In order to get more accurate results, our search has the following Google-Type search functionality:
If you use '+' in front of a word, then that word will be present in the search results.
ex: Harry +Potter will return results with the word 'Potter'.
If you use '-' in front of a word, then that word will be absent in the search results.
ex: Harry -Potter will return results without the word 'Potter'.
If you use 'AND' between two words, then both of those words will be present in the search results.
ex: Harry AND Potter will return results with both 'Harry' and 'Potter'.
If you use 'OR' between two words, then bth of those words may or may not be present in the search results.
ex: Harry OR Potter will return results with just 'Harry', results with just 'Potter' and results with both 'Harry' and 'Potter'.
If you use 'NOT' before a word, then that word will be absent in the search results.
ex: Harry NOT Potter will return results without the word 'Potter'.
Placing '""' around words will perform a phrase search. The search results will contain those words in that order.
ex: "Harry Potter" will return any results with 'Harry Potter' in them, but not 'Potter Harry'.
Using '*' in a word will perform a wildcard search. The '*' signifies any number of characters. Searches can not start with a wildcard.
ex: Pot*er will return results with words starting with 'Pot' and ending in 'er'. In this case, 'Potter' will be a match.
In 'Midnight at the Library', critically-acclaimed author, Ursula Dubosarsky, and award-winning illustrator, Ron Brooks, traverse space and time, telling the story of a book throughout history. The author and illustrator piece together the story of a book that was opened and loved, given and taken, closed and lost, found and forgotten before being discovered, uncovered and preserved in a library. Beautifully written and splendidly illustrated, this is a story about the inception, creation and preservation of books and culture. This evocative children's book has vast educational potential and is sure to captivate the hearts of book-lovers across the nation, encouraging them to find their own book of wonder. Brilliantly evocative and exceptionally engaging, there is something undeniably magical about Dubosarsky and Brooks' ageless story, 'Midnight at the Library'.
http://publishing.nla.gov.au/documents/Midnight_BooksPublishing.pdf
A long time ago a boy looked out of a window and wondered about the world. And as he thought and wondered, his head filled with words and they came out of his head, down his arm, into his hand and into his fingers and onto the page... Over time and place that little book was opened and loved, given and taken, closed and lost, found and forgotten as it journeyed until it is now waiting to be discovered in a library.
In this beautifully written and stunningly illustrated story by the familiar team of Dubosarsky and Brooks, young readers are introduced to the concept of a book and its critical place in society as the purveyor of stories that tell us about who and what has gone before, the roots of who we are as a nation and indeed, as people. And just as this little book lives on in the library to tell its seekers its stories, young readers can imagine what story they could rite today to be discovered and revered years and generations hence.
As well as telling the story of the book, Dubosarsky and Brooks also celebrate the importance of libraries as the safe havens of the written word, a concept also explored on the final pages as some of the books, as magical as that in the story, that are available to be explored at the National Library of Australia are highlighted.
Apart from just being a wonderful read, the potential to use this book across the curriculum is almost endless as students consider the role of the written word, the history of its communication, the changes in format, the types of books and stories on offer and the need for a common set of symbols, syntax and semantics to make our message understood regardless of the language we speak.
Formal teachers' notes are available but for me, this has so much more potential than just satisfying some AC outcomes. It's all wrapped up in the universal wonder of story.