Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Homework Help: Try This!

Need help with your homework?  Have you tried the World Book Web online? 

World Book Kids is an online encyclopedia with thousands of easy to read articles, multimedia, interactive games and activities and much more! 

World Book Student includes a Biography Center, dictionary, atlas and thousands of great websites.

World Book will make doing research easy and fun.  Find everything you need for your assignment, from photos to maps to videos and more.  Get access to the World Book Web by visiting the library's homework help webpage.

For more information, visit the Children's Department or call 401-847-8720 ext. 204.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

September Meeting Wrap-Up

The Book Buddies Book Club met yesterday afternoon to discuss our September book, The Humming Room by Ellen Potter.  We had a terrific discussion of the book followed by a journal and bookmark craft!

Everyone read and really liked the book, especially the main character, Roo.  We talked a lot about Roo and the type of person she is and how much she changed over the course of the book.  We first met her alone and hiding under her family's trailor and by the end she was comfortable and happy with the people in her life and felt at home on the St. Lawrence river.  Her transformation paralleled the transformation of the secret garden and both flourished by the end of the story.

We talked about Roo's relationships with characters such as Jack, Violet, Phillip and Ms. Valentine and her connection with Earth and nature.  At first Roo is more comfortable with animals and insects than she is with people but by the end of the story she has real friendships with her Uncle and cousin as well as Violet and Jack. 

We discussed Phillip's father and how much he changed over the story as well, from traveling so much and never spending any time with Phillip to someone who wanted to reconnect with his son.  We felt that his guilt over Phillip's mother's death caused him to close himself off from the family but that in doing so, he caused even more harm to the people he cares about.

We talked about the future for Roo and some felt that she and Jack might get married(!) but others thought that Roo, Phillip and Jack would all be good friends and that Jack might even live with them in the mansion on Cough Rock Island.

Our favorite parts of the book were when Roo hid in the cave from her tutor, Mrs. Wixton and the end when everyone was happy together.  Our least favorite part was when we thought Roo might be sent back to the foster home because she was too much trouble for Ms. Valentine.

It was a wonderful discussion and we had a great time designing our reading journals and bookmarks.  Thank to everyone who attended!

Monday, September 24, 2012

Assignment Alert

Teachers!  Use the Assignment Alert form and let us know what's happening in the classroom!  The more we know about the themes and units you assign, the better prepared we can be to serve your students.  With the Assignment Alert form, we can pull the best materials and put together a Homework Shelf for your class in the library, we can visit your classroom for research instruction and we can link the best online resources to our website for use 24/7.

Let us help you and your students have the best year ever!

For more information, contact the Children's Department at 401-847-8720 ext. 204 or email me at cgould@newportlibraryri.org. 

Friday, September 21, 2012

Meeting Reminder

The first meeting of the Book Buddies Book Club for the new school year will take place on Monday!  Join us at 3:30pm in the John Clarke Children's Program Room to discuss The Humming Room by Ellen Potter.  Come for snacks and a related activity!

Please read the book before the meeting so that we can have a great discussion!  Copies of the book are available at the Children's Desk. 

Registration is required so I know who to plan for.  To sign up, please visit the Children's Desk, call 401-847-8720 ext. 204 or email cgould@newportlibraryri.org.

See you Monday!

Monday, September 17, 2012

The Secret Garden

Our September book, The Humming Room, was inspired by the children's classic, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.  The Secret Garden was first published in serial format in the Autumn of 1910 and tells the story of 10-year-old Mary Lennox.  After being orphaned, Mary is sent to live with her uncle at Misselthwaite Manor on the Yorkshire moors in England.  While there she discovers an invalid cousin named Colin and the mysteries of a locked garden.

Find out all about author Ellen Potter's experience retelling The Secret Garden and how she wrote The Humming Room.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Ellen Potter & Spilling Ink

In addition to her wonderful chapter books for children, Ellen Potter is also the co-author of the book Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook with Anne Mazer.  Spilling Ink talks about all aspects of the writing process for children, from characters and plot to dialogue and titles.  It includes lots of creative encouragement and will get you itching to write your own stories.  Find out more about Ellen Potter and get additional writing tips on her website.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

September Author: Ellen Potter

Ellen Potter is one of my favorite authors and the first author we ever interviewed for the Book Buddies Book Club!  Twice we've read and enjoyed Olivia Kidney (the first in that series) and I'm so excited for us to read her newest novel, The Humming Room.  In between Olivia Kidney and The Humming Room, Ms. Potter wrote a number of other excellent books for children.  Catch up on any that you may have missed today!

The Kneebone Boy
Otto, Lucia, and Max Hardscrabble, whose mother has been missing for many years, have unexpected and illuminating adventures in the village of Snoring-by-the-Sea after their father, who paints portraits of deposed monarchs, goes away on a business trip.

Slob
Picked on, overweight genius Owen tries to invent a television that can see the past to find out what happened the day his parents were killed.

Pish Posh
Eleven-year-old Clara Frankofile sits in her parents' elegant New York City restaurant, Pish Posh, and passes judgement on each customer as a Somebody or a Nobody, but her all-seeing eyes fail to observe the mysterious events occurring right under her nose.