Spanish Curriculum

Avancemos - Houghton Mifflin
Levels 1 and 3 are ready to use, as is the DVD for Level 2. Teacher and student editions for levels 2 and 4 are on their way!

Christian Education Resources

Experiencing Christ Together - from the series by Doug Fields and Brett Eastman
This is a six-part study on the topics: the life of Christ, fellowship, discipleship, worship, ministry, and evangelism.

New Picture Books

Pirates Don't Change Diapers - Melinda Long
Braid Beard and his pirate crew return to retrieve the treasure they buried in Jeremy Jacob's backyard, but first they must help calm his baby sister, Bonney Anne, whom they awoke from her nap. Sequel to How I Became a Pirate.

Song of Sedna - Robert D. San Souci
Retells one of many versions of how an Eskimo maiden became goddess of the sea. A National Council for the Social Studies Notable Book

March Newsletter

The March CMC Newsletter is now online.

Free Materials

There are a number of free materials available on one of the tables in the CMC. There are a few copies of teacher's guides for some children's books (e.g., the Mo Willems' Pigeon books, Crispin, etc.) and also some science curriculum materials. Help yourselves!

Award Books

Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom - Carole Boston Weatherford
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award book; Caldecott Honor book
Describes Tubman's spiritual journey as she hears the voice of God guiding her north to freedom on that very first trip to escape the brutal practice of forced servitude. Tubman would make nineteen subsequent trips back south, never being caught, but none as profound as this first one.


The Pull of the Ocean - Jean-Claude Mourlevat
Mildred L. Batchelder Award book
Loosely based on Charles Perrault's "Tom Thumb," seven brothers in modern-day France flee their poor parents' farm, led by the youngest who, although mute and unusually small, is exceptionally wise.

Children's Book

Waynetta and the Cornstalk: a Texas Fairy Tale - Helen Ketteman
A retelling of "Jack and the Beanstalk" which features a Texas cowgirl, a magic cornstalk, and a giant cowboy in the clouds.

History Alive

Ancient Egypt and the Near East
This is a supplemental program from Teacher's Curriculum Institute's Ancient World History series for grades 6 to 12. The kit includes a lesson guide, a CD, transparencies, and teaching pictures.

Christian Education Resources from Gospel Light

Really Big Book of Cool Crafts for Kids
More than 200 craft projects for ages 4-12. Includes reproducibles and CD.

Really Big Book of Bible Games
More than 250 games for ages 6 to 12. Includes CD and reproducibles.

Big Book of Captivating Skits
Bible-based teaching skits, indexed by Bible verse, Bible character, and topic. Includes reproducibles and CD.

Holiday Skits
25 easy-to-produce skits for Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, etc., for ages 6 to adult. Includes reproducibles.

Nursery Smart Pages
A guide for nursery directors and caregivers. Includes reproducibles.

Early Childhood Smart Pages
Organizational ideas for education directors, teachers, and leaders. Includes reproducibles.

Children's Ministry Smart Pages
Organizational ideas for children's ministries, grades 1 to 6. Includes reproducibles and CD.

Preteen Ministry Smart Pages
Organizational ideas for pastors and ministry leaders working with ages 10 to 14. Includes reproducibles.

Spring Break hours

Just a reminder that the library will be staying open a little longer than usual during spring break to help accomodate our student teachers. The hours for the library during spring break:

Friday, March 2 - close at 5:00
Saturday, March 3 - closed
Monday, March 5, through Thursday, March 8 - 8:00-6:00
Friday, March 9, and Saturday, March 10 - closed
Monday, March 12 - 8:00-6:00
Tuesday, March 13 - resume regular hours

Have a great spring break!

Award Book

Received today:

American Born Chinese - Gene Luen Yang
2007 Michael L. Printz Award Book
Alternates three interrelated stories about the problems of young Chinese Americans trying to participate in the popular culture. Presented in graphic novel format.

