Locus Online News: Hugo Awards Winners were announced this week. The winner of best novel is Susanna Clarke for Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.
UpToTen
UpToTen is a website filled with online games for children from toddlers to age ten. There are over 600 games and activities for children.
Storytime Resource
Always on the prowl for quick ways to find crafts, theme ideas, rhymes and more for my storytimes, I discovered Preschool Activities at EnchantedLearning.com. It has a wide range of printables, ideas, activities and more that will be useful for both teachers and librarians.
Under the Persimmon Tree
Under the Persimmon Tree by Suzanne Fisher Staples (0-374-38025-2) is the new book from the author of Shabanu. This new book tells the story of two women caught in the recent events in Afghanistan. Najmah is a girl happily living in a village in Northern Afghanistan until her father and brother are taken away to fight for the Taliban. Then the bombing starts and Najmah is caught in a series of horrific events that finally leave her as a refugee in Pakistan. The other half of the story is that of Nusrat, an American woman who married an Afghan doctor and came to Pakistan with him. But soon after they arrived, he headed out to start a clinic in Northern Afghanistan. She has not heard from him in months, and meanwhile she has created a school for refugee children.
Staples has created a breathtaking work here. Using present tense, she draws readers directly into the horror of what happens in war. Her use of tiny details to show how life is both different and the same in Afghanistan is beautifully done. The characterization is vivid, allowing these two female characters to stand out strongly against the situation they are caught in.
The entire work is wonderfully evocative and magical. This would make a wonderful read in classes doing modern history or current events.
Teen Services
PAGES has a great article on service to teens in public libraries.
“Libraries have to start becoming community centers and move away from the white ivory tower type place where you’re only allowed to go in there for the information you need and you have to be quiet,” he says. “That bun-head thinking is going to kill this public library world.”
It goes on to say that until teen services are considered as important as children’s services, we are not doing enough as libraries to serve them.
Roald Dahl
RoaldDahlFans is a website devoted to Roald Dahl, beloved author of books like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach. The site offers a biography of Dahl, timelines, pictures, awards, articles, lists of Dahl’s work, information on collecting, and much more.
Education Podcast Network
Podcasting is one of the hottest new trends online. The Education Podcast Network collects podcasts of interest to teachers to use in the classroom or to use to understand the latest issues. You can browse by subject specific podcast or find student and class podcasts.
Textbook Troubles
Written by an English teacher, How schools are destroying the joy of reading is definitely not an attack on teachers or schools. Rather it is an attack on those huge textbooks that hinder teens from really enjoying language and literature.
The piece concludes with:
“It’s time for states and school districts to kick the mega-textbook habit that four or five big corporations control and start spending money on the kind of books that will make kids want to do sustained reading, to get lost in the written word. For English classes, that’s paperback novels (whole novels) and collections of short stories (complete short stories) and poetry.”
No Joke!
Chicago Tribune — No joke: Comic strips aid in learning, teachers say is an article on how ESL teachers are using comic strips to teach English. The combination of visual, aural and humor add up to a perfect teaching tool.
You will get to have a free login at the Tribune to access the article.
Waking Brain Cells 