Sci Fi for older readers

Sci Fi for middle schoolers

Grief

Depression and Mental Health

Body Image

Substance AbuseKaz will introduce to to The Firekeepers’s Daughter. (We have this award-winning book available as an audiobook– hooray!)

Dungeons and Dragons resources, the Drizzt series by R. A. Salvatore, and Broken Things by Lauren Oliver.

The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein. Resources. Also: books exploring segregation and anti-racism.

Fantasy Football:  brag about your team picks and hear about a few of our sports memoirs, including Mind and Matter and Relentless.

LGBTQ themed / inclusive titles:  George, 57 Bus, Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea, Shadow and Bone…Click on “collections” in our library catalog for many more.

Participants will discuss the author presentation coming Dec. 1 about I was their American Dream by Malaka Gharib. Submit your questions to the author using this form.    Book Review (NPR.)  More resources:Study Guide.Author’s NPR interview.

Native American authors of really freaky fantasy and horror (and more), including Cherie DiMaline, Stephen Graham Jones who is member of Blackfeet Nation, and Darcie Little Badger who is Lipan Apache (Elatsoe.) NPR Author Interview. Also: a look at author Louise Erdich, a Chippewa, who wrote The Porcupine Year for middle grades, and Nat’l Book Award winner The Round House for adults as well as the Pulitzer prize-winner The Night Watchman.

African American experiences: Between the World and Me by Ta-nehisi Coates and other memoirs such as The Yellow House, by Sarah M. Broom, The Black and the Blue by Matthew Horrace, Mind and Matter, by John Urschel, Heavy, by Kiese Laymon, and Thick written by Tressie McMillen Cotton.  Stamped by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X Kendi.Resources: “The Case for Reparations” by Ta-nehisi Coates.

Participants will discuss the author presentation of Dec. 1 about I was their American Dream by Malaka Gharib

Really interesting Memoirs, some in unusual formats (graphic, poetry… and noteworthy audio-books format for vacation travel.) Also; does Steve Sheinkin’s nonfiction counter Jay Mathews’ column that dissed nonfiction?  Thanks for sharing, Catherine!

We paused B-n-B while we helped keep crowds and eating outside, due to Covid protocols.

Ready for March Book Madness?  We’ll discuss the titles in the Middle Grades and YA Categories. Learn how to vote in each round and access book summaries.  Learn about NoVA Teen Book Festival , its keynote speaker Julie Murphy (she wrote Dumplin’ and Puddin’ which are romances with a theme of body image.) Register for its events on evenings, March 14-18 this year.  Learn about NoVA Teen Book Festival, its keynote speaker Julie Murphy (she wrote Dumplin’ and Puddin’ which are romances with a theme of body image.) Register for its events on evenings, March 14-18 this year.

March Book Madness Reviews– focus on Science Fiction Authors Cindy Pon and Marie Lu.   Book Cousins: Louise Erdich and our library’s books about Native American Culture. Featuring information on Hopi, Apache, Navajo and Pueblo.THE BEST NONFICTION for a YA audience. Steve Sheinkin’s nonfiction for YA. Also: A Volcano in the Snow: story of John Brown. All Thirteen about the Thai Soccer Team caught for days in a flooded cave. Link to the YA non-fiction award given by ALA each year.MBM: Final Voting. 

It’s Poetry Month!  Focus: Poets and Novels in Verse. Dorothy Parker, Amanda Gorman, Karen Hesse, Elizabeth Acevedo’s “Clap When you Land,” Jacqueline Woodson…Virginia Tech’s most prolific writers: Poets Nikki Giovanni and Kwame Alexander.  Poetry can be found in our non-fiction section at:  808, 811, and 821.

Eastern Europe  and Jewish Heritage – View a video about Romanian Eggs (Pysanky) and learn about diverse people in Eastern Europe and surviving a troubled history. Practice Cyrillic.  Finn and Maggie recommend these books:  Linked by Gordon Korman, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit,  The Attic Room, Diary of Anne Frank, Nowhere Boy, Boy in the Striped Pajamas,  ADVANCED SEARCH in our catalog; biography AND holocaust.