New Mathematics Books

New books from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics:

Mission Mathematics II: Linking Aerospace and the NCTM Standards, Grades 6-8

Mission Mathematics II: Linking Aerospace and the NCTM Standards, Grades 9-12

Exploring Mathematics through Literature: Articles and Lessons for Prekindergarten through Grade 8

Mathematics in the Early Years

Mathematical History: Activities, Puzzles, Stories, Games

Award Books

Rules - Cynthia Lord
Newbery Honor Book
Frustrated at life with an autistic brother, twelve-year-old Catherine longs for a normal existence but her world is further complicated by a friendship with a young paraplegic.





Gregor Mendel: The Friar Who Grew Peas - Cheryl Bardoe
Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children Honor book
The story of genetics pioneer Gregor Mendel and his experiments with peas.

Christian Education Resources

Boys Life Application Study Bible - Tyndale House Publishers (New Living Translation)

New Professional Resources

250+ Activities and Ideas for Developing Literacy Skills - M. Ellen Jay and Hilda L. Jay
Success in the information age means that children learn not only to read - but also to interpret a wide range of symbols: letters, musical tones, numbers, computer icons and the like. This unique sourcebook offers literacy activities and ideas to teach young children more than 72 literacy skills. It covers listening, sound recognition, parts of the book, top to bottom, left to right, letter/sound connections, using picture and context clues, sequencing, measurement, telling time, street addresses, coordinates, money, mouse skills, and keyboarding.


Reading, Writing, and Gender: Instructional Strategies and Classroom Activities that Work for Girls and Boys - Gail Lynn Goldberg and Barbara Sherr Rosewell
This book is for classroom teachers in grades 3 - 8 as well as for reading specialists, instructional leaders and other educators. It provides detailed descriptions of instructional activities, reproducible tools and materials, illustrative examples of student work, concise summaries of state-of-the-art research, and ideas for action research projects.

Christian Education Resources

Devotional books:

Devotions for Preschoolers - Crystal Bowman


God's Little Devotional Book for Girls





One Year Book of Devotions for Girls



Children's Bibles:

Treasure Study Bible (NIV) - Thompson Topical System

Candle Bible for Toddlers

The Preschoolers Bible

Award Book

Freedom Riders: John Lewis and Jim Zwerg on the Front Lines of the Civil Rights Movement - Ann Bausum
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal Honor Book
Recounts the freedom ride of John Lewis and Jim Zwerg into the South in 1961 as part of the Civil Rights Movement.

New Graphic Novels

From the Bone series by Jeff Smith:

Out from Boneville
In Out From Boneville, volume 1 of this 9-book epic, the three Bone cousins, Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone, are separated and lost in a vast, uncharted desert. One by one, they find their way into a deep, forested valley filled with wonderful and terrifying creatures. Eventually, the cousins are reunited at a farmstead run by tough Gran'ma Ben and her spirited granddaughter Thorn.

The Great Cow Race
Now that they are reunited, Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone plan to return home, but Phoney Bone risks everything on a get-rich-quick scheme and it all goes wrong. Plus, a war is brewing and Fone Bone helps his new friends to defend their idyllic valley from a formidable enemy.

Eyes of the Storm
Life in the valley isn't getting any easier for the Bones and their newfound friends. Lucius, Smiley, and Phoney are attacked by the rat creatures and barely make it back to Lucius's tavern. Then it doesn't take long before Phoney is back to his old tricks. Back at the farm, Fone Bone and Thorn are troubled by strange dreams, and gran'ma Ben's reaction is stranger still: She reveals long-kept secrets and unexpected dangers. In fact, they may have to leave the farm forever.

The Dragonslayer
The adventure starts when cousins Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone are run out of Boneville and later get separated and lost in the wilderness, meeting monsters and making friends as they attempt to return home.

Lacrosse Curriculum

U.S. Lacrosse Physical Education Curriculum
Includes the curriculum and a binder of reproducible material.

New Trade Books

Happy Kid! - Gail Gauthier
After his mother bribes him into reading a self-help book on how to form satisfying relationships and enjoy a happy life, cynical eighth-grader Kyle finds there may be more to the book than he realized.

Pirates - John Matthews
An introduction to the world of pirates, reviewing the history of pirating, looking at ships and flags, life on board, pirate attacks, and treasure, profiling some of the most notorious pirates, and discussing their lives on land, their capture and trials, and punishment. Includes a look at pirate fiction, a time line, and numerous pull-out maps, letters, and other movable parts.

Alzheimer's Disease: A Forgotten Life - Elaine Landau
Presents a comprehensive examination of alzheimer's disease, and explores the causes, symptoms, diagnoses, and treatment.

The Adventures of Odysseus - Hugh Lupton
Setting sail for Ithaca after the long and brutal Trojan War, Odysseus imagines the grand welcome he will receive when at last he arrives home. But Poseidon, god of the ocean, has good reason to be angry with the Greek hero. As he fights to find his way back home across unfamiliar seas, Odysseus has to endure harrowing ordeals and adventures and come to terms with devastating losses. On the way, he learns that this is truly the quest of a lifetime - and even when he does reach his beloved homeland, his work is far from over.

1607: A New Look at Jamestown - Karen E. Lange
Explores the history of Jamestown, the first permanent English colony in America, established in 1607, looking at what researchers and archaeologists have learned since 1994 through the Jamestown Rediscovery project.

New Video

Eric Carle: Picture Writer
Eric invites you into his own studio where he reads from three of his most popular books and shows how, step by step, he prepares his colorful tissue papers and creates brilliant collage pictures.

New Award Book

Copper Sun - Sharon Draper
Winner of this year's Coretta Scott King Author Award
Two fifteen-year-old girls--one a slave and the other an indentured servant--escape their Carolina plantation and try to make their way to Fort Moses, Florida, a Spanish colony that gives sanctuary to slaves.

New Teaching Aids

Received in the CMC today:

Shells - two boxes of various small sea shells. They will be on a shelf in the Teaching Aids area of the CMC.

The United States: History of the Land - One side is a current political map of the United States, and the reverse explains the geological history of the land. It will be in the poster file cabinet.

Award Books

The Higher Power of Lucky - Susan Patron
Newbery Medal Book
Fearing that her legal guardian plans to abandon her to return to France, ten-year-old aspiring scientist Lucky Trimble determines to run away while also continuing to seek the Higher Power that will bring stability to her life. Note from CMC Librarian - Interestingly, there is quite a debate raging over the use of a particular word in this book. Many teachers and librarians are suggesting that the word is inappropriate for a children's book, and are refusing to purchase the book for their schools. This kind of controversy is very unusual for a Newbery Medal book. It is the policy at Cedarville to purchase all the Newbery Medal and Honor books.

Something Out of Nothing: Marie Curie and Radium - Carla Killough McClafferty
Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children Honor book
Meet Manya Sklodowska, better known today as Marie Curie, the co-discoverer of radium, and who became the first woman awarded the Nobel prize for her work on the discovery. Learn what life was like for Marie, and the effect her discovery had on the world.

John Muir: America's First Environmentalist - Kathryn Lasky
Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children Honor book
A biography of John Muir, naturalist and founder of the Sierra Club, whose travels, speeches and writings led directly to the creation of the Yosemite National Park in 1890 and other national parks that followed. From the meadows of Scotland to the farms of Wisconsin, from the swamps of Florida to the Alaskan tundra, John Muir loved the land. Born in 1838, he was a writer, a scholar, an inventor, a shepherd, a farmer, and an explorer, but above all, he was a naturalist. John Muir was particularly devoted to the high cliffs, waterfalls, and ancient giant sequoia trees that, through his careful influence, were set aside as the first national park in America - Yosemite. Here is the life story of the man who, moved by a commitment to wilderness everywhere, founded the Sierra Club in 1892, a conservation group that carries on his crucial work to this day.

New Children's Book

Another Day in the Milky Way - David Milgrim
A young boy wakes up on a strange planet and encounters a variety of odd characters as he tries to find his way home. A Junior Library Guild selection.

Books from Answers in Genesis

Heat and Energy - Debbie and Richard Lawrence
Part of a science curriculum for grades 1-8

Our Planet Earth - Debbie and Richard Lawrence
Part of a science curriculum for grades 1-8

Evolution Exposed: Your Evolution Answer Book for the Classroom - Roger Patterson
A creationist's critique of the evolutionary ideas found in the three most popular biology textbooks used in public schools.

