We've Got Cabin Fever!

Do you have Cabin Fever, the 6th book in the Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney? We do!

Come to the library today to get on the ever-growing waiting list for the latest installation in this popular series.

Greg is front and center of the library, reminding students to return their books on time.

Be good this holiday season! Remember that Santa's Scout is watching!

Teen Read Week!

October 16-22 is Teen Read Week, according to YALSA, (that's Young Adult Library Services Association for anyone who is curious). What exactly is Teen Read Week? It began in 1998 and is celebrated in libraries around the world. This year's theme is Picture It @Your Library. To go along with that theme, our library windows are full of graphic novels and books about art and photography.

As part of this year's celebration, this week only, come into the library, check out a book and guess the number of pennies in the jar. We have NO idea how many are in there, until the following week when the pennies will be counted and the guesses will be reviewed. Four lucky winners will be announced. The student with the closest guess will recieve a $25 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble. Three runners up will be able to pick a poster from our collection. What are you waiting for? Come to the library and start reading!

Banned Books Week: 2011

Did you know that this year, Banned Books Week is September 24 to October 1?

Are you now wondering what Banned Books Week is? To put it very briefly, it is a week where we celebrate the right to read the books we'd like to.

"Free Your Mind: Read A Banned Book", is this year's Banned Books Week tagline from the ALA, (American Library Association). When we read a book that has been banned, we are excercising our First Amendment Right, which includes the freedom to read.

The efforts of librarians, teachers, authors and booksellers have stopped the majority of books on the banned books list from being completely banned.

Why would people want to ban books? ALA notes that most books are banned due to situations having to do with sex, profanity and racism or unpopular ideas.

Who tries to ban books? Book banners are any individuals seeking to remove certain books from schools or libraries who are trying to block others from ideas that they feel are offensive to them or may be different from their own.

Are your surpised that Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Bone by Jeff Smith, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl are just several in a long list of books that have been challenged in some states and banned in some states and countries?

What do you think about book banning?

When you post a comment, please use your first name and last initial, your ELA teacher's name and your block. Remember that your blog comments will receive a grade.

What Did You Enjoy Reading This Summer?

Did you ever read a really, really great book, and you couldn't STOP reading it?

At the beach this summer, reading my own book, I happened to look up and notice this boy, (see photo). He was reading a book while he was standing in the water. It reminded me of the amazing power of an author's words, words that can keep you rooted to one spot as you franticly turn pages to find out what happens next! I read lots of great books this summer, but I'll tell you about three of them.

This summer, on a very long road trip, I listened to the audiobook version of James Patterson's book, Witch and Wizard. It follows the trials of a brother and sister, (Whit and Wisty), who are locked up when they're accused of being a wizard and a witch. This exciting book that many AMS students have read continues with book two, The Gift. I'm sure many of you are eagerly waiting for December 5th, when book three, The Fire, is released.

If you're into sports, and you've wondered what it would be like to be a sports reporter and cover the Super Bowl, you would enjoy Cover-Up by John Feinstein. Never having been there for the frenzy of a Super Bowl, I had no idea how many reporters come to the city where the game of the year is held to interview players and get exclusive stories before others do. Cover-Up follows Stevie and Susan as they try to expose one of the teams whose owners are trying to cover up the fact that many of their players have tested positive for steroids. Feinstein has written about other sports too: Change Up: Mystery at the World Series, (baseball), Last shot: A Final Four Mystery, (basketball), and Vanishing Act, (a mystery at our biggest tennis match, the U.S. Open). One thing is certain: Feinstein knows sports.

Jinx by Meg Cabot follows Jinx, (and yes, you guessed it-she's a klutz), as she arrives in New York City to live with her aunt, uncle and their family for the summer. She quickly discovers that her cousin and her friends are playing at being witches. Jinx wastes no time to try and stop her from harming others with her "spells". This book was awesome! It had romance, family secrets, plot twists and turns and some very interesting characters.

I read 17 other books, so I won't go on. So, what did you read this summer? A fiction book? A graphic novel? Magazines? Nonfiction? Let me know what you read and what did you like about it? Leave a comment and let AMS know!

-Mrs. Ekstrom

Summer Loan is Coming!

Hey AMS-

Did you know you can take out books and keep them all summer?! Its called Summer Loan and its only at your AMS Library. Now is your chance to check out books that you've been hoping to read during the busy school year. Just ask your parent or guardian to fill out and return the Summer Loan permission slip before June 1st. The slip can be found in the May Jottings, in the library and it is also on Edline. Be sure to have them write the number of books they're giving you permission to check out. Book selection will be on June 6th, 7th and 8th during Access. Grades 6 and 8 will pick up their books on June 21st and grade 7 will pick up on June 22nd.

Don't forget to check out a Summer Reading book from the list for your summer reading assignment. The AMS Library has multiple copies of some of the titles. Public libraries and larger bookstores are given copies of the lists so they can anticipate demand.

Happy reading!

Author Susan Beth Pfeffer Comes to AMS for 2011 Read All Day!

To see photos from and read about the awesome day we had with special guest readers and Susan Beth Pfeffer, (author of the Last Survivors series), check out this link: http://averillpark.k12.ny.us/news/News.htm#Readallday

Check out this animoto video full of photos from Read All Day!

Author Susan Beth Pfeffer is Coming to AMS!

We are very pleased and excited to announce that young adult author Susan Beth Pfeffer is coming here on April 15th for the 8th annual Read All Day! Read All Day is a celebration of books and reading aloud, as guest readers volunteer their time to read to classes. Ms. Pfeffer is the author of a very popular series here at AMS: the Last Survivors series. Life As We Knew It, The Dead and the Gone, and This World We Live In, are the books in her trilogy about one family coping with a series of natural disasters that may mean the end of life as we know it. As frightening as this premise can be, these books are also about hope. Ms. Pfeffer is a New York Times bestselling author whose books have won state awards and have received starred reviews.

Here is the book trailer for the Last Survivors series:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNZI1-hPGXE

You might also want to check out her blog at: http://susanbethpfeffer.blogspot.com/

After selling books at lunches, we have a very limited supply of paperback copies of book 1: Life As We Knew It, (for $5) and book 2: The Dead and the Gone, (for $7). We are offering a special deal: students can buy both books for $10! These books won't last, so students should come to the library with their money or checks made out to the Algonquin Parent Organization.

At AMS, we will also be selling book 3: This World We Live In, (for $9 through preorder), in paperback through Blackwood and Brouwer Booksellers in Kinderhook. Students can pick up preorder forms in the library. If there is enough interest, we may sell books 1-3 in hardcover on April 15th.

Ms. Pfeffer will be available to sign copies of books after school on April 15th until 4pm. There are no late buses, so students must have a ride home. The AMS Library also has a small number of copies to check out, but students will want to get on the waiting list asap.

We are very glad that we are able to offer this unique opportunity for our students. We are sure that you are also looking forward to her visit!