The View from the Leslie Library Windows: Cutting Out Europe

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Cutting Out Europe

Had a great time today. Students came in looking for a big map of Europe. I looked in my drawers and didn't have anything, but then I remembered that when I was cleaning up stuff and moving things into better spaces, we had this old hang off the wall in front of the chalkboard map set. One of those with several maps and you would unroll the one you wanted? So, I guess one of the students is going to Europe and will send updates on where he is so they wanted a map to plot his trip. I took the big set, we found it did have a Europe section. Those things are so big, heavy and bulky, and I thought again, who is ever going to hang it again? No one! So I got a pair of scissors and cut off Europe. It worked perfectly! They were going to hang it and even came back to make sure it would be all right for them to use thumbtacks to put on the wall and I said sure! What a fun thing to do! I felt very pleased with myself! Got all the rest of the new books out today and was happy about that! Checked in/out four class sets of math books. Did the last covering I needed to do and started working on stripping books. Had my wondrous volunteer Mrs. M go back and work on all the lit set titles so I can create a spreadsheet. Laminated some things for a teacher and a sign for the library door that says "Library is closed! Mrs. Willer is having her lunch! Please return at 12:06!" We'll see if it works! 5th period was amazingly quiet! Only had one student in working on a project. I loved it. Asked around for my sign in sheets in the office and then to reprographics, and finally sent in a new one and I think I got it - Ta-da! Even got a confirmation email! Drippy rainy day out, so I had the lights on all day, even in the computer lab just to brighten the day. I really love working with the students and helping them out with their questions. Helped Mrs. P today get some resources, and one of the subs. Had two more of my aides turn in their written projects to me. Gave a thank you card to our principal for the amazing things he said about me at the meeting Tuesday night. Life is good!

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What I'm Reading

The Butchering Art by Lindsey Fitzharris was a great non-fiction read! Love a good non-fiction! Joseph Lister worked hard, studied hard, never gave up on his ideas that something outside was causing untold numbers of people to die after surgery. His quest to find the answer was long overdue and he was the one to craft it and make it a medical standard. Brilliant!
Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Boy by Emmanuel Acho was so good. I liked it even better than Stamped. His honest and open look at what is was like for him growing up really brings the issues into focus. Highly recommended!
Verify by Joelle Charbonneau - what if everything went digital which gave the government and people in power a way to change history, past and current. What happened to some words, like the word 'verify' that is no longer in the digital dictionary. Meri has lost her mom and her dad drowns sorrow in liquor. Meri is entranced by her mom's last art pieces and is given a slip of paper (the horror! what about the trees? recycling?) and on it is the word 'verify'. Atlas gives her a dictionary, a paper one and an old history textbook. Meri jumps on the train with him so they can change the world.
Kalahari by Jessica Khoury - what a ride! I even took this home one night to finish! Sarah lives with her dad doing research deep in the Kalahari. A group of students are sent to see if they can qualify for a grant and when her dad goes missing when he heads off after poachers, she is left to take care of them. Her dad doesn't return and the poachers are after them. They come across a white lion stalking them, but wait? It isn't white it's something else. They come across a lab and realize there is a virus, that has been let loose on the Kalahari that could destroy the whole world. So exciting!! Great ending as well!
The Year of the Buttered Cat by Susan Haas with Lexi Haas - Okay. I have to admit that I got this book because of the title. Buttered cats, what an intriguing thought! But the real intrigue is the persistence, the optimism of Lexi. Because of jaundice, she was disabled and this story is about her decision to take a chance on ground breaking surgery to try and get some mobility, speech and live her gifts. She has five she had to find. Read it for Lexi (and maybe to find out about that buttered cat).
Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram. There are spaces only you can fill, and Darius learns this as his family travels to Iran to see his grandfather who is dying. Along the way he deals with his depression, makes a friend, has innumerable Star Trek references and also learns that it's okay, to not be okay. I must admit, I had to look up some of the places he got to visit. What a rich heritage. I thought Zoroastrians were long gone, but no, they are still practicing today in Iran. Great book, totally okay.
The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin - perfect book lover tale of a woman captivated by a man and a bookstore and how she made more impact on her fellow book lovers and the man who got her to read than any bomb that fell during the Blitz. Very lovely!
The Girl From the Channel Islands by Jenny Lecoat - Lovely WW2 story by Jenny who actually grew up on one of the Channel Islands. Hedy fled Austria only to find her island haven invaded by the Germans. And though she is wary, she falls in love with a German officer. The twists and turns of German occupation test them both as each find a way to help the allied forces win.
Ancestor Approved edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith. I loved these short stories that all center around a modern day Native American Powwow. My fave was Rez Dog and they were all a great window into culture that I have rarely seen. I watched some videos on Fancy Dancing because of this and I would love to attend one, but feel a bit like a looky loo if I did. Fun, eye opening and full of information. Loved it!
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams Loved this fictionalized tale of the daughter of one of the lexicographers of the first ever Oxford Dictionary. As Esme goes from hiding under the sorting table, to one day being a lexicographer herself, we see her story unfold along with the people attached to the dictionary. It was really wonderful as we glimpsed her life and how the words she found and rescued formed the backbone of this novel. Really well done. It will stay on my shelves.