Just finished reading Down the Mysterly River by Bill Willingham and loved it! Max, a boy scout, finds himself in the woods and doesn't know how he got there.  After meeting a talking badger, bear and cat, Max and his new friends travel across the land in search of answers to where they are and how they got there.  Of course, every good adventure story has an evil force which in this case is the Blue Cutters, people who have powerful swords that can cut people and alter their personalities. The characters in this engaging and suspenseful mystery are well-developed and will keep you sitting on the edge of your seat! 

PicLits
How's this for a cool website?  PicLits provides a gallery of photographs and invites you to add words that capture the essence of the picture. Either add your own words or choose from their list.  The results are beautiful and amazing!  Check it out!  PicLits

On January 23, 2012, the American Library Association announced the best children's books published in the year 2011. 
Newbery Medal (most distinguished contribution to children’s literature):
     Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos
Newbery Honor: 
    Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
    Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin
Caldecott Medal (most distinguished picture book):
     A Ball for Daisy written and illustrated by Chris Raschka
Caldecott Honor: 
    Blackout written and illustrated by John Rocco
    Grandpa Green written and illustrated by Lane Smith
    Me … Jane written and illustrated by Patrick McDonnell

For more information about ALA's Youth Media Awards, click here.

    

NEW BOOKS ARRIVED TODAY and 12 NEW PLAYAWAYS!  Check the main page of our Destiny Quest catalog to see titles of our new books and a list of all the Playaways in our library.  ENJOY!

I was excited to hear that Walter Dean Myers was sworn in today at the Library-of-Congress as the Ambassador for Young People's literature.  This is quite an honor and a post that Mr. Myers will hold for two years.  He chose the theme Reading is Not Optional,  stating that "the problem is very often books are looked upon as a wonderful adjunct to our lives. It's so nice. Books can take you to faraway places and this sort of thing. But then it all sounds as if it's something nice but not really necessary. And during my lifetime things have changed so drastically. You can't do well in life if you don't read well."

Click here to read and listen to his whole interview: Walter Dean Myers interview on NPR

Welcome to the new SMS Library BLOG!  My goal is to share library happenings, news, books, technology tools....any and all things library!  My goal will be to keep the posts brief and informative. 

For my first post, I'd like to share the 7th grade Science Human Body Conditions Fair that took place in the library on Dec. 1, 2011.  It was so much fun to see all the different ways that students produced a product that explained what they learned.  We got to see posters, brochures, diary entries, PowerPoint slide shows, prezis, videos, interviews, etc. During the research process, students learned how to evaluate websites for reliability and they accessed authoritative articles in GALE Student Resource Center, one of the library subscription databases. 

Click the READ MORE button on the right to see more pictures.