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AAM Electronic Newsletter
Published by An Adventure of the American Mind at Mars Hill College
Vol. 8 Issue 33 - May 25, 2007
Special Summer Reading Issue
Our annual summer reading issue begins with some reader recommendations, then moves on to book lists from a number of sources. We also include a bonus software download (a rare and handy free screen capture program), along with a special message from your editor.
Blue
The time is summer, 1944. The place is Hickory, North Carolina.
Ann Fay's father has gone to war, leaving her, her mother, and siblings to take care of the farm. But there is a polio epidemic and it seems like things can only get worse.
I won't tell you any more. NC author Joyce Moyer Hostetter tells the story of the "Miracle of Hickory"' and how one family and community made it through. If you live in NC, you may be able to schedule an author visit.
http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Joyce-Moyer-Hostetter/dp/1590783891
Recommended by a number of teachers, librarians, and AAM directors.
The Road
Pulitzer Prize winner "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy really is that good. A post-apocalyptic tale of a journey by a father and his young son in the broken landscape of a destroyed civilization, it is a departure for the author of "All the Pretty Horses." Here is a review that doesn't (totally) spoil the suspense:
http://www.calitreview.com/Reviews/road_117.htm
Only after you read the book, explore Oprah's Book Club entry:
http://www.oprah.com/obc_classic/featbook/road/obc_featbook_road_main.jhtml
Sent in by Deborah Aldridge, Language Arts teacher at North Buncombe High School
The Children's Blizzard
Imagine sending your children off to school on an unusually warm day in January 1888, without coats, hats, or any outer garments.
Then, just as school was getting out, the temperature dropped 18 degrees in three minutes, a wall of ice blasted the prairie, and by morning more than 100 children lay dead on the Dakota-Nebraska prairie -- one of them very likely yours.
A fictional thriller? Not hardly. The Blizzard of January 12, 1888 really happened, and author David Laskin captures every gritty, tense moment of this American tragedy. Read a review at:
http://library.stanford.edu/saroyan/laskindavid.html
Jodi Huggins, AAM director at Brevard College, loves this book.
Copper Sun
A Polk County (NC) librarian recommends Sharon Draper's "Copper Sun" about a young African girl sold into slavery in the 1700's. Heather Chestnut reports, "It was wonderful -- and my middle school students enjoy it, too. One of the best historical fiction books I read this year."
Read more about it at http://www.teenreads.com/reviews/0689821816.asp.
Submitted by Heather Chestnut, Polk County Middle School
Chasing Vermeer
The DaVinci Code for Kids? Maybe, if it's secrets, lies, and mysteries surrounding the work of one of the greatest artists of all time. In this entertaining novel, younger readers are encouraged to use all their creativity and problem-solving skills to tackle a real-life mystery surrounding the elusive painter Johannes Vermeer. You'll meet a delightful pair of misfits with their unusual teacher. Scholastic's companion site (with puzzles) is at http://www.scholastic.com/titles/chasingvermeer/index.htm.
Also try "A Different Place," a site based on meeting the academic needs of high-ability and gifted students in the classroom.
http://www.adifferentplace.org/vermeer.htm
Thanks to Jim Thorsen, Library Media Coordinator at Madison Middle School, for contributing these links.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
The seventh and final Harry Potter book will be out this summer, and untold zillions of people have already pre-ordered it. If you can't wait to line up at your friendly neighborhood bookstore at midnight on July 21st, check out this site...
http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/#book:7
Wendy Fusco, Montreat College AAM Director, is a big Harry Potter fan.
Donbas: A True Story of an Escape Across Russia
For teens or anyone, here's an amazing survival story about a 16-year-old Romanian taken prisoner, forced to work in the cold and dangerous mines while he plots his escape. Read the review here:
http://www.thirdage.com/news/articles/DAI/07/05/23/070523-01.html
More reviews about books, music and movies, visit your cultural concierge, the Head Butler at...
http://headbutler.com/home/index.asp
Reading Lists
Don't take our word for it. There are lots of summer reading lists -- here are just a few...
American Library Association
The ALA has a list of lists. Below you will find a link to their master list that will allow you to browse their picks for children, young adults, and grown-ups. They also have a link to award winning books and further recommendations for fans of Harry Potter and the Chronicles of Narnia.
http://www.ala.org/ala/librariesandyou/recomreading/recomreading.htm
Scholastic.com
Scholastic has a great selection of books for readers of all ages -- classics like "Mrs. PiggleWiggle" (still funny after all these years), journeys of self discovery like "Dog Song" and "Esperanza Rising," and a special section of books to read while you are waiting for Harry Potter to arrive ("Ella Enchanted," "The Phantom Tollbooth," and lots more fantasy fiction. They also list series books for all age groups.
http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4517
Reading is Fundamental
Lots of lists, links to more lists, plus tips and activities to get your children -- and community -- reading.
http://www.rif.org/summer/
Family Education
Books by reader age and by category, quizzes, activities, and tips for parents, and day care providers as well as teachers. Although summer is a time off from school, there are some enrichment activities that some parents may want to suggest to their kiddos -- backyard astronomy, art projects, rainy day games, and puzzles.
