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Welcome to the Library Media Center    Ms. Thompson's avatar Teen Programs and manga club at the Esperanza Acosta Moreno branch. Click here for the library.  Ms. Thompson, shelving books!
 
Ms. Thompson at the Book Fair entrance 2007 and 2008. Rock On! Follow my blog and read reviews of new YA books at "Young Adult Books: What We're Reading Now" Meet your librarian: Hi, I'm Pamela Thompson, Library Media Specialist. I am so happy to meet all the new students and returning students. Please stop by and see me. Growing up, I was a "military brat" and traveled to Germany, Okinawa, and many U.S. states with my family. I spent my college years at UTEP and received a B.S. in education and taught middle school and high school English for 18 years. Then I went to the University of North Texas and earned my Masters in library science. This will be my 6th year as a librarian and my fourth year here at Ensor Middle School. I love to read (after all, I am a librarian) and I often read several books at a time. I enjoy spy/espionage, thrillers, police and detective novels, true crime novels, sci-fi, fantasy, and almost anything. My favorite teen reads are: Speak, Twilight, Go Ask Alice, Sea of Monsters, Skeleton Key, and Peeps. In adult fiction, I loved Gone With the Wind, To Kill a Mockingbird and anything by author James Lee Burke--he writes about crime in New Orleans and New Iberia Parish in Louisiana. I have one daughter who is a sophomore in high school this year. She loves to dance and sing (loudly, sometimes). Her name is Shelby, and she really loved the book Twilight. In fact, she has read all four books by Stephenie Meyer and attended the midnight preview party for Breaking Dawn at Barnes and Noble. I am married to a retired military man who spent 22 years in the army. His name is Larry, and he enjoys reading, working outside, and building stuff. He built a gazebo in our backyard, and loves to build fountains. We currently have four fountains in our backyard. He plans to build a small fish pond and waterfall soon. I enjoy time off (who doesn't), swimming, reading (of course), being lazy, cooking and entering cooking contests, entertaining friends, traveling to Las Vegas and Florida, and watching the Food Network and HGTV. I also enjoy watching the t.v. shows "Breaking Bad," "Survivor," "Big Brother," "Project Runway," and shows about vampires (not the scary kind, the helpful, soulful kind like Moonlight). I hope to meet all of you soon. And remember, keep reading... Awards and Grants: Humanities Texas Grant, 2006--$1500.00 Award for Flood Victims: Ms. Thompson awarded the Texas Humanities grant for John Ensor Library Texas Library Association and National Association of School Librarians: 2007: Stipend $1500.00 awarded to Ms. Thompson to attend the National Convention of School Librarians, Reno, NV, October 2007 Nova magazine, UTEP alumni magazine, reports Ms. Thompson's scholarship from the National Association of School Librarians, April 2008. Ms. Thompson is currently representing all middle school librarians on the Socorro district's LIT (Library Instructional Team) 2008-2009 Picturing America Grant 2009-2010 from the American Library Association and the National Endowment for Humanities awarded to Col. John O. Ensor Library for promotion of humanities in the classrooms. My Review of "Shiver" published on www.abookandahug.com to read it, click here Baltimore Public Library blog Enter our wiki page
Watch our Wild About Books animoto video Most Frequently checked out 2009  Exciting news! the new FLIP cameras are in. Teachers can check a camera out for class projects--go to flip for a cool preview!
************************ Book Review: "The Forest of Hands and Teeth" click here for related media click here to read an excerpt of the book from Amazon.com Amazon Exclusive: Scott Westerfeld Reviews The Forest of Hands and Teeth (from www.amazon.com)
Scott Westerfeld is the author of three sets of books for young adults, including the Uglies series, the Midnighters series, and a series of stand-alone novels set in contemporary New York, including So Yesterday, Peeps, and The Last Days. Both Uglies and Peeps were named Best Books for Young Adults by the American Library Association in 2006. Read his exclusive Amazon guest review of The Forest of Hands and Teeth:
Teenagers love a good apocalypse. Who doesn't? All those annoying rules suspended. Society's pretenses made irrelevant. Malls to be looted. School out forever. But in The Forest and Hands and Teeth, Carrie Ryan's marvelous debut novel, the post-apocalypse is defined more by constraints than freedoms. The book begins seven generations after the Return, an undead plague that has ended civilization as we know it. Of course, a zombie outbreak usually means shotguns and mall looting--the very essence of freedom. But more than a century on from the Return, the malls have already been looted, and shotguns are a distant memory. The novel's heroine, Mary, lives in a village surrounded by one last vestige of industrial technology: a chain-link fence, beyond which is a vast forest full of shambling, eternally ravenous undead--the forest of hands and teeth. No villager ever goes outside this fence, unless they want to die. (And given this bleak scenario, some do.) Mary's world is bounded not only by the fence but by the archaic traditions of her people, which are enforced by a religious order called the Sisterhood. Marriages, childbirth, death, every stage of life must be controlled to sustain the village's precarious existence. Even the houses are circumscribed--literally--with passages of scripture carved into every entrance to remind the inhabitants of the rules that sustain human life amid the horrors of the forest. After so long an isolation, the village is beginning to forget. Some doubt that there really was a time before the Return, with giant cities and wondrous technologies. Others believe that nothing at all exists beyond the forest of hands and teeth. And nobody but Mary and her slightly mad mother believes in something called "the ocean," a huge and unbounded space beyond the reach of the undead. Mary is the sort of teenager who dreams of bigger things. Not just the ocean, but epic romance and adventure beyond the fence, maybe even other villages somewhere out there, safe behind their own fences. She believes that answers can be found to questions like, What made the Return happen? And what was it like before? Escaping the confines of home for the greater world is, of course, one of the great themes of teen literature. But few heroes in any genre have faced an obstacle as daunting as the forest of hands and teeth. Though Ryan's writing is as lyrical as her title, this novel is driven by the same grim relentlessness that animates any good zombie film. Elegant prose and undead hordes combine to create a story where high drama feels completely unforced, where tension is constant, and where an image as simple as the open sea is achingly romantic. Zombies have been metaphors for many things: consumerism, contagion in an overpopulated world, the inevitability of death. But here they resonate with a particularly teenage realization about the world--that social limits and backward traditions are numberless and unstoppable, no matter how shambling they may seem at first. And yet we must try to escape them anyway, lest we wither inside the fence.--Scott Westerfeld Ms. Thompson says, " The Forest of Hands and Teeth" is a cross between "I Am Legend" and the book "Twilight"--many students who liked "Twilight" have said that "The Forest of Hands and Teeth" is better! Read it today!" Amazon Exclusive: A Q&A with Carrie Ryan ******************************************
New in the library: Watch a video booktalk of (click on the book title) The Hunger Games a novel by Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire, book two by Suzanne Collins click here Watch the book trailer for Catching Fire
WE have 5 copies of Catching Fire  *************
Check out this book in the library!
New Books in the Library as of January:
Shiver
--part "Twilight," part "Beauty and the Beast," this book will make you
Shiver ... read an excerpt from Shiver, click here read Ms. Thompson's review for Shiver, click here *****************************
The Devouring, book one--"A must-read for horror fans--part Stephen King, part R.L. Stine."--School Library Journal Soulstice, book two --"A scary yarn spun at breakneck speed, perfect for those winter nights."--Kirkus
Evermore--a great read. visit the author's website
Dragon Knights (manga series)- fantastic! The Compound--terrifying
The Forest of Hands and Teeth--gruesome, yet great!
Diary of a Wimpy Kid-Part 4- in the library November 17!
Tomorrow, When the War Began --teenagers in Austrailia fight to save their homes against an invasion of an enemy army! "fast-paced, thrilling adventure!" Books 1-7 in the library NOW
The Last Olympian (part 5 of the Perseus Jackson series) by Rick Riordan --Go to the author' s website ************************** Fashion Alert for Fall: Retrofit is the word designers are using... look for metallic shoes high impact "statement" jewelry accessories with hardware--think bold studs, buckles and zippers on handbags and shoes RED --look for the power color on jackets and handbags leggings with zippers, studs, or leather cuffs motorcycle jackets cozy knits--sweaters--long tunics or chunky knits (source: OrlandoSentinel.com/fashionfocus) ********************************* Resources for teachers: For teachers-- use this link to access DKC Compton's training ***************  Turn the pages of a good book...you never know what you'll find...
****************** For entrance into DKC and Encyclopedia Britannica click research help 
Cinderella's castle- Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida 
Ms. Licon at the Reading Rainforest entrance.
