(DLA Las Piñas GS LRC) December Book of the Month - Nutcracker

The original is a story written in by E. T. A. Hoffmann in which young Marie's favorite Christmas Prince-shaped toy comes alive and after defeating the evil Mouse King in battle with her help, whisks her away to a magical kingdom. In 1892, the Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and choreographers Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov turned Alexandre Dumas père's adaptation of the story into the ballet, which became one of Tchaikovsky's most famous compositions and perhaps one of the most popular ballets in the world alongside Swan Lake.

It's Christmas and Uncle Drosselmeyer gives toys to Marie and her little brother including a Nutcracker. What we apparently don't know yet is that the Nutcracker was once a handsome prince who The Mouse King had put under a spell turning him ugly.

The Nutcracker remains to be one of the world's favorite holiday stories. Marie, the Nutcracker Prince, and many other characters (beloved and not-so-much) are all freshly reimagined by the inimitable Mary Engelbreit as she offers her sentimental vision of that joyful night in an exquisite hardcover picture book of 40 sparkling pages dominated by reds and greens with clear text perfect for reading and sharing with children, distinctive movement capturing the magical excitement of Christmas eve, and vibrant details that will leave even the youngsters gasping with delight.

Engelbreit's popular character Ann Estelle, Queen of Holidays, has taken off her glasses and changed her eye color to play the part of Marie in The Nutcracker, now a Christmas tradition; but in 1816, the German Nussknacker und Mausekonig was a wondrous tale from Hoffman's fertile and sometimes sinister imagination. The story has offered Engelbreit multiple opportunities to fill the pages with her trademark borders, adorable children, and liberally scattered details.

Though the author has obviously consulted Hoffman's tale, she has pared it down and sweetened it, bringing in fantasy images from ballet versions as well to produce what is probably the most beautifully illustrated version of the tale. Fans will devour this very enjoyable book eagerly, wildly festive and imaginative as it is. Mary Engelbreit's Nutcracker was published in 2011 by Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins.

(DLA Las Piñas HS LRC) December Author of the Month - Stephenie Meyer

This cold month, we're featuring an author who probably isn't that bothered by the cold since she sort of writes about it anyway. Meet Stephenie Meyer, that bestselling 41-year-old American young-adult fiction writer who produced stories and films about the cold ones also known as vampires since they are supposedly dead with venom in their veins instead of the usual bodily fluids that contribute to the sweet warmth that actual humans have.

The Twilight novels have since gained worldwide recognition, selling over 100 million copies with translations into 37 different languages. We're also featuring her this month because she's celebrating her 42nd birthday on December 24 and because after 10 years, Twilight has been reimagined through a new novel called Life and Death following the same plot set however in an independent, parallel universe from the original in which the most significant difference is an alternate ending and that the genders, names, and roles of the main characters have been reversed with only very few exceptions.

Stephenie's life changed dramatically on June 2, 2003 when the stay-at-home mother of three young sons woke up from a dream featuring seemingly real characters that she could not get out of her head. "Though I had a million things to do, I stayed in bed, thinking about the dream. Unwillingly, I eventually got up and did the immediate necessities, and then put everything that I possibly could on the back burner and sat down at the computer to write—something I hadn't done in so long that I wondered why I was bothering."

She invented the plot during the day through swim lessons and potty training, and wrote it out late at night when the house was quiet. Three months later she finished her first novel, Twilight. With encouragement from her older sister (the only other person who knew she had written a book), Meyer submitted her manuscript to various literary agencies. It was picked out of a slush pile at Writer's House and eventually made its way to a publishing company where everyone immediately fell for the tale of the star-crossed lovers.

Stephenie was ranked No. 49 on Time magazine's list of the "100 Most Influential People in 2008" and was included in the Forbes Celebrity 100 list of the world's most powerful celebrities in 2009 where she entered at No. 26. In 2010, Forbes ranked her as the No. 59 most powerful celebrity with annual earnings of $40 million. However, her annual earnings have exceeded $50 million since then.

