from the ISOCS Library-Media Center

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

2012-02-20T10:52:00.000+01:00

A reminder that The invention of Hugo Cabret will be shown in english this Saturday at Kino Seehof in Zug. See the family blog for more information.

For students who have read the book, the following links and movie will be of great interest to you!
Automata
Georges Melies

Notable Children's Books

2012-02-02T09:53:00.001+01:00

Waking Brain Cells blog has posted The Association for Library Service to Children's list of 2012 Notable Children's Books. Click here to go to that blog, and read about all the good books!

Screen shot of Waking Brain Cells

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

2012-01-28T10:07:00.002+01:00

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore from Moonbot Studios on Vimeo.
Inspired, in equal measures, by Hurricane Katrina, Buster Keaton, The Wizard of Oz, and a love for books, “Morris Lessmore” is a story of people who devote their lives to books and books who return the favor. Morris Lessmore is a poignant, humorous allegory about the curative powers of story. Using a variety of techniques (miniatures, computer animation, 2D animation) award winning author/ illustrator William Joyce and Co-director Brandon Oldenburg present a new narrative experience that harkens back to silent films and M-G-M Technicolor musicals. “Morris Lessmore” is old fashioned and cutting edge at the same time.

“The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” is one of five animated short films that will be considered for outstanding film achievements of 2011 in the 84th Academy Awards ®.

Film Awards Won by “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”
To date, “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” film has drummed up fans all over the world taking home the following awards:
· Cinequest Film Fest: Best Animated Short
· Palm Springs International ShortFest: Audience Favorite Award
· SIGGRAPH: Best in Show

To enjoy “Morris Lessmore” and other Moonbot Apps please visit the following links:
www.tinyurl.com/lessmoreipad
www.tinyurl.com/numberlys
www.tinyurl.com/bullseyeapp

You can download this video for fre from iTunes US Store, or 3.50 CHF from the Swiss Store.

Finding books for mobile devices

2012-01-21T10:53:00.000+01:00

There's a story this morning on PadGadget about Cat-Nav. (There's a working demo version on the app's web page.)

"Persian Cat Press, the independent, Manchester-based publisher just released Cat-Nav, its first app, aimed at helping readers find the best picture books, graphic novels, and other book apps. Each week Cat-Nav choses six book apps to highlight with thorough, entertaining reviews that include cheers and jeers for the apps in question.

"What does it take for an app to be included in Cat-Nav? “We’re looking for the kind of features we put into Persian Cat press apps — a great story, fantastic writing, vibrant artwork, beautiful music, evocative narration, and stylish typography,” says Sean Smith, Persian Cat Press’ Marketing and PR manager. “We’re also big fans of interactivity that adds to a story rather than takes something away from it.”"

Click through to read the whole post. I also recommend your clicking through to the Persian Cat Press web page. There is some interesting reading about iStories in general, and good book-app recommendations.

7 Really Good iPad books for young people

2012-01-04T08:47:00.002+01:00

The 2011 CYBILS Literary Awards – Seven iPad Book Apps to Make the Cut | The Digital Media Diet:

Photo by Ownipics on Flickr

"Book apps have been around since the iPhone launched apps in 2008, although it wasn’t until the larger screen option with the iPad in 2010 that they really caught fire in the book blogging community. As these apps (and my own role as book critic) straddle this line between apps and books, I find that the increased attention from the literary community is deeply refreshing. As a judge, I had the opportunity to consider more than 50 book apps with such thoughtful consideration from critics that ranged from parenting experts, literacy advocates, children’s librarians and academics who have specialized in children’s literature. Of these many fine nominated book apps, we could choose only a small number as finalists for 2011. For this year, there was just one category to consider everything from graphic novels aimed at tweens to picture books for toddlers. Needless to say, it was very challenging to pick just a few apps to move on to the final round."

Find out about the 7 books at the Digital Media Diet page.

Marshall Armstrong Is New to Our School

2012-01-04T08:38:00.000+01:00

Review: Marshall Armstrong Is New to Our School by David Mackintosh « Waking Brain Cells:

"Marshall Armstrong is the new kid at school and he is very different from everyone else. His things are different. He looks different with his birdseed freckles and ears like shells. His arms are white with red bumps that he says are mosquito bites. He even eats “space food” for lunch! He can’t play during recess. He stays out of the sun. He doesn’t watch any TV. So when Marshall Armstrong has a birthday party, everyone is sure that it is going to be awful. But guess what, Marshall Armstrong’s house is different too! Different in some great ways!"

