As the end of the year is coming, we’re displaying a lot of new books this week. As always, one week on display, then borrowing begins — next Monday.
The teachers’ reference collection also has new books on display, including:
- Kath Murdoch’s Classroom Connections: strategies for integrated learning (1998). This book lays out her well-known inquiry cycle, with chapters on “Strategies for tuning in”, “Strategies for finding out”, “Strategies for sorting out”, etc.
- Focus on Inquiry: a practical approach to integrated curriculum planning — by Jeni Wilson & Lesley Wing Jan (2003).
- Stirring the Head, Heart, and Soul: redefining curriculum and instruction, 2nd ed. — by H. Lynn Erickson (2001).
- The Rights of the Reader — by Daniel Pennac (1992). This is a new (British) translation of the French classic (which has been previously translated as “Better Than Life”). Note: this is the book that the Quentin Blake illustrations (on the pink background, above the Reference Section) come from, e.g., 1. The right not to read. 2. The right to skip. 3. The right not to finish a book., etc….
A few highlights for older kids:
- The New Policeman — by Kate Thompson. Winner of the 2005 Guardian Children’s Fiction prize as well as the Whitbread Children’s Book Award.
“Set in Kinvara on the west coast of Ireland, where Thompson lives, The New Policeman makes the impossible credible in a seductive story about 15-year-old JJ, who visits the land of eternal youth, in search of Time – the perfect birthday present for his mother, whose constant lament is the shortage of it in her life.” (taken from a Guardian interview with the author)
- Thura’s Diary — by Thura Al-Windawi (2004). Subtitled: A young girl’s life in war-torn Baghdad.
- Letters from a Nut — by Ted L. Nancy, introduction by Jerry Seinfeld. My favorite collection of correspondence. Actual letters sent to American businesses and organizations — and the actual responses. In one he tries to convince a major department store to sell him one of their mannequins because it resembles a recently deceased neighbor of his. In another he writes to Kinko’s, a chain of photocopy centers, asking for a job for him and his Siamese twin (”We are connected at the shoulders. We do not face each other, so we both can do TWO DIFFERENT jobs at the same time.”) In yet another he writes to a fish restaurant and asks if he can dine by the garbage area of their restaurant because he has a personal odor problem that he can’t cure, yet he would really like to eat at their restaurant. (You get the idea…) Creative letter writing at its most bizarre.
Picture books for everyone:
- Owen & Mzee: the true story of a remarkable friendship — by Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff, and Dr. Paula Kahumbu (2006). Photos illustrate this true story of two great friends — a baby hippo named Owen and a 130-year-old giant tortoise named Mzee — both living in Kenya. Owen was sadly orphaned in the 2004 tsunami and taken to an animal sanctuary near Mombasa where he bonded with Mzee. The two animals are inseparable and their friendship has become both a mystery and an inspiration. The sequel is also on display. Heart-warming, is all you can say.
- Tibet: through the Red Box — by Peter Sis (1998). An award-winning picture book based on the experience of the author/illustrator’s father who, as a Czech soldier in WWII, was sent to make a documentary film of the construction of a highway that would open Tibet to China. Sis has reproduced parts of his father’s diary as well as illustrating and commenting on it.
- Mom and Dad are Palindromes: a dilemma for words… and backwards – by Mark Shuman & Adam McCauley (2006). A book of wordplay with more than 101 palindromes hidden inside.
- Eats, Shoots & Leaves: why, commas really DO make a difference! — by Lynne Truss (2006). Based on the adult best-seller. Phrases with-comma and without-comma are illustrated, e.g., “Slow, children crossing” and “Slow children crossing” / “Go, get him doctors!” and “Go get him, doctors!” / “The kids, who got ice cream, were very happy.” and “The kids who got ice cream were very happy.”
For younger readers, we have a huge array of new picture books, as well as these three additions to our collection, all classics by famous author/illustrators:
- Through the Magic Mirror — by Anthony Browne. Surreal fun.
