Zombies!

To celebrate Teen Read Week (October 14-20), we are having a different Zombie event in the library every day during lunches!  Plans are in progress, but many materials have been ordered.  Here are some of the things you might see:

• Zombie Photo Shoot
• Zombie Target Practice
• Zombie Games
• Zombie Crafts
• Zombie Cookie Decorating
• Zombie-themed food
• Zombie books and survival guides
• Zombie prizes

What's New Wednesday 9/26

Here are a few more titles that are new to the CHS Library:

Emily the Strange (graphic novel series)
 

The Kingmaker's Daughter by Philippa Gregory
 

The Kill Order by James Dashner (prequel to the Maze Runner trilogy)



The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson (sequel to The Girl of Fire and Thorns)

 

The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore (Lorien Legacies #3)

The Fear by Charlie Higson (The Enemy series #3)

The Notorious Benedict Arnold by Steve Sheinkin
 

 

How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous by Georgia Bragg


 



Top Ten Tuesday 9/25

Here are the top ten checkouts in the CHS Library this week:

1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
2. Nevermore: The Final Maximum Ride Adventure by James Patterson
3. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
4. Warm Bodies: A Novel by Isaac Marion
5. Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard
6. The Selection by Kiera Cass
7. The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
8. Bitter End by Jennifer Brown
9. The Color Purple: A Novel by Alice Walker
10. Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

Some of these are new this week or have moved around, while The Hunger Games was able to hold onto its spot at the top.  Ms. Stausing will be happy to see Warm Bodies make the list, and I am glad that Bitter End is up there.  I think some of our patrons must be rereading Son of Neptune and Crescendo to get ready for the next book in each series, which both come out in the next few weeks.  Can't wait for those!  Happy Reading CHS students and staff!

Beautiful Creatures Movie Trailer!

Here is the trailer for the Beautiful Creatures movie...looks great! I may have to go back and read this series.

Bitter End by Jennifer Brown

Summary: Alex is a normal teenage girl who has been planning a road trip with her two best friends, Bethany and Zack, since they were small children to try and give Alex some closure from her mother's death.  Then, Alex meets Cole, the new boy from a nearby town and falls madly in love with his charm.  After the short honeymoon phase of their relationship, Cole starts to get a little scary.  Alex is abandoning her friends to spend more and more time with him, but she's not sure if she should be or if maybe Cole's new behaviors are somehow her fault.  The book follows her struggles throughout the relationship, being torn between her boyfriend and her best friends, and not having a mother-figure to ask for help. 

Ms. Kiplinger's Opinion: As a fan of Jennifer Brown's first book Hate List, I was sure that I would also love this one...and I did!  This is an important, and sometimes relatable, story for any teenage girl to read.  Though not all girls (thank goodness!) will experience a relationship like this, it is likely that they will know someone who does.  This was a touching book about real-life experiences, true friendships, and how scary things can sometimes be when you feel alone in the world.  There is advice at the end on how to handle yourself in a situation like this or how to help a friend who is in this kind of relationship.  Jennifer Brown writes about tough, but necessary, topics that occur in everyday life and her books are a must-read!

http://www.jenniferbrownya.com/bitterend.htm

What's New Wednesday

There is no way I can tell you ALL of the new books we have cataloged in the past month or so without making this post a novel itself, but I will try to feature the ones that I think will be the most popular for now.  I will post a list of new books each Wednesday.  Come check out our "New Books" shelf by the circulation desk to see what other treasures you can find!



