New Graphic Format Books

Laika - Nick Abadzis
This is the journey of Laika, the abandoned puppy destined to become Earth's first space traveler. With the blending of fact and fiction, this story intertwines three compelling lives. Along with Laika, there is Korolev, a driven engineer at the top of the Soviet space program and Yelena, the lab technician responsible for Laika's health and life.

Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow - James Sturm and Rich Tommaso
Satchel Paige began his baseball career in the Negro Leagues in Alabama in the 1920s. For years, Jim Crow laws, which segregated blacks and whites, kept him out of the major leagues. But they couldn't stop him from becoming a world-class athlete. This is a fictionalized account of a real-life sports hero.

ALA Book Awards Announced

This morning, the American Library Association announced the winners of its awards for children's and young adult literature. If there is a hyperlink on the title of a book in the following list, the CMC has the book, and the hyperlink will take you to the library's catalog. We will have the other books available as soon as possible. The winners are:

Caldecott Award
The Invention of Hugo Cabret - Brian Selznick
Caldecott Honor Books
Henry's Freedom Box - Ellen Levine and Kadir Nelson
First the Egg - Laura Vaccaro Seeger
The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain - Peter Sis
Knuffle Bunny, Too - Mo Willems

Newbery Award
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village - Laura Amy Schlitz
Newbery Honor Books
Elijah of Buxton - Christopher Paul Curtis
The Wednesday Wars - Gary D. Schmidt
Feathers - Jacqueline Woodson

Coretta Scott Author Award
Elijah of Buxton - Christopher Paul Curtis
Coretta Scott King Author Honor Books
November Blues - Sharon Draper
Twelve Rounds to Glory: The Story of Muhammad Ali - Charles R. Smith

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award
Let It Shine - Ashley Bryan
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Books
The Secret Olivia Told Me - Nancy Devard
Jazz on a Saturday Night - Leo and Diane Dillon

Michael L. Printz Award
The White Darkness - Geraldine McCaughrean
Michael L. Printz Honor Books
Dreamquake - Elizabeth Knox
One Whole and Perfect Day - Judith Clarke
Repossessed - A.M. Jenkins
Your Own, Sylvia - Stephanie Hemphill

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award
There Is a Bird on Your Head! - Mo Willems
Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Books
First the Egg - Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Hello, Bumblebee Bat - Darrin Lunde
Jazz Baby - Lisa Wheeler
Vulture View - April Pulley Sayre

For the full list of the awards, see the ALA's website.

Scott O'Dell Award Winner Announced

The winner of this year's Scott O"Dell Award for Historical Fiction is Christopher Paul Curtis for his book Elijah of Buxton. The book takes place in 1859, and tells the story of eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman, the first free-born child in Buxton, Canada, a haven for slaves fleeing the American south. Elijah must use his wits and skills to try to bring to justice the lying preacher who has stolen money that was to be used to buy a family's freedom. Click here to see a complete list of the CMC's Scott O'Dell Award books.

New Nonfiction Books

Exploring Habitats (series)
Deserts
Coral Reefs
Rain Forests
Prairies
Tundra
Wetlands

Learn About Values (series)
Patriotism
Forgiveness
Friendliness
Courage
Generosity
Loyalty
Respect
Honesty
Patience
Responsibility
Thankfulness
Tolerance

Earth's Cycles (series)
The Water Cycle
The Rock Cycle
The Food Cycle
The Seasons Cycle
The Plant Life Cycle
The Animal Life Cycle

Feeling Sick? (series)
Coughs and Colds
Asthma
Sore Throat
Diabetes
Chickenpox
Allergies

Bullies - Jonathan Kravetz

New Biology Textbook

The Design of Life: Discovering Signs of Intelligence in Biological Systems - William A. Dembski and Jonathan Wells

New DVD

Max's Words - School Library Journal Best Books of the Year list

When Max cuts out words from magazines and newspapers, collecting them the way his brothers collect stamps and coins, they all learn about words, sentences, and storytelling.

New Children's Books

Piglet and Mama - Margaret Wild
When Piglet cannot find her mother, all of the barnyard animals try to make her feel better, but Piglet wants nothing but Mama.

On Meadowview Street - Henry Cole
Upon moving to a new house, young Caroline and her parents encourage wildflowers to grow and birds and animals to stay in their yard, which soon has the whole suburban street living up to its name.

Charlotte's Web: The Essential Guide - Amanda Li
A comprehensive look at the film that includes character pictures and scenes from the movie.

New Children's Books

Small Beauties: The Journey of Darcy Heart O'Hara - Elvira Woodruff
Darcy Heart O'Hara, a young Irish girl who neglects her chores to observe the beauties of nature and everyday life, shares "family memories" with her homesick parents and siblings after the O'Haras are forced to emigrate to America in the 1840s.

Haym Salomon: American Patriot - Susan Goldman Rubin
The story of the "Financier of the American Revolution," Haym Solomon.

Everything You Need to Know: An Encyclopedia for Inquiring Young Minds
A great book of knowledge for children ages four to eight with a combination of facts, colorful illustrations, stories, and projects.

Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See - Bill Martin
Illustrations and rhyming text portray a young bear searching for its mother and meeting many North American animals along the way.

New YA Books

Ingo - Helen Dunmore
As they search for their missing father near their Cornwall home, Sapphy and her brother Conor learn about their family's connection to the domains of air and of water.


