Book Fair Adventures

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today and I’m going to write about a personal experience that I had over the weekend. It’s kind of funny now, but at the time…not so much.

I should have known it was going to be one of “those” days when I got up.

My alarm went off and the numbers on the clock were blinking in their neon redness twelve o’clock. My clock reverts to twelve o’clock when there’s an interruption in power. I didn’t think anything of this at the time, though I just stumbled out of bed, and jumped in the shower.

After my shower, I made my way to the kitchen to make some breakfast. As I opened the fridge, I glanced at the clock. Did a double take and glanced at it again. Then I walked forward and put my face right up next to it, just to make sure I was reading it correctly. Sure enough, it said four thirty. It was four thirty on a Saturday morning; I didn’t have to be up until seven. Of course, I freaked out a bit and then went back to bed, wet hair and all. I should have known then, what kind of day it was going to be, but I ignored this glaring sign. Totally disregarded it.

I was so excited, I was going to meet fellow author and great gal pal Lori Lapekes. We were going to share a table at a book fair/craft show/bake sale and sell our books. We haven’t done this together in quite some time and I was really looking forward to it. I went to MapQuest and found directions to our destination. Lori arrived, and together we set out for this quaint little town north of where I live.

Things were going smoothly; the directions were accurate and Lori and I were chatting, having a great time. Until…MapQuest told us to turn left on Elm Street.

That’s when things started to get a little funny. We were supposed to look for Croton-Hardy Dam Rd. We became concerned when we’d driven south for ten miles and hadn’t come across it. So we backtracked.

Pulling off the side of the road, we asked a woman who was pulling out of her driveway for directions. She gave us some, but when we got to where she directed us, the road she said we needed wasn’t there. Now we were really concerned. We didn’t want to be late and miss the fair.

We pulled up to a four-way stop and parked along the side of the road. We weren’t sure what we should do. When another car pulled up to the stop sign, I acted quickly and waved them down.

This nice young woman gave me directions. She even wrote them down for me. Lori and I were on our way. However, things still didn’t go smoothly for us.

We were on a Michigan highway and unbeknownst to me the speed limit for these highways is fifty-five miles an hour, not the seventy that I was going. At least that’s what the State Trooper said when he wrote me a speeding ticket. Boo! According to him, all State highways are fifty-five while interstate highways are seventy. I learned something new! Grrr..

We asked this officer of the law for directions and he gave them to us. It seemed like he knew what he was talking about and his directions matched the young woman’s, so we were once again on our way, going fifty-five instead of seventy. 🙂

We finally reached the tiny burg that housed the show we wanted to attend. However, there was still another glitch in the directions. According to the directions from the cop and the young woman…we were supposed to turn left. After going to the wrong school and getting still more directions. We found out we were supposed to turn right.

We weren’t out of the woods yet, though, because we still couldn’t find the school we were looking for. That’s right, you guessed it, we stopped and asked someone who was standing on her porch where the school was. She didn’t know and her daughter didn’t know either. Now, you have to understand, this was not a large town by any means.

Finally, we found it, nestled off on a side street. We were an hour late. We had a speeding ticket. But we finally made it. We even sold some books.

We talked amongst ourselves in between moments of trying to sell our books and there were bouts of hysterical laughter and tears running down our faces. Now that we had arrived, we could laugh at the comedy of errors that occurred on our way to the fair.

An Excerpt from “The Super Spies and the Pied Piper!”

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you! I’m extremely busy today, working diligently on my Coming of Age Novel. The words are flowing and I don’t want to stifle that creative flow. So for my post today, I thought I’d share with you an excerpt from the third Super Spies Novel, “The Super Spies and the Pied Piper.” I hope you enjoy it, I know I enjoyed writing it. 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to stop by and read it.

Chapter One

“What do you mean you lost them?” Sarah Cole fidgeted as she waited for Agent Gray to answer. I can’t believe it! He lost the only clue to our parents’ location. What is wrong with this picture?

Agitated, Sarah shifted in her seat and chewed on her lip. She was uncomfortable in the folding chair and rearranged her petite frame so she wouldn’t feel the cold metal against her bare legs. Shivering, she glanced around the all‑too‑familiar  room. The gray cement block walls no longer gave her that creepy, closed-­‐‑in feeling she’d used to get when she first came to the interrogation rooms. She remembered the first time she’d been in that tiny space. It had been the day she’d discovered the Cat Lady’s dead body. Sarah shuddered at the memory and then smiled when she remembered forming the Super Spies and bringing the Cat Lady Killer to justice.

