Powerful story

Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree by Adaobi T. Nwaubani is a powerful and gripping story that needs to be told.  Set in a Nigerian village, a young girl longs to be the first in her family to go to university.  Her family works very hard to survive through farming in their small village.  Their lives are tragically changed one evening when the village is savagely attacked by a Boko Haram group.  

The novel to brings light the true story that took place in April 2014, when Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls, many of whom are still missing.

Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree would be a good book for topic discussions regarding economics, government, religious groups, and cultures.  I appreciate the author's writing style.  Many of the graphic events in the book are implied enough without the use of strong language.  Readers should be aware of sensitive areas dealing with war and kidnapping.

Graphic Novels & Basketball

 Dragon Hoops by Gene L. Yang is a must read for all basketball fans and players.

Yang, a math teacher at a private school in California, depicts the history of his school's basketball team and their road to state.  Told in part as a memoir, Yang includes factual basketball history along with his own story of becoming a graphic novel writer.  

Dragons Hoops is a TAYSHAS nominated book for 2021.  

Student book club line up

Our student book club has selected their Spring 21' reads!  We would love for you to join us.  Contact Mrs. Castille for more information.

December Happenings

Click the board to access activities, crafts, books and more!

May you have a safe and happy holiday break! 

 

November Happenings

November Bulletin Update

Check out some updates on the November Bulletin Board. There is still time to shop the Online Book Fair through Sunday the 22nd.  

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Click the image to discover more.

Fall Updates

Fall Updates

The fall months have flown by this year!  Here are some new updates and ideas to share.

Online Book Fair

With our usual beginning of the year book fair cancelled we have pivoted to an online book fair.  This year Junior Library Guild is our sponsor.  Take a look, shop till ya' drop!  All orders shipped directly to your door and proceeds benefit the KPHS Library.  

Collections by Destiny Discover

Our library uses Destiny Discover as our catalog system.  A new feature I am really liking is the Collections option.  At KPHS, I am able to curate print books, digital books, webpages, and database articles all in one place on specific topics.  It is a "one stop shop" for students and makes projects much more fluid for teachers.

This month's example is Native Americans, highlighting National Native American Heritage month. Click image to take a peak.

November Fun

There are so many events that happen in the fall it is hard to keep up.  One thing I have been doing to market library programming and school events is through a Digital Bulletin Board or Choice Board (for the younger grades).  This is made with a Google Slide.  Big shout out to Shannon McClintock Miller for such a great idea!  I don't know how often my students look or use this but it is tool that gets the word out!

Book Club

Join us this fall as we read Clap When you Land, The Gilded Wolves and Frankly in Love.  Our first book discussion will be over Clap When You Land on October 15th.  

Check your Schoology groups (Book Club or KPHS Library) for more information!

 

Virtual Makerspace

 

Our Stick Together virtual mosaic is complete!  This is the Grand Tetons National Park.

Ready to do another one?  

Use this code to complete our next Stick Together virtual makerspace!

https://letstick.to/session/1776c123

All the Digital

We have several new books relating to all things digital. Titles include: Coding, careers in the technology field, and how to conduct yourself online!  Stop by the library to check out a brand new book!

We Got This!

 Our campus will be welcoming students back soon, with an alternating schedule depending on students' last names.  

This is what the current library plan looks like!

1.  Students will be able to reserve books online for pick up during lunch or curbside.

2.  Books are quarantined for 4 days before being re-circulated.

3.  Digital books (ebooks & audio) are offered through the SORA app from our district.

4.  Since this is a high school campus, there will be spaces available during the lunch hour for students to use.  Students will have to select a computer or table space.  Seating is limited to maintain social distancing, and it is on a first come first service basis.  Spaces will be cleaned before and after use.

5.  Of course there is a traffic flow mapped out for entrances and exits, along with self check out, hand sanitizers, and implementation of other the school policies.

We are ready, we are so looking forward to seeing students in 3D form, & 

WE GOT THIS!

QT books for 4 days

Social Distance

Social distance computers

Clap When You Land

  

In a novel-in-verse that brims with grief and love, National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo writes about the devastation of loss, the difficulty of forgiveness, and the bittersweet bonds that shape our lives.

Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people…

In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal’s office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash.

Separated by distance—and Papi’s secrets—the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered.

And then, when it seems like they’ve lost everything of their father, they learn of each other. 

Great for summer reading or anytime! Clap When You Land is a Today show pick for “25 children’s books your kids and teens won’t be able to put down this summer!"

--Review posted by HarperCollins Publisher

Big Summer

If you are looking for a Young Adult crossover title (a book for twenty somethings +), then pick up Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner.

Drue Cavanaugh has is all, including a long list of ex-friends.  When she decides to get married she has to search far and wide to find a few bridesmaids.  Drue request the assistance of a former friend, Daphne.  The two met in sixth grade only to end their friendship after Drue tried to set up Daphne on a date.  The date episode turned into a viral internet disaster that turned out to be a win for Daphne as she pursued her Instagram fashion influencer career.  Daphne is hesitant to accept the bridesmaid offer but the wedding and publicity has the potential to increase her Insta following.  However, she never expects that a murder during the wedding weekend would uncover the deep secrets kept by the Cape Code island and it's families.

This is a fun summer mystery!  You will be rooting for your favorite characters and wondering who could possibly have committed the crime. It does has some mature content, so caution there.   Happy reading! 

