Making Rounds with Oscar

Do you know a pet with unusual talents? Check out this quick read about a cat that can detect when a person is about to die.

Dosa, a geriatrician with a strong aversion to cats, tells the endearing story of Oscar the cat, the aloof resident at a nursing home who only spends time with people who are about to die. Despite hearing numerous stories about Oscar's uncanny ability to predict when a patient's time is nearing, Dosa, ever the scientist, remains skeptical. Slowly, he starts to concede that there may be something special about Oscar. Dosa starts to pay more attention to the cat's decidedly odd behavior, noticing that Oscar seeks out the dying, snuggles with the patient and family members until the patient passes; with others, he smells the patient's feet, sits outside a closed door until admitted, or refuses to leave a dying patient's bed. Dosa discovers how powerfully Oscar's mere presence reassures frightened or grieving family.

Sarah's Key

De Rosnay's U.S. debut fictionalizes the 1942 Paris roundups and deportations, in which thousands of Jewish families were arrested, held at the Vélodrome d'Hiver outside the city, then transported to Auschwitz. Forty-five-year-old Julia Jarmond, American by birth, moved to Paris when she was 20 and is married to the arrogant, unfaithful Bertrand Tézac, with whom she has an 11-year-old daughter. Julia writes for an American magazine and her editor assigns her to cover the 60th anniversary of the Vél' d'Hiv' roundups. Julia soon learns that the apartment she and Bertrand plan to move into was acquired by Bertrand's family when its Jewish occupants were dispossessed and deported 60 years before. She resolves to find out what happened to the former occupants: Wladyslaw and Rywka Starzynski, parents of 10-year-old Sarah and four-year-old Michel. The more Julia discovers—especially about Sarah, the only member of the Starzynski family to survive—the more she uncovers about Bertrand's family, about France and, finally, herself.

Read the book before seeing the movie! Watch the trailer.

The Lost Hero

Jason has a problem. He doesn’t remember anything before waking up on a school bus holding hands with a girl. Apparently she’s his girlfriend Piper, his best friend is a kid named Leo, and they’re all students in the Wilderness School, a boarding school for “bad kids.” What he did to end up here, Jason has no idea—except that everything seems very wrong.

Piper has a secret. Her father has been missing for three days, and her vivid nightmares reveal that he’s in terrible danger. Now her boyfriend doesn’t recognize her, and when a freak storm and strange creatures attack during a school field trip, she, Jason, and Leo are whisked away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood. What is going on?

Hooked yet? Visit Rick Riordan's site for more information.

Forks Over Knives

Two out of every three of us are overweight. Cases of diabetes are exploding, especially amongst our younger population. About half of us are taking at least one prescription drug. Major medical operations have become routine, helping to drive health care costs to astronomical levels. Heart disease, cancer and stroke are the country’s three leading causes of death, even though billions are spent each year to "battle" these very conditions. Millions suffer from a host of other degenerative diseases.

FORKS OVER KNIVES examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting animal-based and processed foods.

FORKS OVER KNIVES is available in DVD format or print from your local school library.

Fantastic Fiction

Bibliographies for over 30,000 authors. Use the browse menu on the left to find an author by surname, or use the search boxes on the right to search for an author or book

Information on over 350,000 books. Throughout the site, Fantastic Fiction, just click on a book to see its cover picture, description and publication details

Encyclopedia of Life

The Encyclopedia of Life launched EOLv2 — a new design and new features for this database of all life on Earth. Inspired by E.O. Wilson’s 2008 TED Prize wish, the Encyclopedia of Life contains some 700,000 pages, each listing a different living thing. The redesign is meant to increase ease of use — and allow users to personalize the site and to interact with fellow enthusiasts worldwide.

FREE Entertainment for Life

Are you a person who loves to read books? If so, you're set for life! Go to your local public library and enjoy FREE entertainment!

It's one of those things most of us seldom pause to think about. After all, much of the news about the book publishing business has been kind of grim lately.

The digital revolution, as exciting as it is, has made the publishing industry exceedingly nervous about the economics of its enterprise, and about what will become of traditional books, the ones printed on paper and bound between covers. For a complete reading of this article, click here.

Science News

If you're a science-news junkie, odds are that you already know about ScienceDaily and check in frequently. For the rest of us, visiting the site is eye-opening, inspiring proof of the new things scientists discover every day. Its home page is crammed with links to stories on health, ecology, energy, wildlife, computers and other topics, most of which are reasonably approachable, even to laypeople. And for every alarming item on climate change, there seems to be at least one on an impending medical breakthrough or other example of science making life better. Read more.

Save It For Later

For more information, click here.

How Does An Eraser Work?

Mistakes happen all the time. And that’s OK. Everyone makes mistakes. The important thing is to learn from them… and erase them as soon as possible once you spot them!

Have you ever stopped to think about exactly how that little pink piece of rubber at the end of your pencil is able to erase what you’ve written? Is it magic? Nope! There’s a perfectly logical, scientific answer.

Before we get to how erasers work, though, let’s learn a bit about what exactly is on the paper that you’re erasing. Although we call the black stuff in pencils “lead,” it’s not the real metal known as lead.

For more information, click here

Best Book Trailer

Book trailers have emerged in recent years as an important part of book marketing, though how much the often ingenious (and expensive) videos help to sell books is anybody’s guess.

Thinkfinity

Isn't it time you tried Thinkfinity? For today's best teaching practices, this is your first stop. This site provides thousands of online resources that incorporate Wisconsin Standards and best practices. For a quick overview, visit Thinkfinity or stop in the IMC for your personal walk through.

Free lesson plans, resources, online games, state standards, 21st Century Skills, technology links, videos, downloads and much more. Teachers, parents, and students all have resources available for use.

Capstone Kids

Capstone Kids is a fabulous resource for your students to discover the world of their book characters. Whether it's taking a virtual trip with The Library of Doom characters or Max, your students will love the interactive structure of this site.

http://capstonekids.com/

HELP!

If you haven't found the time to read Kathryn Stockett's book, The Help, now is the time!

The Help focuses on the complex, heartwarming and at times dangerous relationships between whites and the blacks who worked for them during the racially charged Civil Rights movement of rural Mississippi in the 1960s.

Once you've enjoyed reading the book, why not see the movie!

Official Movie Website

Capstone Interactive Library

Check out the interactive ebooks on the library website


http://lib.newlisbon.k12.wi.us/simple/
Lower right corner - click on Capstone Interactive Library and choose your selection.

Give me some feedback on what you like about this resource.

Book Trailers

The traditional book report that asks students to critique the books that they read is a staple of many classrooms. If you would like to add a new element to book reports try having students add visual and audio components to book reports by having students create book trailers. Book trailers are short videos designed to spark a viewer's interest in a book. A great place to find examples of book trailers is Book Trailers for Readers. If you would like to have your students try to create book trailers, here are five free video tools that are well-suited to that purpose: Animoto, Stupeflix, Shwup, Flixtime, and Masher. To read an overview of each tool and access their website, click here.

ICYouSee ?

Is the Web a great research tool? Are you sure the information you are taking as "fact" is real? ICYouSee website will help you decide what is good information and what is false.

Attention Teens!

ipl2 also hosts a great site for teens. Teens will find a safe, secure and concise place for all their searching needs in the classroom.

For Kids

The little gem is a great place for kids to start their research. ipl2 is a public service organization and a learning/teaching environment. To date, thousands of students and volunteer library and information science professionals have been involved in answering reference questions for our Ask an ipl2 Librarian service and in designing, building, creating and maintaining the ipl2's collections. It is through the efforts of these students and volunteers that the ipl2 continues to thrive to this day. Simple, concise and safe.

Little Free Library

Have you heard about the Little Free Library? A group in Madison has started this program to encourage literacy in the Madison and surrounding areas. The little houses are installed around town filled with free books for people to enjoy. The idea is to take a book to read or leave a book for other people to enjoy.

You can sponsor your own library for our community if you wish. Visit the Little Free Website for more information.

Welcome Back!

Today begins my 20th year at New Lisbon Schools. Time flies when you love your job! Whether you are a teacher, parent or student reading this blog,  I hope you will visit often to get ideas how to keep reading a vital part of your life.