BoTW: Peter and the Star Catchers

Looking for a great fantasy book? Love Peter Pan and Tinkerbell? Then check out Peter and the Starcatchers, a retelling of the Peter Pan story by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. Check out Wikipedia's entry about Peter and the Starcatchers, including summaries of the book and the major characters, comparisons between this book and the original written by Barrie, and critical opinions of the book.

And if you like Peter and the Starcatchers, read the sequels, Peter and the Shadow Thieves,Peter and the Secret of Rundoon, and Peter and the Sword of Mercy.

Look for all four books in the Fiction section, under the call number FIC BARRY. For lots more information about the book, visit the website http://www.peterandthestarcatchers.com/

New Arrival: The Throne of Fire

Have you been reading The Kane Chronicles series by Rick Riordan? If so, I bet you can't wait to read The Throne of Fire! Here's what Destiny says about the book:

"Carter and Sadie must outsmart the House of Life and the gods of chaos in order to complete their worldwide search for an ancient Egyptian book."

Library Tip of the Week

Have a pass to come to the library during class? No problem! Just keep in mind the following:

• Sign in at the circulation desk. Be sure to include the time that you arrived.
• If you see Mr. Thomson talking to a class, return to class and try coming another time.
• If you have books to turn in, hang on to them if you plan to check out more.
• If you don't see Mr. Thomson in the library at all, don't wait for him to come back! Return to class and try coming another time.

Remember the 10-10 rule! You can't be out of class the first and last 10 minutes of a class.

See you in the library!

Jedi Kittens Strike Back!

The force is strong with these kittens.

BoTW: SLOB

When you pick up SLOB by Ellen Potter and you stare at the book's cover with an Oreo cookie substituting as the title's "o," you might think you know what the book means by "slob."

To Ellen Potter's immense credit, you would be wrong.

The story opens with Owen Birnbaum, who declares at the beginning of the book that he is likely fatter and smarter than you are. Being overweight AND smart means Owen doesn't fit in well at school. He's got a friend or two, but most everyone at school makes fun of him. Bullies delight in humiliating him, especially Owen's sadistic gym teacher.

But being a social misfit isn't what troubles Owen the most. Well into the book you will find that even though Owen lives with someone he calls Mom, something happened to his real parents. Something tragic. Owen can't let go and move on from his parents' untimely death and so he works on his own personal invention, a device he calls Nemesis, to better cope.

Like Owen tells you from the start, he's smart. Genius smart. Owen knows all about satellite waves and he plans to build Nemesis so that it can grab some security camera footage of his parents the night they were killed.

Heavy stuff.

The book is also very funny and lighthearted. Owen's sister belongs to GWAB: Girls Who Are Boys and insists everyone start calling her Jeremy. The school's thug reportedly carries a switchblade in his sock. Owen's friend Nima makes tasty momos and talks about Tibetan Buddhism karma.

It's the ending, however, that makes SLOB shine. The most beautiful and saddest aspect of the book is how Ellen Potter makes you think slob means one thing, only to turn it around on its head in the book's final pages. Potter artfully combines the themes of her book--loss, grief, forgiveness--and drives them home so poignently. If you don't like crying in public, read the ending in private!

New Arrival: Angel

Have you been reading the best-selling Maximum Ride series? If so, we've got the latest book, Angel by James Patterson.

Here's what Destiny says about Angel:

"Heartbroken after her best friend and soul mate, Fang, leaves her flock, Maximum Ride begins to believe the evil scientists trying to convince her she needs to save the world, and that Dylan, the newest member of her flock, is her perfect mate."

Pick it up today!

Dogs Jumping Rope!

Who knew?

Library Tip of the Week

Did you know you can put your own books on hold? You can!

Here's how:

1) Go to Smith's Destiny library page.
2) In the upper right hand corner, click "Login."
3) Enter your student id number (sxxxxxx) and password.
4) If you logged in correctly, your name should display in the upper right hand corner.
5) Now, do a search of the book you want to put on hold.
6) When you find the book, click on its title to bring up its detailed information.
7) Off on the right side, you should see a red symbol that says "Hold It."
8) Click on that symbol.
9) You're done! When the book comes in, Mr. Thomson will check it out to you.

Keep in mind that when you put a book on hold, you are put in a queue. There could be one or five or twenty people in front of you that get to check the book out before you do. Also, holds expire after a few weeks. So if you put a book on hold and you don't get the book in a month or so, put in another hold.

BoTW: Heist Society

Heist Society by Ally Carter reminds me of the movie Ocean's 11. Both involve a main character with a burglar background who has to assemble a team of fellow thieves and orchestrate a complex heist.

In the case of Heist Society, Katarina "Kat" Bishop recruits her friend Hale and cousin Gabrielle to match wits with an international criminal Arturo Taccone. Taccone thinks that Kat's dad, an infamous cat-burglar, broke into his high-tech fortress and stole his collection of priceless art. Kat's father denies that he is behind the heist, but Taccone doesn't believe him and threatens to kill him if the art isn't promptly returned.

Up to now, Kat has tried to leave her cat-burglar career behind her. She's a natural thief,a chip off her father's block, but she longs to live a normal, law-abiding life. However, Kat can't just stand aside when someone threatens her father. She takes it upon herself to investigate the heist, discover who actually pulled it off, and exonerate her father.

Does Kat succeed? Read Heist Society, a 2011 Lonestar book and find out!

New Arrival! Cloaked

Did you read Beastly by Alex Flinn? Or maybe you saw the movie this past spring? If so, you might want to read its sequel, Cloaked.

Destiny summarizes Cloaked as, "Seventeen-year-old Johnny is approached at his family's struggling shoe repair shop in a Miami, Florida, hotel by Alorian Princess Victoriana, who asks him to find her brother who was turned into a frog."

Swing by the library and checked out Cloaked today!

Repost of Baby Monkey!

Did you miss the Baby Monkey Riding Backwards on a Pig YouTube video? Or do you need to see it again? And again? And again?

Well here it is! Enjoy!

The Library Is Open for Business!

We had 6th grade classes visit the library all last week. They were treated to a special viewing of the YouTube sensation Baby Monkey Riding Backwards on a Pig and a review of how to check a book out from the library. They also got to check out books!

A reminder, everyone can check out up to two books for two weeks and one magazine for three days. Only one of those books can be a manga or graphic novel. There's lots of opportunities to visit the library, but make sure you come with a pass during a class or advisory.

We'll see you in the library!