Digital Collection: British History Online

BRITISH HISTORY ONLINE

Contents: This digital collection includes important primary and secondary sources focusing on the history of Britain and Ireland from 1300 through 1800. The resource includes maps, dataset, texts, and primary sources. Users can browse the collections, use subject guides, or try a keyword search.

Classroom Connections: Use this collection to learn more about life during this time period. Ask students to explore topics of interest and report on everyday activities such as the cost of items or the role of religion in people’s lives.

Featured Digital Objects:
Maps - https://goo.gl/4MCAOa
Economic - https://goo.gl/7CSHVd
Urban - https://goo.gl/QdSRSk

To visit the collection, https://www.british-history.ac.uk/.

Book Review: The Maloneys' Magical Weatherbox

THE MALONEYS’ MAGICAL WEATHERBOX by Nigel Quinlan is an unusual middle-grades fantasy adventure featuring wild weather, evildoers, and meteorological magic.

Ireland is stuck in Summer when the Weatherman’s special weatherbox is disconnected by a power hungry neighbor who wants control of the seasons. The Maloney family including children Neil, Liz, and Owen must fight and sacrifice in their battle with their evil competition and the angry elementals.

While the rural Irish setting is familiar, everything else about this unconventional tale is slightly out of kilter. From the mysterious tourist to the magical cat creature, Quinlan keeps readers guessing as they explore a weird world closely connected to our own. While some children will find this type of fantasy disorienting, others will enjoy suspending disbelief and immerse themselves in this fictional universe.

Librarians will find an audience for this strange story among children who enjoy magical situations, odd characters, and unusual weather phenomena. Those middle-grade youth with strong roots in reality and science may simply find the premise silly and nonsensical.

To learn more about Nigel Quinlan, go to http://nigelquinlan.tumblr.com/.

Published by Roaring Brook Press on July 28, 2015. ARC from Edelweiss.

Tech Review: Irish American Heritage Month

March is Irish American Heritage Month. Over 10% of Americans report Irish ancestry.

Check out the Presidential Proclamation at White House website at http://goo.gl/GGnWup.

Wikipedia’s article on Irish Americans at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_American includes a history, heritage, and cultural information. It also explores famous people of Irish descent.

During the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s, many people came to the United States from Ireland to escape the agricultural disaster. The Irish Potato Famine Interactive is a a great way for children to learn about this event. Go to http://www.irishpotatofamine.org/flash.html.

Explore the Lonely Planet: Ireland guide at http://www.lonelyplanet.com/ireland to learn about the country.

Irish America magazine is a periodical and website focusing on Irish interests in North America. Although not designed specifically for youth, it’s a great source of information. Their lists related to Irish-American accomplishments are of particular interest and would be good for bulletin board ideas for the library. Go to http://irishamerica.com/.

For lots of great infographics, do a Google Images search for Irish American at https://images.google.com/.