Make Waves @ Your Library

The seniors had their last day at BHS today. Congrats to the Class of 2010 - we give you the rest of your LIFE!! Make us proud. The halls will be noticeably quiet Monday. Summer is in the air and the anticipation of nearly 3 months without school is putting smiles on many faces. Here's another smile maker for you.

How would you like a chance to win a Flip camera, a digital camera, an iPod Shuffle, a $75.00 Target gift card, or the Twilight series and DVD? Do I have your attention now? It's all very easy - Make Waves at the Brighton District Library. BDL wants Brighton teens to read and to use some of their great resources and services. If you read a book or magazine AND do three other activities, you can enter the contest to win these great prizes. That's it! A total of 4 things to do! And you have most of the summer - that lazy, relaxing summer that awaits you today.

What three things can you do? Well, you could borrow one of their movies and watch it - check! You could try Live Homework Help - check! There's always an audio book to listen to - check! Are those three something you can manage? If not, how would you like to volunteer at the library? They can use your help with the kids' summer reading program. So you've read one book, then read another - check! You could attend a library event - sewing, gaming, knitting, writing, or a pizza party. There's even a spa day! Read all about how you can Make Waves.

If you can manage any of these activities, you'll soon be entering your name into the contest for these awesome prizes. Spend some time this summer at BDL. Before you know it, you'll be ready to return to [oops - I better not say it].

Enjoy your summer vacation. Be safe. Be wise. Be smart. See you in September. I'll be waiting to hear about the books you've read. :-)

Review by Mrs. Boehm

Google Books by Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Google co-founders

Rather than share one book with you, I want you to know about many and where to find them - Google Books.

The co-founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, have always had as their goal for people to search through the world's books and find what they were looking for. As computer science graduate students, they hoped to create a web crawler that would index books. They theorized that by analyzing the citations in books (you know, those Works Cited lists that teachers require) they could determine the relevance and usefulness of a given book based on the quality and number of times it was cited in other books. How genius! Google's searching ability was the result of this research at Stanford University.

Soon Page and Brin were working with major libraries digitizing the library's collection. The University of Michigan, Larry Page's alma mater, was the first to agree. Work is still underway scanning the university's seven million volumes and many other libraries around the world are now involved. Some current authors and publishers are also supportive of this initiative.

There have been lawsuits due to copyright law concerns. Books in the public domain (copyright-free) are available in their entirety. Books under copyright are shown with segments missing. Google Books will link you to an online book seller or a library in your area that owns the book.

Give Google Books a try. Many times I've found that I don't need to read the full book to find just what I'm seeking. Magazines are also included in the collection. You can search by subject, author, title, or simply browse the collection. You can create favorite book lists to share with friends.

Let me know if you find Google Books helpful. Stay tuned. Page and Brin are always up to something new and innovative. :-)

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm

The Elements by Theodore Gray

Hey, science lovers! You might like to check out a new book in the media center - The Elements by Theodore Gray. If you're already familiar with him, you'll know about this book and his work creating visual representations of the periodic table. The book has a two page spread for each element that includes a description as well as stunning photos of the element in various forms.

BUT WAIT! There's more. Now he has written an app for the new iPad that's taken from this book and even more incredible. I read about it here: The Periodic Table Goes Touchscreen.

Be sure to watch the video. Mr. Gray's 'elements desk' is sweet but what he's done for the iPad - priceless!

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm

Kids Are Americans Too by Bill O'Reilly

I know. You either love him or you hate him. His points of view can be contentious but in Kids Are Americans Too by Bill O'Reilly, you will find great advice about your rights. Mr. O'Reilly is quite fair and balanced in this book.

As a high school librarian I've had students ask for help locating books and online resources that explain the law as it pertains to many teen issues - using cell phones at school, curfew, driving privileges, home life, and more. Bill O'Reilly breaks it all down for you here. Beginning with an overview of the works of our Founding Fathers as they wrote the U.S. Constitution, in a humorous, light-hearted way the author points out what governing bodies influence the laws that affect you, how laws are fluid and changing, and differ from state-to-state. The book is organized with break-out sections that include news flashes, multiple-choice quizzes, and true story examples. It's a quick read but a great resource if you're ever wondering, "What are my rights?".

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm

Tagged by Mara Purnhagen

Harlequin Teen - You won me over with this one! I was introduced to Tagged by Mara Purnhagen when her proud aunt and BHS art teacher told me about her niece Mara's first published work. Just a few quick weeks later, she donated a copy for our media center. I set off immediately to read it. I was very pleasantly surprised.

The premise in Tagged may seem to be the giant, artsy gorilla graffiti that appears overnight on the side of buildings in town. But don't be fooled. There is much that digs deeper and includes a relevant, loved teacher who draws the best from his students, a fun coffee shop owner that completely trusts Kate and Eli, a bff friendship like no other, cool parents who give Kate respect and their support, and a budding romance that hopefully will go somewhere.

Let's see how many teen readers we can get to read the work of this wonderful, new author. We can support and celebrate her first book and keep our eyes open for many more. Congratulations Mara!

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm

Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork

One tool that school librarians use to select books for purchase is to watch the lists of 'Best' and 'Notable' titles. That's how I discovered Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork. The lists for Marcelo in the Real World include Best Books For Young Adults 2010, Best Books Of The Year 2009, Schneider Family Book Award: Teen 2010, and more. How can I go wrong buying this book for BHS? I'm not sure that it has found a teen reader yet. It seems to have been patiently waiting for someone to take it home for many months now. I've had my eye on it. I'm so glad that I picked it up to read.

Marcelo is a high-functioning autistic seventeen year old. Following his story taught me so much about Asperger's syndrome. Marcelo's father has decided that he should work one summer in the real world - the mailroom of his law firm. Although Marcelo resists, eventually he agrees to go to work with his father each day. The reward? He'll be able to attend his preferred high school in the fall if his father's plan proves to be a failure for Marcelo. In the real world Marcelo is forced to make tough decisions and realize that people and situations are not always perfect - including his father's business.

Give this one a try. I highly recommend it.

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm

Gotta Keep Reading by Ocoee Middle School

Love their enthusiasm! Love the song! This is a must watch video! They were featured on Oprah last Friday. How exciting for these students in Ocoee, Florida. They are so right - "Gotta keep reading 'cuz this book's gonna be a good, good book to read!"



Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm