Happy Wednesday! 

The best things in life are free, and one of those things is a service called Hoopla. Hoopla gives you free access to movies, music, audiobooks, eBooks, graphic novels, comics, and television shows (think Netflix, Kindle, Amazon Prime, and Audible all in one place for free).

All you have to do is to set up a Boston Public Library eCard here (you all have access as Massachusetts residents and/or educators in Massachusetts). Then you create an account on Hoopla's website using your fancy, new library eCard. You are now free to walk about the digital streaming service and to start binge streaming/reading/listening. 


As always, send me an email or a Google Chat if you have any questions. You can also click here to see a very brief walk through of the service. 

​
The Gov. Volpe Library subscribes to over twenty periodicals. Textbooks quickly become outdated. The library provides magazines with highly visual and current information to students and faculty.​​

Here are three easy​ ways to access periodicals:

• Stop by the library: In an effort to keep our magazines in one place, we ask that you use library magazines in the library. You are welcome to make color copies/scans and to use the laminator. 
  ​I'm around to assist! You can also ask me to tag magazines for student use if you are looking for information on a specific topics.
  
  
• Use the library databases: GALE has archived copies of many popular magazines. You can access it through our library website (whslibr.weebly.com/databases).
  • N.B. This will not work using a Google Search, you have to physically click the link on the library website. 
    
    
• Sign-up for a Boston Public Library eCard to use Zinio: As residents of Massachusetts you are eligible to sign up for a Boston Public Library eCard. This card grants you access to the BPL's amazing digital collection, databases like JSTOR, and the library's digital ​magazine service called Zinio. 
  • To sign up, simply fill out your information ​here.​ You'll receive an email with your account information.
  • ​Next go to the BPL's electronic resources tab or click here.​ Click on Zinio. It'll ask you to log in with your eCard information. There is also an app for Android and Apple products (but that's something I haven't played around with quite yet).
  • Search for a magazine and enjoy!

For ways to incorporate magazines in your classrooms, check out how to use periodicals in the "informational age."

Google Slides only offers a few options for backgrounds or templates. Try out Slides Carnival and instantly make your presentations more professional and stylish. 

All you have to do is find a template you like, click on it. 
    >It will bring you to a page where you can preview the presentation. 
        >Click the yellow button that says "USE THIS PRESENTATION TEMPLATE." 
            >It will bring you to a Google Slides presentation that you can't edit.                            
​                 >Click "FILE" and then "MAKE A COPY"

It will automatically save a copy to your drive folder. Make sure to keep the credits page at the end of the presentation and give the developers the credit they are due. 

Enjoy! Please let me know if you have any questions. 

Ms. Kelly

While it is not by any means a comprehensive list, this post focuses on what is popular amongst students at WMHS in 2015. To add the title to your Goodreads "to-read" list click on the image and it will direct you to the Goodreads page.

American Sniper
Chris Kyle & Scott McEwen

American Sniper is the real story of Chris Kyle, US Navy Seal who was awarded with the most recorded sniper kills in US history. The release of American Sniper in theaters popularized the title, but many students come to the library looking for books on warfare. 

Eleanor & Park
Rainbow Rowell

The Gov. Volpe Library has loaned out this title 30 times in the past year. What makes this book so great? Well, while the cover might make you think it is a cutesy love story, there is a lot of depth to the novel. It covers topics like abuse and bullying, and the ever present obstacles that seem to come as part of being a teenager. You don't have to take it from me, just look around the cafeteria and you'll see at least three copies of the book in any given direction. 

Paper Towns
John Green

This book is as popular as it is polarizing. For some John Green aficionados, the book is too similar to Looking for Alaska. Some readers are able to get past this, others do not. The book is currently on the New York Times best seller list, in response to an adaption of the book set to hit theaters this summer (starring no less than supermodel Cara Delevigne). If you like to "read it before you see it" a number of copies are available in the library for circulation.

Go Ask Alice
Anonymous


Go Ask Alice is the oldest text on this list (published in 1999), but it still regularly circulates in our library. Go Ask Alice follows a teen as she suffers from depression and drug abuse. Some of the language in the title is a little dated, but this book is highly recommended by students. 

