Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Summer Reading Recommendations - Middle School Edition



 Great Reads 
Recommended by 
the Newbery Pickers 
Book Club 
& the Student 
Library Advisory Group

Candy Makers by Wendy Mass
In the town of Spring Haven, four children have been selected to compete in the national candymaking contest of a lifetime. Who will make a candy more delicious than the Oozing Crunchorama or the Neon Yellow Lightning Chew?








Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus
“In 1841 a Japanese fishing vessel sinks. Its crew is forced to swim to a small, unknown island, where they are rescued by a passing American ship. Japan’s borders remain closed to all Western nations, so the crew sets off to America, learning English on the way.”












How to Rock Braces & Glasses by Meg Haston
Super-stylish and uber-harsh, Kacey Simon is the social dictator of Marquette Middle School. But when an eye infection and a visit to the dentist leave her with Coke-bottle glasses, a mouth full of metal, and...a littthp, Kacey is dismissed by her popular friends, falling so far down the social ladder she can barely see the top, even with her magnifying specs.
 

Jeremy Fink & the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass
Jeremy's summer takes an unexpected turn when a mysterious wooden box arrives in the mail. According to the writing on the box, it holds the meaning of life! Jeremy is supposed to open it on his thirteenth birthday. The problem is, the keys are missing, and the box is made so that only the keys will open it without destroying what's inside.



Mockingbird by Katherine Erskine
Caitlin has Asperger's. The world according to her is black and white; anything in between is confusing. Before, when things got confusing, Caitlin went to her older brother, Devon, for help. But Devon has died, and Caitlin's dad is so distraught that he is just not helpful. Caitlin wants everything to go back to the way things were, but she doesn't know how to do that. Then she comes across the word closure- and she realizes this is what she needs. And in her search for it, Caitlin discovers that the world may not be black and white after all.




Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
Abilene Tucker feels abandoned. Her father has put her on a train, sending her off to live with an old friend for the summer while he works a railroad job. Armed only with a few possessions and her list of universals, Abilene jumps off the train in Manifest, Kansas, aiming to learn about the boy her father once was.









Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
Melody is not like most people. She cannot walk or talk, but she has a photographic memory; she can remember every detail of everything she has ever experienced. She is smarter than most of the adults who try to diagnose her and smarter than her classmates in her integrated classroom—the very same classmates who dismiss her as mentally challenged, because she cannot tell them otherwise. But Melody refuses to be defined by cerebral palsy. And she’s determined to let everyone know it…somehow.




Outcast of Schuyler Place by E.L. Konigsburg 

I Prefer Not To.... That's Margaret Rose Kane's response to every activity she's asked to participate in at the summer camp to which she's been exiled while her parents are in Peru. So Margaret Rose is delighted when her beloved uncles rescue her from Camp Talequa, with its uptight camp director and cruel cabinmates, and bring her to stay with them at their wonderful house at 19 Schuyler Place.



Touch Blue by Cynthia Lord
The state of Maine plans to shut down her island's schoolhouse, which would force Tess's family to move to the mainland--and Tess to leave the only home she has ever known. Fortunately, the islanders have a plan too: increase the numbers of students by having several families take in foster children. So now Tess and her family are taking a chance on Aaron, a thirteen-year-old trumpet player who has been bounced from home to home. And Tess needs a plan of her own--and all the luck she can muster. Will Tess's wish come true or will her luck run out?

When you Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

By sixth grade, Miranda and her best friend, Sal, know how to navigate their New York City neighborhood. They know where it's safe to go, and they know who to avoid. Like the crazy guy on the corner. But things start to unravel. Sal gets punched by a kid on the street for what seems like no reason, and he shuts Miranda out of his life. The apartment key that Miranda's mom keeps hidden for emergencies is stolen. And then a mysterious note arrives, scrawled on a tiny slip of paper. The notes keep coming, and Miranda slowly realizes that whoever is leaving them knows things no one should know.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
In the valley of Fruitless Mountain, a young girl named Minli lives in a ramshackle hut with her parents. In the evenings, her father regales her with old folktales of the Jade Dragon and the Old Man on the Moon, who knows the answers to all of life's questions. Inspired by these stories, Minli sets off on an extraordinary journey to find the Old Man on the Moon to ask him how she can change her family's fortune.



Willow Falls Series by Wendy Mass 



Wonder by R.J. Palacio


August Pullman was born with a facial difference that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, he wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid—but his new classmates can’t get past Auggie’s extraordinary face.

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Read & Vote: 2014 Top Ten Teen Nominees

Are you an adolescent type person who's an avid reader? You may be interested in the following...

YALSA, the Young Adult Library Association, a division of the American Library Association (ALA) is a group of very cool, enthusiastic librarians who love working with teens. YALSA librarians strive to involve/consult with young people as much as possible when planning programs, etc.

YALSA recently announced nominations for the annual
Teens' Top Ten.


Teens' Top Ten is list determined by teenagers who nominate contenders and vote on books to be included. The young people who chose the 25 nominations are members of  16 teen book groups in school and public libraries around the United States. Students ages 12 through 18 are invited to read at least 10 of the 25 nominated books, then vote online for their favorites between August 15 through October 19, which is the last day of Teen Read Week.