- Where’s Julius? – by John Burningham. A child’s imaginative life supported by adults.
- The Nickle Nackle Tree — by Lynley Dodd. An absurd rhyming, counting book.
Ever do any research? Have any students who ever do any research? Then you should be interested in knowing what’s available free via the National Library of Singapore — for anyone with a FIN [foreign identification number, i.e., an expat] or NRIC [national registration identification card, i.e., a citizen] number (NB: you don’t have to sign up for a library card to get access).
I always promote the National Library Board (NLB) (http://www.nlb.gov.sg) to parents and students as it’s an amazing resource (especially if you’ve been in countries with no English-language libraries or bookstores for several years). It gives you access to millions of books with high-tech convenience. You can search their catalog online (http://vistaweb.nlb.gov.sg/), have books delivered to your local branch for pick-up, etc. The price for foreigners is just S$ 21 a year (Regular Membership, borrowing up to four books) or $42 a year (Premium Membership, up to eight books at a time).
There’s also an extensive Digital Library available online, and until recently, I assumed I only had access to that because I had paid for Premium Membership. I was wrong — and now I feel the need to spread the news.
Anyone with a FIN or NRIC number can register online for the Digital Library and get instant access to 145 databases – many of them full-text ones — and the list includes many of the major databases you would find in a university library.
For example:
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EBSCOHost Academic Search Premiere:
Provides full-text for over 4,500 publications, including full-text for more than 3,600 peer-reviewed journals in subject areas such as biology, chemistry, engineering, physics, religion, arts and sociology. Titles include American Journal of Political Science, American Libraries, British Journal of Sociology, Contemporary Literature, International Journal of Psychology, and Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.
EBSCOHost MAS Ultra – Public Library Edition:
Provides full-text from more than 350 periodicals covering general reference topics, including health, science, and other areas. Includes indexing and abstracts for nearly 500 periodicals and full-text for hundreds of important pamphlets. Titles include Advertising Age, American Economist, American Family Physician, American Fitness, Business Week, Computerworld, Discover, Economist, Forbes, Foreign Affairs, Good Housekeeping, and Guitar Player.
EBSCOHost NoveList: [ENGLISH TEACHERS -- take note!]
Provides subject heading access, reviews, annotations, and more for over 135,000 fiction titles. Includes other content of interest to fiction readers, such as Author Read-alikes, Book Discussion Guides, BookTalks, and Feature Articles.
Project MUSE:
Project MUSE is a unique collaboration between libraries and publishers providing 100% full-text, affordable and user-friendly online access to over 300 high quality humanities, arts, and social sciences journals from 60 scholarly publishers.
ProQuest Science Journals:
Search full text and images from over 400 leading periodicals in science and technology. Subject coverage includes computers, engineering, physics, telecommunications, and transportation.
ProQuest Social Science Journals:
Search over 480 full text periodicals covering the social sciences. Titles include Economic Development and Cultural Change, Gender Issues, Human Rights Quarterly, International Social Work, Journal of Aging & Social Policy, Journal of Asian and African Studies.
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I encourage you to check out the full list of databases available. Just go to: http://tinyurl.com/2amv4n
To register for this Digital Library service, go to: http://tinyurl.com/272kp4
[NB: For the input field "Library Membership", simply select 'None' if you don't have a National Library card.]
This should be an invaluable resource for Extended Essay students, in particular. All they need to do is sign up individually. (According to the National Library, we can’t give our students access via our own institutional membership.)
Note: one way to “sell” these kinds of databases to students is to compare them to cable TV, i.e., the Internet is like the free television channels, while subscription databases are like the cable channels — you get better, more specific information/programs by paying. And the beauty of the National Library’s service is that it’s the government who is paying.
Let me know if you have any questions or problems accessing any of the links above — or want suggestions of databases that would be relevant to your subject area and/or students.