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Hold My Book If you want the library to hold a book for you, simply fill in the form, save it to your desktop, email it as an attachment to pthomp@sisd.net click on hold my book.doc for the form Hold My Book Form.doc Lifelong learning and reading fun  ********************************************* |  Cowboys News Coach Wade Phillips will be back one more year. The Cowboys ended their season with a loss to the Vikings. Superbowl in Miami: Indy vs. New Orleans February 7! |
Big News! A great new read--Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater will be the next great teen love story. Move over Edward and Bella, make room for Grace and Sam! Grace is fascinated by a pack of wolves that live in the woods which border her back yard. She watches on wolf in particular every winter. Her special wolf has yellow eyes and he seems to watch her each winter, too. Sam and Grace meet one summer when Sam is in his human form and fall in love. In a coming-of-age, girl meets boy/wolf love story, readers are sure to love the romance and root for Grace and Sam to solve their dilemma. How to stay together if one is human and the other a wolf? check it out today at the library. ******************** El Paso Public Library News Play Guitar Hero. All teens welcome. Come out January 14 from 5-7 and play with your friends. Esperanza Acosta Moreno branch library on Pebble Hills. ************************* More New Books! Diary of a Wimpy Kid, 4 The Chronicles of Vladimer Tod Diamonds in the Shadow Bone : the Dragonslayer The Battle of the Red Hot Pepper Weenies Pride and Prejudice and Zombies The Tomorrow Code Mythopedia: A look-it-up Guide to the Gods of Mythology Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 4 available at the book fair! Click here to read an interview with the author of Wimpy Kid ************ Now at the video store: "UP" a wonderful tale from Pixar--good reviews, great entertainment for the entire family ************* "Where the Wild Things Are" movie trailer Now showing on dvd. "Let the wild rumpus start!" Beautifully executed film by director Spike Jonze. Not for children under nine years old.click here for the interview with Maurice Sendak ******************** Also showing: "Cloudy With a Slight Chance of Meatballs" click here for the trailer "Shorts" now on video --reviews say kids will love this movie click here for the trailer Movie Now showing : Blockbuster Debut of "New Moon" part two in the Twilight Saga opened to huge $$$ and millions of fans flocked to theaters. click here for the movie's official website ********************* Watch for Rick Riordan's "The Lightning Thief" in theaters Feb. 12th! Read the book at the library--we have many copies to loan! click here for movie preview "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" coming this spring. Watch the trailer here For books and book ideas: El Paso Public Library's Teen Hang-out Teen Hang-out El Paso Public Library For books and book reviews, search Amazon For ideas on what to read next, click here YALSA's Top Ten Teen Reads--check out this list to get ideas of books to read Check out Teen Reads for the latest in young adult books and which books are being made into movies, click here | Request books for the Library to Buy...If you want to read a book and the library doesn't have a copy, what do you do? NOW click on this link Ensor Library Media Center Book Request Form.doc Fill it in, select all, cut and paste it to a word doc., save in word, email the document as an attachment, and send it to pthomp@sisd.net 
********************* New in the Library New policies and procedures are in place: 1. To check out a book, you must show your student i.d. card. If you have lost yours, you must get it replaced. See the Student Center. 2. A student may check out two items at a time with a student picture i.d. card. Lunch cards are not accepted. Parents may check out two items at a time with a valid state driver's license. 3. If you owe late fees, you must pay them before you may check out another item. 4. If you have lost a book, please make arrangements to pay for it. You will not be able to check out another book until your account is clear. We would like students to be more responsible with Library materials. Please take care of all items that you borrow. We appreciate your support. See you at the Library! ********************** You can play board games in the Library Media Center before school and at lunch. We have Connect 4, Scrabble, checkers, chess, Monopoly, Sorry, Trouble, Last Word, Uno and Mancala. Ask for a game next time you visit.  pthomp@sisd.net | Teen People in the News  Grammy Awards: Jan. 31, 2010
Record of the Year: "Use Somebody" -Kings of Leon Album of the Year: Taylor Swift "Fearless" Song of the Year: Beyonce "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" Pop Vocal Album: Black Eyed Peas "The E.N.D." New Artist: Zac Brown Band Female Pop Vocal Performance: Beyonce "Halo" Rock Album: Green Day "21st Century Breakdown" Country Album: Taylor Swift "Fearless" Golden Globe Awards: January 16, 2010 Robert Downey Jr. actor/ drama for "Sherlock Holmes" Meryl Streep for actress/ comedy "Julie and Julia" Sandra Bullock for actress/ drama "The Blind Side" Best Picture: drama: "Avatar" Best Picture: musical or comedy: "The Hangover" Best Animated Film: "Up" "Glee" tv series: comedy or musical People's Choice Awards January 6, 2010-- Favorite Movie Star of the Decade: Johnny Depp Favorite break-out star: Miley Cyrus Taylor Lautner Favorite Movie: "Twilight" Favorite comedy star: Sandra Bullock Producers Guild Of America Awards nominated "Avatar," "District 9," and "Star Trek" for best picture. "Up" is also nominated. Last year, nominees by the PGA also earned the most coveted of film awards: the Oscar for best picture. Taylor Swift is chosen top female artist of the year by Billboard Magazine. Country Music Awards: Taylor Swift is Entertainer of the Year Teen Choice Awards Teen Hotties: Robert Pattinson and Megan Fox Actress: Music/Dance Movie: Miley Cyrus in "Hannah Montana, the Movie" Music/Single: Miley Cyrus "The Climb" Teen Pick: Britney Spears for a list of all winners, click here Grammy Awards: Best new artist: Adele Best pop vocal album : Duffy Best female country perfomance: Carrie Underwood Best Metal Performance: Metallica for more information on this year's winners, click here ************************************ "New Moon" movie opens up world-wide and breaks all box office records. Which are you? Team Jacob or Team Edward? American singer Katy Perry and British comedian Russell Brand are now engaged. Jonas brothers guitarist weds girlfriend in fairy tale wedding with thousands of flowers and toasts from both brothers. Top Names for children 2009: Barack for boys, Miley for girls For more on Miley Cyrus, go to www.mileycyrus.com *************
| Book Review
This book reviewed by a student: Genesis Alpha: A Thriller 
Courtesy of Teens Read Too, May 11, 2007
There's a quote on the front of GENESIS ALPHA from author Kenneth Oppel: "Dark, dangerous, and utterly riveting." I couldn't agree more. The words "a thriller" are what convinced me to pick up the book; the fact that I was so deeply engrossed in the story and superb writing were what kept me reading for the next few hours as I devoured it in one sitting.
