Strange, Particular, Odd, Weird: PECULIAR

If you are into fiction and vintage photography then you need to check out Miss Perengrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Quirk Books, 2011) by Ransom Riggs.





Combine a mysterious island, an abandoned orphanage, and a collection of strange photos and you've got an unforgettable novel.

Amazon.com Review
As a kid, Jacob formed a special bond with his grandfather over his bizarre tales and photos of levitating girls and invisible boys.  Now at 16, he is reeling from the old man's unexpected death.  Then Jacob is given a mysterious letter that propels him on a journey to the remote Walsh Island where his grandfather grew up.  There, he finds the children from the photographs--alive and well--despite the islander's assertion that all were killed decades ago.  Interspersed with photos throughout, Miss Perengrine's Home for Peculiar Children is truly an atmospheric novel with plot twists, turns, and surprises that will delight readers of any age.  (www.amazon.com).

Devouring Divergent

When you are a librarian it is very easy to have reader's burn-out or to find yourself in a reading slump.  This often happens to me because I often read for others and not for myself.  So when I picked up Veronica Roth's Divergent, I was so very happy to read a book that I just couldn't put down.  I devoured Divergent!

Divergent hit the shelves May 2011, and oh how I wished I had read it sooner!

If you are a fan of dystopian YA, then I highly recommend this riveting read.  

In her first book, Veronica Roth creates a dystopian Chicago society.  The society is divided into five factions.  Boy and girls who are 16 must chose a faction in which to live:  Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless, and Erudite.

Beatrice Prior grew up in the Abnegation faction; the faction known for its selflessness.  Beatrice has always struggled internally with the Abnegation way of life--with always putting others first.  She soon finds out that she does not fit in to any faction. She is Divergent--a label that puts her life in danger.  Being divergent must be kept secret, even after choosing Dauntless--the faction for those willing to protect others, those who are both brave and fearless.

I hope you take the time out to devour Divergent!  You will not be disappointed. 

For more information about Veronica Roth and this series (book 2, Insurgent comes out in May), visit http://veronicarothbooks.blogspot.com/ 

*Summit Entertainment has acquired film rights for Divergent, with producers Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher.

School Wide Read

It's that time again.  Time to begin the School Wide Read.  Our school will be reading The Hunger Games again this year, and I just know the faculty is going to make this year's read bigger and better!

I cannot wait to see the student body and faculty get involved.  Last year was a total success!

School Wide Read Events and Implementation

• School Wide Read professional development
• Kick off pep rally for reading
• Teachers are separated into 12 Districts.
• Teachers read The Hunger Games to their classes during Relax and Read time.
• All teachers teach at least one lesson on The Hunger Games.
• Hunger for Books Coin Drop...raising money to purchase library books.
• Reaping: Students are chosen to participate in the school's Hunger Games.
• School Hunger Games Competition