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.