Here are just a few of the many, many, many new titles in the Library. Come see for yourself!

This year’s summer Common Book is The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore. The author is a Rhodes Scholar, Afghanistan veteran, and graduate of Valley Forge Military Academy in Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. While studying abroad in South Africa, he learned of another young man named Wes Moore – born in the same Baltimore neighborhood, from a similar background – who had recently been arrested for murder. The book alternates between the Wes Moores and is a fascinating account of two very different lives.

All Browning, faculty, trustees, and students in Forms II – VI were asked to read the book over the summer. We are delighted to announce that Mr. Moore will be visiting Browning on October 14th to speak with Middle and Upper School students. Extra copies of the book are available in the library.

Learn more about the author and the book here.

The first graders promote their reading choices in our video book talk project.

Watch them all here.

The founders of the now ten-year-old website are trying to become more involved in the way students and teachers use Wikipedia. The Chronicle of Higher Education says:

Rodney Dunican, education programs manager for Wikimedia, Wikipedia’s parent company, is part of the team working to build the platform, which he said will highlight the ways in which Wikipedia can be used to improve student learning.

“We don’t want them to cite Wikipedia,” he said of students. “What we really want them to do is understand how to use and critically evaluate the articles on Wikipedia and then learn how to contribute to make those articles better.”

Read the whole article here. And if you’ve got a Wikipedia citation on your next bibliography, come see a librarian for some alternate sources!

Today in the library, 2nd graders explored the magazines, books, and websites of National Geographic. We read from the book Face to Face with Cheetahs, published by National Geographic in 2008. The text describes the speed and strength of cheetahs, and the photographs are wonderful, but nothing compares to watching this big cat in action. Hooray for the National Geographic for Kids website for posting an awesome video. Click here to view it!

For Adults to Use as Background

• How do we Tell the Children?: a Step by Step Guide for Helping Children Two to Teen Cope When Someone Dies by Dan Schaefer and Christine Lyons
• The Kids Book about Death & Dying by and fro Kids by Eric E. Rofes and the Unit at Fayerweather Street School
• Talking about Death, A Dialogue between Parent and Child by Earl A. Grollman

Books for Adults to Share with Children

• When Dinosaurs Die; A Guide to Understanding Death by Laurie Krasny Brown and Marc Brown
• Why Do People Die? Helping Your Child Understand–With Love and Illustrations by Cynthia MacGregor
• Where Do People Go When They Die? by MIndy Avra Portnoy
• Saying Goodbye to Lulu by Corinne Demas
• The Tenth Good Thing About Barney by Judith Viorst
• Dog Heaven by Cynthia Rylant
• Courage by Bernard Waber

The third graders have been researching Sea Stars (Starfish) in the library this week. Check out this great article from National Geographic, and try playing this tide pool puzzle on National Geographic kids!

It’s the first day of school, and we’ve got some new titles in the library, as well as more netbooks, and brand new Macbooks available for checkout!

Attention fans of The Hunger Games : The third installment to the trilogy is on the shelves!

What did you read this summer? Drop by the library, and let us know! Any requests? We’ll be happy to try and order anything you’re looking for. And heads up: later this fall, we’ll have a handful of iPads in the library, ready to download e-books at a moment’s notice…

The librarians have compiled lists of great summer reads for all grades. Check out the full list here.

We hope you’ll find something you like…

Anyone who caught the Academy Awards last week could see the enormous role that books play in film creation. Many of the nominees and other notable films from 2009 were inspired by novels, memoirs, nonfiction, and children’s literature. Check out the selection we’re featuring in the library right now, and see for yourself if the films live up to the books on which they were based.

And don’t miss the selection of plays that we’re currently featuring on display. From new editions of Shakespeare to the latest in award-winning contemporary drama, we’re happy to showcase our growing theatre collection.

Oh, and during your next visit to the library, look up. Or you might miss the Shakespeare in the ceiling…