Friday, December 12, 2014

Tasty Constructions

Holiday Houses

Look out, Frank Lloyd Wright, our architects were in the house, constructing tasty buildings in a 30-Minute-to-Win-It contest.

Bring it on



Hmmmm...This is Harder Than it Looks



Teamwork Does It




AND NOW--THE RESULTS--Brilliantly Yummy





AND A FEW MORE THAT DIDN'T ENTER--GREAT JOB TOO!



Judge Marcia Weighing the Options





A Very Difficult Decision


Congratulations!


Here's the Best Part of the Contest!
Just Dance 2015







Thursday, November 13, 2014

Manga, Anime, and Gaming

Jenny and Nick brought their awesomeness to our meeting, and got us talking about the best manga, anime, and gaming.




 



 Thanks Jenny and Nick!

Sunday, October 19, 2014



Need a Good Book?              

  Here's What T.A.G. Recommends:


Angelina recommends Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

     A book I just read is Stargirl.  It is about a girl that moves to Pennsylvania, and she is different.  She likes a kid named Leo.  I like this book because there is drama and friendship.  Also, because it is realistic fiction.


Anna recommends--Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

     Speak was an extraordinary book by Laurie Halse Anderson.  Melinda Sordino called the police about an end-of-summer party, so now her old friends won't talk to her.  Also, people she never really met won't talk to her.  She tries not to think of what happened to her that day, until one day she speaks the truth.

Prinze honor book and National Book Award finalist.



Briana recommends--Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien

     Birthmarked was an amazing book, with so many details.  It's a more mature book for teen readers.  The main character, Gaia (Ji-ya), helps her mom deliver babies outside the Enclave.  They dot a four-symbol code on the babies' ankles.  Everything is great until her parents get arrested, and it all went downhill.  It was a magnificent read.

Caleb recommends--Manga (In General)

     Hey!  You!  Yeah you!  Read a lot?  Well, try watching anime, or reading some manga.  It's like comics with more great storylines.  Some that I would recommend are: Bleach, One Piece, Vampire Knight, Death Note, Attack on Titan, Full Metal Alchemist, Hikaru No Go, and my favorite, Fairy Tail  and Soul EaterThese are just for "starties".  I catalog these as "Action": Bleach, One Piece, Attack on Titan, Full Metal, Soul Eater, and Fairy Tail.  The others are cataloged under "Romantic", "Strategetic", or "Intense".  There are many more than listed here but these are ones I've read that have a good storyline and many laughs.  Well, this was fun.  I hope you start to enjoy reading manga like me.




     Peyton recommends--The Maze Runner by James Dashner

     The Maze Runner is a five-star book.  It is awesome, action-packed, and thrilling.  Oh, man, I can't wait to read the rest of the series.

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Don't Read These in the Dark!



Thrillers and Chillers


TRY ONE!
Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney (X/Delaney/Bk1).  Tom finds out that he is a seventh son of a seventh son.  It seems a sign that he should apprentice the village “spook”, who protects the village from "ghouls, boggarts, and all manner of wicked beasties." Sounds like job security!

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (X/Stevenson).  A kind and caring doctor concocts a secret mixture, and tries drinking the results.  He is then transformed into a madman who needs to murder. Must have been a "Monster" drink!

Ashes by Ilsa Bick (YA/Bick/Bk1).  Alex is dying from a brain tumor. But that’s not the worst thing.  A terrible electromagnetic pulse knocks her to the ground.  When she finally gets up, she finds that most of the people in the world have been wiped out.  Moving into the woods, she meets Tom, a soldier who has left the war in Afghanistan, and Ellie, an immature eight-year-old girl.  They form a team to fight the zombie-like people who mean to harm them.  Everything isn't always awesome when you're part of a team!

I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan (YA/PB/Duncan).  Imagine driving with your friends, going home after a party.  It’s dark and a bicyclist darts in front of you.  The boy is dead, and you are at fault.  But what if nobody catches you?  How will the group keep the secret, after they anonymously call the police?  How will they live with themselves when they get a note saying, “I know what you did last summer.”  Oh no....