Planning meetings: join us to discuss organization of I-block sessions that explore Eastern European culture, especially Russia’s and Ukraine’s. Specifically, we want to learn how to apply the Cyrillic “alphabet.” If there’s time and interest, we can learn together how have “Slavic” languages developed from different human migration patterns and empire building. There are opportunities to share videos of Ukrainian Dance: Hutsul Arkan Dance 1 and Arkan Dance 2 (Kyiv),  and Russian Folk Dance and Russian “Soldier’s Dance” with kick out, Ballet, to explore patterns in Ukrainian cross-stitch, the role of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Books: Russia, The Great Najinsky, The Romanovs… and videos from the Discovery Education collection.  Who wants to teach what?

Learn and write Cyrillic! Enjoy videos of dance from Eastern Europe.COOL! Russian words you already know and CAN READ by sounding out the Cyrillic.

Muslim Heritage: As Ramadan will conclude soon with Eid, watch a slide show about the Five Pillars in Islam, learn about living in the Middle East, and explore related books.

Career Exploration, Books for funding College, and College Test Preparation (like our SAT workbooks.)  Find links and more resources at our Library Research Guide.

Muslim Heritage: As Ramadan will conclude soon with Eid, watch a slide show about the Five Pillars in Islam, learn about living in the Middle East, and explore related books.

Neuro Diversity:  Explore H-B’s books on autism, including biographies. Explore great books that have characters who are neuro-diverse or characters overcoming challenges such as physical disabilities.  Reading builds empathy and understanding!

Historical Fiction – focus: YA fiction by Ann Rinaldi, Alan Gratz, Elisa Carbone and selected books from the historical fiction collection in the library’s catalog. Bring your recommendations!

True Crime – 57 Bus, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, Killers of the Flower Moon, and Covered With Night, Devil in the White City, and Volcano Beneath the Snow: the story of John Brown (Abolitionist Insurrectionist in 1859 led to start of US Civil War.)

Mythology! All kinds!  Works by Neil Gaiman, Madeline Miller (Circe), Anthony Doehr (Cloud Cuckoo Land), Epic of Gilgamesh, Sacred texts from Hinduism, Hawaiian Myths of Earth, Sea and Sky, Japanese mythology, and more. NB’s list.

Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage month. Let’s focus on titles the library has for celebrating Asian heritage. Secret Coders, American Born Chinese, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, Starry River of the Sky, When the Sea Turns to Silver, Assassination Classroom and other popular Manga. Authors: Cynthia Kadohata, Thanhh Lai, Grace Lin…

Asian American Art focus: Maya Lin (sculptor of the Vietnam War Memorial and others) and Hokusai and the roots of Manga. We will present portions of a great film. Watch (or check out) our DVDs about these important artists. Bring the names of other artists whose work you love!  Make sure you use MackinVia to provide yourself more learning resources on art when you explore the “Oxford Art” database!  In Virginia Beach, go to the Maya Lin: A Study of Water exhibit, recommends Mike! Ongoing till Sept. at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art.

Computer Science and Gaming.  Our library supports coders and students who study gaming with fantastic books in our collection. See our collections with a focus on computer science as well as media and society.

Review H-B’s Constitution. Is there an amendment we could provide in order to create a new position of “clerk” for TM? Can we formulate a motion to do so? One vision is that a clerk review the Roberts Rules of Order as they’ve been customized for TM and include references to “officers at TM.”

1. serves 1 semester
2. can be a partnership (2 people, each for one semester, and learning the role together)
3. self-nominated for election at TM
4. functions to help get TM agenda and minutes up to date and online accessible; works with ITC to ensure such
5. provides PR and announcements to facilitate involvement and awareness of TM activities using “Spread the Word” from H-B home page
6. when possible, assists Chair and Secretary to access and use the TM minutes
7. seeks a means of archiving past year’s minutes for accessibility by all
8. helps encourage an understanding of Roberts Rules of Order among students, especially (perhaps helping TM to appoint a parliamentary procedure committee or conducting a FebFest on parliamentary procedure.

Hispanic Heritage Books and Science Fair Books, featuring the Science of Cooking. Sign up to bake brownies for our sessions!  See our growing collection of Libros en Espanol (books written in Spanish.)

