Students Opinion: The Paradise Trap by Catherine Jinks

Mr. Staffi (formerly known as Dugong-101), who so kindly came up to us and asked to be interviewed last term has read another book he would love to share with our readers.

“The Paradise Trap” written by Catherine Jinks and published by Allen and Unwin. Focuses on the adventures of the protagonist Markus and his mother, who arrive at the Diamond Beach Caravan Park however are sorely disappointed by it. The Park shares no similarity with the one Markus’ mother remembers. To add to the disappointment Markus can think of a hundred better ways to be spending his Holiday; which exclude spending time in a rusty, crusty smelly old caravan. Soon enough however the caravan reveals its secrets. Markus gets swept into the craziest, scariest Holiday ever.

Mr. Staffi revealed that his two most favourite characters are Markus and Jake, because they show a great deal of bravery and courage. Mr.Staffi admires these traits dearly and strives to achieve them himself.

His favourite part of the story was when one of the characters nearly got pulled down the toilet. He thought this was simply hilarious and couldn’t stop laughing, he added that there are multiple funny scenes in the book.

The characters managed to escape with hope and teamwork, they even got to keep the little white fluffy dog as an added bonus, this is exactly what Mr Staffi expected.

He rated the book an 8.5 out of ten and would recommended it to all ages except Kindy, Year 1 and Year 2, because he thinks that they wouldn’t be able to appreciate the story to its fullest extent yet.

Thank you Mr. Staffi for your thoughts on this book and hopefully our readers will give this book a go. Keep reading everyone and stay tuned for next weeks post –Zinnia and Gwendoline 

Paradise-Trap.png [Image]. Retrieved from: http://catherinejinks.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Paradise-Trap.png 

Your Opinion: Survey

Hi Everyone,

We want to find out who it is that is reading our blog and who is borrowing books from the library.  That’s why we have decided to put together a survey to learn more about you all.  It’s really easy to do, swing by the library to get a survey, fill it in with your favourite book, author and language to read in and simply return it to the library when you’ve finished.  You can add your name if you want to, but you definitely don’t have to.  We will then use this information to add your recommendations to the library so more people can enjoy the same books you do!   We would love for you to join in and can’t wait to hear all about what you love to read.  Until next week, Zinnia and Gwendoline

No one understands my pain [Image]. Retrieved from http://funnystack.com/category/funny-2/funny-books/page/4/

Author Related: Harper Lee

You may have heard a remarkable author has passed away. Harper Lee who is widely known for "To Kill a Mockingbird"(1960), Lee will forever be remembered in our hearts and minds as the author of an epic novel. Her novel takes place during the Great Depression in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama. Atticus the father of Jean Louise Finch is a Lawyer who stands against racism.
Lee was 89 years old when she passed away on the 19th of February this year. She spent most of her life outside of the spotlight in a place called Monroeville in Alabama. She insisted she would never publish another book. Her novel has influenced a great many people and will continue to do so in the future. GISS Students study "To Kill a Mockingbird", we both remember reading Lee's novel with vigor . The complexity of the novel is astounding and its effect on our perspectives was huge. The knowledge passed on by Lee through her novel is priceless. If you have not yet read it, we recommend you do, you can find it in the school library. In 1961 it won a Pulitzer Prize followed by its sequel "Go Set a Watchman". The Manuscript to her Sequel was found many years after Lee's first novel. The publishing of the second book was talked about with great controversy. Not everyone agreed that Lee was present enough to approve its publication. Regardless of the controversy, it is safe to say that Lee accomplished her goal "In other words all I want to be is the Jane Austen of South Alabama." 

Thank you for remembering Lee by reading this. Stay tuned for next weeks post. Zinnia and Gwendoline. 

THEN AND NOW [Image]. Retrieved from: http://cltampa.com/artbreaker/archives/2015/07/13/mockingbird-all-day-today-sequel-out-tomorrrow#.VsrmZxg0E4o

Library News: New Books to Read

Many students enjoyed the first Weir Do and the series has now been extended.  Anh Do also wrote about his own experience as a boat person – The happiest refugee can be found in the Library’s biography section.

Talking of fun reads: the Itch series takes us on a romp through the periodic table (should science be your thing you’ll like this), while David Walliams is being talked of as the new Roald Dahl and his Awful Auntie and Kicker im Kleid will be enjoyed by Dahl fans.  The falcon’s malteser is a comic send-up of crime stories by Anthony Horowitz, whose Alex Rider has saved many a student when confronted with having to produce a book review.  And if you think book reviews are a problem in your life, just consider the case of Rafe Khatchadorian who has to live with his pukey sister, Georgia, during the worst years of his life in Middle school.

These are just some of the 1200 new items to keep you busy when you could otherwise be doing your homework.

Thank you for tuning in today. Next weeks post will be up on Wednesday as per usual until then have a great week. -Zinnia and Gwendoline

 tumblr_mg9vgd24ey1ql2603o1_500[Image]. Retrieved from: https://justchester.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/tumblr_mg9vgd24ey1ql2603o1_500.jpg

Teacher's Interview: Mr Gillig

We have decided that this year, since we have learnt about some of the interest of our students, we should get to know the GISS Staff better.  This week a much loved teacher, Mr Gillig, shared with us what experiences he has had involving books.

