by Stone Marshall | Dec 26, 2014 | parent-news |
A third-grade teacher in Boston who won $150,000 in an online contest donated her entire winnings to her school.
Nicole “Nikki” Bollerman, 26, was honored this week by Boston Mayor Marty Walsh after she donated her grand prize of $150,000 from a Capital One #WishForOthers contest that also funded three books per student.
“I really made the wish for my students and I was blessed, lucky and thankful that Capital One gave me the opportunity,” Bollerman told ABC News today. “Since I made the wish for my students I thought I would do something to make their lives better rather than spend it on myself.”
Bollerman teaches general third-grade education at UP Academy Dorchester, a public charter school that’s a year old.
“My #wishforothers is that my voracious, adorable, hardworking, loving scholars all leave for their December break with a book in their hand,” wrote Bollerman in her winning entry, according to the school’s website.
Capital One’s video of the book unveiling has been viewed about 900,000 times.
Bollerman said she has been working with school administration to make sure the gift will “improve the lives of the students,” including better computer access and coding lessons for the children, though the school has not made any commitments yet.
Capital One provided three books of Bollerman’s choice to her students:
1. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul,” the latest book in the popular children’s series. “Those kids just eat up those Wimpy Kid books,” Bollerman said.
2. “My Father’s Dragon,” a 1948 novel by Ruth Stiles Gannett, “one of my favorite chapter books growing up,” Bollerman said.
3. “Where the Wild Things Are,” by Maurice Sendak, who grew up in Bollerman’s town. “I wanted the kids to have a picture book to share with their younger brothers and sisters,” she said.
Because Bollerman wanted all the third-graders to have books to read over December break, she and her mother bought each child not in her class a book as well.
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by Stone Marshall | Dec 26, 2014 | parent-news |
Every year is a good year for books, and 2014 was no exception.
This week’s reviews include books that may lead to laughter, suspense or tears, as the stories lead readers on big and small adventures.
“Rain Reign” by Ann M. Martin, 2014, Feiwel & Friends, 226 pages, ages 9 and older.
Words have an important meaning to Rose Howard, especially homonyms, or words that sound alike but are spelled differently. Rose keeps a running list of homonyms, both mentally and on paper, which is one way she strives for order and control over her life. But order is difficult to find amidst life with her father. When a hurricane hits the town, the chaos impacts property, people and pets, including Rose’s dog Rain. Rose and her father try to come to terms with loss in many forms, but each needs order of a different sort.
“Skink No Surrender” by Carl Hiaasen, 2014, Knopf Books for Young Readers, 281 pages, ages 10 and older.
Adventure, a bit of mystery and a hungry alligator are at the center of this novel for middle-grade readers. Richard feels a sense of urgency to find his cousin Malley after she runs off with a strange guy she met online. Bypassing the police’s efforts, Skink, a one-eyed derelict ex-governor of Florida and Richard’s new friend, offers to aid in the search. Their quest takes the two into a swamp, along a river and through various towns of the Florida gulf coast, as Skink become an unlikely hero. Readers may recognize Hiassen’s other titles for younger readers, “Hoot,” “Chomp,” and “Scat.”
“The Map Trap” by Andrew Clements, 2014, Atheneum, 130 pages, ages 8-11.
Alton is a sixth grader who loves to make maps. Sometimes he gets creative with his maps, but he keeps these a secret … until one day his map folder goes missing. His reputation around the school could be at risk if the maps are found by certain people. Can Alton find the map thief before it’s too late? Andrew Clements, best known for the book “Frindle,” has sold over 10 million copies of his books. His school stories are funny, intriguing and usually have a surprise ending — a combination sure to please.
“A Snicker of Magic” by Natalie Lloyd, 2014, Scholastic Press, 311 pages, ages 9-12.
A snicker of magic is just a small amount of left over magic, and for Felicity Pickle and her family, this may be just enough magic to break the curse on their family that dates back many years. Felicity will have to use her special talent to find just the right words to convince her mother that life will be “spindiddly” (better than awesome) if only they stay put for a while and work things out.
This enchanting tale will be a word-lover’s dream, extending the vocabulary of a wide range of readers.
“Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul” by Jeff Kinney, 2014, Amulet Books, 217 pages, ages 8-11.
In the zany style of the Wimpy Kid series, Greg Heffley’s family sets off on a family vacation that becomes unequal parts adventure and disaster. It’s safe to say that Greg, and his brothers Rodrick and Manny, won’t soon forget the biting pig, the pestering seagull and the crazy Beardsleys. Readers will be glued to their seat to find out how the family survives all of the fun of a family vacation.
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by Stone Marshall | Dec 25, 2014 | Awesome Book News |
After many years since she finished publishing the “Harry Potter” series, renowned author J. K. Rowling admits there was one minor character she regretted killing off before he even got to play a bigger role.
As her way of still connecting with the many “Harry Potter” fans all over the world, Rowling set up a publishing website named Pottermore. And for this Christmas season, she hosted a special event, wherein she will be uploading 12 Potter-related surprises on the site between the dates Dec. 12-23, 2014.
