Something on your mind? Students in grades 6-12 now have access to Cameron's Collection, a collection of e-books that address topics related to mental health and social-emotional issues.
Click on the picture to access Cameron's Collection! Use the passcode kenai
Click here to log in to Sora! Just use your computer username and password.
Click here to browse the Seward Middle School Library Catalog!
This video shows how to log in and place a hold in Alexandria: https://video.link/w/3Mhvb
Thanks to your support, we were able to add these books - and more - to our library collection!
2023-2024 Battle of the Books 6th-Grade List
Below are the twelve titles for the 6th-grade Battle of the Books list for the 2023-2024 school year! Most of these titles are part of our Sora collection, either as eBook or Audiobook or both. They can be found in a Sora collection called "AK BOB 5-6." We will soon have all of these books in the library, too!
Alice Fleck's Recipes for Disaster
by Rachelle Delaney
eBook and Audiobook
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
by Robert C. O'Brien
eBook and Audiobook
Amina's Voice
by Hena Khan
eBook and Audiobook
Path to the Stars: My Journey from Girl Scout to Rocket Scientist
by Sylvia Acevedo
eBook and Audiobook
Aru Shah and the End of Time
by Roshani Chokshi
eBook and Audiobook
See You in the Cosmos
by Jack Cheng
eBook and Audiobook
Birds of Prey: Terrifying Talons
by Joe Flood
Not available on Sora
Skeleton Tree
by Iain Lawrence
eBook and Audiobook
Circus Mirandus
by Cassie Beasley
eBook and Audiobook
Wild River
by Rodman Philbrick
Not available on Sora
Invisible Emmie
by Terri Libenson
eBook and Audiobook
Wish in the Dark
by Christina Soontornvat
eBook
2023-2024 Battle of the Books 7th/8th-Grade List
Below are the ten titles for the 7th/8th-grade Battle of the Books list for the 2023-2024 school year! All of these titles are part of our Sora collection, either as eBook or Audiobook or both. They can be found in a Sora collection called "AK BOB MS." We will soon have all of these books in the library, too!
Artemis Fowl
by Eoin Colfer
eBook
Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood
by Gary Paulsen
Audiobook
Breadwinner
by Deborah Ellis
eBook and Audiobook
Greetings From Witness Protection
by Jake Burt
eBook and Audiobook
Code Girls: The True Story of the American Women Who Secretly Broke Codes in World War II
by Liza Mundy
eBook
I Can Make This Promise
by Christine Day
eBook and Audiobook
Cruel Prince
by Holly Black
eBook and Audiobook
Night Divided
by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Audiobook
Daughter of the Deep
by Rick Riordan
eBook and Audiobook
Towers Falling
by Jewell Parker Rhodes
eBook and Audiobook
Click on the picture to access Cameron's Collection! Use the passcode kenai
(You may also be asked to sign in with your student number and password, just like signing into a school computer.)
Introducing Cameron's Collection!
Students in grades 6-12 now have access to Cameron's Collection, a collection of e-books that address topics related to mental health and social-emotional issues.
The publisher says about this resource, "Created in collaboration with the Cameron K. Gallagher Foundation, Cameron’s Collection on Gale eBooks provides targeted guidance on sensitive teen issues for students, teachers, and counselors. These titles are available remotely 24/7, allowing students to access what they need anytime and on their own devices. Helping students cope with everyday stressors and stay in the present moment through mindfulness are the core foundations of this collection."
Fall in love with a new book at the library!
Thank you for supporting our Scholastic Book Fair!
We were able to add several books to our library collection!
From Page to Screen
Have you seen the Enola Holmes movie or the new sequel on Netflix? Starring Millie Bobby Brown (from Stranger Things), these movies follow the adventures of Sherlock's younger sister - a detective in her own right!
The movies are based on the Enola Holmes book series by Nancy Springer, and we have these books at our library. Check them out!
Happy Halloween from the Library!!!
Carve out some time...
to scare up...
a good boo-oo-ook!
Seward Middle School's Virtual Book Nook!
Nothing beats a cozy chair and a good book, but try out our new Virtual Book Nook! Click on items to see where they go - almost everything contains a link!
Get hooked on books!
The Seward Middle School (SMS) Library has been awarded the 2021 Alaskan Book Hook Grant, distributed by the Juneau Community Foundation! Seward Middle School Library was one of eight Alaska libraries chosen in the grant’s inaugural year. The stated purpose of the grant is to support small libraries with purchases of books and other materials to better serve their library patrons.
The funds awarded to Seward Middle School have been used to expand the selection of manga and graphic novels in response to numerous student requests, as well as to replace books that have gone missing over the years and to complete series.
Honoring student requests for the collection and filling in the holes from missing books in the collection will go a long way toward maintaining student interest in reading. Reading choice is so important in sparking a love of literacy and learning! A bulk-buy discount from Barnes and Noble & Classwork helped the grant money go even further!
On behalf of Seward Middle School’s students and staff, I thank the Alaskan Book Hook Grant and Juneau Community Foundation for their generous support of our library!
