Skeleton Key, The Graveyard Book, and Other Super but Scary Stories

Disclaimer: Your teacher HATES being scared. I don't like horror movies. I don't like ghost stories. For the most part I hate everything spooky, scary, and terrorizing.

HOWEVER, there are a few scary stories I've read because they were just too good to put down.

Here's a vlog highlighting my two very favorites.



But there are a few honorable mention books too:

The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci
Full Tilt by Neil Schusterman
The Cirque du Freak series by Darren Shan
Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer

Happy Halloween, everyone. Happy Reading too.
-stenson

BFF.

Books about friendship have a special place in my heart. When I grew up, I loved realistic tales of boys and girls and the people they considered friends.

So recently, when I finished a book for grown-ups about friends, I decided to put a list together of books for teenagers about friends and friendship. Because like the old John Lennon song goes, don't we all just "get by with a little help" from our friends?


Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts: A very unlucky 17 year-old finds herself seven months pregnant, abandoned by her boyfriend, and stranded in Oklahoma. Her luck changes when people with hearts full of kindness and compassion of the small Oklahoma town take her in.



Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares: "A pair of jeans purchased at a thrift store is the unlikely bond that keeps four best friends emotionally connected during the first summer that they spend physically apart." -Publisher's Weekly


Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary Schmidt: A new kid in town--with a strict minister for a father-- befriends a former slave-girl to help him make sense of and enjoy his new town and new life. This coming-of-age story has a lot of lessons to teach about tolerance, acceptance, friendship, and love.



Godless by Pete Hautmann: Jason's story begins like this: "Getting punched hard in the face is a singular experience. I highly recommend it to anyone who is a little too cocky, obnoxious, or insensitive. I also recommend it to people who think they're smart enough to avoid getting punched in the face by the likes of Henry Stagg." The book is a interesting tale about Jason's journey to find some answers about life, friendship and family, and religion.

Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff: Told in poems, this is a brilliant story of a young girl trying to save money for college by babysitting. But her babysitting job ends up being more than just a way to make money, it becomes the start of a beautiful friendship between the babysitter and the mother of the baby-a 17 year-old single mother trying to find her own way.

Here's to friendship. Old and new. Hope you enjoy the books. Let me know if you do!
Keep Reading,
-stenson

Mr. Walter Dean Myers

If there was a king of Young Adult Literature, Mr. Walter Dean Myers might be it.

He writes authentically and powerfully about the lives of teenagers. His characters struggle with real-life problems, they make honest mistakes and make bad choices, but ultimately, they all fight for hope and justice.

The list of books he has written is lo-oo-oo-oong. Here are just a few of my favorites. And, of course, there is a vlog about a few must-reads he has written. Check the class iPods for that.

Bad Boy: A Memoir
Fallen Angels
Hoops
Monster
Scorpions
Shooter
Sunrise over Fallujah



For more information, visit his website.

or check out this interview with the author, Walter Dean Myers.

Life As We Knew It by Susan Pfeffer

Miranda is excited at first because everyone is buzzing about the asteroid. What will happen? Will it look like fireworks? The whole neighborhood is out on the streets waiting for the asteroid to hit the moon. And when it does, look out. It's not a terrible sight, but it's clear right away that it's not a good thing either.

So begins the story of a normal 16 year old girl slow journey into an apocalyptic world. The coasts are flooded with tsunamis, volcanoes around the world start erupting, and the climate begins to change for the worse. Schools start to close, gas is rationed, and food is being stockpiled. While they don't have guarantees they are going to make it, Miranda and her family fight to survive. Readers have to keep reading to find out if this family is going to make it.
picture from amazon.com

What I like most about the book is Miranda. Even though her circumstances get worse and worse and worse, she handles them like a champ. Taking each day as it comes, dealing with the challenges presented, and still living a life like every other teenager. Will she get to keep skating? Will she ever go to the prom? Why did her dad chose his new wife over their family? Will her mom always be annoying, nosy, and bossy?

This is my second time reading this book. I knew the book was essentially about hope, but I couldn't remember exactly how it ended. It didn't disappoint the second time. I loved it. Hope you do too!

By the way, I have this book on the iPods if anyone is interested.

Keep reading, everyone.
-stenson

Loving Libraries.

Here's to you, Ms. Noreen, Ms. Thurk, and Ms. Lang, the three talented women who make it happen at the OGM Media Center.

Your media center is filled with so many good books organized in a way in which we can find for what we are looking (unless a pesky middle-school student of staff has screwed it all up!). There are 45 computers that you let us jump on and off; not to mention the comfortable chairs for us to use while we do our scholarly work. Your hard work in the media center makes our reading lives richer and more satisfying. Thanks for putting up with us, keep the media center a sacred place in our school, for nurturing the readers in all of us.

I thought of you three when I read this story. Hope you all enjoy!


picture from StoryCorps and NPR.org

Keep reading everyone. Visit a library today!
-Stenson

p.s. Don't get ideas about stealing books, kids. There is nothing wrong with reading- be proud of the books you read. Everyone's doing it. The 7th graders this year have already read close to 1,000 books. Way to go, Huskies!