I was not let down. Was it difficult to read at times? Yes. Was I wondering how my students felt and what they thought as they read it, too? Definitely. Was I kept up way past my bedtime on a school night because I couldn’t put it down? Oh, ya. It is one of those books that I found myself breaking all of the “turn off the lights” bargains I was making for myself at the end of each chapter. I just had to keep turning the pages.

Cassie is dead. They way she dies, which is described later in the book, is horrifying, tragic, and ultimately preventable. 18 year old Lia, still living, is Cassie’s former best friend and easting-disorder companion. Cassie suffered from bulimia and Lia suffers from anorexia. To make matters complicated, as they usually are for a teenager, Lia’s parents are divorced. She currently lives with her father, his wife and her stepsister, Emma. Thank goodness for Emma. I do not think Lia would have survived without the undeniable love she has for her sister.

Sentences are peppered with calorie counts and obsessive thinking, especially when it comes to food. The narration is painful, gripping, hopeful, and incredibly real. Anderson (who I firmly believe is one of the greatest writers to ever create literature for young people) dives head first into the minds of eating disordered and depressed teens. We read Lia’s thoughts and feel her obsessions along with her, especially when the calories, weights, and slashed out words are sprawled across the page.

That said, this book is not for every teenage girl or boy. I would strongly discourage 6th grade students from checking it out of the library. There may be a 7th grade student who I feel is mature enough to enter into this world, but we would have to discuss together the extreme nature of the content and why the student really wants to read it. Even some 8th grade students may feel it’s too much for them to handle. This is one of those books that I discuss with all interested students ahead of time to make sure that they’re ready for its subject matter.

If you work in a middle school, how do you handle purchasing and cataloging books that you know you want 8th grade students to access but also want 6th grade students to avoid?

Next on the reading list? Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. I’m also reading The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. About time, right?

For those who like simpler step-by-step video production, Photo Story3 is an excellent choice. Photo Story 3 does have some limitations: it is only available for Windows XP and Vista, the stories created with the program can only be played back with Windows Media Player on PCs running Windows and not on Macs, and it only supports the used of still images, not full-motion video clips. (Thank you to the University of Houston for pointing out these limitations.)

But for the price (Free!), you can’t beat Photo Story’s easy-of-use.

I would like to thank (I think her name is) Millie from Furman University for creating a most wonderful tutorial, complete with image resources! We will be using the images and step-by-step directions on this Website during the workshop: Digital Storytelling: Photostory 3 Tutorial
http://millie.furman.edu/mll/tutorials/photostory3/index.htm

Check out some other links below that offer more instruction and a ton of ideas. Enjoy!

The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling
From the University of Houston
Wow! Available on this Website are a myriad of resources. Explore, learn, and use! There are examples of digital stories for every discipline including math, health, pop culture and music.

http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/index.html

Photobus – Digital Storytelling
by Daniel Meadows
Meadows creates some beautiful stories that you can watch right at the top of each tabbed page and has experience teaching digital storytelling to others. There are some nice tutorials here, too.

http://www.photobus.co.uk/index.php?id=2&movie=painted_skies.flv

Ideas for Photo Story3 Projects
This wiki is full of excellent ideas for incorporating Photo Story3 into the classroom and school.

http://21stcenturyteaching.pbworks.com/Ideas-for-Photostory-3-Projects

Create a Story from a Single Still Photo with Photo Story 3
From Microsoft, a step-by-step tutorial.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/tips/create.mspx

Video Storytelling Projects Made with PhotoStory
This page is a nice series of clear screen shots to take you through the Photo Story process.

http://drscavanaugh.org/digitalcamera/photostorytelling/storytelling_PhotoStory.htm

Talk About Books
Digital storytelling, book talk style.

http://blog.woodward.edu/widener/?p=683

Past and Present – Social Studies

http://blog.woodward.edu/widener/?p=693

When You Reach Me

So yes, this book just won the Newbery Award. I finished it last night and decidedly ended a bit confused. Mind you, I read it in two parts, taking a break somewhere in the middle to tend to other kid/teen books on my shelf. However, I’m usually able to jump back into a read and finish with a flourish.

In a nutshell, the book is very well-written and the main character is more real-to-life than most 6th graders I meet in children’s novels. Stead wrapped up each and every story line and character without sentimentality or neatness. Realistic chance and true-to-life relationships ring just right. Do I think it’s Newbery-worthy? Yes. But there’s one thing I wonder…

Would I understand it better if I re-read Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time? There’s a little element of time-travel that Stead weaves expertly into the storyline but it’s intricately entwined using the plot of L’Engle’s novel. And if I’m asking this question, will kids feel the same way?