One of the Potter news Rowling revealed on the site was her initial plan of using “Prisoner of Azkaban” minor character Florean Fortescue as a crucial informative character in “Deathly Hallows.” The author regretted killing him off, saying that Fortescue was kidnapped and killed by the Death Eaters for no mentioned reason, thus giving him a rather tragic ending.
For not-so-avid readers of the “Prisoner of Azkaban,” Fortescue owns an ice cream parlor located in Diagon Alley. After running away from his relatives’ home, Harry Potter stayed in the Leaky Cauldron. He often visited Fortescue, who would give him free ice cream and help him out with his History of Magic assignment.
“I originally planned Florean to be the conduit for clues that I needed to give Harry during his quest for the Hallows… The problem was that when I came to write the key parts of Deathly Hallows, I decided that Phineas Nigellus Black was a much more satisfactory means of conveying clues. Florean’s information on the diadem also felt redundant, as I could give the reader everything he or she needed by interviewing the Grey Lady,” stated Rowling, as published on Us Weekly.
To read the rest of the surprises in store for Pottermore’s Christmas special event from Dec. 12-23, 2014, interested fans must subscribe on Pottermore.com, where the surprises are placed as gifts at 1:00 p.m. GMT (8:00 a.m. EST). To open them, they simply have to solve a corresponding riddle.
Were you surprised of J. K. Rowling’s regrets of killing off Florean Fortescue? Or were you thinking of another character she’d save? Post your comments below.
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by Stone Marshall | Dec 25, 2014 | Awesome Book News |
Born and raised in Morocco, and currently teaching Creative Writing at the University of California Riverside, Laila Lalami is the author of The Moor’s Account, a work of historical fiction based on an early Spanish expedition to North America.
Why did you write your new book?
It was a book I wanted to read, but it hadn’t been written yet. Some years ago, I came across Cabeza de Vaca’s Chronicle of the Narváez Expedition, the first narrative of Spanish exploration of North America. The Narváez expedition was intended to claim Florida for the Spanish Crown, but it failed quickly and spectacularly. For the next eight years, the survivors trekked across the continent, reinventing themselves several times in order to survive. I was fascinated by their story of adventure and transformation, but I was hungry for things that Cabeza de Vaca’s narrative didn’t give me. I wanted to know what the survivors’ personal relationship with one another was like, how they interacted with indigenous people, what role the Moroccan slave Mustafa al-Zamori/Estebanico had played, and whether the survivors’ worldviews were changed by their experiences. I wrote The Moor’s Account because I wanted to explore those questions.
Whose sentences are your favourite, and why?
For precision and economy, V.S. Naipaul’s sentences. For depth and beauty, Toni Morrison’s.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
My friend Pankaj recommended daily one-hour naps. I’m certain it would be amazing for my physical well-being and mental health, but sadly I have never followed that advice. I seem to be rather the kind of person that people go to for advice. And I’ve often found that it’s unheeded as well!
Which historical period do you wish you’d lived through, and why?
I have no wish to live in another era, mostly because, as a woman, it would involve giving up too many rights. I wouldn’t mind living in the future, though maybe it’s optimistic to think that our species is going to have any future at all.
Would you rather be successful during your lifetime and then forgotten, or legendary after death?
The nice thing about being successful during your lifetime is that you would get to enjoy it with your family. And as for being forgotten, you would never know about it if it happens after death! But being remembered after one’s death, being read for many generations, that’s nice too. Since I’m fairly pessimistic about what the future holds, I suppose I’d have to choose success in my lifetime.
What agreed-upon classic do you despise?
D.H. Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers.
Which fictional character do you wish you’d created?
Scheherazade.
Which fictional character do you wish you were?
Hermione Granger.
What question do you wish people would ask about your work (that they don’t ask)?
As a matter of fact, I wish people would not ask me any questions about my work. In the process of reading a novel, each reader creates in his or her mind a unique interpretation of it. Why ruin that by adding the author’s commentary?
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by Stone Marshall | Dec 24, 2014 | Awesome Book News |
Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy in the “Harry Potter” films, has joined the ranks of Hollywood Hills West homeowners with the purchase of a contemporary house for $1.275 million.
The single-story home has an open floor plan, living room and master bedroom fireplaces, a den with built-ins, two bedrooms, two bathrooms and 1,732 square feet of living space. Walls of glass open to a covered patio, outdoor living room and a poolside deck.
The backyard of the 6,163-square-foot lot contains a swimming pool and a guesthouse/studio with a kitchen and bathroom.
Felton, 27, is in the crime series “Murder in the First” and will star in the World War II movie “Against the Sun,” due out in January. Besides the “Harry Potter” films and video games, he was in the 2011 movie “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.”
The property previously sold in 2010 for $760,000.
Joann Dresner of Keller Williams was the listing agent. Eli Karon of Tele Properties represented Felton.
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