Read the whole review at Waking Brain Cells.

Books from the library for our new units of inquiry

2011-12-27T20:47:00.001+01:00

Book recommendations

For the Seniors who are learning How the world works:

Transformed: How Everyday things are made

Usborne Big book of Experiments (avail in our library)

For the Middies who are learning studying How we express ourselves:

A kick in the head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms

Check out our new Folk Tale section in the library.

For the Juniors who are learning about Water and How we share the planet:

A drop in the Ocean: The story of Water

Check out the UOI display in our library for more books about water.

Children's Books on an iPad

2011-12-27T08:44:00.001+01:00

This blog post caught my attention this morning on PYP Threads: iPad Best of the Best – 25 Essential Children’s Book Apps If you are a young reader, and have an iPad (and a certain amount of credit at the iTunes store) you might want to click through and read the post, whcih was written on July 26, 2011 by Carisa Kluver.
"In place of what would have been Digital-Storytime’s 10th ‘Top 10′ list, this week I have whittled down my favorites to just 25 apps I would recommend for a well-rounded collection. This list represents just 10% of the 250 books reviewed on our site (and includes insights from previewing over 1000 book apps overall)." (Digital Storytime is an iPad children's book review site)

Recommendations are divided into several sections: Essential Fairy Tales & Nursery Rhymes, Extra Special ‘Wow’ Factor, Great Enhanced Storytelling, Digital Classics, For the Very Young, For Older Kids, Trans-Media Chart Toppers, Bedtime Favorites, Too Unique to Miss

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore iPad App Trailer from Moonbot Studios on Vimeo.

2011-12-22T11:20:00.000+01:00

H/T once again to Open Culture, where you can read about Neil deGrasse Tyson's answer to the question “Which books should be read by every single intelligent person on the planet?”

On the Open Culture page, "you will find the book list offered up by the astrophysicist, director of the Hayden Planetarium, and popularizer of science. Where possible, we have included links to free versions of the books, all taken from our Free Audio Books and Free eBooks collections. Or you can always download a professionally-narrated book for free from Audible.com. Details here." (link)

“If read all of the works above, you will have profound insight into most of what has driven the history of the western world.” (link)

The eight books are

1.) The Bible (eBook) - “to learn that it’s easier to be told by others what to think and believe than it is to think for yourself.”

2.) The System of the World by Isaac Newton (eBook) – “to learn that the universe is a knowable place.”

3.) On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin (eBook – Audio Book) - “to learn of our kinship with all other life on Earth.”

4.) Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift (eBook – Audio Book) – “to learn, among other satirical lessons, that most of the time humans are Yahoos.”

5.) The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine (eBook – Audio Book) – “to learn how the power of rational thought is the primary source of freedom in the world.”

6.) The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith (eBook – Audio Book) - “to learn that capitalism is an economy of greed, a force of nature unto itself.”

7.) The Art of War by Sun Tsu (eBook – Audio Book) - “to learn that the act of killing fellow humans can be raised to an art.”

8.) The Prince by Machiavelli (eBook – Audio Book) - “to learn that people not in power will do all they can to acquire it, and people in power will do all they can to keep it.”

"The one-line comment after each book is not a review but a statement about how the book’s content influenced the behavior of people who shaped the western world. "

Neil deGrasse Tyson is" an American astrophysicist, a science communicator, the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space, and a Research Associate in the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History. Since 2006 he has hosted the educational science television show NOVA scienceNOW on PBS, and has been a frequent guest on The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Real Time with Bill Maher, andJeopardy!. It was announced on August 5, 2011 that Tyson will be hosting a new sequel to Carl Sagan's Cosmos: A Personal Voyage TV series.^[1]"(Read more about his very interesting life at Wikipedia)

A Conversation about Communicating Science
Recorded: January 20, 2011
http://www.thesciencenetwork.org

Which of these books do I think ISOCS students might start with? Gulliver's Travels.

Illustration of Gulliver's Travels by Richard Redgraven in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

The Chronicles of Narnia

2011-12-19T21:29:00.000+01:00

http://narnia.wikia.com/wiki/Aslan

The Chronicles of Narnia, by C. S. Lewis, is available (legally!) as an audio recording from The Ancient Faith Radio web page. You can listen on the web page, and also download it through iTunes, or as an RSS feed.

