Camels Hump Library Blog

Think About This... And Only This!

2012-01-13T08:35:00.000-05:00

Favorite Books?

2011-12-08T11:01:00.001-05:00

2011-10-14T14:53:00.003-04:00

Pilot & Huxley: The First Adventure
by Dan McGuinness

Best friends Pilot and Huxley have no idea that the video game they've borrowed from Awesome Videos contains the password for the alien Vorconian weapon of doom. When they're sent to another dimension by the Grim Reaper, the adventure and fun begin. A short, mucus-filled graphic novel by Dan McGuinness. Look for #2 in the series shortly.

2011-09-15T09:48:00.001-04:00

Hammerin' Hank Greenberg by Shelley Sommer
Growing up in New York, young Hank Greenberg spent most of his time playing ball. 6'3" by the time he was 13, Hank was big and strong, but did he have what it takes to join the ranks of Ruth, Gehrig, and Cobb? Author Sommer tells the story of one of baseball's greatest, a man who gave much to baseball and his country, and who played the way he lived: with malice toward none, with charity for all (except opposing pitchers).

Welcome Back! Now What Did You Read?

2011-08-31T21:45:00.000-04:00

Ah, summer. All the time to relax with a great book, or a dozen great books, or more.

Why is it Gwen, normal, everyday Gwen, who turns out to be the twelfth? Why not her cousin Charlotte, who has been prepared for the life of a time traveler almost since birth? Nonetheless, it IS Gwen, and she will have to be a swift learner if she is to keep her head. This is the first in a trilogy from German author Kerstin Gier, translated by Anthea Bell, who also translated The Thief Lord.

2011-06-07T09:31:00.000-04:00

5 Quick Questions

All of the answers for the following questions can be found on links from this blog. Please write your answers in a MS Word document, then email that document as an attachment to Mr. Madden in Groupwise.

What South American country did the Treaty of Tordesillas give to Portugal?
Who has full legal, executive, and judicial powers in the Vatican City?
King Louis XIV of France is famous for saying "L'etat, c'est moi." What does this mean?
On what Japanese island and near which major city did Typhoon Songda recently make landfall?
Do you think this letter from the governor of Delaware to author M.T. Anderson is real? Why or why not?

2011-05-16T13:32:00.000-04:00

A Quick Riddle

What king can you make if you take
the head of a lamb
the middle of a pig
the hind of a buffalo
and the tail of a dragon?

(found at Braingle)

2011-05-16T13:23:00.001-04:00

Tourists' Guide to Deepest, Darkest Delaware

To go along with his latest book in the Pals in Peril series, Agent Q, or, The Smell of Danger, the intrepid M.T. Anderson has created his wacky "Tourists' Guide to Deepest, Darkest Delaware." Once you've read these books, you'll have to convince your parents to venture to this wild, beautiful place.

2011-04-18T21:03:00.000-04:00

2011 DCF Winner!

Congratulations to Wendy Mass, author of 11 Birthdays, winner of the 2011 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award. In a very close race, Vermont readers chose 11 Birthdays by eleven votes. Details on the DCF Award Ceremony will be posted soon on the DCF Award site.

2011-04-15T12:26:00.000-04:00

Six-word Summaries

Can you match the following six-word summaries with the books they describe?

1. Boy survives wild after plane crash
2. Pain anguish sorrow death gone forever.
3. Fire death war anger betrayal capture.
4. Food animals healthy farms factories organic.
5. Teenager recruited ruthless organization MI6 spy.
6. Strength perseverance loyalty friendship trust adjustments.
7. Perfection genetically modified reclusive no family.
8. Secretive agents children test island danger.
9. Poetry channels feelings boy's dead dog.
10. Trapped immobilized insane nightmare flying release.

2011-04-12T14:07:00.002-04:00

Powerspeak Languages is a link available through the Vermont Online Library. Click on it to start learning Spanish, French, German, or Mandarin Chinese! If you're trying to access it from home, see Mr. Madden for login and password specifics.

2011-03-09T09:42:00.005-05:00

Odes to odious writing

It's that time of year. Mud season? Well, not yet, but soon. It may, in fact, work itself into your novel! What novel?, you ask. The one that will begin with the most deliciously ridiculous opening sentence you can create.

That's the hope of the organizers of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, held yearly in April since 1983. Here's the sentence that started it all:

"It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents--except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness."

--Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, Paul Clifford (1830)

Think you can top that? Submit your entries here as comments!

Here's are some other examples to get your creative juices flowing.
bulwer-lytton examples

2011-02-04T15:26:00.000-05:00

Little Red Riding Hood, Reinvented

Vivian Vande Velde is no stranger to folktales. Nor does she hesitate to write what she thinks. So when she cited "Little Red Riding Hood" as "the perfect example of the exact opposite of a good story," it raised my eyebrows. Not content to leave it at that, Vande Velde created Cloaked in Red, a collection of eight new tellings of "Little Red Riding Hood." I don't know if Vande Velde's tellings will be as universal as the original(s), but they certainly are unique. Like she did earlier in The Rumplestiltskin Problem, Vande Velde honors the folktale by creating so many great spoofs of it.

2011-01-28T13:24:00.002-05:00

Sir Ken Robinson -- Changing Educational Paradigms

Sir Ken Robinson has been thinking, writing, and speaking about educational reform for quite some time. His 2006 TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) lecture has become a call for changing our fundamental educational model. Here's an animation (from RSA, the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) that visualizes his ideas:

2010-11-28T10:06:00.002-05:00

The Ghostwriter Secret

by Mac Barnett; illustrations by Adam Rex

Chums Mac Barnett and Adam Rex have done it again! The Ghostwriter Secret, the second in the Brixton Brothers action/detective series, is out, and it is totally ace. This time, instead of being mistaken for a private investigator, Steve Brixton is hired as one – twice. Who has tried to steal the Nichols diamond? And what has happened to MacArthur Bart, author of the Bailey Brothers detective series? And how can you tell the difference between a cherry and a strawberry Jolly Rancher before you get the horrible taste of cherry stuck in your mouth? Steve and his friend Dana tackle these and many other of life's mysteries in this action-packed comedy.

2010-09-29T09:22:00.000-04:00

From Blabberize, here's a quick blab on Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Enjoy!

2010-09-27T12:19:00.001-04:00

The Necromancer by Michael Scott

Quick -- think of a major figure, hero(ine) or villain, from history. Chances are good that Michael Scott has a place reserved for them in his Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series. From Billy the Kid to Quetzalcoatl to Joan of Arc, they're all here, and they all seem to believe that teenage twins Josh and Sophie are the key to the future of the world. If it all seems a little improbable, that's because it is. But Scott keeps the action going at a great pace, with explanations along the way as events get more confusing. This is obviously not the end of the series, but it would be nice to see an ending to the book that doesn't just lead to an obvious next chapter. One bit of trivia: you can read about John Dee, Elizabethan man of science and astrology (and possibly espionage), in both this book and Maria Rutkoski's Celestial Globe. What fun!

2010-09-15T11:22:00.000-04:00

Poop Happened: A History of the World From the Bottom Up
by Sarah Albee

What an inspired and inspiring read! From early history to modern times, Albee introduces us to customs, occupational hazards, and heroes related to how humans have dealt with our own wastes. Anyone choosing a career path would do well to aquaint him or herself with the terms "gongfermor," "fuller," and many others in this wonderful book. Then make sure you don't become one of those! This is definitely the number one book on number two!

2010-09-13T09:50:00.000-04:00

Trackers: Book One by Patrick Carman

Adam Henderson is a computer genius. At 5, he took apart circuit boards the way other kids play with Legos. At 9, he had made a virtual fortune from online games, spending his money to design new surveillance cameras and firewalls. When he reaches middle school, Adam finds a crew of like-minded friends, and they stumble into tracking. Not tracking animals, but tracking criminals. Little do they know where it will take them.
This first book in a projected series, set in Seattle, tries to link interviews with video and other websites, but I found reading the book straight through to be more entertaining and less distracting. All of the content from the weblinks can also be found at the end of the book in appendices. This is an exciting start to the series; let's hope Carman will focus on the story in the book and leave off the attempt to draw people away from the book.

2010-09-13T09:47:00.000-04:00

Alex van Helsing: Vampire Rising by Jason Henderson

With the abundance of vampire literature flying around these days, it's good to know that Alex van Helsing has us covered. Although he's never known it, Alex has learned all of the necessary skills to begin his life's work: hunting vampires. Landing at an exclusive boarding school on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland, Alex wakes nightly to glowing eyes that watch him. After thinking, "This doesn't happen," and dispensing with a couple of these creatures of the night, Alex learns a much bigger secret -- his family has for generations fought the undead. It's a lot to keep up with, and still get your English literature homework done. Luckily, his English literature teacher also happens to hunt vampires as well, so all's good. This is a quick, action-filled romp through the Swiss countryside on nights when one would be safer at home, reading a book like this.

2010-09-13T09:45:00.000-04:00

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger

Is Origami Yoda for real? Well, of course, he's for real. He's a paper finger puppet that seems to live on Dwight's finger. All the time. But when Dwight speaks in his horrid Yoda voice to answer questions his classmates ask Origami Yoda, the answers seem, well, amazing. Could Origami Yoda really be using the Force to calm sixth-graders' deepest fears, or is this just another of Dwight's many oddball stunts? Tommy and his classmates have created a case file to uncover the truth.

2010-09-13T09:43:00.000-04:00

Heist Society by Ally Carter

Katarina Bishop thought she had made it clear: she did not want to go into the family business. She wanted a normal life, starting with an education at the Colgan School. But when the headmaster's car is found atop the fountain in the quad, and grainy videotape identifies Kat as the primary suspect, she finds that someone wants her back in the game. And this game? This one is saving her father, who himself is being followed by international police and, more importantly, by Arturo Taccone, who is convinced that Bobby Bishop was behind the theft of a priceless treasure trove of paintings from Taccone's mansion. Kat has 14 days to return the paintings...

