Unlocked by Ryan G. Van Cleave

Unlocked by Ryan G. Van Cleave

Unlocked by Ryan G. Van Cleave
Call Number: YA VAN
WVPL - BB

 "If you heard the rumor, would you stop the shooter?" ~From the cover

Andy and Blake should have been friends from the start. Instead, each drifted along in the crazy world of high school.

Then there was the rumor. The rumor that Blake brought a gun to school. In an instant, Andy could raise himself from loner status to popular guy. Even his crush would acknowledge he existed. All Andy had to do was get the keys to the lockers from his dad, prove to his class mates that they were right, and instant popularity.

Instead, Andy is made the laughing stock of the school, gets into deep trouble, and suddenly finds himself befriending Blake. A surprising novel in verse, readers follow Andy as he navigates the world of high school and friendship with Blake. As he and Blake hang out more though, Andy starts to notice Blake acting strangely. Follow along to see just what is going on at Andy's high school. A perfect quick read.

Library Catalog will be ofline Sunday

• Scheduled maintenance for the MCLINC catalog and library system will begin on Saturday Jan. 7, at 5pm and end late Sunday night or early Monday morning.
• [This means:] On Sunday (Jan. 8), please bring your library card to the library to borrow items. We will not be able to access your account if you do present your card.
• During the maintenance period the MCLINC catalog will be unavailable [This includes the online catalog at home].
• We will not be able to renew materials or access your information.
• The catalog should be available again late Sunday night or early Monday morning.
• Internet access at the library will be unaffected; therefore there will be no interruptions to searches on remote electronic databases, such as the POWER Library, Reference USA, etc.

Grandpa Green by Lane Smith

Grandpa Green by Lane Smith

Grandpa Green by Lane Smith
Illustrated by the author
Call number: JJ SMI
WVPL - BB

Who is Grandpa Green? A young boy is traveling through a garden. Words are interspersed throughout the topiaries that are telling a story of another boy who grew up to be a man and have a family. The young boy admires the topiaries, thinking about what each one is explaining. Grandpa is growing older and is losing things. Things only a young boy can find and only the garden can hold.

A beautiful story about a great-grandparent who has stories to tell. The stories are told for the boy through the topiaries as he finds Grandpa Green's  missing items. A wonderful touch to this story would be to see if the child can find the items as the boy does (although, in some pages, the boy all ready has it). Use this story to discuss memory loss or the stories our families have to tell or when you are taking a trip to a garden with topiaries.

Walter Dean Myers - National Ambassador for Young People's Literature

Walter Dean Myers was recently announced as the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. This is a great honor that authors have to help promote literature to and for young people. It is also, I believe, a fairly new post as I can only remember a few others such as Jon Scieszka and Lois Lowery.

Also of note, the NYTimes Article on Myers's appointment and what he will be doing for the next two years.

Cybils Announced!

2011 Cybils Finalists

Yet another book award exists out there, and this one is possibly one you didn't hear about. This award is created and judged by Book Bloggers. Yes, book bloggers. These include librarians, adults who read YA, and even some teens. The group comes together to give nominations, then whittle them down to finalists, then to announce the winners. Every year, this list is fun to look at because these include books you know and books you don't. Go head, check them out. Tell us in the comments if you see anything you are happy to see (or maybe not so happy to see) made the cut.