"Ancient Faith Radio is a division of Conciliar Media Ministries, which operates under the auspices of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of North America. However, it is a pan-Orthodox ministry and thus serves and supports all jurisdictions." (link) It produces a regular podcast. These recordings of The Chronicles of Narnia are read by Chrissi Hart for her Readings from Under the Grapevine podcast.

The episodes are well produced. The good part is that they are free. The down side is that each one is preceded by the lengthy introduction it carried as a podcast episode.

"The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels for children by C. S. Lewis. It is considered a classic of children's literature and is the author's best-known work, having sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages. Written by Lewis between 1949 and 1954, illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published in London between October 1950 and March 1956, The Chronicles of Narnia has been adapted several times, complete or in part, for radio, television, the stage, and film.

Set in the fictional realm of Narnia, a place where animals talk, magic is common, and good battles evil, the series narrates the adventures of various children who play central roles in the unfolding history of that world. With the exception of The Horse and His Boy, the protagonists are all children from the real world magically transported to Narnia, where they are called upon by the lion Aslan to protect Narnia from evil and restore the throne to its rightful line. The books cover the entire history of Narnia, from its creation in The Magician's Nephew, to its eventual destruction in The Last Battle.

Inspiration for the series is taken from multiple sources; in addition to numerous traditional Christian themes, characters and ideas are freely borrowed from Greek, Turkish and Roman mythology, as well as from traditional British and Irish fairy tales. The books have profoundly influenced adult and children's fantasy literature written since World War II. Lewis' exploration of themes not usually present in children's literature, such as religion as well as the book's perceived treatment of issues including race and gender, have caused some controversy." (read the full article at Wikipedia)

Thanks to Open Culture for the link.

"The year’s best Jewish kids’ books"

2011-12-17T11:13:00.001+01:00

I read a post on the Waking Brain Cells blog about "Best Jewish Children's Books of the Year", which is itself a report of Tablet's list of books. Read short synopsis of the books on Tablet, and see the book covers on Waking Brain Cells.

My pick (based only on the reviews)

Naamath and the Ark at Night by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, illustrated by Holly Meade (Candlewick). "This book won starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, and the Horn Book, and deservedly so. It’s a poetic bedtime story told by Noah’s wife as she sings the frightened, storm-tossed denizens of the ark to sleep. The text has a soothing, rocking rhythm, and the art, by a Caldecott Honor winner, is an intriguing mix of watercolor and collage." (read more reviews at Tablet)

"As Noah’s wife sings the animals to sleep, an age-old tale is told afresh in a soothing poetic form brought to life with beautiful collage illustrations.
"Naamah is the wife of Noah, and her name means "great singer." For forty days and forty nights, as the ark tosses on storm-wracked seas, Naamah sings. She sings to the animals, two by two. She sings to her husband, her sons, and their wives. She sings, and they all sleep, finally at peace. Acclaimed author Susan Campbell Bartoletti’s rhythmic, lyrical text pairs with Caldecott Honor winner Holly Meade’s luminous collage for a cozy, tender lullaby, and an ode to the power of song." (link to Amazon)

I Will Come Back for You by Marisabina Russo (Schwartz & Wade)

"What was it like to grow up Jewish in Italy during World War II? Sit with a little girl as her grandmother tells the story of her childhood in Rome, of being separated from her father, and of going into hiding in the mountains. Based on the experiences of the author's own family, this deeply moving book set during the Holocaust deals with a difficult subject in a way that is accessible and appropriate for young readers. I Will Come Back for You is an incredible story of bravery and kindness in the face of danger." (link to Goodreads)

“There is sadness and death in this book,” Maxie warned me. “You might not want to give this to someone below second grade.” Maybe not, but I do think it’s a delicately handled, well-done way to introduce obliquely the topic of the Holocaust to very young readers. The plot: Safe in America, Nonna decides it’s finally time to tell her granddaughter the story behind each charm on her bracelet. We learn how Nonna’s family in Italy escaped the Nazis—the bicycle charm represents the brothers who smuggled Nonna’s mama into the countryside; the pig charm represents the squirming piglets in a basket under which kind Signore Brunelli hid Nonna and her brother. Russo’s paintings are bright and warm." (Read more reviews at Tablet)

Whoopi Goldberg reads

2011-12-12T18:42:00.001+01:00

Text from the YouTube page:

