Valentine's Day @ the Ridgeview Library

Having worked with middle school students through many Valentine's Days, I know that it can be a mixed bag of emotions, moods and overall craziness.  Well...I have always said...if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.  So, we are promoting books through "Blind Date with a Book".

As students come into the library, we are giving them the chance to have a #blinddatewithabook.  The books are in plain brown paper bags with a very brief introduction.  If they choose to check it out, then they must agree to give the book a chance before deciding to continue reading it or returning it.

Yesterday, we had 10 different classes in the library to check out books.  I told them about the promotion, and many of them decided to test fate and try a blind date.

Best line of the day: "I'm going to leave the book in the bag because it reminds me of lunch, and I am hungry for words."

I know that it is cheesy, but I love it.  I love it when the students feel comfortable enough to share their crazy notions.  It is rather enlightening to their senses of humor and personality.

Yes, I love working with middle school students.  I count my blessings every day!

Threads by Ami Polonsky

Clara is a twelve year old American girl whose sister, Lola, has just died from cancer.  One of Clara's friends decides to take her out shopping to get her mind off of her grief.  Clara goes with her friend, but she does not want to be there.  She is hiding from her friend when she sees a purse and buys it on a whim.  When she gets home, she looks through it and finds a note.  The note is from a Chinese girl named Yuming telling of her plight in a factory in China.  Clara feels a strong pull to do something, and she knows that she must go to China.  Will she be able to do anything?  Was there a reason that the note made it to Clara out of all of the people in America?  Find out in Threads.

This book fascinated me due to the fact that it was told in the viewpoints of Clara and Yuming.  Polonsky tells us the story of these two girls as they intersect with each other.  I guess that my favorite part was the message that we are truly not alone in the world even if we do not know all that is going on around us.  I could go into more detail about this point, but I don't want to ruin the book for you.  So...read it, and reach out to talk to me about it.  It is a definite good read.