525 600 Minutes

Can you believe that this is the number of minutes in one calendar year? One goal of the SAM Library this year is to encourage all students and staff to spend more of those minutes engaged in reading. As we discussed reading can take on many different forms, and all of us read many things each day to help us navigate our way through our daily routines. I would like you to focus on two things in the minutes that you spend reading:

1. Spend more time reading than you currently do
2. Read a wider variety of things than you currently do

To help you in this pursuit, you can check here for recommendations, new books and other items of interest that will help you in your reading life.

For example, new books are starting to arrive in the Library. Last Thursday (Oct.01) I spent our share of the Ministry of Education's grant money on new books. These new books will soon be on the shelves. Check here for updates on the cataloguing process and to look for new titles.

Have you considered joining an on-line reading community? Many of SAM's students are members of the Library Thing reading community. Check it out. This is a fun way for you to keep track of the books you have read and engage in discussion around those books.

S.A.M. Summer Reading

I know, I know, summer is the time when many of you put away all thoughts of anything to do with school. But there are some of us who look at summer as a chance to catch up on the reading we didn’t get to do throughout the year. Summer is the time when there are no assigned books to read, and we can read the books we choose. Having said that, here is a list of books that I would have liked to have read this year. All of these books are available in the SAM library (in case you don’t get to them over the summer)

General Fiction:
Revolution’s Not a Dinner Party by Ying Chang Compestine
Off to War: Voices of Soldier’s Children by Deborah Ellis
The Garbage Kings
Red Sky in the Morning by Elizabeth Laird
Initiation by Virginia Frances Schwartz
Under the Persimmon Tree by Suzanne Fisher Staples
Little Leap Forward by Guo Yue

Teen Fiction:
On Thin Ice by Jamie Bastedo
I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

Adventure Fiction:
Young James Bond Series by Charlie Higson
Alex Rider Series by Anthony Horowitz
Pendragon: The Travelers by
Vampirates by Justin Sompe
Five Ancestors Series by Jeff Stone

Fantasy Fiction:
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Noble Warriors Trilogy by William Nicholson
Heroes of the Valley by Jonathan Stroud

Science Fiction:
The Roar by Emma Clayton
The Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne DuPrau
Uglies, Pretties, Specials, Extras by Scott Westerfeld

Historical Fiction:
The Sea of Trolls
Land of Silver Apples by Nancy Farmer
Bound by Donna Jo Napoli
Blood Red Snow White by Marcus Sedgwick
Rebel Cargo by James Riordan

Horror Fiction:
The Saga of Darren Shan by Darren Shan

Red Maple Voting Results

Here are the results from SAM's Red Maple Voting:

Fiction:
Egghead 1
Frost 1
Out of the Cold 8
Payback 1
A Perfect Gentle Knight 2

Non-Fiction:
At Vimy Ridge 1
Canadian Boys who Rocked the World 3
Dangerous Crossings 8
Desperate Glory 2
Healing Our World 5
Island of Hope and Sorrow 1
The Kids Book of Canada at War 1
Royal Murder 15
SOS - Stories of Survival 2

The results from all of Ontario will be announced later in May. Stay tuned for the province wide winners.

Red Maple Voting Results

Voting Day

Today is the voting day for all Red Maple Readers. Thanks to all of you who have fulfilled the requirements for voting. Stay tuned for our school totals and the province wide results.

I also welcome any feedback on the whole Red Maple program.

New Books!!!!

Well, I know I've been anxiously waiting for this day. The new books are starting to make their way onto the shelves and from there into your hands. First up are Manga. There are many new

Naruto,

Prince of Tennis,

Bleach,

FMA titles available and a new series is appearing in the Library: Dragon Drive.

Are you a manga fan? Why don't you drop by the Library and check out the new titles.

Stay tuned as new books are ready to be borrowed, I will update this blog with some selections and recommendations.

Book Buying

Yesterday, I spent the entire day buying books for the Library. Normally, this would be an amazing way to spend a day. Yesterday, however, was exceedingly tiring. I arrived at the Book Fair around 9:00 am and spent the next 6.5 hours looking at books and waiting in lines to get invoiced for those books.

The choices were numerous, and I think you will be pleased with the books that were bought. Thank you for your suggestions. While I was able to get some, many of the titles you asked for were not present at the Fair. Fear not, I will try to get some of these titles through other suppliers.

Now, I have to ask for your patience. The books will arrive in the Library over the next few weeks. I will work as quickly as I can to catalogue those books and get them out into circulation.

Stay tuned for highlights of the new books.

Red Maple

We are well into the reading time for this year's Red Maple program. Congratulations to those of you who have already read the minimum number of books in either the Fiction or Non-Fiction categories.

I have read the books in both categories and while there are some that are good, I'm having a hard time deciding which ones I would vote for. (Remember, teachers aren't allowed to vote.)

In any event, keep reading and if you are interested in joining us, it isn't too late to begin.


The official voting day is Thursday April 23, 2009.

Non-Fiction

I've begun to tidy the non-fiction shelves, this week. Whilse some of this job is tedious, it always leads to discoveries as well. I find books on those shelves that look so interesting. I have to make a list of them so I can read them.

Another hting that boggles my mind is how the shelves get so messy to begin with. I know grade 7 and 8 students understand how to place things in numerical order, so why can't they replace the books in the proper spot?

I will add some books I've found so you can see some of the interesting titles that are available.

Ministry Money

The details of a big announcement from the Ministry of Education arrived at school today. Our school has been alotted approximately $4500.00. I will be using this money at the beginning of March to buy new books and materials for the Library.

I need your help. As you, the SAM community, are the ones who will be reading these books, I would like your input into what I should buy.

Leave a comment with suggestions, and will take them into consideration when building a shopping list.

Thanks.

The Beginning

Welcome.


This is the beginning of what I hope to be an integral interaction between all of you in the SAM community and me, here in the Library. I am looking forward toe xploring all the amazing things we can do with this blog.

Let the fun begin!!