Mr. Crepsley, Madam Octa, and ME at Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights!

Hey gang! I’m back from vacation and back with you. Last week, Hart County was on Fall Break and I took the opportunity to visit Orlando, FL so that I could experience the most spooktacular event that I know of in the world! Universal’s annual Halloween Horror Nights is a super-scary experience that no horror fan should miss. Well, horror fans who are willing to have the living daylights scared out of them, anyway! 

I’ll have to say one of the highlights of my trip was finding out that HHN had constructed a Cirque du Freak scarezone in addition to all the cool haunted houses. Honestly, I’ve been scared to post this because I’m afraid Mrs. Martin may never forgive me for going! I’m a big fan of Mr. Shan, but she is a MAJOR fan! As you can see in the picture above, I got to meet their Mr. Crepsley and Madam Octa which was REALLY awesome for me! Madam Octa was really moving in that box! My sister and I also got chased by some random vampires, spooked by a creepy announcer and got some pictures of Mr. Tall, Evra the Snake Boy, Rhamus TwoBellies, and Madame Truska! Overall, VERY nifty! I always enjoy seeing books brought to life when it’s done right.

As a little bonus, you can click HERE and go to the Apple site where you can watch a behind-the-scenes featurette that I think you’ll enjoy! There is some COOL stuff in there! If that isn’t enough, you can always go back to my previous post about this movie to watch the movie trailer again.

Last year, LeGrande had the honor of welcoming author Leigh Anne Florence and her wonderful weenie dogs for an author visit. The pups were SO cute and we had a lovely day talking about reading and writing! I was really inspired to try providing a yearly opportunity for YOU (my students) to get to meet real-life authors.

I’ve got a SCARY GOOD surprise for you!

On October 14th, LeGrande will welcome Johnathon Rand for the afternoon! He is the author of the popular American Chillers book series and I think that this is going to be one incredible program.

If you’re not already a fan and you love a good scary story, then you really need to read some of his books. Besides, I think it’s always much cooler to meet an author after you’re at least mildly familiar with their work. I’ve met quite a few authors over the years and I always have a better experience when I can talk to them about what they’ve written AFTER I have actually read it myself.

To give you some inspiration, I created the following video. Take a look!

So, what do you think? Are you excited?

I found the link to the video below in my Inbox on this morning and I was so psyched about it that I thought I’d make it the subject of my first post of the 09-10 school year!

I understand that you can’t access it at school, but you CAN watch it at home (and you know I’ll show it in Library class)! This film is apparently based on the first three books of the Cirque du Freak series by Darren Shan. Apparently some Hollywood big-shot thought that the title of the first book wasn’t catchy or easily pronounceable enough so, it has been officially re-titled, The Vampire’s Assistant (which happens to be the title of the second book in the series).

You can visit the official website for the movie HERE or you can cruise by Darren Shan’s website and check out ever more cool stuff.

I think this is a great way to start the year!

Cirque fans, let me know what you’re thinking about this!

To learn how to use this nifty tool myself, I decided to create a video that would perhaps give you some ideas for what to read AFTER Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight or its sequels. I know that quite a few of you really enjoyed that book and there’s no reason to stop reading just because you finished that one!

SO, check out my video and let me know which ones of these look the coolest! Or if YOU have read some of these books, then share with other readers which ones they should go for FIRST!

I’m Mrs, Northcutt, and I approved this message…   

Next Friday, an animated movie based on Neil Gaiman’s Coraline will hit theaters. I read it back when it was published (2003-04ish) because I had enjoyed his work for adults and was curious to see whether his delightfully creepy style would translate well for a younger audience. I was not disappointed!

This is the story of a young girl’s scary adventure within the confines of her own home and I think that those of you who are into either of the afore-mentioned genres would do well to check this one out sometime. Well, you should really read the book (or the graphic novel version!) and THEN see the movie if you’re asking for my advice. 

Check out the movie trailer HERE!

Also, you might want to check out the YouTube channel (if you’re not at school) dedicated to the film which features tons of clips or a really cool article from Wired magazine that goes through what it takes to create an intricate stop-motion animation project such as this. Coraline was directed by Henry Selick, who also directed The Nightmare Before Christmas. You know that’s a cool movie and this looks like it will be too!

Last, but certainly not least, you should also check out Neil Gaiman’s official site created for his work geared toward youngsters (and those who love them). Come on! It’s called Mouse Circus! Doesn’t that make you want to look? At least a little?

Oh and did I mention that Neil Gaiman just won the Newbery Medal for his newest work that I am DYING to read, The Graveyard Book? Well, you can learn all about that one, as well, at his marvelous Mouse Circus site, as well. I will not be surprised if it is not in my possession by the end of the weekend.

So, what do you think? Are you interested in seeing this movie or reading this book?

Book Bytes is back from our summer hiatus!

I’ve been reading lots of interesting titles over the last few months, but the BIGGIE was a certain something that had teenage (and slightly older) girls out past their normal bedtimes. I’m talking nationwide midnight release parties that had nothing to do with a boy wizard!

I was out there with the super-fans at Lexington’s Joseph-Beth Booksellers late in the night on August 1st to get my hands on Stephenie Meyer’s finale to the Twilight saga, Breaking Dawn.

I’m glad it was released on a Friday! I buckled down and by Monday morning I had read the entire book. Though I’m terribly sad to see this narrative come to a close, I can honestly say that I enjoyed this book thoroughly. I was surprised at times with what we got to find out about the characters and I thought Meyer did a great job with pacing the story so that I hardly ever wanted to put the book down. I know that I fell asleep face-first in its pages at least twice because I was trying to find out what would happen next!

