Happy Holidays!

Today is the last day of school before Christmas holidays begin, and I hope everyone has a fun and enjoyable vacation.

School (and the library) will start up again on Wednesday, January 3rd, 2007. See you then!

A wonder of the web: Science News for Kids

Want to find out how some animals survive in the desert? Go on a dinosaur dig? Read a recipe for hurricanes?

A website of the Science Service in the United States, Science News for Kids allows you to do all of that and more. It also has a GameZone, SciFairZone (for tips and examples of science fair projects), and archives to articles on a wide variety of scienctific topics. The site is kept very up-to-date and links to additional information are given when available.

One of my favourite articles? Earth's Lowly Rumble about the lowest sounds on earth.

News for you dinosaur fans out there

According to an article from Scientific American, the fossil of a young Plesiosaur has been found in Antarctica.

Plesiosaurs, for those of you who do not know (and I didn't until I looked it up in the library's copy of the Kingfisher Illustrated Dinosaur Encyclopedia), were sea reptiles that flourished in the Jurassic period. According to the Kingfisher encyclopedia, plesiosaurs had "four flipperlike fins, and they swam by beating these up and down like wings, instead of by waving their tails." According to the encyclopedia, fossils of the Plesiosaurus had only previously been found in Europe.

Read more about Plesiosaurs at Enchanted Learning.

Ms. Bartlett's Picks of the Week - Dec. 4-8

Millicent and the Wind by Robert Munsch

Millicent lives in the mountains with her mother and it is a three-day walk to the nearest town - and the nearest people. Who will be Millicent's friend up in the hills?

This is one of my favourite Robert Munsch books, and I used to wish that my name was Millicent too.

Robert Munsch's website.



The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

Despereaux is a mouse in love with music, stories, and a human princess, and this situation is not without its problems. His family is shocked to learn that he spoke to the princess - and mice are not supposed to speak to any humans - and he gets sent to the dungeon. What will happen there? Will he ever see the princess again?

This book is the 2004 Newbery Medal winner and a charming tale of destiny and perserverence.

Read a review.