Uploaded by TheScholasticChannel on Dec 12, 2011

Whoopi Goldberg reads, and hands out books to young patients at New York's Bellevue Hospital Pediatric Clinic to help launch Scholastic's 'One Million Bookprints for One Million Books,' a campaign to help donate new books to children in need through 'Reach Out and Read'. During her visit, Whoopi sat in on a patient check-up with Dr. Perri Klass, the National Medical Director of Reach Out and Read, to see how literacy is integrated into a visit to the doctor. Readers can help donate a free book to Reach Out and Read by visiting www.youarewhatyouread.com and creating a Bookprint, the five books that have most impacted your life. For every Bookprint, Scholastic Book Clubs will donate a book, up to one million, to Reach Out and Read. Learn more: http://www.youarewhatyouread.com

Be sure to click through on the Learn More link. The American Asspciation of School Librarians named You Are What You Read a 2011 "Best Website for Teaching and Learning". When you create a "Book Print" on the web page, Scholastic Books will donate a book on your behalf to Reach Out and Read. When I looked at the page, 20, 690 books had been donated.

Book Apps That Get Kids Reading

2011-12-08T12:04:00.001+01:00

A post on Librarian MaryAnn.Scheuer 's blog, Great Kid Books, is about "Book Apps That Get Kids Reading". She was interviewed on a National Public Radio show, Here and Now, about reading, apps, and audio books.

"...while there’s debate about how much media is good for children, one librarian, whose school just got its first iPad, says that while she doesn’t think book apps will replace actual books for the youngest readers, they are a way into reading for reluctant ‘tweens." (link)

You can listen to the interview here, and download the mp3 if you'd like.

Literature Map

2011-11-12T13:12:00.000+01:00

Do you have a favorite author, and you've read all his or her books? Wondering what other author you'd enjoy? Use the Literature Map website to explore possibilities.

Screen shot of http://www.literature-map.com/

The box on the left asks: "What else do readers of ---read?" "The closer two writers are, the more likely someone will like both of them." and "Click on a name to travel along." Try it!

Clicking on a name does not take you to a web page about the author, or a list of works. It jumps you into another name cloud.

Finding a book in the library

2011-11-01T07:30:00.000+01:00

Thanks to a post at the Scholarly Kitchen for bringing this video to our attention:

How do you think a library should be organized? How do you organize your own books at home?

Children's stories at Librivox

2011-10-21T09:46:00.000+02:00

There's a new recording available at Librivox.org. In "Children's Short Works Collection Vol. 013" you'll find 15 short works for children in the public domain, read by a variety of Librivox members. You can listen to them one by one, below, or subscribe to the entire collection in iTunes.

Being in the public domain means that the stories property rights have expired, and therefore are very often "old", as you can see from the dates. But that does not mean they're not good stories! There are many recordings. in many languages, at Librivox for a younger audience. Explore their catalogue.

01 - The Hunting of the Snark by Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) – 00:33:13
Source: E-text
[mp3@64kbps - 15.9MB]
[mp3@128kbps - 31.8MB]
[ogg vorbis - 18.0MB]
Read by Juliann

"Mahendra Singh, illus. for The Hunting of the Snark by Lewis Carroll, 2010"By 50 Watts on Flickr

02 - How Old Mr. Mink Taught Himself to Swim by Thornton W Burgess (1874-1965) – 00:11:12
Source: E-text
[mp3@64kbps - 5.3MB]
[mp3@128kbps - 10.7MB]
[ogg vorbis - 6.1MB]
Read by Antoinette Griffin

03 - The Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) – 00:02:16
Source: E-text
[mp3@64kbps - 1.0MB]
[mp3@128kbps - 2.1MB]
[ogg vorbis - 1.3MB]
Read by Lloyd

04 - Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman (1862–1946) – 00:05:54
Source: E-text
[mp3@64kbps - 2.8MB]
[mp3@128kbps - 5.6MB]
[ogg vorbis - 3.3MB]
Read by Amelia Chantarotwong

05 - The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams (1880-1944) – 00:22:49
Source: E-text
[mp3@64kbps - 10.9MB]
[mp3@128kbps - 21.9MB]
[ogg vorbis - 12.2MB]
Read by Elizabeth Klett

The book cover, by Kazoomzoom.com on Flickr

06 - The Story of the Three Little Pigs by L. Leslie Brooke (1862-1940) – 00:05:56
Source: E-text
[mp3@64kbps - 2.8MB]
[mp3@128kbps - 5.6MB]
[ogg vorbis - 3.2MB]
Read by Juliann