2010-09-03T09:27:00.000-04:00

Trackers: Book One by Patrick Carman

Adam Henderson is a computer genius. At 5, he took apart circuit boards the way other kids play with Legos. At 9, he had made a virtual fortune from online games, spending his money to design new surveillance cameras and firewalls. When he reaches middle school, Adam finds a crew of like-minded friends, and they stumble into tracking. Not tracking animals, but tracking criminals. Little do they know where it will take them.

This first book in a projected series, set in Seattle, tries to link interviews with video and other websites, but I found reading the book straight through to be more entertaining and less distracting. All of the content from the weblinks can also be found at the end of the book in appendices. This is an exciting start to the series; let's hope Carman will focus on the story in the book and leave off the attempt to draw people away from the book.

2010-09-03T07:33:00.000-04:00

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Katniss Everdeen is a survivor. But after being rescued from the Quarter Quell, she can hardly face everything that she has lost: Peeta, her ally, friend, and lover (?) from District 12, was not rescued by the rebels from District 13; District 12, Katniss' home, has been bombed to rubble by the Capitol; and almost everyone she loves has been damaged in some way. Still, she is the face of the rebellion against the Capitol; she is the Mockingjay. This third and final volume in the Hunger Games trilogy continues where Catching Fire left off, with Katniss reeling from the shock of the last words of that book. Readers who have eagerly awaited this book will find plenty to love here.

2010-06-30T08:53:00.001-04:00

Bookmobile starts today!

Starting today, and each Wednesday until August 11, we'll be stopping in Bolton and Huntington with a little bus full of books. Looking for a great way to spend some time this summer? Stop by the CHMS bookmobile! Here's a link to the times and places we'll be stopping:

2010-06-09T08:59:00.000-04:00

Quick Questions

For each of these questions, find an answer and cite the source of your answer. You may use any sources to find your answers.

Before it was handed over to Chinese control, of what country was Hong Kong a colony?
Where can you find Grant's tomb?
Where was the painter Pablo Picasso born?
In what year will Halley's Comet be visible again on Earth?
How many players play on a rugby team at one time?

2010-06-09T08:18:00.000-04:00

Quick Website Survey

CHMS will be changing the look of its websites next fall, and we'd like some input from you. Today's subject is links. Links from the homepage will be placed on the left side of the homepage, but many teams have more than one page associated with them. Below are two ways to show links to other pages. Which way do you like links displayed? Please give your preference (A or B) as a comment to this blog. Thanks!

A. Upper Township School District

B. Drummond Area School District

2010-05-10T09:49:00.000-04:00

Explore Your Animal Neighbors at the Arkive

We get to see humans all the time, but how many of us have seen pictures of the boto or the dwarf adder? If you're looking for some great photos, videos, and information on just about any endangered animal on earth, visit the Arkive, the ultimate guide to Earth's endangered species. It is well worth a trip. It might make an activist out of you!

2010-04-13T15:47:00.003-04:00

Channel Your Inner Poet

With a nose like shoe leather

I tromp through the heather

Companioned by brindle, sable, and fawn.

Were it not for the call,

A warm bed in the hall,
We'd run in the night until dawn.

Get out your magnetic poetry, kids! Diego the dog knows what April is -- it's National Poetry Month!

In the library, check out the poets' corner, where you can find everyone from Robert Frost to Janet Wong, waxing poetic on many of your favorite topics:

FRIENDSHIP popcorn

Halley's Comet Baseball

Mud season Hippopotomi love Lightning

In addition to all of those, check out these sites to help you create your own poetry.

Piclits allows you to embellish an image with words -- either words supplied from a list, or ones that come from you!
Magnetic Poetry Online gives several different word groupings. Choose from "Artist," "Poet," "Story Maker," and many more to create and save your own poems.
Shakespeare Poetry Machine takes up to 99 words from the Bard's own works, scrambles them, and waits for you to create some immortal poetry from them.

2010-04-09T09:17:00.001-04:00

World Heritage Site of the Day

Old Jerusalem and its Walls

Located on the Eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, Israel is a young nation with a long history. Old Jerusalem is one key to this history. Holy to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the city of Jerusalem holds many wonders. Among them are the Dome of the Rock, the Wailing Wall, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Nominated as a United Nations World Heritage site in 1982, old Jerusalem holds tight to its traditions. Links to this World Heritage site are here:

Panoramic photographs of old Jerusalem

UNESCO World Heritage explanation

2010-04-08T09:31:00.001-04:00

World Heritage Site of the Day

Taj Mahal E. de Gracia Camara

Taj Mahal

Described as one of the jewels of Muslim art in India, the Taj Mahal is one of the most admired pieces of architecture in the world. Built in the mid-1600s, it retains its beauty even today. Here are some wonderful links to this magnificent site:

UNESCO World Heritage--Taj Mahal
PBS Treasures of the World -- Taj Mahal
Aerial view of Taj Mahal, with clickable links

2010-04-07T08:55:00.000-04:00

Mysteries from History

Stonehenge

Stonehenge.... What was it? How did they make it? Why did they put such monumental effort into this? Who were "they"?

All of this and more is covered by Marc Aronson's new book, If Stones Could Speak: Unlocking the Secrets of Stonehenge. With cooperation from many others, Aronson investigates the above questions. The answers are not what you might think...

Interested in investigating? In addition to the book, take a look at these sites:

Stonehenge as a World Heritage site

English Heritage site on Stonehenge

A 2008 National Geographic Article on Stonehenge, with wonderful pictures and new questions raised by recent findings

Links to articles and pictures on Stonehenge from Smithsonian Magazine

2010-04-01T12:10:00.001-04:00

April Fools' Day Classics

Already thinking ahead to next year?

Here are some big April Fools' jokes from years past to inspire your imaginations!

#1: The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest

1957: The respected BBC news show Panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Huge numbers of viewers were taken in. Many called the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this the BBC diplomatically replied, "place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best."

#2: Sidd Finch

1985: Sports Illustrated published a story about a new rookie pitcher who planned to play for the Mets. His name was Sidd Finch, and he could reportedly throw a baseball at 168 mph with pinpoint accuracy. This was 65 mph faster than the previous record. Surprisingly, Sidd Finch had never even played the game before. Instead, he had mastered the "art of the pitch" in a Tibetan monastery under the guidance of the "great poet-saint Lama Milaraspa." Mets fans celebrated their teams' amazing luck at having found such a gifted player, and Sports Illustrated was flooded with requests for more information. In reality this legendary player only existed in the imagination of the author of the article, George Plimpton.

#3: Instant Color TV

1962: In 1962 there was only one tv channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. The station's technical expert, Kjell Stensson, appeared on the news to announce that, thanks to a new technology, viewers could convert their existing sets to display color reception. All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their tv screen. Stensson proceeded to demonstrate the process. Thousands of people were taken in. Regular color broadcasts only commenced in Sweden on April 1, 1970.

#4: The Taco Liberty Bell

1996: The Taco Bell Corporation announced it had bought the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Hundreds of outraged citizens called the National Historic Park in Philadelphia where the bell was housed to express their anger. Their nerves were only calmed when Taco Bell revealed, a few hours later, that it was all a practical joke. The best line of the day came when White House press secretary Mike McCurry was asked about the sale. Thinking on his feet, he responded that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold. It would now be known, he said, as the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.

#5: San Serriffe

1977: The British newspaper The Guardian published a special seven-page supplement devoted to San Serriffe, a small republic said to consist of several semi-colon-shaped islands located in the Indian Ocean. A series of articles affectionately described the geography and culture of this obscure nation. Its two main islands were named Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse. Its capital was Bodoni, and its leader was General Pica. The Guardian's phones rang all day as readers sought more information about the idyllic holiday spot. Only a few noticed that everything about the island was named after printer's terminology. The success of this hoax is widely credited with launching the enthusiasm for April Foolery that gripped the British tabloids in subsequent decades.

#6: Nixon for President

1992: National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation program announced that Richard Nixon, in a surprise move, was running for President again. His new campaign slogan was, "I didn't do anything wrong, and I won't do it again." Accompanying this announcement were audio clips of Nixon delivering his candidacy speech. Listeners responded viscerally to the announcement, flooding the show with calls expressing shock and outrage. Only during the second half of the show did the host John Hockenberry reveal that the announcement was a practical joke. Nixon's voice was impersonated by comedian Rich Little.

#7: Alabama Changes the Value of Pi

1998: The April 1998 issue of the New Mexicans for Science and Reason newsletter contained an article claiming that the Alabama state legislature had voted to change the value of the mathematical constant pi from 3.14159 to the 'Biblical value' of 3.0. Soon the article made its way onto the internet, and then it rapidly spread around the world, forwarded by email. It only became apparent how far the article had spread when the Alabama legislature began receiving hundreds of calls from people protesting the legislation. The original article, which was intended as a parody of legislative attempts to circumscribe the teaching of evolution, was written by physicist Mark Boslough.

#8: The Left-Handed Whopper

1998: Burger King published a full page advertisement in USA Today announcing the introduction of a new item to their menu: a "Left-Handed Whopper" specially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans. According to the advertisement, the new whopper included the same ingredients as the original Whopper (lettuce, tomato, hamburger patty, etc.), but all the condiments were rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of their left-handed customers. The following day Burger King issued a follow-up release revealing that although the Left-Handed Whopper was a hoax, thousands of customers had gone into restaurants to request the new sandwich. Simultaneously, according to the press release, "many others requested their own 'right handed' version."

#9: Hotheaded Naked Ice Borers

1995: Discover Magazine reported that the highly respected wildlife biologist Dr. Aprile Pazzo had found a new species in Antarctica: the hotheaded naked ice borer. These fascinating creatures had bony plates on their heads that, fed by numerous blood vessels, could become burning hot, allowing the animals to bore through ice at high speeds. They used this ability to hunt penguins, melting the ice beneath the penguins and causing them to sink downwards into the resulting slush where the hotheads consumed them. After much research, Dr. Pazzo theorized that the hotheads might have been responsible for the mysterious disappearance of noted Antarctic explorer Philippe Poisson in 1837. "To the ice borers, he would have looked like a penguin," the article quoted her as saying. Discover received more mail in response to this article than they had received for any other article in their history.

