More Horror books to get you ready for Hallowe'en

We're well into October, and as books come across my desk, I remember all the good horror stories that we have as a part of our collection.

I first picked up this book because the cover was intriguing. This lead me to read the description, and then I was hooked. (How's that for marketing?) The character on the cover is quite creepy, and the book delivered on this promise. This is, indeed, a fun and creepy novel. It blends the world of comics with the "real" world as the characters get drawn into a sinister world, known as Malice.

This book plays with some of the urban legends that scare kids. What happens w

hen you say a certain phrase over and over again? In the right circumstances you will be calling upon the evil character on the cover of the book to come and get you.

Clever writing mixed with good art work makes for a nice cross-over between graphic novels and regular novels.

The second book I want to mention is also a new kind of novel. It mixes the traditional novel form with new technology. The result is an intriguing new way to read.

While reading a novel allows us to imagine all the things described in the book, sometimes we want that image created for us. In this book, the author creates part of the story through video logs posted on-line by one of the characters. As readers we can only get the complete story by reading the words written in the book, and watching the videos on-line.

The story revolves around Ryan and Sarah, two friends who live in a small town. Ryan is recovering from a severely broken leg and cannot get out of bed. His story is told through journal entries.

Sarah, banned by Ryan's parents from contacting him, uses the Internet to communicate with her friend.

Through both sources we learn of the circumstances that lead to Ryan injuring himself, and of course, being a horror book, there are lots of opportunities for us to be scared.

This horror genre has a lot to offer readers, with a growing variety of books. I'm sure there is one that is right for you.

October has arrived, a good time to read a "scary" book

October has arrived. The night's are getting cooler, and before you know it, Hallowe'en will be here. Why not spend some time this month reading a "scary" book?

The horror genre has really exploded, here @SAM. The year began with several shelves filled with horror books, and now that circulation is in full swing, we are down to just a couple of shelves of books in this section.

Here are some of the books that you should take a look at, that is if you are willing to jump into this genre...

The

Devouring by Simon Holt

This book is creepy. One night a year gives access to these creatures from another dimension. They prey upon our darkest fears, and once they sense prey they come in a push our own selves into a dark corner. They occupy our bodies while we live in a never ending nightmare created from our own darkest fears. This is the first book in a trilogy. Perfect for curling up with as Hallowe'en approaches.

This genre has broached its own borders and crossed over into other genres as well. There are some really fun books to be read in the Science Fiction genre that contain elements often found in the horror genre, too.

I'm thinking of the great series of books that begins with The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan.

Set in a future where humans are constantly battling for survival with their infected brothers and sisters, we enter in a whole new zombie apocalypse. Part horror novel, part sci-fi, post apocalypse novel, this book is an entertaining read.

These are just a two of the many possibilities for you to choose from this Hallowe'en season. Drop by the Library, and discover even more books to thrill, and chill.

Library Helpers

It is that time of year, again, when those of you who are interested in helpingin the Library can volunteer your time.

If you are interested please respond to this post by providing the following information:

1. Your name and Homeroom


2. Have you helped in a Library before this year?


3. Why do you want to be a Library Helper?


4. What skills do you have that will allow you to be successful as a Library Helper?


5. What days of the week will you be able to help in the Library? (Please provide the day of the week and indicate if you would like to help during lunch or after school.)

Thanks,

I look forward to reading your replies.

A New School Year

I have been cataloguing new books.  The process began in the spring and the labels were sent to the school over the summer.  When arrived at school at the end of August, they were waiting for me.  I actually like the cataloguing process.

First there is the buying of the books.  This is always fun.  Fortunately, Mrs. Gassi allows me my full budget and that translates into hundreds of new books for the Library each year.  It is always an adventure, when I go book shopping. 

When the books arrive at school, I get to enjoy them for the second time.  I see them as new books, but now I can look through them a little more thoroughly.  I stop and read a few pages from one, look through another, and before I know it, the period is over and it's time for another class.

When the labels arrive, I begin to read them again.  As I place the labels on the books, I stop and begin to flip through their pages.  Soon, I am engrossed in the story.

Magical.

Why don't you drop by the Library.  See what new books there are.  Maybe you will get lost in their pages, too?

Literature Map

Today, while browsing through my Google Reader, I came upon this site called Literature Map. Immediately I recognized that I had been here before. I wonder why I had not returned sooner? This tool is a really fun way to find new authors to read.

The way it works is simple. Type in the name of an author you like and it brings up a web of other authors. The closer they are to the author, whose name you typed in, the more similar their style of writing.