07 - Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter (1866-1943) – 00:06:25
Source: E-text
[mp3@64kbps - 3.0MB]
[mp3@128kbps - 6.1MB]
[ogg vorbis - 3.6MB]
Read by Phil Chenevert

From Beatrix Potter "The Tale of PETER RABBIT" 1902 by Plum leaves on Flickr

08 - Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman (1862–1946) – 00:07:24
Source: E-text
[mp3@64kbps - 3.5MB]
[mp3@128kbps - 7.1MB]
[ogg vorbis - 4.0MB]
Read by Phil Chenevert

09 - The Rocket Book by Peter Newell (1862 – 1924
Source: E-text
[mp3@64kbps - 3.6MB]
[mp3@128kbps - 7.2MB]
[ogg vorbis - 4.3MB]
Read by Phil Chenevert

10 - The Slant Book by Peter Newell (1862 – 1924
Source: E-text
[mp3@64kbps - 3.4MB]
[mp3@128kbps - 6.9MB]
[ogg vorbis - 4.1MB]
Read by Phil Chenevert

11 - How Old Mr. Toad Learned to Sing by Thornton W Burgess (1874-1965) – 00:10:36
Source: E-text
[mp3@64kbps - 5.0MB]
[mp3@128kbps - 10.1MB]
[ogg vorbis - 6.0MB]
Read by Antoinette Griffin

12 - The Twin Sisters by Johnny Gruelle (1880 – 1938
Source: E-text
[mp3@64kbps - 4.4MB]
[mp3@128kbps - 8.8MB]
[ogg vorbis - 4.4MB]
Read by Snapdragon

13 - Hercules and the Wagoner by Aesop (620 BCE-563 BCE) – 00:01:28
Source: E-text
[mp3@64kbps - 0.7MB]
[mp3@128kbps - 1.4MB]
[ogg vorbis - 0.1MB]
Read by CallousJack

14 - The Wolf and the Kid by Aesop (620 BCE-563 BCE) – 00:02:05
Source: E-text
[mp3@64kbps - 1.0MB]
[mp3@128kbps - 2.0MB]
[ogg vorbis - 1.1MB]
Read by CallousJack

15 - ABC Baseball by McLoughlin & Brothers – 00:02:17
Source: E-text
[mp3@64kbps - 1.0MB]
[mp3@128kbps - 2.1MB]
[ogg vorbis - 1.3MB]
Read by Phil Chenevert

Free ebooks online from Oxford

2011-10-19T08:15:00.000+02:00

The PYP Library Facebook page sent me to this link this morning, from Oxford Publishing, in the UK. There you'll find 4 shelves of books for 4 year olds, which can be read for free online. Go to this page, and use the "Find a Book" link to browse by age for more free online ebooks.

Screen shot of http://www.oxfordowl.co.uk
Click on the image to see it full size

Screenshot from Oxford.co.uk
Click on the image to see it full size

Many of these books are from the Oxford Reading Tree series. You can read a bit of the origins of the series at this link. You can learn more about the characters in the books at this BBC link.

A Book and a Hug

2011-10-17T09:23:00.000+02:00

This morning I read about a website called A Book and a Hug, in a post by Richard Byrne.

The site is written by Barb Langridge:
"My passion is getting kids excited about reading and that's why I do the children's book recommendations for WBALTVChannel 11 here in Baltimore [USA] (that's our NBC station) and have a cable television show, Books Alive, for which I interview really top notch children's and young adult authors and illustrators and folks from the publishing business."
There are reviews of more than 6000 books on the site; you can browse titles by category, intended audience, and reading level.

Teachers can create class accounts, and families can create an account, so that young readers can keep book lists, and post reviews.

Screen shot from http://abookandahug.com Click on the image to see it full size.

Bad Kitty interviews Nick Bruel

2011-10-13T16:22:00.000+02:00

Text from the YouTube page:

Uploaded by MacmillanChildrens on Oct 13, 2011

In this hilarious video, Bad Kitty herself interviews her author and creator, Nick Bruel! Find out what makes Nick tick... from his favorite food to his favorite game on www.badkittybooks.com! And make sure you visit www.badkittybooks.com for games, extras, and to collect ALL the Bad Kitty books. Enjoy!

This interview is from earlier this year:

Text from the YouTube page:

Uploaded by MacmillanChildrens on Aug 24, 2011

Bad Kitty author and illustrator Nick Bruel talks back to school with Bad Kitty in this hilarious teaser. Visit badkittybooks.com to play games, download activities, destroy a living room, and collect all the Bad Kitty books!

