2013 Mock Newbery Club Finalists - The Vote Is In!

Members of this year's club have voted. The top five contenders for this year's BCS Mock Newbery Award are:

The Boy on Cinnamon Street by Phoebe Stone
Chomp by Carl Hiaasen
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
The Secret Tree by Natalie Standiford
Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Stay tuned for our top choice! We'll vote mid-January, 2013!

Berkeley Carroll Students Celebrate the Freedom to Read with Banned Books Week

Middle and Upper School Banned Books Week Display 2012

In honor of Banned Books Week (September 30−October 6, 2012), the library created a display that educates students about the importance of free speech and the harmful effects of censorship.

First launched in 1982 by the American Library Association, Banned Books Week is an annual event that draws together the entire book community in order to highlight books that have been banned or challenged across a number of institutions, including schools, libraries, bookstores, and more.

Initially, many students thought that our library had banned these books, and they stormed in, outraged. But once they understood, many of them were shocked to learn that books are still challenged and banned in our current society.

The BCS students were especially shocked to learn that such books like Anne Frank and The Giver have been challenged for various reasons over the years.

Bernie, a 5th grader who frequents the library said, “A lot of those [books on the display] were totally irrational. I don’t know how The Giver was sexually explicit. I don’t know what the point of banning Anne Frank is? I mean, it’s the Holocaust; what are you expecting it to be, My Little Ponies?”  

Fellow 5th grader, Dora, agreed, saying, “I think people should be able to read whatever they want.” For her, she can understand why some people might ban movies, which she describes as very visual, but since “books allow you to create your own picture in your head,” it’s harder for her to conceptualize.

The students disagreed with banning and challenging books, and were adamant that all books, despite their content, had a place on the shelves.   

When asked, “If you could save one book from being banned or challenged, which one would you save and why?” many middle-schoolers answered: the Harry Potter series. As middle-schooler Bernie put it, “because it’s Harry Potter and everyone in the world deserves to read [it].”

According to the American Library Association, there were 326 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2011, and many more that went unreported. By their definition, a challenge is, “an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. As such, they are a threat to freedom of speech and choice.”

The top 10 most challenged titles of 2011 were:

1. ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle

Reasons: offensive language; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group

2. The Color of Earth (series), by Kim Dong Hwa

Reasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group

3. The Hunger Games trilogy, by Suzanne Collins

Reasons: anti-ethnic; anti-family; insensitivity; offensive language; occult/satanic; violence

4. My Mom's Having A Baby! A Kid's Month-by-Month Guide to Pregnancy, by Dori Hillestad Butler

Reasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group

5. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie

Reasons: offensive language; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group

6. Alice (series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Reasons: nudity; offensive language; religious viewpoint

7. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley

Reasons: insensitivity; nudity; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit

8. What My Mother Doesn't Know, by Sonya Sones

Reasons: nudity; offensive language; sexually explicit

9. Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily Von Ziegesar

Reasons: drugs; offensive language; sexually explicit

10. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

Reasons: offensive language; racism

While this list includes some classics, many of the most frequently challenged books in recent years have been popular young adult and middle grade novels, such as The Hunger Games and the ttyl series.

Click here for more information on Banned Books Week or to see a timeline of significant banned and challenged books titled, “30 Years of Liberating Literature,” click here.

What do YOU think makes these books so threatening to the people who want to ban them? Do you agree or disagree with banning books?

Reading Rules At Break Time

September is here and middle schoolers are flocking to the Middle School Book Nook to read. The graphic novels that were new to the shelf this past June are being devoured by eager readers, along with select nonfiction, and perennial favorites.

Middle schoolers in the Library at mid-morning break

Origami Yoda Madness Hits the Library

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by 
Tom Angleberger was the inspiration for a week of origami in the library. A popular title with our middle-school crowd, kids were drawn to the character of Dwight, a quirky 7th grader who shows up at school one day wearing a paper Yoda finger puppet that begins dispensing advice in a very Yoda-ish -- but not the least bit Dwight-ish way. Who is Dwight really, and how does he know so much?

BC kids customized their own Yodas with different colors and facial expressions, and never hesitated to help classmates who were having trouble with tricky folds. Some kids were experienced origamists and contributed intricate cranes, boxes, inflatable balls, and an alligator to the the project. 

At the end of the week, the library’s origami “tree,” whose branches had long been quite bare, was brought back to life with Yoda and his many friends.

• Check out the website for THE STRANGE CASE OF ORIGAMI YODA and learn more about Tom Angleberger's other books, including DARTH PAPER STRIKES BACK, and the upcoming THE SECRET OF THE FORTUNE WOOKIEE. www.origamiyoda.com
• For instructions on how to make very cool origami Star Wars characters, check out, www.umeorigami 
• Finally, be sure to explore the extensive selection of origami books in the Berkeley Carroll library's arts and crafts section!

Short Stories on Parade

We have an impressive collection of short stories in the library, for both Middle- and Upper-schoolers, and right now we are highlighting them with several displays.

In the Middle School Nook, a bulletin board presents different genres that may interest:

Students lift the flaps on the bulletin board to reveal excerpts from books available right here in the library.

Students can also learn some tips for young writers and enter an International short story contest.

A similar setup awaits slightly older readers at the main bulletin board:

  

More writing tips and contests also await:

So check out a short story today!

Poetry Evening 2012

On April 30th, the Library held its 10th annual Poetry Evening!

The event was deemed a huge success by all involved, and featured readings in English, Spanish, French and Arabic.

This year's featured readers were student poets from grades 7 through 12 who shared their original poems. Faculty, parents, and students from grades 4 through 12 followed, with selections from their favorites poets and their own poetry. 

Featured student poets from grades 7-12

April is National Poetry Month!

National Poetry Month celebrates the vital role poetry plays in American culture, and is recognized across the country with readings, festivals, book displays, and other events throughout the month of April. The Berkeley Carroll Library is celebrating the art of verse by encouraging students to compose their own poems on an over-sized magnetic poetry board displayed outside the Library doors. The results have been thoughtful and creative!

On April 26, the Library will be celebrating "Poem in Your Pocket Day" with student poetry readings and a selection of individual poems for students to take with them and share throughout the day.