Dear Librarian,

Yes!  Many writers also keep up a daily blog.  Here are a few of the best ones that I’ve found.

Laurie Halse Anderson
	Maureen Johnson
Scott Westerfeld
	E. Lockhart

Well, since this blog is under Edublogs, the theme cannot be edited.  Therefore the little feed icon cannot be added to a sidebar–since there isn’t a sidebar.  But, you can do one of two things to receive notification of new posts on the Dear Librarian:

First, you could look at your Internet tool bar up above.  You will probably see a little orange icon with a white radio wave like image inside.  Click on that, and you can add this blog to your feeds.  It looks like this:

Or second, you can go to your feed reader and copy this url address when you click on “add a feed” while on your reader.  Add this url: http://dearlibrarian.edublogs.org/

By doing either of those two things, you will receive notification when a Dear Librarian post has been added.  Feed away!

Solving jigsaw puzzles is quite fun!  And, it seems to be true: once you start, you can’t stop.  Well, that’s ok; keep solving because working on jigsaw puzzles does have some benefits.  For example, when solving a puzzle you increase these skills: reasoning, deducing, analyzing, sequencing, and developing logical thought and problem solving skills. What’s more important though is the fun.  Solving a jigsaw puzzle especially with friends is fun.  If you’re solo though without a physical puzzle here are some great online versions: JigZone.com,  National Geographic Puzzles, or Crea Soft.  They all include an easy, average, and hard version.  I solved this soccer ball puzzle in 10 minutes and 24 seconds.  How fast can you? 

According to MSN Encarta here are the top ten spring break vacation spots  for US based college students:

#10.  The Bahamas

#9.  Rosarito Beach, Ensenada, Mexico

#8.  Key West, Florida

#7.  Daytona Beach, Florida

#6.  Mazatlan, Mexico

#5.  Jamaica

#4.  Lake Havasu, Arizona

#3.  South Padre Island, Gufl of Mexico, Texas

#2.  Cancun, Mexico

and #1.  Panama City, Florida

Holi is an ancient Hindu festival celebrated around the world, yet it primarily occurs in India.  It is celebrated at the beginning of spring when the weather changes.  Often times with the change in weather, many people catch a cold or flu bug.  Because of the medicinal properties of many ayurvedic medicines, these colorful herbal remedies are splattered amongst celebrants.  The more historical rendition of Holi comes from the Vaishnava.  In Vaishnav theology there is a demon king named Hiranyakashipu.  This king wanted to kill his son, Prahlad, because Prahlad was a follower of Vishnu.  In Hiranyakashipu’s efforts to kill his son, Prahlad prayed to Lord Vishnu for protection.  Meanwhile, Holika—Prahlad’s sister—had a very protective shawl.  When Prahlad prayed to Vishnu the shawl protected Prahlad—but not Holika.  She burned to death.  The name of Holi is from Holika’s name, and because of her death, there is usually a bonfire that accompanies the celebration of Holi.  There’s a very informative and interactive site to visit during this Holi time: http://www.holifestival.org/From this site you can send Holi emails, find Holi recipes, or learn more about the Holi festival.  Happy Holi!

Yes!  Use Grammar Girl!  Grammar Girl is super smart and can answer many (even all) of your questions.  This site is composed of searchable grammar episodes.  So for example, right now Grammar Girl has been writing about verb tense.  The current question is, “Should you write your novel in present tense?”  Within her answer, Grammar Girl writes advice, but she also speaks it.  You can listen to her podcast.  Not only does she take written comments and questions, but she also has recorded podcasts with students (or even adults) with English grammar questions.  And even though, grammar might be considered nerdy, Grammar Girl is not–look at how cute she is! 

There’s an awesome homework organizer out there called Gradefix.  It’s super easy to sign up for, and it’s free.  What Gradefix does is create algorithms for your homework.  That means that Gradefix breaks down your homework into smaller tasks and creates a logical flow for you to get things done.  If you have trouble breaking your homework down into smaller steps, Gradefix is for you.  If you can’t figure out the amount of time you should be spending on your homework, Gradefix will help you.  If you’d just like to see your homework laid out in a simple and easy to follow chart, Gradefix will work for you.  Gradefix is a savy application designed to help organize students just like you.

This book, in the 25th Anniversary Edition, definitely looks interesting.  First, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy falls under two interesting genres: it’s both sci-fi and humor.  The plot is quite difficult to condense.  Basically, earth is about to be destroyed, but the main character, Arthur Dent, is saved before this happens by a strange friend named Ford Perfect.  What ensues is their crazy adventure through the galaxy.  According to a writer on Teen Ink, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy provides nonstop humor and entertainment for the mature (and sometimes immature) reader. Adams captivates readers with his zany writing style and keeps them coming back for more.”

What makes this edition so special, are the graphics, photos, and informational sidebars that accompany the actual novel.  It’s like visual and textual nonfiction mixed in with entertaining fiction which makes for a stunning book. 

Of course!  Follow this pathway to access the print and AV resources found in our ASB Library:

1.  Go to “Start;”

2.  Now go to “Programs;”

3.  Then go to “All Application;”

4.  Look for “Spectrum Patrons’ Catalog” and click it open.  (The logo is a little red, purple, blue, and yellow circle with a white 5 in the middle.)

5.  You are now in the catalog and can browse the library’s inventory by keyword, author, title, or subject.  You can also conduct an expanded search and use more terms.

6.  Once you’ve found your resource, you can find it on the shelves and check it out!

EOL is the new Encyclopedia of Life!  It’s gigantic!!  And it will keep on growing.  Basically, an easy comparision might be Wikipedia.  But, this encylopedia is all about life and its numerous species, and it is authenticated or endorsed by scientists; it is a trustworthy resource.  Not every species has been defined, so this encyclopedia seeks descriptions, pictures, even videos.  Already there is substantial information yet not nearly enough to cover all the species on Earth.  It’s easy and free to create an account with EOL.  And, when it comes to studying life science this is the newest resource to use.