Friday, January 28, 2011

New Books Ready to Go

Since the IMC staff was relatively on their own this week, we got a lot of new books ready for checkout. It was rewarding to see several empty spots on the new book display shelves as students started to grab up the new books. Some of the new fiction titles still available are: Firestorm, by David Klass, a heart-pounding action book with fantasy and environmental themes (I want to read this one.); Miss Spitfire, by Sarah Miller, an inspiring look at teaching Helen Keller through the eyes of Annie Sullivan; and Ghost in the Machine, by Patrick Carman, a journal noting the search for answers to the strange happenings in a small town.
If you prefer nonfiction you might want to look at: Storm Scientist, by Timothy R. Gaffney, which looks at the study of storms through the careers of scientists; John Madden's Heroes of Football, by John Madden, a history of football, its special teams, and important players (Mrs. Wilson liked this one.); or Trouble Begins at 8, by Sid Fleischman, a biography of Mark Twain which focuses on his life in the wild West. All of these books are currently available on the New Book shelves by the windows.

Friday, January 21, 2011

TEST, by William Sleator

All the MAP testing over the last 2 weeks has reminded me of this book by William Sleator. Imagine a future world where a Test determines if you live a life of the rich and powerful or sit in traffic with everybody else. Ann is sure she won't pass the TEST and will never escape the traffic. But then strange things begin to happen to her. A black motorcycle follows her home. A boy reveals a source of test answers. What is going on? Join Sleator, a master of thrills and suspense, on this frightening ride into a future that could happen. Test can be found on the new book shelves by the windows.

Friday, January 14, 2011

The Dark Side of Immigration

We hear a lot about immigration issues in the news these days, but these are not necessarily new problems. Ann Bausum in her book Denied, Detained, Deported; Stories from the Dark Side of American Immigration tells some of the cases where the freedom promised by the Statue of Liberty didn't happen. The book begins with two poems -- one by Emma Lazarus from 1883 which proclaimed "Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" and a 2008 poem by Naomi Shihab Nye telling the story of what it really is like to be an immigrant in our country. The rest of the books tells individual stories of people who were denied the right to freedom in the United States. At the end of each story Bausum relates the problems of that story to our immigration issues of today. So while this is an historical view, there is relevance to today. Also there is an extensive timeline at the end of the book which chronicles immigration trends and legislation beginning in 1788. Denied, Detained, Deported is one of the Anderson's Book Stores Mock Siebert (for nonfiction) 2010 list.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Vietnam War Tragedy

All the Broken Pieces, by Ann E. Burg, tells the story of a Vietnamese refugee who comes to the United States after the Vietnam War. Young Matt Pin is adopted by an American family who have a younger son Tommy. Matt remembers a tragedy that happened to his Vietnamese family before he came to America but he refuses to talk about it. Slowly his story is revealed as he deals with prejudice from the other kids at school, attending Vietnam Vet meetings, learning to play the piano and baseball, and always fearing that his new family will send him back to Vietnam. The story is told in verse, beginning at the end of the war when Matt's American father leaves his Vietnamese family behind and follows Matt's progress in America. This book was an nominee on the Anderson's Mock Newbery list in 2010. This powerful story was an excellent candidate for the list and makes an emotional choice for a book to read.