Tales from a Loud Librarian

This episode highlights the work of author, Heather Brewer. She is the author of the Vladimir Tod Chronicles and the Slayer Chronicles. Within this episode is an interview of the author during a visit that she made to PFTSTA on September 28, 2011.

The 8th and 9th graders were blown away when Heather Brewer began talking at 9:30AM, Wednesday the 28th. She called all the teens in the room her minions. She believes in "world domination." With world domination, she and her minions could change the world to be a more accepting place. A place where there would be no bullies and everyone is accepted for who they are whatever that may be. Heather Brewer knows bullies, as she was not treated well by her peers in school. One of the students said it was the best author visit ever, and two teachers said the talk was awesome because Heather was so real. She spoke with honesty from the heart, and the students could relate. There were many hugs when she arrived and even during her talk. One student couldn't contain herself when she found out that Green Day was one of Auntie Heather's fav bands. She ran up for some love, and Heather was extremely accommodating. The main character in the Vladimir Tod Chronicles  is ...

This is just a quickie because I don't have much time, but I wanted to share some pics of the day. I will say this, Heather Brewer was AWESOME!!! The kids loved her talk, and she was so inspirational.  The librarian stops for a second to get a photo with the author.  Signing the books and having some one on one with Auntie Heather was a highlight for many students.   Hey, I don't need to get a book signed, she can sign my arm!!!! 

In this episode of my digital book talks, Get Reading, I review Where She Went by Gayle Forman and the Sweet Hereafter by Angela Johnson. I talk about companion books which share characters or setting.

I am having the best time writing and creating Get Reading: digital book talks for teens who love to read . I still want to figure out a way to use something other than Photostory and Moviemaker for these creations. Right now these tools do what I want with the audio and video. If I did not want a narration track without music, then I could use other tools that are available. I played around with Stupeflix this afternoon, and I loved what it did with the photos. I could add narration, but then it talked over the video piece. I needed the sounds to be separate. It is not possible with this tool. This week's episode focuses on two stories set during the winter holidays, one is in New York: Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan ; and the other in Paris: Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly . Every book that I talk up on Get Reading is one that I recommend. Here is a link to Get Reading 6: http://vimeo.com/28631905 . Check it out!!

I was walking the dog with my husband the other night and thinking. Usually, we use this time for conversation and talking about each other's day. On this particular night, I was lost in thought. It occurred to me that I should begin creating digital book talks, and I was going to entitle them: Get Reading. So over the last couple of days, I selected three titles that I read this summer, wrote the script, set up the webcam and made some short movies. Using Movie Maker, I put together the videos, added pics of the book covers as well as some music over the title and credits. I am pleased with the results of Get Reading 1, though I have some ideas on how to make some improvements for the next edition. On this episode you will hear about the following titles: False Princess by Eilis O'Neal, Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi, and Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver.