National Hispanic Heritage Month & Book Tasting

Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated from September 15 - October 15 annually, so this week, we hosted a special book tasting in the library to celebrate! Students had the chance to sample a variety of books, each showcasing Hispanic authors, characters, or historical figures. 

The selection included fiction, nonfiction, and graphic novels, giving everyone a diverse range of genres and stories to explore. From narratives about identity and culture to historical accounts, these books offered something for every reader. 

The tasting sparked great conversations and curiosity, and many students left with new books in hand to continue their reading journey. What a fantastic way to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month!

💗📘 Heart Book Recommendations

Our library was buzzing with creativity last week, thanks to an awesome book craft that our students recently took on. (Thanks, Lacey Librarian, for sharing the activity!) Imagine a world where book recommendations take on a whole new shape – literally! 💗✨

During advisory students dove into the world of crafting with enthusiasm, turning their love for books into 3D heart-shaped book recommendations. Each heart not only showcased their ratings for the book but also held a special place for summaries and favorite parts. From fantasy realms to mystery adventures, the diversity of genres reflected in these heart-shaped recommendations was surprising. It's great to see how our students bring their favorite reads to life through art. Not only did this craft unleash their creativity in the short time we had to create them, but it also sparked conversations about the books at the tables where they worked.

These heart-shaped book recommendations are now displayed at the front desk for everyone to read and enjoy. It's a visual celebration of the diverse tastes and interests of our reading community. Swing by the library, take a look at the hearts, and maybe discover a new book to fall in love with. Who knows, you might just find your next favorite read! 💖📖

Keep reading, keep creating, and keep spreading the love for books! 📚✨

Graphic Design Class Collaboration

With the return to school came the return of collaboration opportunities. The graphic design class visited the library to delve into the world of YA literature and book covers. On this creative journey students can see where literature meets art and discover insights into the design elements that make these book covers not just visually appealing, but also significant in representing the essence of the stories they tell.

In collaboration with the art teacher, students first discussed the visual elements of YA book covers – from color schemes and typography to imagery and content. This interdisciplinary approach reinforced students' appreciation for the symbiotic relationship between literature and art. By understanding how design choices reflect the story within, students gained valuable insights into the creative process behind crafting these covers.

To bring theory into practice, students then had time among the bookcases to browse the collection to find examples of book covers that appealed to them. Guided by the art teacher, student will later share their findings about effective YA book covers based on their library browsing. This not only allows them to apply the design principles they've learned but also fosters a deeper connection with the books they choose to reimagine.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

As we enter our last month of school, there's still time to promote reading and some of our newer books. The most recent library display features several of the SEMH titles included in social media posts throughout the year, as well as other titles that highlight responsible decision making, self-awareness, self-management, and relationship skills.

Many of the books appear in the Slides presentation below:

It's National Poetry Month!

April is National Poetry Month, so that means a new library display! Inspiration was taken from The Book Wrangler's haiku book review work.

The haiku book reviews are already generating fun conversations, and students are eager to try their hand at creating their own haikus about the books they're returning. Good times talking about books--and a sneaky way to work in some poetry! :) You can see a close-up of two of the haikus below:

Feel free to stop by to share your own haiku! Happy National Poetry Month!

🌎 It's Culture Week!

Because Culture Week was such a hit among students and staff a year ago, it's now a 2-week event with a week showcasing student, staff, and community presentations both in the fall and again the in spring. (You can read about earlier Culture Week sessions here.) Two sessions were offered in the library this week: Diversity in Books and Creation Stories from Around the World. 

Like previous Culture Week sessions, students could again sign up to watch book trailers and talk about diverse books. This time, students accessed a Google Drawing featuring 15 diverse titles that included book trailers or author interviews. While some of the titles have been part of the collection, new books to the collection were also included to encourage browsing and checkout during our time together.

CLICK HERE to access the resource.

Another sessions students could choose to attend featured creation myths from a variety of cultures. We chatted about several of the beginning Slides and identified the Adam and Eve/Garden of Eden story as a creation story they were already familiar with, and we also applied several elements from the Slides to the the Garden of Eden story. 

LINK to presentation

After our discussion, students had time to access the Slides presentation to move through an interactive world map featuring creation stories from several different cultures.

Clicking on a box took students to a Slide with a brief description and video about the creation story. Finally, then, students had the opportunity to add to a Padlet to reflect on what they'd seen or read.

Students had the option to watch and work independently or with others, and throughout their work, we continued to chat with each other about what they were seeing and what they already knew about creation stories, the cultures featured, or their Culture Week experience so far.

Culture Week continues through Friday, so students will have the opportunity to attend more sessions lead by students and staff.

