Last Chance

The first new books of the year should be arriving any day and I'm currently working on my last set of orders. This is your last chance to make a suggestion of a topic, series, title or author you want to have in the Carver Library. Be sure to stop by and let me know soon! I'll post soon about the best of the new titles I think you'll love!

October Book Talks for 8th grade

It's time for the second annual edition of Spooky Book Talks for October.  This year I focused on Mysteries, Thrillers, Horror and Suspense.  Some of the books have been around for a bit, some are additions to series, but all are great books to read if you like any of these genres.  Feel free to browse through the presentation below.

A student suggestion

Zach's Lie by Roland Smith
Zach's lie is the story of a boy who moves to another state after his dad messed up by transporting drugs. He goes from living a great life to living in a small town. When Zach is attacked late one night the government forces his family to move to a new town. When he gets to his new town, Zach wants to turn around and go back. That’s Zach's story. Review by Jared, 6th grade.

Truman Readers Award Nominees

If you are in seventh or eighth grade you've already visited the library and seen this presentation. Sixth graders don't worry your chance is coming soon! This is the presentation I used to talk to the classes. Some book trailers are linked in it as well as information about this years Readers lunch.

Welcome Back!

It's that time of year again! I'm looking forward to visiting with all of you in these first few weeks about what you've read this summer and what books you really want here at Carver. Be sure to stop by and check out the new Mark Twain and Truman nominees for 2010-2011. Remember if you read at least four titles you'll attend our special lunch in the spring!

Summer 2010

I hope all you Carver Cougars are enjoying your summer so far. Don't forget to check out the Summer Reading program at the library. You only have to read four hours to win prizes. There are tons of great books out there to read and many new titles coming out in the next few months or soon.

A few I'm excited to read include:

• Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins- this is the third in the Hunger Games Trilogy releases August 24th. This is one I'll be reading as soon as it comes out even with school starting at the same time.


• Crossbones by Patrick Carman- this is the rumored third title in the Skeleton Creek Series no release date so far but you can find Skeleton Creek on Facebook for more information as it becomes available.


• Frenzy by Robert Liparulo- this is the sixth book in the Dreamhouse Kings series. If you started the series at Carver you might pick up this book at the public library for some summer reading.


• Lies a Gone Novel by Michael Grant- this is the third in the Gone series. If you've read Gone (A Truman nominee for next year) you should read Hunger the sequel and Lies.


• The Necromancer by Michael Scott- the newest addition to the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flammel just came out. I'm excited to see what happens to Josh and Sophie in this fourth book.


• The Forest of Hands and Teeth and The Dead-tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan- I read The Forest of Hands and Teeth right as school was ending and was excited to find the companion novel. It's the first book I read this summer and I really liked it. You can read either book first. A third book The Dark and Hollow Places will be released next Spring.
  
• August 31st The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare comes out. You might recognize this author from the Immortal Instruments Series. If you enjoyed City of Bones, City of Ashes or City of Glass you might want to try this new series as well. I'm certainly going to be reading it. On Clare's website, she says reading this book prior to the March 11th, 2011 release of the fourth Immortal Instruments Series would be helpful as some characters will show up from it in the fourth book. The Clockwork Angel is part of the Infernal Devices series which is a prequel to the Immortal Instruments series.

A few other summer releases include:

• James Patterson's newest YA series after Maximum Ride is the Daniel X series. The latest installment Danial X: Demons and Druids comes out July 26th.


• June 5th The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer released. I know many of you love this series, so I'm sure you'll be reading this as well.


• One of the titles Sarah Bean Thompson talked about in her visit was Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford, the sequel Carter's Big Break was release June 1st.


• The 8th Pretty Little Liars title, Wanted by Sara Shepard came out June 8th.
  

There are many other new titles out there, be sure to check out the selection at the public library this summer and keep reading. I'll see you all in August!

2009-2010 Reader's Awards

Do you remember reading the Mark Twain Award nominees in elementary school? Those awards still exist along with several others to cover most grade levels. In April MASL (Missouri Association of School Librarians) announced the winners of the 2009-2010 readers awards for the state of Missouri. Here are the results for the Middle School Truman Award with the other awards included below. Many of these would make great summer reads. If you are interested in reading the 2010-2011 Truman list stop by the Carver Library to see a full list



Truman Readers Award for grades six through eight

1st Place Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer

2nd Place Cracker by Cynthia Kadohata

3rd Place Carpe Diem by Autumn Cornwell



Show Me Readers Award for grades one through three

1st Place Some Dog by Mary Casanova

2nd Place Old House by Pamela Duncan Edwards

3rd Place Orange Shoes by Trinka Hakes Noble



Mark Twain Readers Award for grades four through six

1st Place Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn

2nd Place The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

3rd Place Garden of Eve by K. L. Going



Gateway Readers Award for grades nine through twelve

1st Place Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

2nd Place Unwind by Neal Shusterman

3rd Place Beastly by Alex Flinn

What genre do you like?

Often when kids come by the library and can't find a I book I ask them several questions about what kinds of books they have read before and liked, what TV shows or movies they like, and what it is about them they like. This helps me figure out what books to recommend, though it can still be hit and miss to find the perfect fit. Sometimes the book I recommend depends on the age/grade of the student and their maturity as much as what their answer's are to the questions. The better I know a kid the easier it is to recommend a book. It's easier if kids know what genre they like to read, though often books cross genres as do readers. The books included in this powerpoint are intended for 8th grade. Many of them have been read by students in other grades, but I'm recommending them especially to 8th grade. As always read what interests you!