2011 Newbery Medal Winners!

You read some of the nominees, now check out the official 2011 Newbery Medal Winner and Honor books!

The 2011 Newbery Medal Winner is Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool.

Looking for clues to her father's past, Abilene instead stumbles instead on a little tin filled with some keepsakes and letters, piquing her interest in a couple of young men named Ned and Jinx, and a spy called "the Rattler."

The 2011 Newbery Honor Books are:


Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm.

Sassy eleven-year-old Turtle finds her life turned on end when she is sent to live with her aunt in Depression-era Key West. With vivid details, witty dialogue and outrageous escapades, Jennifer Holm successfully explores the meaning of family and home… and lost treasures found.



Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus.

Shipwrecks, whaling, a search for home and a delightful exploration of cultures create a swashbuckling adventure. This historical novel is based on the true story of Manjiro (later John Mung), the young fisherman believed to be the first Japanese person to visit America, who against all odds, becomes a samurai.



Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Rick Allen.

Welcoming her readers into the “wild, enchanted park” that is the night, Joyce Sidman has elegantly crafted twelve poems rich in content and varied in format. Companion prose pieces about nocturnal flora and fauna are as tuneful and graceful as the poems. This collection is “a feast of sound and spark.”



One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia.

The voices of sisters Delphine, Vonetta and Fern sing in three-part harmony in this wonderfully nuanced, humorous novel set in 1968 Oakland, Calif. One crazy summer, the three girls find adventure when they are sent to meet their estranged poet-mother Cecile, who prints flyers for the Black Panthers.

All these books are available at the BCS Library...don't miss out!

BCS Book Quilt Project

THE BCS BOOK QUILT PROJECT

We are excited to announce the launching of the BCS Book Quilt Project! This spring, members of the Middle and Upper School community will have the chance to celebrate and share their favorite books through a patchwork quilt and interactive website.

Keep checking the blog for updates and photographs!

For now, here are the 8 easy steps you'll complete as part of the project. Join us!

-Ms. Mermelstein

How to make a patch for the BCS Book Quilt Project

1) Sign up in the library.

2) Think of a book you love (if you and a friend share the same favorite book, you’re welcome to work together).

3) Think about how to share that book with others in an original and visual way. You can portray a theme, a character, a scene, a quote, etc… Be creative!

4) Sketch it out on paper.

5) Show your sketch to Ms. Mermelstein and get a blank patch (9”x9”) in return.

6) Turn your vision into reality! We have colorful fabrics you can cut out and glue or sew onto a patch. We have fabric markers for you to draw or write on the patch. You can use your own materials if you have them. Fabrics, buttons, embroidery… the possibilities are endless!

a. Make sure you leave a quarter inch blank around all edges (this is marked on the patch so you remember).

b. The title of the book and author’s name should appear somewhere on the patch.

c. Be original! Don’t copy the book cover or any illustrations from the book; this is a chance to use your imagination!

7) After you finish your patch, we will ask you to write up a brief paragraph about the patch and the book it represents. What book did you choose and why is it important to you? If you want, you can explain why you portrayed it the way you did on the patch, give us more details about the book, share why someone else might want to read it, etc. We’ll put a photograph of your patch AND your writing on an interactive quilt website (coming soon!).

8) Sit back, relax, and enjoy the beautiful art and website we’ve created together!

Stop by the library to work on patches during morning break Mon-Wed or after school Monday.

We welcome participation from all students, faculty, and staff at BCS Middle and Upper School!

BCS Storytelling Festival 2011

Not even a wintry forecast of icy rain and snow could keep the Egyptian deities away from their scheduled appearance at Berkeley Carroll's 12th annual Storytelling Festival this past Saturday, February 5th, at 181 Lincoln Place. This year's event evolved from a collaboration between the Library and Theater departments and featured student run workshops, an original showcase of work performed by fifth and sixth grade students under the direction of Carolyn Giles, the Head of the Theater department, and an interactive performance by master storyteller Tammy Hall.


For students, the process behind their work began with an in depth character analysis followed by questions and extended research. Fifth graders performed monologues they wrote about an Egyptian god of their choice, which stemmed from their study of ancient Egypt in their history classes. Sixth graders presented two Midrash stories entitled: "Hotel Jacob" and "Eyewitness Sheep". Midrash is a new take on an old story based on stories from the Torah. Students explored the stories of Jacob and Esau along with Leah and Rachel and asked themselves: What would I do if I were in their shoes? They wrote monologues and from those, scripts were created.



Tammy Hall returned to Berkeley Carroll and shared several of her favorite stories that reminded her of her childhood growing up in the woods of Tennessee listening to her father tell stories. Audience members became active participants in moving the tale along. Tammy urged the audience to listen closely to their family storytellers, to ask questions and record them so that future generations can continue to stand on the shoulders of the storytellers and ancestors that came before them, honor them and create their own version of those stories to pass on.

New to the Shelf: Nonfiction

January... for some, the season for New Year's resolutions and new beginnings. What better time than now to check out our new selection of nonfiction how-to books on display in the Middle School Book Nook. Whether you're feeling crafty, looking for a few new tricks or have something to say, there's a book to help you satisfy and express your creative urge.

Crafty Creativity by Sue Barraclough
Give an old T-shirt new life, make beads out of paper, knit a scarf or make homemade gifts for your friends and family.



