The Accidental Reviewer-Presentation Border Regional Library Association

The Accidental Reviewer, aka me, YA librarian Pamela Thompson, presented at the Border Regional Library Association. Power Point is here. Feel free to use any content as long as you cite source and include a link to this blog. Thank you!

LEGO Wall at Middle School

Our ribbon cutting ceremony for our LEGO wall happened today. Carpenters installed our LEGO wall. Students donated unused, unwanted LEGO toys for our Let Go My LEGO drive and today they BUILD!

Check out the photo gallery from The El Paso Times --more photos here

                                                                     Day 1 of build

Our wall is 64 LEGO base plates mounted on plywood. Liquid Nails is the only way I would go. Create a "X" in the middle of each plate and then use steady stream of Liquid Nails around perimeter of each base plate. Liquid Nails also dries fast.

Inspired by LEGO walls around the country, I wanted a LEGO wall for my students.All four local television news stations, including the largest Spanish station interviewed students and taped footage. We were also covered by The El Paso Times. Our LEGO wall is the first in this district's libraries and the first in the region.

                                                Carpentry installs our LEGO wall; Thank you!                  

                                                                     Students Build!

Middle Grades Pick: The Littlest Bigfoot

The Littlest Bigfoot
by Jennifer Weiner
Aladdin
2016
ISBN: 9781481470742


Big-hearted, full of promise and whimsy,  and seriously entertaining, The Littlest Bigfoot is a sure winner for middle grade readers.

Alice Mayfair just does not fit in--anywhere! She's big for her age, well, she's enormous. Her hair is a tangled mop that she has no control over.  Every school Alice goes to, something goes wrong and she is asked to leave or worse, she herself wants to leave to avoid further confrontation. Her parents just don't know where to turn until Miss Merriweather finds her a new school: The Experimental Center of Love and Learning. Alice dutifully packs and take the trip to Standish Town.

The school is located the woods in upstate New York and run by a quirky hippie-ish,  yoga posing, granola eating, meditation practicing couple who probably study Mother Earth News magazine, grow their own pesticide-free food and live off of  the grid. Alice doesn't seem to mind the strange camp/school and settles in to her cabin and begins  helping the cook in the camp's kitchen.

Just across the lake lies a secret community of Bigfoots who are afraid of humans and fear discovery.Millie is the littlest bigfoot--so little, in  fact, that she doesn't resemble any of her tribe. Millie is charming, intelligent and curious--too curious for her own good.

Two worlds collide when the girls meet by chance, but each girl  brings something to their unique friendship. A boy from town is convinced he will find a Bigfoot. When he joins forces with another Bigfoot hunter, the Internet notices. What will happen if he digs too deep?

Jennifer Weiner takes this tale of sweet friendship to the next level. The message that we are all different comes across with a warning that sometimes differences are the reasons actions happen. The ending allows readers to guess what happens to Millie and Alice. Alice is left with many more questions than answers but sets the stage for book two.

The Yare (Bigfoot) dialect is charming. Children are known as "littlies" and snacks are "snackles." The Bigfoot tribe even has a source of income. They have their own Etsy store selling all natural remedies they  get/make from the forest

Highly, highly recommended grade 4-up.

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.