Book Review: “A Hero Born,” an Epic Chinese Kung Fu Fantasy
“A fantastical generational saga and kung fu epic, “A Hero Born” is the classic novel of its time, stretching from the Song Empire (China 1200 AD) to the appearance of a warlord whose name will endure for eternity: Genghis Khan….
A Librarian’s Unpopular Opinion on eBooks
When I was in library school, I envisioned the first day of class, I would take an oath promising my love and allegiance to physical books, thus casting aside eBooks forever. I was expecting blood, candles—the whole nine yards. Sadly,…
Books Written During NaNoWriMo
November is National Novel Writing Month, also known as NaNoWriMo! Every year during the month of November writers from across the globe (and any aliens living on other planets who have Wi-Fi) attempt to write 50,000 words in the span…
A Love Letter to Picture Books
November is Picture Book Month! But what does that mean in an age when even hot dogs have their own day? Picture Book Month is an international celebration of printed picture books. With countless digital materials and resources crowding our…
Not-so-Scary Fall Reads
The season of pumpkin spice lattes, horror movie marathons and graveyard strolls with your Grandma is upon us. Some of us, however, want to get into the fall mood without having our polka dot socks scared off. If you’re the…
What Would The Joker Read?
Have you seen the new Joker movie yet? As far as I’m aware after watching it, The Joker does not have a library card. This is just one of the many profoundly sad things that you can expect from Joker….
9 Manga Readalikes for ‘Maximum Ride’
This one’s for all the teens who come into the Vortex and ask if we have Maximum Ride. Not the plain ol’ chapter books written by James Patterson, but the adapted and illustrated manga by NaRae Lee. It’s pretty rare…
Scholastic ‘Flix’ eResources: What Are They?
We offer four fantastic eResources by Scholastic: BookFlix, FreedomFlix, ScienceFlix and TrueFlix. What are they? Well, I’m glad you asked. What’s the deal with BookFlix? Oh man, if you haven’t checked out BookFlix yet, do so immediately. This eResource has…
Valley View School District 2018 Summer Reading
Are you a middle or high school student in Bolingbrook? We know you’ve been challenged by your teachers to read this summer, and we’ve got you covered! Check out the information below, or visit the Vortex on the 2nd Floor…