I must say, its length at just about 200 pages will attract many a reluctant reader and Stead’s use of humor and inclusion of depth in dialogue, setting, circumstance, narration, and plot will most definitely draw readers in to this gem.

via The Insider

Boston.com published an article, Rising to meet an infinite need, about the Boston-based Partners in Health that conveys nicely what they have done for years to help build health care services in Haiti and what they’re doing now in the wake of the earthquake. If you’re wondering which organization of the many you should donate to help recovery efforts, I strongly suggest Partners in Health. Your money will go directly to saving peoples’ lives.

Check out Mr. Olivo’s blog.

Delicious Handout

When I returned to school after the conference, I was in the middle of trying to set up MassONE forums for two groups of students. I came back so excited about using Edmodo.com instead and their teacher was willing to give it a try.

Sometimes when I start new technologies with teachers, especially when they’re new to me too, the start is a little rough and difficult to plow through. Working with Edmodo has been easy. Their blog and wiki have lots of info on them but I urge you to go set up your own account and get your students signed in, too. It’s so easy and intuitive. Trust me. And the kids will love it, too.

http://yabookscentral.blogspot.com/

Mitali’s Fire Escape: Mitali Perkins came to visit my school a few years ago and her presentations were a big hit. She’s as approachable in real life as she is in her blog. Highly recommended for kids, teens and adults alike.

http://www.mitaliblog.com/

I.N.K.: Interesting Non-Fiction for Kids: Great collection of non-fiction writing and resources for kids and teens.

http://inkrethink.blogspot.com/

The YA YA YAs: Written by three YA librarians, this is a great resource for new literature. They design the blog well and it’s kept up-to-date frequently.

http://theyayayas.wordpress.com/

YA Fresh: As it promises, this blog is fresh, especially since it speaks directly to teens. Written by two YA authors, it’s a definite favorite of mine.

http://yafresh.blogspot.com/

Mother-Daughter Book Club: It’s a nice collection of books recommended my members of a book club. Naturally, it has a girl bent to it, but there are some boy books recommended here, too.

http://motherdaughterbookclub.wordpress.com/

The Goddess of YA Literature: This blogger writes succinctly and well, throwing book reviews into short narratives of the goings-on in her life. I enjoy reading this blog a great deal

http://professornana.livejournal.com/

The Picnic Basket: Deborah Sloan, this blog’s author, writes about all types of new and up-and-coming books for children and teenagers. She links librarians, teachers, and book-lovers to publishers who give free ARCs if the recipient is willing to write a review on The Picnic Basket. It’s a wonderful resource and always interesting and updated.

http://www.thepicnic-basket.com/

Mad Woman in the Forest: Laurie Halse Anderson’s blog makes me want to quit my job today, build a little cottage like hers, and write forever surrounded by stuffed bookshelves. Someday. For now, I’m content reading the ever-engaging posts she writes and happy in the knowledge that if she’s reading about American history then she must be well on her way to finishing the sequel to Chains. I love this blog.

http://halseanderson.livejournal.com/

YA Authors Cafe: Nice selection of YA book reviews written by three YA authors. I love it when authors blog about other author’s books. It’s a delightful community that has formed publically among them all.

http://yaauthorscafe.blogspot.com/

Flamingnet Young Adult Book Blog: Teens reviews books for teens! Any teen can sign up to review books. I always find something useful on this site.

http://www.flamingnet.com/blog/blog.html

Other favorite author blogs:

• E. Lockhart’s
  
• Libba Bray
• Niel Gaiman
• The Journal of Laini Taylor
• Teen Fiction Cafe (a group of YA authors)
• Cynsations – Cynthia Leitich Smith
  
• K. L. Going

And a few lit, too:

• Miss Rumphius Effect
• The Elephant Rag
• The Compulsive Reader
• Guy’s Lit Wire

The world of blogging is so vast, especially among people who write for a living, too. It’s a fun place to hang out for a while to see what’s new in the bookstore or learn about an author’s day-to-day doings. Enjoy!

As a shout-out to a brilliant English teacher friend, here’s an annotated list of 7 to 10 of those items, in no particular order, mind you:

1. Pandora. There’s nothing better than coming to work, opening up my browser, going to Pandora.com, and typing in the name of the artist who made me happy on the ride to school. Today it was Taylor Swift. Pandora’s definition and interpretation of Taylor Swift has made me happy all day. Here’s to more!

2. My iPod touch. At home, my iPod touch serves as the remote control for my music which plays wirelessly through my MacBook (#3, see below). It also controls DVDs, Netflix (#6) streaming movies, and Hulu.com TV shows I play nice and big through my wonderful 42-inch LCD TV (#4). The iPod also allows me to carry photos of my family and friends and my music and podcasts and games and, well, with 75,000 possible apps, I could definitely go on.

