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

Award Winners

Received today in the CMC:

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing - M.T. Anderson
Various diaries, letters, and other manuscripts chronicle the experiences of Octavian, a young African American, from birth to age sixteen, as he is brought up as part of a science experiment in the years leading up to and during the Revolutionary War. Michael L. Printz Honor book

An Abundance of Katherines - John Green
Having been recently dumped for the nineteenth time by a girl named Katherine, recent high school graduate and former child prodigy Colin sets off on a road trip with his best friend to try to find some new direction in life while also trying to create a mathematical formula to explain his relationships. Michael L. Printz Honor book

The Road to Paris - Nikki Grimes
Inconsolable at being separated from her older brother, eight-year-old Paris is apprehensive about her new foster family but just as she learns to trust them, she faces a life-changing decision. Corretta Scott King Author Award Honor book

Surrender - Sonya Hartnett
As he is dying, a twenty-year-old man known as Gabriel recounts his troubled childhood and his strange relationship with a dangerous counterpart named Finnigan. Michael L. Printz Honor book

New Curriculum Sets

From Purposeful Design Publications (Association of Christian Schools International) -

Spelling - Grades 1-6 (student and teacher editions)

Kindergarten curriculum:
I Know How to Count and Write (student and teacher editions)
I Can Read (student and teacher editions)
I Know Letters and Sounds (student and teacher editions)

Character Foundation Curriculum - Grades K-6 (student and teacher editions)

New Bible Curriculum

Positive Action for Christ Bible Curriculum
For grades K-12.

February Newsletter

The February 2007 CMC newsletter is now online.

New science curriculum books

Purposeful Design Science, Levels Two and Three - includes student books, teacher editions, and teacher reource books. Published by the Association of Christian Schools International. We already own Level One.

Award Winners

Move Over, Rover - Karen Beaumont
When a storm comes, Rover expects to have his doghouse all to himself but finds that various other animals, including a skunk, come to join him. It's raining cats and dogs! Good thing Rover is snuggled safe and dry inside his doghouse--until, one by one, a soggy menagerie of creatures shows up looking for a cozy place to sit out the storm. But who's the very unwelcome surprise visitor? Skunk, of course. Suddenly that doghouse isn't quite so crowded after all! Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor book

Tamar - Mal Peet

In England in 1995, fifteen-year-old Tamar, grief-stricken by the puzzling death of her beloved grandfather, slowly begins to uncover the secrets of his life in the Dutch resistance during the last year of the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, and the climactic events that forever cast a shadow on his life and that of his family. Carnegie Medal (UK) book

Not a Box - Antoinette Portis
To an imaginative bunny, a box is not always just a box. Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor book