Wednesday, March 30, 2011

The Seer of Shadows by Avi

Genre:  Ghost fiction; Historical fiction

Rating: 4/5


Age group recommendation: Grades 5-7

The Story:  In post-Civil War New York, young Horace Carpetine is apprenticed to photographer Enoch Middleditch.  Enoch's apprenticeship takes a turn when Mr. Middleditch decides to specialize in spirit photography.  Middleditch plans to place images of dead people in his photos, but does not plan for the supernatural to actually affect his photographs or his apprentice. 
     Told from Enoch's point of view, the narrative keeps a quick pace and has enough tension to make for an exciting (though not too scary) read.  Enoch is a well-written character who students will be able to identify with.  Enoch's discovery of and fascination with the then-new technology of photography is an interesting angle for students who have likely grown up taking lots of pictures (and movies).
    I listened to the audio version of this book.  At times, there seemed to be a lot of repetition which may not be as evident in the print version.  The repetition may be beneficial for younger readers in being able to follow the story, while older readers may find it slows the story.

Educational applications:  Great for giving students a look into life in the 1870s.  Avi includes a lot of details about the Von Macht's home and the daily life of the time.  There is also a lot of material for discussion of post-slavery attitudes and practices. 


The Seer of Shadows by Avi
Prince Frederick, MD : Recorded Books, p2008
Copy from the Dekalb County Library

Monday, March 28, 2011

BibMe : Bibliography Maker

BibMe is an online citation creator that is really easy to use.  I usually hesitate to recommend citation generators as I would rather teach students how to do it themselves.  Students should also know how to recognize a correct citation so that if the citation creator makes an error, the student can spot and correct it.  OK, that's it for this particular soap box speech.

One of the great things about BibMe is that the bibliography you create is download-able and save-able to your free BibMe account.  The downloaded version automatically credits BibMe with creating the citation, but students can eliminate the citation from their Works Cited pages. 

Students can also edit their citations in the BibMe program before downloading the Works Cited page.  If BibMe creates an incorrect citation, students should have no excuse for the mistake on their Works Cited page. MLA, APA, Chicago, and Turabian styles are all available for citation creation in BibMe.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

The Awesome Library

The Awesome Library is just that...awesome. With over 37.000 resources for teachers, students, librarians, and parents, there really is something for everyone!

The straightforward (and almost 90s looking) site design makes it easy to find what you're browsing for without much distraction.  One drawback of this that you may have to drill down through several links to get to your final destination. 

Teachers will find links to lesson plans and other classroom resources for just about every subject. 

I especially like the Teen pages.  In addition to academic resources, The Awesome Library provides links to resources for things teen may not want to talk about with an adult like bullying, depression, and obesity. 

Hat Tip to Richard Byrne over at  Free Technology for Teachers.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

Genre: Fantasy Fiction

Rating:  3.5/5 stars

Age group recommendation: 9-12 grade

The Scoop: Set in England during World War II, Daniel escapes from the death of his mother, his irritating step-mother, and the dangers of war through his love of books. 

The Story:   I loved the way this book began.  Connolly's language drew me right into the story.  It was also the first print book I picked up after a stint of audio books only.  Picking up a book about books was the best way to dive back into printed material!
Traveling through the fantasy world with Daniel was an exciting journey with some familiar (and some unfamiliar) fairy tales.  Connolly gives the fairy tales a classic, Grimm-style treatment, with no holds barred on the grotesque and the scary.  For this reason, I would recommend this title for high school students (in some cases, only older students). 

Educational applications: Because this book is very episodic in structure it would make a great read aloud.  It would also make a great example for an exercise for a creative writing class. Students could choose a fairy tale to make his.her own and embellish and twist the story in different ways. 

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
New York : Atria 2006
Copy from Atlanta Fulton County Library