BoTW: Igraine the Brave

While we're talking about Cornelia Funke, I feel obligated to mention her other outstanding fantasy novel, Igraine the Brave. Igraine is a twelve-year old girl who dreams of being a brave knight one day. She gets her chance when her parents mess up a spell and turn themselves into pigs! Igraine must brave the nearby country-side and quest to find the rare ingredient that will change her parents back into people.

The evil and greedy Osmund stands in her way, however. Osmund lays seige to Igraine's castle in hopes of capturing her parents' singing magical books. If Osmund gets his hands on those books, he will be the most powerful man of the land, and Igraine and her family will lose everything.

What I like most about Igraine the Brave is how much of a departure it is from The Thief Lord. Funke writes within a variety of genres and is as adept at high fantasy as she is (relatively) realistic fiction. I highly recommend the book, especially for those who enjoy a light-hearted, adventurous story.

New Arrival!

Three more copies of Rick Riordan's The Lost Hero arrived today! They went straight to hold requests, so swing by the library and put this book on hold if you want your turn to read it.

Library Pizza Party!

I drew the winners for next Thursday's Library Pizza Party and below are the 15 winners!

Ben S.
Penelope R.
Amanda L.
David O.
Julian M.
Michael B.
Azmara F.
Kayleigh F.
Cameron G.
Alexander O.
Payton M.
Prince B.
Natalie S.
Mia K.
Sarah C.

Congratulations to all the winners! We'll see you next Thursday, February 3rd at 2:30 to 3:30!

BoTW: The Thief Lord

Cornelia Funke is famous for her Ink books, titles like Inkheart and Inkdeath. One of her lesser known books, The Thief Lord, is a beautifully adventurous book set in the back alleyways, canals, and abandoned buildings of Venice, Italy! Bo and Prosper are two orphan boys who run away from their abusive aunt and uncle and decide to find their fortune in Venice. There, they soon stumble upon the mysterious "Thief Lord," a skilled and cunning thirteen-year old boy who single-handedly leads a children's gang of thieves and cut purses.

Adventure and action abound as the children track targets, sneak into wealthy villas, and pile stolen loot within the confines of their cozy hideout. Soon after Prosper and Bo join the gang, they discover that the "Thief Lord" hails from a wealthy family himself, and actually helped his gang steal from his own house!

A mysterious secret lies at the heart of the Thief Lord's motivation to steal riches from his very own family. Read The Thief Lord to find out more!

New Arrival!

We've got two new arrivals today, both the latest in the 39 Clues series. The first is book 8 in the series, The Emperor's Code by Gordon Korman. The second is book 9, entitled Storm Warning by Linda Sue Park.

Have you been reading the 39 Clues series? If so, swing by the library and check out the two newest books in the series!

BoTW: Black Book of Secrets

The Black Book of Secrets by F. E. Higgins (no relation to our esteemed principal, Mrs. Higgins) is set in a 19th century village not far from a city similar to London, England. It tells the story of a young boy, Ludlow Fitch, who becomes the assistant to a strange pawnbroker. Ludlow soon begins performing the strangest of tasks: transcribing people's deepest, darkest secrets into The Black Book of Secrets.

Not all is as it seems, however. As more and more villagers pay the pawnbroker to relieve them of their burdening secrets, a web of intrigue emerges involving everyone including Ludlow himself. This 2009 Lonestar title is the perfect book for those who love a good mystery.

New Arrival!

It's cold outside this week which means you might be in the mood to read a book set in the Arctic! Destiny summarizes Icecore by Matt Whyman:

"Seventeen-year-old Englishman Carl Hobbes meant no harm when he hacked into Fort Knox's security system, but at Camp Twilight in the Arctic Circle, known as the Guantanamo Bay of the north, he is tortured to reveal information about a conspiracy of which he was never a part."

Fight cold with cold and swing by the library and pick up Icecore today!

Keep Those Reviews Coming!

The book reviews continue to flow in! Remember, every approved review you write gives you one entry for the February 3rd pizza party in the library!

You can't just write, "I liked the book" or "I hated the book." Instead, be specific about what you liked or didn't like. The more details you provide, the better! The broad point of writing a review is giving another student advice on whether they should read a book or not.

Keep those reviews coming in!

BoTW: How Not to Be Popular

This week's Book of the Week is How Not to Be Popular by Jennifer Ziegler, a 2009 Lone Star Award winner.

Maggie has a couple of hippies for parents. She loves them dearly, but Maggie has grown tired of constantly moving from town to town, leaving behind friends and boyfriends. The latest move to Austin, Texas is the last straw. Pained at the thought of making new friends and finding a new boyfriend, Maggie decides to do everything she can at this new school to NOT be popular, to be a loner right up until the point her parents move again. The results are as predictable as they are funny.

New Arrival!

Twelfth Grade Kills by Heather Brewer is the fifth book in the Chronicles of Vlad Tod series. Unless Vlad attends college, this might be the last book in the series! Here's what Destiny says about this latest in the popular series:

"The Council of Elders, having been informed that Tomas still lives, puts off Vlad's execution, providing Vlad the opportunity to try to set some things right."

There's a ton of vampire books out there, but the Vlad Tod series might be one of the most popular among Smith students!

Library Pizza Party!

We're having a pizza party in the library Thursday, February 3rd! How can get in pizza action? Easy! Read a book and write a Destiny review!

Not just any review though. A review that describes why you loved or hated something about the book you read. Reviews that say nothing more than "I liked the book" or "I like chipmonks" won't qualify!

Write a good review and I'll put you in a drawing for the February 3rd pizza party! I'm going to pull fifteen names so chances are good that you're going to be snarfing down pizza, chugging down Cokes, and flaying some guitar on Wii Rock Band come February 3rd.

So what are you waiting for? Read a book and write a review today!

Happy New Year!

It's a brand new year chocked full of great books to read! Stop by the library and grab one!