Mr Gillig much prefers factual, non- fiction books to those that have been made up.  He told us that he ‘loathes’ novels and has no favourite books, but loves constantly discovering new reads to get involved with. Among those are Thomas Mann‘s books which are highly regarded masterpieces of literature. However, they achieve a total different meaning if you compare them with secondary literature about the author.  For example the autobiography of Katja Mann, Thomas Mann’s wife. Suddenly the reader recognized that the protagonist of “Death in Venice” is nothing else than a camouflaged biography of Thomas Mann himself. The composer Achenbach in “Death in Venice” is a phantasmic biographical psychogram of the author Thomas Mann himself, with the same mannerisms and homoerotic attitudes that haunts Achenbach in the novel. To read both books simultaneously is a unique and rewarding insight into literature.

Another of the ‘books’ that Mr Gillig has reread countless times are the infamous ‘Goebbels Diaries’, a series of documents by Joseph Goebbels.  Goebbels was an influential member of the Nazi Party, which governed Germany between 1933 and 1945 and caused the Second World War, led by Adolf Hitler.  The diaries were originally thought to be private until Goebbels thought of his diary as a source of (manipulated) history to be of published as Part of Nazi propaganda.  Goebbels continued to keep the diaries as he served as propaganda minister and chronicled the rise and fall of the third Reich, ending only weeks before Goebbels death.  They remained hidden until decades after
Goebbels’ death when they were published, giving historians and Mr Gillig alike a rare insight into the inner workings of one of the most influential political parties of all time.

In contrast the first book Mr Gillig remembers reading is ‘Der Struwwelpeter’, a children’s book by Heinrich Hoffmann, a psychiatrist at a Frankfurt asylum, who wrote the collection of short stories when he couldn’t find a suitable Christmas present for his three year old so!  The stories describe characters ‘misbehaving’ and bad things happening as a consequence, with often quite confronting endings.  In the first story, the book’s namesake, Struwwelpeter a boy doesn’t groom himself properly and has no friends because of it.  The book has stayed in Mr Gillig’s memories because he believes that ‘kids have to read things that are not nice’.

So now that we know what Mr Gillig has read in the past, what is he reading now?  Biographies of Australian Prime Ministers past and present:  Paul Keating who was prime minister between 1991 and 1996 and our current one Malcolm Turnbull. 

After that exclusive insight into what one teacher reads, are you curious about others?  
Let us know whether you would be interested in seeing more of these and whether there is
someone in particular you would like to read about. 

Also, since we had such a great response to our origami hearts, we have decided to run additional workshops next week Monday February 15 and Thursday February 18. 
Keep checking the blog to discover what we’ll post next. -Zinnia and Gwendoline

Special Event: Valentines Day

Hey readers, since it's Valentines Day next Sunday, we thought we would make a short video tutorial on how to fold cute little heart shaped bookmarks. These quirky little origamis are super easy to make and look great. If you want to learn how to make them firsthand come to the library on Monday the 8th and Thursday the 11th of February. You could give one to your Valentine if you wanted to :)

Stay tuned for next weeks post. Until then have a happy Valentines day -Zinnia and Gwendoline :)

Library News: New Books to Read

New year, new books to read!   Here are some new books that you can find in the GISS Library suggested by our librarian Frau Burkart.  Maybe you could set yourself a goal on how many books you want to read a week or month in the new year.

Older students might be more interested in Cartoons that shook the world – about the cartoons printed in a Danish newspaper, which aroused the ire of many Muslims worldwide because they defied the prohibition on depicting the prophet.  How did this controversy unfold and how has it influenced current affairs since?  The book questions our values – should respect and tolerance bend to the right to freedom of expression?

For younger readers non-fiction additions include a number of books about different Asian countries (in German and in English) as well as a series on topics from Australian history.

The Gone series by Michael Grant might appeal to young adults who like dystopian fiction; another newly added dystopian writer is Alex Scarrow with his Time Detectives who have to save history from herself – amazing, all the things that nearly didn’t happen or would have been worse if they had, once a fiction writer gets in on the case!  For those who like reality Anna Kuschnarowa or Lois Lowy might be a better choice.

Did all you Pippi Langstrumpf fans realise that Astrid Lindgren also wrote books for the young adult demographic?  Kati is a feisty young woman in her early twenties who decides to show her boyfriend he isn’t the only one with a little worldly sophistication – and so she travels to USA, Italy and France.  Her observations of life in these countries are very entertaining, as is the story that slowly unfolds – the point for contemporary readers being, of course, that the stories were written and set in the early 1950s; so they are also eye-openers for today’s readers to a time when travel was slower and even a trip from Stockholm to Italy was an adventure.

While we’re on the subject of historical fiction the sub-genre of fantasy-historical fiction throws up many very good reads.  The Attolia series is very well-written – not for dull elves: you have to read between the lines to keep up with the inner workings of the characters; and John Flanagan has added a prequel to his Ranger’s Apprentice which is absolutely as thrilling and absorbing as the best of his rest (even for those of us who aren’t coffee addicts).

What did you read during the holidays?  Email us or speak to Frau Burkart if you want your favorite book to appear on this blog!  See you next week! Zinnia and Gwendoline

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