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!

All the books in the Smith library are new books, but in this case, "new" doesn't mean age, but recently released. Each Friday the Scrolling Scholar will showcase one of these recently released books that has just arrived at the Smith library. These will be the very latest and greatest books that Smith has so check the Scrolling Scholar to keep up!

This week's New Arrival! is Diary of Wimping Kid: the Last Straw by Jeff Kinney.

Mr. Thomson Plays Champions Online

I started playing the recently released MMO (Massively Multi-player Online) superhero game, Champions Online. I've rolled lots of toons, including Ice Bucket, Dr. Slobber, and The Fabulous Bulk. Below is a screenshot of Static Cling, my lightening based character.

Library Tip of the Week

This week's tip is all about book trailers! What's a book trailer you ask? Well, it's like a movie trailer except for books!

To begin with, I'm going to share with you book trailers created by librarians throughout the Cy-Fair district. Eventually, however, I want to show Smith students how to use the tools to create the trailers so that they can make their own! Exciting, no?

I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start with a book trailer I made for Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. You can see it by going to my Schoolwires homepage. In the far left column menu, click on the "Book Trailers" link. Uglies is the only trailer there at the moment. Click on the Uglies wmv file and enjoy!

Board Games Today!

The Board Game Club at Smith met today. We played Pandemic, the game of fighting infectious diseases around the world and had a blast! The Board Game Club meets in the library every Tuesday from 2:30-3:30. Stop by the library and talk to Mr. Thomson for a permission slip and more information.

BotW: Uglies

BotW stands for Book of the Week. Every Monday, the Scrolling Scholar will highlight one book in particular.

This Monday's book is Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.

First and foremost, Uglies is a science fiction book. It's about a society in the future that surgically modifies it teenage children to look beautiful. Before the surgery, a child is called an Ugly. After the surgery, they are a Pretty.

So the book is about a civilization of gorgeous models? Not even close. A minority of kids refuse to have the surgery. Instead, they flee New Pretty Town and form their own community. The government that runs New Pretty Town and conducts the transformations of Uglies to Pretties seeks to crush this rebellion and actively pursues any Ugly that chooses to think for themselves.

Looking for a great sci-fi story with a thought-provoking message about conformity and self-worth? Then look no farther than Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.

Welcome!

We had a great first day here at Smith. Don't forget, the library is open! During library orientation next week, you'll learn that you have lots of different opportunities to visit and use the library:

• Before class, from 7:15-7:30
• During passing periods, you don't need a pass
• During advisory, with a pass
• During your class, when your teacher brings you for a scheduled visit
• During class, with a pass
• After school, from 2:30-3:15

Keep in mind that if you visit the library between passing periods, or before or after school, you need to make sure you get to class on time and that you catch your bus or ride home.

See you in the library!