The fREADom to Read What we Want! It's Banned Books Week!

The American Library Association has declared the last week of September as Banned Books Week. This started in 1982 and brings together the entire book community –- librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types –- in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.

So what does that mean for the 181 Library? Many of the lists of challenged and banned books (found HERE on the ALA website) include a lot of the books in our collection. Some titles that are on the challenged/banned lists that are popular in our library are:

• Looking for Alaska by John Green
• Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling
• The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
• Lord of the Flies by William Golding
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
• Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
• ...and many more!

Again, the complete lists of all challenged and banned books can be found on the ALA Website. The 181 Library not only still carries these titles but celebrates the freedom to read.

So come in and check out the display to see more banned titles and to get more information on Banned Books Week!

 

Welcome Back Everyone!

So what's been going on in the library since the beginning of the school year? With all the global issues and crises in the news, the students and faculty have focused their attention internationally.

To celebrate the wonderful diversity present and driving our school, the library is currently displaying books about other countries and written by people from other countries. In the Middle School Nook there is a bulletin board map of the world with different book suggestions stemming out from different countries across the globe. Check it out:

In the hallway right outside of the library, another bulletin board with the theme of Global Reading displays a globe with the words, "One World, Many Stories" which encapsulates the curren theme of the library. It also has a section in which you ca learn how to say "Read" in different languages!

Around the rest of the library are books chosen for their international diversity. Take a look and see if you can recognize some of the titles and countries they represent:

So come on in to the 181 Library and "Read Your Way Across the World!"

Storytelling Festival 2014!

On Saturday February 8th, the Berkeley-Carroll School celebrated it's 15th Annual Storytelling Festival! Featured storytellers Jim Hawkins and Elizabeth Luscombe told stories from Ireland and Cuba, highlighting the global art of storytelling.

Kids and their families and friends gathered in the Middle/Upper School Library for some morning snacks and storytelling activities. There were three activity stations that got kids involved in various parts of storytelling.

At the "Build-A-Story" station, kids made their own stories by gluing and pasting cut outs onto folded paper accordion books. They were encouraged to be creative and use their imaginations.

The "Draw Your Own Story" station had a blank worksheets with various story prompts for kids to draw and color in. 

And the "Fill In the Blank Stories" section had print outs of stories with some blanks for participants to fill in with their own words, kind of like Mad Libs! The results were original and often silly.

After activities and snacks, everyone went upstairs to the performance space to hear stories from our featured storytellers. Jim Hawkins is an Irish storyteller and a friend to BCS. He returned this year to tell Irish stories accompanied by song and his bodhrá, an Irish drum.

After some wonderful stories by Mr. Hawkins, Berkeley-Carroll's own Ms. Luscombe told the story of Martina the Beautiful Cockroach, a humorous and touching Cuban story. She was expertly accompanied by some of her 5th grade class who acted out some of the parts of the story.

Jim Hawkins closed the performance with a couple more stories and songs which the audience joined in on. The day was a success and everyone had a wonderful time celebrating the art of storytelling across the world.

For more storytelling resources, check out the Storytelling LibGuide!

Hobby Lobby!

 

As winter drags on we find it hard to contend with freezing temperatures and staying indoors for long periods of time. Instead of succumbing to cabin fever, why not get involved in an indoor activity? Here at the library we have compiled and put on display our best books on hobbies, recreation, and activities.

 

The books on display are wide-ranging and cover a variety of hobbies such as...

Cooking...

 

Arts and crafts...

 

 

Music...

 

Cartoons and drawing...

... and games, magic, sports, and more!
 

 So if you're looking for something to do during the dreary winter days, check out the hobby books in the library! Whether you're looking for a book on something you already love to do or perhaps looking to learn a new activity, the library is bound to have something to keep you occupied throughout the season.

It’s Winter! Time to Warm Up with a Good Book!

 

In the flurry of holiday excitement and finals, it’s hard to find time to read a book purely for pleasure. With winter vacation coming up, the BCS library is featuring all sorts of titles for students to read over break.