DLA Las Piñas GS LRC: Top Library Users & Borrowers (November 2015)

Top Library Users

Ms. Ma. Cecilia B. Mendoza

AP Area

Miguel Andrei B. Corpuz

2 - Courage

Top Library Borrowers

Ms. Rosel H. Elli

Math Area

Azarriah Revv C. Makavinta

1 - Courtesy

Athena Margaret A. Mayamaya

1 - Mildness

Clarisse Andrealyn M. Solano

1 - Politeness

Taira Alexandra A. Bermudez

1 - Gentleness

Zaina Shelley T. Cornelio

2 - Patience

Ernest Jimly G. Barron

2 - Patience

Mary Ada Therese G. Hernandez
2 - Patience

Czarina Julia V. Portugal

2 - Patience

Toni Ellyse F. Gallardo

2 - Patience

Jessie Mae S. Barbacena

3 - Fidelity

Audrey P. Moncera

3 - Prudence

Level and Section with the Highest Library Attendance

4 - Charity

Ms. Ma. Cecilia B. Mendoza

(Adviser)

(DLA Las Piñas HS LRC) December Book of the Month - Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances

What do a storm, 14 perky cheerleaders, Waffle House, and a guy covered in tin foil have in common? Answer: these romantic holiday stories. The New York Times bestseller is a compilation novel comprising three separate novellas that intertwine with one another. It was released on October 2, 2008 through Speak. The stories are The Jubilee Express by Maureen Johnson, A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle by John Green, and The Patron Saint of Pigs by Lauren Myracle.

There are beautiful presents wrapped in ribbons and multicolored lights glittering in the night while the small Southern Gracetown transforms into a romantic haven, the serendipitous kind you see only in movies. Well, kind of.

After all, a cold and wet hike from a stranded train through the middle of nowhere would not normally end with meeting a charming stranger. No one would think that a trip through four feet of snow would lead to love with an old friend or that the way back to true love begins with a painfully early morning shift at Starbucks.

The magic of the holidays shines on these hilarious and charming interconnected tales of love, romance, and breathtaking kisses thanks to three of today’s bestselling teen authors. Johnson’s playfulness, Green’s banter, and Myracle’s sincerity mesh well here, resulting in a collection that is imbued with optimism and warmth. The plotting is tight, each end loosed by one author is tied up by another like a bright Christmas bow makes it a delightful read any time of the year.

Critical reception has been positive, with the book garnering reviews from Kliatt, the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Library Journal, and School Library Journal.  The book was also well-received by the Young Adult Library Services Association, who placed it on their 2008 list of "Books to Watch Out For". A major motion picture is in the works since Universal Studios purchased the rights in September 2014.

(DLA Las Piñas GS LRC) December Author of the Month - Charles Dickens

For many of us, Christmas – in our imaginations at least – is a distinctly Dickensian affair. Candlelit tables are laden with succulent food and families gather harmoniously for warm stories while merry carolers wend their way along snowy streets. The reality may well be more shop-bought, drizzly and fractious, but our Christmas cards, advent calendars and television series attest to our rather romantic seasonal attachment to all things Victorian.

It has often been said that Dickens invented the holiday as we know it today in A Christmas Carol. Louisa Price, curator of the Charles Dickens Museum based in the author’s first London family home, says that the much-loved story was instantly influential.

Charles John Huffam Dickens (born 7 February 1812 in Hampshire, England and died on 9 June 1870 in Kent, England following a stroke) was an English writer and social critic who created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era and the literary colossus of his age despite his lack of formal education.

His works enjoyed unprecedented and lasting popularity. By the twentieth century, critics and scholars had recognized him as a literary genius. Dickens's literary success began with an 1836 publication. Within a few years, he had become an international literary celebrity famous for his humor, satire, and keen observation of character and society. His plots were carefully constructed, and he often wove elements from topical events into his narratives.