Visit anytime this month to browse our books on vampires and other scary stories. We have plenty of VAMPIRE books, Stephen King, Steven Jones and more!  Horror Books for middle schoolers.Horror novels are featured in this “Invisibiilia Collection” of books for older readers, including adults. That fiction AND nonfiction relates to “invisible forces.”

Elections/ Democracy Books! See some of the most important new books we have related to democracy and elections, including Why We’re Polarized by Ezra Klein, Breaking the two-party doom loop : the case for multiparty democracy in America, The History of Political Parties and Drawing the Vote (in graphic novel format.). Share your appreciation of the famous March series by John Lewis if you’ve read those graphic novels about securing the vote for people of color in the US. Visit the “Research Guide” about vital news sources (showing a range of political perspective) that are researched by professional journalists who follow the Journalists’ Code of Ethics.

Indigenous Peoples: enjoy exploring our “collection” of favorite titles about and by indigenous peoples— their cultures, and the stories they have inspired. See our marvelous display! Featured: Hawaiian Mythology.  See a video (see minute 5:45 and Minute 20) offering from authors Kate Messner and Traci Sorrell to broaden one’s understanding of Thanksgiving with a trending perspective that asks us to look back across history and the ways we have learned about it. What facts may have been distorted over time and straightened out by studying primary sources and under-represented voices instead of fiction about historical events?How historical figures or events might be mythologized over time is also addressed in How the Word is Passed by Clint Smith who examines patriotism, museums, monuments, re-enactments, etc. where some facts or voices may have been marginalized and previously left out of the “record.” The end of the myth : from the frontier to the border wall in the mind of America explores the author’s thesis about how myths about our past have shaped today’s politics; he explores the power of American’s expansionism across the past centuries and unpacks “Manifest Destiny” and “American Exceptionalism.”Jennifer Goen’s NOT JUST THE CLASSICS book club meeting on November 30, 7 pm on Zoom features the title Firekeeper’s Daughterdescribed at the top link and at this site with a more detailed summary, author info, etc. Tell your parents that they are invited to participate!Adults and students will find INTERESTING  events scheduled this month at Arlington Public Library related to the Indigenous Peoples focus.Join us at our library’s “Gratitude Station” to express thanks to the people who keep H-B’s Caring Community well appreciated! Take a card, say thanks, and if you need Maggie or Carol to deliver your note, let us!

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (view summary) and other recommended sci fi / fantasy for middle schoolers. Place your favorite sci fi for high schoolers onto our recommendation list because we want to consider it for addition to our “collections” in the library catalog.Also fantastical! Maia presents on a great book on Hawaiian Myths of Earth Sea and Sky. With Hawaiian heritage, she suggested we add it to our collection and we’re glad she did!Join us at our library’s “Gratitude Station” to express thanks to the people who keep H-B’s Caring Community well appreciated! Take a card, say thanks, and if you need Maggie or Carol to deliver your note, let us!Reminder: Jennifer Goen’s NOT JUST THE CLASSICS book club meeting on November 30, 7 pm on Zoom features the acclaimed new novel the Firekeeper’s Daughter described at the top link and at this site with a more detailed summary, author info, etc. Tell your parents that they are invited to participate!

Meaningful Memoirs; We have many recommended memoirs!  EDUCATION OF AN IDEALIST by Samantha Power. After starting a career dedicated to human rights by reporting on the war in Bosnia, she rose to be President Obama’s National Security Advisor and eventually his Ambassador to the United Nations. Fast paced, outstanding reading!  Other memoirs of note are in this “collection” in the catalog.During this session, notice that our student leader Nicola is collecting new donations to help refugees who are settling in the US. Graphic Novel Focus: When Stars are Scattered (based on a true story of refugees from Sudan.) <– an audio link there gives a taste for the book! 