Josh is a typical teen who isn't actually, well, typical. Although he's like any number of teen boys in that the better part of his day is spent playing an online computer game named Genesis Alpha, and that he aspires to grow up to be just like his older brother, Max, and even has a pretty normal home life, there's one thing that sets him apart from everyone else - Josh is a "designer baby."
Specifically created in the hopes of saving his brother from a deadly form of cancer, Josh was once a small group of cells that were chosen because of their genetic makeup. When he was born, the healing cells from his umbilical cord were transplanted into his brother, and Max eventually became cancer-free. So the bond between these two brothers is stronger than most.
Except now Josh's world is falling apart. Where he once thought everything about his life was, if not routine than at least normal, now he's discovering that things are never really what they seem. Max has been accused of a horrible crime - murdering a college girl. His father, a psychologist, and his mother, a biologist, are just as shocked as Josh is when they learn the charges against their oldest child. After all of the years of watching Max fight for life, and the tears and turmoil of waiting to see if Josh would be his cure, now he's sitting in jail, facing murder charges? The entire family is in shock.
Josh, though, more than any of them, is finding out things that he wishes he had never known. There's a strange girl hiding out in the cat shed behind their house, and the story she has to tell him is one he at first rejects outright, and later has no choice but to take as fact. And it all revolves around Genesis Alpha, the game that both Josh and Max devoted so much time to. How is it that something that brought Josh so much joy could be the very thing that will show him the horrors of the world - and the deceitful double life of his brother?
Rune Michaels has written a chillingly good thriller with GENESIS ALPHA. With action that never stops, a storyline that is all too believable, and flawless writing, she has managed to write a story that will captivate you from the first page. With Josh and Max, she has created a bond that was created by science and will be tested with pure human compulsion - and the existence of evil. This is a great read for anyone who loves a good thriller. I personally can't wait to read more stories in this vein from the very talented Ms. Michaels.
Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius" See more reviews at amazon.com Read Ms. Thompson's review: Genesis Alpha Science, medicine, ethical questions, and the age-old struggle of good vs. evil collide in the debut novel by Rune Michaels. Josh worships his older brother Max. He emulates his clothing, his taste in music, reading, and their favorite on-line role-playing game, Genesis Alpha. When Max is accused of murder, Josh knows the police are wrong. As the evidence mounts, Josh uncovers a secret that will change everything. Josh was born so doctors could use his stem cells to save his older brother's life. Josh begins to question -if he was never born, then Max would have died and there would have been no murder. This page-turner will have readers engrossed and captivated. A quick read at 208 pages, this is a must read for all teens. You will have trouble putting this book down! Genesis Alpha is a great read for a teen book club or a reading class, as discussions over medicine and ethics are sure to provoke teens to think about issues of what is right and wrong and what happens if medicine goes too far. (published on LM_NET listserv)
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Book Review-The Hunger Games 
| |  Hungry for the next book!!, October 7, 2008
The story itself is scary...to think that such a concept could be born and carried out is unsettling, but, unfortuantely believable. I'm not a person who likes blood and gore and this book is sometimes violent and gory, however, not to the point that I was too grossed out to read on. The romance added just enough additional struggle to keep me addicted.
I would classify The Hunger Games writing as excellent. As you read you can easily visualize the characters and what's taking place. I am sooooo looking forward to the second book. |
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Webpage by Pamela Thompson Questions or comments? 
pthomp@sisd.net Library Media Specialist Image from www.clipart.com Animations from www.animation-station.com/ Last Update 2/01/10
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