What's your daemon?

The Golden Compass, the first in a trilogy of films based on Philip Pullman's exceptional Dark Material trilogies (Northern Lights, The Amber Spyglass and the Subtle Knife) has hit cinema screens. Although there have been criticisms levelled at the films, mainly for not being as critical of religion as the books, it appears that the mystical world which Lyra inhabits has been recreated flawlessly. One fantastic feature of the books is the daemon which each person has. Part soul, part conscience, part adviser and part friend, these animals are an intrinsic part of each persons' make up. When you are a child your daemon can change shape and form, reflecting the as yet unformed personality. On the website of the film you can do a quiz which helps you find out who or what your daemon is.



Mine is an ocelot. What's yours?

The site also has an Alethiometer to play with which will reveal some beautiful drawings to use as desktop wallpapers. I currently have the London one as mine.

Poe in pictures

If you like The Tell Tale Heart and Berenice, then you may want to get this book, a graphic novel adaptation of some of Edgar's most famous stories and poems. Here's what Michel Faber, writing in the Guardian, had to say about The Tell Tale Heart:

Slater also tackles "The Tell-Tale Heart", transplanting Poe's allegory of guilty conscience into a more morally ambiguous, post-Silence of the Lambs landscape. Annie, the female protagonist, is blind and works in a support centre for people who've recently lost their sight. She becomes convinced that a new arrival is supernaturally evil and must be killed. Annie's heightened sensitivity to touch and sound is rich in narrative potential which Slater only begins to exploit before allowing the story to lapse into predictability. Alice Duke's artwork - her first published comic - is superb and, unusually for this book, employs a subtle, luscious range of grey tones rather than stark black and white. A talent to watch.

Feed the world whilst feeding your brain

A fantastic way to help the world's hungry as well as enlarging your vocabulary is to visit the freerice.com website. This simple yet addictive website gives you a word and then 4 possible meanings. If you click on the correct definition it donates 10 grains of rice to the United Nations to help end world hunger. The program operates at a level that's right for you. If you get the answers wrong, it makes the starting words easier and if you get them right, it makes them harder. I donated 400 grains of rice in one sitting I got so addicted. Give it a go and save the world!
Example
Does sever mean divide, inform, pay out or extrude?

I want to read this book

I got sent a poster for the new Skulduggery Pleasant book, and so did a bit of investigating. There's a fantastic video on the website that you can send to your friends, and on the Richard and Judy kids Book award page there is a chapter of the book to download.

Richard and Judy best Kids Books

Last night Richard and Judy presented the Best Kids Books award show to try and find the best books for children of all ages. I was watching with interest because 2 children I teach were appearing on it, talking about books for fluent readers. The group, chosen from book groups all over Sheffield had to read 4 books and decide which ones they liked best. They also had quick interviews with Jacqueline Wilson, Anthony Horowitz and Phillip Pullman. In the video, Jacqueline Wilson talks about her favourite character and where she gets her ideas from.


There is also a forum where you can discuss books with other kids who love reading.This is part of Channel 4's Lost for words season, where their aim is to get kids reading. You can watch celebrities talking about their favourite books on the website. Here, Chris O'Dowd from the hilarious IT Crowd reads from Winnie-the-Pooh.

Poe death mystery solved?

There have been many theories as to how the American Gothic poet and author Edgar Allan Poe met his death. Some say he was killed as a result of a drink or opium binge, others that his depression caused him to commit sucide. There are other, stranger theories that he was suffering from rabies, epilepsy, diabetes or that he was the victim of a "cooper" gang. These were gangs of thugs, in pay to politicians, who beat up strangers on the street to force them to vote for their employer.

An American writer, Matthew Pearl researched Poe's death for three years whilst writing his book, The Poe Shadow. He thinks that he knows the reason Poe died so young, and also why he suffered from amnesia, hallucinations and fits: brain cancer. This article in the Observer newspaper explains how he came to his conclusion and it involves something dear to Poe's own heart, namely digging up a corpse.

When Poe's body was exhumed to be moved to a better spot in the cemetery, observers talked about being able to see his shrunken brain.

It was described as being 'dried and hardened in the skull' in an 1878 article in the St Louis Republican newspaper, whereas a letter in the Baltimore Gazette claimed that: 'The cerebral mass... evidenced no sign of disintegration or decay, though, of course, it is somewhat diminished.'

