I originally voluteered for the WFC because I was promised free books for my library and my students love new fiction as much as hot Cheetos. The committee is mostly school librarians and literacy coaches and we read all the submitted books and then eliminate the books that are too young, boring, simple, or unable to stand alone, without the other books in the series. The goal is to choose the ten outstanding new fiction books for 2010.
So far, I have probably read about 70-80 books. We try to make sure that at least four of us read every book that might make the awards list. The books range from SciFi to realistic, Fantasy to History. Some of the ones I really enjoyed are:
Blood Ninja by Nick Lake (Vampire ninjas, need I say more)
Beat the Band by Don Calame (made me laugh out loud)
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare (I cannot keep this on the shelf)
Draw the Dark by Ilsa Bick (still reading it, but it made the list)
Green Witch by Alice Hoffman (lyrical, interesting, lovely)
Last Summer of the Death Warriors by Francisco X. Stork (dealing w/ death)
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (alternate history of WWI)
Salt by Maurice Gee (adventure set in another world, compelling)
Scarlett Fever by Maureen Johnson (teen angst in a NYC hotel w/ actors)
Struts and Frets by Jon Skovron (a band book for music lovers)
Sweet 15 by Emily Adler (biculturalism, humor, family life, skating)
Three Rivers Rising by Jame Richards (historical fiction, Johnstown Flood)
Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen (historical, Revolutionary War)
and of course I am still aiming for three to four more books per week until we make our selection. My students are loving Personal Demons, The Agency, Addicted to Her, Butterfly, Claire de Lune, The Complete History of why I hate her, Beautiful, Efrain's Secret, How to say Goddbye in Robot, Hushs, Hush, Legacies, Roses are Red, A Small Free Kiss in the Dark, Wish, and so on.
So, if you are looking for new fiction and needed some titles let me know what genre you are looking for and I will try to be helpful. In the meantime, I love free books!
Friday, December 3, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
After Inventory
As I listen to the Graduation Rehearsal taking place right outside the library, I am cataloging donated materials from our first retiring teacher at East Valley high school. I have about three more boxes of video cassettes and dvds that were used to teach Economics, American History and American government. This is what I get to catch up on, after I complete a full inventory of our library.
Inventory is a long process. We completed the count on the Professional and Reference sections in May, but did not close to regular circulation until June. We had classes signed up every day, sometimes one per period, sometimes more. If I had not had help from my own children after they finished their college semesters, I do not know if we would have made it. But we finished the full inventory and ran a list of the lost or missing copies. Thus, if and when we get our fine and lost money back from district, we will know what materials need replacing. ;)
As the school year winds down, early, we try to prepare for next year by prepping all new materials and getting our hands on any available categorical funds to buy new requests for our teachers and students. We may be able to get about $10,000 of new books, dvds and playaways for next school year! Hallelujah!
Inventory is a long process. We completed the count on the Professional and Reference sections in May, but did not close to regular circulation until June. We had classes signed up every day, sometimes one per period, sometimes more. If I had not had help from my own children after they finished their college semesters, I do not know if we would have made it. But we finished the full inventory and ran a list of the lost or missing copies. Thus, if and when we get our fine and lost money back from district, we will know what materials need replacing. ;)
As the school year winds down, early, we try to prepare for next year by prepping all new materials and getting our hands on any available categorical funds to buy new requests for our teachers and students. We may be able to get about $10,000 of new books, dvds and playaways for next school year! Hallelujah!
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