The term Dickensian is used to describe something that is reminiscent of Dickens and his writings, such as poor social conditions or comically repulsive characters. His novels, most published in monthly or weekly installments, pioneered the serial publication of narrative fiction, which became the dominant Victorian mode for novel publication. The format allowed Dickens to evaluate his audience's reaction and he often modified his plot and character development based on such feedback.

(DLA Las Piñas HS LRC) November Book of the Month - The 100

The bestselling 100 trilogy is a young adult science fiction trilogy by Kass Morgan set three centuries after a thermonuclear apocalypse where resources are so scarce that all crimes no matter how small are punishable by death unless the perpetrator is under 18 years of age and the only known survivors of the human race live in a Space Colony consisting of spaceships joined together in orbit around the Earth, governed by The Chancellor who leads its legislative council.

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers published the eponymous first book in the series on September 3, 2013. The sequel named Day 21 was released on September 25, 2014 and Homecoming was released on February 26, 2015 which completed the trilogy.

The trilogy begins with Clarke, a former medical student, being arrested for a crime committed by her parents: conducting illegal experiments on children under threat of the corrupt Vice Chancellor.

She confides in her boyfriend Wells, who is the chancellor's son. Despite swearing secrecy, he still tells his father, hoping to save her family. His plan backfires, they are arrested, and his relationship with her disintegrates. Two years later, the Colony decides to send one hundred of its teenage prisoners to investigate whether Earth is habitable. The group crashes somewhere on the East Coast in the former United States. Once there, Clarke tends to the wounded and they struggle to survive in a world very different from the past Earth. They discover a farm not too far from the site as the survivors investigate a fire set to their camp, leading them to the realization that they are not as alone as they thought.

Prior to the publication of the first book, producer Jason Rothenberg became interested in loosely adapting the story. CW announced on May 9, 2013 that the pilot was officially ordered to series for the 2013–2014 American television season and premiered on March 19, 2014. It was renewed for a second season on May 8, 2014 and premiered on October 22, 2014. The network renewed the series again on January 11, 2015 for a third one which premiered on January 21, 2016 and renewed the series for a fourth on March 12, 2016.

(DLA Las Piñas GS LRC) November Author of the Month - Sharon Creech

What did you do last November 2? All Souls' Day in Christianity is a day annually commemorating those who are believed to have faithfully departed to Heaven with God and the holy angels, particularly but not exclusively one's relatives and friends, by visiting cemeteries and praying for the dead. It is usually associated as an extension of the observance of All Saints' Day which is on the 1st of November.

This month, we're featuring an award-winning writer whose book called The Unfinished Angel published in 2009 narrates the story of a mystical being helping a Swiss village community with a small, talkative, and determined American girl named Zola.

This author often often uses humour to soften serious topics that she likes embedding into her stories including themes such as independence, trust, childhood, adulthood, and death.

Sharon Creech was born in Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, where she grew up with her parents (Ann and Arvel), one sister (Sandy), and three brothers (Dennis, Doug, and Tom). She often used to visit her cousins in Quincy, Kentucky which has found its way into many of her books as a fictional Bybanks, Kentucky.

She became intrigued by story-telling after taking literature and writing courses during college in the U.S. Sharon later became a teacher of secondary school English and Writing in England and Switzerland where she also immersed herself in re-learning Italian (the language of southern Switzerland) which influenced the way the angel strangely and comically spoke while she was writing the story at that time.

She has written both novels and picture books. Her first children's novel Absolutely Normal Chaos was published only in the U.K. in 1990. Sharon's first book published in the U.S. was Walk Two Moons (1994) which won the prestigious Newbery Medal in 1995. Later that year, Absolutely Normal Chaos was finally published in the U.S. She returned to the U.S. in 1998 after 18 years abroad.

She is currently married to Lyle Rigg, a headmaster in New Jersey and they live in Maine. The couple has 2 grown children, Rob and Karin.