-Jessica Bamford
Library Aide, Seward Middle School
Alaskan Book Hook Grant 2021
I am happy to announce that Seward Middle School Library was awarded the Alaskan Book Hook Grant, distributed by the Juneau Community Foundation! This grant will be used to expand our collection of manga and graphic novels, in response to numerous student requests! Interested students filled out a survey a few weeks ago, indicating which manga series they would most like to see added to the library. My Hero Academia was the winner! In addition to this long series (30 books in the series so far!), we were able to order a few other shorter manga series, including Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Quest Monsters+, and Wonder Cat Kyuu-chan.
This money has also allowed me to order replacements for books that have been lost over the years, and to complete series we had on the shelf that were missing books. Thanks to this grant, we will now have the complete sets of series like Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life, Maze Runner, Wings of Fire, and the Bone graphic novels, among others! I expect these new books to be here in a couple of weeks!
February is Love Your Library Month!
KPBSD is asking the question: What do you love about your school library?
There's a lot to love about Seward Middle School Library!
Book Spine Poetry!
Inspired by Covid
The Epic of Jepp, or The Jeppic
April - National Poetry Month
April is National Poetry Month! While most of us think of poems as a short form of writing, there are actually entire novels written in poetry form! These are called novels in verse. Look for some of these novels in verse on Sora (see below). And if you're interested in reading more novels in verse, check out the following link to a long list of YA novels in verse at GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2212.YA_Novels_in_Verse
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
When Billie Jo is just 14 she must endure heart-wrenching ordeals that no child should have to face. This award-winning story is set in the heart of the Great Depression. It chronicles Oklahoma's staggering dust storms, and the environmental--and emotional--turmoil they leave in their path. An unforgettable tribute to hope and inner strength.
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
Jacqueline Woodson tells the moving story of her childhood. Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement.
Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Ten-year-old Hà has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, and the warmth of her friends close by. But now the Vietnam War has reached her home, and Hà and her family are forced to flee to America. Hà discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food . . . and the strength of her very own family.
Crossover by Kwame Alexander
Josh Bell and his twin brother Jordan are awesome on the court. But Josh has mad beats, too, that tell his family's story in verse in this novel of family and brotherhood. Josh and Jordan must come to grips with growing up on and off the court to realize breaking the rules comes at a terrible price, as their story's heart-stopping climax proves a game-changer for the entire family.
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
A fiercely stunning novel that takes place in sixty potent seconds—the time it takes a kid to decide whether or not he’s going to murder the guy who killed his brother.
Solo by Kwame Alexander (with Mary Rand Hess)
Blade would give anything not to be the son of a washed-up rock star and drug addict with delusions of a comeback. The only thing Blade has in common with his father is the music that lives inside them. But not even the songs that flow through Blade’s soul are enough when he’s faced with two unimaginable realities: the threat of losing his girlfriend forever, and the revelation of a long-held family secret that leaves him questioning everything.
Loving vs. Virginia by Patricia Hruby Powell
In 1955, in Caroline County, Virginia, amidst segregation and prejudice, injustice and cruelty, two teenagers fell in love. Their life together broke the law, but their determination would change it. Richard and Mildred Loving were at the heart of a Supreme Court case that legalized marriage between races, and a story of the devoted couple who faced discrimination, fought it, and won.
Gone Fishing by Tamera Will Wissinger
Using a wide variety of poetic forms - quatrains, ballads, iambic meter, rhyming lists, concrete poetry, tercets and free verse - this debut author tells the story of a nine-year-old boy's day of fishing. Sibling rivalry, the bond between father and son, the excitement and difficulty of fishing all add up to a day of adventure any child would want to experience.
*Book descriptions were found on goodreads.com, edited for length.
National Shelfie Day - January 27
It's National Shelfie Day! This is a day to celebrate reading by taking a picture of the books on your shelf, arranged in a fun way for a photograph - or a picture of you in front of your book shelf! I decided to make a double rainbow of some of the newest books in our library - A Rainbow of New Reads!
We love to read!
Total library checkouts for the 2019-20 school year: 1,265
Most popular fiction book: Crossover by Kwame Alexander
Most popular graphic novel: Amulet - Supernova by Kazu Kibuishi
Total Sora checkouts: 507 (This was the highest number of Sora checkouts in the district!)
Top Sora title by number of checkouts: Flying Lessons and Other Stories, edited by Ellen Oh
Top Sora title by hours of reading: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
The Bard's Birthday!
William Shakespeare was one of the most prolific writers of all time. As a poet and playwright, he is credited with inventing or popularizing hundreds of words and phrases that we use on a daily basis. While we don't know the exact date of his birth, he is believed to have been born in April 1564. In honor of Shakespeare's birth month, check out some of his classic plays on Sora! They are part of the Always Available! collection, guaranteed to have no waitlists through the end of June.
Music and Books Display
On the last day before spring break, I updated one of the library window displays and I thought I'd share it here since students did not get to see it!
March is Music in Our Schools Month, so I decided to do a display using books in our collection that are about music or that featured instruments on the cover. I brought in a couple of instruments to put in the display, and Mr. CJ loaned a couple more from the music room.
I found a quote that I really like while building this display...
"Music and books: the original time-machines."
-Erin Van Vuren