But the brain, as a pathologist whom Pearl consulted pointed out, is one of the first parts of the body to rot away. What the people who saw the corpse saw might well have been a calcified (hardened) brain tumor. This tumor would have been responsible for Poe's mood swings, his thirst, his depressions and erratic behaviour. But it was these strange moods and feelings which produced many of his memorable works, so I will agree with poe himself when he says,

"Never to suffer would never to have been blessed."

Benjamin Zephaniah

Benjamin Zephaniah is a poet, musician and author from Birmingham. He is a man that defies categories; Rastafarian, vegan, animal rights protester, playwright, and kung fu enthusiast.

He left school at 13 but was always writing poetry, at 22 he published his first book o poetry, Pen Rhythms. He made his name in the performance of Dub Poetry a type of poetry heavily influence by reggae rhythms. Dis poetry is a great example of this type of poem, it wants to be heard out loud, not just read from a page. He writes about things he feels strongly about including being a vegan. His poem Talking Turkeys! pleads with the reader to to stop eating these birds at Christmas


Be nice to yu turkeys dis christmas
Cos' turkeys just wanna hav fun
Turkeys are cool, turkeys are wicked
An every turkey has a Mum.
Be nice to yu turkeys dis christmas,
Don't eat it, keep it alive,
It could be yu mate, an not on your plate
Say, Yo! Turkey I'm on your side.

If you want to see him perform you can watch his music videos here.

Benji, as he likes to be known, is also an author. He has written 4 books for young adults; Face, Refugee Boy, Gangsta Rap and his new novel, Teacher's Dead. They all explore hard-hitting urban subjects and are written to celebrate and educate teenagers. He manages to write in a voice that is authentic and never patronising but is accessible to teenagers and adults alike. You can read an extract from Gangsta Rap here. He is talking about his new book at Sheffield's Off the Shelf festival of reading, and will be performing on Tuesday 13 November if you fancy seeing him in action.

Benjamin Zephania has a Sheffield link, too. He created 3 poems which are carved into metal plates on student residences behind Division Street. Next time you are in the city centre have a look for them.

International Talk like a pirate day

September 19th was International Talk like a Pirate day. Everyone should talk like a pirate every once in a while.
Tips for speaking like a pirate

• Double up on all your adjectives and you'll be bountifully bombastic with your phrasing. Pirates never speak of "a big ship", they call it a "great, grand ship!" They never say never, they say "No nay ne'er!"
• Drop all your "g"'s when you speak and you'll get words like "rowin'", "sailin'" and "fightin'". Dropping all of your "v"'s will get you words like "ne'er", "e'er" and "o'er".
• Instead of saying "I am", sailors say, "I be". Instead of saying "You are", sailors say, "You be". Instead of saying, "They are", sailors say, "They be". Ne'er speak in anythin' but the present tense!

This website gives you instruction on how to talk like a pirate and this one gives you a list of pirate slang. This includes everyone's favourite :

• Shiver me timbers! - akin to "Blow me down!", an expression of shock or disbelief, believed to come from the sound the ship made when 'shocked' by running aground or hit by a cannon blast.

A great book with a famous pirate is Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. This website lets you learn about the book and its characters as well as providing games and quizzes. There are also links to lots of sites about pirates.

Book review- Freaky Green eyes

I read Freaky Green Eyes by Joyce Carol Oates recently. I've read a lot of her work for adults (her novelisation of the life of Marylin Monroe, Blonde, is a great book for mature fans of the doomed actress), but this is the first young adult novel of hers that I've read. Like her adult books, it's not a cheerful read but the story is is full of suspense and mystery and it grips you all the way through.
Frankie seems like she has it all: her dad is a former sports star turned popular TV presenter, she lives in a beautiful house in the exclusive part of town and her family does everything together. But there are cracks this paradise- why are her mum and dad rowing so much and if they're so happy why is her mum spending more and more time away at the family cabin by the coast? Everybody knows that Frankie's dad gets upset when his family isn't together, why is Frankie's mum causing problems? If she only would do what he wanted there'd be no need for her mum to wear long sleeves and scarves round her neck all the time. Only Freaky Green Eyes, Frankie's inner voice, dares to ask and seek out the answers to these questions.
Tim from the cool reads website gives a great review. You can read the first chapter here. This is yet another book that I checked out of Sheffield public library- hurrah for free reading!