Of course, after this, I had to find the Bad Kitty website.

Screen shot of the home page at the Bad Kitty website

Can You See What I See: Toyland Express By Walter Wick

2011-10-07T17:55:00.000+02:00

Text from the YouTube page:

Uploaded by TheScholasticChannel on Oct 7, 2011

"Get a behind the scenes look at author and photographer Walter Wick's studio and the creation of his latest book Can You See What I See: Toyland Express"

The Phantom Tollbooth

2011-09-28T20:42:00.000+02:00

Text from the YouTube page:

Uploaded by RandomBooks on Sep 28, 2011

2011 marks the 50th Anniversary of the beloved classic, The Phantom Tollbooth. Meet the book's creators, Norton Juster and Jules Feiffer, and hear them discuss how this classic came to be.

Also with commentary from Leonard S. Marcus, children's books critic and historian, and author of The Annotated Phantom Tollbooth.

Brian Selznick Leaves Readers Wonderstruck

2011-09-24T15:32:00.000+02:00

Text from the Scholastic YouTube Page:

Uploaded by TheScholasticChannel on Sep 22, 2011

"Brian Selznick, the author of The Invention of Hugo Cabret, stopped by Scholastic global headquarters in New York recently to give a presentation about his new book, Wonderstruck. Kid Reporter Grace McManus spoke with him before his presentation to learn about Wonderstruck and how he created the unique book."

The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories

2011-09-19T18:27:00.000+02:00

Text from the YouTube Page:

Uploaded by RandomBooks on Sep 19, 2011

THE BIPPOLO SEED AND OTHER LOST STORIES by Dr. Seuss (on sale September 27, 2011) includes a collection of seven original stories by the iconic children's author and illustrator that were originally published in magazines in 1950 and 1951—but never before in book form. Hear about the discovery of these lost stories from Charles Cohen (Dr. Seuss Scholar), Kate Klimo (VP, Publisher -- Random House Books for Young Readers Group) and Cathy Goldsmith (VP, Associate Publisher -- Random House Books for Young Readers Group). http://www.randomhouse.com/book/43160/the-bippolo-seed-and-other-lost-stories...

The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True by Richard Dawkins

2011-09-17T08:55:00.000+02:00

text from the YouTube page:

Uploaded by Waterstonescom on Sep 14, 2011

What are things made of? What is the sun? Why is there night and day, winter and summer? Why do bad things happen? Are we alone? Throughout history people all over the world have invented stories to answer profound questions such as these. Have you heard the tale of how the sun hatched out of an emu's egg? Or what about the great catfish that carries the world on its back? Has anyone ever told you that earthquakes are caused by a sneezing giant? These fantastical myths are fun - but what is the real answer to such questions? "The Magic of Reality", with its explanations of space, time, evolution and more, will inspire and amaze readers of all ages - young adults, adults, children, octogenarians. Teaming up with the renowned illustrator Dave McKean, Richard Dawkins answers all these questions and many more. In stunning words and pictures this book presents the real story of the world around us, taking us on an enthralling journey through scientific reality, and showing that it has an awe-inspiring beauty and thrilling magic which far exceed those of the ancient myths. We encounter rainbows, our genetic ancestors, tsunamis, shooting stars, plants, animals, and an intriguing cast of characters in this extraordinary scientific voyage of discovery. Richard Dawkins and Dave McKean have created a dazzling celebration of our planet that will entertain and inform for years to come. Buy The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True by Richard Dawkins on Waterstones.com (http://bit.ly/pkXDvV) or in your local Waterstone's store: http://bit.ly/85YOJ9

Biblioburro: Library on a Donkey

2011-08-26T08:26:00.000+02:00

"Humanwire correspondent Valentina Canavesio reports on Luis Soriano Bohorquez who created the Biblioburro, or Library Donkey, in an effort to bring books and the gift of reading to the children in his community of La Gloria, Colombia."

Biblioburro has a webpage at http://www.fundacionbiblioburro.com/, with press clippings, a photo gallery, and information about making a donation. Read the Wikipedia article about the Bibiloburro project, and the PBS webpage about their documentary.

Humanwire is local stories of international interest from around the word. Stories range from the amazing activity of people to unexplored territories; often fascinating, uplifting and every once in a while heartbreaking topics that make you want to take action. In addition to their YouTube Channel, there is also a Vimeo Channel.

Thanks to Open Culture

We read

2011-08-12T08:24:00.001+02:00

We read, a photo by dianecordell on Flickr.

This photo and poster was created by Diane Cordell, a Teacher Librarian in upstate New York (USA)

Pete the Cat

2011-08-07T15:42:00.000+02:00

There's a new Pete the Cat book from HarperCollins Children's books:

Text from the YouTube page:

Uploaded by HarperKids on Jul 19, 2011

Pete the Cat is back and this time, he's rockin' and groovin' in his SCHOOL shoes. Pete discovers the library, the lunchroom, the playground, and lots of other cool places at school. And no matter where he goes, Pete never stops moving and grooving and singing his song . . . because it's all good.

Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes is the second picture book from Pete's creative team: illustrator James Dean and author Eric Litwin. You can download the full "Rocking in My School Shoes" song for free, along with other downloadable activities, at:
http://harpercollinschildrens.com/petethecat?utm_source=YouTube&utm_mediu...

The first Pete the Cat book, I love my White Shoes, has enjoyed huge popularity.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

2011-07-19T10:10:00.000+02:00

This morning I read an exciting post at A Year of Reading about "The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore. "THE FANTASTIC FLYING BOOKS OF MR. MORRIS LESSMORE is an incredible story that seems to change things when it comes to what is possible with multimedia storytelling. First of all, it is a great story. I sighed when I finished and I watched other people sigh at the end too. It is a great story about the power of books and reading and the art (without the animation) is pretty incredible. The animation and the multimedia effects make the book and the story even better." (link) Click through and read the whole blog post. It will make you want to "read" the book yourself, and if necessary, buy an iPad 2 to do it with!

The plot summary describes the book this way:
"Inspired, in equal measures, by Hurricane Katrina, Buster Keaton, The Wizard of Oz, and a love for books, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is a poignant, humorous allegory about the curative powers of story. Using a variety of techniques (miniatures, computer animation, 2D animation) award winning author/ illustrator William Joyce and Co-director Brandon Oldenburg present a hybrid style of animation that harkens back to silent films and MGM Technicolor musicals. Morris Lessmore is old fashioned and cutting edge at the same time."

Have a look at the book's website, for more plot description, photo galleries, some fascinating "making of " videos (see one of these, below), etc.

Here's the book trailer:

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore iPad App Trailer from Moonbot Studios on Vimeo.

The book is available from iTunes and from the iTunes App Store.

Moonbot Studios, in Shreveport, LA (USA) describes itself on its Vimeo page as "a place where outstanding individual talents come together to bring extraordinary entertainment to our clients and our audiences from an array of media platforms." I'll agree with that!

The Making Of Morris: Part 3 (Thousands Of Books) from Moonbot Studios on Vimeo.
Part 3 of a 9 part series of " The Making Of The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. " Expect Part 4 July 1, 2011.

David Carter’s Pop-Up Books

2011-07-11T08:53:00.001+02:00

The Pop-Up Artist from Manny Crisostomo on Vimeo.

Thanks to BrainPickings for the links.

Dewey Browse

2011-06-27T19:27:00.000+02:00

Do you wish the Internet looked more like a book shelf? Check out Dewey Browse, an award winning web site maintained by Gail Shea Grainger, Librarian at Chesterfield School in New Hampshire (USA). Click on a category, and a page of links to selected websites, arranged by their Dewey classification. Granted, there is a slight American slant in the collection, but it is a web page serving an American school.

Screen shot of http://www.deweybrowse.org/

Top 10 Movies based on Kid's Books

2011-06-20T15:57:00.000+02:00

Time Magazine has published an article listing their "Top 10 Movies based on Kid's Books" in their on line edition. Click through to read the article, and the discussion of each title, and its film history, Here are Time's choices:

International Children's Digital Library

2011-06-13T23:12:00.000+02:00

Do you know about the International Children's Digital Library (ICDL)?

"The International Children's Digital Library (ICDL) is a research project funded primarily by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and Microsoft Research to create a digital library of outstanding children's books from all over the world. The project was introduced at an international celebration at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. in November 2002. The collection's focus is on identifying materials that help children to understand the world around them and the global society in which they live. The materials in the collection, all presented in the original languages in which they were published, reflect similarities and differences in cultures, societies, interests, and lifestyles of peoples around the world. At the end of the initial research period, it is anticipated that the ICDL collection will include approximately 10,000 materials in at least 100 languages." (link)

You can read a book without creating an account. The full ICDL collection has over 3,000 titles in 48 languages representing 60 countries.

