Happy Birthday to the emoticon!

Today the :-) is 25! Read about how this familiar and now ever expanding symbol came to be just 25 years ago.

Almost that time of year again!!

Well, I can't believe that school is starting again. It seems like we just got out. But we have an exciting year planned in the media center. Lots of new books. Some new activities. And 2 different literary clubs. See the media center's home page for more details.

Did you do any reading over the summer? I did. My favorite from this summer was A Thousand Splendid Suns. Great follow up to The Kite Runner. I will never think of the women of Afghanistan the same again. We don't have this book in our collection yet, but be looking for it sometime in September. I also loved Razzle by Wittlinger. An awkward wanna-be-popular kid meets an awkward wanna-be-awkward girl. Boys struggles with how others view him. Lots of messed up families. Realistic Fiction!

Add a comment about any good or not so good books you read this summer. Also we are always looking for ideas of new books to purchase. Please comment on what it is you like about the book.

Don't forget to stop in and say hello after the summer!

Help Wanted: Student Assistants

The Media Center is in need of some willing and able students to help us and earn 2.5 credits. If you find yourself bored in Academic Center, and would be willing to reshelve books, help build bulletin boards, clean and tidy up, and just have some fun sometimes, we would love to have you as our assistant.
Come see me (Mrs. VandeHoef) in the Media center ASAP.
We could use 2nd semester, 3rd quarter, and/or 4th quarter SAs during periods 1-7.

It's official...

We have the Round Robin Reading club up and running. Okay, we have one student but still that's enough. She came, she read, and she checked out 2 books that she liked from the experience. That's what my goal was to begin with. So if you would like to read some of the new and old books we have in the media center come see me (Mrs. V). The more the merrier!

Just read...

I just finished reading the first book in a series about drifting. For those of you who don't know what that is it's a type of car racing that takes place in the mountains and the drivers oversteer around curves to cause the tires to lose traction. The good drivers will stay in control the whole time. Quite a thrill for the main characters of Slide or Die. The first book in the DriftX series by Todd Strasser. Kennin, his sister Shinchou, and their cousins Tito and Angelito live in Las Vegas where this is a common, but illegal racing practice. Kennin must find a way to prove himself in a new city while dealing with a bad memory from the past. Check it out!

New Club to join!

There is a new club that was left off the list from club sign up day last week. Here is information about it. You need to act quickly if you would like to join.

Do you like to Read? Do you want to know what is available, both old and new, for check out from the media center? Well, I have the club for you! The ROUND ROBIN READING club is being offered Club B Day. I will pull some of our best books for you to sample. You will spend 5-10 minutes reading each book during club time. This will give you some great ideas for books you will want to checkout.

If this sound like a club you would be interested in joining, stop by the Media Center THIS WEEK and let me (Mrs. V) know. Your club schedule will need to be changed by Monday.

YES, we are still open!

Due to all of the new construction in C and E halls, you may be thinking the Media Center must be closed. Well you are wrong, we are still open! For the remainder of the year it will be trickier to get here. Be looking for special events occurring this semester! It will be fun!

Now on to the book stuff--
Some of you might be interested in the new book we have, Search and Destroy by Dean Hughes. It is the story of a young man in the 1960's fresh out of high school who wants to go to war to experience life so he can write about it. He enlists and is shipped out to Vietnam. He is selected as a member of a special forces unit. What ensues is his experiences in the jungles and the friendships he makes with his fellow soldiers. Are his experiences what he was searching for? This book is packed with war action!

Look for it in our New Book Collection under FIC HUG. And then let me know what you thought.

More NEW Books!

I am happy to report that we have new books once again! Come check them out on the new book display area. With this order we purchased many books that are parts of series.
For example Red is for Remembrance by Laurie Faria Stolarz and we also got Bleed by Stolarz.
Tamora Pierce fans should look for Trickster's Queen (which is a sequel to Trickster's Choice) and book one in the Beka Cooper series, Terrier.
Sarah Dessen fans should check out Just Listen.
The next installment of the Nannies novels by Melody Mayer is Have to Have It.
A new series, Seven Deadly Sins by Robin Wasserman, continues with Wrath and Pride.
Readers looking for true life, gritty, urban storylines can check out Street Love, Street Pharm, or Trash.
Everyone has heard of Cinderella but what about the life of an ugly stepsister? Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire tells her story. If you saw or read Wicked, this is by the same author.
Some others that look good:
Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac--about the Navajo Marines of World War II
The Angel of Death by Alane Ferguson--a forensic mystery about the death of an English teacher and the student who works in the morgue and life is very complicated.

As you read some of these or others please drop me a quick reply to let others know what Southeast students thought!