Glancing around the room again, she realized she’d been in this room quite a bit these last few weeks, not only during the Cat Lady investigation, but the High School Bomber investigation as well. Shivering again, Sarah rubbed her arms but she really wasn’t cold. Her mind filled with the image of the bomber the Super Spies had helped apprehend just a week earlier.

Wow! Was it just last week?

She tugged at a lock of her honey colored hair, then brushed it away with an impatient hand. She sighed and glanced at her younger sister. Lacey sat beside her with her legs crossed, jiggling her foot at such a rapid rate it seemed like her whole body was electrified. She caught Sarah’s eye, and for a moment her eyes glittered like emeralds before she shifted her gaze to Aunt June, who had placed her hand on Lacey’s leg in what appeared to be an attempt to quiet her. Sarah shifted in her chair and sighed again. Are we ever going to find Mom and Dad?

A commotion out in the hall drew everyone’s attention. Sarah leaned forward and craned her neck to see what was happening.

“Chief, we’ve got an OD!” An officer yelled.

“What?” Chief Johnson yelled as he rushed by. “An OD on what? Give me the details.”

“The parents found their son unconscious in his room this morning, and an empty bottle of prescription medication on his bedside table.”

“What was it?” Chief Johnson asked.

“It’s Myodine.”

“Who makes it?”

“Ah… Piper Drugs.”

“Call Poison Control with the name and manufacturer and ask them what to do about an overdose. Instruct the parents to get their son to the hospital pronto,” Chief Johnson ordered.

“They’ve brought him here.”

“What?” Chief Johnson exclaimed.

The sound of policemen rushing through the hall pulled Sarah and her sister out of their seats. They hurried to the door, unable to stifle their curiosity. Peering down the corridor, Sarah caught a glimpse of a young man sagging between two officers as they desperately tried to keep him on his feet. One officer gently slapped his face while the other officers held him up. The young man blinked and then gagged, puking on the officer in front of him. The rancid stench of fresh vomit filled the air.While plugging her nose, Sarah ducked back inside the interrogation room, followed by her sister. Sarah closed the door, hoping it would keep the smell from penetrating the room.

“Did you hear that, Lace? Piper Drugs! That’s the company Dad works for,” Sarah whispered in her sister’s ear before proceeding back to her seat.

Lacey opened her mouth to speak, but closed it when Agent Gray cleared his throat and motioned for them to sit down. He continued his conversation as if they hadn’t been interrupted. We were on our way to the location of the ping… but before we got there it disappeared.”

“So, what does that mean? Did you find our parents or what?” Sarah blurted out as she sat down. She stared into Agent Gray’s icy blue eyes, trying to read his mind.

Buylinks are  below. This is a great series for your tween/teen. 🙂

Astraea Press:  http://www.astraeapress.com/#!/~/product/category=662245&id=24157242

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Super-Spies-Pied-Piper-ebook/dp/B00D25G7ZM

Barnes and  Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-super-spies-and-the-pied-piper-lisa-orchard/1115437908?ean=2940016589701

September’s Tween Meme for the Emblazoners!

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you! It’s the fourth Wednesday of the month and you know what that means, it’s Tween Meme Day!

Today I decided to write about one of my favorite books of all time. The author is Harper Lee, and the title of the book is, “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it, To Kill A Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also a classic.

I have always loved this story. It has captured the turbulent era beautifully and it’s told from a child’s point of view. The first time I read it, I identified with Scout. She reminded me of myself at a young age. I was kind of a tomboy. I would recommend this book to tweens and teens alike. It illustrates a great lesson regarding discrimination.

Discrimination is still prevalent in our society today. It has taken the form of bullying in our schools and on social media. It’s unfortunate. However, if we can get Tweens and Teens to understand the consequences of this kind of behavior maybe we can eliminate it all together. I believe reading these kinds of books empower our children to become critical thinkers. That way when they’re confronted with negative behavior like this they’ll be able to stand up for themselves.

This book is also a great history lesson as well.  It takes place in a Southern town during the Civil Rights movement. It reflects the crisis of those times. It’s great to see how far we’ve come as a nation, but we still have a ways to go.

