There is one of those multi-million dollar luxury cruisers going by - you know the ones where the rich guy's crew have on the same polo shirts and khaki shorts. DROOL!! Thought they were supposed to out of this area during hurricane season. Guess he must not have a problem paying the high insurance premiums to be down here during the storms! During the winter they are docked side by side on the wharf and the crews are out washing and cleaning etc. Some of them I would be happy to just have the power boat they use as a dinghy!

Have been working on the bibliography for the AASL presentation. I know for sure I am putting Joyce Maynard's The Cloud Chamber on it for the MS level. Nate and his little sister get home on the bus just in time to see their father, blood covered and stumbling, being led to a police car. No one wants to tell Nate the truth about his father's depression and attempted suicide. His mother wants Nate to forget about it and go on with life, but it isn't that easy. The parents of the other kids in school have told them they can't hang around with Nate and Junie anymore. But Nate figures if he he can build a cloud chamber, just like his dad told him about, that wins the science fair he can take Junie with him to the State Science Fair and they can slip away and visit their dad in the hospital. What a beautifully written book with characters you can see and almost hear when you close your eyes. Naomi, the fundamentalist minister's daughter, who is Nate's science fair project partner, is worthy of a book of her own.

Not being a fan of modern dance I didn't even know who Jose Limon was. I had read Russell Freedman's Martha Graham: A Dancer's Life and that was about my extent of knowledge of the early founders of modern dance. Susanna Reich brings Limon to life in a simple but lyrical text and he dances off the pages in the illustrations by Raul Colon in Jose!: Born to Dance. What a delightful picture book style biography that can be used with all ages. The Historical Note at the end gives a bit more information along with a short bibliography and the website for the Limon Dance Company, www.limon.org, which is a wealth of information.

I've noticed that LC is now cataloging biographies under the subject #. Perhaps the days of a separate biography section are gone, but I notice I have students who only want to read about "real" people and head for the biographies. But, with a good catalog it really doesn't matter, if the reader knows what he/she wants to read about. But, I found most of my favorite books by browsing the shelves. I am still that way in any bookstore or library - I want to wander and see what catches my attention.

Wow! It is almost 6 p.m. It's been a productive afternoon.