#10: Planetary Alignment Decreases Gravity

1976: The British astronomer Patrick Moore announced on BBC Radio 2 that at 9:47 AM a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event was going to occur that listeners could experience in their very own homes. The planet Pluto would pass behind Jupiter, temporarily causing a gravitational alignment that would counteract and lessen the Earth's own gravity. Moore told his listeners that if they jumped in the air at the exact moment that this planetary alignment occurred, they would experience a strange floating sensation. When 9:47 AM arrived, BBC2 began to receive hundreds of phone calls from listeners claiming to have felt the sensation. One woman even reported that she and her eleven friends had risen from their chairs and floated around the room.

#11: UFO Lands in London

1989: On March 31, 1989 thousands of motorists driving on the highway outside London looked up in the air to see a glowing flying saucer descending on their city. Many of them pulled to the side of the road to watch the bizarre craft float through the air. The saucer finally landed in a field on the outskirts of London where local residents immediately called the police to warn them of an alien invasion. Soon the police arrived on the scene, and one brave officer approached the craft with his truncheon extended before him. When a door in the craft popped open, and a small, silver-suited figure emerged, the policeman ran in the opposite direction. The saucer turned out to be a hot-air balloon that had been specially built to look like a UFO by Richard Branson, the 36-year-old chairman of Virgin Records. The stunt combined his passion for ballooning with his love of pranks. His plan was to land the craft in London's Hyde Park on April 1. Unfortunately, the wind blew him off course, and he was forced to land a day early in the wrong location.

#12: Flying Penguins

2008: The BBC announced that camera crews filming near the Antarctic for its natural history series Miracles of Evolution had captured footage of Adélie penguins taking to the air. It even offered a video clip of these flying penguins, which became one of the most viewed videos on the internet. Presenter Terry Jones explained that, instead of huddling together to endure the Antarctic winter, these penguins took to the air and flew thousands of miles to the rainforests of South America where they "spend the winter basking in the tropical sun." A follow-up video explained how the BBC created the special effects of the flying penguins.

#13: Kremvax

1984: A message distributed to the members of Usenet (the online messaging community that was one of the first forms the internet took) announced that the Soviet Union was joining Usenet. This generated enormous excitement, since most Usenet members had assumed that cold war security concerns would prevent such a link-up. The message purported to come from Konstantin Chernenko (from the address chernenko@kremvax.UUCP) who explained that the Soviet Union wanted to join the network in order to "have a means of having an open discussion forum with the American and European people." The message created a flood of responses. Two weeks later its true author, a European man named Piet Beertema, revealed it was a hoax. This is believed to be the first hoax on the internet. Six years later, when Moscow really did link up to the internet, it adopted the domain name 'kremvax' in honor of the hoax.

#14: The Body of Nessie Found

1972: On March 31 1972, a team of zoologists from Yorkshire's Flamingo Park Zoo, who were at Loch Ness searching for proof of Nessie's existence, found a mysterious carcass floating in the Loch. Initial reports claimed it weighed a ton and a half and was 15 ½ feet long. The zoologists placed the body in a van and began to transport it back to the zoo. However, the police chased down their truck and stopped it under a 1933 act of Parliament prohibiting the removal of "unidentified creatures" from Loch Ness. The body was then taken to nearby Dunfermline for examination. The discovery of the carcass received worldwide media attention. The British press dubbed it "Son of Nessie." But upon examination, Edinburgh scientists identified the creature as a bull elephant seal from the South Atlantic. The next day John Shields, Flamingo Park's education officer, confessed he had been responsible for the body. The bull elephant seal had died the week before at Dudley Zoo. He had shaved off its whiskers, padded its cheeks with stones, and kept it frozen for a week, before dumping it in the Loch and then phoning in a tip to make sure his colleagues found it. He had meant to play an April Fool's prank on his colleagues, but admitted the joke got out of hand when the police chased down their van.

#15: Metric Time

1975: Australia's This Day Tonight news program revealed that the country would soon be converting to "metric time." Under the new system there would be 100 seconds to the minute, 100 minutes to the hour, and 20-hour days. Furthermore, seconds would become millidays, minutes become centidays, and hours become decidays. The report included an interview with Deputy Premier Des Corcoran who praised the new time system. The Adelaide townhall was even shown sporting a new 10-hour metric clock face. The thumbnail (found at TelevisionAU.com) shows TDT Adelaide reporter Nigel Starck posing with a smaller metric clock. TDT received numerous calls from viewers who fell for the hoax. One frustrated viewer wanted to know how he could convert his newly purchased digital clock to metric time.

#16: The Eruption of Mount Edgecumbe

1974: Residents of Sitka, Alaska were alarmed when the long-dormant volcano neighboring them, Mount Edgecumbe, suddenly began to belch out billows of black smoke. People spilled out of their homes onto the streets to gaze up at the volcano, terrified that it was active again and might soon erupt. Luckily it turned out that man, not nature, was responsible for the smoke. A local practical joker named Porky Bickar had flown hundreds of old tires into the volcano's crater and then lit them on fire, all in a (successful) attempt to fool the city dwellers into believing that the volcano was stirring to life. According to local legend, when Mount St. Helens erupted six years later, a Sitka resident wrote to Bickar to tell him, "This time you've gone too far!" (photo via sitka.com)

#17: Man Flies By Own Lung Power

1934: In April 1934 many American newspapers, including The New York Times, printed a photograph of a man flying through the air by means of a device powered only by the breath from his lungs. Accompanying articles excitedly described this miraculous new invention. The man, identified as German pilot Erich Kocher, blew into a box on his chest. This activated rotors that created a powerful suction effect, lifting him aloft. Skis on his feet served as landing gear, and a tail fin allowed him to steer. What the American papers didn't realize was that the "lung-power motor" was a joke. The photo had first appeared in the April Fool's Day edition of the Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung. It made its way to America thanks to Hearst's International News Photo agency which not only fell for the hoax but also distributed it to all its U.S. subscribers. In the original Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung article, the pilot's name was spelled "Erich Koycher," which was a pun on the German word "keuchen," meaning to puff or wheeze.

#18: The Sydney Iceberg

1978: A barge appeared in Sydney Harbor towing a giant iceberg. Sydneysiders were expecting it. Dick Smith, a local adventurer and millionaire businessman (owner of Dick Smith's Foods), had been loudly promoting his scheme to tow an iceberg from Antarctica for quite some time. Now he had apparently succeeded. He said that he was going to carve the berg into small ice cubes, which he would sell to the public for ten cents each. These well-traveled cubes, fresh from the pure waters of Antarctica, were promised to improve the flavor of any drink they cooled. Slowly the iceberg made its way into the harbor. Local radio stations provided excited blow-by-blow coverage of the scene. Only when the berg was well into the harbor was its secret revealed. It started to rain, and the firefighting foam and shaving cream that the berg was really made of washed away, uncovering the white plastic sheets beneath.

#19: The 26-Day Marathon

1981: The Daily Mail ran a story about an unfortunate Japanese long-distance runner, Kimo Nakajimi, who had entered the London Marathon but, on account of a translation error, thought that he had to run for 26 days, not 26 miles. Reportedly Nakajimi was now somewhere out on the roads of England, still running, determined to finish the race. Various people had spotted him, though they were unable to flag him down. The translation error was attributed to Timothy Bryant, an import director, who said, "I translated the rules and sent them off to him. But I have only been learning Japanese for two years, and I must have made a mistake. He seems to be taking this marathon to be something like the very long races they have over there."

All of these come to us from the Museum of Hoaxes.

2010-03-24T13:29:00.000-04:00

Can Global Warming Solve Political Problems?

Disputed Bay of Bengal island 'vanishes,' say scientists

A tiny island claimed for years by India and Bangladesh in the Bay of Bengal has disappeared beneath the rising seas, scientists in India say. The uninhabited territory south of the Hariabhanga river was known as New Moore Island to the Indians and South Talpatti Island to the Bangladeshis. Recent satellites images show the whole island under water, says the School of Oceanographic Studies in Calcutta. Its scientists say other nearby islands could also vanish as sea levels rise.
Beneath the waves
The BBC's Chris Morris in Delhi says there has never been a permanent settlement on the now-vanished island, which even in its heyday was never more than two metres (about six feet) above sea level.

Loss of land is an annual reality for many Bangladeshis

In the past, however, the territorial dispute led to visits by Indian naval vessels and the temporary deployment of a contingent from the country's Border Security Force. "What these two countries could not achieve from years of talking, has been resolved by global warming," said Professor Sugata Hazra of the School of Oceanographic Studies at Jadavpur University in Calcutta. Anyone wishing to visit now, he observed, would have to think of travelling by submarine. Professor Hazra said his studies revealed that sea levels in this part of the Bay of Bengal have risen much faster over the past decade than they had done in the previous 15 years. And he predicts that in the coming decade other islands in the Sundarbans delta region will follow New Moore, or South Talpatti, beneath the waves. "We will have ever larger numbers of people displaced from the Sunderbans as more island areas come under water," Prof Hazra said.

--from BBC News, 3/24/10

2010-03-24T08:53:00.000-04:00

More Than the Sum of Its Parts

Ann Burg's 2009 book All the Broken Pieces is one of those books that creeps into your heart. From the cover image of a battered, torn baseball, to the story inside of a boy who has been torn and battered in a very different way, Burg's novel in verse captures moments and feelings that can be very difficult to put into words. If this book were a baseball game, we would be getting to the game well after it had started. Matt, born the child of a Vietnamese woman and an American soldier during the Vietnam War, enters the story already in America with his adoptive family. The year is 1977, and although the war has ended, many of the wounds created by this conflict have not healed. Broken pieces can be found wherever Matt looks. Through his eyes, we see how some wounds (and the people who have them) can still hurt, some can get worse, and some can heal; so much of it depends on how we treat them.

All the Broken Pieces is on the 2010-2011 DCF List.

2010-03-17T08:52:00.002-04:00

How Do We Read?

Thanks to Phil Bradley's weblog for alerting us to this great video. Now, many of us may spend very little time thinking about the future of the written word. But with new technologies popping up all the time, and with limited dollars to spend from our library budgets, this is a very serious issue for librarians. We want to help students find characters and ideas that will push them, prod them, lift them, and guide them. How can we best do this?

