Into the Dark Book #1: The Shadow Prince by Bree Despain

I admit that I am a sucker for anything that has romantic tones.  When I read the summary for the digital ARC (preview copy) I thought I'd give it a whirl.  It centered around mythology and my students are always looking for the next Rick Riordanesque book.  I can't say it was anything like Rick Riordan.  I can, however, say that it was more of Rick Riordan meets Stephanie Meyers/Maggie Stiefvater,  Into the Dark in one word is FABULOUS!  It had action, forbidden romance (that intense soul mate thing) and Greek mythology wrapped in a modern day package.

So here's the quick summary:  Haden is the son of the the King of the Underworld (not Hades, he has been killed).  He's not the favored son but the Oracle chose him (Haden) over his twin brother to go on a quest to bring back a girl, who is the key to bringing back stability and power to the underworld.  Daphne is an aspiring musician.  She has the voice and can hear music in everything.  She lives with her mother in Utah until her father, a famous rock star brings her to Olympic Hills to go to a special music school.  Little does Daphne know that she's the person Haden has to bring back to the Underworld.  She has to go willingly.  Will Haden be able to get her to trust him?  Will he be successful in his quest?  Check this book out March 11, 2014!

Washington Post Article about Poverty and Education

One of my favorite library people, Dr. Lesesne, put a link to an interesting article about education via her twitter feed.  Here is the link http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/10/09/the-bottom-line-on-sat-scores-in-one-chart/.  It really is eye opening but nothing new to those of us who have the honor of working with kiddos whose families may not have the money or knowledge to take extra prep classes or have knowledge building experiences.  I just found it interesting to see it in chart form, since I love charts.  It has so many implications for us as educators, students and parents.

Welcome!

I went to a great mini conference hosted by our district and our public library system.  It was so incredible.  I have been in the library business for about 10 years now and it never ceases to amaze me how much I learn from my peers.  I have my own personal blog which I used to post regularly and I saw the power and impact it had to connect to others.  Now, I have seen some of my colleagues do the same and I want to provide that connection to my Wood community, students and faculty in a non-traditional format.  I hope this blog will provide updates, book reviews and links to some great curriculum ideas (thanks Irene!).  I hope to have students post their reviews of books or maybe a community person wants to guest blog.

I have always felt that the library is more than a place to get books.  The library is an extension of not only the classroom but the world.  It opens to door to exploration.  It's a safe place to figure out the world around us.  I hope it will provide us with opportunity to share knowledge and experiences that we can take with us in life.  So, here is to my first experiment.  I'm dipping my toe into the blogging world of educators.  My goal is to post at least once a week with the good, the bad, and the stuff we can learn from.