What's Been Happening in the Library?
These last couple of weeks, we've been busy working with teachers and students on a variety of interesting projects. We've worked with...
- All of the 7th grade Science teachers on research skills lessons in preparation for their Wiki project. We created resource pages to help students find the information they needed: a Bay Critter Pathfinder and an Ecology Pathfinder.
- Ms. Mulqueen's 8th grade English students on an Ashoka Changemaker research project. Students used a hyperdoc to help guide their initial exploration of the Ashoka.org website. After they picked their topics, they were in the library for a series of research skills lessons.
- Ms. Bergstrom's 8th grade students for the introduction to their independent reading book trailer project. Students checked out books and had a brief lesson on book trailers. They will be back for some additional lessons when they've finished reading their books!
- Ms. Kane's 8th grade English class presented their proposals to members of the Maycomb County Community Leaders Committee as a follow-up project to To Kill a Mockingbird. Both Ms. Hoyle and Ms. Polidoro were delighted to serve on the committee!
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| "On his first day at a new school, blind sixteen-year-old Will Porter accidentally groped a girl on the stairs, sat on another student in the cafeteria, and somehow drove a classmate to tears...Then an unprecedented opportunity arises: an experimental surgery that could give Will eyesight for the first time in his life. But learning to see is more difficult than Will ever imagined, and he soon discovers that the sighted world has been keeping secrets." ~taken from Amazon I really enjoyed this charming realistic fiction book, and I'd recommend it to any LMS student. Interesting and heartfelt! ****1/2/***** | "When sixteen-year-old Ellie Baum accidentally time-travels via red balloon to 1988 East Berlin, she’s caught up in a conspiracy of history and magic... When it becomes clear that someone is using dark magic to change history, Ellie must risk everything—including her only way home—to stop the process" ~taken from Amazon. This historical fantasy story has a very unique premise. I'd recommend it to 8th grade students who enjoy historical fiction with a touch of magic--and who don't mind a story with a slow burn. ***1/2 /***** | "The Maze Runner meets Scott Westerfeld in this new series Kirkus Reviews calls “swoon-worthy and thrilling” about teens held captive in a human zoo by an otherworldly race." ~taken from Amazon I appreciated the Lord of the Flies overtones and the unpredictable nature of the story. It was really entertaining! I read right through it and then immediately downloaded the sequels. I'd recommend it to any LMS student who enjoys sci-fi. ****1/2/***** |
"On his first day at a new school, blind sixteen-year-old Will Porter accidentally groped a girl on the stairs, sat on another student in the cafeteria, and somehow drove a classmate to tears...Then an unprecedented opportunity arises: an experimental surgery that could give Will eyesight for the first time in his life. But learning to see is more difficult than Will ever imagined, and he soon discovers that the sighted world has been keeping secrets." ~taken from Amazon
I really enjoyed this charming realistic fiction book, and I'd recommend it to any LMS student. Interesting and heartfelt! ****1/2/*****
"When sixteen-year-old Ellie Baum accidentally time-travels via red balloon to 1988 East Berlin, she’s caught up in a conspiracy of history and magic... When it becomes clear that someone is using dark magic to change history, Ellie must risk everything—including her only way home—to stop the process" ~taken from Amazon.
This historical fantasy story has a very unique premise. I'd recommend it to 8th grade students who enjoy historical fiction with a touch of magic--and who don't mind a story with a slow burn. ***1/2 /*****
I appreciated the Lord of the Flies overtones and the unpredictable nature of the story. It was really entertaining! I read right through it and then immediately downloaded the sequels. I'd recommend it to any LMS student who enjoys sci-fi. ****1/2/*****
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| "After leaving Lockwood & Co. at the end of The Hollow Boy, Lucy is a freelance operative, hiring herself out to agencies that value her ever-improving skills. One day she is pleasantly surprised by a visit from Lockwood, who tells her he needs a good Listener for a tough assignment...Black marketeers, an informant ghost, a Spirit Cape that transports the wearer, and... a shocking cliffhanger ending..." ~taken from Amazon This supernatural mystery series keeps getting better as the story continues to unfold! I'd recommend it to all LMS students who are fans of the previous books. ****/***** | "Timothy is a good kid who did a bad thing. Now he's under house arrest for a whole year... But when [Timonthy] must take drastic measures to help his struggling family, staying out of trouble proves more difficult than [he] ever thought it would be. Touching, funny, and always original, [this] novel in verse [is] about a good boy's hard-won path to redemption."~taken from Amazon I enjoyed the unique writing style of this book--how it was written as a journal. I'd recommend it to all LMS students who are fans of bittersweet realistic fiction. ****/***** | "An archaeologist who unearths a mysterious artifact, an airman who finds himself far from home, a painter, a ghost, a vampire, and a Viking...seven stories of passion and love separated by centuries but mysteriously intertwined―this is a tale of horror and beauty, tenderness and sacrifice by a three-time Printz Award Honoree." ~taken from Amazon I loved this book! I was intrigued by the interesting concepts in reincarnation and the nonlinear narrative. I'd recommend it to mature 8th graders who enjoy darkly atmospheric stories that are written with subtlety. ****/***** |
This supernatural mystery series keeps getting better as the story continues to unfold! I'd recommend it to all LMS students who are fans of the previous books. ****/*****
I enjoyed the unique writing style of this book--how it was written as a journal. I'd recommend it to all LMS students who are fans of bittersweet realistic fiction. ****/*****
I loved this book! I was intrigued by the interesting concepts in reincarnation and the nonlinear narrative. I'd recommend it to mature 8th graders who enjoy darkly atmospheric stories that are written with subtlety. ****/*****
Jennifer Polidoro
Lisa Hoyle
This is Lisa Hoyle's second year as a librarian at Longfellow Middle School. Lisa has an MLS from the University of Maryland. In her free time she loves reading, traveling, listening to music, and yoga. Some of her favorite books include Harry Potter, The Giver, and The Lunar Chronicles.