So, dear readers, what have YOU been devouring while Book Bytes was on vacation?

If you’re a Twilight fan too, let me know what you thought of Meyer’s latest.

If you read something else cool, tell us all about that, too!

Let the commenting begin!

Our protagonist Christopher has a problem. (don’t most of them, though?) In addition to all the changes that adolescents experience during puberty, he realizes that he is slowly (but surely) becoming a vampire. Talk about a sucky problem! In the world of this book, vampires are very much real and are commonly dispatched of during public executions. Vampires are such a tangible threat that the people of Christopher’s town perform an annual ritual to make sure that a particularly dangerous vampire lord does not return to wreak havoc. After beginning to experience symptoms of his imminent change, Christopher is approached by a being named Chet who claims to be part of the “Forces of Light” and supposedly possesses the ability to cure his “condition”. All Christopher has to do to get better is foil the local vampires’ plan to release the evil Tch’muchgar out into the world by wrecking the ritual. Simple? Not so much. 

I don’t want to give too much away, but the ending of this book is something that you’ll be talking about to anyone who will listen. The character of Christopher is extremely well-written and you truly are on his side through his tumultuous adventure. As with any of Anderson’s books, the dark humor that comes through in his dialogue and general writing style is something that I highly enjoy.

Whether you’re a vampire fan or not, this story of internal struggle about making the right choice when no choice seems like a good one will keep you turning those pages until the end and get you talking about this book when you’re finished.

I’d recommend this book for grades 7+. 

I’ve been talking about genre all week with my library classes and I thought today would be a good day to maybe share some of my same thoughts here…

Genre is a fancy word for “type” that we use in reference to literature. My favorite genre happens to be Horror Fiction. I also am a HUGE fan of Horror films, so I guess you could assume that I just like to be scared! Well, that’s true in a way. I love that I can get a rush of adrenaline in a safe way by watching a movie or reading a book that really gets my blood pumping!

My students and I have been talking about the kinds of things one could expect – the conventions, in other words – from a book classified as Horror. At the most basic level, we overwhelmingly agreed that in order for something to be classified as Horror that it has to be SCARY! (Duh!) Different things scare different people, of course, and so the scariness of particular books depends on the sensitivity of particular readers. Horror always involves a monster of some sort - whether that monster is something supernatural, a savage animal or just the guy next door gone bad. Sometimes the monster can even be the main character! Horror doesn’t have to be gory (although sometimes it is) and sometimes a story with no blood whatsoever can creep you out more than one with tons of it.  

So, no matter what your age, you can find something in your local library or bookstore to send chills down your spine. I have everything in my school collection from spooky picture books like I’m Not Afraid of This Haunted House by Laurie Friedman, to story collections for everyone like Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series, to YA novels like M.T. Anderson’s Thirsty (which I may have to review tomorrow). My personal collection at home is a bit Stephen King-heavy, I’ll admit, but I’m also a fan of Clive Barker, Ann Rice, the always-popular Edgar Allen Poe, and the sometimes-fits the genre-and-sometimes doesn’t work of Chuck Palahniuk. I’m sure that I’m leaving out others, because the house is busting with books.

Until tomorrow, boys and ghouls…

Mrs. N.

When the Monroe family brings home a strange new rabbit from a showing of Dracula, the family dog and cat become suspicious.  The humans are confused and the pets are worried when vegetables drained of all color are found in the kitchen. The humans can’t seem to figure out what is happening, but Chester the cat suspects that the family has adopted a vampire bunny and enlists the Harold the dog to help prove it before living creatures start turning up drained as well. 

Unlike some adaptations for the stage, this production stuck satisfyingly well to its source material while still providing some surprises. Bunnicula – whether we’re talking about the novel or the play – features characters that are funny and occasionally frightening who are wrapped in a mystery that’s so much fun that you’re almost sad to see it come to its inevitable conclusion. The actors in the production were all very effective and I think that my students really enjoyed their introduction to the drama content that they will be studying with me through the end of the year.

If you’re curious about more information on the play, Bunnicula, or the Stage One theater company, just click on the bunny poster above. 

In honor of the spook-tacular holiday season, this week I’ll be posting something horror-related every day. Horror is my very favorite literary genre and I’m MORE than happy to share some of my favorites!

Today I’m promoting the work of Darren Shan. He’s an Irish author with a WICKED imagination! His 12-book series, Cirque Du Freak, follows the adventures of the conveniently named character Darren Shan as he manuvers through a terrifying world of vampires, monsters and other generally creepy creatures. Shan’s other series, The Demonata, focuses on a collection of characters featuring demons and werewolves and the ongoing battle between good and evil. The pages of the books in this two series are practically dripping with the red stuff and these books are certainly not for the faint of heart! Both series are extremely fast-paced and action-packed with plenty of scares and gross-outs for the horrifically inclined. Can you tell that I love this guy and his work?

I recommend the Cirque Du Freak books for grades 5+ and the Demonata books for grades 7+.

I know so many of my students, former students and student-types at other schools who love, love, love Mr. Shan and his work and I think the best thing I can do at this point is to turn this post over to you all, the readers.

SO, leave a comment and tell the world what YOU think about Darren Shan and his scary-good books and don’t forget to check out his website at http://darrenshan.com for all kinds of spooky stuff to curdle your blood!

Mrs. N.