Thirteen-year-old David Eliot is the son of a wheel-chair bound father who is abusive towards him and his mother. When David is expelled from his boarding school, his father is furious and considers his son a complete failure. Then a letter mysteriously arrives from another private school, Groosham Grange, offering David an instant placement, and his father doesn't hesitate to pack him up and send him off. On the train ride to the school, David meets two other students, who also received a similar letter. They share their feelings about attending this boarding school and vow to stick together. David soon realizes that something sinister and evil is happening at Groosham Grange. Cult-like meetings in the middle of the night, and secretive behavior by teachers and students lead him to believe that something horrible is happening. But what is really going on? It is up to David and his two friends to discover the truth, before they are forced to make a difficult decision.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Picture Books for St. Patrick's Day
Bunting, Eve. That's what Leprechauns Do.
When leprechauns Ari, Boo, and Col need to place the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, they cannot help getting into mischief along the way.
Dillon, Jana. Lucky O' Leprechaun.
On St. Patrick's Day eve, Meghan and Sean get help from their three grandaunties and manage to capture a sly leprechaun.
Murphy, Jim. Fergus and the Night-Demon.
On his way to town to have some fun, a lazy but clever young man faces a terrible demon, who declares that his time has come.
Souhami, Jessica. Mrs. McCool and the Giant Cuhullin.
The very clever Oona saves her husband, the giant Finn McCool, by outwitting Cuhullin, who seeks to prove that he is the strongest giant in the world by beating Finn.
Wojciechowski, Susan. A Fine St. Patrick's Day.
Two towns, Tralee and Tralah, compete in an annual St. Patrick's Day decorating contest which Tralah boastfully always wins, but when their hearts are put to the test by a little man with pointed ears, Tralee wins with no effort at all.
When leprechauns Ari, Boo, and Col need to place the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, they cannot help getting into mischief along the way.
Dillon, Jana. Lucky O' Leprechaun.
On St. Patrick's Day eve, Meghan and Sean get help from their three grandaunties and manage to capture a sly leprechaun.
Murphy, Jim. Fergus and the Night-Demon.
On his way to town to have some fun, a lazy but clever young man faces a terrible demon, who declares that his time has come.
Souhami, Jessica. Mrs. McCool and the Giant Cuhullin.
The very clever Oona saves her husband, the giant Finn McCool, by outwitting Cuhullin, who seeks to prove that he is the strongest giant in the world by beating Finn.
Wojciechowski, Susan. A Fine St. Patrick's Day.
Two towns, Tralee and Tralah, compete in an annual St. Patrick's Day decorating contest which Tralah boastfully always wins, but when their hearts are put to the test by a little man with pointed ears, Tralee wins with no effort at all.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Giant beasts attacking innocent citizens of London!
Stewart, Paul & Riddell, Chris (2008). The Curse of the Night Wolf. (Barnaby Grimes, bk.1) Grades 4-6.
Barnaby Grimes is a tick-tock lad, a.k.a fast messenger, in London. He leaps over rooftops to get his messages around town, but one night he happens to run into a giant beast! He is lucky and manages to escape the jaws of this enormous wolf, but some are not as lucky. After his friend Old Benjamin tells him about a miracle cure offered by a local doctor, he is attacked by an enormous wolf. When more people around town begin to disappear, Barnaby becomes suspicious that this miracle cure has something to do with it. He is determined to uncover the mystery behind these crimes in London, but will he be able to stop the brutal attacks or will he become a victim himself?
Barnaby Grimes is a tick-tock lad, a.k.a fast messenger, in London. He leaps over rooftops to get his messages around town, but one night he happens to run into a giant beast! He is lucky and manages to escape the jaws of this enormous wolf, but some are not as lucky. After his friend Old Benjamin tells him about a miracle cure offered by a local doctor, he is attacked by an enormous wolf. When more people around town begin to disappear, Barnaby becomes suspicious that this miracle cure has something to do with it. He is determined to uncover the mystery behind these crimes in London, but will he be able to stop the brutal attacks or will he become a victim himself?
Monday, March 2, 2009
If you haven't read this 2009 Newbery winner, what are you waiting for??
Gaiman, Neil (2008). The Graveyard Book. Grades 5 and up.
Gaiman creates a character named Nobody "Bod" Owens, who is raised in a graveyard, which he wandered into as a toddler. The very night that he was found and adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Owens, a ghostly couple, his own family was murdered by a man called "Jack." After much deliberation, the inhabitants of the graveyard decide to accept Bod and protect him from "Jack" who still pursues the boy. Mr. and Mrs. Owens adopt the boy as their own, but also appoint a guardian named Silas. Until he is a teen, Bod experiences various adventures, both in and out of the graveyard, often having to be rescued by his guardian, Silas. Although the book may seem chilling and dark, it is filled with bits of humor and emotion that make Bod a very likeable and believable character.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
