June 30, 2011

Try These Funny (and other Terrific) Books for Tween Girls, Sarah!

No, Sarah, I hadn't forgotten your request for "a list for 4-7th grade girls" in response to my blog post: These Books Will Make Teen Boys Laugh :D

Not sure if you meant any good books for girls that age, or books that would make girls laugh.

Here's a site that lists funny books for girls:
From worldcat.org "Funny Books for Girls" by Engelfried
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You can do a search on Story Snoops, a book suggestion site that I trust, to find books using various criteria. My search for funny books that have a girl as a main character, for ages 9-12, yielded these results:
The Franny K. Stein Mad Scientist series by Jim Benton
Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great by Judy Blume
The Effy Maloney series by Mary Hershey
Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath
The Popularity Papers: Research for the Social Improvement and General Betterment of Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang by Amy Ignatow
Forever Rose by Hilary McKay
Geek Chic: The Zoey Zone by Margie Palatini
Olivia Kidney by Ellen Potter
The Dork Diaries series by Rachel Renee Russell
I So Don't Do Mysteries by Barrie Summy
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Coincidentally, another Sarah who loves reading
The sites below list books that aren't necessarily noted for humor (although they may indeed be funny), but they are likely to be terrific:

Great Books for Girls - The Top Picks of over 150 teachers, librarians, and girls themselves

Hoagies' Hot Topics Reading List: Girls and Young Women

Adventure Books for Middle School Girls from LM_Net (informal school librarian network)

Books - Tween Girls - Parents and Summer Reading from (trusted) Good Housekeeping

Books for Girls from aBookandaHug.com. List is divided into four categories and searchable by reading level. aBookandaHug is a wonderful social reading and list-making site for children.

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And of course there are sites that list funny books for both boys and girls. Here are two I like:

Funny Books for Third Through Sixth Grade Students from Oakland Library
Funny Books for Kids « I'm Just Sayin

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There are many other sites, but these are the ones I recommend.

Hope this gets your 4-7th grade girl reader started, Sarah! (I think Selma might be interested in this list too)

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@mauilibrarian2

June 14, 2011

These Books Will Make Teen Boys Laugh :D

ALL of us like to laugh!

But here's a great list especially for teenage boys, from author and screenwriter Don Calame, courtesy of The Guardian:

Don Calame's top 10 funny teen boy books

And since we're on the topic of books for boys, here's a super list that's sure to please, from one of our former English teachers:

Mr. Latendresse's Books for Boys

Happy reading!

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@mauilibrarian2

June 7, 2011

Bye bye Borders...

The music, kids, and gift sections, and the check-out counter - 6/2/11

What does the recent closing of our Borders bookstore in Kahului mean to our Maui community?

Here are some of my friends' thoughts. 

My friend Susan Pirsch, our school counselor, says it so eloquently . . . 

"I loved going into the old Borders (ouch it hurts to write old). The coffee was pretty decent and I loved walking around with a cup checking out new arrivals, the religion section and when the mood struck, looking at history and current affairs books. The clerks were familiar faces and the "hand sells" were usually worth buying. I always ran into people I hadn't seen forever. It was a great time killer between things and what joy to walk out with a new stack of books to find new acquaintances in and to visit new places with!

I miss it a great deal and find myself at a loss for reading material. When I see a book I want I have to go online to order it. I am trying to have a bookstore experience with Powells but the multi-week wait for my purchase is trying. And where can I find new publications? Where can I see what "Granta" has published or "The Sun" or "Tricycle?" Do I now have to subscribe just to not miss anything?

I am now an isolated reader--just me and my Nook. I hate that I can't share my books easily with it and that buying a real book requires a trip to Lahaina.

This is a present I wish were different. I miss Borders and am sad its management thought buying knick knacks (like the fuzzy neon Christmas statues) made sense. They made some bad decisions and we book lovers are paying for it with real life style changes..."

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The literature and nonfiction section - 6/2/11
Chris talks about his father:

"My father's favorite thing to do down country was to go down to Borders, pick up a few good books and magazines, and sit in the cafe with a cup of coffee. Now that it's closed, I'm trying to encourage him to look up new things to read on his new iPad, even though you can't beat the atmosphere of a good bookstore coffeehouse..." 

