Amberly Media Center

–Middle School/High School–

Nadira has always been the quiet, introspective sister living in the shadows–both in the shadow of her brilliant older sister Aisha, and in the shadow of United States law. Nadira’s family are illegal aliens from Bangladesh. When her father decides the only way they can achieve legal status so that Aisha go to college is to seek asylum in Canada, everything changes. In the post-9/11 hysteria, Nadira’s father is held indefinitely at the border because his name is similar to that of a suspected terrorist. Aisha, who has adapted to America with chameleon-like ease begins to crumble under the weight of all of the lies she’s had to tell over the years. In the end it falls to Nadira to take drastic action.

–High School/Middle School–

Abel Dandy’s mom has no arms, his dad has no legs. His friends are freaks of all kinds. His first kiss is Phoebe the Dog-Faced Girl. Unfortunately Abel is perfectly normal and he feels like he has no future so he runs away “from” the circus in search of a mysterious dancing girl who haunts his dreams. Something mysteriously draws him to a truly shabby traveling freak show run by the sinister Dr. Mink.

Look for both adventure and romance in this unusual book from one of my favorite authors, Annette Curtis Klause. She’s written about vampires in The Silver Kiss, werewolves in Blood and Chocolate, now it’s a mysterious and persuasive mummy.

With all of the negative press given to student blogging, I was encouraged to read Alan November’s Framing the Future of Literacy which addresses the question: “How do we best prepare our students to compete in a global economy?”

November warns schools not to become the “learning police,” banning each new communication technology that comes along, instead of guiding students in the appropriate use of technologies that are essential tools in a global economy.

To become “fearless learners,” November advocates three essential skills:

1. Information Literacy
2. Global Communication
3. Self-Directed Learning and Work

November concludes by saying:

The goal for our students in the 21st century is to become fearless learners.

* Fearless learners who have the confidence to learn anywhere, anytime with anybody.
* Fearless communicators who have the skills to communicate anytime with anybody.

I believe we’ve hugely underestimated what our students are capable of achieving. It’s up to us to help them cultivate a global perspective that will be required of them in the 21st century world economy. Providing students with information-literacy skills, building their capacity for communication, and encouraging self- directed learning may very well help them develop the skill sets necessary to meet these demands.

–High School Only–

This was the unanimous favorite new book in our household this summer and when it was finally my turn, I wasn’t disappointed.

I love vampire stories and I love it when an author does something unique with the familiar plot line. 19-year-old Cal has just arrived in New York City from Texas when he contracts a contagious disease that makes him a “Peep”– parasite positive. Miraculously, Cal avoids becoming a blood thirsty cannibal, and is recruited by a secret police force to track down other peeps.

Campy and creepy, if you love all things gross, you’ll also enjoy the information on various real life parasites that Westerfeld crams in alternating chapters.

—High School Only–

Keir is a good kid. He’s popular, he loves his father and his sisters. He’s bound to get a football scholarship to college when he graduates. But bad things happen to good people and when everything gets out of control on the night of high school graduation, it’s hard to make excuses for what happens with his date, Gigi. It’s up to you to decide if Keir’s actions are “Inexcusable.”

With most books, the reader tends to sympathize with the narrator. You see things his way, you trust his point of view, and you expect him to grow as the novel progresses. Sometimes, however, the narrator is unreliable. There’s more going on in the story than he (or she) lets on. When done well, this can be a compelling device. With a controversial subject such as a date rape, it can be an effective way to motivate the reader to come to his or her own conclusions. This is a disturbing book that you’ll want to finish in one sitting, and will be thinking about long after you put the book down.

It became a Saturday night tradition: Hector, Debbie, Phil, and Patty took turns sitting with Lenny in his dad’s old truck listening to a goofy radio show called “Criss Cross.” You never knew what to expect. They’d hear novelty songs like “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park,” “Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow,” and “Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road.” Then there would be a comedy bit. Then the show would end with a couple “what do you get if you cross X with a Y?” jokes.

Especially for Debbie and Hector, fourteenth summers can be just as strange and unexpected. The 2006 Newbery Medal Winner.