Manga For The Beginner: Everything You Need To Start Drawing Right Away!
by Christopher Hart
Step-by-step instructions that cover the basics as well as the entire world of manga characters, from all genres and categories.


Small-Scale Magic Party Tricks And Optical Illusions
by Nicholas Einhorn
A step-by-step guide to 100+ amazing and original tricks. Covers close-up magic, party tricks and optical illusions.


Trash Origami: 25 Paper Folding Projects Reusing Everyday Materials by Michael G. LaFosse and Richard L. Alexander
"Don't throw it out - Fold it up!" Features 25 unique projects Candy Wrapper Butterflies, Flapping Bird Envelopes and Chess & Checkerboard Sets


Whatcha Mean, What's A Zine: The Art Of Making Zines and Mini-Comics by Mark Todd & Esther Pearl Watson
Everything you need to know about creating, printing and distributing your own hand-made magazine from creators at the forefront of the zine revolution. If you have something to say, this book will help you get it on to paper and into other people's hands.


Stay tuned for more nonfiction highlighted in the coming weeks.

AND THE WINNER IS.........

The BCS Mock Newbery Club held a virtual meeting today, via google's video chat, for what they hoped would be a final vote to decide what book they would award the top medal. Led by Lower School Librarian Ms. Sauro, fourth grader's from 701 and fifth , sixth and seventh graders from the 181 faction engaged in a lively exchange, making a case for the book they believed had the qualities that distinguished it from the rest.

A clear winner did emerge from the pack and the BCS Mock Newbery Medal was awarded to:

Out Of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper.

Reader's comments:
"Out of my Mind is about a girl in a wheel chair who can't speak. She gets a machine that lets her speak and wins a place as a "wiz kid" It is a gripping and touching book. I loved reading this fantastic book and think you should read it too!" -EM

"This book was amazing. It made me cry at the end. I really hope that this book wins the real Newbery award. 10000000000000000000000000000001 out of 10". -CH

"This is a really good book. It is about a girl named Melody who is eleven and hasn't spoken a word in her life. She has a memory like a video camera and has never forgotten anything in her life. She is a genius but nobody knows it until she gets a machine called a medi-talker and it changes her life but not everyone is ready for it." - NT


BCS Mock Newbery Honor Books:

A Tale Dark & GRIMM by Adam Gidwitz
"This book is a twist on Hansel and Gretel. Why were they in the woods? What happened afterward? Do they ever find their way back home? Find out in this book. 4 out of 5. Warning-this book gets a little gruesome." -AZV

"This was a really good book. It was in my opinion the best Mock Newbery book I have read. Touch Blue and Drizzle were pretty good but nothing matches up to A Tale Dark and Grimm. I would give this book 900,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,100 stars!" - OA



The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger

"A funny book about a weird 6th grader that folds origami. 4.5 out of 5. Includes folding instructions in the back!" - TP

"This book is a mysterious story, It is kinda crazy. At the end it shows you how to make a origami Yoda. It deserves10 stars." - LM





Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs

"A weird book about a dead hippo. This book has many interesting twists and turns, although, all loose ends are tied up at the end. 4.3 out of 5." -TP

"Belly up is awesome. It is about the worlds most famous hippo who was "murdered" and then Teddy has to solve the mystery. It is a cool book and I like the ending." - SH

181 Mock Newbery Club members with their Newbery picks

Winter Reading

NEW BOOKS AT THE LIBRARY!

Need a book (or two) to get you through the winter break? The library has lots of new books, perfect for curling up with a cup of hot chocolate. New titles include:

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan.

The latest book from a favorite author.

Jason, Piper, and Leo, three students from a school for "bad kids," find themselves at Camp Half-Blood, where they learn that they are demigods and begin a quest to free Hera, who has been imprisoned by Mother Earth herself.

Love, Ruby Lavender By Deborah Wiles

If you are dreaming of summer, this book is for you.

When her quirky grandmother goes to Hawaii for the summer, nine-year-old Ruby learns to survive on her own in Mississippi by writing letters, befriending chickens as well as the new girl in town, and finally coping with her grandfather's death.

Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver

The first book in a 6-book series. Guarunteed to get you hooked!

6,000 years ago, twelve-year-old Torak and his guide, a wolf cub, set out on a dangerous journey to fulfill an oath the boy made to his dying father--to travel to the Mountain of the World Spirit to destroy a demon-possessed bear that threatens all the clans.

Misson Control, This is Apollo by Andrew Chaikin and Alan Bean

Space! Who doesn't like space?

Recounts various important events from the history of space exploration, covering the Mercury missions, the voyage of Apollo 17, and more, with illustrations by ex-NASA astronaut Alan Bean, who walked on the moon during the Apollo 12 mission.

Athena, Grey-Eyed Goddess by George O'Connor

Percy Jackson got you interested in mythology? This graphic novel might be for you.

An illustrated retelling of the Greek myth that details the story of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and war.

These are only a few of the new books available for you at the library. Come on by and see what else we have to offer!

BCS Mock Newbery Club

The 2010-2011 BCS Mock Newbery Club has chosen a list of finalists. 8 books out of the original 31 were voted as the best of the bunch. They are:



Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs
Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan
Drizzle by Kathleen Van Cleave
Nest for Celeste by Henry Cole
Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger
Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
Scumble by Ingrid Law
A Tale Dark & Grimm by Adam Gidwitz

Stay tuned for the announcement of the winning books...