Yesterday, a group of us got to take a tour of the construction site here at CMS/CSI. The workers have been working furiously since January, tearing down buildings, digging holes, making piles of dirt, filling in holes, and pouring concrete. The building modules are starting to arrive and soon they will be installed in their places. Here are some pictures:
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Well, there are just so many good new books in our library and I keep finding new favorites. Today, my new favorite is Insignificant Events in the life of a Cactus, by Dusti Bowling. This is the story of a 13 year old armless girl named Aven whose life is turned upside down when her father accepts a job as park manager of a dying amusement park, moving his family from Kansas to Arizona. Aven leaves behind her lifelong friends and a community where she didn't have to explain her armlessness and everyone knew that she ate with her feet, and finds herself surrounded by stares and giggles and whispers. She quickly discovers that she is not the only one who feels different and alone at school and soon she has a couple of lunch buddies. With her new friends by her side, Aven unravels a mystery about her past and discovers a connection to the amusement park that she begins to fall in love with. I loved this book because Aven was such a fun character to spend time with. She has a positive outlook on life and enjoys teasing people with crazy stories about how she lost her arms ("I was born this way" is so boring!) She's clever and funny and helps her friends come out of their shells. Even though it's not an action packed book, I couldn't put it down. I wanted to know how the story would resolve for Aven and it was immensely satisfying. I've just finished reading The Inn Between by Marina Cohen, published in 2016, it's a recent acquisition in our library. The cover illustration of this book drew me in immediately. It has a mysterious, etherial quality to it and I wanted to know what the story of the Inn Between. It turns out that the story itself is mysterious and etherial and so I don't want to give too much of the story away. Quinn and Kara are best friends on a road trip with Kara's family. Both girls are carrying guilty feelings deep inside them about an incident that affected Quinn's family. Along the way, the family stumbles upon a strange hotel in the middle of nowhere where they decide to rest overnight. In the morning, Kara's parents disappear without a trace, and later, her brother disappears. Quinn senses something really wrong and is determined to escape the weird hotel, despite the fact that she feels like something she'd been looking for can be found at the Inn Between. At first the inn is creepy and spooky but as it's true nature is revealed, we discover the world is not how it seems. and even though Quinn finds what she is looking for, the ending is steeped in sadness. I don't usually like sad books, but I enjoyed this one. I liked the characters and their emotions were so authentic. I think the emotions of this book will resonate differently with readers based on their personal life experiences. I think this book fits well in the Coraline / Hoodoo / Took / Night Gardener grouping. I have a new favorite! Hoodoo, by Ronald Smith is a new book in our library, though it was published in 2015. This was a wonderful book. It takes place in Alabama in the 1930's. Hoodoo lives with his grandmother because his mother and father have died. His family is known in their town for practicing hoodoo, folk magic, and are often called upon to conjure good luck or healing spells. Though Hoodoo himself doesn't seem to be any good at conjuring, which makes his name even more unusual. One day a stranger show up in town, someone owes him debt and he's come to collect it...from Hoodoo.
As the danger increases, Hoodoo uncovers secrets about his father's past and his connection to the stranger, and also discovers the magic buried deep inside him and the courage and heart to defeat the stranger. This book is a real page turner, I couldn't put it down. The characters were all likable, it's full of action and mystery and magic. If you liked Coraline, by Neil Gaiman, Took, by Mary Downing Hahn, or The Night Gardener, by Jonathan Auxier, I think you will love Hoodoo. Hello Bulldogs!
