Presenting: An Amazing Online Resource!

Have you ever wondered how to navigate through the complex and multifaceted world of information that is provided by The Internet?

Are you looking for some wonderful websites for your children to use for educational and recreational purposes?

What is the controversy surrounding popular sites such as Google and Wikipedia?

What are some websites that you like to use?

The library will host a Parent Workshop on Friday, April 25th at 9:00 AM where we will discuss a comprehensive and engaging online resource called Great Websites For Kids: gws.ala.org. This tool is a treasure trove of authoritative and user-friendly websites which cover all of the academic disciplines for children up to the age of 14.  The sites have been evaluated and selected by The Great Websites For Kids Committee, which is part of The Association For Library Service To Children-experienced practitioners in the field of library science. New sites are added three times a year and are evaluated twice a year for currency and relevance.

 

During this session, parents will have the opportunity to work on the library's laptop computers to explore the sites on their own, and ask questions.

 

Please let me know what topics you would like to see covered in future library workshops.

 

I look forward to working with you!

A Light In The Darkness

 

 

                                   

  

 

Anne Frank was a thirteen year-old German-Jewish girl who went "into hiding" in an Amsterdam office building with her family and four other people for over two years when the Nazis came to power and began to deport Jews to concentration camps. She wrote about her experiences and feelings in a diary (later published and called Diary of A Young Girl) which was accidentally discovered by Miep Gies, a young woman who risked her life by helping the Franks when they were secreted away, by bringing supplies, and news of the outside world. Anne died in The Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany, when she was just under sixteen years old. The diary continues to live on as a unique voice of a young person who lived during one of the darkest times in history.



                                           
 

 

"My story is a story of very ordinary people during extraordinarily terrible times. Times the like of which I hope with all my heart will never, never come again. It is for all of us ordinary people all over the world to see to it that they do not."

 

                                                                    -Miep Gies

                                                                     Anne Frank Remembered

 

In Anne Frank Remembered written by Miep Gies and Alison Gold, Miep recounts the story of her childhood as a refugee from Austria, how she came to work for Otto Frank in his spice business, and made the decision to help take care of the Franks when they were in hiding. Through Miep's unique perspective, we can feel the tension of the people in hiding, their reactions to the events happening in the world around them, and mostly, we learn about Anne Frank, who loved movie stars, spending time with her friends, and writing in her diary. When Anne and her family were betrayed and arrested, it was Miep who found the diary which the Nazis had carelessly tossed aside in their raid of the hiding place, and gave it to Otto Frank, the only survivor of the families in hiding.

 

This is a beautifully written, heartfelt, and touching account of a person who decided not to be a bystander and follow the dictates of her own heart as the world crumbled around her. It is a stunning tribute to what makes us human.

 

 

Eerie Secrets

 

 

   

The prolific Mary Downing Hahn (Closed For The Season) has masterfully crafted another suspenseful tale of the supernatural that will keep readers hooked from the very first page.

 

Sometimes the adventure of a lifetime can begin when we least expect it to happen.

 

Teenaged Ali's world changes when she finds an ordinary photograph of three girls - her mother, her Aunt Dulcie, and what should be a third person. Oddly, this portion of the photograph has been ripped out. Ali asks her mother and aunt who the missing person is, but only receives vague and unsatisfactory answers.

 

When Ali goes to visit her aunt and four year-old cousin in her family's former summerhouse in Maine, she thinks she will finally be able to solve this mystery which has troubled her for so long, but gets more than what she bargained for.

 

An angry young girl named Sissy soon arrives on the scene, and begins to talk about a girl named Teresa who drowned under mysterious circumstances - her body never recovered. Soon this "ghost story" takes on frightening new dimensions. What is the link between Sissy and Teresa? Do Ali's mother and aunt know more about the drowning than they have revealed? How long can a painful secret be kept?

 

Ms. Hahn has a wonderful gift for getting into the minds of her characters and showing us their world in a vivid and unforgettable manner. The dialogue is real, and the issues (e.g. correcting past mistakes, justice) are well-presented. This is one of her best books, and I have been her devoted fan since I was a teenager.

 

Get The 411 On Bullying!

Bullying 411: Take A Stand!

An Information Session

Presented by Hillary Goldstein, Librarian

The library will host a Parent Workshop on Tuesday, February 25, 2014 at 9:00 AM about a problem that is constantly in the headlines and is prevalent in our society: bullying. We will discuss what bullying is, describe strategies we can use to assist our children, explain how communities and schools can provide support to bullies, their targets, and bystanders, and share resources for further information.

 

Please join us in Room 320 for a thought-provoking discussion and the opportunity to  make friends who share your interest in this topic. Let's find solutions to a complex problem! We look forward to seeing you there!

 

 

Look Behind You

What do you do when the life you have known inexplicably changes? Suddenly, you have to leave your friends behind, change your name, radically alter your physical appearance, and move to an unknown destination. Zach Granger and his family must enter the Witness Protection Program, carve out new identities, and always look over their shoulders for any possible sign of danger. However, Zach too quickly discovers that the most foolproof plan can become breached. Can Zach and his family survive an uncertain fate and the terrors of the unknown? If you enjoy heartracing suspense, then read Zach's Lie by Roland Smith, a superb craftsman of adventure stories, and be sure to read Jack's Run, the exciting sequel.

A Dystopian Nightmare

Do you want to read a book that will change the way you think about freedom and the power to make choices?

 

Imagine a society where all of your choices are made for you - job, spouse, children, hairstyle, and clothing - in a meticulously planned manner where there are no mistakes. Jonas, a twelve year-old member of this futuristic society, is nervous, because at today's Ceremony of Twelve he is given his lifetime assignment: he will be the Receiver of Memory for his community. When he begins his training with a solitary elder called The Giver, who also holds the society's memories, Jonas slowly realizes the sinister and unexpected ramifications of this job, and his future. What is the devastating truth about the Community that he is only now starting to realize?

I have read and re-read this powerful and insightful book numerous times, and always find something new to ponder. It is a shattering account about a dystopian society and what it means to be free.

The Giver is the first in a series of books called The Giver Quartet, and is a Newbery Award-winning title.

The titles in the series are: The Giver, Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son.
 

Treasures From The Public Library

 

 

Welcome To The World Of Queens Public Library Databases!

A wealth of resources for our school community is The Queens Public Library's website!

Here is where you will find databases on a variety of subjects to fulfill your research needs.

1. Access the website: www.queenslibrary.org

2. Navigate to Research.

3. Go to Articles And Databases.

Some of my favorite databases are:

a. Biography In Context - Provides thorough biographical material about individuals from all time periods with a worldwide scope.

b. Literature Resource Center - Highlights information on literary figures from all time periods and numerous genres (fiction, drama, and journalism, etc.)

c. Opposing Viewpoints In Context - High-quality materials (articles, primary source documents, and websites, etc.) present both sides of controversial topics.