PSSST…Secret CIA Information

Do you want the latest, most up-to-date, country information for your student’s report? The best site I’ve found is the CIA’s World Factbook https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ As of this posting, the site was last updated on August 7, 2008. And, here’s the best part: It’s Free! Not to mention how cool it will be to cite the CIA as your information source! Talk about inside information.

Cramming for the GED

I saw a sign years ago that I would like to put up at the library. It states “Poor Planning on Your Part Does Not Constitute an Emergency on Our Part.” Such a sign would have been handy the other day when a patron came in requesting, as she put it, books about reading, math, social sciences, and biology. As my assistant worked to find books fitting this very generic description, the patron indicated that she was really in a hurry because Continue Reading »

Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key

Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key is about an elementary school student with attention-deficit disorder. Joey tries very, very hard to follow the rules, but between his disorder and his vivid imagination, he finds staying out of trouble to be quite difficult (often with humorous results). The author of the Joey Pigza books, Jack Gantos, does a phenomenal job of reaching into Joey’s head and Continue Reading »

Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

Twisted is a coming of age story about a boy of nearly eighteen who is facing many challenges in his life. He is no angel, but he is not the bad boy everyone seems to believe he is. His home life is troubled, and his future is uncertain. When he is falsely accused of a crime that could very well send him to prison, he loses hope and seriously contemplates Continue Reading »

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire!

For good reason, library policy states that only parents or legal guardians can sign for library cards for children. I have met many well-meaning grandparents, aunts, uncles, and others to whom I’ve had to recite this policy. As an extra precaution, we ask not “Are you the child’s mother?” but “What is your relationship to the child?” When someone does claim legal guardianship, we ask for Continue Reading »