I think the weather is finally starting to change to proper fall weather. Break out the sweaters! Also from the 'finally' department, I've FINALLY finished processing all the new books that arrived a few weeks ago. Lots of great titles and new additions to our non-fiction collection. I've had a chance to read a few of these new books and so I thought I'd share that with you here. Ink and Ashes by Valynne E. Maetani This is a story about a high school girl named Claire who begins to question the circumstances surrounding her father's death. She begins to question her mother and step-father about it and suspects that they are lying or covering something up. She starts investigating, with the help of her brothers and their friends and learns that her father was a member of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. As her investigation deepens, it attracts the attention of someone dangerous. All the while, Claire is sorting out her feelings for her best friend. Claire is a clever and persistent protagonist, always questioning and curious, she never gives up on getting the information she seeks and she remains brave when the danger becomes life threatening to her, her friend, and her attacker. I Kill Giants by Joe Kelly and J. M. Ken Niimura This is a graphic novel about a girl, Barbara, who's family is in crisis. There is something going on and Barbara can't deal with it. She creates a fantasy world to which she escapes and in this fantasy world, she is a giant killer. Unfortunately, Barbara cannot exist in both the fantasy world and the real world and when these worlds collide, Barbara finally learns how to face the horrible truth. Where she once was seething with anger, Barbara finds new peace in acceptance. A beautiful story with powerful illustrations. This is one of my new favorite books. I highly recommend this one. The Unexpected Life of Oliver Cromwell Pitts by Avi I've enjoyed several of Avi's books over the years. He is particularly skilled at writing historical adventures. This book lives in the same universe as The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and Crispin: The cross of lead. The story takes place in 1724 England, through a series of misfortunes, Oliver finds himself in league with thieves, highwaymen, and footpads. He travels to London in search of his father and sister. His sister had left their small town to seek her fortune in the big city and their father followed shortly after in order to stop her from marrying. Life is very difficult for a young boy traveling alone and Oliver's troubles compound. This is a charming story and a hair raising adventure. The short chapters make it a quick read and the action will make you hate to put it down. It is the first in a series so we'll have to wait a bit to find out Oliver's ultimate fate. Come to the library and find something new to read! The school year is almost over. The library is getting ready to close but this doesn't mean you should stop reading! Lots of new books are coming out all the time, for instance Rick Riordan's new title in the Trials of Apollo series, The Dark Prophecy. You can't check it out from CMS library but you can get it from the public library! I've come up with a list of suggested titles if you need help figuring out what to read next. '
Last week I had the opportunity to meet a wonderful author at the Library Materials Fair at the Santa Clara County Office of Education. His name is Paul Volponi and he was visiting because two of his books, Riker's High and Black and White, were selected as part of the Silicon Valley Reads program for students. The theme for this year's Silicon Valley Reads is 'And Justice for All.' Mr. Volponi gave a very interesting talk about what inspired him to write these two books. He spoke of how he grew up in New York near Riker's Island and spent 6 years of his young adult life teaching english to high school age inmates in the jail. He spoke of how he witnessed many injustices during his tenure there. I purchased 2 copies of Black and White for our library and immediately read one of them myself. The story is about two high school seniors, one black, one white, who are best friends. They are teammates on the school basketball team and both are being scouted for college scholarships. They are good boys but they are also economically disadvantaged, which leads them to make a very poor choice that lands them in deep trouble. But they don't end up in the same place in the end. This book is full of emotion. I felt like I was right there with these boys as they navigated the consequences of their actions. The story is also very thought provoking, as race seems to affect the different outcomes for each boy. This would be a great book to launch discussions about some very important issues facing our youth today. I highly recommend it. Book Fair is confirmed! Thanks to a couple of lovely volunteers, I'm able to move forward with the planning of the book fair. There is still plenty of room for more volunteers if you'd like to join the fun. Sign up here at the Scholastic website.
Meanwhile, next week is Banned Books week which we will be celebrating in the library. Find out more about banned books at the American Library Association's website then come to the library and check out a banned book. Well, another year has gone by and the Scholastic Book fair is upon us once again. I have dates reserved - but not confirmed - for October 31 - November 4. I have not confirmed the dates yet because I need some volunteers to help me with this fun event. I really only need 2 or 3 people, but the more the merrier.
I specifically need help with setting up the fair Friday, October 28th at 2pm. This is a small table top fair so it just involves unpacking boxes and placing displays. During the week of the fair, I will only be open after school for shopping. I could use 1 or 2 people to help ring up sales and keep on eye on things. It's not a lot of work but I can't do it by myself. The kids love the fair and proceeds go directly to getting books in the hands of kids. If you can help out, please shoot me an email or drop by the library and say 'hi.' I would be forever grateful!
Scholastic Book Fair is coming to the CMS Library November 2-6. Come to the Media Center after school and get your brand new copy of Diary of a Wimpy Kid #10: Old School. Pre-order forms are available in the library. The Scholastic Book fair will be open for shopping during Campbell Soup Night on Thursday, November 5. Additionally, you can shop the fair online from October 25 through November 7.
​Funds raised by the Book Fair go directly to the CMS Library to buy books for our students.
If you'd like to volunteer to help out with the Book Fair, please contact me in the library. |
Mrs. RichardsI am the Information Resource Technician at the Campbell Middle School Library. I like to read and listen to books, knit, and take pictures of my poodle. Tell me what you've been reading! Archives
May 2017
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