Try it.

You may find some new author you haven't read yet.

Earlier this month, I went shopping for new books. This is one of the definite perks of my job. Browsing through stacks and stacks of books and being able to buy so many of them for the library. I am fortunate that Mrs. Gassi provides me with a full budget to spend on new books.

As an avid reader, I get excited at the thought of all those books waiting for me to read them. This excitement grows when the books arrive at school and I begin to catalogue them. At that point I can browse through them at a more leisurely pace. This allows me to read through the first few pages of them, and this inevitably reinforces the reasons why I bought them in the first place.

It's amazing how quickly the time can pass as I stamp the school's name into the books, and then place a bar code upon the cover. I start reading one, and then another, and soon the period is over.

Here are some of the titles I have looked at today:

Stay tuned for more new titles.

SAM Kids Lit. Quiz

Thursday Feb. 24, 2011 will be remembered as the first Canadian final of the Kids Lit Quiz. This quiz originated in New Zealand and for the first time was played on Canadian soil. SAM sent two teams of four students to participate in this international competition. The winning team was going to be invited to New Zealand in July, for the International finals where they would be competing against teams from New Zealand, South Africa, The UK, and other countries.

A devoted group of SAM students met regularly over the last few months to train for this competition. They read a copious amount of books and quizzed themselves on all sorts of arcane subjects based upon their reading.

We went into the competition feeling good about our chances. Each team member is an avid reader, and between them we figured we could do alright.

The competition was divided into 10 categories with each category having ten questions within it. Some of the categories were: Bears, Symbols, Aliases, Harry Potter, Mythology, Dogs, Who Said This, Music, and a couple others. The questions were difficult, even within the categories in which we had the most confidence.

While our teams did well, we did not end up winning the competition. Each of the two teams did win a round by scoring highest in a particular category.

Thanks to all the team members. We look forward to next year's competition.

Marina Cohen visits SAM

On Friday January 28, SAM hosted Red Maple author Marina Cohen. She delivered two high intensity presentations to both grade 7s and grade 8s. Marina spoke energetically and was well received by the students and staff at SAM.

Marina's book Ghost Ride has been nominated for this year's Red Maple award. For those of you who were expecting her to talk about this book, you were in for a big surprise. While she did mention this book, Marina mostly spoke about the process she went through to become a published writer.Interestingly she made it clear that while being a writer has been a lifelong dream of hers, it is not something that came easily. In fact, Marina pointed out that from early on in her life, she was not an avid reader, as so many writers seem to be. In fact, she was more of a reluctant reader, only getting into reading when she discovered the dark, horrific writings of such authors as Edgar Allan Poe.

Marina went on to describe the many failures she endured along the way to becoming a published writer. She even read to us from the many rejection letters she has received.

Despite the numerous rejections, and despite the many times she quit writing altogether, Marina always came back to her dream. She didn't let it go, and finally her first book was accepted for publication. Which of course lead to her second book, and then to Ghost Ride.

Marina kept her audience's attention with her enthusiastic vocals and she even had some time at the end for some audience participation. Enlisting the aid of two students in each presentation, she illustrated some writing techniques through the acting out of a simple scene.

Check out the pictures from the grade 8 presentation:

Johnny is acting out the scene as described by Marina. Vanessa is doing an awesome job of creating the

sound effects to go with the scene.

As her presentation was wrapping up, Marina took the time to give away some prizes to audience members who had listened well to what she had said.

We all had a great time listening to Marina, and learning about the large amount of work that is necessary to not only write a book, but get it published.

If you want to find out more about Marina Cohen you can visit her website: http://www.marinacohen.com/

Thank you, Mrs. Gassi for enabling us to have Marina visit our school.

New Books

I thought an interesting way to promote new books would be to share some of the first lines. Authors want to hook a reader quickly and so the first line of a book can be very important. Here are some from books that are new to the Library:

I stare down at my shoes, watching as a fine layer of ash settles on the worn leather.

Mommy forgot to warn the new babysitter about the basement.

The best time to talk to ghosts is just before the sun comes up.

For the record: I did not mean to send my two half sisters to the emergency room.

Hugo's lying in the sand
A bit of starlight in his hand
His fingers open, out it pours
The ocean sighs, the ocean roars.

The first time the black motorcycle followed Ann on her way to school was a Wednesday in early May.

Are you intrigued? Do you want to know the titles of these books? Try sending some guesses. If you guess right, you can be the first to sign it out.