Land of the Silver Apples - Nancy Farmer
After escaping from the Sea of Trolls, the apprentice bard Jack plunges into a new series of adventures, traveling underground to Elfland and uncovering the truth about his little sister Lucy.

Hurricane Force - Joseph B. Treaster
Describes how violent storms and hurricanes are formed and notes some of history's greatest storms to hit the U.S., such as Hurricane Katrina.

January 2008 Newsletter

CMC 40th Anniversary

The third monthly drawing celebrating the 40th anniversary of the CMC was held on December 4. The winning entry was drawn by visiting children's author Adam Rex, and the winner was Stephanie Bollman, who received two autographed books by Adam. Congratulations to Stephanie! There is still time to enter January's drawing for a $25 gift certificate to the library's MediaPlex.

CMC Enhancement

Over Christmas break, a video projector and screen were installed in the CMC. Professors can now access the Internet or class files for use during class sessions being held in the CMC.

Websites of the Month

Lookybook is a fascinating website that enables the viewer to actually look at a large number of children's books. The website states that "Lookybook allows you to look at picture books in their entirety—from cover to cover, at your own pace. We know that nothing will replace the magic of reading a book with your child at bedtime, but we aim to replace the overwhelming and frustrating process of finding the right books for parents and their kids".

SIMPLE Science, an online collection of science activities created by Tucson, Ariz.-based education company Science Approach, is now available with funding from the National Science Foundation. Each topic can be covered in a 50-minute class session. The site is free and is available to anyone with high-speed internet access and a Java-enabled browser.

The site's goal is to help overcome barriers to the use of image processing and analysis in K-12 classrooms by giving educators access to extensive, updatable archives of imaging data, while designing a pedagogical structure that helps teachers use imaging data in a way that supports middle-school science standards. (eSchoolNews)

Subscribe to CMC Blog Posts by Email

Just a reminder that you can now receive CMC blog postings via email, rather than having to check the blog or subscribe through the RSS reeds. You will receive one email on any day that new content is added to the blog. Just enter your email address in the form to the right. This is a great way to keep informed about new resources being added to the CMC.

New Resources

During December, several trade book series were added to the CMC collection, including books on diseases, habitats, and character traits and values. Click here to see the complete list of new materials added in Deecmber.

New Pop-Up Book

The Chronicles of Narnia - Pop-ups by Robert Sabuda
Each of the seven Chronicles of Narnia books has its own pop-up spread with detail and special effects.

New Graphic Novel

The Plain Janes- Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg
When Jane moves to the suburbs, she thinks her life is over, but she meets three friends who form a club P.L.A.I.N.E., but can art really save a group of misfits from high school?

New Science Teaching Aids

Lightning Ball
This lamp reacts to touch and sound to create lightning. Electrical adapter included.

Anemometer
This small anemometer measures wind speed on the Beaufort scale or in meters per second.

Rock and Mineral Testing Lab
This test kit is intended to help students learn to separate rocks and minerals, classify rocks by type, use mineral properties to identify unknown minerals, and design classification plans.

Ant Life Cycle Stages
Set includes ant eggs (stage 1), larvae (stage 2), pupa (stage 3), and an adult ant (stage 4).

Giant Frog Model
Plastic, see-through model of a frog, with removable organs, which could be used to explain dissection.



Fossils: Invertebrate Set
Set of six invertebrate fossils, including coelenterate, gastropod, cephalopod, echinoderm, brachiopod, and arthropod.

Fossils: Vertebrate and Plant Set
Contains samples of fossil ferns, a dinosaur bone, a shark tooth, fish, and petrified wood.

Screw Model
Large screw in wooden platform allows children to explore the basic concept of the simple machine, the screw.

Mineral Study Kit
Includes specimens of fifteen minerals along with common identification tools and a worksheet listing the minerals' characteristics and qualities.

Contour Mapping Activity Kit
This activity kit contains all the materials necessary to build and map mountians and the ocean floor.

Butterflies Felt Set
This flannelgraph set includes 12 butterflies, 2 ladybugs, 2 bees, and pieces representing the four stages of the butterfly life cycle.

Adam Rex Visits

On Tuesday, author/illustrator Adam Rex visited Cedarville University, where he spoke to Dr. Tom Sweigard's children's literature class and other invited students, faculty, and staff. Adam spoke about how he became a children's author and showed pictures of his books in various stages of their development. Afterwards, a reception was held in the library's Media Auditorium. Adam's visit was made possible by Xenia Community Schools elementary librarian, Becca Stroble.

New Materials for November

The list of new CMC materials for November is now available. Please click here.

New Professional Book

Children's Books: A Practical Guide to Selection - Phyllis J. Van Orden
The selection process -- General criteria for the selection process -- Selecting a diverse range of works -- Using selection tools effectively -- Picture books -- Fiction -- Fiction genres -- Folk literature -- Rhymes and poetry -- Information and reference books -- Additional subjects

New YA Book

Notes for a War Story - Gipi
An astonishing urban fable of life in a lawless, war-torn nation, heightened by the uncanny artwork of Italy's maestro graphic novel author.

New Children's Book

The Magic Rabbit - Annette LeBlanc Cate
When Bunny becomes separated from Ray, a magician who is his business partner and friend, he follows a crowd to a park where he has a lovely afternoon, and after the people leave and darkness falls, the lonely and frightened Bunny finds a glittering trail of hope.

New Reading Textbooks

Storytown - Harcourt

New Textbooks

New from Scott-Foresman:

Reading Street
Grades K-6










Science - Ohio edition