The people at the publishing house Dorling Kindersley have addressed the issue in this video, and they have done it cleverly and thoughtfully. This is sure to spark conversation from anyone who sees this.

What do you think?

2010-03-15T20:45:00.000-04:00

A Different Kind

of March Madness

This month, as we prepare for the coming of spring to Vermont, madness is all around us. In college basketball, we have the NCAA tournament. In movie theaters, we have the March Hare in the latest remake of Alice in Wonderland. And in the world of children's literature, we have a group of adults trying to drum up excitement and passion among kids for... the marriage of Charles and Emma Darwin?

Welcome to the 2010 version of the "Battle of the Kids' Books," brought to us by our friends at School Library Journal. In a culture that cannot leave well enough alone, it's the latest mashup between things some people love and other things that some other people love. In this case, it's not Jane Austen and zombies; it's kids' books and competition. A heralded group of adult writers and readers daily weighs in on two predetermined books, judging one the victor in a literary smackdown. But if the first round is any indication of what's to come, no one really gets hurt here.

With that being said, reading how people who make a living from tales well told evaluate the work of others can be very instructive. In today's first round bout, the time that Jim Murphy takes to examine book covers of Claudette Colvin and Charles and Emma shows, for better or for worse, how a good or bad cover can lead to impressions of what's inside. Just like a CBS sports commentator will touch on the tough road that two teams have had to reach the NCAA tourney, Murphy praises both books extensively. In the end, though it is not the nature of children's literature (while it may be in publishing), a winner had to emerge, and Murphy gives his verdict at the buzzer.

This is an odd affair. But we make choices all the time, and in some ways this is nothing more than that. Now, if kids were making the choices, giving the superb reasoning, and getting the limelight, that would be something. After all, can't kids battle for their books?

2010-02-17T08:57:00.000-05:00

Resurrecting Norby

As evidenced on the left, the title and cover picture of this book leave much to be desired. It's surprising that Isaac Asimov, one of the founding fathers of modern science fiction, would miscalculate the impact of a name and cover of a book on its intended audience. But he did author or edit over 500 books in his lifetime, and by the time he got to co-authoring this one with his wife Janet, he might have been a little tired. It was the last in this series published before his death in 1992.

Once we get past the cover, however, we find a light, funny, and yet complex story that bridges science fiction and detective stories. The super-intelligent robot Norby, along with his young friend Jeff and Admiral Yobo, are planning a vacation to the planet Izz. But upon their arrival, they discover that all is not sweetness and light on Izz, which was established as a self-sustaining colony by a group of beings called "the Others" in the distant past. Jeff and Norby attempt to discover why people are suddenly unhappy on Izz, and who might hope to cash in on this unhappiness.

Along the way, the Asimovs treat the reader to some great questions about science and robots. I say, give Norby a chance, despite the unfortunate cover. You will be pleasantly surprised!

2010-02-09T09:50:00.002-05:00

Quick Picks

Don't Judge a Girl By Her Cover by Ally Carter

In this third Gallagher Girl spy novel, Cammie's life gets even more complicated. While visiting her friend Macey on the campaign trail (Macey's dad is the vice-presidential candidate on one of the party tickets), Cammie, Macey, and Preston (son of the potential next president) are the victims of a well coordinated kidnapping attempt. Luckily, the hours and hours of training kicks in, and she and her friends manage to escape. But questions about the attack keep surfacing, and Cammie can't fit the pieces together. She needs to, for Macey's safety and maybe for her own as well.

Luv Ya Bunches by Lauren Myracle

Katie-Rose sees life as a movie screenplay, and from the start of 5th grade, it looks like a disaster movie! Milla isn't sure who she wants to be with, or even who she wants to be. Violet will never shrink from a challenge, but starting at a new school without her mom at home just too big. And Yasaman -- who knew that she could design whole websites, complete with chat rooms? Well, nobody knew, because Yasaman doesn't talk to anyone. See how these four navigate the choppy waters of 5th grade.

2010-02-03T15:20:00.002-05:00

2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games

With just one week to go before the Winter Olympics, this is a perfect time to brush up on your Olympic knowledge. Check out the official site of the Vancouver games for

information on the sports of the olympiad;
profiles of the athletes;
which countries have been winter powerhouses in the past;
schedules of what's happening when;
and similar profiles of the paralympics, complete with podcasts.

2010-02-02T08:11:00.003-05:00

Books and Imagination

"After all, what was one book to me? Really, it didn't matter. One day I would have all the books in the world, shelves and shelves of them. I would live my life in a tower of books. I would read all day long and eat peaches. And if any young knights in armor dared to come calling on their white chargers and plead with me to let down my hair, I would pelt them with peach pits until they went home."
--The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelley

Despite the fact that this wonderful story is set in 1899, I couldn't read this without thinking of the changing nature of books and reading in the current age. How much different would the feeling of this quote be if we substituted the idea of ebooks and a Kindle for the actual paper and board of books themselves? How would it change the architecture of the room, the feeling of being surrounded by stories, comfort that they can bring?

2010-02-01T08:35:00.005-05:00

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the CHMS Library

2010-01-27T09:24:00.000-05:00

Vermont/NYC Webquest -

2010-01-20T08:48:00.003-05:00

Can You Find the Winners of the Following Awards?

This is a lesson in contextual searching. Use clues in the following paragraph to find the information you need.

This past Monday, the winners of many of the major awards in children's literature were announced. The American Library Association awarded the Newbery Medal, Newbery Honor Books, the Caldecott Medal, Caldecott Honor Books, the Coretta Scott King Award, the Robert F. Sibert Medal, the Mildred L. Batchelder Award, the Pura Belpre Award, and many others.

Your assignment is to choose one of the awards above.

Why is the award given?
Who won the award this year? For which book?
What else can you find about that author or illustrator? Where do they live, how long have they been writing/drawing, what else have they written/illustrated, etc.

2010-01-05T07:27:00.002-05:00

New Children's Literature Ambassador is a Vermonter!

Today, the Library of Congress will appoint a new ambassador for children's literature. Jon Scieszka, the reigning poobah, will hand over the mantle to Barre, Vermont-based Katherine Paterson, author of Bridge to Terabithia, The Great Gilly Hopkins, as well as many other fantastic novels. Her latest book, The Day of the Pelican, is the 2010 Vermont Reads book (and is available in the CHMS Library!). For more information on Paterson or the position she's assuming, check out these links:

New York Times article on Katherine Paterson

Katherine Paterson's official website

2009-12-17T18:43:00.001-05:00

2009-12-07T14:38:00.004-05:00

Culturegrams -- The World at a Click

The map above is a clickable link to the world of information provided by Culturegrams. Once you click on one of the named continents, it will link to the Culturegrams site, allowing you to investigate any of the 200+ countries included in the database.

To become familiar with Culturegrams, please right click on the map above, then left-click "open link in new tab." That will keep this tab open for you to return to these instructions.

Once in Culturegrams, find a country about which you know little or nothing. Once you view it and its neighbors on the map, click on that country to find out more information about it. When that country's page comes up,

Read the "Did You Know" section
Read about the country's flag and why it looks as it does
Explore the links for that country

Next, look at the links along the second row (Photos / Videos / etc.).

Explore each category to see if your chosen country is represented in it. If not, view photos, videos, slideshows, etc. from another country.
Finally, click on "Graphs and Tables" in that second row. You are going to build your own comparison graph, comparing 4 countries (you choose the countries, but make one of them the U.S.) in the areas of Internet users, Caloric consumption, Electricity consumption, and Life Expectancy (male or female).

What conclusions, specifically and generally, can you draw between those comparison graphs?

Culturegrams can be used whenever you are exploring cultures, whether at home or at school.

2009-12-04T12:02:00.002-05:00

How you can find anything in the CHMS Library

Here are a couple of possible situations:

Say you just got a new puppy, and you really want to train your puppy well. By looking at the library catalog, you discover that we have a book called The Dog Owner's Guide to Puppy Care & Training. But where is it?
You want to learn about an animal, but you're not sure which one. How can you know where to find books about animals in the library?

Luckily, help is here. Take a look at this webquest about the Dewey Decimal System. Follow the steps to learn about how things are set up in a library and why. Once you have finished that, take the short online quiz about general categories in the Dewey Decimal System. How did you do?

2009-12-02T10:27:00.002-05:00

CHMS Book Fair All This Week

Yes, you can come spend your hard-earned cash, get good books, and support the Library at the same time! Whether you're shopping for yourself, your dog, or friends and family, books always make good presents. All proceeds go to the CHMS Library fund to help us pay visiting authors and purchase those oh-so comfortable chairs and couches you can relax on while you're choosing books.

Book Fair Hours 11/30-12/4

M-F 7:30-3:30

Wednesday evening 5:00-7:00

2009-11-12T10:55:00.002-05:00

Earthweek RSS Feed

If you look on the right-hand side of the blog, you'll notice "earthweek--a diary of the planet". This is an RSS feed that will update weekly to give us a snapshot of geologic and climate news around the world.

2009-11-12T09:58:00.004-05:00

What's the Missing Component?

Above, you see before you a circuit for an infrared diode, except it's missing one vital component. Can you figure out what it is? Thanks to Forrest Mims and the people at Jameco electronics for this puzzle, which appears on the back cover of the latest issue of Make Magazine, which you can pick up at the CHMS Library. It's a great magazine for those of us who love to tinker, even if we don't know what we're doing. Check it out. And if you think you know the missing component, comment below! (Of course, Mrs. Anderson is pretty sure I'm missing a few components myself, but that's another matter)

2009-11-11T13:07:00.003-05:00

Garbage Patch -- No Kidding!

In today's library class, we're going to look at garbage, and it's not a pretty sight.

First -- click on and read the first two paragraphs of the article, "Afloat in the Ocean, Expanding Islands of Trash", from a recent issue of The New York Times.

Next -- Look at the slide show of the Pacific garbage patch, also known as the Pacific Gyre.

Next -- Look at the voyage of the 2009 Gyre Expedition in Google Maps. On the left side, find, click on and read the entry titled, "Biggest Debris Day So Far!" Where did this happen?

Next -- Explain how the term "gyre" describes how this Pacific Garbage Patch has gotten so big, and why it is such a problem.

2009-11-09T08:01:00.002-05:00

Umbrella Summer by Lisa Graff

How many plot devices can an author stick in a novel? That's one question that popped up as I was reading Lisa Graff's Umbrella Summer. Nevertheless, I found it impossible to dislike Annie; she's such a wonderfully quirky character that I could forgive the times when she acted so many years older than ten. Any kid who has gone through the death of a sibling is bound to have done some quick growing up, but Graff makes sure we see the kid in Annie as well. When I first pictured the way she was dealing with the aftermath of her brother Jared's death (outfitted with helmet, elbow and knee pads, ace bandages, and plenty of Band-aids to cover up any potential sore in case of infection, gangrene, or Ebola), Graff's writing style kept me vacillating between laughing and crying. This tone is held throughout, and Annie's voice makes this story the success that it is.

2009-11-06T11:54:00.002-05:00

Eyes on the Earth

While the title of this blog may sound like a sinister plot to track the activities of all of us, it in fact refers to NASA's Global Climate Change website. An amazing look at the earth and the indicators, causes, and effects of global climate, this site invites all kinds of exploration. Take a look; you may be surprised, and it may spur you to act.

Random factoid from the site: When the earth was formed, its day would have been roughly 6 hours long. Right now, the length of the average day is increasing at a rate of 1.7 milliseconds every century. Why? Find out at NASA's Global Climate Change website, and click on "10 Things You Never Knew." You can also play the Metropolis game, fighting through layers of carbon dioxide to find the 10 most populous cities in the world.

2009-11-06T07:55:00.003-05:00

Forthcoming Favorites

No, I'm not talking about Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5. This is much meatier stuff. Megan Whalen Turner, author of The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, and The King of Attolia, has a new book scheduled to come out in April of 2010. Titled A Conspiracy of Kings, it focuses on another would-be king in Turner's quasi-Byzantine world, Sophos. With his ally Eugenides, Sophos fights to reclaim his honor and his kingdom from those who would see him gone. This is sure to be full of the same intrigue, humor, and action that made the first three library favorites!

2009-10-30T07:59:00.008-04:00

Recommendations -- They're to Get and to Give

I love it when I've just finished a book and can get a great recommendation for what I might want to read next. Sometimes it's from a friend, sometimes a student, but there are times when I want to hear what others think should be next on my list. That's where The Book Seer comes in. After putting in the author and title of your favorite reads, the site trolls through Amazon, BookArmy, and LibraryThing for suggestions by others based on the tags they've given to your book. BookArmy isn't a reliable suggestor, but besides that, it works really well!

On the other side of the coin, the CHMS Library catalog now allows students and others to recommend books that they've read to others. How do you do it?

Look up a book you want to recommend to others.

Click on the title of the book when it comes up on the screen, which will bring you to this screen:

Click on the green link to rate and comment on this title. Here's the screen that will come up:

Type in your first and last name (only your first name will show up on the catalog), your comments, and rate the book. Click SEND and you're done!

This is a great way to share your thoughts on what you've been reading, and also to get some great recommendations from other CHMS readers.

2009-10-12T20:55:00.002-04:00

DCF Blog

Have you ever finished a book and felt that you just had to respond to it right away? Now you can share these thoughts with others who love good literature through the DCF Blog. There you will find all 30 titles on this year's DCF List, along with a quick summary of the books and comments that others have made about them. If you couldn't believe how Stolen came to an end, if you wish you had a beetle like Marvin in your apartment, of if you can't get the images of swollen, frostbitten fingers out of your head, try to exorcise these thoughts through the DCF blog. All comments are moderated by a live Vermont librarian!

From the Posting Guidelines

In order to protect your privacy, we ask that you use just your initials to sign your posts, or choose the “Anonymous” button.
And of course, keep all comments appropriate. This blog is moderated and your comments will not appear until they have been approved.
Name, Email & URL are not required to post a comment.
You’ll have to wait until your comment is approved for it to appear on the site – don’t fret, as soon as we check our email, it’ll show up!

2009-10-02T09:12:00.004-04:00

Olympic Choices -- Summer 2016

Today, the International Olympic Committee chooses the city that will host the Summer Olympics in 2016. Four cities are finalists. Your assignment is to find out what you can about these four cities and make a decision.

Once you've studied the answers to the questions below, comment on this blog and say which city you believe should host the 2016 Summer Olympics.

What are the names of the cities that are finalists for the 2016 Summer Olympics? Encyclopedia Britannica Online -- look at the article entitled "Winning city to be named" (or logos below)
In what countries and on what continents are these cities? Encyclopedia Britannica Online or atlas
Using a satellite map, can you find any sports arenas in these cities? National Geographic Map Machine
When has each of the countries last hosted the Olympics (summer or winter)? World Almanac for Kids
Which city would you choose to host the Summer Olympics for 2016? Why?

2009-09-24T14:57:00.003-04:00

Using the library catalog - creating a Bibliography

Finding books you like shouldn't be hard. We can always make suggestions, but you will be helping yourselves so much in life if you learn to use technology well.

Creating a Bibliography, Part One

For this edition of your library time, your assignment is to create a bibliography (list of resources -- they might be books, videos, audiobooks, or other items) by using the library catalog.
After you get onto the catalog, look up "dogs" as a keyword.
When the results come up, notice the box to the left of every call number? Making a check in that box allows you to create a bibliography.
Create a bibliography that includes the following:

one hardcover fiction book about dogs
one paperback fiction book about dogs
one nonfiction book about dogs
one audiobook with "dogs" as a subject
one video/dvd with "dogs" as a subject
one graphic novel about dogs
one magazine about dogs

Make comments in the "Note" box to show how you identified each form. For example, you may write "GN=graphic novel".
Show your bibliography to me or email it to me at steven.madden@cesu.k12.vt.us

Creating a Bibliography, Part Two

Now that you have created a bibliography on a topic I've given you, your next assignment is to create a bibliography on a topic that interests you (just don't choose dogs).
Once you've followed the above steps for this new topic, save, email, or show me your completed bibliography.

2009-09-02T15:31:00.004-04:00

New Books in the CHMS Library

Welcome back, everyone. Here are some of our favorite new books as we start the school year.

2009-09-02T15:07:00.003-04:00

DCF Blog hits the net

Want to comment on the newest books on the DCF list? Share your insights with others, read what others are saying about your favorite DCF titles at http://dcfbooks.edublogs.org/.

2009-05-15T10:03:00.005-04:00

NOVA BOOK REVIEWS !!

The Seems: The Split Second (Book 2 of the series. Book 1 is The Seems: The Glitch in Sleep) by Michael Wexler and John Hulme. Published by Bloomsbury Children's Books ISBN-13: 978-1-59990-130-5 $16.99 301pg.

Reviewed by Kieran

In this fantastic book John Hulme and Michael Wexler bring us into the mind-boggling world of the Seems. The Seems is a place that controls earth and make things happen on earth. There are separate departments that keep things on Earth running in order such as weather, dreams, time, nature, and chain of events. They can just press a button and something like the weather could dramatically change in a day. Becker, the main character, is a fixer for the Seems. There are 36 fixers on the roster and the fixer that is next in line gets the mission. The fixer's job is to fix anything that goes wrong in the Seems but only people from earth can get this job because they have what is called a "seventh sense". This sense is the sense of something going wrong in the Seems. This sense helps them when there on the job to detect where the problem is. That seventh sense helps Becker a lot in this story.

In this story Becker Drane has his twelfth mission but this time it could be his last. His mission director told him that he had to save the world or else Earth along with the Seems would be turned to dust. The director doesn't think Becker can save the world, so he says to him, "Go home kid, were all going to die". Can Becker save the world before time runs out?

This outstanding story will leave you on the edge of your seat and biting your nails until the very end. Michael Wexler and John Hulme show us a new way to think of the world in this fantastic science-fiction story. This story is about a middle school boy's life and how it can be changed in just applying for one simple job. This book also asks us, would you apply for this job as a fixer?

Would you sign up for a job that said if you did do one thing wrong you could blow up earth? Becker Drane did. Would you?

The Tale of Despereaux
by Kate DiCamillo
Review by Tory

I hear music
A lovely princess and king
But all I hear is music
Forgetting about everything
Even the main rule of a mouse
I walk forward
Music
Music filling my soul
Losing my head
I continue walking
The music stops
And starts up again
Fear disappearing
A touch on the head
And a scratch on the ear
Now all of my senses
Leaning toward…
LOVE

“Despereaux!”
Was the last voice he heard?
For it was from Despereaux’s own mother
As he stared at the dark hole in front of him
He wondered
Was it going to be the last time he saw his mother?
Before he could answer his own question
His deep thoughts were interrupted by the two hooded mice who were guiding him
They suddenly stopped at the opening of the dungeon
“Cripes!” said one of the hooded mice
At that moment he knew with his heart
That his own brother was among him
Delivering Despereaux to the dungeon!
Cold feelings filled his heart
And he shivered at the thought
Dungeon
He repeated the word in his mind again
Dungeon
It was a dark and scary word
Despereaux felt lonely and if he wished hard enough someone would save him
But wait he wanted to be the knight in this story
So he tried to move on
He got kicked from behind and started
Descending toward the darkness
But all he could think of was
Princess Pea

Standing at the dungeon steps again
Thinking
Thinking about everything I’ve done today
All the journeys and fears I’ve faced
Thinking if I take one more step
It may be the last
The end of this adventure
No princess being saved
No smiling dad saying
“I’m proud son”
No Happy ending
And no love
But I am still standing here in this
Storm of questions
Going through my head
Wondering what to do next …

2009-04-07T07:46:00.002-04:00

New DCF List is Out

Yes, it's true. After a year's worth of reading great new books, the 2009-2010 DCF List is out, and you can find all 30 titles by going to the DCF website.

Voting for the 2008-09 List will take place in schools and libraries in mid-April.

2009-04-01T09:26:00.005-04:00

Can You Find the Bogus Sites?

Thanks to Pam Burke, librarian extraordinaire at the Marlboro School, here is a great list of links to legitimate and illegitimate sources of information. Can you spot the fakes? You'll have to investigate them to determine whether they have their facts straight. Look at the author, examine what it is that the site is saying, and try to verify the information in another source.

Good luck!

2009-02-11T08:38:00.002-05:00

How does this year's Newbery winner stack up?

With the recent announcement that Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book is the winner of the 2009 Newbery Medal, the niggling can now begin!

For anyone unfamiliar with the background, here's a little bit to bring you up to speed: the Newbery Medal is awarded yearly "to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children" (from Newbery Medal home page). Recently, there have been questions raised about the popularity of Newbery winners with kids and critics alike. Many believe that winners of the past few years have made little connection with kids, and little impact on reviewers. One article asks the question right in its title: "Has the Newbery Lost its Way?"

All of this leads us to this year's Newbery winner, The Graveyard Book. Unlike some recent winners, Gaiman is a known quantity. He has been around long enough to have made a significant dent in the world of comics, graphic novels, adult literature, young adult literature, and children's literature. Over the years he has exhibited an ability to adapt his style to many different readerships without sacrificing that style. When you read a book by Neil Gaiman, you know it.

The Graveyard Book has all the atmosphere, wit, and good writing that we have come to expect from Neil Gaiman. Following the arc of Nobody's youth, we discover ourselves propelled through openings and tight fits as skillfully as our 12th president paraded Whitey on the White House lawn.

Still, The Graveyard Book is a difficult book to recommend to all readers. It is not a book that grandparents will lovingly send to the kids. While there is a wonderful sense of family in the graveyard, it only comes after another family is lost in a most arresting way. Its initial scene of unspeakable horror contrasts with the quiet "life" of the graveyard that Bod later calls home, and the reader understands that bad things will continue to haunt Bod. Of course, this is part of its appeal as well.

I hope readers will make up their own minds about The Graveyard Book, the winner of the 2009 Newbery Medal. What do you think?

2009-01-27T11:28:00.005-05:00

The Best of 2008 : According to ALA

At the American Library Association's midwinter meeting in Denver, Colorado, yesterday, announcements were made of the winners of many of the most important prizes in the world of children's literature. Try as it might to employ new technology to help get the word out, the ALA didn't fully succeed; its Twitter site stopped sending updates for about two hours of the proceedings. Luckily, we in the library got to see the live webcast of the Newber winner announcement.

The drumroll, please......

2009 Newbery Medal: The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Dave McKean.

2009 Caldecott Medal: The House in the Night, illustrated by Beth Krommes and written by Susan Marie Swanson.

2009 Robert Sibert Medal (for nonfiction): We Are the Ship: the Story of Negro League Baseball, written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson.

2009 Coretta Scott King Award: We Are the Ship: the Story of Negro League Baseball, written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson.

Want to check out more? Here's a link to the major awards announced yesterday, as well as the honor books. How can you go wrong with such great reading?

2009-01-14T10:04:00.004-05:00

Lincoln, Lincoln Everywhere...

It's 2009, and that means that in just one month, we'll be celebrating the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States. February 12th, to be exact, and they're sure to have a great celebration in Hardin County, Kentucky, where Lincoln was born.

In the world of book publishing, it's been impossible to miss this anniversary. Over the past year, there have been over 50 new books written about Abraham Lincoln and the times in which he lived. Topics have ranged from tall tales of his early life (Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek), to his love for nature (Abe Lincoln Loved Animals), to the escapades of his kids (Mr. Lincoln's Boys), to his leadership in the Civil War (Mr. Lincoln's High-Tech War), to his marriage with Mary Todd Lincoln (The Lincolns), to his assassination (Lincoln Shot).

Lincoln's life is well documented, and the above books can be found at the CHMS Library, as well as many others on his life and times. For those who want to find out more online, check out the Library of Congress' Abraham Lincoln: A Resource Guide, which is a great look at many parts of his life. Included are such tidbits as this:

These (minus the newspaper) are the contents of Lincoln's pockets at the time of his assassination. The $5 bill is actually a Confederate bill! Was he keeping it in his wallet as a souvenir? No one knows...

2009-01-08T07:48:00.003-05:00

Looking for good new nonfiction? Here's a sampling of what's new in the CHMS library. Go to the library catalog to see find these great books in the library.

2008-11-18T10:29:00.002-05:00

Should the Library Limit the Number of Books Students Can Check Out?

What do you think?

2008-11-07T10:03:00.003-05:00

Vermont Fest 2008

Today, I'm at Vermont Fest 2008 in Killington, a conference devoted to technology and how it can best be used in schools and classrooms. After an early roundtable discussion of the role of technology coordinators in education, we jumped into some tools that people can really use. Here are a few links to ideas and tools brought up by presenters so far:

From the 1st round of discussions -- Should schools continue to house student and staff files on school servers?

Dropbox.com
Googleapps

From Dan Greene and Jane Tolassi'Web 2.0 -- 32 Things

A great presentation of useful Web 2.0 tools, including blogging, social networking, RSS feeds, wikis, and many other ways to apply new web applications.

2008-10-02T20:41:00.002-04:00

Emperors of the Ice by Richard Farr.

In his first book, Richard Farr looks at the disastrous 1911 Antarctic/South Pole expedition of British Captain Robert F. Scott. First, let's be clear: this is not a story with a happy ending. Told through the eyes of one of the members of the expedition, Farr brings you as close as a book can to feeling both the pull of the Antarctic and the harsh reality of polar expeditions in those days. Full of beautiful photographs that will haunt any reader who understands that many of these men never left this landscape, Emperors of the Ice is a thrilling read.

2008-09-30T15:20:00.002-04:00

Connecting with Literature – A Parent Workshop
Wednesday, Oct. 8 @ 7:00 pm

Quick--
who’s your favorite Bone character?
isn’t there a book about Nicholas Flamel?
who is Nicholas Flamel, anyway?
did Satchel Paige really name his pitches?
who are the Sinisteeds?

Don’t know the answers? That’s ok. If you’re interested in using what your kids are reading to make a connection with them, that’s a great starting point.

What we read is a window to who we are. This is as true of children as it is of adults. But our kids’ growing independence in their reading choices can often leave parents at a loss.

The CHMS Library invites all parents to come together to bridge that gap. In this series of monthly meetings, we’ll discuss topics raised by a range of books popular with your children. Find out:

what’s popular in the library now and why;

what our kids’ reading habits may say about them (and us);

how a little more knowledge of children’s literature goes a long way with your kids; and

why all of this matters.

Please join Steve Madden in the CHMS Library for our first meeting on Wednesday, October 8, from 7:00 to 8:00 pm. Please RSVP to steven.madden@cesu.k12.vt.us, or call 434-7962.

2008-09-29T21:27:00.002-04:00

Goblins by Royce Buckingham.

Along the lines of Suzanne Collins' Gregor the Overlander, Buckingham creates a macabre, wacky underearth, populated with human guardians, oversized bugs, and horrendous (but pretty funny) Goblins. After PJ (17) and Sam (12) run into an unidentified animal with PJ's dad's "borrowed" police cruiser, they receive an unexpected visit from "animal control." Sam, realizing he is on the cusp of great adventure, follows the two "animal control specialists" into a vast network of tunnels and enormous caverns--the "Underearth." Reluctantly, PJ follows, only to find himself seen as a savior for the overwhelmed guardians, the humans who protect the earth from the threat of Goblin invasion from the Underearth. Lucky for both of them, the Goblins are as inept as the guardians are heroic, and the humor flows as freely as Goblin blood. In the end, all is made right, with the hint of a sequel to come.

2008-09-23T15:10:00.003-04:00

Ah, brotherly love. It's the kind of thing to make you want to go out and hit a bucket of golf balls really hard. And when it doesn't hurt so much, it also keeps you laughing. Chris Lynch's The Big Game of Everything brings us a summer in the life of Jock and Egon, two brothers in a family of self-described freaks. Leonard, their dad, takes the day off from the barbershop, declaring, "This is a day no hairs will die." Meanwhile, their mom, Peach, bearhugs Egon and explains that his bursts of random violence are what make him "unconventionally sweet." But everyone takes a backseat to Grampus, who owns a 13-hole golf course and is working on a new invention -- the square baseball.

It is at Grampus' golf complex that Jock and Egon find themselves working for the summer, and it is two months full of mousing, chasing off hares, fighting off their nemeses (the wild, red-eyed Nobblett brothers), working on a nonexistent golf game (Jock's), and stealing a tractor to keep your inheritance (Egon's). It's a great ride, even if the only options are the golf cart or your bike. Just watch out for flying duffel bags.

2008-09-17T14:55:00.002-04:00

Check Out Some New Books in the CHMS Library!

2008-05-19T08:54:00.001-04:00

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2008-05-08T09:32:00.005-04:00

Is Middle School Worse Than Meatloaf? It depends...

What if your garbage collector decided to become a writer? This book is absolute proof that he or she would have great material to piece together a story from everyday items, that could transcend everyday life. And in the hands of a good enough storyteller, the book might be something like Jennifer Holm’s Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf. Deciding to investigate the “stuff” of Ginny’s life—receipts, notes, memos, graded assignments, IMs, poems, cartoons, hallway passes, disciplinary reports, and more—Holm has created a hilarious, poignant, and fascinating portrait of a girl trying to make her way through a difficult year.

It's About More Than Just Learning How to Curse in Shakespearean English. Really...

Holling is sure that Mrs. Baker, his 7th-grade teacher, has it in for him. She suggests to the principal that Holling retake 6th-grade math on Wednesday afternoons. He is sure that she encouraged Doug Swieteck’s older brother to flatten Holling on the soccer field. And she must have evil designs when she tells him to clean the cage of Sycorax and Caliban, the class rats, who are huge and make sounds “that were never heard anywhere else in Nature” (p. 41). However, after Holling and Mrs. Baker begin to read Shakespeare, Holling, like Hamlet, discovers, “there are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy” (Hamlet, Act I, Scene v). Holling’s real education has just begun.

2008-04-08T12:49:00.003-04:00

New DVDs in the CHMS Library!!

Although only staff can take them out, you'll want to take a look at these new DVDs in the library. If you're a student, start lobbying your teachers to take out your favorites.


.	TITLE	CALL #


.	The short films of Todd Kent	031 SHO
.	Energy Crossroads	333.79 ENE
.	Touch the sound: a sound journey with Evelyn Glennie	362.4 TOU
.	Global climate change	363.73 GLO
.	The planets	523.4 PLA
.	Mars: Dead or alive?	523.43 MAR
.	Saturn's Titan	523.46 SAT
.	Forces large and small	531 FOR
.	The ghost particle	539 72 GHO
.	Lightning and other forces of motion	551.5 LIG
.	Tornado intercept	551.5 TOR
.	Exploring space: the quest for life	576.8 EXP
.	March of the penguins	598.47 MAR
.	In the womb: animals	612.6 IN
.	In the womb	612.647 IN
.	Fireworks!	662.1 FIR
.	Voice from the Louvre	700 VOI
.	The history of rock and roll (5 DVDs!)	781.66 HIS
.	Varekai (Cirque de Soleil)	791.3 VAR
.	Evelyn Glennie a Luxembourg	792.7 EVE


.	Never been done: the Jon Comer story	796.22 NEV
.	Believe in me	800 BEL
.	Bridge to Terabithia	800 BRI
.	Eight below	800 EIG
.	Geography for students 5 DVDs…)	910
.	National Geographic's most amazing moments	910 4. NAT
.	Magnificent voyage of Christopher Columbus	910.92 MAG
.	Infinite secrets: the genius of Archimedes	920 ARC
.	Fate did not let me go	940.53 FAT
.	Italy: revealed	945 ITA
.	Families of Canada	971 FAM
.	Fall of the Aztec and Maya empires	972.01 FAL
.	The war that made America	973.2 WAR
.	Liberty! (DVD)	973.3 LIB
.	Lewis & Clark: great journey west	973.4 LEW
.	Noble Hearts: Civil War Vermont	973.7 NOB
.	The Donner party	978.02 DON
.	Australia: revealed	994 AUS

2008-03-19T07:55:00.005-04:00

Be part of a monumental test case!

Don't worry, we won't sell your email addresses to anyone, and we'll even mention your participation to the Nobel Committee! We're testing the possibility of online voting for the DCF Award.

We'll run this test from today (Wednesday, 3/19) until next Monday (3/24).

To be a part of the test, fill out and submit this Online Voting Form.

If all goes well, we'll put the link on the DCF website next week.

Questions or comments? Leave them below or submit them with the form. Thanks.

2008-03-17T11:52:00.004-04:00

Did You Say DCF?

Yes, on the weekend before St. Patrick's Day, the DCF Committee was slaving away to bring you quality literature! Never let it be said that our Irish roots came in the way of our duty to kids' books. Here's the list for 2008-09:

Applegate, Katherine. Home of the Brave
Avi. The Traitors' Gate
Babbitt, Natalie. Jack Plank Tells Tales
Barakat, Ibtisam. Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood
Burns, Loree. Tracking Trash
Clements, Andrew. No Talking
Curtis, Christopher Paul. Elijah of Buxton
Freedman, Russell. Who Was First? Discovering the Americas
Grandits, John. Blue Lipstick
Haas, Jessie. Chase
Hale, Shannon. Book of a Thousand Days
Hill, Kirkpatrick. Do Not Pass Go
Holm, Jennifer. Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf
Hulme & Wexler. The Seems: The Glitch in Sleep
Jonell, Lynne. Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat
Kadohata, Cynthia. Cracker!
Kinney, Jeff. Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Korman, Gordon. Schooled
Rex, Adam. The True Meaning of Smekday
Rumford, James. Beowulf
Schlitz, Laura Amy. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!
Schmidt, Gary. The Wednesday Wars
Selznick, Brian. The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Smith, Roland. Elephant Run
Sturm & Tommaso. Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow
Thomson, Sarah L. The Dragon's Egg
Urban, Linda. A Crooked Kind of Perfect
Varon, Sara. Robot Dreams
Wells, Rosemary. Red Moon at Sharpsburg
White, Ruth. Way Down Deep

Voting for last year's list will take place the week of April 10. If you've exhausted your pile of books from last year list, here are 30 new ones through which you can plow!

2008-02-12T12:29:00.000-05:00

2008-02-05T14:03:00.000-05:00

Get Ready for DCF Voting

All CHMS students are reminded to check out the books from this year's DCF Master List. While there are 30 books on the list, you only need to read 5 to qualify to vote for your favorite. Will it be Rules? One-Handed Catch? Hattie Big Sky? Keturah and Lord Death? It's your pick.

2008-01-22T10:52:00.000-05:00

Major Awards Announced

The second week in January is always an exciting time in the world of children's literature. That's when the American Library Association announces the winners of a LOT of major book awards. This year, there were some surprises and some sure bets. First, here's a list of the awards given a week ago:

John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature.

“Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village,” written by Laura Amy Schlitz, is the 2008 Newbery Medal winner. Three Newbery Honor Books were named: “Elijah of Buxton,” by Christopher Paul Curtis, published by Scholastic; “The Wednesday Wars,” by Gary D. Schmidt, published by Clarion and “Feathers,” by Jacqueline Woodson, published by Putnam.

Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children.

“The Invention of Hugo Cabret,” illustrated by Brian Selznick, is the 2008 Caldecott Medal winner. Four Caldecott Honor Books were named: “Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad,” illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Ellen Levine, and published by Scholastic; “First the Egg,” illustrated and written by Laura Vaccaro Seeger, and published by Roaring Brook/Neal Porter; “The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain,” illustrated and written by Peter Sís, and published by Farrar/Frances Foster; and “Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity,” illustrated and written by Mo Willems, and published by Hyperion.

Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults.

“The White Darkness,” by Geraldine McCaughrean, is the 2008 Printz Award winner. Four Printz Honor Books were named: “Dreamquake: Book Two of the Dreamhunter Duet,” by Elizabeth Knox; “One Whole and Perfect Day,” by Judith Clarke; “Repossessed,” by A. M. Jenkins; and “Your Own, Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath,” by Stephanie Hemphill.

Coretta Scott King Book Award recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults.

“Elijah of Buxton,” written by Christopher Paul Curtis, is the King Author Book winner. Two King Author Honor Books were selected: “November Blues,” by Sharon M. Draper, and “Twelve Rounds to Glory: The Story of Muhammad Ali,” written by Charles R. Smith Jr., illustrated by Bryan Collier. “Let it Shine,” illustrated and written by Ashley Bryan, is the King Illustrator Book winner. Two King Illustrator Honor Books were selected: “The Secret Olivia Told Me,” by N. Joy, illustrated by Nancy Devard, and “Jazz On A Saturday Night,” by Leo and Diane Dillon.

Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults.

Orson Scott Card is the recipient of the 2008 Margaret A. Edwards Award honoring his outstanding lifetime contribution to writing for teens for his novels “Ender's Game” and “Ender's Shadow.”

Robert F. Sibert Medal for most distinguished informational book for children.

“The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain,” written and illustrated by Peter Sís, is the 2008 Sibert Award winner. Two Sibert Honor Books were named: “Lightship,” written and illustrated by Brian Floca, and “Nic Bishop Spiders,” written and illustrated by Nic Bishop.

Mildred L. Batchelder Award for the most outstanding children's book translated from a foreign language and subsequently published in the United States.

VIZ Media is the winner of the 2008 Mildred L. Batchelder Award for “Brave Story.” Originally published in Japanese in 2003 as “Bureibu Sutori,” the book was written by Miyuki Miyabe and translated by Alexander O. Smith. Two Batchelder Honor Books also were selected: “The Cat: Or, How I Lost Eternity,” published by Milkweed Editions, originally published in German as “Die Katze,” and “Nicholas and the Gang,” published by Phaidon Press, originally published in French as “Le petit Nicolas et les copains.”

Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences.

“American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch: An Odyssey in the New China,” by Matthew Polly, published by Penguin/Gotham Books; “Bad Monkeys,” by Matt Ruff, published by HarperCollins; “Essex County Volume 1: Tales from the Farm,” by Jeff Lemire, published by Top Shelf Publications; “Genghis: Birth of an Empire,” by Conn Iggulden, published by Delacorte; “The God of Animals,” by Aryn Kyle, published by Scribner; “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier,” by Ishmael Beah, published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux/Sarah Crichton Books; “Mister Pip,” by Lloyd Jones, published by Random/Dial Press; “The Name of the Wind,” by Patrick Rothfuss, published by DAW; “The Night Birds,” by Thomas Maltman, published by Soho; and “The Spellman Files,” by Lisa Lutz, published by Simon & Schuster.

May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture recognizing an individual of distinction in the field of children's literature, who then presents a lecture at a winning host site.

Walter Dean Myers, widely acclaimed author of picture books, novels, poetry and non-fiction for children and young adults, will deliver the 2009 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture.

2008-01-09T12:27:00.000-05:00

Top Books of 2007

This is a deliberately short list. There were so many great books last year, I'm sure others have many that they'd like to add. So without further ado, here are three of my favorites from the world of fiction. What were your favorites?

Turner, Megan Whalen. The King of Attolia. What can I say about this book? It's an adventure , a love story, a quasi-historical tour de force. Eugenides, as king, is every bit as cunning as when he was the thief, and the poor Attolians are no match. A fan of Turner's works before this, I now find myself almost rabid in my zeal. Well done!

Pennypacker, Sara. The Talented Clementine. Talent-Palooza will never be the same after Clementine discovers her talent. Now she just has to figure out what it is. A great sequel to Clementine.

Stewart, Trenton Lee. The Mysterious Benedict Society. For anyone who has ever looked in total confusion at test questions, you'll love this one. After 4 kids go through a battery of tests (for which they volunteered!), they meet the mysterious Mr. Benedict. At his request, they embark on a mission to foil the dastardly plans of Mr. Curtain.

2007-12-21T09:58:00.000-05:00

What's New?