In the Middle School Nook, we have a bulletin board featuring classic literature for grades 5-8. From Island of the Blue Dolphins to White Fang and Little Women, there are plenty of classic titles to delve into. Some of the selected titles we have out are:

·      Heidi

·      Hatchet

·      A Day No Pigs Would Die

·      Wind in the Willows

·      The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

·      Journey to the Center of the Earth

·      The Chocolate War

·      Robinson Crusoe

Elsewhere around the library we are featuring other popular and classic titles for the Upper Schoolers. Some of these titles are:

·      A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

·      Jurassic Park

·      Ender’s Game

·      The Hunchback of Notre Dame

·      The Bell Jar

·      War of the Worlds

·      Fight Club

We even have a selection of graphic novel versions of some classics! Check them out at the Graphic Novels section.

And to celebrate the holiday season we’ve put out a section of Charles Dickens’ titles and featured his best holiday works!

To help students pick their next book, we’ve put together some recommended reading LibGuides:

• Middle School Recommended Reading
• Young Adult (YA) Recommended Reading

And in keeping with the theme of classic for winter, you can also check out our Classics Reading Resource Lists to see all the classic literature we have in our collection:

• Classics grades 5&6
• Classics grades 7&8

So stay warm and get wrapped up in a great book! 

Happy Holidays from the BCS Middle/Upper School Library!

Caption Chronicle:

The Chronicles of Harris Burdick

The chronic mystery of Harris Burdick has inspired many a chronicle, including those contained within Chris Van Allsburg’s The Chronicles of Harris Burdick.  Burdick left illustrations in the care of Peter Wenders, a children’s book editor. Wenders was interested in publishing the accompanying stories, but Burdick never returned.  Some of the world’s most popular authors have drawn inspiration from Burdick’s drawings. Chris Van Allsburg has published two volumes containing the pictures. The Mysteries of Harris Burdick  is a collection of pictures and the captions. The aforementioned Chronicles of Harris Burdick, features stories from many established writers.

Chris Van Allsburg created a website, and a system of ongoing submissions to continue to encourage readers and writers who feel inspired by Burdick’s pictures.  Many illustrious writers, including Lois Lowry and Jon Scieszka, have written stories based on the illustrations. Following that example, students of the Berkeley Carroll Middle School have contributed captions to accompany a selection of illustrations.  See below for images and submissions!

 

 

Interested in expanding a caption into a short story submission?    

Scan the QR code for a direct link to the Chris Van Allsburg’s submission page!

Another Place, Another Time

Original Caption: If there was an answer, he’d find it there.

Maya S.

They felt the boat slip away into the darkness of the angry waves.

Natalie H.

The wind is picking up. We are almost there!

Lucy

An ongoing journey.

Nola M.

We are almost there. We are almost there!

Sadie M.Their journey had just begun

Archie Smith, Boy Wonder

Original Caption: A tiny voice asked, “Is he the one?”

Adeleen R. “He’s mine,” said a voice under the bed.

Captain Tory

Original Caption: He swung his lantern three times and slowly the schooner appeared.

Helena A.

He saw the ship and a second later it was gone.

Mac O.

                      The fog ship appears.

Ana M.

There they stood, man and boy, watching and waiting.

      

Just Desert

Original Caption: She lowered the knife and it grew even brighter.

Graham (Gravel) S.

The longer she looked at the pumpkin, the brighter it became.

Peter B.

She lowered the knife and it grew even brighter. That is very scary.

Sophie G. Trying...to cross...my eyes!

Nola M.

The voodoo pumpkin was just perfect.

The House on Maple Street

Original Caption: It was a perfect lift-off!

Alicia M.

The house popping out of the ground and shooting up like the ground does not want to have the house standing there.

The Third-Floor Bedroom

Original Caption: It all began when someone left the window open.

Sadie M. But the window wasn’t supposed to be open

                                   Anonymous 

I thought I shut the window.

Under the Rug

Original Caption: Two weeks passed and it happened again.

Freya R. The  bump under the rug never moved. It was just there.

Uninvited Guests

Original Caption: His heart was pounding. He was sure he had seen the doorknob turn.

Mary D. I’m pretty sure I heard the doorknob turning. Who could be here at this time?

Emily B. The door had definitely not been there last night. 

It was tiny. Not even big enough for a cat. “But what would fit?” he wondered.