Alfred Martino: Author, Entrepreneur is the author of the nwe Pinned, a young adult novel about wrestling. The book has been nominated for YALSA’s Best Books for Young Adults and the Quills Award.
Abusing Harry Potter
A little wild about a supersized teen
Let the attacks on Rowling’s writing officially commence! I am always amazed at how badly some people take this woman’s success. While I agree that it would have been nice to have a protagonist who was not a white male, it is too late to bemoan that fact now. The article ends with:
“It isn’t mindless knocking of someone extraordinarily successful. If anything, it would probably help Rowling to be seen as a normal person like the rest of us who can make mistakes. If we make her more human, perhaps she’ll feel able to come out of the prison we have put her in by having been so ridiculous and phony in our envy-tinged, blindly accepting reception of everything she does. Let’s ease the person who wrote three of the best children’s books ever down off her pedestal, so she can breathe.”
Yeah, right, it’s for her own good that she needs to be knocked down a few pegs.
Hope everyone enjoys their new copies of Harry Potter on Saturday!
Will of the Empress
The Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce is due out in November. I was lucky enough to snag an ARC at ALA.
This novel returns us to the beloved characters of Briar, Daja, Sandry and Tris who have already been featured in two cycles of books by Pierce. The four of them are reunited after their separate travels but they no longer have the same connection, magical and personal, than they did before. They worry that all of the experiences they have had in their travels will change the way that the other three view them, so they shut themselves off from one another.
Sandry, a wealthy noble, needs to visit some land holdings she inherited from her mother in a neighboring land and the other three are sent along as her escort. When they arrive in Namorn, they find a royal court seething with intrigue where the Empress wishes only for Sandry and her friends to remain there forever.
This novel is wonderful filled with great adventure, magic, complex villains, and favorite characters. The settings are vivid and the situations are complicated. Recommend this to teens who have read the first two series and make sure to purchase it where Tamora Pierce’s books are popular. It is sure to be a well-received addition.
Game On
Game On: Games in Libraries is a blog that focuses on offering video games and programming involving video games in public libraries. Our library will begin offering programming for teens using consoles in the fall. We already circ PC games and will consider doing console games in the future after we determine which consoles are popular in our community.
Bookshelf Comics
Bookshelf Comics offers information on graphic novels, including news, reviews, feature articles, and new and forthcoming titles.
Time Warp Trio on TV
Time Warp Trio is now an animated TV show for kids. From Discovery Kids and NBC, the show features the trio traveling through time. The first episode is Pirates, 1718. Part of the appeal of the show will be the tie in with the website and its games.
Room on Lorelei Street
A Room on Lorelei Street by Mary E. Pearson (0-8050-7667-0) is glowing, haunting novel about Zoe, the daughter of an alcoholic mother who decides to escape her home by renting a room on Lorelei Street. The room is owned by Opal, a warm eccentric elderly woman who understands Zoe. The book is filled with glorious language that lets the reader sink right into Zoe’s thoughts. The characterizations are vivid and complex, including the alcoholic mother who was once a much more caring woman.
This book was a delicious read that should be recommended to teen girls who enjoy problem novels. But it is more than the average problem novel and will hopefully be awarded something by the Printz committee. It is one of my favorites of the year.
Phonics Site
Learn to Read at Starfall is a website that offers colorful movies and clickable games to teach kids to read using phonics. It also has printable materials and an online message board.
Loop
Loop is a game where you draw loops around butterflies to capture them. I could say that it teaches fine mouse skills, but really it is just a lot of fun to play!
Waking Brain Cells 