Pixar Rankings Revealed

The Wait is Over

See the gallery below for the final, authoritative Pixar Rankings List. Ok, ok, maybe not so final or authoritative. But I had fun collecting responses anyway. Thanks for humoring me. I've learned a few things. For instance, my wife's opinions are more right than mine. Shocker! LOL.

My comments/reactions are embedded in the gallery. I'll keep the survey up for a week or two if someone new wants to add their opinion to the mix. I might have to create an updated list.

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The Boy in the Striped Pajamas - Book Review

** I am currently taking a Young Adult literature course and I will be reading and reviewing several materials using a new format. This review follows a template given to me by my professor.**

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Publication Information

Name: Christopher Jimenez	Media Format: Audiobook
Title: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas	Genre: Historical Fiction
Author: John Boyne	Selection Source: Kirkus Review
Publisher: Random House Children's Books	Recommended Audience Age: 12-14
	Reading Recommendation: 4 out of 5
	Curriculum Connections: History, Ethics, Psychology

Review

Bruno is the nine-year-old son of a commandant in the German army during World War II. His father was assigned to Auschwitz after a visit from Adolf Hitler. In display of his naivete, Bruno calls the Fuhrer "The Fury" and the camp "Out With" despite being corrected numerous times.

While in his new home, Bruno sees people through his window in the distance. He describes these people as wearing striped pajamas. Before long, his curiosity gets the better of him, and he ventures out to the area. He ends up meeting a young boy named Shmuel, and they develop a relationship. After some time, Bruno agrees to slide under the fence to help Shmuel find his father. They meet a tragic ending.

Evaluation

This book is very controversial. One of the main gripes about the book centers around Bruno's naivete. I found myself wondering why a German boy would mispronounce Auschwitz with the English phrase "Out With." However, the point was to contrast Bruno's inexperience with Shmuel's experience of the Holocaust. While the fictional portion of the story is highly implausible, it is still a gripping tale that shows the horrors of the Holocaust coupled with German political coldness of the day.

The Map of Time - Book Review

** I am currently taking a Young Adult literature course and I will be reading and reviewing several materials using a new format. This review follows a template given to me by my professor.**

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Publication Information

Name: Christopher Jimenez	Media Format: Book
Title: The Map of Time	Genre: Science-Fiction
Author: Felix Palma	Selection Source: VOYA Perfect Tens 2011
Publisher: Atria/Simon & Schuster	Recommended Audience Age: 16+
	Reading Recommendation: 4 out of 5
	Curriculum Connections: Science, History

Review

This novel is comprised of three shorter tales strung loosely together by the theme of time travel. It begins with the story of a man who wishes to go back in time to prevent an untimely death, continues with the story of forbidden love and concludes with a tale of extortion. In each of these episodes, H.G. Wells plays a prominent role in facilitating time travel in one way or another.

Evaluation

This novel explores potential uses and abuses of scientific discovery, time-travel in particular. H. G. Wells is placed in position to use science and imagination to save lives while others abuse the advancements for personal gain. This raises ethical questions that come with new innovations. In addition, the question of revising history comes up. If you were able to go back in time and prevent the wrongdoings of history, would you?

Mugged for my Lunch

A Little Gardening

This weekend's class meeting has been riveting. We've been talking about weeding collections. Can I get a woot for weeding? Can I get a woot for user complaints about throwing away useless materials?

I thought so. The drama is not really what happens in class--it's what happens outside of the classroom that counts.

For instance, I wrote my paper last week. It was pretty stressful, I must say. Further, I wasn't able to print out my assignment before leaving Miami at 9.30 PM. I arrived in Tampa at about 2.30 AM and could not, for the life of me, figure out how to print my paper out. So my lovely wife and I went on a scavenger hunt for a printing facility that might be open at 3 in the morning. We ended up traveling 20 minutes away to downtown so I could print my assignment. Ya. Do the math. I got to bed at 4 AM. Fun. Glamorous. Oh ya!

Welcome to the Jungle

Want more stories? How 'bout getting mugged by a punk squirrel with an attitude problem? I was sitting, minding my own business, when this squirrel barrels into my lunch bag and demands I hand over my peanut butter and wheat bread sandwich. You'll be happy to hear that I fought him off successfully.

Don't worry. I left a peace offering of sammich crust behind when I finished.

Muggles Afoot

Now my fellow future librarians are discussing the intricacies of Harry Potter. Important things like allegiances to Slitherin or Griffindor, whether Huffinclaw or Ravenpuff is cooler and how Hagrid's parents pro created (the consensus is that a spell had to be involved).

Future Library and Information Science graduate studies beware: the drama is HOT.