Teen Tech Week

March 7 - 11

This year's celebration of teens and technology will take place the second week of March.  The library has planned several events to encourage Salpointe kids to move beyond their phones and Instagram.  To get everyone involved we are starting with pixel art.  Homerooms will have the opportunity to create a pixel art design on one of the library's large windows.  Post-its will be provided by the library.  As usual the winning homeroom will get home-made treats.

The students of Salpointe are incredibly creative.  The backgrounds that they have created on their Chromebooks are awe inspiring.  On Thursday, March 10th after school, students can bring in their Chromebooks to share their wallpaper designs with they fellow artists.  We will encourage them to vote via a form available through a QR code.  Winners will receive a Bookmans' gift certificate.

Many students are programming in their STEM classes.  To introduce the rest of the kids to programming we will offer a beginning Scratch class after school on Wednesday, March 9th, in the Library Conference room.  Mr. Hopley will assist with this since he has experience with "if then" statements and programming concepts.  Girls, especially are underrepresented in the computer science field and are encouraged to attend.  We will be using materials created by the Hour of Code program.  

 Available throughout the week will be a place to make bookmarks that light up and fairy lights based on the circuitry projects available through blink  blink.

If students aren't into the technical, we will also re-purpose CDs into works of art with yarn.  Any old AOL CDs you would like to contribute?  We could also use yarn in various colors and textures, if you have any bits and pieces you would like to give us. 

Tucson Festival of Books

March 12 -13, 2016

Yeah! The Tucson Festival of Books will not coincide with our Spring Break.  Hopefully that means more students will be able to attend.  The young adult authors at this year's event include Ruta Sepetys and Paulo Bacigalupi. There are lots of adult authors, but I prefer to read the Young Adult books instead. There aren't huge crowds at the young adult events and it is a much more intimate experience.  

The Salpointe Book Club has decided to read a book by Zac Brewer, anything from the Vladamir Todd series. Not that I'm a vampire snob, but I have decided to listen to Water Knife and read a Sepetys book. Paulo Bacicalupi, author of the Water Knife, has written for adults and YA, but his latest is about a (near) future battle over water in the West. The city of Phoenix is our player in the game versus the Vegas water knife, and leg breaker, Angel Vasquez. Ruta Sepetys writes historical fiction. Her first book for YA was Between Shades of Grey. I wonder it rocketed to fame because people mistook it for 50 Shades of Grey? All of her books investigate historical events from the relocation of Lithuanians, by the Russians in 1939 to the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff, the largest maritime disaster in history. History through fiction is one of my favorite genres.

Consider volunteering at the festival.   I've driven R.L Stine, Lisa Lutz, and several other authors around as part of my volunteer efforts. The food is good and the booths are fun to visit.  Don't miss the National Parks area of the exhibits or Science City.  Shakespeare's first folio is on display during the festival at the museum near the Main Gate.  This year they have ticketed events that eliminate the need to stand in line.  If you have become a Friend of the Festival you get early access the ticketing process.

They have officially posted the schedule as a whole, but if you are only interested in specific authors you can view their individual appearances and locations throughout the weekend.  Last year I posted a TFOB scavenger hunt for students, who earned extra credit for attendance.  I will link it here once it is complete.

Festival Parking

12 Books of Christmas for Young Adults

In honor of the traditional holiday song, the 12 Days of Christmas, we will celebrate reading with the 12 Books of Christmas project.  Titles have been recommended by our staff, and consultation with best books of the year lists, and professional book reviews. I will post links to the best books lists at the end of my list.

On the first day of Christmas, my good friend gave to me-

All the Bright Places - by Jennifer Niven

The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park in this exhilarating and heart-wrenching love story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die.  (Goodreads) Read it before the movie comes out! Ms. Chiu, our Mathematics teacher, who is a voracious reader, loved it. booktrailer  and...

On the second day of Christmas, my mother gave to me -

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

A sweeping tale of seventeen-year-old Mare, a common girl whose once-latent magical power draws her into the dangerous intrigue of the king's palace. Will her power save her or condemn her? Enthusiastically endorsed by members of the Salpointe Book Club. booktrailer and...