Mysteries and Thrillers! What’s better than a good MYSTERY as the weather gets bone-chilling chilly, foggy and atmospheric? What is an author’s “red herring” in a mystery?  Learn which books won the 2022 Edgar Awards for Mystery Writing!  Valentina will share her love of Nancy Drew and the Enola Holmes series by Springer.  We’ll mention the Agatha Christie mysteries solved by “Miss Marple” or “Hercule Poirot.” Let’s see what everyone else’s favorites are from the Middle School Mystery collection.  The Thriller Collection for High Schoolers has highly recommended high action and True Crime on it with mysteries to solve, too!Nonfiction books on forensics for crime-solving are on the shelves around Dewey Decimal #363.25

Spanish Language books … and Author Focus: Gary Soto – Gabby will read a seasonal story, Too Many Tamales, and award winning story which centers around Hispanic Culture and the celebration of Christmas. Here’s the story review adapted from School Library Journal: Ages 3-6. More than the usual feel-good holiday celebration of ethnic pride, this warm picture book about a Latina child at Christmas is rooted in cultural tradition and in the physicalness of happy family life, with echoes of universal fairy tale. It’s also a very funny story, full of delicious surprise. The handsome, realistic oil paintings, in rich shades of brown, red, and purple, are filled with light, evoking the togetherness of an extended family, and making you notice individual expression and gesture. Maria is happily kneading the masa, helping her mother and father make tamales. When her mother takes off her diamond ring, Maria can’t resist secretly slipping it onto her finger. The ring falls off into the sticky dough, but it’s only after the 24 tamales have been cooked and her cousins, grandparents, and aunt and uncle have arrived for the festivities that Maria suddenly realizes the ring is lost. She begs her cousins for help, and the four kids doggedly, secretly, eat up all the tamales, searching for the ring. In one unforgettable painting, the queasy kids focus on the youngest child’s extended stomach: “I think I swallowed something hard,” he says. Tearful Maria finally owns up to her mother, but the ring is found, everything is cheerfully resolved, and the whole family moves to the kitchen to cook up another batch of tamales–despite the protesting groans of the stuffed children. Gary Soto is an accomplished poet and adult writer, and his children’s stories are widely popular.More HILARIOUS books (mostly of short stories) by Gary Soto:  Baseball in April, Help Wanted, Buried Onions, Living Up the Street, and more. Find short stories in our Fiction section right alongside the novels by the same authors.

HILARIOUS (and poignant) books (mostly of short stories) by Gary Soto:  Baseball in April, Help Wanted, Buried Onions, Living Up the Street, and more. Find short stories in our Fiction section right alongside the novels by the same authors.

Announcing the March Book Madness books which will compete in an international battle of the books soon! Start reading them now!

• MBM for Young Adults
• MBM for Middle Grades provide a focus for new books that are excellent for 9th graders to enjoy for QIRA.
• Ninth graders will love the list of recommendations from 9th graders for QIRA.
• Here’s more NEW YA Fiction!

Sapphic Romance with a focus on new authors: I kissed a Girl by Jennet Alexander. Girl Crushed by Katie Heaney. She Gets the Girl by Rachael Lippincott. Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo. Additional recommended Romance novels for High Schoolers – also listed under “collections” in our library catalog.Salem publishers recognize these leading authors whose fiction provides voice to LGBTQ+ perspectives (to include alongside Sappho): Lord Byron, A. E. Housman, James Baldwin, Adrienne Rich, Oscar Wilde, Gore Vidal, W. H. Auden, Edward Albee, Katherine Philips, Tennessee Williams, Emily Dickinson, Willa Cather and more. 

Foreign Affairs is a journal to which our library subscribes and it features articles that track developments in international relations. The recent article by Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz announces changes in Germany’s strategies for supporting Ukraine that are ground breaking. It is vital reading for diplomats and students who join Model United Nations. See our library’s tweet.  Come get a copy of the article and hear the broad strokes overview and why we think history might be in for a “tectonic shift” as Scholz states.

Fairy Tales – NEW TWISTS and re-tellings!  LOTS of books in our library take fairy tales and put modern or creative twists on them. Some tell the story from a different perspective. Aanya will share a few of her favorites, such as Go the Distance from the TWISTED TALES of Disney, and The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer and Poor Unfortunate Soul: A tale of the Sea Witch, also from Disney.  Valerie will assist by introducing The Land of Stories.Come also to focus on rallying votes for March Book Madness. Voting is ON!

