Protecting your child online: Facebook

On Thursday night at the library I will be giving tips to parents about protecting their child on Facebook.  Facebook, which I admit that I am addicted to, can be lots of fun but it is important to show our kids how to use it properly.  The privacy settings are not usually a concern for young tweens and teens but it should be.  If all your information is wide open, that means anyone can access it.   My number 1 recommendation regarding FB privacy settings – check them each month.  FB has a nasty habit of opening up people’s information without any warning.  Taking the precaution of checking privacy settings will help protect your child online.

CBC Book Club YA Death Match!

I was on Twitter this morning and saw that YA author Kelly Armstrong (she wrote the books: The Summoning, The Awakening and The Reckoning) posted a link to the CBC Book Club. The title alone was intriguing so I clicked on the link and came upon a fantastic idea - dueling YA characters from your favourite books. There is a mix of old YA heroes (like Nancy Drew, Anne of Green Gables, the Hardy Boys) as well as new heroes (The Cullens , Harry Potter and Katniss). You have until Sunday to vote for your favourite YA hero (they are divided into categories) and then we get ready for the duel. Have fun!


http://www.cbc.ca/books/bookclub/2010/11/get-ready-to-rumble-ya-style-introducing-the-cbc-book-club-ya-death-match.html

Pizza Storytime

Almost everyone loves pizza so why not do a storytime on pizza! You can get really creative with your craft as well.


Books:

Dragon pizzeria by Mary Morgan

"Hi, pizza man!" by Virginia Walter

How pizza came to our town by Dayal Kaur Khalsa

The Little Red Hen makes a pizza retold by Philemon Sturges

Pete's a pizza by William Steig

Songs:

Pizza Round - By Cherry Carl

(Sung to: Row Your Boat)

Roll, roll, roll the dough.

Toss it in the air!

Pepperoni, cheese and sauce,

There’s enough to share!



I Wish I Were a Pepperoni Pizza

I wish I were a (Type) pizza,

That is what I'd truly like to be

For if I were a (Type) pizza,

Everyone would be in love with me.

Craft:

Paper Pizza:    http://www.makingfriends.com/preschool/paper_pizza.htm


Pizza and Pasta:   http://www.firstpalette.com/Craft_themes/Food/Pizza_and_Pasta/Pizza_and_Pasta.html


Another Pizza Craft:

Make cardboard pizzas - the sky's the limit on decoration. Cut out photos and make a collage or make your own "toppings" out of decorated paper. Make a pizza-puzzle where the slices are cut out and rearranged to form a picture. Make your own pizza boxes too after dissecting one to see how they are cut and folded.

Halloween Event on the ice

This year I had the great pleasure of working on the Halloween committee for the city. It was lots of fun planning for this spook-tacular event. Check out some of our photos from the event:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=42479&l=653d690a70&id=123100031035453

New Children DVDs in the library

1. How to Train Your Dragon

2. Karate Kid

3. Marmaduke

4. Le journal d’Aurélie Laflamme

5. Happy King Julien Day!

6. Furry vengeance

7. He’s your dog, Charlie Brown

8. Geronimo Stilton

9. Océans

10. Tinker Bell and the great fairy rescue

Book Review: Kenneth Oppel's "Half Brother"

Imagine Ben’s surprise when he finds out that his new baby brother is actually a chimpanzee. Ben’s parents are both scientists who have decided to try an experiment to determine whether chimpanzees can learn language. The language that Zan, the chimpanzee, will be learning is sign language. In order to conduct the experiment, it requires having Zan live like a human being. Ben is leery at first about having a new family member but soon warms to the idea. Problems begin when funding is lost and Zan must be sent somewhere else to live. Ben must find a way to keep his little brother safe.


My thoughts:

To be honest, when I was reading the book reviews and saw the book itself, I was not sold on the idea. I thought the book would not be interesting at all even though I loved all of Kenneth Oppels previous books. To my great surprise I loved the book. I loved the character development of Ben and Zan. Oppel has a way of creating relationships and we can definitely see the different relationships that are formed here. My heart went out to Zan throughout most of this book (the thought of experimenting on an animal for the sake of science) but it was heartwarming to read the way Ben and Zan interacted.

My rating: 4.5 stars


Update: I went home yesterday to find that the Gazette did a whole story on chimpanzee sanctuaries. Kenneth Oppel was featured in the article. Here is the link to the article: http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/Rejected+chimps+find+shelter+Chambly/3656247

New York Times Best Seller List: Chapter Books

THE RED PYRAMID by Rick Riordan


CLOCKWORK ANGEL by Cassandra Clare

TALES FROM A NOT-SO-POPULAR PARTY GIRL by Rachel Renée Russell

LINGER by Maggie Stiefvater

DORK DIARIES by Rachel Renée Russell