On the third day of Christmas my brother gave to me-

All American Boys - by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely

When sixteen-year-old Rashad is mistakenly accused of stealing, classmate Quinn witnesses his brutal beating at the hands of a police officer who happens to be the older brother of his best friend. Told through Rashad and Quinn's alternating viewpoints.(PCPL) (NPR story from the Code Switch team Or if you enjoy non-fiction, Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, which seems to be on everyone’s list this year. and...

On the fourth day of Christmas my girlfriend gave to me:

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

"Saint Anything is a poignant, honest story about how we might suffer the misfortune of someone else's bad choices, how people who love us can become family when we desperately need it, and how starting over might - miraculously - mean taking a solid leap forward." NYT booktrailer http://bit.ly/1OQP1Uk  and...

On the fifth day of Christmas my Grandma gave to me:

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

In 1945, World War II is drawing to a close in East Prussia, and thousands of refugees are on a desperate trek toward freedom, almost all of them with something to hide. Among them are Joana, Emilia, and Florian, whose paths converge en route to the ship that promises salvation, the Wilhelm Gustloff. Forced by circumstance to unite, the three find their strength, courage, and trust in each other tested with each step closer toward safety.

Just when it seems freedom is within their grasp, tragedy strikes. Not country, nor culture, nor status matter as all ten thousand people aboard must fight for the same thing: survival (Goodreads)  Ruta Sepetys will be at this year’s Tucson Festival of Books March 12-13, 2016. and...

On the sixth day of Christmas my aunt gave to me:

Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

Everyone knows Bone Gap is full of gaps—gaps to trip you up, gaps to slide through so you can disappear forever. So when young, beautiful Roza went missing, the people of Bone Gap weren’t surprised. After all, it wasn’t the first time that someone had slipped away and left Finn and Sean O’Sullivan on their own. Just a few years before, their mother had high-tailed it to Oregon for a brand new guy, a brand new life. That’s just how things go, the people said. Who are you going to blame? (lauraruby.com) And...

On the seventh day of Christmas my tio gave to me:

Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older

When the murals painted on the walls of her Brooklyn neighborhood start to change and fade in front of her, Sierra Santiago realizes that something strange is going on--then she discovers her Puerto Rican family are shadowshapers and finds herself in a battle with an evil anthropologist for the lives of her family and friends. PCPL And…

On the eighth day of Christmas my Grandpa gave to me:

The Emperor of Any Place by Tim Wynne-Jones

When Evan’s father dies suddenly, Evan finds a hand-bound yellow book on his desk—a book his dad had been reading when he passed away. The book is the diary of a Japanese soldier stranded on a small Pacific island in WWII. Why was his father reading it? What is in this account that Evan’s grandfather, whom Evan has never met before, fears so much that he will do anything to prevent its being seen? And what could this possibly mean for Evan? In a pulse-quickening mystery evoking the elusiveness of truth and the endurance of wars passed from father to son, this engrossing novel is a suspenseful, at times terrifying read from award-winning author Tim Wynne-Jones. Amazon. And...

On the ninth day of Christmas my father gave to me:

Finding Jake by Bryan Reardon

While his successful wife goes off to her law office each day, Simon Connolly takes care of their kids, Jake and Laney. Now that they are in high school, the angst-ridden father should feel more relaxed, but he doesn't. He’s seen the statistics, read the headlines. And now, his darkest fear is coming true. There has been a shooting at school. (Goodreads) And…

On the tenth day of Christmas my swim coach gave to me:

Girl Underwater by Claire Kells

A "debut novel that cross cuts between a competitive college swimmer's harrowing days in the Rocky Mountains after a major airline disaster and her recovery supported by the two men who love her--only one of whom knows what really happened in the wilderness" (Amazon.com) booktrailer

On the eleventh day of Christmas my teacher gave to me:

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”  On the Adult Books 4 Young Adults list from School Library Journal and Goodreads.  booktrailer And...

