Lunch with Crutcher

Chris Crutcher will be speaking at Strasburg High School on September 23, 2008.

How would you like to have “Lunch with Crutcher” in the library and have the opportunity to ask him a question? The English teachers at SHS will help select the winning entries. There are two categories and you may enter more than once. Please complete a thoughtful paragraph (blog below) in either category and be sure to include your question for Mr. Crutcher:

1.Intellectual Freedom: What does it mean to you? Take a look at the Intellectual Freedom posts on this blog for more informaton. If you had the opportunity to ask Chris Crutcher one question, what would it be?

2. What is your favorite Chris Crutcher book and why? If you had the opportunity to ask Chris Crutcher one question, what would it be?
CLICK HERE to view entries from last spring.

Click on comments to enter NOW!

Questions for Mr. Crutcher

The September 23 visit for our author is getting very close. Do you have any questions that you would like answered?

• Has Mr. Crutcher ever considered having one of his novels transformed into a graphic novel?
• Which novel would he like to see as a movie?
• What is his favorite book?

Ceiling Tiles! Tuesday, March 18th, 2008
Mr. Guenther has his art classes reading Crutcher and designing ceiling tiles for the library! Courtney Mason recently completed a Running Loose panel and it joins a ceiling full of famous art and book art adorning the library! This is an amazing project…stop by and take a look!

Crutcher is Coming
How excited am I ? As they say: a picture is worth a thousand words…
Thanks to a generous grant from the Moore Educational Trust, Strasburg High School will be hosting a visit from the BEST young adult author ever…Chris Crutcher!!! He will be coming to Strasburg on September 23, 2008. We have already ordered classroom sets of his books and a frenzy of reading celebrations are in the works…stay tuned!

Gearing Up for Crutcher

Challenges, Discussions, and Posters!
Students at Strasburg High School have been reading, sharing, and blogging about Crutcher books! Mrs. Hubbard’s English 10H class read Crutcher books, blogged, researched, and created posters pointing out why the book had been challenged and whether they agreed or disagreed with that position. Mrs. Sours has the GATE students at Signal Knob Middle School onboard: reading, sharing, and blogging! Mrs. Sheridan snagged a reluctant reader by spending the better part of a block reading a Crutcher short story to her student. Mrs. Eash-Boyden and Mrs. Brown have their students immersed in Crutcher, as well! Strasburg is reading, blogging, sharing and THINKING! Keep Reading! Keep blogging! This is your opportunity to share your thoughts!

Galley Book Reviews

Strasburg High School is excited to begin the second year of involvement with YALSA as reviewers of pre-published galley books.
To complete a galley review, click on HERE.
Copy and paste the form provided on that page into the comment. After you compete the form, I will print it off and mail it to the publisher. Our Teen Council and SHS students have done an exemplary job in reading and reviewing these new books...way to go SHS!

Guy's Read...What REALLY Works!

This is a place to share our successes and ideas…what works with regard to engaging boys in reading. This is an opportunity for us to share as a community committed to making the connection between ALL students and literacy. This is a “what REALLY works” kind of page…in other words….forget the “best of the best” lists and reading awards…what do the boys in your library like…what will they check out…what is the carrot that really grabs their attention?
You know what works in your community of learners and that is what we want to share. I just read an award winning book that from the cover and review I thought was going to be a real “guy read”. However, after reading it, I can’t imagine WHO would like this book. (ok, in case you are curious, the book is the Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing…The Pox Party…while the book, Feed by the same author (M.T. Anerson) is a favorite “guy read”)
You know what is “supposed” to be good: now let’s share things that REALLY work in your library when it comes to getting guys to read. Share titles, authors, genres, subjects, nifty ideas, and creative thoughts because that is what this blog is all about…teacher-librarians in the trenches and what is really working on the home-front.

Past Reading Celebrations!

Cozy Up to a Good Book
It is that time of the year: crisp and cold with the consistant hope of snow days to keep you feeling upbeat! With all of this in mind, we have launched a new reading celebration entitled: Cozy Up to a Good Book. The hope is to link cozy, hot cocoa feelings with reading a great story. In keeping with our current standard, a student may enter the contest with every book read…the more you read, the better your chances. The prizes? We have ten exciting gift baskets filled with a coffee/cocoa mug, hot cocoa, bookmarks, treats and surprises! The packaging is fun, the contents are yummy, and the whole goal is to spark a warm, cozy feeling! We will have a drawing for the ten winners on January 30, 2008…stay tuned!

April is National Poetry Month! As you head toward warm spring weather and out of winter hibernation mode, this is a perfect time to share your original poetry. Take a moment to share your creations and feel free to post thoughtful comments…this is a sharing blog and an opportunity to both “publish” your poetry and receive constructive feed-back. Thank you for sharing!

Lunch with Crutcher

Chris Crutcher will be speaking at Strasburg High School on September 23, 2008. How would you like to have “Lunch with Crutcher” in the library and have the opportunity to ask him a question? The English teachers at SHS will help select the winning entries. This contest is open to all SHS students in grades 9-11 as well as students in the 8th grade at Signal Knob Middle School. There are two categories and you may enter more than once. Please complete a thoughtful paragraph (blog below) in either category and be sure to include your question for Mr. Crutcher:
1.Intellectual Freedom: What does it mean to you? Take a look at the Intellectual Freedom posts on this blog for more informaton. If you had the opportunity to ask Chris Crutcher one question, what would it be?
2. What is your favorite Chris Crutcher book and why? If you had the opportunity to ask Chris Crutcher one question, what would it be?

CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE CONTEST TODAY...DEADLINE: SEPTEMBER 17

Crutcher is Coming

Thanks to a generous grant from the Moore Educational Trust, Strasburg High School will be hosting a visit from the BEST young adult author ever... Chris Crutcher!!! He will be coming to Strasburg on September 23, 2008. The library media center was able to purchase classroom book sets of his books though this grant. A frenzy of reading has followed...stay tuned!

Mr. Guenther has his art classes reading Crutcher and designing ceiling tiles for the library! Courtney Mason recently completed a Running Loose panel and it joins a ceiling full of famous art and book art adorning the library! This is an amazing project…stop by and take a look!

Students at Strasburg High School have been reading, sharing, and blogging about Crutcher books! Mrs. Hubbard’s English 10H class read Crutcher books, blogged, researched, and created posters pointing out why the book had been challenged and whether they agreed or disagreed with that position. Mrs. Sours has the GATE students at Signal Knob Middle School onboard: reading, sharing, and blogging! Mrs. Sheridan snagged a reluctant reader by spending the better part of a block reading a Crutcher short story to her student. Mrs. Eash-Boyden and Mrs. Brown have their students immersed in Crutcher, as well! Strasburg is reading, blogging, sharing and THINKING! Keep Reading! Keep blogging! This is your opportunity to share your thoughts!

New Manga/Graphic Novel Club at SHS

The library media center at Strasburg High School will be starting a Manga/Graphic Novel club this fall (2008). This is a new club and we are looking for suggestions and ideas to make this an exciting and fun organization. If you have some thoughts on how you would like to see this club work, please leave a comment!