There are many books that one is told they ::must:: read in their lifetime. Lucky for us, many of these books show up in high school and college courses. There are also many books that we read, even though it might perhaps be time to allow older texts to retire and let a rookie have a chance. The following is a list of new young adult titles with enough bite to entertain and educate adolescents. The list has been compiled using a number of prominent literary award committees including YALSA, the Robert F. Sibert Medal Committee, the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), and the Pura Belpré Award. 

The title of each suggestion includes a hyperlink to Goodreads. If you're interested in adding that title to your "to-read" list click on the link to reach Goodreads. 

The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion & the Fall of Imperial Russia
Candace Fleming

A 2015 Sibert Award Honor Book, The Family Romanov discusses the decadent and tragic story of the last Russian royal family the Romanovs. The title isn't just a list of facts and quotations. It is rich in literary merit, and many readers will be engrossed in the suspense of the yarn, regardless of whether or not they know the fate of the Romanov's. 

Related Texts / Authors:  Animal Farm, The Great Gatsby, Anton Chekov.

I Have Lived a Thousand Years: Growing Up in the Holocaust
Livia Bitton-Jackson

This is the survival story of a thirteen year old Hungarian girl who was sent to Auschwitz. The story is written in the present tense which both gives the reader a front seat to the atrocities and makes the retelling seem like the holocaust happened yesterday. With so few holocaust survivors remaining, we must cultivate these texts into our curriculum and cherish their testimony. While these atrocities seem very distant for students, it is clear that injustice and anti-semitism remain pervasive in our society (see: April 2015 edition of the The Atlantic "Is it time for the Jews to Leave Europe?"). 

Related Texts / Authors : Night, Maus, Number the Stars, Diary of a Young Girl, Chaim Potok, Elie Weisel, Friedrich, The Book Thief.

I Lived on Butterfly Hill
Marjorie Agosín

I Lived on Butterfly Hill is set in war-torn 1970's Chile. The protagonist is eleven years old, and while much of the text seems aimed at tweens/early high school, for older students allusions to history and the connections to other texts will keep them engaged. While the story reads as a lyrical dystopia, many of the events that occur in the text are centered on true events.

Related Texts / Authors : When I was Puerto Rican, The Arrival, Peter Sis, Animal Farm, Stealing Buddha's Dinner.

Edgar Allen Poe once stated that "perversity is the human thirst for self-torture." Why do we watch movies that scare us? What is it about the thrill of the unknown, of the uncontrollable that keeps us coming back for more? Why is it fun to torture ourselves with fear? 

The following books all focus on horror, mystery, and fear. 

I am a BIG chicken. I haven't read much of any of these titles, but they get a thumbs up from people who love to be scared. I might give them a try, too- on a really sunny day, with lots of people in my house, and a blanket to hide under when it gets too scary... because having a light and hiding under the sheets always keeps you safe, right? 

dystopia
[dis-toh-pee-uh] noun 

• a society characterized by human misery, as squalor, oppression, disease, and overcrowding.

"dystopia." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 07 Apr. 2015. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dystopia>.



Here is a selection of dystopian novels available in the school library:

Between prom-posals and the warm, sunny weather it seems like spring always seems to make the lovebirds come out in full force. The following books are all about the many types of love, intimacy, and heart-break. These three titles talk about love on the rocks, but if you're looking for warm and fuzzy suggestions- feel free to email me. 

-Ms. Kelly

Title: Blankets

Author: Craig Thompson

One Sentence Summary: In this coming-of-age autobiographical graphic novel, Craig finds himself wrapped up in love, tragedy, and a faith which seems to be breaking. 

Where I found the book: Boston Public Library - Mattapan Branch

What makes it great: This book is a behemoth of a graphic novel at 592 pages. A review on the Barnes and Noble website states that the book "may well be the single largest graphic novel ever published without being serialized first." That being said- the novel is worth every page. The illustrations are vivid and gorgeous. New York Times reviewer Ken Tucker summarizes the book best: "In telling his story, which includes beautifully rendered memories of the small brutalities that parents inflict upon their children and siblings upon each other, Thompson describes the ecstasy and ache of obsession (with a lover, with God) and is unafraid to suggest the ways that obsession can consume itself and evaporate".

Title: Embroideries

Author: Marjane Satrapi

One Sentence Summary: Written and illustrated by Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis) this graphic novel is autobiographical discussion of love, virginity, and marriage with a group of Iranian women over an afternoon tea. 