📚 New Term, New Round of Book Talks

With students beginning all new rotations of English and reading classes at the new term, teachers have been bringing groups into the library for check out, as well as book talks. Below is the latest round of featured books, some new to the collection and others that have been included for a while:

Books are showcased "by the numbers," meaning each title has some kind of connection to numbers. Some are obvious--like Five Survive and 3 Things I Know are True--while others are less obvious. For instance, the hotel in Hotel Magnifique changes locations every 24 hours and there are eight players on the basketball team in Dragon Hoops. The final book in the presentation, The Serpent King, shows the number one because it is my Number #1 read in the last semester. :)

See something you might want to check out or learn more about? You're welcome to stop by--and if the book you're looking for isn't available, we'll get it on hold for you and recommend something else! :)

📚😍 New Books!

Back from the holiday break, students can now browse and check out new books that have been recently added to the collection.

Clip art from EduClips

Many of the new books are fiction, but also included in the order are poetry books, narrative nonfiction, and graphic novels. Many are by authors already popular with students. You can see a lot of them below:

Students could also visit the library during advisory to watch book trailers for some of the new books. They accessed a Google Doc with links to YouTube trailers.

CLICK HERE to access the trailers document.

Feel free to stop by to take a look at the new books! Happy reading!

Wrapping up National Hispanic Heritage Month

September 15 - October 15 is traditionally celebrated as National Hispanic Heritage Month. In the past, library displays and advisory activities have helped introduce students to the people, culture, history, places, and more related to this month of recognition. (You can read an earlier blog post HERE.) 

CLICK HERE to access the 1-pager.

Several books in the library feature Hispanic characters or are written by Hispanic authors--you can see a few of them below:

Want to know more about the books or find others that relate to National Hispanic Heritage Month? Check out this playlist of book trailers:

Hope to see you soon in the library--maybe even to check out one of the featured books here! :)

👀 #TakeALookTuesday--Novels in Verse Edition

During National Poetry Month, the featured books on display include novels in verse. (See previous post.) In today's Take A Look Tuesday post, we'll take a closer look at this popular format.

Currently the library collection has 39 titles that are cataloged as novels in verse. Titles include those by popular authors Kwame Alexander, Elizabeth Acevedo, and Ellen Hopkins.

Novels in verse address a broad range of topics genres. Several in the collection connect to historical events, like these:

They can also reflect family dynamics and highlight relationships in families and among friends, like these titles:

Several titles also have a focus on social, emotional, and mental health:

See something that looks interesting? Feel free to stop by to talk about any of these novels in verse or other books you might be looking for. Remember, many are also available on MackinVIA if the print copy you'd like is already checked out.

👀 #TakeALookTuesday--National Poetry Month Edition

In April we celebrate National Poetry Month, and in the library we're expanding our recognition of it to include novels in verse.

While our poetry collection is in development as we look to add more titles, our novels in verse are an option for students who are looking for a poetry feel in their free reading books. Many titles are available--with just a portion on display--throughout the fiction titles in the collection.

See something that interests you? You're welcome to stop by to take a look or browse for other titles--see you soon!

👀 #TakeALookTuesday--Refugees' Experience Edition

World events have brought refugees' stories to the forefront again, and as is often the case, YA literature and nonfiction books can help build knowledge and create empathy among readers. Several refugees' stories can be found in the library.

While many of these stories--both fiction and nonfiction--tell stories of violence and struggle, despair and change, and uncertainty and fear, they are also stories of hope, acceptance, triumph, and love.

The group of books highlighted include several time periods and are set in a variety of places around the world. Some reflect a single refugee's story while others include the experiences of many. While the character's refugee story is central to the plot, other subplots add to the overall telling of the story. Sports, political turmoil, fairy tales, terrorism, bombings, romance, and mental disabilities are featured alongside the refugees' experiences.

Stop by the library to take a look at these titles, and be sure to check MackinVIA for electronic copies of these and additional refugees' stories!

👀 #TakeALookTuesday--Book Awards & Novels Class Edition

In Novels class, students are taking a look at several different book awards and some of the nominees and winners of those awards. Using the same genre categories that students worked through earlier in the semester, nominees and winners were grouped into six categories related to different national awards, including these:

Award nominees and winners were grouped into genre categories and set out on tables so students could rotate through, looking at the titles there. Students had time to read, and the handouts with each group provided access to the official websites related to the different awards related to the books there.

Graphic novels and realistic fiction

Mystery and historical fiction

Nonfiction, science fiction, and fantasy

The class met in the library so groups and students could spread out to read and look several of the books grouped by genre.

As part of their work, students wrote a quick synopsis of a book, searched online to find any judges' comments related to the award won, and reflected on whether or not the book was something they might read. Finally, students evaluated whether or not they believe the book was deserving of the award won based on the short time they spent with it. To wrap up their time in the library, students talked with a partner, reflecting on their chosen books and their work related to it.

👀 #TakeALookTuesday--New Books Edition

Recently several new books have been added to the collection. Titles are both fiction and nonfiction and in multiple formats--graphic novels, novels in verse, and prose. 

See something you like and want to know more? You can watch book trailers for several of the books HERE, or you can access them from the playlist below.

More new books are on the way, so be sure to stop by regularly to see the newest additions! Hope to see you soon--happy reading!