Have you ever heard of Shannon Messenger’s SECOND Series? If not, come learn about the 3-part SKYFALL and KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES and be ready for the movies coming in 2023-2024.  More fantasy selections are in our “collection” in Destiny Discover.  Shannon Messenger introduces her KEEPER series in this YouTube video.

Graphic Novelist Jerry Craft is coming to Arlington Public Library on April 27 at 4:30!  Register–> hereby the April 1 deadline to get a free copy of his newest book in the NEW KID series and to join their pizza party!Today’s BnB gives a chance to learn about Srbanti’s favorite graphic novels, too! What are yours and have you tried any bt the popular authors Chmakova, Hale, Holm and Jamieson? We featured these titles: Compass South, Twins, and Nameless City as Ajun’s favorites. Are you aware of our popular Biographies in Graphic Novel-like format, too?  They include When Stars are Scattered (based on a true story of refugees from Sudan.) <– an audio link there gives a taste for the book! We mentioned El Deafo (with a discussion of additional sources to understand the voice and experience of people with diasbilities), Guts, Sisters, Smile, Cub and Biographic Churchill, too. What about myths and other classics that are presented in graphic format? Popular series like Artemis Fowl, Wings of Fire, Ender’s Game have been adapted for graphic format, too. Also: update on the March Book Madness tournament so far.

Alll of us will be in the auditorium this date attending a presentation by a partner of Chef Andres (whose memoir is on display in the library.) The Chef wrote We Fed and Island which is a memoir about his emergency response in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. We have the book in Spanish and also English. His partner appearing today at H-B is helping feed people in war-torn Ukraine.

Explore Mental Health Issueswith outstanding memoirs like Coming Clean, Punching Bag, Free Lunch…   The following “collections” in our Destiny Discover Catalog can suggest additional related materials:

• Biographies and Memoirs related to overcoming challenges.
• Topic: Depression and/or Mental Health

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn is a novel that explores systemic racism and grief. Lukie will introduce it.  Here is Tracy’s Web Site. Have you read other books at both levels that tackle racism? Consider… Older Readers (fiction) (non-fiction) Middle School Readers (link)Collect from Meredith or Maggie your copy of Chapter 1 from The Little Book of Restorative Justice in Education. Join our interest group on rje and track our efforts to consider establishing a Junior Honor Society at H-B. We will discuss Chapter 1 at I block next week on Wed. May 10 in the library with brownies!  We have resources to explore.And on a topic relating to “privilege,” the library will sponsor a “Fascinator Friday,” so spread the word and make a fancy hat. See TM agenda / minutes for details. If you want books about the British Royal Family, our newest ones are Spare, and The Palace Papers, and Young Elizabeth.  We also have Princess Diana’s important “unauthorized biography” by Andrew Morton which was, of course, authorized by Diana herself. Because, you know, primary sources. History.

Horror! It’s well loved in MS and we have a good Middle School Horror set of recommendations! The Nightbook Series by J.A. White is gaining huge popularity, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, The Night Gardener by Terry  Fan, The Stars did Wander Darkling, by Colin Meloy, and the Cirque de Freak books by Darren Shan are also popular. Using our library catalog to search “Horror AND young adult” will yield lots of hits beyond the Stephen King favorites, too, like Dead Flip by Farizan, and the Nightmare series by Mindee Arnett.  Searching for “paranormal” can yield results like these for high schoolers interested in “invisible forces!“Notice! Dungeons and Dragons about our resources like the fun book series at F – For!

What is “Restorative Justice?” It’s about FAIRNESS. How is it being used schools to promote peace-building and long term solutions to violence, division and drop-out rates in Chicago?  Could it be useful at H-B?  View video.We will discuss why Chapter 1 from The Little Book of Restorative Justice in Education J excites us to1) connect to our Four Pillars: Self-governance, Self-directed Learning, Caring Community and Equity.2) Explore where rje could go in H-B– many paths forward? Which interests you most? 3) Consider rje principals (and the “Circles” model for community building and conflict resolution) for improving TA functions?3) Consider rje principals (and the “Circles” model for community building and conflict resolution) for improving TA functions?)