Zoo Guide: a Bible-Based Handbook to the Zoo

New Book

New in the CMC:

Children's Literature in the Elementary School, 8th ed. - Charlotte S. Huck

Christian Education Materials Resource Guide

The Resource Guide for Christian Education materials is being updated. It will be in a three-ring binder on the Big Book case just inside the CMC door. The guide will include lists of activity and idea books, Bible curricula, Bible story pictures, children's Bibles, Christian children's books, Christian education reference books, Christian education software, Christian education teaching aids, collections of Bible stories, and devotional books for children found in the CMC.

Christian Education Materials

New small-group discipleship programs:

Kid's Quest Discovering God's Plan - from Empowering Kids
For pre-kindergarten through grade 2. Includes student book, leader guide, and leader guide CD.

Kid's Quest Discovering God's Word - from Empowering Kids
For pre-kindergarten through grade 2. Includes student book, leader guide, and leader guide CD.

New Children's Books

Received in the CMC today:

Bronzeville Boys and Girls - Gwendolyn Brooks, illustrated by Faith Ringgold
A collection of poems that celebrate the joy, beauty, imagination, and freedom of childhood.

Not Afraid of Dogs - Susanna Pitzer
Young Daniel must confront his fear of dogs when his mom dog sits his aunt's pet.


The Legend of Bass Reeves - Gary Paulsen
The story of Bass Reeves who was born a slave and later became one of the most respected federal marshals in Oklahoma and Texas.

Stealing Home: Jackie Robinson, Against the Odds - Robert Burleigh
Presents a brief biography of legendary baseball player for the old Brooklyn Dodgers, Jackie Robinson, who, in 1947, became the first African-American to play in major league baseball.

Let It Shine: Three Favorite Spirituals - Ashley Bryan
Colorful illustrations and simple text introduce versions of three well-known spirituals along with a brief music score and a short history of slave songs before the Civil War.

Extreme Animals: The Toughest Creatures on Earth - Nicola Davies
Animals adapt to their surroundings for survival. Learn how they survive in conditions that humans never would. Are you ready for the competition? From the persevering emperor penguins of the South Pole to the brave bacteria inside bubbling volcanoes, from the hardy reptiles of the driest deserts to the squash-proof creatures of the deepest seabeds, animals have adapted to survive in conditions that would kill a human faster than you can say "coffin." Discover how they do it in this amazing natural history book from a celebrated team - and find out who wins the title of the toughtest animal of them all!

Do Re Mi: If You Can Read Music, Thank Guido d'Arezzo - Susan L. Roth
For many years, Guido d'Arezzo, a young man from Tuscany, has imagined that his system of lines and spaces can be used as a written language of music and he is determined to make his ideas work.

Stormbreaker: The Graphic Novel - Anthony Horowitz
Soon to be a major motion picture, this very first Alex Rider adventure, featuring manga-like illustrations, follows a fourteen-year-old boy, who, after the death of the uncle who had been his guardian, is coerced into continuing his uncle's dangerous work for Britain's intelligence agency, MI6.

New Graphic Novels

Hit It! - Michael Hardcastle
Scott and Kel are rivals on the same soccer team, the Aces. As they compete to be the team's top scorer, their team chases after the league championship. Scott and Kel need to decide what's more important, their personal goals or teamwork.

King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table - retold by M.C. Hall
In a world of wizards, giants, and dragons, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table are the kingdom of Camelot's only defense against the threatening forces of evil. Fighting battles and saving those in need, the Knights of the Round Table can defeat every enemy but one - themselves!

Award Book

Langston Hughes (from the Poetry for Young People series) - edited by David Roessel
A brief profile of African American poet Langston Hughes accompanies some of his better known poems for children. A Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Honor book.