Thanks for taking the time to read my post! I’d love to read your thoughts on it, so leave a comment. If you have any books you’d like to recommend, put that in the comment section as well. I’d love to check them out.

Don’t forget to check out what the other Emblazon authors are doing too! Click the link to find out! http://emblazoners.com/tween-the-weekends/

Please Welcome Sharon Ledwith as she shares her Time Travel Series with us!

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you! I’ve got fellow author and great friend Sharon Ledwith here today and she’s sharing her Time travel series with us, and also  giving us a little history lesson on Atlantis! So, without further ado…take it away Sharon!

Atlantis101…

No lost continent has a more powerful hold on our imagination than Atlantis. In fact, each generation has felt the need to search for the truth of its roots. Presumably, Atlantis was a flourishing island empire located in the present-day Azores. Or do the remains of this mystical place lurk deep under Antarctica’s ice cap? There’s also the possibility that remnants of this advanced civilization are buried under the marshes of Spain. Whatever the truth is, theories abound, and stories about Atlantis still flourish to this day. So much has been written about this legendary country that it was hard to lock down the information I needed to create my middle-grade/young adult time travel series. It was a challenge for sure, but I managed to find a handful of resources that allowed me to craft a master plan for the book series.

The oldest and fullest surviving account of the great island’s rise and fall was provided by the Greek philosopher Plato, who lived from about 428 to 348 BCE. In his seventies, Plato composed two dialogues (the way he wrote out his philosophy) called Timaeus and Critias based on information passed down by word of mouth through his relatives, and a Greek statesman named Solon, about the lost continent. It was gleaning through Plato’s numerous descriptions about Atlantis that I knew I had collected enough information to form a blueprint of what this mysterious place would look like for me and my readers.

Through Plato’s story of Atlantis, I gained an incredible amount of data on the people, their appearance and lifestyles, what was important to them, the architecture, their influences, the way they used and manipulated energy, and even about the final destruction. Too much information filled my head, until I sorted out what I could use to form the basis of my first story, The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis and the prequel of the series, Legend of the Timekeepers.

I’ve always had an insatiable interest in this mysterious country. In fact I, like Plato, believe that Atlantis did exist. How about you? I’d love to hear your comments!

Author Info:

Sharon Ledwith is the author of the middle-grade/YA time travel series, THE LAST TIMEKEEPERS, available through Musa Publishing. When not writing, researching, or revising, she enjoys reading, yoga, kayaking, time with family and friends, and single malt scotch. Sharon lives in the wilds of Muskoka in Central Ontario, Canada, with her hubby, a water-logged yellow Labrador and moody calico cat.

 

 

 

Here are Sharon’s books!

Tagline/blurb for The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis:

Children are the keys to our future. And now, children are the only hope for our past.

When 13-year-old Amanda Sault and her annoying classmates are caught in a food fight at school, they’re given a choice: suspension or yard duty. The decision is a no-brainer. Their two-week crash course in landscaping leads to the discovery of a weathered stone arch in the overgrown back yard. The arch isn’t a forgotten lawn ornament but an ancient time portal from the lost continent of Atlantis.

Chosen by an Atlantean Magus to be Timekeepers–legendary time travelers sworn to keep history safe from the evil Belial–Amanda and her classmates are sent on an adventure of a lifetime. Can they find the young Robin Hood and his merry band of teens? If they don’t, then history itself may be turned upside down.

Tagline/blurb for Legend of the Timekeepers:

There is no moving forward without first going back.

Lilith was a young girl with dreams and a family before the final destruction of Atlantis shattered those dreams and tore her family apart. Now refugees, Lilith and her father make their home in the Black Land. This strange, new country has no place in Lilith’s heart until a beloved high priestess introduces Lilith to her life purpose—to be a Timekeeper and keep time safe.

Summoned through the seventh arch of Atlantis by the Children of the Law of One, Lilith and her newfound friends are sent into Atlantis’s past, and given a task that will ultimately test their courage and try their faith in each other. Can the Timekeepers stop the dark magus Belial before he changes the seers’ prophecy? If they fail, then their future and the earth’s fate will be altered forever.

