BOOKS ARE MAGIC

(re-posted with permission from the author)

Books are magic because they can break down barriers in amazing ways.

I'm fortunate to belong to a weekly book club that meets during lunch time at the junior high where I teach. Close to forty members strong (although not all come to every meeting) and with a mix of boys and girls.

Last Thursday was our final meeting for the school year. Bittersweet, in that half the club is going on to the high school next year. I will miss their insights, their passion for books, and their joyous spirits.

Kaci, our school librarian and my dear friend, began this club over four years ago. It has grown steadily and it has become not only a time and place to "talk books", but also a safe haven for young teens who need a break from social/academic pressures. 

In Book Club, there are no brains, no jocks, no geeks, no princesses, no goths. In Book Club, we are all just...us.

Now, that's magic for you.

In April, the Cheyenne Mountain Junior High Book Club will be reading Skellig by David Almond.

Michael was looking forward to moving into a new house. But now his baby sister is ill, his parents are frantic, and Doctor Death has come to call. Michael feels helpless. Then he steps into the crumbling garage and encounters a strange being who changes his world forever.

All students are welcome to join us during either lunch in the library. Just bring your lunch and a copy of Skellig. 

In January, the CMJH Weekly Book Club will be reading The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. Everyone is welcome to join! Stop by and see Mrs. Guthrie in the library to sign up for a copy.

It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

Next Book Club Selection: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Our next book of the semester will be Ray Bradbury's classic Fahrenheit 451. See Mrs. Guthrie in the library for more information. Our first meeting will be Thursday, November 3 during both lunches. Anyone is welcome to join!

Guy Montag was a fireman whose job it was to start fires... 

The system was simple. Everyone understood it. Books were for burning ... along with the houses in which they were hidden.

Guy Montag enjoyed his job. He had been a fireman for ten years, and he had never questioned the pleasure of the midnight runs nor the joy of watching pages consumed by flames... never questioned anything until he met a seventeen-year-old girl who told him of a past when people were not afraid.

Then he met a professor who told him of a future in which people could think... and Guy Montag suddenly realized what he had to do!

Scary Story Contest!

Enter the CMJH Library Scary Story Contest!!!!
1.  One original entry per person.
2.  Must be a short story, scary subject, appropriate content.
3.  Open to all students.
4.  Do not put your name on it!  Only your Student ID please.
5.  Entries must be turned into the library by Wed. Oct. 26th.  Winners will be announced Fri. Oct. 28th.
6.  The top two writers will receive a prize.

Next Book Club Selection: Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

The next book we'll be reading is:   Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson. 

Our first meeting with this book will be Thursday, October 6 during both lunches.
 Sign up with Mrs. Guthrie in the library!   Cost: $5.00.

Book Club is open to anyone, anytime.

On the heels of her acclaimed contemporary teen novel Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson surprises her fans with a riveting and well-researched historical fiction. Fever 1793 is based on an actual epidemic of yellow fever in Philadelphia that wiped out 5,000 people--or 10 percent of the city's population--in three months. At the close of the 18th century, Philadelphia was the bustling capital of the United States, with Washington and Jefferson in residence. During the hot mosquito-infested summer of 1793, the dreaded yellow fever spread like wildfire, killing people overnight. Like specters from the Middle Ages, gravediggers drew carts through the streets crying "Bring out your dead!" The rich fled to the country, abandoning the city to looters, forsaken corpses, and frightened survivors.

In the foreground of this story is 16-year-old Mattie Cook, whose mother and grandfather own a popular coffee house on High Street. Mattie's comfortable and interesting life is shattered by the epidemic, as her mother is felled and the girl and her grandfather must flee for their lives. Later, after much hardship and terror, they return to the deserted town to find their former cook, a freed slave, working with the African Free Society, an actual group who undertook to visit and assist the sick and saved many lives. As first frost arrives and the epidemic ends, Mattie's sufferings have changed her from a willful child to a strong, capable young woman able to manage her family's business on her own.

Book Club 2011-2012

The Book Club starts up next week! We will meet every Thursday at lunch (both first and second lunches) to read and talk about fabulous novels.

Our first book will be: Griffin Rising by Darby Karchut.

Stop by the library and sign up with Mrs. Guthrie.

For centuries, rumors have abounded of a lowly caste of supernatural beings known as the Terrae Angeli. Armed with the power to control Earth, Fire, Wind and Water, these warriors secretly serve as guardians for mortals in danger.

But for one young angel-in-training, Griffin, life is hell as a cruel master makes his apprenticeship a nightmare. On the verge of failing, a new mentor, Basil, enters his life and changes it forever.

Taking on the identity of father and son, Griffin and Basil forge a special bond where honesty and trust go hand in hand to secure Griffin’s destiny as a Terrae Angeli. Griffin’s belief in himself and the love of a mortal girl are the perfect combination in overcoming the darkest days of his life. But will it be enough for him to succeed?

For Griffin, it’s time to angel up.