Another Web 2.0 Tool

I love playing with all of the Web 2.0 applications out there. So much fun! This one is called PicLits and you can select pictures and use the words in drag-n-drop feature or freestyle to create a saying, a poem, whatever you like. Only thing I don't like about it is you are pretty much stuck with the font and the font color - which may or may not work for your image.

PicLits

Give it a try!

See the full PicLit at PicLits.com

The Last Survivor Series

Fun Generator!

Remember Mrs. Farrell? She sent me this link that allows you to create a Wimpy You! I created this one of me. Check out the link and watch the trailer of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and click on the link to Wimp Yourself!

WimpYourself

Have some fun with this. Oh, and if you haven't read the books - give them a try.

Exciting Reads

Number 8 by Anna Fienberg

Jackson has a few quirks - OK - a LOT of quirks. Like he doesn't like odd numbers, particularly the number 7, he counts his blinks and his steps - you get the picture. His mother and he have just moved to the suburbs in a nice quiet neighborhood to hide out from her former boss after she unintentionally witnessed criminal activity. Now, Jackson has a new school, new kids, new teachers, and then he meets Esmerelda. Told in alternating chapters by Jackson and Esmerelda, this exciting mystery will have you biting your nails and tuning in your ipod to a rock station to listen to all the songs mentioned in this mystery.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Thomas is put in the box. He remembers his first name, he has some memories but nothing tangible to attach to it - like knowing how to ride a bike, but not remembering how you learned to ride the bike. Those memories are gone. For two years, once a month a new boy has arrived in the Glade, an expanse of land with towering walls surrounding the whole area. During the day, there are a few openings in the walls, but at night the walls go shut to keep out the Grievers. Why is he here? What is this Maze the boys keep talking about? How will he fit in? How do they get out? Why does he feel like he knows something important about the Maze?

But then the very next day, a girl - the first girl ever - arrives! And she delivers a frightening message. Read this exciting, fast-paced, science fiction adventure to find out.

Sequel to Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie

If you've read any of my postings, you know I am a big fan of Jordan Sonnenblick - the person and his writing. His newest book, After Ever After, has confirmed it.

This is Jeffrey's story. Now he is the eighth grader, suffering from late effects from his treatments. He walks with a limp, he has trouble focusing, and math just does not compute for him. His best friend, Tad, also a survivor, may not be strong enough to walk, but has strength of character and observation. Steven has taken off to Africa to find himself through drumming, leaving Jeffrey without his main go-to guy.

Jeffrey learns that he needs to start depending on himself, but it sure isn't easy with a gorgeous new girl in school, Tad challenging him in so many ways, and a state mandated math test he is sure he will fail.

You will laugh, you will cry, and you will be sorry if you do not read this one!

TV vs. Books

I must confess that I've not been reading as much as I usually do. After three years, we broke down and bought a television and entered the present by also getting satellite TV. I felt like I entered a whole new world - the History Channel, Discovery, Food Network - WOW! I scanned, watched the Guide, flipped, and experienced this new world.

And, after a month of this, I've discovered that most channels show the same old shows over and over again. All of this money to watch the same shows...again and again. So, what with the football games on yesterday (my team was eliminated earlier) I. Picked. Up. A. Book.

Oh, the feel of the pages, the immersion into the story and characters...so good! The book I picked up was Six Innings: A Game in the Life by James Preller, one of the PA Young Readers' Choice books. It should come as no surprise that the book is a baseball book.

The book takes place during the little league championship game. IF you love baseball, like I do, this is a great read as it includes the thoughts of the players, the strategies of baseball, and friendship of the boys playing the game. It is funny and exciting, and isn't one of those preachy books about "baseball as life". But you'll get the message.

Two Suggestions

It seems I have two or three books going at a time right now. When the books are of similar story lines or the same genre, characters and plots do get a bit jumbled in my brain. However, the two most recent completions (say that fast five times) are very different.

Bystander by James Preller starts with the new kid in town, Eric, shooting hoops on the playground. He sees this boy, about his age, running towards him. This boy's gait is off, he keeps looking over his shoulder, checking on who might be behind him. He stops to catch his breath, and quickly takes off again. What Eric picked up from this short interaction is this kid is scared. Very, very scared. And then Eric meets Griffin and his cronies.

Neptune's Children by Bonnie Dobkin is an exciting sci-fi adventure. The story begins with a plague - a man-made plague - designed to destroy entire countries. When the canisters are precisely detonated, anyone over the age of fifteen is struck. What the designers of the plague failed to plan for was mutations, and so they become victims of their own planned disaster. Everyone that remains is fourteen and younger. This is story of a group of kids who had been on vacation with their families in a theme park - Isles of Wonder. How will they survive without rules, adult guidance, or even food?