The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis Buy Links:

MUSA PUBLISHING ׀ AMAZON ׀ BARNES & NOBLE ׀ SMASHWORDS ׀ KOBO

Legend of the Timekeepers Buy Links:

MUSA PUBLISHING ׀ AMAZON ׀ BARNES & NOBLE ׀ SMASHWORDS

Learn more about Sharon Ledwith on her WEBSITE and BLOG. Connect with Sharon on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, and GOODREADS. Check out THE LAST TIMEKEEPERS TIME TRAVEL SERIES Facebook page.

Thanks so much Sharon for sharing your new release with us! I’ve definitely got it on my TBR pile! 🙂

Please Welcome Wendy Knight as she shares her New Release with Us!

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you! I’ve got fellow Astraea Press author Wendy Knight  here today and she’s sharing an excerpt from her new novel with us! It’s titled, “Feudlings in Flames” It sounds like an awesome read and I’ve got it on my TBR Pile! 🙂

So, without further Ado…take it away, Wendy!

Ari thought being in love with her prophesied nemesis sucked. But being responsible for her best friend’s kidnapping? It sucks worse.

Ari and Shane thought they’d beaten Fate and ended the three-hundred year war plaguing their people. They thought love had won. But they were so, so wrong.

Instead of graduating high school like the normals, they’re in a battle to save Charity – Shane’s cousin, Ari’s best friend, and the seer who might hold the key to ending the war for good. To do that, they’re forced to accept help from a boy they aren’t even sure they can trust. He’s powerful and knows spells even Ari’s never heard of, but he’s also secretive and has a past he’s determined to keep hidden . Add to that the fact that he has his sights set on Ari, and Shane would rather do without his help.

Ari has bigger problems than mysterious boys and their strange powers. The powerful Edren Family is hunting her brother, and she can’t very well save him or Charity while they’re constantly being attacked by her own people. To stop the raids, she has to take the fight to them. But if she starts hunting the family that raised her, what kind of monster will she be?

Fate still waits for the death of one by the hand of the other

Here’s the Excerpt!

            “No no, Hunter, it curves this way.” Ari stood back, watching with a frown, and then jumped back in. “Imagine in your mind what you want the spell to do. Tie your emotions to your spells.”

          Shane watched her guide Hunter and tried again on his own. “Close, Shane, but like this,” Ari reached out, holding his hand as she led him through the motion. He felt the flames racing through his blood react to her touch and sparks flew from his fingers, igniting the spell. It hung, burning, in the air, a bright blue curlicue thing. “Perfect,” she whispered, still holding on to his hand.

“Maybe, but does it work?” Tristan’s voice was flat and uninterested, but Shane could hear the animosity running under the words.

“We don’t have any targets set out. He can’t test it.” Ari shook her head, and still holding Shane’s hand, made a quick swiping motion through the spell, dissipating it.         “Try again.” She let go of his hand and stepped back, watching expectantly.

Shane tried, once, twice, and three times. He couldn’t get it quite right, but neither could Hunter, which made him feel better, and Tristan wasn’t even trying.

“It’s okay if you can’t do it, Shane. There are a lot of other powerful spells she uses that will be much easier for you to master,” Will said.

Ari vehemently shook her head. “No. He can do it. Just give him a minute!”

Shane kept his attention focused on the spell in front of him, but he couldn’t stop his grin.

Ari believed in him.

He burned the spell into the air again, trying to replicate the one Ari had drawn, but it fizzled into a mass of smoke. The spell had to ignite to actually do anything. He groaned in frustration, tipping his head sideways to look at Ari. “What am I doing wrong?”

She bit her lip, studying him for several seconds. “When you did it the first time, what were you thinking?”

Shane paused, dropping his hand that was still poised in the air. “Umm… I was thinking we were gonna die and I had seen you throw that spell so I knew it was possible. It just happened.”

Author Bio

Wendy Knight was born and raised in Utah by a wonderful family who spoiled her rotten because she was the baby. Now she spends her time driving her husband crazy with her many eccentricities (no water after five, terror when faced with a live phone call, etcetera, etcetera). She also enjoys chasing her three adorable kids, playing tennis, watching football, reading, and hiking. Camping is also big: her family is slowly working toward a goal of seeing all the National Parks in the U.S.

You can usually find her with at least one Pepsi nearby, wearing ridiculously high heels for whatever the occasion may be. And if everything works out just right, she will also be writing.