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Lindsay will miss Borders too: 

"I used to work at Office Max, and I would often spend my lunch break at Borders looking through all of the books. I was still in high school at the time, so I had the luxury of having the time to read books that weren't assigned to me for schoolwork! I used to pick out a book or two every week or so. I'm going to miss the Borders in Kahului terribly. I know there is a Borders Express in the mall, but it feels like such a watered down version of the brick and mortar bookshop I've come to know and love. I love my Kindle, and I use it often-- but there's still something so satisfying about feeling the weight of a book in your hand and flipping through the pages. And nothing smells quite like a new book! I was very upset when I came home this summer break and learned it closed."

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Stephen simply said: 
"RIP Borders"
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And as for me? 

I tweeted @anuheayagi in March:  
“Borders closing isn’t all about buying books. [It’s] sad because we’re losing a vibrant PLACE that serves as a barometer of who we are and what we value.”
Anu included the tweet in her Maui Vents article, which cheerfully outlined the other places people could now buy books on Maui: 

Beyond Borders: Thought the closing of the Dairy Road store is the end of book-buying on Maui? Think again

Last evening, as I was enjoying tapas and crepes with some fellow Maui librarians, the subject of the closing of Borders came up. There was a collective sigh of dismay and regret.

"What can we as librarians do to make up for the loss of Borders?" someone asked.

We bandied about ideas for recapturing some of the richness that surrounded our Borders Kahului store. 

So-o-o-o, stay tuned ... :D

Do you have any ideas?

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@mauilibrarian2

June 6, 2011

11 Great Summer Reading/Learning Resources for Teachers (tweet tweet)

Twitter Bird Sketchphoto © 2010 Shawn Campbell | more info (via: Wylio)

Summer is brand new and looming LARGE in my own little corner of the Twitterverse!

Here are 11 12 resources I recently found on Twitter that are worth sharing with those who might have missed them.

Why via my tweets? 'Cuz it's fun to show how Twitter works (140 characters or less) and who's tweeting (many educators we respect and can learn from) and why one might want to join the conversation (it's rich with ideas and content). [End of plug.]

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RT @accordin2jo @jenniferlagarde: RT @shannonmmiller Summer Resources for Young Adults created using @Weblists http://ow.ly/5aIcX #HASL11 Mon Jun 06 14:45:40 +0000 2011

Nice overview! » How to Create an Awesome Summer Reading List « http://lifehac.kr/k1viqg via @MoodleMckean #HASL11 Fri Jun 03 20:28:14 +0000 2011 

GR8 MODEL! Summer reading 2011 style! SummerReading.org http://bit.ly/iq4DzA Courtesy of NYPL et al. Mahalo (TY)! #HASL11 Fri Jun 03 19:28:11 +0000 2011  

Teachers, What's on Your Summer Reading List? - NYTimes.com http://nyti.ms/ja47MD #TLChat #HASL11 Thu Jun 02 09:35:05 +0000 2011 

Student Opinion Question | What's on Your Summer Reading List? - NYTimes.com http://nyti.ms/keFhN2 #TLChat #HASL11 Thu Jun 02 09:10:31 +0000 2011 

GR8 Suggestions for teachers! »Cool Cat Teacher Blog: The Books of Summer 2011 Edition « http://bit.ly/kCSJ6A #titlechat #reading Wed Jun 01 14:29:55 +0000 2011 

On Our Minds @ Scholastic » Summer reading across the nation! http://bit.ly/iq04Xn #reading #summer #TLChat #HASL11 Wed Jun 01 00:11:42 +0000 2011 

GR8 sortable Middle School Summer Reading List 2011 http://bit.ly/mvCZL0 from Follett via @mswist @LM_Net #TLChat #HASL11 Tue May 31 04:20:11 +0000 2011 

What Will You Learn this Summer? 26 Professional Development Resources | Teacher Reboot Camp http://bit.ly/lOIUT5 #HASL11 Sat May 28 12:47:32 +0000 2011 

Inspiring, thank you! » Encourage Other Teachers Even When School is Out for Summer http://bit.ly/ifQM9s by @coolcatteacher #edchat Fri May 27 14:38:18 +0000 2011 

2011 Summer Rejuvenation Guide: 10 Teacher Tips For Getting The Most Out Of Your Summer | Edutopia http://bit.ly/imcovI #HASL11 Thu May 26 14:11:28 +0000 2011  

UPDATE 06/06/11 pm - added #12:

This is happening in less than an hour! TL Virtual Cafe - June 6 - DIY Summer Reading http://bit.ly/l4cByk #TLChat #yalit #kidlit Mon Jun 06 23:08:52 +0000 2011

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Enjoy!

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@mauilibrarian2