Frankly in Love

The perfect summer read!  Frank Li is a first generation Korean American growing up in Southern California.  He is a great student, has a core friend group, works hard, and falls in love twice his senior year.  Frank wants to please his parents and date a Korean girl but that is not what Frank wants to do, or at least he thinks.  Between recording sounds with his best friend Q, dating undercover, perfecting his SAT score, and managing the family tensions; Frank has a lot to mange his senior year.

Frankly in Love by David Yoon is a heartfelt, warm, sad, and all around perfect coming of age story.  It is available in the HumbleISD SORA app and in your local summer libraries.      

Read this Summer with SORA

Welcome to SUMMER!

With the Spring 2020 semester very different than most, it is so important to keep reading!  With many public library still physically closed, what a better time to get acquainted with your FREE digital apps.  HumbleISD is offering students access to SORA.  This is available in your MyHumble portal for students & staff.  You can download this on a smart device through your playstore.  Also, HumbleISD has gifted our digital library with a ton of new titles.  Please take advantage of this over the Summer months.  Students & staff of HumbleISD can also add Harris County Public Library as one of the library options, opening up extra reading options even if you don't have a HCPL library card!

So, take your books with you, save some money, and READ or listen (audiobooks) this Summer with SORA!

If you have questions please contact Mrs. Castille, librarian at KPHS. 

jessica.castille@humbleisd.net

The Gilded Wolves

Book Trailer

A Long Way Down

In only 60 seconds, Will decides if he will avenge his brother's death.  In only 60 sixty seconds and seven floors he encounters his past, but he feels he must follow the 3 Rules of his neighborhood.  What does this fifteen year old do?  This novel written in verse makes for a quick read and great discussion.

Read Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds on your SORA app for FREE!

The Fountains of Silence

What happened to Spain following WWII?  Did you know the country was taken over by an oppressive dictatorship, ruled by General Francisco Franco?

In Ruta Sepetys new novel, The Fountains of Silence, readers will follow the characters of Daniel Matheson, Ana, Nick and Ben as their lives weave together in Madrid.

Daniel, the son of a Texas oil tycoon, has traveled Spain with his family while his father is there on business.  Daniel has a love of photography and hopes to gather the perfect pictures for his portfolio.  Along the way he meets Ana, the assigned housekeeper for his hotel suite.  Ana's life is the polar opposite of the luxury that Daniel knows.  Ana's family has been tremendously effected by the ruling dictatorship and struggles to make ends meet.  Her spiderweb of secrets run deep and Daniel hopes to help her make a better life for herself and her family.

This book is worth the time to read!  I could not put it down and I learned so much about Spain in the 1950s.  I believe it will appeal to YA readers and anyone who enjoys historical fiction.  Hurry to the library to check this one out soon!

February News

Click the link below for more information of what is happening in the KPHS library.

News from the Library

I'm Not Dying With You Tonight

Lena is living the dream, the popular girl in school, dating a hip guy, and on the road to make it big!  Opposite Lena, is Campbell who is just trying to stay under the radar.  Due to unfortunate circumstances, Campbell has been uprooted from her senior year, sent to a new town to live with her father, and hopes to just survive the new school.

The two characters cross at a Friday night football game when a fight breaks out. The one fight turns into a night of chaos throughout the racially divided town and two strangers become friends in order to make it out alive.

I'm Not Dying With You Tonight, is written by two authors from of different race.  Each chapter alternates between the characters.  The authors did a fabulous job of illustrating themes of race, culture, and how all are human.

Stop by the library and check this one out!

Heroine

Following a car accident, softball star, Mickey Catalan is recovering from surgery and attending physical therapy.  All the while she is staving off the pain with a prescription from her doctor.  Mickey has to find a way to bounce back from this accident, softball season is on the horizon and she needs her starting spot as catcher.  When the pain pills run out she finds other ways to get her feel good fix, as she falls into a trap of lying to herself, and becoming an addict. 

McGinnis rips to the underlying truth of how easy it is for this character to slide down the slippery slope of pain medication leading to addiction.  Mickey finds solace in a new group of friends as she lies to herself denying her addiction. Will she bounce back?

Top 10 TAYSHAS book, well worth the read.  I listened to half of this book on audio and read the second half in print.  The audio version was well done and I would recommend either.  A must read! 

Sadie

Growing up on her own and raising her little sister, Sadie has had a challenging life.  She has a new mission when her sister, Maddie is murdered; to find the killer.  Sadie is set on bringing justice and goes on the quest to find the person responsible.  But in doing so, Sadie goes missing.  An investigative radio host, West McCray sets out to solve her case, piecing the clues along the way, hoping to find Sadie before it is too late.

The author has uniquely written this novel between the two main voices of Sadie and West McCray.  The chapters contributed from McCray's point of view are given in radio transcript format.  I liked the break in novel format, it added a creative element.

If you like CSI, murder mystery genres, you certainly want to add this one to your TBR.  This title is also on the TAYSHAS 2020 recommended reading list.

Dear Evan Hansen, The Novel

Evan Hansen has been encouraged by his counselor to write letters to himself as part of his emotional therapy.  However, when a letter he writes ends up in the hands a classmate, Conner, life changes.  Evan is mistakenly drawn into an unfolding family drama, which he sees as a chance of a lifetime.  This is his chance to belong.  But at what cost? 

The novel poses some interesting questions about lying, gossip and the slippery slope of deceit.  Currently, Evan Hansen is a musical on Broadway.  If you have seen it and read the book, how do the two compare?