Links:

Twitter: @wjk8099

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorWendyKnight

Blog: www.writethroughthenoise.blogspot.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7009940.Wendy_Knight

Buy Links:

Astraea Press: http://astraeapress.com/#!/~/product/category=662245&id=27682185

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Feudlings-in-Flames-ebook/dp/B00EY5DALS/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1378194244&sr=8-4&keywords=Feudlings+in+Flames

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/feudlings-in-flames-wendy-knight/1116814623?ean=2940148467472

Thanks for stopping by Wendy and sharing your new release with us! 🙂

Back to School Blog hop!

And the Winners are!

BN 100

Paul R. Hewlett

Thanks so much for participating and you will be receiving an e-mail from me shortly! 🙂 Congrats BN 100 and Paul

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you! Guess what?  I’m participating in another blog hop this week! That’s right! It’s the back to school blog hop! The members of the  We ♥ Middle grade Books Facebook Group are hosting it and we’re giving away some awesome prizes!  Books! That’s right! Books for your tweens and teens!

So please visit the other blogs and see what you can win!  Here at my blog I’m giving away one full set of the Super Spies series (e-book copies) to one winner! And a ten dollar Amazon Gift Card to another. How do you enter to win? Very good question! But before I answer that, here are the book covers of the three books that you can win!

You can enter a variety of ways. You can like my Facebook author page and leave a quick comment letting me know you’re from the blog hop. The link is below:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lisa-Orchard/328536613877060?ref=hl

You can also tweet about my books and leave the tweet in the comment section below:  Here’s an example of a tweet you can use:

What would you do if you were 15 and accused of murder? http://www.amazon.com/Super-Spies-Lady-Killer-ebook/dp/B007JZH61K

Amazon bestseller and great #teen read! 4.5 stars!

You can also leave a comment telling me your favorite book you read during your middle school years.

And you can enter more than once! Good luck and don’t forget to check out the other blogs on the hop! They have prizes too!

Click the link below to check out the other participating blogs!

“http://www.inlinkz.com/wpview.php?id=296441“><img style=”border:0px” src=”http://www.inlinkz.com/wpImg.php?id=296441“></a>

Blog hop is open until midnight, September 15th! Winners will be announced on the 16th!  Good luck everyone!

My thoughts on Video Games

Hello Everyone! I hope all is well with you! I’m here today talking about video games. My kids love them and when I was a kid I loved them too.

They could play them for hours if I let them. The game they love to play now is called Mine craft. At first, I didn’t get it. It seemed like such a pointless game. But then I had someone explain it to me and they put it in terms I could understand. It’s like Digital Legos and can be addicting. Well…Digital Legos… it can’t be that bad. I mean how violent can Legos be?

So, in that respect I don’t have a problem with Mine craft. In fact, it can be quite educational. I’ve explained to my boys that what is happening on the video game is Fiction. They learned about fiction and non-fiction in first grade so whenever I can I reinforce those lessons.

By playing Mine craft, my boys have been questioning what is fact and what is fiction. They will ask me questions like, is iron ore real? And I’ll say I don’t know, let’s look it up on the Internet. Well, after we research it and they learn iron ore is real…they’re on to the next question. Are cave spiders real?  And on it goes. We can spend a couple of hours researching these things that they were not even aware of if they hadn’t played Mine craft. So, in that respect, I’m glad my kids enjoy the game.

However, I do have a problem with video games as a whole. In my opinion, video games are a passive activity. What I mean is; it doesn’t require a lot of physical activity to play them. The industry is trying to combat this by attempting to make them more interactive. There are now dance games and sports games where the individual has to get up and move to play. This is a step in the right direction.

But, it doesn’t take the place of really getting involved and playing a game of soccer or baseball. This is where video games are unhealthy if they are played too much.

When kids play video games for hours on end or shut themselves in their rooms and play into the wee hours of the night then parents need to curtail their use. In my opinion, video games are okay if used in moderation.

Think about this, a child can’t play baseball for hours on end because they get tired and need a rest. I feel we should take that as a guideline, your child’s brain needs a rest too. But since playing video games is not physically taxing it’s easy to let an hour stretch into two… or three… or four.