Young Bond Competition

Are you a fan of James Bond? If you are you've probably heard of Charlie Higson's series about the famous secret agent as a boy. I've read SilverFin, the first in the series and really enjoyed it, especially the gruesome opening. I am assured by a lot of Y7 and Y8 boys that the others, Blood Fever and Double or Die are equally as good.

And now latest book in the series, Hurricane Gold is out in hard back. You can read an exclusive extract from it here on the Times website. The Times also has a set of all the books to give away in an exclusive online competition. Read extracts from the three books in an online dossier and email the answers in. You have until the 22nd of September to enter. Gook Luck!

Good reading websites

Two great websites to help you decide what to read next. Reading Matters is a website full of reviews and recommendations. There are 307 reviews for you to browse, and you can see what readers all over the world think about the books. There's also an Interactive Bookchooser where you fill in details about yourself and the kind of books you like and the Bookchooser recommends titles you might like. I did it and my recommendations included Lola Rose by Jacqueline Wilson, Underworld by Catherine McPhail and the excellent Kit's Wilderness by David Almond. This site also includes some great thoughts about the ideas in books, from magic to censorship to the power of names. It's a clear, easy to read site and full of great books.

Another good website that is much more interactive is Cool Reads, a website run by young people for young people. Tim and Chris Cross created the site in 2001 when they were 11 and 13. It contains over 2,500 reviews of books by both them and other contributers. Books are arranged into subject categories including Crime, Time Travel, Real Life and Romance. You can also read the latest reviews on the sites. Anyone can contribute, so why not send in a review if you've read a great book recently?

Key reads

I've read two books today, and they were both good, so I thought I'd do some recommending. They're both books for older teenagers, as they deal with some big topics.

Firstly, I read The Last Taboo by Bali Rai . Its the story of Simran and Tyrone, a couple that get together despite opposition from everyone. Here's what Bali says it's about:
You don't often see British Asian girls going out with British Afro-Caribbean lads. But Simran falls for Tyrone as soon as she spots him in a crowd. He's tall, handsome and funny. And he fancies her back too. The problem for Simran's family is that he is black. And for them that's the last taboo.

Blacks and Asians don't mix say the racists in Simran's life. They ain't like us and it just ain't right for an Asian girl to be mixing with some kalah. Where's the honour in that? But Simran chooses not to listen and heads straight into a world of grief, hand in hand with Tyrone.

Meanwhile Simran's brother David is having to justify being best friends with Dean, who is also black. David's uncles and cousins think he is too young to see the truth for what it is. But David ain't listening. For him, truth doesn't come with racism attached. On the streets, at school and at the football, serious tensions are building between the ethnic minorities and they are about to explode...

The Last Taboo is a novel which explores inter-ethnic conflict right here in the UK. It looks into one of the most underexposed aspects of our multicultural society - the conflict that exists between racists who are black and brown skinned. Can Simran, Tyrone, David and Dean overcome the conflict all around them or will it destroy their friendships. And when ethnic rivalry brings tragic results, can love for your fellow person, whatever their race, ever save the day.

Set mostly in the modern day, The Last Taboo also takes us back to the Leicester of the late 1970's - a time when neo-nazi skinheads hunted ethnic minorities in the streets - and weaves two stories together, as three generations come to terms with racial prejudice and abuse.
The book is pretty gritty- there's swearing and violence and quite a shocking ending, but you get to see events from the point of view of lots of characters.

The other book I read is Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen. This book is FANTASTIC. It tells the story of two friends, Scarlett and Halley the summer they turn 16. Scarlett's new boyfriend Michael has just died in a motorbike accident and for the first time in their 5 year friendship she really needs her best friend, especially when she discovers that she's pregnant. But Halley's doing some changing of her own; she keeps falling out with her mum and she's started seeing the school bad boy Macon. Can the girls' friendship survive. This book is really well written, makes you think and care about the characters long after you've read the last page. The book was made into the film called How to Deal which also includes details from another Sarah Dessen book, That Summer. I'm going to try and read all her other books because I enjoyed this one so much.
I borrowed both books from Sheffield Library, so you don't even need to buy them, if you want to read them, just visit your local branch and put in a request.

