Comic generator site MakeBeliefs Comix has a new offering. Users can create their own comic strips, selecting characters, colors, stories and formatting choices.  Strips can be downloaded and printed.  Comics could also be created with speech bubbles left blank for ELL and other students to fill in their own narratives. Comics can also be created in Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Latin. Be sure to check out the Teacher Resources page with tips on how to use comics in the classroom.  Sweet!Read More →

There are a lot of books coming out from Random House in Fall ’09!  We can’t wait!  Here are just a few to look forward to: Arizona’s own Robin Brande, Fat Cat, October 2009: You are what you eat. . . .  Cat smart, sassy, and funny—but thin, she’s not. Until her class science project. That’s when she winds up doing an experiment—on herself. Before she knows it, Cat is living—and eating—like the hominids, our earliest human ancestors. True, no chips or TV is a bummer and no car is a pain, but healthful eating and walking everywhere do have their benefits.  As the poundsRead More →

In the Deep Freeze of Bartholomew Freezeby Alex Williams, the town of Pinrut has been covered in blizzard conditions for at least 20 years: no sunshine, no warmth, no happiness.  Residents scrape out a meager existence in the frozen turnip fields of their overlord, the selfish, wealthy bully, Bartholomew Tullock. Everyone except for the Breeze family, however.  Rufus and his sister Madeline, together with their parents Elizabeth and Philip, believe that the sun will one day return and they just have to hold out hope that their fan-inventing family tradition will survive until the summer sun returns.  They are, however, the focus of Tullock’s wrath and jealousy, and just when their situation becomes most dire, a strange visitor and hisRead More →

Marie Rutkoski’s debut novel, The Cabinet of Wonders, is an enchanting adventure story, full of magic, friendship, danger, and wonder. 12 year old Petra Kronos lives in a small village outside Prague in the late 16th century. Her father is both an inventor and a magician with a special power over metal. Her favorite companion is a wise, magical tin spider her father created, and her best friend captures lightning into glass spheres.  When the novel opens, her father is returned to the family after having been commissioned to build a magical clock for their Prince; after completing his work, he is blinded by the PriceRead More →

We can’t wait for these new releases from Scholastic in Fall 2009: Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, Book 2), Suzanne Collins, Sept 1, 2009: Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry.Read More →

If one of the primary ways of getting young people to connect with a book is to create a protagonist they identify with, then Blake Nelson has absolutely done it again in Destroy All Cars. From the first page of this fantastic novel, James Hoff’s funny, angry, relentless voice grabs the reader and pulls you right into his world.  He’s pissed off – at our consumer-based, wasteful, gas-guzzling, hypocritical culture; at his parents; at his ex-girlfriend, Sadie; and, even though he doesn’t readily admit it, himself.  In journal entries, essay assignments for Junior AP English, and biting diatribes, James rails against everyone and everything, pointingRead More →

In Skunk Girl, 11th grader Nina Khan feels trapped between 2 cultures: middle America and her Pakistani-Muslim heritage. She’s got all the usual high school troubles: cliques, friends starting to drift apart because of interests in boys, academic pressures, body/self esteem issues, and a crush on a really hot guy; and if that weren’t hard enough, she’s got the expectations left at school from her “supernerd” older sister, restrictions on who she can hang out with, traditional/conservative parents, andof course being the only Asian student in the school.  Nina feels bound and constrained by her parents’ traditional values, unsure about her own feelings, and reluctantRead More →

In Frances O’Roark Dowell’s  latest novel, The Kind of Friends We Used to Be, Kate and Marilyn are starting 7th grade.  Friends since preschool, the two girls start a new stage in life when things become more complicated and they begin to explore who they are and who they want to be. For Marilyn, getting in to the popular crowd is the focus of her ambitions. She’s joined the cheerleading squad and with hard work, she’s now part of the “in crowd.” Just the opposite is coming true for Kate – she’d rather learn to play guitar, wear combat boots every day, and join the creative writing club.Read More →

A.E. Cannon’s The Loser’s Guide to Life and Love is a light-hearted romantic comedy of errors that is as breezy and easy as a warm summer night. Well-meaning, if somewhat relationship-challenged Ed has a summer job at Reel Life Movies where he works with his best friend, Scout.  Scout’s the kind of girl guys like to hang out with: she plays sports, love cheeseburgers, and has a great sense of humor.  Quark is Ed’s other best friend, a shy, but gorgeous, guy who’s intellectually way ahead of everyone. And Ellie, a beautiful girl from out of town, who breezes into the video store and catches Ed’s eye right away.  Read More →