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• Current

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Type: fiction

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Status: I recommend

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Author: Lauren St. John

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Tags: adventure africa giraffes

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Description: On the night of her 11th birthday, Martine's life changes -- her parents are killed inOn the night of her 11th birthday, Martine's life changes -- her parents are killed in a fire and she is sent to South Africa to a grandmother she has never heard of -- and who doesn't seem to like her. Life on a nature reserve is fascinating, especially as Martine becomes involved -- and friends with -- a white giraffe that has been predicted but never seen. Martine helps her giraffe escape poachers -- barely....

2008-04-21

  & 1 users

• Current

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Type: fiction

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Status: I recommend

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Author: Andrew Norriss

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Tags: travel space science_fiction uk siblings missing_parents

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Description: William and Daniel Seward's parents disappear one day -- and eventually the boys learnWilliam and Daniel Seward's parents disappear one day -- and eventually the boys learn that their parents are the guardians of a secret intergalactic portal (out of their basement). The mystery of where the parents have gone is eventually solved, but meanwhile William has learned that he has inherited a knack for taking care of (intergalactic) guests. The perfect space-age hotelier!...

2008-04-21

  & 1 users

• Current

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Type: fiction

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Status: neutral

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Authors: Roderick Gordon Brian Williams

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Tags: dystopia underground

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Description: A rather dark fantasy of an old-fashioned conservative religious dystopia underground whichA rather dark fantasy of an old-fashioned conservative religious dystopia underground which a boy named Will stumbles upon -- as he and his archaeologist father are in the habit of digging tunnels. Obviously meant to be a long series, but not very gripping....

2008-04-21

 

• Current

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Type: fiction

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Status: I recommend

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Author: Lloyd Jones

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Tags: reading culture literature teaching dickens islands storytelling south_pacific

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Description: The story of how the book Great Expectations finds new life in the imaginations of school childrenThe story of how the book Great Expectations finds new life in the imaginations of school children stuck on an island in the South Pacific during an uprising. Brutal in parts (so not for children), but interesting example of how literature can leap cultures and lodge in the minds of others, sustaining them. The power of storytelling.......

2007-12-27

 

• Current

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Type: fiction

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Status: I recommend

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Authors: Ryunosuke Akutagawa G. H. Healey Geoffrey Bownas

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Tags: fantasy japan satire society mythical_creatures

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Description: First-person narrative by an inmate in a mental institution -- telling of how he went hikingFirst-person narrative by an inmate in a mental institution -- telling of how he went hiking on a mountain, the mist rolled in, and then he spied a kappa -- a mythical creature in Japanese folklore -- looking at him. He gives chase and ends up falling down a hole to a world where many things are the reverse of his society (written in the late 1920s). [Could be compared to Alice in Wonderland in many respects...] [Also reminds me of Gogol's Diary of a Madman] [Now going to read Murakami's book Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World which also features kappa creatures...]...

2007-12-27

 

• Current

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Type: children's

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Status: liked

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Authors: Carson Ellis Trenton Lee Stewart

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Tags: adventure twins orphans brains good_vs_evil

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Description: A mysterious newspaper ads is looking for gifted children and four (all without parents forA mysterious newspaper ads is looking for gifted children and four (all without parents for various reasons) apply -- and pass the series of unusual tests. Reynie Muldoon who is bright and good at figuring out puzzles, Sticky (George) Washington who has a photographic memory, Kate Wetherall whose strength and resourcefulness remind me of Pippi Longstocking, and Constance Contraire who is small and incredibly stubborn. They agree to help Mr. Benedict who is trying to find out how children are being used to transmit messages into the minds of the public as part of the ongoing Emergency which is crippling the country. The four children volunteer to go undercover and pretend to be fodder for the secret communication project, led by a mysterious Mr. Curtain, who ends up being... the evil twin of Mr. Benedict! It's cloak-and-dagger action as the children try to uncover the ultimate plan, all the while transmitting messages back to Mr. Benedict's group via Morse code. Mass brainwashing is the evil goal. And, of course, the children manage to foil the plot and find families for themselves in the final pages. Reminded me of The Demon Headmaster and, especially, of Robert C. O'Brien's The Silver Crown....

2007-12-27

 

• Current

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Type: documentary

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Status: neutral

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Author: James D. Watson

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Tags: science biology autobiography academia

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Description: James Watson's autobiography... re the politics of academia as much as the story of hisJames Watson's autobiography... re the politics of academia as much as the story of his attempts at a social life (finally married a young Radcliffe student when he was 40 odd) -- one can just imagine how socially awkward he was/is....

2007-12-27

  & 2 users

• Current

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Type: documentary

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Status: I recommend

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Authors: Chip Heath Dan Heath

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Tags: metaphors information cognitive_science storytelling

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Description: Following on from Gladwell's The Tipping Point, this book teaches and summaries (completeFollowing on from Gladwell's The Tipping Point, this book teaches and summaries (complete with "clinics" at the end of chapters and an "easy reference guide" of notes at the end of the book) what makes ideas sticky: SUCCESs = 1. Simple (find the core), 2. Unexpected (get attention), 3. Concrete (help people understand), 4. Credible (help people believe), 5. Emotional (make people care), and 6. Stories (get people to act)...

2007-12-27

 

• Current

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Type: documentary

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Status: I recommend

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Author: Howard Gardner

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Tags: teaching creativity cognitive_science brains

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Description: Gardner defines the five cognitive attributes necessary for the future -- the disciplinaryGardner defines the five cognitive attributes necessary for the future -- the disciplinary mind (i.e., mastery of major schools of thought), the synthesizing mind (ability to integrate ideas and communicate them), the creating mind, the respectful mind (appreciating differences among human beings), and the ethical mind (fulfillment of the duties of citizens and workers)....

2007-12-27

  & 5 users

• Current

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Type: fiction

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Status: I recommend

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Author: Richard Yates

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Tags: marriage suburbs 1960s dysfunctional_families

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Description: The early sixties... the suburbs... and how a couple dreams of escaping them, e.g., to Europe.The early sixties... the suburbs... and how a couple dreams of escaping them, e.g., to Europe. Dysfunctional families.... barely parenting... ends with a fatal home abortion... ...

2007-12-27