In Honor of National Native American Heritage Month
Here are some books to help you celebrate the rich ancestry and traditions of Native Americans:
Lifting the Sky by Mackie D'Arge Twelve-year-old Blue, always on the move with her ranch-hand mother, yearns for a real home where her father can find them, and on a remote ranch on a Wyoming reservation she finds that and more, including a mystical ability to heal injuries.
KCMLIN (Kansas City Metropolitan Library and Information Network) recently had a YA Workshop: Going TEEN! Mid-Continent Teen Programmers were out in force, and you know what that means: shenanigans!
Are you an adult hiding that teen book under your blanket at night with your book light? Or, do you anxiously wait for your teenager to head to school so you can pick up their Young Adult book? Well, as a fully grown, middle-aged adult, I am here to tell you; you don't have to hide. Come out in the sunshine, or grab a chair in the shade, you are not alone. There are a lot of us out here and we are here to say, "We like Young Adult books and we aren't ashamed to admit it!" Right now, our branch has a display entitled "Teen Books Adults Can Enjoy!" Come on in and check some out.
“You gave up becoming human for me, and this is what I get? A boyfriend who hangs out with my worst enemy, but won’t tell me why. A boyfriend who walks out at the first hint of a fight. Try this on for size: You’re a—jerk!”
In the dream Tessa lay once again tied to the narrow brass bed in the Dark House. The Sisters leaned over her, clacking pairs of long knitting needles and laughing in shrill high-pitched voices. As Tessa watched, their features changed, their eyes sinking into their heads, their hair falling out, and stitches appearing across their lips, sewing them shut. Tessa shrieked voicelessly, but they did not seem to hear.
What they want is for me to truly take on the role they designed for me. The symbol of the revolution. The Mockingjay. It isn't enough, what I've done in the past, defying the Capitol in the Games, providing a rallying point. I must now become the actual leader, the face, the voice, the embodiment of the revolution.
In my everyday librarian experience, I meet with a lot of positivity. I also meet a few "Negative Nellies." Sometimes they don't like my displays, sometimes they hate the limitations that come with using a public space, sometimes they dislike the books we carry, sometimes they hate my programming choices...but never have I had a person completely bash an entire genre of books.
Every year, the Missouri Association of School Librarians (whoa, what a mouthful...we'll call them MASL from now on) gets together and decides - with the help of dutiful nominators - what books will be finalists for the Gateway, Truman, and Mark Twain
Book Review: Seven Tears Into the Sea by Terri Farley
“Beckon the sea, I’ll come to thee…Shed seven tears, perchance seven years,” are the captivating words spoken by the strange boy on the beach to Gwen Cooke in the beginning of Terri Farley’s novel Seven Tears into the Sea. Immediately, her book managed to do to me what I think every novel should be able to do to its readers: spark the imagination.