Photo by Peter Morville on Flickr

Click here to go to the Simple Search page. You can choose the language you wish to use from a pull down menu in the upper right corner of the page. Begin your search by clicking any button, and refine your search by clicking on additional buttons.

When you choose a book to read, the first page you see is "About this book".

Photo by Peter Morville on Flickr

Reading the book is simple: click on "Read the Book" to open the the book, mouse over the pages, and click on them to make them full screen. Books cannot be downloaded, printed. They can, of course, be projected onto a screen to be shared with a whole class.

The selection of books is not what you'll find on Amazon, or in a book store. Many are books in the public domain, i.e., older classics; Many are new books that have been donated to the Library by their authors or publishers.

Why not begin by clicking on this link to read "Whirikoki and his Seal", a book donated to the ICDL by the National Library of New Zealand

The Dewey Decimal System

2011-06-13T11:14:00.000+02:00

How are we going to organize the materials in our newly designed library? With the Dewey Decimal System. What is that? Here's a description from Wikipedia:

"The Dewey Decimal System is a way to sort books. It's usually used in public libraries and schools. It sorts the books by subject using numbers from 000 to 999. Each subject has its own set of numbers. The system was created by Melvil Dewey in 1876. It is also called the Dewey Decimal Classification."

In the Non-Fiction section of our library, each subject is broken up into 10 smaller, more specific categories.

001-099 Generalities
100-199 Philosophy, Psychology
200-299 Beliefs, Religions
300-399 Communities, Environment
400-499 Language books, Dictionaries
500-599 Natural Science, Math
600-699 Science, Technology
700-799 Art, Sports, Hobbies, Music
800-899 Literature, Poetry, Plays
900-999 Geography, History, Biography

To learn more about the Dewey Decimal System, we consulted the OCLC (The Online Computer Library Center) web pages. The DDC was created by Melvile Dewey in 1873.

"The DDC is the most widely used classification system in the world. Libraries in more than 135 countries use the DDC to organize and provide access to their collections, and DDC numbers are featured in the national bibliographies of more than 60 countries. Libraries of every type apply Dewey numbers on a daily basis and share these numbers through a variety of means (including WorldCat, the OCLC Online Union Catalog). Dewey is also used for other purposes, e.g., as a browsing mechanism for resources on the web.
The DDC has been translated into over thirty languages. Translations of the latest full and abridged editions of the DDC are completed, planned, or underway in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Icelandic, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese." (link)

Our Fiction books have been separated into Picture Books, Books for younger readers, and books for older readers.

This video, produced by the Lower School Library at ASF (American School Foundation, Mexico City, Mexico), provides a brief introduction to the Dewey Decimal System.

Shifting our Library

2011-06-13T10:30:00.001+02:00

This weekend a magical thing happened in our library. With the guidance and inspiration of our Good Library Fairy, several ISOCS families came to move furniture, and then move and sort books.
Here's what the two days looked like:

Many many thanks to all those involved in this project!

Read Ms. Jax's post about the day on the ISOCS News Blog.

From Common Sense Media; 9 Ways to Help Raise a Lifelong Reader Wish you had a bookworm? Kids become lifelong readers for all kinds of reasons. Here are our best tips for nurturing a love of reading that can last a lifetime.

from the ISOCS Library-Media Center

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Notable Children's Books

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

Finding books for mobile devices

Recommended Reading lists for Maths

7 Really Good iPad books for young people

Marshall Armstrong Is New to Our School

Books from the library for our new units of inquiry

Children's Books on an iPad

The Chronicles of Narnia

"The year’s best Jewish kids’ books"

Whoopi Goldberg reads

Book Apps That Get Kids Reading

Literature Map

Finding a book in the library

Children's stories at Librivox

Free ebooks online from Oxford

A Book and a Hug

Bad Kitty interviews Nick Bruel

Can You See What I See: Toyland Express By Walter Wick

The Phantom Tollbooth

Brian Selznick Leaves Readers Wonderstruck

The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories

The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True by Richard Dawkins

Biblioburro: Library on a Donkey

We read

Pete the Cat

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

David Carter’s Pop-Up Books

Dewey Browse

Top 10 Movies based on Kid's Books

International Children's Digital Library

The Dewey Decimal System

Shifting our Library