Related to NHS: Join our “task force” on rje (to meeting 1 or 2x per month next year) and track our efforts to consider establishing a Junior Honor Society at H-B.5) Create more support for “Brave Spaces” to chill and get restoration at H-B?6) Promote Reading the books (Rising 10th grade summer reading… Brownies n Books?)7) Promote rje with resources like these free handouts?7) Promote rje with resources like these free handouts?JUSTICE!  Researching about COURT CASES and controversial issues:  see books on our shelves in our 300’s and try out the Opposing Viewpoints database from Gale.

Your BRAIN! How is it developing, and operating to help you meet your goals?  Stolen Focus: Why you Can’t Pay Attention– and How to think Deeply Again by Johann Hari discusses the past 15 years of technology use, how it was developed by Silicon Valley to wire your brain to keep your eyes on screens, and how the increase of screen is impacting your ability to focus and have an attention span sufficiently long to succeed in school and not feel anxious. (Reading longer pieces like novels rather than click-bait and doom scrolling combats that impact.)We have many books in our collection that relate to the topic of diminishing attention spans and the technology and other factors that cause the problem:  Hooked, The Attention Merchants, Why we Sleep, Internet Addiction, Pause and Reset: A Parent’s Guide to Preventing and Overcoming Problems with Gaming, Memory Mastery, Screen Schooled, Internet and Social Media Addiction, The Case Against Sugar, Age of Anger, Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the  Teenage Brain, Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age, The Outrage Industry, Raising Humans in a Digital World, The Cyber Effect: A pioneering cyberpsychologist explains how human behavior changes online, and Science Comics: The Brain – The Ultimate Thinking Machine.

YA Murder Mysteries!The author in focus is best-seller Karen M. McManus who wrote the One of us is Lying trilogy.If mysteries and thrillers are what you love,  what is an author’s “red herring” in a mystery?  Learn which books won the 2022 Edgar Awards for Mystery Writing!We’ll mention the Agatha Christie mysteries solved by “Miss Marple” or “Hercule Poirot.” Let’s see what everyone else’s favorites are from the Middle School Mystery collection.  Have you read any from this set of Mysteries for high schoolers and adults?  The Thriller Collection for High Schoolers has highly recommended high action and True Crime on it with mysteries to solve, too!Nonfiction books on forensics for crime-solving are on the shelves around Dewey Decimal #363.25

Continue the discussion we started on May 15 – it was a HOT TOPIC:  Your BRAIN, screens, and social media! How is your brain developing, and operating to help you meet your goals?  Note: YOU can find a lot of books on the topic of media in society in our library. Internet addiction is also the subject of additional digital “collections” you can access in our catalog, including the recommended books for Psychology and ADHD.Maria will present her slide show and overview additional books about the effects of social media and how the brain you are growing responds to stimuli in modern life.H-B’s magazine articles help you grow your attention span. Let’s explore the SORA app together!  You’ll find it in the list of databases that you get through Canvas. Here’s how.

Modern Mythologies!Aanya and Ben will present about the Aru Shah series, based on mythology from India, as well as the Percy Jackson series. (We have Percy Jackson in Spanish, too!)Come share your favorites and any other books you want to promote for people’s summer checkouts!  Find related books on this Mythology collection. Maggie has discovered a few notable series when updating our Asia Pacific Islander list that relate to Eastern Mythologies, so they’ve been added!Notice our library’s home page for important links all summer! If you form a summer book club, you can apply our library’s resources for support. Learn more!H-B’s magazine articles help you grow your attention span. Let’s explore the SORA app together!  You’ll find it in the list of databases that you get through Canvas. Here’s how.

For students rising to 10th grade and 11th and 12th grader next year, we help you look at the summer reading options to help you choose what to read.  Look for the red “collections” in the library’s catalog, including the titles for:

• Rising 10th graders
• Rising 11th graders
• Rising 12th graders

Have you  heard of the ever-growing series The Inheritance Games trilogy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes? There are ups and downs, highs and lows, twists and turns and unexpected cliff-hangers!  We take a look at Jennifer Lynn Barnes’s earlier action-packed works, too, including Little White Lies, The Unnaturals, and a Werewolf series, too.