On the twelfth day of Christmas my librarian gave to me:

Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

A tale of two sisters, bolder Isabelle enjoys her life in Paris, while older Viann lives peacefully in the country with husband Antoine. Their bond is tested when war comes and their father sends Isabelle to help Viann as Antoine marches off to battle.

With courage, grace and powerful insight, bestselling author Kristin Hannah captures the epic panorama of WWII and illuminates an intimate part of history seldom seen: the women's war. The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France--a heartbreakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the durability of women. It is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime. (Amazon.com) Also on the Adult Books 4 Young Adults list from School Library Journal and Goodreads.

"Best Books of 2015." Goodreads Choice Awards. Goodreads, 2015. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

<https://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-books-2015>.

Bunker, Lisa. "The Best Books of 2015, A List of Lists." Pima County Public Library. Pima County,

27 Nov. 2015. Web. 10 Dec. 2015. <http://www.library.pima.gov/blogs/post/best-books-of-2015-lists/>.

Enjoy the holidays!

Book Trailers

Movie trailers give the viewer an incentive to see the next big thing.  The best book trailers, like their cousin the movie trailer, give you a real feel for a book.  Reading is a commitment and it helps to have a preview of the book.  If you search YouTube for booktrailers you will find thousands, mostly created by students.  It is the newest version of the book report.  The quality as you would expect, varies from innovative to sleep inducing.  Many go on far too long.  The most interesting ones are created by the book publishers to sell their novels.  The trailers I have added to this playlist are all books available through the Salpointe Library.

 

Click Family Library

YAC - Young Adult Choices

The International Literacy Foundation wants students to choose the books that will appear on the 2016 list of their best books for young adults.  The Salpointe Library has joined the effort to pick the best books for next year.  We have a collection, donated by publishers, that students can read and rate.  It is a "win win" situation, we get a selection of the newest and the best YA literature for free, and they get student feedback.   My most dependable readers, the Salpointe Book Club members have been reading and rating for a couple months, but I could use some more volunteers.

You can look at the list through our online catalog by searching for Young Adult Choices.  I found book trailers for a few of the titles.  Each book has a link to the google rating form, which takes less than a minute to fill out.

Read, Succeed

Read, Succeed (original, larger)

Works Cited

Databases Interact With Chrome

Everyone has wasted long periods of their life looking for just the right information they need through Google Search.  When you have thousands of results it takes time to cull through them for something spot on, and usable in an academic setting.  Google is ubiquitous, but academic databases are not.  Databases have to be paid for, and therefore don't show up in a google search.  Lots of magazines and  newspapers post articles on the internet, but between the advertising and requests for payment it can be a frustrating experience.  We have a solution - databases.

Opposing Viewpoints was created for the argumentative essay.  It has pro and con articles for hundreds of topics with magazines, newspapers, video clips and reference book articles to provide evidence for class projects and papers. Articles are vetted by publishers and editors, making the reliability of the information much higher than is generally accessible on the web.

The Student Resources in Context database has books, magazines, newspapers, video clips, primary source documents and more, on every topic.  A library's worth of information in a database, accessible from anywhere with a wifi connection.

Both of these databases are available from the library website, but even better, they have been included in the students' bookmarks on every Chromebook.  If students are accessing from home the need to use our password, lancers.  After choosing an article students can highlight it, make notes and save it to a folder.  Use the More button to open the folder to select and download the articles to their Google Drive.  Every article or video comes with a MLA formatted citation that can be exported to Easybib to create their works cited.

The Academic OneFile database is meant to be used at the college level.  It has been added to our database choices because in the near future we will be able to access it in Google Scholar from documents in Drive (use the Tools drop down to open the Research panel). It will make Google Scholar more usable for the students.  No more frustration locating an article only to have it hit a pay firewall, or only allow access to the abstract.

The state of Arizona offers quite a few more databases, 27 or more, available through the LAPR website.  You log on with your zipcode for access.  Pima County Public Libraries has even more, but you have to have a library card to access some of them online.  

Directions for using databases with Google Chrome