Where I found the book: Boston Public Library - Mattapan Branch

Why you should read it: I first fell in love with Satrapi's illustration and story after reading Persepolis. Like Persepolis this book focuses on understanding the plight of women living in Iran and the lengths they will go to live up to Iranian femininity and piety. The novel is incredibly candid- Satrapi holds nothing back. Some of the stories told over tea are horrifying- others hilarious. If you come from a family with a bunch of crazy aunts- you'll feel right at home in Embroideries. If not, you are certain to learn amazing stories about Iranian marriage culture.

Title: Luna

Author: Julie Anne Peters

One Sentence Summary: Luna (formerly Liam) is a Transgender teen who hopes to emerge as a girl with the help of his sister- but she's not sure how she'll be received.  

Where I found the book: Wakefield High School - Gov. Volpe Library

Why you should read it: This is a touching story about sibling love and love for one's parents. The lives of transgender teens are often difficult and many LGBTQI teens suffer in silence. While this book is not perfect, nor an all encompassing portrayal of how to be a respectful ally, it is groundbreaking as young adult literature.

Title: Let it Snow: Three Holiday Romances

Authors: John Green, Lauren Myracle, Maureen Johnson

One Sentence Summary: A sudden heavy snowstorm causes three different people to meet out in the drift with hilarious, and romantic, consequences. 

Where I found the book: Gov. Volpe Library, Wakefield Memorial High School

What makes it great: This book is by three powerhouse YA authors. Each other writes a section of the novel and it gives you a taste of their writing style and their comedic skills. While there is romance, it isn’t mushy if you fear sentimentalism. 

Title: My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins, & Fenway Park

Author: Steve Kluger

One Sentence Summary: Best friends TC (a Red Sox fanatic) and Augie (a fiend for musicals) both fall in love (with different people) and live to tell the tale in this hilarious book set in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Where I found the book: Boston Public Library - Jamaica Plain

What makes it great: The novel has a hilarious tone which alternates as you move from Augies to TC’s perspective. TC loves baseball and Fenway park- Red Sox fans will certainly connect with his fanaticism. Angie loves musical theatre, and theatre buffs will be sent reeling while keeping up with his fast paced references and sharp wit. 

Title: The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend

Author: Kody Keplinger

One Sentence Summary: When everything in Bianca’s life seems to be going down the drain she sees nothing wrong with distracting herself with the gorgeous Wesley- even if he does call her the DUFF.

Where I found the book: Boston Public Library - eBook

What makes it great: Even though Bianca is going through difficult times, and she isn’t handling her emotions in the smartest way, her humor and her general kind-heartedness will make you love her voice.  She isn't afraid to tell it how it is. The book rather delicately balances family problems, issues with maintaining friendships and healthy relationships, as well as her in-your-face take on life in a way that will keep readers captivated.

The Wakefield School District in cooperation with the Beebe Library is pleased to announce that the town-wide summer read for this year is I Am Malala. 

Malala comes from a political family in the lush Swat valley. She and her family work tirelessly to advocate for universal education for Pakistani children, but years of political turmoil, and the influence of the Taliban on all aspects of life make the pursuit of education an impossibility for many young women.

Malala and her father tour the country, despite the danger, speaking out for educational access. 

One day on the way to school Malala and one of her classmates are shot by Talib. Malala survives and works through her recovery to speak out against the Taliban. 

I Am Malala offers insight into the politics of Pakistan since its establishment as an independent Islamic country in 1947. The names can be a little confusing, but the background information is important to the rest of the story. If you find that you are struggling to keep up with the history, I found that the documentary Bhutto (as of today it is available on Netflix) helped me keep track of major players in the country's history. I watched it well after I read the book, but it definitely clarified some of Malala's narrative. 

 I Am Malala is a an ode to Pakistani patriotism, a lamentation whilst in the throes of exile, a plea for the right to education, and at the heart, a moving story of love for family. 

I am so excited to share this text with all of you in the coming September. The town of Wakefield will be organizing book talks and events so that we have a chance to celebrate reading and celebrate this book. Check back soon for details. I'll post information on the library Twitter account as well- be sure to follow @VolpeReads to get updates and event reminders.

Take a moment to watch Malala speak to the United Nations below. We so often take our own education for granted, by reading and listening to Malala it is important that we learn to cherish the many opportunities we have.