Wednesday (Sept. 19th) is Talk Like a Pirate Day. So join in the fun by checking out one of these books featuring adventures with pirates.
The Pirate's Son by Geraldine McCaughrean
Left penniless in eighteenth century England, fourteen-year-old Nathan Gull and his mousy sister Maud accompany Tamo, the son of a notorious pirate, to his homeland of Madagascar where they are all changed by their encounter with Tamo's dangerous past. This adventure story contains subtle humor and is packed with twists and turns.
Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boy by Louis A. Meyer
Life as a ship's boy aboard HMS Dolphin is a dream come true for Jacky Faber. Gone are the days of scavenging for food and fighting for survival on the streets of eighteenth-century London. Instead, Jacky is becoming a skilled and respected sailor as the crew pursues pirates on the high seas. There's only one problem: Jacky is a girl. And she will have to use every bit of her spirit, wit, and courage to keep the crew from discovering her secret. This could be the adventure of her life--if only she doesn't get caught. (This series starts with Jacky at about age 8 but she’s in her teens later in the series, and each book is filled with fun, adventure, and humor.)
The Giant Rat of Sumatra: or Pirates Galore by Sid Fleischman
Fleishman's latest novel features pirates, bandits, romance, and revenge, all set in the lively world of 1846 San Diego. The Giant Rat of Sumatra is the most notorious pirate ship in the Pacific. Its ferocious figurehead, a rat with crooked teeth and gouged-out eyes, strikes fear in the heart of every seafaring crew. Now the ship has dropped anchor in San Diego. Twelve-year-old cabin boy Shipwreck -- so named after he was rescued from the sea by the pirates -- is anxious to begin his long journey home to Boston. Instead, he finds himself swept up in a treacherous plot. It seems his adventure is only just beginning. 
Piratica by Tanith Lee-- and its sequel, Piratica II
Artemesia—also known as Art—spent her childhood on a pirate ship, and she’s sick of practicing deportment at the Angels Academy for Young Maidens. Escaping, she sets out to find her mother’s crew and breezily commands them out to sea. Fiery Art soon shapes her men into the cleverest pirate band afloat. And then they meet the dread ship Enemy and her beautiful, treacherous captain, Goldie Girl. The Seven Seas aren’t large enough for two pirate queens. Art will have to wage the battle of her life to win her mother’s title—and the race for the greatest treasure in pirate lore!
Airborn by Kenneth Oppel
In a swashbuckling adventure, Kenneth Oppel creates an imagined world in which the air is populated by transcontinental voyagers, pirates, and beings never before dreamed of by the humans who sail the skies. Matt Cruse is a cabin boy on the Aurora, a huge airship that sails hundreds of feet above the ocean, ferrying wealthy passengers from city to city. It is the life Matt's always wanted; convinced he's lighter than air, he imagines himself as buoyant as the hydrium gas that powers his ship. One night he meets a dying balloonist who speaks of beautiful creatures drifting through the skies. It is only after Matt meets the balloonist's granddaughter that he realizes that the man's ravings may, in fact, have been true, and that the creatures are completely real and utterly mysterious. (Graffiti review)
Pirate Curse by Kai Meyer
The Pirates of the Caribbean have a name for kids who walk on water -- they call them polliwogs. As far as fourteen-year-old Jolly knows, she's the last polliwog still alive -- and this special talent makes her invaluable to the pirate captain who raised her. When someone sets a trap for Jolly's ship, she alone escapes. Washed up on a tiny island, she meets Munk, who has been raised in hiding. Munk parents are afraid of pirates. They have forbidden Munk to reveal his true identity -- he, too, is a polliwog. But pirates are not the only threat in the Caribbean. Evil forces are stirring, and a demon from the sea attacks and murders Munk's parents. Was the demon really after Munk? And Jolly, too? Jolly and Munk must sail with a strange crew of outcasts, led by the mysterious Ghost Trader, to avenge their loved ones and try to stop an ancient, malevolent force known as the Maelstrom. (Pirate Emperor is the sequel.)
