Helena Book Festival

I just returned from a trip to Helena for the 3rd annual Book Festival. One interesting session was on the extravagance and excess in the contemporary poem. A Missoula professor provided examples of poetry which provokes thought and reflection. Harryette Mullen in her poem "Jinglejangle" from the book Sleeping with the Dictionary (2002)matches the letters of the alphabet with words to evoke thoughts about our society. Her "e" stream of consciousness words begin:
eager beaver Earl the Pearl easy greasy Eat a Pita
eenie-meenie Etch-a-Sketch
Evel Knievel Even Stephen Eye in the Sky...

By not using grammatical syntax, the reader is left to make connections within their own world view.
More on the festival later.

Teen Read Week

Get real@your library is the theme for this year's Teen Read Week from October 16-21, 2005. The theme was chosen to make students more aware of the non-fiction materials available in the library. For more information about Teen Read Read go to www.ala.org/teenread . Vote for your favorite book!

Battle of Books 2005-06

Teams are forming for the Battle of the Books next spring. Here is a list of the sixteen books each team needs to read:

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Going Solo by Roald Dahl
City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
Good Night, Mr. Tom by Michelle Magorian
Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer
Jade Green by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
East by Edith Pattou
Eldest by Christopher Paolini
Define "Normal" by Julie Anne Peters
Choosing Up Sides by John H. Ritter
Shadow Club by Neal Shusterman
War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
Deathwatch by Robb White
The Ravenmaster's Secret by Elvira Woodruff
Soldier X by Don L. Wulffson
Queen's Own Fool by Jane Yolen and Robert J. Harris

2005 New Books

You are SO FORTUNATE! The Middle School Library has received MANY new books for this school year. Over one hundred new books have 2005 copyright dates. Mystery, fantasy, and historical fiction books are some themes included with this collection of new books. Come to the library and check out our new books.