Team+3,+ref+log+4a

(2010). Retrieved March 20, 2010, from The Pink Monkey.com: http://www.pinkmonkey.com/ . The website **//PinkMonkey.com//** is a large collection of literature notes, online textbooks, digital library and other study notes. The site hails itself as a “G” rated resource for anyone from junior high on up. The site is advertisement driven and interestingly enough, while researching the site, the advertisement on the right side of the page was a seductively posed woman in frilly undergarments advertising a gaming site. Again, educators be cautious when directing students to sites. The site does have over 460 book notes available as well as other helpful resources. From the home page, the user has several radio button choices on the left side of the page. The //Monkey Notes// button gives choice of works by title or author. The button for //Printable Notes// allow the user to access content with no advertisement that can be purchased in a downloadable and print friendly version with prices beginning at $1.75. Along with several other choices, there is a //Study Smart// button that gives 24 clickable lessons to improve the aspects of study related activities. There is a test and self evaluation at the end of the unit. The link to Test Prep button will take the user to a state selection button that leads, in Georgia’s case, to the state DOE website. The SAT prep button lead to a link that was either non-functional or had been taken down. The site is very easy to navigate and could prove very useful for the students. Do be aware of the content of advertising.
 * Team 3, Reference log 4a: Literature sources ||  ||<   ||
 * Reviewed by Diane

grade level – High School to adult subject – English/Language Arts rating - 8 ||  ||< //Jodye's// comment :This looks like a great site to use, but my school system's filter would certainly block it. I found that while I was browsing the pop-up blocker kept me out. I saw many good resources within this site even though it has many advertisements and pop-up blockers. It would be great if this site could get better sponsors. Thanks for sharing!

//Katie's// comment : || //Citation in APA format goes here.// Ripperton, L. (2008). //The Baldwin online children’s literature project//. Retrieved March 20, 2010, from []
 * Reviewed by //Jodye//

Online Reference Source // The Baldwin Online Children’s Literature Project // is a gem of a site. The site offers online a comprehensive collection of resources for those who teach children. The focus of the project, as stated by Ripperton, is literature for children that are in the public domain in the US. This includes all works first published before 1923. The site is for educational use at no charge, however there are books advertised and for sale from //Yesterday’s Classics//. The project’s name is in honor of author James Baldwin (1841-1925). The site gives an introduction with information about the mission of the site. Ripperton’s love of books and 26 years in the software industry enables her to share wonderful books written in the late 19th century and early 20th century through this web site. Site indexes link users to authors, books and stories. Under “Articles” you will find guides to book selections with information about seven interesting kinds of books. The section titled “Unit Studies” covers civilizations. The books may be accessed in a variety of ways which makes this site very user friendly. I can search by author, title, genre, and more to find the stories of interest. I can also use the left side of the website to view the various titles that may be of interest. I have access to 543 books in all genres and I can even customize my display preferences. April is Poetry month and I can use this source to introduce students to //Poems Every Child Should Know//, letting students select a poem they would like to recite. Some of the authors I found were Rudyard Kipling and Beatrix Potter. There are pictures of the author with information about their lives and the books they wrote. Books may be downloaded and printed. I found this site quite interesting and I’m sure it will be quite useful for students, teachers, and parents. Grade Level: 1-12 Subject: Literature, Reading, History Overall Rating: 10

//Text of review of reference source goes here.//

Grades: enter //your best judgment of age/grade appropriateness of the resource// Subject(s): enter //your best judgment of subject area(s) where resource would be most valuable// Rating: // provide your rating, using scale of 1-10 // ||  ||<  //Diane's// comment : Well I just spent an hour I didn't have on this site! I couldn't stop reading these great old stories. Thank you vey much for sharing this site. I just had a SmartBoard installed in my room and I will be sharing these stories and poems on it in my future lessons.

//Katie's// comment : This is a great resource. This site has so much to offer in the way of children's literature. Also, the fact that much of what is offered here is in the public domain allows teachers to worry less about copyright issues. Thanks for sharing this source, Jodye! || Russell, S. A. (1996). //Stephen King: A Critical Companion//. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
 * Reviewed by //Katie// ||

Sharon Russell’s //Stephen King: A Critical Companion// is a great resource for information about Stephen King’s life and works. This text is published by Greenwood Press, a leading publisher of reference materials. A physical address for this publisher is listed within the first pages. A list of individuals serving on the advisory board for this publication is presented before the table of contents, which briefly sets forth the various locations for information within the text. A series foreword is given, followed by acknowledgements. The main body of the text follows. Included here are sections about King’s life, his chosen genre (horror), and several of his works. The author analyzes King’s //Salem’s Lot, The Shining, The Stand, The Dark Half, The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands, Needful Things, Insomnia, Dolores Claiborne,// and //Rose Madder//. Within each section analyzing King’s works, Russell includes a general overview of the story and presents discussions about plot development and characters within each work. An alternate reading is of the text is also given at the end of these sections. Following the main text is a bibliography of sources. An index is presented next and followed by a short note about the author. The information included in this text is informative and interesting. Analysis of the material covered is comprehensive, though I would have liked to see more of King’s works reviewed. Overall, however, this source offers useful analysis of King’s works and would be appropriate for middle school, high school, college, and public libraries. This critical companion would be most relevant for English and writing classes. My rating for this source is a 9.

Grades: Middle School, High School, College Subject(s): English, literature, creative writing Rating: 9
 * ||< //Diane's// comment : I stay in my own little elementary world so much that I was surprised that Stephen King's books would be appropriate for Middle or even High School students. Ms. Russell's book seems to be a good resource for an author study. I would be intrested to know if the book suggested anything in Stephen King's younger years that led to his interest in writing horror stories.

//Jodye's// comment : What interesting reading this source must present on such a complex author. I think students would enjoy reading about this author and reading discussions about the plot development and characters. Finding information about Kings chosen genre would interest students. The popularity of horror for high school students makes this resource one that students would seek for writing and information. ||