Ah, I'm glad you asked. Here in the library we always have a good collection of reading material, but right now we have a PARTICULARLY great selection of new books. Here are some of them:

The Entertainer and the Dybbuk by Sid Fleischman. When the Great Freddie, a mediocre ventriloquist in Paris, gets possessed by the spirit of a Jewish boy killed in the Holocaust, his act goes through the roof. But the dybbuk, the spirit, has more on his mind than Freddie's career. Light and very heavy at the same time, this novel puts the cabaret stage in front of a very serious backdrop in history.

Uncharted Waters by Leslie Bulion. It's summer, and it should be a great one. Jonah and his sister Jaye are spending it with their Uncle Nate on the coast of Rhode Island. But a couple of secrets weigh heavily in Jonah's heart, and he's learning that keeping these secrets can lead to dangerous places.

Football Genius by Tim Green. When you're twelve and you can hurl the football almost 40 yards, that's good. But when you can tell what plays the other team is going to run even before they do them, that's unbelievable! That's Troy's genius, and he wants to use it to help his favorite team, the Atlanta Falcons. How would you get a professional football team to listen to you? Written by former Atlanta Falcons linebacker Tim Green, Football Genius is a great first novel.

2007-11-28T14:10:00.000-05:00

CHMS Book Fair—

It’s Not Too Late!!

If you haven’t made it to the Library this week, there’s still time to check out the Book Fair. Lines are guaranteed to be shorter than at the gas station! Books are available for purchase by students, staff, and parents. Hours left for the Book Fair are as follows:

Nov. 28-30: Wednesday and Thursday, 7:30-3:30; and Friday, in a marathon showing, we'll be open from 7:30am all the way until 7:00 pm! Come on in and get just the right book for just the right person!

2007-11-12T13:48:00.000-05:00

A Librarian's Job Is Never Done

Perhaps it's because of my wandering attention span, or perhaps it's because of my great ability to focus on one thing for great lengths of time, but there's always more to do in the library. Besides cataloging, shelving, and reading all of the books (wonderfully performed by Mrs. Anderson), there are the important jobs that it seems that others can do easily but seem to escape me. Can you identify these all-important jobs in the library?

Oh, yes, we do have a lot of great new books in the library, too! Check out the list of items new in the last 30 days HERE.

2007-10-22T13:06:00.000-04:00

Does This Look Green To You? You May Need to Adjust Your Monitor

Two new books, both by Americans, look at the island of Greenland in fiction and in fact, in the past as well as in the present.

First, the fiction: Rebecca Stead's First Light tells the story of Peter and Thea and their adventures in northern Greenland. Only Peter comes to Greenland from New York, and Thea's family has lived under the ice of Greenland for generations. When these two meet, it's not as bizarre as it may appear. Stead tells their stories clearly and with a good pace, avoiding the potential pitfall of describing an environment that to outsider might seem too uniform.
Now for the nonfiction: Russell Freedman has had a long career of writing wonderful nonfiction. His Lincoln: A Photobiography won the Newbery Medal in 1988, and the hits haven't stopped coming. His latest book, Who Was First? Discovering the Americas, is another in this long list of wonderful excursions. While Freedman doesn't really tell us exactly who was first, his look at the history of human migration to the Americas is fascinating. The chapter "Leif the Lucky" tells the tale of The Vinland Sagas, recounting how Leif Eriksson sailed from Greenland to parts of what is today Canada. Archaeological digs have confirmed a Viking settlement on Newfoundland, but there is much more to tell.

2007-10-05T13:05:00.000-04:00

New Books in the CHMS Library

Hurry, don't delay!! These and other wonderful new books are waiting for you at the Library!!

2007-09-24T09:14:00.000-04:00

Sequoia Booktalks

Here is the list of books brought to Sequoia's Language Arts class this morning. If you'd like to check out or reserve any of these, please come see us in the library.

2007-09-20T11:52:00.000-04:00

Nonfictional Fiction or Fictional Nonfiction?

What are we to make of fiction inspired by actual events? This can be a difficult genre for many of us to digest. We may be asking ourselves as we read just how much of the story is real and how much of it comes from the author's imagination. However, if we keep our focus on the word "story," it helps to gloss over the questions. Also, authors of this type of fiction usually include a note explaining what aspects of the story are true and what aspects are imagined. With that said, here are a couple great examples of this sub-genre:

When I Met the Wolf Girls by Deb Noyes and illustrated by August Hall. Based on the real discovery of two girls in northwestern India in 1920 who seemed to have been raised by wolves, the story focuses on the impact of their discovery on the orphanage to which they were brought. The illustrations are beautiful, and the story is heartbreaking, all the more because it is essentially true.

One-Handed Catch by MJ Auch.

Based on the experiences of the author's husband when he was 11 years old, Auch tells the story of Norm, who struggles to return to a normal life after a serious accident in his family's store. Told with humor and compassion, Norm's story reminds us of the many ways that courage shows itself.

In a world where we see science fiction become science fact, where we hear fictions used to support facts, it is sometimes difficult to tell the two apart. Thankfully, in literature, there are times when we can put aside the analysis and focus on the story. Here are two good examples.

2007-09-14T09:42:00.000-04:00

What's In the Irish Water? Give Us More Of It!!

Two of the new books in the CHMS Library are by Irish writers, and they're knockouts. The New Policeman by Kate Thompson is a wonderful look at traditional Irish heritage and folklore told in modern times. It tells the story of J.J. Liddy, whose family has played music for generations, and how a family heirloom holds the key to time. Or TIME, in a very large sense. J.J.'s attempts to buy his mother some time for her birthday may seem ridiculous at first, but, as Aengus Og, the Celtic god of love, youth, and beauty, says to J.J., "Believe the things you remember, J.J. Even if they don't make sense."

Although many books have been written in the vein of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series since it began nearly ten years ago, Michael Scott's The Alchemyst is the first to my knowledge to take a reference from one of those books and turn it into a new series. In this case, the title character is Nicholas Flamel, born around 1330, who made his living as a bookseller and pursued his passion for alchemy. When twins Sophie and Josh make his acquaintance in present-day San Francisco, we come to understand the impossible: that he and his wife Perenelle have cheated death for nearly 700 years. But their secret is not safe; there are others who will exact almost any price to lay hands on the Codex which has allowed the Flamels to experience such extended adulthoods. Anyone interested in fantasy, alchemy, world mythology, or adventure will find themselves repeatedly asking this question: When will the next one be out?

See if these books are in by clicking on the catalog HERE

2007-07-23T11:38:00.000-04:00

Bad News For CHMS Bookmobile

Sorry to say, but the CHMS Bookmobile won't be up and running this summer. Due to circumstances beyond our control, we have had to suspend the program for this year. If you have any questions about this, please contact Steve Madden at 434-2188. Thanks for your patience, and we hope to be back on the road next summer.

In the meantime, here's a little Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows mad lib:

Wasn't it a shocker to discover that __________ was so important in the last Harry Potter book? And I couldn't believe it when Hermione ___________ Delores Umbrage! When Hagrid took _________ in his _____________, I almost cried I was so __________. And can you believe that ________ is related to _________? Finally, when will JK Rowling write another book? When goblins give up the ___________ of _____________________!

2007-06-06T12:57:00.000-04:00

New Books in the CHMS Library

These, as well as dozens more, just came in today. Be sure to check them out from the bookmobile this summer!

2007-06-05T07:36:00.000-04:00

NOVA Booktalks --- Poetry

Thanks to modern technology, here's the list of books we discussed at NOVA's poetry booktalk yesterday. Of course, this is only the tip of the iceberg; there are hundreds of other great poems in the library. Where can you find them? In the 811 section! (You can also browse the nearby numbers for collections of poetry as well--they sometimes like to hang out in 808.8, 808.81, or 821.)

Actually, we didn't talk about Runny Babbit, but we should have...

2007-05-23T12:16:00.000-04:00

CountryReports.org

Wondering what words we use that come from the Peruvian Quechua language family? Need a recipe for some Norwegian Smultring?

Take a look at countryreports.org, an online database of cultural and geographical informstion the world over. It's easy to get to the site: just click on either of the links above. Once there, choose which country you'd like to investigate. You'll then be prompted for a username and password. Here they are:

Username: chmslibrary
Password: camelshump

From there, it's only a matter of time before you find some fascinating information on all manner of topics.

2007-05-18T07:41:00.000-04:00

Slogan Contest!!

Along with our exciting new trial of an open source catalog, we thought we'd spice it up a little. The slogan we came up with for the CHMS Library on this new trial catalog is, "Come For the Brownies, Stay For the Books." Think you can do better? We sure hope so!

Get us your slogan for the CHMS Library and win a fantabulous prize. Include the words "librarians" and "superheroes" in your slogan, and you just might win untold riches!

Deadline is June 8th.

2007-05-18T07:15:00.000-04:00

Looking at Open Source

The CHMS Library, in an effort to be as ridiculously cutting-edge as we can be, is looking at open source library catalog software. What does this mean? When you come to the library in the next few weeks, the catalog screen will look different, but the books will be in their same places.

Let us know if this new program makes your searching easier, harder, or doesn't seem to make any difference whatsoever. We're not just doing this for fun; we really do want to help you find what you need in the most effective, efficient way that we can.

To get to the trial look of our catalog from here, here's the link: http://chms.scoolaid.net.

2007-05-08T09:01:00.000-04:00

"Since When Can Cats Be Gods?!!?"

Maybe they just think they are. But in Kamichama Karin, it really happens. When Karin discovers that her new cat holds the spirit of a goddess, she reacts appropriately; she throws her across the room. But this cat helps in ways that other cats only dream about; or maybe they don't. Check out Kamichama Karin 1-5, as well as a host of other great graphic novels, at the library.

Also in: It's a Tintin marathon, with The Castafiore Emerald, Tintin and the Picaros, Flight 714, Land of Black Gold, Destination Moon, and Explorers on the Moon! Check them all out in the Graphic Novel section in the CHMS Library.

2007-04-30T14:54:00.000-04:00

No More Votes, Please--We Have a Winner!!

A huge "thank you" goes out to everyone who voted and tallied votes at their libraries for this year's DCF voting. The winner of the 2007 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award is Flush by Carl Hiassen. We're not sure if he'll be able to come to Vermont to accept the award, but we'll try to lure him here. Full details of the DCF Award Ceremony later this spring will appear here as soon as they are arranged.