Muskie Library eNews
August - September 2015
What is Banned Books Week?
Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. More than 11,300 books have been challenged since 1982 according to the American Library Association. There were 311 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2014, and many more go unreported.
The 10 most challenged titles of 2014 were:
1) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
2) Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi
3) And Tango Makes Three, Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
4) The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
5) It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris
6) Saga, by Brian Vaughan and Fiona Staples
7) The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
8) The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
9) A Stolen Life, Jaycee Dugard
10) Drama, by Raina Telgemeier
Celebrating the Freedom to Read at MHS...
Encourage students to read books that interest them -- we encourage students to exercise their freedom to read books of their choice, and ask questions or seek help if they come across difficult content. We currently have a display of frequently challenged/banned books in our library. You would be surprised at how many classics and student favorites have been challenged!
Banned Books week is also a great time to discuss Intellectual Freedom with students. Intellectual freedom is the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction. It provides for free access to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause or movement may be explored. Intellectual freedom is the basis for our democratic system. We expect our people to be self-governors. But to do so responsibly, our citizens must be well-informed. Libraries provide the ideas and information, in a variety of formats, to allow people to inform themselves.
Questions? Need Resources?
Visit: http://www.bannedbooksweek.org OR come talk to the library staff!
"Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation." - Walter Cronkite
New Arrivals...
Kennedy's Last Days by Bill O'Reilly
The Assignation that Defined a Generation
A gripping account of the events leading up to the most notorious crime of the twentieth century. Author Bill O'Reilly vividly describes the Kennedy family's life in the public eye, the crises facing the president around the world and at home, the nation's growing fascination with their vigorous, youthful president, and finally, the shocking events leading up to his demise. Adapted from Bill O'Reilly's best-selling historical thriller Killing Kennedy. (nonfiction - history)
The Last Amateurs by John Feinstein
Playing for Flory and Honor in Division I College Basketball
Like millions who love college basketball, John Feinstein was first drawn to the game because of its intensity, speed and intelligence. Like many others, he felt that the vast sums of money involved in NCAA basketball had turned the sport into a division of the NBA, rather than the beloved amateur sport it once was. He went in search of college basketball played with the passion and integrity it once inspired, and found the Patriot League. The young men on these teams are playing for the love of the sport, of competition and of their schools. (nonfiction - sports)
Notice & Note by Kylene Beers & Robert E. Probst
Strategies for Close Reading
Notice and Note will help you foster rigorous reading and high-level thinking while honoring your students need to interact with what they read. Kylene and Bob forge connections between new academic standards and decades of reading research through commonsense strategies that encourage collaboration and engaged reading. This book is well worth noticing and noting. (professional)
Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
Every man's an island, Jean Louise, every man's watchman, is his conscience.
Maycomb, Alabama. Twenty-six-year-old Jean Louise Finch—"Scout"—returns home from New York City to visit her aging father, Atticus. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights tensions and political turmoil that were transforming the South, Jean Louise's homecoming turns bittersweet when she learns disturbing truths about her close-knit family, the town, and the people dearest to her. Memories from her childhood flood back, and her values and assumptions are thrown into doubt. (fiction - literature)
Tech for Teachers // Stay Updated!
1) MHS Muskie Library Website and the MCSD District Libraries Website - all of our online resources, as well as district-wide curriculum are available online anytime!
2) MCSD Library Latte blog - lots of great updates and resources from librarians across the Muscatine district.
3) Come visit us! Ask the library staff about what's happening - or checkout one of our great book displays!