"Wonder" by R.J. Palacio

August was born with a facial defect.  He is excluded by other kids at school but he just wants to fit in and belong.  If you've ever felt left out or bullied you will enjoy this strong young man and his courgeous attitude.  I highly recommend this book! Fantastic read, I couldn't put it down.

The Book Fair is Coming!!

Come join us for the WBMS book fair from October 29th to November 7th.  We have a great collection of books this year, including a section of young adult books. Don't forget about our All About Books contest where the winning grade will be able to witness multiple teacher dares... Mr. Watts and Carraway wearing a tutu, 6th grade teachers dressing like nerds for day, Mr. Roakes dressed in tiolet paper... and much more.  Collection containers are available in your English classrooms.  Stop by and see what we have to offer or start your Christmas shopping early.

English Extra Credit Opportunties

There are two ways to earn extra credit in your English class. The first one is to read the 2012-2013 Virginia Reader Choice books. For each book that you read you must answer one question in essay form.  The questions are available at the circulation desk. If I am convinced that you read the book then your English teacher gives you 25 extra credit points PER BOOK.  You can read as many of these books as you'd like.  (the 8th grade now as 15 books to choose from - 5 are from the VA Reader's Choice high school list)

Your second chance to earn extra credit is to attend the Pageturner's Book Club at the Vinton Library. The books change monthly and meetings are held the first Thursday of the month at the Vinton Library.  The meetings run from 4:00 to 5:15 and if you bring a note you can ride but 106 or 79 to the library. 

More information is available in the library or by talking to Mrs. Balsley. hbalsley@rcs.k12.va.us

Terrier Mart

Come visit the Terrier Mart for all of your school supply needs. Terrier Mart is open for business every morning from 8:00 to 8:20 in the library. Our items include: pencils, pens, highlighters, poster board, folders, 1" binders, rulers, floppy disks, notebooks, graph paper, protractors, glue, hole protector sheets, markers, colored pencils, scissors, and much more!

The 2012 school year comes to an end!

The WBMS library has had a great but busy 2^nd semester!  We did Iditarod Research with the entire 6^th grade. Our 6^th graders read over  59,000 pages in the IditaREAD two week contest. Way to go!!  The 6^th grade science classes also came to the library to do a weather lesson using QR codes and Ipads.  Our 7^th graders completed research on historical topics relating to their history class.

Our brand new summer reading program titled “Hot Reads for Cool Treats” was presented to all students in 5^th grade (our incoming students), 6^th and 7^th grades.  Our new reading program is linked to the Virginia Reader’s Choice contest and students can continue to read the books through next school year to earn 25 extra credit points per book.  During this school year we had over 85 books read for extra credit and 14 students read a minimum of four books to be able to vote in the Virginia Reader’s Choice contest.  Additional information is available on the library website.  (The incoming 9th grade pre-ap students also received an assignment and book list.)

Remember to keep reading over the summer! The Vinton Library has an excellent summer program were library bucks can be earned by completing a reading log and students can then bid on prizes (like a Nook,  Zombie survival kit, etc….) Sign-ups start on June 4^th at the Vinton Library!

Library funding for books will not be provided to the schools next year, so the WBMS library is collecting ink cartridges for recycling to purchase new titles as they are released during the 2012-2013 school year. Please bring your donations to the library or leave in the front office. Thank you so much for your support and in helping to put books on the shelves for our readers!

I just finished reading all of the 2012-2013 Virginia Reader's Choice book for our summer reading.  We have some great selections to choose from this year! Elementary presentations start on April 16th and the middle school presentations on April 17th.  The summer reading is called Hot Reads 4 Cool Treats!! Watch for the pamphlet coming home soon! It will also be available on the WBMS libray website.

Over 50 kids attended our Hunger Games Trivia Party in March!!  We had several winners who enjoyed copies of the Hunger Games Companion book, movie gift certificates, and other Hunger Games treats.  Bakery items were provided by Mellark's Bakery. (if you've read the book you know who owns the bakery) We can't wait for the next movie!!!

Hunger Games Trivia Party - Sign ups open till 3/15

The library is sponsoring a Hunger Games trivia party on March 21st during all three lunches. Come watch the movie trailer with us and share in the Hunger Game excitement! Prizes will be given to winners, in addition to door prizes.  Participants can pack their lunch, buy, or purchase pizza. See Mrs. Balsley or Mrs. Johnston in the library for more details.  Tickets will be handed out on March 20th!

The book Ashes, Ashes by Jo Treggiari is fantastic!  In this story set in the future there are few survivors of an epidemic and those that do survive are being taken by the 'Sweepers'.  Lucy decides to join a group of other survivors after living for several months on her own in Central Park, New York City.  Adventure, with a little bit of romance, make for a great read!!

Skeleton Creek

Skeleton Creek has been sitting on my shelf for awhile waiting for me to pick it up!! Ryan and Sarah are forced to stay apart because they just can't seem to stay out of trouble. Ryan ends up getting seriously hurt on their visit to a local haunted dredge and Sarah becomes determined to find out who or what is haunting the old building.  It's a quick read, but boy did I look forward to the videos!  The videos add just the right twist to the story line with a tad bit of spookiness and fear thrown in! This book is the first in a series of four books.

Rot and Ruin! What a fantastic book!

Are you looking for a book filled with adventure, mixed with a little bit of romance, a dash of slaying, and a cup full of zombies?  Well, you've found it here.  Come check out one of the newest books to our collection and the first book in a series of four by the author, Jonathon Maberry. I loved this book so much that I bought two copies of it because I knew it was going to be a hit!  Let me sum it up for you: two brothers, one job - to compassionately kill the zombies that used to be someone's family, fighting the wicked  and dangerous zombie hunters who don't respect life (alive or dead), and to find a piece of civilization left from the days before the virus came and destroyed the world. Check out this author interview:

The Time Riders series is coming!!

Sarah, an 8th grader, shared with me a great new series called "Time Riders".  I am on the second book now and I must say I think we have a new popular series here for WBMS!!  If you like action-packed adventure, time travel, and suspense you will love this series!  Stop by the library and put your name on the "Reserve" list for this book!