Summer Reading (some required)

Summer is a time to put your feet up and relax! Hopefully this includes lots and lots of reading.We have several suggestions for summer reading, but first, let's get the required reading out of the way. Go here for the required summer lists. For other reading ideas, check out the many ideas available on the "Books & Reading" LibGuide. (link below picture). In addition, don't forget about the downloadable eBooks!

Need a Good Book? - Books & Reading - LibGuides at The John Cooper Upper School Library via kwout

Download eBooks from our library catalog!

It's finally here! The digital reader app that we've been waiting for is ready to go. Check out the slideshow to see how you can download eBooks to your iPad or Android tablet from our mobile library catalog.
*This means you can read library eBooks over the summer!*

Let us know how it goes for you. We're still testing it out ourselves, so if you find something not acting as it should, please let us know.

You know this means that you're free to check out books even over the summer. Enjoy! :)

TeenBookCon! This Saturday

TeenBookCon is this Saturday! It's a FREE Teen Book Festival with an amazing array of authors. There will be 27 authors! The list includes Orson Scott Card, Holly Black, Lauren DeStefano, Michael Grant, Maggie Stiefvater and Lisa McMann. Check it out by clicking the link below.

TeenBookCon via kwout

EasyBib Mobile Apps for iPhone & Android

Many students have discovered a great new tool for creating citations. NoodleTools works great when you have a longer, more involved research project. But if you simply need a citation, EasyBib is the quickest way to obtain one.

On the website, you can enter in the information about your book or simply enter the ISBN. EasyBib will return a list of books for you to verify your choice. Then the citation will pop up, already filled it. At this point you verify and select "create citation." It works with all types of sources.

EasyBib: Free Bibliography Maker - MLA, APA, Chicago citation styles via kwout

In addition to the online version, EasyBib has a mobile app for iPhone and Android. The app is super nifty because you can scan your book's ISBN with your phone! Then it will create your citation. You can then send you citation to your online EasyBib account for later printing or you can email it to yourself. 

Following are the links to the mobile apps:

 

iPhone mobile app

Android Mobile app

Be sure to let us know how you like EasyBib, particularly if you have created an account and enjoy the notecards and outlining features. If enough students find it useful, we may consider purchasing a school subscription to unlock more features. 

Enjoy creating citations more conveniently!

Soundzabound - New Music Database!

We have a new database available for student projects called Soundzabound. You can download music to use in your projects, websites, slideshows, videos or other projects for school. Soundzabound is easy to use and has a large variety of music to choose from.

If you aren't sure about why using royalty free music is important, especially when using music online, peruse the great articles that Soundzabound includes in their digital citizenship section here.

Check it out! You'll need our username and password. Look for it in the same location you would look for our other passwords. If you're not sure where that secret location is, please see us in the library.

HUNGER GAMES Movie Review

So...What did you think of the HUNGER GAMES movie? I thought it was great! The casting was superb. The acting was wonderful by all. Jennifer Lawrence was incredible. The moment I saw her, she felt like Katniss to me through and through. Peeta was exactly as a I imagined in the book, as was Gale. Elizabeth Banks was a hoot as Effie Trinket. I didn't recognize her at all underneath all of that outrageous makeup. Speaking of the fashion of the capitol - wow. I remember reading about the bright colored clothing and hair, but seeing it on the screen was quite shocking. Could fashion really evolve into that? Let's hope not.

Woody Harrelson was perfectly cast as Haymitch. Lenny Kravitz was a brilliant casting move. I loved him as Cinna. I look forward to seeing him more in the future installments. I'm assuming they will definitely be filming book 2 & 3. How could they not?

The only disappointment for me was the camera techniques. I'm not sure if this comes under the purview of cinematographer or director, but there were some "tricks" that distracted from the enjoyment of the movie. At some points the screen would go blurry and then back to clear. It made sense once or twice in the context of the scene. But then it became over used and just annoying. Also, the screen would go grainy. I'm not sure what that was supposed to depict, but it was completely unnecessary. Also, there would be a hand-held camera look where the action would go herky-jerky. I can understand some of that when people are running through the woods, but together with the other two aspects, I felt it was overkill. With such great acting and an excellent story, these "tricks" simply distracted me from the movie. But those were minor details that didn't take away from the movie overall.

I loved it! Now I'm anxious to see the other two books on the big screen!

Please share your thoughts of the movie. Did it live up to the book?

Hamburguering in the Library...and Beyond!

It's that time of year again...Hamburguering Time! Check out some of the pictures from the library and from the classrooms. I wasn't able to catch all of your skits, so please if you have more pictures, please email me. I'd love to add them to the slideshow!
Enjoy!