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (YA/Gaiman or YA/Graphic/Gaiman).  Nobody Owens is a normal boy, except that he has been raised by ghosts and other creatures in the graveyard.  Spooky but fun.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by MIchell Hodkin (YA/Hodkin). Mara has a lot to deal with: she’s only seventeen and the only one who survived a car accident.  With three friends gone, it almost crushes her to try to return to normal.  Her family moves from Rhode Island to Florida, and somehow she finds love with Noah.  She suspects that something she just can’t remember might help her to save her family and herself.  It's riveting!

The Enemy by Charles Higson (YA/PB/Higson). A horrible disease has spread all over the earth, causing anyone over 16 to deteriorate into zombies.  Although teens have barricaded themselves in a supermarket, they are forced to journey across London to find sanctuary in Buckingham Palace.

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga (YA/Lyga).  Do you know any murderers?  Seventeen-year-old Jazz’s father is a serial killer, who enjoyed teaching Jazz his “craft”.  Jazz has been psychologically scarred, but now that his father is in jail, he is safe, right? Then he hears about a new set of murders.  It’s creepy!

Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry (YA/PB/Maberry).  The world has changed.  Comfort is a thing of the past, and the zombies are moving in.  Benny is just 15, and remembers his zombie father taking his mother away.  Benny thinks his brother deserted them like a coward, until Benny trains to be a bounty hunter like his brother.  OMG!

Bonechiller by Graham McNamee (YA/PB/McNamee). After Danny is stung by a nasty soul-stealing beast, he and his three friends discover that the police won’t help.  They are forced to fend for themselves—the four against a beast, that has taken people in the town away for many years.  Danny’s girlfriend has a feeling she knows about the creature.  

Bliss by Lauren Myracle (YA/Myracle).  Bliss is a bit naïve, growing up in a commune in California.  She visits Atlanta to spend time with her grandma, and vows to be a good friend.  But she shares a bit too much, which makes her a target for so-called friends.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan (YA/Ryan).  Do not go past the fence, or you will die.  Mary hears the rule, but longs to escape her walled village.  She just wants to know more about this life, and about the flesh-eating people who were once dead.

Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (YA/Shelley). Dr. Frankenstein is obsessed with creating life from death.  Read this incredible story that has inspired many books and movies.  Although it was written long ago, it still give you goosebumps.

Alice in Zombieland by Gene Showalter (YA/PB/Showalter/White/Bk1). Who can Alice Bell  trust?  The undead have attacked her family and now she is the only one who can avenge their deaths.  Can she trust Cole Holland?  Doubtful!

Unwind by Neal Shusterman (YA/Shusterman).  What will happen to those who don’t fit in the future world?  In this book, a new civil war between “pro-choice” and “pro-life” groups can only be settled when a new doctrine is decided.  The doctrine establishes that rebellious teens or those that can’t be afforded will be eliminated.  Their organs will be harvested for those who need them, so they never technically die. In a future world where those between the ages of thirteen and eighteen can have their lives "unwound" and their body parts harvested for use by others, three teens go to extreme lengths to survive until they turn eighteen. Be-have!

Dracula by Bram Stoker (YA/Stoker or YA/Graphic/Stoker).  Jonathan Harker and his friends are having very strange experiences.  When Jonathan sees the wealthy Transylvanian nobleman, Count Dracula, transform into a bat, and when he gets a puncture wound on his neck, the friends decided to rid the world of the count.  I Vant to Bite Your Neck!  Eek!

Malice by Christ Wooding (YA/Wooding/Bk1).  Luke, Seth, and Kady love reading about Tall Jake in their comic books.  Jake is a sinister character, but all is well because he is just a character on the page.  Until Luke Seth, and Kady are suddenly pulled into the pages of the book.

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey (YA/Yancy).  Will apprentices with a man who appears to study and hunt real monsters.  When the doctor brings home an injured girl and the monster that attacked her, his world changes dramatically.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Magic 8 Ball

FALL KICK-OFF
It was awesome sauce to see everyone again, and we had a blast!
Pizza was redonkulus! 8-balls were kicking! Let's do it again.

The 8 Ball Says I'll Beat You at Twister