Agatha Christie’s Murder Mysteries!  Hallowe’en Party, And Then there were None, Murder on the Orient Express are just a few of this famous author’s titles. Learn about the two detectives featured in Christie’s novels, Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. Whose stories do you prefer?  Maya will also teach you that Agatha Christie’s OWN disappearance was a true mysteryas discussed in this YouTube video. How and why did the famous author disappear? It caused a huge man-hunt in England at the time!

• Mysteries for Middle Schoolers
• Mysteries for High Schoolers
• True Crime for High Schoolers

Election Day results headlines suggest the possible bias across newspapers. Photo credit: Isaac Studley, H-B student.Credible Sources counter the spread of misinformation and disinformation on social media. Briefly discuss where your news comes from, the Journalist’s Code of Ethics, and notice great professionally created and curated news sources that we highlight here, including THE WEEK (which is digital in the SORA database), WASHINGTON POST, SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, the GALE NEWS database. Other resources:

• Media Literacy Lessons for 7th graders and Media Examples that help us explore for bias.
• Evaluating Web sites lesson for 8th graders.

Bryony focused us on Horror Novels for older readers.  Some are listed in our Invisibilia Collection. <–That fiction AND nonfiction relates to “invisible forces.”H-B has many fans of Stephen King, and she’ll introduce you to his book called It.    Check out photos from his home— he made it very creepy! ) Maggie will introduce you to Marcus Sedgwick whose frightening Midwinter’s Blood won him the Printz Award!Related: our books on vampires and other scary stories.Horror Books for middle schoolers.

Greek Mythology – Rick Riordan’s The Sun and the Star is a new release. Which are your favorite Greek Mythologies listed in our Mythology Collection?

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon is a VERY popular realistic / romance fiction. The author’s web site lists other books such as The Sun is Also a Star and Instructions for Dancing.Read with a Friend Challenge:  Select a book to read with a friend and organize your BnB session.

MYTH AMERICA: HISTORIANS TAKE ON THE BIGGEST LEGENDS AND LIES ABOUT OUR PAST Myth America: Historians Take On The Biggest Legends and Lies about our Past (2022)  has a short chapter called “Vanishing Indians” which is selected for study as possibly shaping national consciousness and the writing of American History (a.k.a. “historiography.) The 12-page chapter is available for us to debate/discuss– so come and get it anytime this month! It introduces the importance of an older book Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee (1970 by Dee Brown) which has shaped American History coursework for decades, but which may have inadvertently promoted misconceptions that have been limiting to American peoples. See more library books on and about Native Americans. 

Discuss how “fair” and “equitable” educational opportunities are in the US since public education is funded largely by local and state dollars. Old perceptions of “unfairness” maybe be outdated as this column by local Jay Mathews suggests. Need the Washington Post username and password? Ask in the library where it is prominently posted.Interested in educational issues? Possibly for a PSP or NHD paper this year? Sit with Maggie to learn of the best databases and books to explore. We have a ton, and research strategies are here. Make sure you feed your learning with the library’s “Professional Collection” on a high shelf near Carol’s desk.Fun Facts: APS spends an average of $20,000 per student per year. What costs money? Teacher salaries, resources, computing devices, bus transportation and more. Title I was a federal program designed to close the gap between rich and poor neighborhood schools.

• SORA – for flipping through about 170+ magazines, especially!
• The Gale databases (there are lots for different topics, including Biographies, World History, Science, including NEWS!)
• World Book Encyclopedia gives access to worldwide newspapers every day.
• We’ll mention the upcoming issue of Atlantic magazine that will cause a BIG STIR and how its authors are encouraged to REPORT with objectivity and not consider themselves “part of The Resistance” (to Donald Trump.)

We’ll also review the Washington Post login information. You can read it 24/7 if you have our library’s username and password!Election Day results headlines suggest the possible bias across newspapers. Photo credit: Isaac S., H-B student.

Just in time for WINTER BREAK so that you have a few books in a row to dive into! Maya will help spotlight the school’s most POPULAR book series– especially for Sci Fi and Fantasy!  Bring your recommendations to place more series on display for our community. Wander our shelves to see which ones are featured in easels that might interest the lovers of all genres!  Remember to consult “collections” in the library catalog to browse the pink genres (for MS) and red genres (at HS level.)