P. S. Come June, my cell phone (NOT a favorite technology) and my iPod touch will become one. I visit the iPhone Website once a week. No joke.

3. My Aluminum MacBook. I’ve loved Mac computers since I was a little girl. I didn’t know PCs existed until they started popping up in my school life. Yes, Mac computers are pretty. But they’re also easy to use and intuitive. I couldn’t get dressed each morning without my weather dashboard widget. Perhaps it’s what I’m used to, but golly, I know I’m not the only one.

4. My 42-inch LCD TV. I’m not sure how to annotate this without stating the obvious. Perhaps this will work: I can see the puck. Never before have I been able to see the puck on TV.

5. Online Shopping.

There’s nothing like a Web-based cataloging system to make a librarian’s job so much easier. I still can’t believe how fast I can catalog a book and get labels printed. It’s like heaven. I am a catch-22: sometimes, I yearn for a world without technology but I cringe at the sight of card-catalog systems of yore. Oh, well.

In the same vein: Ingram’s iPage Online Ordering System. I adore selection lists. I adore having instant access to book reviews. I adore placing orders with a click of a button.

Who am I kidding? I adore all online shopping.

6. Netflix. Not only do their DVDs come and go from my house as I please, but if I’m in the mood to watch something else instantly, that’s okay, too. I’m sure that Netflix will be a relic sometime in the not-too-distant future, but for now, I think it’s such a wonderful comfort when you want a movie fix.

7. DVR. I’m addicted to my DVR. If I ever have to make the choice between TV without DVR and no TV, I would select the latter. I can’t handle TV that I can’t pause and record. I watch a specific handful of shows and like to watch them at my leisure. TV without DVR would be tortuous.

8. Networking Applications and Programs: Twitter, FaceBook, Email, Blogs.

Among all of the junk that swims around the Internet, there are some wonderful connections to be made amongst colleagues from around the country and the world using ingenious applications. Twitter has allowed me to develop those connections.

FaceBook has brought me back in touch with friends I’ve lost touch with over the year; that’s a blessing.

Email allows me to communicate daily with friends and family without picking up the phone. I hate the phone.

Blogs allow me to write and to learn from other librarians and teachers about young adult literature, librarianship, teaching, learning, and being citizens of a world greater than ourselves.

9. There isn’t a nine. I guess I’m an “8 Favorite Technologies” kinda girl. And perhaps a few #s are cheating a bit since it’s questionable whether individual Websites can be individual technologies. But you get the jist. I admittedly like some technologies a great deal.

Could I live without them? Sure. But if I move to the cottage in the woods with my cart of books I would undoubtedly miss my iPod, my computer, and my gigantic TV. That’s a fact.

This week, I’m determined to make it happen. I am constructing, in a middle school library, a section for 8th grade readers only. The wise and capable 7th and even 6th grade student will be allowed to read from the section, but I want 8th grade students to know that there are books here that speak specifically to their needs and wants as very-soon-to-be young adults.

Happily, Nancy Werlin’s Impossible will be one of the brand-new books to grace the shelves of this new section. Her book, which takes place in a contemporary setting, is alive with a fairy tale spin that makes it an amazing adventure full of riddles and complete with an evil elf. But with a rape scene, a teen pregnancy, and a teen marriage, I think it’s best featured in a section set aside for readers who are ready to read some of the themes within its pages.

I picked up Impossible on a whim, thinking that I would only be buying one of Werlin’s other titles, Rules of Survival,which is on our 8th grade summer reading list. Here is where I praise and extend my utmost thanks to independent book stores and their knowledgeable booksellers:

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

As I frantically ran through the aisles of BookEnds of Winchester, MA a few weeks ago, grabbing copies of Flanagan’s The Ranger’s Apprentice series, I asked the bookseller if she had Rules of Survival. She said: “I’m not positive, but I know I have her new book – Impossible.”

And off on another track was I.

She gave it an interesting and positive review and we discussed whether it would be a novel 8th grade students could read. She relayed the rape scene to me but said that it wasn’t graphic. She led me to believe that I should take a risk and see what I thought. Frankly, it just sounded like something that I would enjoy. Since I don’t care for fantasy much, I saw this as a sign that I should give it a try.

Happily, I did and spent last Saturday on the couch in a wonderful fantasy story I won’t easily forget.

Last week, every effort I made to sit and catalog books was thwarted by some outside force or another. This week, I’m making the impossible, possible. Come technology or high water.