A Dog's Journey by W. Bruce Cameron


Killing Lincoln:The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever by Bill O'Reilly & Martin Dugard

Pretty Little Liars (entire series) by Sara Shepard
 

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

The Golden Lily (A Bloodlines Novel) by Richelle Mead
 



Michael Vey: Rise of the Elgen by Richard Paul Evans

Nevemore: The Final Maximum Ride Adventure by James Patterson



Unwholly by Neal Shusterman (Unwind Trilogy #2)







 

Top Ten Tuesday

Here are the Top Ten Books at CHS being checked out:

1. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
2. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
3. Thirteen Reasons Why: A Novel by Jay Asher
4. Summer of Secrets (Bluford High series) by Paul Langan
5. The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks
6. Nevermore: The Final Maximum Ride Adventure by James Patterson
7. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
8. A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron
9. First Shot by Walter Sorrells
10. The Hobbit, or, There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien

Many of these are no surprise to me with the recent movies being released or in production...but a few are a bit interesting.  I guess I don't always see what is going out since my lovely library ladies are doing most of the checking out throughout the day.  I like to think that A Dog's Purpose made the list all because of my glowing recommendations to everyone I come across! We haven't had Nevermore for very long so I'm amazed that it already made the list.  I am interested to see how this list changes throughout the year, so I will post this list on Tuesdays. 

A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron

 Book Summary: A Dog's Purpose is a "novel for humans" and is told from the perspective of a dog.  The basis of the story is that a dog never really passes on, he or she is just reborn as a puppy again and again to serve a different purpose or make a difference in a different person's life.  Toby is reborn as Bailey, who is reborn as Elly, and so on...

Ms. Kiplinger's Opinion: Anyone who has a dog (or has ever had a dog) with find this book endearing and a bit emotional.  The dog telling the story lives several fulfilling (though sometimes short) lives and makes many humans happy.  Told from the viewpoint of a dog, there are many funny moments and expressions that give you insight in to just what a dog may be thinking when around humans.  Toby tells us a story of a dog who lives a life based on survival and, after rescued, mostly just spends his time playing with other dogs; then, he is reborn as Bailey, who loves his boy more than he could ever imagine and is sure his purpose is fulfilled at the end of this life.  Sure enough, he is then reborn as Elly, who serves an important role rescuing and saving human lives.  Finally, he is reborn as Buddy, who connects it all back together neatly. This book is a nominee for the Gateway award in the state of Missouri, which means it was selected by teens and teachers as a must-read...and I have to say that I agree with their choice!  The best part?  There's a sequel!  I'm currently reading it and only have good things to say so far, so check out A Dog's Journey if you love this one as much as I did.

Here is the author-created book trailer:

 

Update: A Dog's Journey was just as good, if not better, than A Dog's Purpose!

What's up with all the Caution tape?!

Since hanging up the new display for Banned Books Week (September 30-October 6), I have received many questions from students asking what it's all about.  "Are those books banned from our library now? I wanted to read that one!"; "Why are those books banned?"; "What could possibly be wrong with Harry Potter?"; and, of course, "What's up with all the Caution tape?".  Before I continue, here are some pictures of what the display looks like.  There are two large showcases outside of the library, so this display was done on one side only. 

If you look closely at the image that shows the whole display or the front of the display, you can see that there are peepholes cut throughout for students/teachers to look into and see what is inside.  When they look, they will see something like this:

 

 

 

Each title is wrapped in black paper with the title written very plainly and there is a description next to each one showing why that book was banned and/or challenged in other libraries.  My favorite is just plain silly (about The Diary of Anne Frank): "It's a real downer!".  Most others have reasons more along the lines of drugs, mature/sexual content, offensive language, racism, sorcery, anti-religion, violence, or homosexuality.  Within the library, the students can also view more books that have been banned or challenged and a list with reasons why on this display:

 

 

 

 

So, to answer the questions...No, these books are not banned in OUR school library.  They are the most frequently challenged and banned books of the last decade in other libraries.  Some are classics and some are more modern stories.  Some have been challenged for fairly legitimate reasons and some not at all!  Banned Books Week is all about us celebrating our freedom to read what we want and tolerating the things that others may want or like to read without judgement or criticism.  When Banned Books Week gets closer, there will be another post with more information and links to other sites that are celebrating Banned Books Week.  Please feel free to ask any questions!