http://school.familyeducation.com/summer/reading/36091.html
National Public Radio
Although their regular Summer Reading List isn't out as of this
writing, the Books page is always a good place to start. While
you are there, check out "Plenty: One Man, One Woman" and "A Raucous Year of Eating Locally," whereby a couple devotes a year to eating only food produced within 100 miles of their Vancouver home.
http://www.npr.org/templates/topics/topic.php?topicId=1032
Teacher Vision
Here are a number of reading lists, separated by grade level -- primary through high school. The books include classics ("Lord of the Flies," "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"), historical fiction ("The Iron Ring"), cultural diversity (Toni Morrison's "Beloved," "The Alfred Summer"), as well as new work ("Girl with the Pearl Earring") and books that make us think ("Seven Years in Tibet").
Although some parts of this site require membership, there are still plenty of free resources. Look around while you are at the site.
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/summer/reading/6101.html?wtlAC=GS_2007-05-21,email-gs_15
Create a Tech-Infused Culture
Here is a great article that gives you some strategies to honor digital technologies that really engage students and demonstrate how students are learning through technology. Check out #8 in particular. Sounds like an AAM/TPS/PROPEL project!
http://www.techlearning.com/showArticle.php?articleID=188702465
Thanks, Jodi. That's Jodi Huggins at Brevard College AAM.
America's Attic and Archives
Also from Tech Learning, here are some cool and unusual LOC resources, complete with ways to use them. This journal that is definitely worth the subscription price -- a little bit of your time!
http://www.techlearning.com/teacher/aaa.php
Cropper
Okay it's not a book, but we can't pass up an opportunity to tell you about a FREE handy application for creating screen captures, both for PC & Mac users
PC Users: Cropper is free, PC-only downloadable software that
lets your computer take pictures of all or part of your screen.
Select any area that you wish to snapshot, drag the upper left blue tab for exact desired placement, then hit Enter and voila! -- you have a JPEG, BMP, or PNG format picture of your screen. You can save in any of these file types or output the capture right to your printer. The JPEG selection also lets you choose from high to low resolution. You can even hide Cropper while it's running to keep it handy. Best of all, it's fun and incredibly easy-to-use!!!
Here's the link:
http://blogs.geekdojo.net/brian/articles/Cropper.aspx
Scroll down until you see 1.9 Downloads. The download link is in this section.
Cropper 1.9 XP Installation Instructions: Download the ZIP file to your hard drive. Double click on it to open it. Then extract Cropper1.9.1Setup.msi from the .zip, using WinZip or another program, to your hard drive. Next, go to your hard drive and double click on Cropper1.9.1Setup.msi to install the program. The installer will ask you where to create a new folder for the program which defaults to your C drive's Program Files. Put it there.
To fire up Cropper, click your Start button and go into Programs into the Fusion8Design folder. The Cropper icon will appear as a box with a little crosshair in the middle. When the program is being used or hidden while running in the background, you'll see its icon in the lower portion of your XP window. To get help, just right-click over the cropper box in your screen space, select
Help then How To.
Additional Note: Apparently it is Vista compatible, but we (AAM) don't know how well it works. It DOES do a super job in XP, though!
Mac Users! Don't despair! You don't need a screen capture app - it's already built into OS 9 and X!! Just press the
Apple-Shift-(number)4 keys all at once and release -- your mouse will turn into a special pointer.
Then click-drag the screen area you wish to capture. When you release the mouse button, your Mac takes a picture of the selected
area and saves it in a PNG format named 'Picture 1'. If you do
several different captures, they will be named sequentially 'Picture 1', 'Picture 2', ' Picture 3', etc. To automatically do a FULL-screen capture, press Apple-Shift-(number)3 at once and release. Again, your snag is saved as 'Picture [x].png'. You will probably hear a camera-like shutter click alert sound that confirms each time a picture has been taken.
If you are using OS 9, your screen snags will be JPEGs.
Happy Snapturing from Liz Lang
The Final AAM Newsletter
As the AAM program transitions to the Library's new Teaching with Primary Sources initiative, this will be the last newsletter in this format. I have learned a great deal by doing the research and writing this newsletter each week. But old habits die hard. If I come across things to pass along, you may get an occasional missive.
Thanks for your input as well as your kind words. It has been my
pleasure to share these resources with you for the past six years!
If you miss us terribly, try this source:
http://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.php?articleID=196604411
Request for Archives
Because many teachers and librarians tell me that they save the newsletters and refer to them late, we are offering you a CD of the last five years of the AAM eNewsletter. While looking through the older issues, I found that although some of the links and resources were out of date, many others are not. If you wish to receive a CD copy of Volumes 4 through 8, please send me an e-mail at awalter@mhc.edu. Please include your name and the street address where you would like the CD sent.
AnneMarie Walter
AAM Associate Director
Mars Hill College
is made available through a grant funded by the U.S. Congress.
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For site-related problems, e-mail aam@ercwc.org..
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