Shakespeare Comics

Here at The Mouse we love Shakespeare. His plays explore those timeless human emotions such as love (Romeo and Juliet) , jealousy (Othello), ambition (Macbeth) and revenge (Hamlet) in some of the most exciting and beautiful language ever written. The trouble is, Shakespeare wrote those words nearly 400 years ago and language has changed since then. Words and turns of phrase which would have been easily understood by a 17th century audience are often incomprehensible to a 21st century one.

One way to make Shakespeare more accessible to a modern audience is to present the plays in a format with which they are more familiar. In the case of Self Made Heroes publishing house, that means producing Manga versions of Shakespeare. The comics, at the moment just Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet, tell the stories using Shakespeare's words and Japanese style comic illustration. They don't use the complete text, but a lot of the meaning is conveyed through the illustration. There are some pages from the comics on their website of Romeo and Juliet here and Hamlet here.

Another new company which produces Shakespeare comics is Classical Comics. They are bring out Henry V in November, with Macbeth coming out in early 2008. The interesting thing about these comics is that they have 3 versions- the original Shakespearean text, a plain text which translates the words into Modern day English and a quick text version which condenses the meaning into as few a words as possible. This version is probably closest to the true graphic novel as you can see more of the artwork, and the image is as important as the words.

The Original Text




















The Plain Text




















And the Quick Text

Get your name in print-Review opportunity

I received the following in an email from the publisher Walker books and thought it might be of interest to some of you. You get an advance copy of a book that won't be published until february so long as you write a 50 word review that could be in the book itself!

Spread the book buzz
Buried: the bodies... the secrets… the TRUTH. Will Peterson's Triskellion is a real 'keep you up all night' adventure. Is there a dark heart beating beneath the thatched roofs of the picturesque village of Triskellion? Join Rachel and Adam on this archaeological adventure with a startling paranormal twist and let us know what you think.

Triskellion is out in February 2008 and we're looking for reviews to feature inside the book! If you know a child aged between 10 and 12 who would like an exclusive advance copy, simply email us at webmaster@walker.co.uk with 'Triskellion' in the title. After they've read it, please email their review (no more than 50 words) to the same email address, as well as their name and age. The best reviews will be used on the first page of the book itself!* (Closing date 14th September.)

Words can get you into trouble

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" is a familiar playground chant to many, but it's not strickly true. Words can get you into a lot of trouble, especially when they are printed on a T-shirt for everyone to see. This BBC article examines some of the problems people have with offensive (or implied offensive) words on T-shirts. The discussion came about after a Cambridgeshire man was handed an £80 on-the-spot fine for wearing a T-shirt that said " Don't piss me off, I'm running out of spaces to hide the bodies". Other people have been fined for having swear words or overtly sexual references on thier clothes. Clothes shops have been asked to cover up or move stock after complaints from members of the public.

Meanwhile, TV companies get in trouble for broadcasting swear words before the 9pm watershed. But why does swearing cause such a fuss?

Johnathon Green, who has written loads of books on slang and swearing tells us how the worst swear words used to be to do with religion, "There have been three stages of swearing in modern English. From about 1500, swearwords were simply euphemisms for blasphemy: oddsbodkins - God's body, cor blimey - god blind me; bloody - by our lady. Today's swear words were perfectly acceptable, apart from the c-word.

"From 1700, blasphemy lost its potency, and as England became a world power, there was an effort to clean up the language. So then words for parts of the body and what you do with them, such as defecation, became taboo. You wouldn't find them in Dickens, for example.

"In the past 40 years, young people have become less concerned with the traditional swear words. Now it's racist, sexist, homophobic language - the sort my father's generation wouldn't think twice about using - that are totally forbidden.

"The right to swear is a necessary human expostulation. I've no qualms about swearing, although I would tame my language depending on who I was speaking to."

Language skills could get you arrested

A sixteen year old French boy was arrestedthis week for posting his own translation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows online. The book is only out in English at the moment, so foriegn readers have to wait until the official translation is published. Below are some of the translations used in the official version:

Parlez-vous Harry?

