Have You Heard?

There's a Book Fair coming to the IMC next Tuesday and Wednesday, March 18 & 19. For this Book Fair, P.T.O. is partnering with the Sports Banquet for Wednesday night. There are sure to be plenty of choices. Maybe even some of the books you have read about in this blog. Those of you who would like to get a head start on the 2009 Rebecca Caudill nominees, I include the list here. Some of nominees may even show up at the Book Fair. See if you can find something to enjoy over spring Break. See you at the Fair!

2009 Nominees for the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award

Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters by Lesley M.M. Blume
Blood on the River: James Town 1607 by Elisa Carbone
shug by Jenny Han
Penny from Heaven by Jennifer L. Holm
Alabama Moon by Watt Key
The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson
Black Duck by Janet Taylor Lisle
Rules by Cynthia Lord
Gossamer by Lois Lowry
Heat by Mike Lupica
Oh, Rats!: The Story of Rats and People by Albert Marrin
Project Mulberry by Linda Sue Park
Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver
Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
A Drowned Maiden's Hair: A Melodrama by Laura Amy Schlitz
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Letters From Wolfie by Patti Sherlock
Black Storm Comin' by Diane Lee Wilson

Sorry for the Inconvenience

Have you been trying to look up a book on the IMC IPAC this week and found it's not available. Well, you are not alone.

If you are trying to use the IMC IPAC outside of school, you may find access blocked. Our automation system is experiencing growing pains with the recent upgrade. If someone enables the Search Suggestions option in the IPAC, it causes a system crash. Until a member of the IMC staff comes in and resets the IMC server, the IPAC will not work. Please excuse our dust during this remodeling period.

The same condition exists at Ide and Prairieview Schools, so their IPACs may also not be available. The IMC staff will restore the system as soon as possible to allow for outside use. We hope the wait for the next upgrade which will fix this problem is not long.

Island Trilogy by Gordon Korman

Six difficult teenagers are sent by their parents to a help program called Charting a New Course. The teens will crew a boat on a one month journey across the Pacific Ocean under adult supervision. The four boys and two girls are angry or indifferent to this program until the storm hits, the boat capsizes, and all the adults are gone. Now the teens have to work together to survive. And that's only Book One: Shipwreck! Book Two is called Survival and Book Three is called Escape. Korman has written an amazing tale of survival and growing up. The IMC has this series in 3 paperbacks on the Paperback Rack if you can find them. They're almost always out! And we have just added a hardcover book which has all three books in one.

A Blast from the Past

How did people in the 1950s view space travel? In Eleanor Cameron's book, The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet, it was child's play! David's father finds a want ad in the newspaper asking for a small space ship built by a boy or two. David and his friend Chuck build such a ship and meet the mysterious Mr. Bass as their adventure begins.

Today we know that space travel is not so easy, but when I was growing up anything was possible. Take a look back and enjoy the idea that there is a small planet between the Earth and the Moon that is very hard to detect. And believe that it is possible to travel to this tiny planet and save the inhabitants' civilization with something as ordinary as a chicken. Suspend belief and enjoy the adventure!