Monthly Archives: September 2013

The Pitch Dark Days tour, which featured YA authors Madeleine Roux, Rae Carson, Sherry Thomas, Michelle Gagnon, and Mindy McGinnis, stopped by the Blue Willow Bookshop on Friday, September 27th for a discussion/book signing.

Katy ISD’s very own CRJH librarian, Erin Segreto, moderated the event. The crowd laughed along with the authors as they answered the interesting and intriguing questions composed by Erin.

Here is a pic of me and author, Madeleine Roux. Her new book, Asylum, sounds so creepy. I can’t wait to read it!

Another book I’m excited to start reading is Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis. Not only is Mindy an author, but she is also a librarian! Give it up for rock star librarians!!

There is nothing better than meeting 5 awesome authors than meeting 5 awesome authors with your librarian peeps (aka Erin Segreto & Kim Warwick)!

Although I didn’t purchase all their books during the visit, I have ordered them all for the library! Be on the lookout for these new and exciting books!

With so many Falcons reading City of Bones by Cassandra Clare for the book club this month, we have had lots of students asking, “What other books do you have like City of Bones?”

Well, here are some possibilities…

Image from the Huffington Post

Copyright © 2013 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.

In celebration of Banned Books Week next week, we are reading a couple of books that have recently been challenged/banned. Here’s a look at what we are reading this weekend!

 ttyl by Lauren Myracle

Chronicles, in “instant message” format, the day-to-day experiences, feelings, and plans of three friends, Zoe, Maddie, and Angela, as they begin tenth grade.

 

 

 

 

 

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Charlie, a freshman in high school, explores the dilemmas of growing up through a collection of letters he sends to an unknown receiver.

 

Copyright © 2013 Follett Library Resources, Inc.

 

 

What are you reading this weekend? Post it to the blog!

The Falcon Book Club started the school year off right…by reading! More than 25 students sign up to participate in our very first book club! Our first book selection was The City of Bones by Cassandra Clare .

Students read the book, participated in an optional Edmodo discussion, and went to see the movie. The culminating activity was a group discussion after school.

Students were excited to munch on some goodies, win some door prizes, and discuss this popular book with their peers. We even had a couple of faculty members join us for the discussion!

The City of Bones was a great book to begin our Falcon Book Club with. We will continue the tradition with The Book Thief by Markus Zusak during the month of October. We hope to attend the movie that will premiere in November, too. Stay tuned…

Banned Books Week  is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and highlights the value of free and open access to information.

The Tompkins Library will be celebrating the week of September 23 – 27.

Staff and students can come by the library and get their “mug shot” taken for reading banned books!

Students can participate in a contest by trying to guess the title of the challenged/banned book in the jar. Do your research! There is a Chick fil A sandwich on the line!

Check out our library displays and find a good banned to check out…and READ it!

Celebrate your fREADdom to read at the Tompkins HS Library!

 

Do you like Paranormal and Dystopian books? If so, plan to stop by Blue Willow Bookshop on Friday, September 27th at 7:00pm to meet five amazing YA authors on the DARK DAYS tour.

Rae Carson – THE BITTER KINGDOM
Michelle Gagnon – DON’T LOOK NOW
Mindy McGinnis – NOT A DROP TO DRINK
Madeleine Roux – ASYLUM
Sherry Thomas – THE BURNING SKY

Katy ISD’s very own Erin Segreto, CRJH librarian, will be moderating the event.

 

The Tompkins Library will be using Remind101 to send out information about book clubs, author visits, and more. All you need to do is text a code to a particular phone number. You can get both the code and phone number in the library. You can also set up your account to receive either text messages or emails. It’s your choice! What an easy way to stay up to date with the happenings in the library!

View this brief video for more information on how to use Remind101.

Remind 101 Promo Video from Ray Media Productions on Vimeo.

The Tompkins Library is honoring the 9/11 heroes by displaying books and encouraging students and staff to NEVER FORGET.

Here are a few books the library has to offer:

What We Saw by CBS News

Examines the events of September 11, 2001, and its aftermath in images, words, and other forms of media, from the reporting of CBS News journalists, the first interviews, and eyewitness accounts, and includes coverage of the crash of United Airlines Flight 93, documentary footage, and more.

 

We’re Not Leaving: 9/11 responders tell their stories of courage, sacrifice, and renewal by Benjamin Luft

A compilation of powerful first-person narratives told from the vantage point of World Trade Center disaster workers-police officers, firefighters, construction workers, and other volunteers at the site.While the effects of 9/11 on these everyday heroes and heroines are indelible, and in some cases have been devastating, at the heart of their deeply personal stories-their harrowing escapes from the falling Towers, the egregious environment they worked in for months, the alarming health effects they continue to deal with-is their witness to their personal strength and renewal in the ten years since.

Dog Heroes of September 11th: a tribute to America’s search and rescue dogs by Nona Kilgore Bauer

An illustrated documentation of the efforts of eighty search-dog handlers and their dogs after the events of September 11, 2001, describing their work at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, the Fresh Kills landfill, and the Shanksville, Pennsylvania, crash site and discussing how dogs have been used in Iraq and Afghanistan and other post-9/11 rescue missions.

 Copyright © 2013 Follett Library Resources, Inc.

 Stop by the library and check out a book about 9/11 to learn more!

 

Here’s a look at what we are reading this weekend.

The Night She Disappeared by April Henry

Gabie drives a Mini Cooper. She also works part time as a delivery girl at Pete’s Pizza. One night, Kayla—another delivery girl—goes missing. To her horror, Gabie learns that the supposed kidnapper had asked if the girl in the Mini Cooper was working that night. Gabie can’t move beyond the fact that Kayla’s fate was really meant for her, and she becomes obsessed with finding Kayla. She teams up with Drew, who also works at Pete’s. Together, they set out to prove that Kayla isn’t dead—and to find her before she is.

Copyright © 2013 Follett Library Resources, Inc.

What are you reading this weekend? Post it to the blog!

Our FALCON students have been exploring their new library using QR Codes since school has started. QR codes are similiar to barcodes and allow students to scan the codes on their mobile devices to receive information. QR codes were posted throughout the library with detailed information about that area of the library and resources that are available to the students.

Students worked in groups to explore the library on their QR Code Scavenger Hunt.

Each group consisted of 3-4 students with at least one person having access to a device.

Students downloaded the FREE i-nigma app that allowed them to scan the QR codes.

Throughout the scavenger hunt, students worked together to answer questions about the library. They asked questions (to each other and staff members) and have a great sense of what the library has to offer them. The best part of the orientation was seeing the smiles on their faces!

 

*Lesson adapted for the Tompkins HS Library. Inspired by Joyce Valenza, Gwyneth Jones (The Daring Librarian), and Erin Segreto (CRJH Librarian).