Activity Book

Received today:

Developing Better Readers and Writers Using Caldecott Books - Kathryn I. Matthew

Award Winners

Received today:

Penny from Heaven - Jennifer L. Holm
As she turns twelve during the summer of 1953, Penny gains new insights into herself and her family while also learning a secret about her father's death. It's1953 and 11-year-old Penny dreams of a summer of butter pecan ice cream, swimming, and baseball. But nothing's that easy in Penny's family. For starters, she can't go swimming because her mother's afraid she'll catch polio at the pool. To make matters worse, her favorite uncle is living in a car. Her Nonny cries every time her father's name is mentioned. And the two sides of her family aren't speaking to each other! Inspired by Newbery Honor winner Jennifer Holm's own Italian American family, Penny from Heaven is a shining story about the everyday and the extraordinary, about a time in America's history, not all that long ago, when being Italian meant that you were the enemy. But most of all, it's a story about families--about the things that tear them apart and bring them together. Newbery Honor Book.

The Last Dragon - Silvana De Mari
Struggling to survive in a post apocalyptic world after his village is destroyed, Yorsh, the earth's last elf, must embark on a perilous quest to decipher a powerful prophecy and find the last dragon, who holds the key to saving the world from the Dark Age that has begun. Mildred L. Batchelder Honor Book.

Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet - David McLimans
Presents the alphabet in capital letters designed to look like endangered animals, and lists facts on each species, covering their habitats, geographic ranges, threats to survival, and statuses. Caldecott Honor Book.

Award Winner

One of the Newbery Honor Books was received in the CMC today:

Hattie Big Sky - Kirby Larson
After inheriting her uncle's homesteading claim in Montana, sixteen-year-old orphan Hattie Brooks travels from Iowa in 1917 to make a home for herself and encounters some unexpected problems related to the war being fought in Europe. Alone in the world, teen-aged Hattie is driven to prove up on her uncle's homesteading claim. For years, sixteen-year-old Hattie's been shuttled between relatives. Tired of being Hattie Here-and-There, she courageously leaves Iowa to prove up on her late uncle's homestead claim near Vida, Montana. With a stubborn stick-to-itiveness, Hattie faces frost, drought and blizzards. Despite many hardships, Hattie forges ahead, sharing her adventures with her friends--especially Charlie, fighting in France--through letters and articles for her hometown paper. Her backbreaking quest for a home is lightened by her neighbors, the Muellers. But she feels threatened by pressure to be a "Loyal" American, forbidding friendships with folks of German descent. Despite everything, Hattie's determined to stay until a tragedy causes her to discover the true meaning of home.

Orbis Pictus Award Winners Announced

The National Council of Teachers of English has announced the winners of the 2007 Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children. The medal book is:

Quest for the Tree Kangaroo: An Expedition to the Cloud Forest of New Guinea - Sy Montgomery (on order)
Full-color, illustrated photographs provide detailed information on the search for the tree kangaroo in Papua New Guinea's cloud forest, and describes its habits, behaviors, and characteristics. Also a Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award Honor book.

The honor books are:

Gregor Mendel: The Friar Who Grew Peas - Cheryl Bardoe (on order)
The story of genetics pioneer Gregor Mendel and his experiments with peas.

Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott - Russell Freedman
Covers the events surrounding and including the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the end of segregation on buses.

John Muir: America's First Environmentalist - Kathryn Lasky (on order)
A brief, illustrated, look at the life and work of environmentalist John Muir, describing his early life in Scotland, his move to America, his appreciation of nature, and his work to establish Yosemite National Park and the Sierra Club.

Something Out of Nothing: Marie Curie and Radium - Carla Killough McClafferty (on order)
Chronicles the life of Marie Curie, discussing her childhood in Poland, schooling in France, discovery of the element radium, efforts to create mobile X-ray units during World War I, and eventual death from radium poisoning.

Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 - Catherine Thimmesh
Culled from direct quotes from the people behind the scenes, NASA transcripts, national archives and NASA photos, the whole story of Apollo 11 and the first moon landing emerges. Also Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal Award book.

InfOhio Newsletter

The February InfOhio newsletter is now online. The RECORD provides library media staff, other educators and parents with important and timely information. The February issue has several links to in-depth content for current topics, including:

- Information about INFOhio's Electronic Resources Vendor Preview for 2007

- Changes made to INFOhio's Core Collection at mid-school year