PASSIONATE ABOUT SCHOOL LIBRARIES

Tag: Literature

Resource: Spintronics Review

Spintronics Review

Running both a school library and an Innovation Precinct, supporting creative thinking, prototyping and product making, means I am always on the lookout for new educational resources to engage my students. When I was offered the chance to try Spintronics, I jumped at it. I am a massive fan of the Turing Tumbles, which are made by the same creators of the Spintronics.

There is lots to love about Spintronics, so let’s beak it down.

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Technology: 5 Quick Ideas for Integrating Robots with Books

5 Quick Ideas for Integrating Robots with Books

Currently, our library makerspace has two robots – The Ozobot and Cubelets. Click on the links for reviews of each. One day a week, our library makerspace goes technical and these robots delight and challenge our students. This year, our focus has been to integrate the library makerspace activities with literature. So here are 5 quick ideas for integrating robots with literature.

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Book Review: Close To You

Close To You

Close To You – Kara Isaac – Howard Books – Published 26 April 2016

♥♥♥♥♥

Synopsis

A disgraced scholar running from her past and an entrepreneur chasing his future find themselves thrown together—and fall in love—on a Tolkien tour of New Zealand.

Allison Shire (yes, like where the Hobbits live) is a disgraced academic who is done with love. Her belief in “happily ever after” ended the day she discovered her husband was still married to a wife she knew nothing about. She finally finds a use for her English degree by guiding tours through the famous sites featured in the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies. By living life on the road and traveling New Zealand as a luxury tour guide, Allison manages to outrun the pain of her past she can’t face.

Jackson Gregory was on the cusp of making it big. Then suddenly his girlfriend left him—for his biggest business competitor—and took his most guarded commercial secrets with her. To make matters worse, the Iowa farm that has been in his family for generations is facing foreclosure. Determined to save his parents from financial ruin, he’ll do whatever it takes to convince his wealthy great-uncle to invest in his next scheme, which means accompanying him to the bottom of the world to spend three weeks pretending to be a die-hard Lord of the Rings fan, even though he knows nothing about the stories. The one thing that stands between him and his goal is a know-it-all tour guide who can’t stand him and pegged him as a fake the moment he walked off the plane.

When Allison leads the group through the famous sites of the Tolkien movies, she and Jackson start to see each other differently, and as they keep getting thrown together on the tour, they find themselves drawn to each other. Neither expected to fall in love again, but can they find a way beyond their regrets to take a chance on the one thing they’re not looking for?

My thoughts

This is a standout contemporary novel, hilarious, touching and enjoyable right to the very last page. 

Close To You flips from charmingly amusing to downright hilarious. Everything that could possibly go wrong does, from falling into mud pits or getting lost in the rugged New Zealand wilderness. The interactions between Allie and Jackson are magic. From the you’re-driving-me-crazy moments, to the ones where something lingers under the surface, I loved every minute of it.      Continue reading

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