Booktalking Colorado - Full Booktalk Record

Booktalking Colorado Full Record:

	Title:	Story Time
	Author:	Bloor, Edward
	Date Published:	2004
	Genre:	Real Life
	Grade Level:	6 - 12
	Booktalker:	Sam Marsh

Booktalk:
It was all Uncle George's fault. He had gotten a perfect score on the test to attend the Whittaker Magnet School, and now the school's boundaries had changed to include the block that he and his niece, Kate, lived in. When she looked at the map for Whittaker, it resembled an octopus with the tentacles reaching out to wherever the geniuses like George lived. So, Kate had to go to the school too. Which wasn't fair, because Kate was planning to be the lead in Peter Pan at Lincoln Middle School. When they did show up at the Whittaker School, George was made to feel special because of his score on the test. Kate had always been the star at school, and George, two years younger, had been the picked upon nerd. Maybe it was George's turn to shine, Kate told herself. But, why did she have to go to Whittaker just because George did. The Whittaker School was located in the basement of the Whittaker Building. The rest of the building composed the Whittaker Library; all eight imposing floors of it. It had been built by Cornell Whittaker I in protest to robber baron Andrew Carnegie's libraries. The pretentious Dr. Austin and his obnoxious wife Cornelia Whittaker-Austin ran the Whittaker School. Their two children, spellbinding orator (i.e. vacuous) Whit and the gifted dramatic actress (i.e. pretentious prima Donna) Heidi, were the de facto stars of the school. Since neither George nor Kate could afford the tuition at Whittaker, both they and their parents were forced to work at the school. George learned very quickly that he wanted out of the school just as badly as Kate. It became glaringly obvious that the Austin's ran not only the school and the library, but also the entire town. And, that they were only interested in their own power and affluence. Their main claim to fame was previous star student Ashley-Nicole and her famous Laser Cannon. George and Kate had to deal with not only the Austin's and their megalomania, but also with the aptly named cadaverous Dr. Cavendar and the corrupted County Commissioners. There was also a persistent rumor floating about that the library was haunted. All the two had to support them was their own ingenuity, the mysterious Pogo who spoke only in Mother Goose rhymes, and the questionable support of George's slightly dimwitted clogging parents (Kate's grandparents) and timid sister (Kate's mother). Then, the First Lady visited the library and school.