Pirates by Celia Rees
Nancy Kington, a wealthy merchant’s daughter living in Bristol, England in the early 1700’s, is sometimes lonely but enjoys the privileges her father’s business brings. Minerva Sharpe is a penniless slave’s daughter living and working on the Kington’s Jamaican plantation. These two young women, united through a set of extraordinary circumstances including a brutal murder, an arranged marriage, and set of ruby earrings, find themselves sailing the high seas in search of love, adventure and freedom—as pirates! (Graffiti review)
Red Sea by Diane Tullson
Libby, a cranky 14-year-old, fights her stepfather, Duncan, at every turn and finds ways to cross her mother. But she is stuck on a year's sailing voyage with them, whining all the way. They miss departing with their flotilla on the Red Sea because Libby is deliberately late. So intending to catch up, the family sails alone; then, modern-day pirates attack them, and, almost simultaneously, a storm comes up. Duncan is murdered, the boat trashed, and Libby's mother seriously injured, leaving Libby to figure out their location, sail the boat, whose engine was wrapped in nets by the pirates, and to try and keep her mother and herself alive. A suspenseful tale of survival.
Fell Cargo by Dan Abnett
A fantastic new Warhammer adventure: Captain Luka Silvaro, thought dead by his former crew, returns to challenge his would-be usurper who just happens to be his brother. After defeating his sibling he reclaims his ship, The Rumor, and his rightful place as leader of his band of cutthroats known as The Reivers. Soon the crew is out to sea but not to plunder and pillage this time. Luka and his crew are given a letter of marque from the Prince of Luccini and offered amnesty for the past crimes as well as a thousand gold crowns. All they have to do is find the marauding demon ship known as the Butcher Ship and sink her. The Butcher Ship has been attacking ships throughout the seas and taking no prisoners.
And there’s always the classic pirate tale, Treasure Island by Stevenson.
As most of you have probably heard, Halo 3 was released on Tuesday and video-gamers around the globe rejoiced. Sales of the first person shooter game were massive, and beat Microsoft’s sale prediction for their game by at least $20 million. Halo 3 made $170 million in the first 24 hours of U.S. sales, which is more than the all-time highest grossing box-office movie release, Spider-Man 3.
music on your iPod and texting your friends at lunch. David Hattan, a Topeka High said, “I’m just so used to it. It’s like second nature to hop on the computer to get information. It’s so simple to send a quick text message when needed also.”
Koyal Dark, Mango Sweet
We Are 
will be available to help hone your chess skills. Registration required, 785-580-4565.
students for being a Kansas Green School. Hess, the school’s industrial technology teacher, has been involved in the school recycling for years. Some of the students who aren’t in a club or activity will help pick up recyclable material from the teachers. Hess said the students can collect about 1,500 pounds of paper in ten minutes. For more information on the recycling program visit 
Gilbert and Sullivan Set Me Free
at a job interview, college interview or debate tournament, how you dress says a lot about yourself. Kerri Day Keller, director of Career and Employment Services at Kansas State University said, “It’s all about making a positive impression.” Borck Brothers and Lady Borck in Manhattan have the following tips. Men should wear a dark suit, white or cream colored shirt with a complimentary tie. Women should consider a suit or appropriate business dress. No miniskirts or plunging necklines. Take out the nose rings and eyebrow piercings. Shoes should be comfortable and flip flops are not acceptable. 
Shakespeare’s secret
influenced them in some way. Nikki Shelton, a junior at Seaman High School, said, “They’re always in trouble or in jail. It’s something stupid.” The teenagers she knows don’t want to get in trouble. Mandy Benson, a graduate of Topeka High, said “teens who know where to draw the line are the ones who have stronger influences in their lives telling them to do the right thing.” 
When you were really little, it was kinda fun when people asked “What do you want to be when you grow up?” and everyone expected you to give cute answers like princess or baseball player, but now that you are getting older, and closer to finishing school and getting a job, that question is sometimes harder to answer. Maybe you already know what you want to be when you grown up, but for most of us, that question opens a lifetime of opportunities to experiment with who we are and how we want to spend our time and talents.Take a few minutes to brainstorm some possibilities for your own future.
Georgia Rule
Princess Academy