Wand
Baguette magique

Nearly-Headless Nick
Nick Quasi-Sans-Tête (Nick Sort-of-Without-Head)

He Who Must Not be Named
Celui dont on ne doit pas prononcer le nom (He whose name must not be pronounced)

Dr Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks
Pétards Mouillés de Docteur Filibuste (Dr Filibuster's Damp Squibs)

Radio Programmes

The BBC radio site has all sorts of prgrammes hidden away that you might enjoy. You can either listen to them as they are broadcast (but you will need a DAB radio) or listen again on the BBC site for up to a week afterwards.

You might enjoy:
Big Toe Books on BB7. Each day at 7am you can hear a book being read. The daily reading is on the website from 8am. At the moment, they have one of my favourite books, Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. They also have a messageboard where you can talk to other kids about books,authors and, of course, Harry Potter .

Another great programme, which is on Radio 4 every Sunday evening at 7.15, is Go4It, a weekly show all about books, authors and writing. You can listen to the programme through the website for up to a week afterwards, and there's lots of extra information on the fun and games section.

If you like Poetry, Poetry Please on Radio 4 is on Sundays , 4.30- 5.00. You'll be able to hear old and new poems being read, and this can really bring the words to life.

Key reading or Mrs Key Recommends

I'll also use this blog to tell you about any books i've read recently which I think some of you might like. I've just raced through Siberia by Ann Halam, a science-fiction/fairytale hybrid of a book. It concerns Rosita/Sloe's epic journey across the frozen wastelands of Russia to protect the "magic" secret she learnt from her scientist mama. This book is really exciting and also scary at times, but it makes you look at all the life around you differently. i borrowed it from the library, so there's no need even to buy it.

I enjoyed this!

Dialect and accents

Although it is important to be able to speak and write in Standard English, that doesn't mean that the way you naturally speak and write is wrong. The British Library has a great section on it's website about Accent and Dialect. This website has recordings of over 70 regional accents from across the UK , information about language change and also details of activities you can participate in, including sending a recording in of your own accent. This site might be of interest to you if you are thinking about studying English Language at AS level.

Poetry

There are so many amazing poetry sites on the web, as well as some really awful ones. One good place to look is the Children's Poetry archive which has tons of poems for you to read, a chance to hear the poems being read aloud by the poets, information about poets like Roald Dahl and Michael Rosen and the chance to find poems by theme or poet.
If you like Michael Rosen, there is a good interview with him in the Independent Newspaper. He talks about what inspires him, and also how the unexpected death of his son Eddie has affected him and his work.

If you are interested in entering your own pots in competitions, there are always plenty of them around. This page is updated regularly with details of competitions all over the country.

Thursday the 4th October is National Poetry Day- this year the theme is Dreams. Some peoms about dreams, all from the vast Poemhunter.com site. Firstly, a poem by one of my favourite poets, Langston Hughes, Dream Deferred Take a look also at a short but sweet poem by 17th Century poet Robery Herrick, Dreams. Those of you studying Skellig with me in Y7 will recognize this poem The Angel by William Blake which is all about how powerful dreams are in childhood. And finally, a beautiful poem by W.B. Yeats which reminds us that dreams are often the most valuable thing we have.

If you fancy increasing your knowledge of poetry you could sign up to emule.com's weekly poetry mailout- a selection of classic poetry emailed to you each week.

I'll leave you with a link to one of my favourite poems, Jabberwocky, by Lewis Carroll.

Harry Potter and the end of an era

Have you read the final installment in the saga of the Boy Who Lived?

I read it from cover to cover in around 6 hours.

I won't post any spoilers here without warning, but a lot of loose ends were tied up, and there was the demise of one of my favourite characters.

SPOILERS IN LINKS

If you want to read a bit more WITH SPOILERS here's an interview with J.K. Rowling where she fleshes out the epilogue.

Rowling also answers a lot of fans' questions about the book and the series in general on this web chat.

I hope you have all looked at J.K. Rowling's web site, because it looks amazing and has a lot of input from her as well.

She also mentions that she will write a Harry Potter encyclopedia with lots of background information from the Potter world.

Looking for a good Book?

If you want to read a good book, but don't have a clue there are several things you can do:

1. Ask or email me- I've read loads of books, and not just girly ones.
2. Ask a friend, they may have read a really good book lately. You never know, they may even lend it to you.
3. Ask a librarian Sheffield Libraries website has loads of ideas.
4. Go on the British Arts council's enCompass site which has a really great tool for picking a book. You choose the type of books you like and it will give you a list of recommendations.