Books, Books, and More Than Books!
Do you need books to read? Here are some ideas to keep you reading or listening:
1. If you want a book from our MSW Library, browse using the MSW iSearch Online Catalog.
To put a book on Hold if it's Unavailable (and to see what you have checked out, renew a book, see your holds, cancel a hold, etc.), go to the above link for iSearch, click on "Search," and then click on Log In at the top.
User ID: Lunch code
PIN: first 4 digits of your birthday (2-digit month + 2-digit day: i.e. 0905 for Sept 5).
After logging in, click on My Account.
2. Use the Columbus Metropolitan Library to get eBooks! If you don't have a library card to use, you can apply on their website for one at https://www.columbuslibrary.org/card-application and they'll email you a library card number. Use that number to check out eBooks. The easiest way is to download the Libby app (Libby by Overdrive) on a phone or tablet, or go to libbyapp.com on a Chromebook. Follow the prompts to link your library card to Libby (search for Columbus Metropolitan Library when it tells you to search for your library). Email me at gregoryk@gjps.org if you need help!
3. Use the app Open eBooks on a phone or tablet (it will say Open eBooks: New York Public Library when you search it). Once you download it, you'll need a barcode number and PIN, which I will provide you if you email me at gregoryk@gjps.org (I've applied for and been granted over 600 individual barcodes and PINs!).
4. Just for fun, try a Harry Potter-themed Digital "Escape Room" activity: Hogwarts Digital Escape Room
Also, there's a new online Harry Potter hub called Harry Potter At Home .
5. The book called Aiden Tyler, Quaran-Teen was written and read live every Tuesday between March 2020 and June 2020 by author Rex Ogle (author of Free Lunch, an awesome memoir about growing up with poverty and family dysfunction). You can access every chapter at the following link:
Aiden Tyler, Quaran-Teen webcast sponsored by Junior Library Guild
6. Mrs. Donnan, our building's ELA Coach, has put together a document to help you access her OverDrive and Audible accounts:
Directions For Mrs. Donnan's OverDrive and Audible Accounts
7. Internet Archive's Open Library .You can use my login info: email gregoryk@gjps.org and Password GahannaLions2020 (notice the capital G and L, and be sure to spell it right). When searching for a book, use the drop-down arrow next to ALL and go down to the Advanced Search so you can put in the title AND the author's last name, because it's a huge database and you'll be searching through tons of results if you just search a title!
9. Don't forget about Epic books at https://www.getepic.com/ . Many students already know how to access it and are familiar with it. If not, email your teacher . OR you can use the Epic code cjm2531 to get in as a Guest to "my" class.
10. A Podcast called Story Seeds is awesome! It's a new podcast for kids and families that pairs a kid with a published author (Jason Reynods! Dan Gutman! Chris Grabenstein! and more...), and they collaborate to write a short story together using the kid's idea (the "seed").
11. Stories Podcast is a podcast of G-rated stories that feature re-tellings of classic fairy tales, as well as some original stories. They would make great bedtime stories!
12. The Ohio Digital Library : Access Ohio's state library collections. There are great options for audio and eBooks (especially if you are waiting for titles from CML). When you arrive at the website and make a selection, it will walk you through setting up a free digital library card.
13. 826 Digital: a collection of "inventive resources to ignite a love of writing." You can set up a free login. Check out the Jason Reynolds poem For Every One that he narrates himself.
14. Kids Ask Authors is a short (5-10 min) weekly podcast in which students can ask authors questions they might have about the writing and publishing process. They've archived 17 episodes so far.
15. Six Minutes Podcast: With strong themes about family (and siblings working together), this tween-friendly podcast about an 11-year-old girl who discovers she has incredible abilities (and a magical hoverboard) might be a great way to keep the peace. Episodes are only six minutes long, but you won't want to stop after just one
16. The first Dork Diaries book is now a podcast! the brand-new podcast series featuring Dork Diaries Book 1: Tales From a Not-So-Fabulous-Life can be found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and other podcasting platforms.
17. Graphic Novels that are free online
Middle Grade
House cats Elvis, Puck, and Lupin report on such breaking news stories as “The people are missing!” and “There’s a box with a towel inside it on the kitchen table.” Georgia Dunn’s hilarious webcomic, with its feline’s-eye view of the world, is also being published by Andrews McMeel as a series of graphic novels.
In GiGi D.G.’s video game–esque tale, adorable Cucumber the bunny and his sister Almond go up against a series of baddies. A vibrant palette, nonstop action, and a bizarre cast of friends and foes make for immersive reading. Also available as a series of graphic novels published by First Second.
Andrew Hussie’s wildly popular webcomic follows John Egbert, who on his 13th birthday plays a video game that unleashes the apocalypse. Available in print from Viz Media.
Two anthropomorphic foxes navigate the world in this sweetly snarky webcomic, now a graphic novel published by Andrews McMeel, by Dana Simpson, creator of the best-selling “Phoebe and Her Unicorn” series. Enjoy the archive, or check out reruns on GoComics!
Though being the new kid is never easy, it’s especially hard for Peter, an average kid whose classmates include a mummy, a pumpkinhead, and a skeleton. Creator Dylan Campbell updates this hilariously creepy webcomic every week.
Still reeling from the loss of his mother, Jonas escapes into his vivid daydreams. After making his way through a portal in his grandmother’s strange painting, he finds himself lost in a fantasy world, unable to return. Daniel Lieske’s arresting comic series has also been published in print format by Lion Forge.
YA
Dami Lee’s self-deprecating webcomic details her quest “to be a real lady person,” from dating woes to FOMO in the age of social distancing. The graphic novel Be Everything at Once, available from Chronicle, collects many of the entries in her webcomic.
Two outsiders endure microaggressions on a Christian backpacking trip and find solace in each other. Melanie Gillman’s contemplative, poignant webcomic was published as a graphic novel by Iron Circus Comics and won a Stonewall Honor in 2018.
Bird and Moon—Science and Nature Comics
Whether naturalist and science writer Rosemary Mosco is describing how to distinguish a dolphin from a porpoise, offering improvements on bird species (like hummingbirds that are 10,000% bigger), or urging readers to join the fight against climate change, her abiding passion for the natural world comes through loud and clear in this delightfully quirky webcomic. Available from Andrew McMeels as Birding Is My Favorite Video Game: Cartoons About the Natural World from Bird and Moon.
When a happy-go-lucky former figure skater joins his college hockey team, hilarity ensues, but so do lasting friendships and even a burgeoning romance between protagonist Bitty and team captain Jack. Ngozi Ukazu’s webcomic has garnered a loyal fan base, and the graphic novels, published by First Second, are just as popular.
Tillie Walden’s mesmerizing, strikingly original space epic seamlessly blends romance and sci-fi. In graphic novel format, published by First Second, On a Sunbeam has racked up accolades, making its way onto numerous best books lists and being named a YALSA Top Ten Great Graphic Novel.
To make the long trip back home to Earth from a mining colony deep in outer space, Amy and her family must be cryogenically frozen, and when Amy returns, her friends are far older, and she’s not sure where she fits in. With fluid linework and a pitch-perfect palette, this tender webcomic from Stephen McCranie, now published by Dark Horse as a graphic novel series, is ideal for sci-fi readers and newcomers to the genre alike.
Ariel Slamer Ries’s webcomic, now published in graphic novel format by Lion Forge, takes place in the magical world of Hyalin, where witches’ magic depends on the length of their hair. But revealing one’s power can be perilous.