As a parent I don’t ban video games from my home because they can be educational if used in the right way. But I do feel that they shouldn’t be the only activity my kids engage in. So, I limit the time my kids can play them.

In lieu of video games, I get the board games out. 🙂 That’s right good old fashioned board games…you remember those, right? Monopoly and Clue?

Just last night my sons and I played Monopoly. It was a great bonding experience, plus it’s educational too. They are still learning about money and how to count it in school, what a great way to reinforce that learning experience by playing a game about the exchange of money for goods and services.

Don’t overlook those oldies but goodies! We play Clue too! What a great way to teach your child to use their powers of deduction. 🙂 Kids will need that skill in life too!

And if all else fails…you could get the books out! 😉

Thanks for stopping by my blog and reading my post. I would love to read your comments on video games or the oldies but goodies! So please share!

Emblazoner Opening!

It’s the official opening of the Emblazoner’s Website! And to celebrate we’re doing an awesome giveaway! Keep on reading and check it out!

Here is the link to enter the rafflecopter giveaway! 🙂

http://emblazoners.wordpresshttp://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/4bcc3d2/com/rafflecopter-giveaway/

I would like to take this opportunity to tell you about a brand new site and give you a chance to win some great tween books!

I recently joined the Emblazon group. As Indie authors, we know the importance of group support. I have been learning all of this firsthand since joining. Let me share with you some details about our group.

Emblazon is a blog maintained and written by a collection of indie and traditionally published authors who care about producing high-quality stories for kids. We have a particular focus on ages 11 to 14. We call them Tweens. The purpose of Emblazon is to celebrate tween literature. We want to draw attention to this fabulous genre, interact with other enthusiasts, whether child or adult, and encourage new writers.

Emblazon launches its first post on July 10. Please consider helping us spread the word by mentioning us on your blog today or later this week. You may cut and paste from this website and use our attached logo if you wish. All bloggers who participate are eligible to enter our $100 Amazon gift card drawing that will be held the following day.

To thank all those bloggers who help us announce Emblazon‘s launch, we will be giving away a $100 Amazon gift card on July 11, 2013, as well as a smaller second place prize.

To enter the drawing, you must post about Emblazon on your blog on Wednesday, July 10, our official launch day. Then tweet your Emblazoners post to @CassidyJonesAdv and include the hashtag #Emblazoners. (Note: You will not be entered into the drawing without your blog post tweet that includes @CassidyJonesAdv and #Emblazoners.)

@CassidyJonesAdv will confirm you’ve been entered into the drawing by “favoriting” your tweet. If your tweet wasn’t “favorited,” tweet it again.

We appreciate your help getting the word out about our new website!}

You can also treat your readers to our upcoming Sizzling Freebies bash that will be hosted on Emblazon on August 1, during which a great selection of ebooks will be free for one day only.

Thanks for reading this post and leave a comment we’d love to hear from you! And don’t forget to enter the giveaway and win some awesome books!

The Movie “Now You See Me”

Hello everyone! I hope all is well with you!  Today’s post is short and sweet, so if you don’t have a lot of time then this one’s for you.

A few weeks ago I went to see the movie “Now you see Me.” I was expecting a thriller and I was all geared up to be jumping out of my seat. Well…that didn’t happen, but I loved the movie anyway.

It was a movie about magic and how five magicians worked together to right a wrong that happened years ago. It was totally unexpected and a very good movie. I’d highly recommend it. 🙂

It was nice to go to the theater and get something unexpected. I don’t know about you, but for me that hasn’t happened in a long time. With so many different flicks out there it was nice to be pleasantly surprised. I don’t want to say too much more about it because then I’d have to give up the plot and I don’t want to ruin for anyone.

The actors did a great job. I’m a big fan of Woody Harrelson, ever since his Cheers days, and his acting was superb.  I’m also a big fan of Mark Ruffalo. He’s too cute for words. 🙂 (I know I’m gushing like a school girl…but hey what can I say!)

I liked Jesse Eisenberg’s character in this movie much better than the one he played in “Facebook.” So, he’s growing on me as an actor. I’ll definitely keep my eye out for him and check out his next movie.

Well…that’s about all I have to say about “Now You See Me.” I enjoyed it and if you’re looking for something a little different, you will too.

Thanks for stopping by my blog. Have you seen a good flick recently? Please share I’d love to read your comments. 🙂

Improving our Libraries will Improve our Literacy Levels

Hello Everyone! I hope all is well with you! Last year I did a post on Literacy and it’s a subject that’s near and dear to my heart. And at that time I had the thought that e-books might be one of the solutions to our literary woes. But then I started working on a grant proposal for an organization (more about that later) and I did some research and found out something very interesting.

In all communities lack of funding or poverty is the number one cause of low literacy. By providing the tools (e-readers, e-books, and paperbacks) needed to fight this issue we are having a direct effect on it. Wan (2000) reviewed multiple reports to find the positive impacts of reading to children. Some experiments Wan reviewed involved reading aloud with individual students while others combined alone and group storybook readings to a class. Wan’s findings showcased that reading to children was vital to personal and school achievement. Even Stephen D Krashen author of “The Power of Reading” and Professor Emeritus at the University of Southern California said, “In my opinion, the place to focus is the library, both the school and public library. Studies show a positive relationship between library quality (school and public) and the amount read, as well as a relationship with reading competence. Better libraries mean more literacy development for younger readers as well as for high school students.” Therefore, successful approaches to reading including read-aloud programs and setting aside time for reading. The first way to do this is to improve the amount of books on the library shelves.

So the gist of the last paragraph is that if we improve our libraries (school and public) we’ll have a positive effect on literacy levels. Here are some statistics that support this claim.

Information Brief: Impact of School Libraries on Student Achievement by the New York Comprehensive Center

State Impact Studies

 

Collaboration between Teachers and the School Library

Collaboration between teachers and the school library through cooperative planning, identification of educational resources, and imparting information literacy skills, positively impacts teacher effectiveness and promotes student growth.

• Colorado:  A study conducted in 2000 showed that students in elementary schools with highly collaborative relationships between teachers and school librarians scored 21% higher than students with less collaborative relationships on the Colorado Student Assessment Program, or CSAP (Lance, Rodney, & Hamilton-Pennell, 2000).

• Indiana: A 2006 study showed that when principals put an emphasis on in-service opportunities for collaboration between teachers and school librarians, there was an increase in test scores of 29.5% compared to those who placed a lower emphasis on such activities. Additionally, collaboration in curriculum design and delivery of instruction resulted in a 7.8% increase in test results. It should be noted that these relationships were evident in both the elementary and high school grade levels (Scholastic, 2008).

• Illinois:  A 2005 study involving high schools showed that American College Testing (ACT) scores were highest for 11th graders when there was a high degree of collaboration between school librarians and teachers across a range of activities such as identifying materials, planning lessons, and motivating students to read.

• Oregon:  A study indicated that schools with the best Oregon Statewide Assessment reading and language scores had teachers who were twice as likely to collaborate with school librarians. Furthermore, students      in such classes were over 3 times more likely to visit the school library (Scholastic, 2008).

Access for Students

Providing access for teachers and students to school library facilities and resources, including through flexible scheduling, helps support students and has a positive effect on retention, work performance, and grades.

• Delaware: A study noted that teachers and faculty placed high value on school libraries due to their role in providing students with technology access, as well as ensuring information source quality       and diversity. The study concluded that teachers believed that such access helped them perform their responsibilities and duties better (Todd & Heinstrom, 2006)

• Illinois: A study involving schools that provided increased access to the school library through flexible scheduling found that fifth grade students performed 10% better in reading and 11% better in writing on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) compared to those schools with less access. Similar results were seen in high school, where there were 5% differences between schools on the ACT    (Lance Rodney, & Hamilton-Pennell).

• Michigan: A study demonstrated that teachers and students in schools with the highest reading scores on the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) were four times more likely to have access to the school library on a flexibly scheduled basis than those in the lowest scoring schools (Rodney, Keith, & Christine, 2003).

These statistics demonstrate that the more teachers work with their library and the more resources a library can provide this has a direct effect on literacy levels of the students. This also applies to public libraries as well.

Without a variety of books to choose from a public library will attract very few readers. So, the more books a library has the more young people will be using its facilities.

A low cost alternative is the e-book. E-readers can hold approximately one thousand e-books. And e-books are less expensive and more durable than paperbacks. So, let’s help our libraries. We can donate our books and our time to them. I said it before and I’ll say it again! E-books are one of the solutions to our literacy issues!

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