For an annotated list of the 2014 nominations, click here.

Past winners have included:
  • Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
  • Cinder by Marissa Meyer
  • Divergent by Veronica Roth
  • The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
  • The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
  • Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Questions about the Teens' Top Ten and how to participate?
Click here.


25 titles that were published between Jan. 1, 2013 and Dec. 31, 2013

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Preservation Week: April 27 - May 3, 2014



A journal you kept during your freshman year of high school. Letters your parents wrote each other after they first met. The quilt your grandmother made from scraps of family garments. The picture from your first day of kindergarten. These are examples of a person's cultural heritage. 




Preserving historic documents, images and artifacts is not only the purview of museums and library special collections.  Your personal collections matter, and are worth conserving.

The American Library Association partners with other non-profit entities such as the Library of CongressInstitute of Library & Museum Services, as well as corporate sponsors, promotes Preservation Week

Preservation Week  "was developed to  promote the understanding and importance of care for personal and community cultural heritage collections, whether they be books, documents, photographs, textiles, paintings, sculptures, furniture and decorative arts or whatever any person or community collects."

For information about preserving your personal and/or family's heritage, sign up for one of these no-cost webinars:



Friday, April 18, 2014

Judy Blume - Library Champion

The phrases "beloved children's author" and "Judy Blume" often go together. Generations of readers have loved her books, which include the Fudge series, the groundbreaking Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, and many others. Her books have been a frequent target of censorship attempts, which has prompted her to be an outspoken supporter of Freedom to Read efforts by the American Library Association.

Judy is the spokesperson for this year's National Library Week: April 13-19, 2014.

In an interview with American Libraries magazine, Judy responded to a question about censorship and libraries:

I think of libraries as safe havens for intellectual freedom. I think of how many times I’ve been told about a librarian who saved a life by offering the right book at the right time. Yet librarians often have to be fearless. They have to be ready to explain to an angry person or group why they aren’t going to remove a book just because someone says they should. They stand up for their readers’ rights. Don’t try to threaten them because they won’t back down. They are my heroes.

If you want to follow Judy on Twitter search for @judyblume.  Rumor has she's enjoying this bit of social media immensely!

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Top 10 Banned Books of 2013

What does the Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilky, "The Bluest Eyes" by Toni Morrison, and "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie have in common? They are the top three books challenged somewhere in the United States during the past year.
                                                                                                     
The American Library Association's Office For Intellectual Freedom has just released their annual list of the top 10 out of the 307 challenges reported during 2013. The list includes reasons challengers gave for their opposition to the title.


Wondering what it means for a book to be "challenged" and/or "banned"? Here's what ALA has to say:

A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group.  A banning is the removal of those materials.  Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others.  Due to the commitment of librarians, teachers, parents, students and other concerned citizens, most challenges are unsuccessful and most materials are retained in the school curriculum or library collection


To see what other books made the Top Ten List, click here.  

In the fall, these titles and many others will be honored during  Banned Books Week, which celebrates the freedom to read. Meanwhile, read a banned book, because you can.

Banned & Challenged Classics

2000-2009 Top Banned/Challenged Books



Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Pictures From The Past: WWI Soldiers Reading

The 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War will soon be upon us. Newly digitized images of the day-to-day lives of WWI servicemen has been made available by the American Library Association's Archives, housed at the University of Illinois. Some of the images document the ALA War Service Campaign:

"Within a few weeks of America’s entrance into World War I, the American Library Association undertook an enormous campaign to send books and other reading materials to American forces at home and abroad.
The ALA collected $5 million in donations, amassed a collection of ten million books and magazines, and set up thirty-six camp libraries with the help of the Carnegie Corporation.  “A book for every man” was the initial aim."

                                                                                                           - Angela Jordan, Archivist

The following images from the Library War Service slide collection the are reprinted here with permission from the American Library Association Archive:





For access to more historic images from this collection, as well as access to image resources from other institutions, visit the Middle/Upper School Library's online research guide to databases and digital resources.




Monday, March 17, 2014

"It’s Complicated: the Social Lives of Networked Teens"

This book may be the "must read" of the year for anyone who lives with, cares/worries about, and/or works with adolescents.  The reviews of "It's Complicated" are stellar:

“Students, parents, and educators will find this a comprehensive study of how technology impacts teens’ lives and how adults can help balance rather than vilify its inevitable use.”—Publishers Weekly
“boyd’s extensive research illuminates the oft-misunderstood world of teens today, where social media is an extension of life . . . Thorough information interwoven with common-sense advice from teens and the author enable readers, particularly parents, to relax a bit regarding this new media age . . . Comprehensive new research that illuminates why and how social media is important to teens.”—Kirkus Reviews
Author Danah Boyd has some serious cred: a Fellow at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research, and Research Assistant Professor in Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University. She is so committed to getting the word out about this book and the information it imparts, that it's available as a no cost pdf download from her website. (Scroll down the opening page.)  For a longer explanation about her decision to increase access to the book in this way, read Danah Boyd's blog