Mercer County Library Blog

Ms. Emily’s favorite books this summer! Picture Books A Beach Tail by Karen Lynn Williams: beautiful illustrations of a boy, his dad, and interesting objects in the sand. A Balloon for Isabel by Deborah Underwood: absurd tale of two young porcupines who want to hold a balloon and look for ways to keep their sharp quills from hampering their fun. For Middle Readers Super Science Lab by Richard Hammond: packed with high impact experiments, short facts, and full color photos and diagrams. The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer: This is the first title, but every time I read a new installment I remember why it is one of my favorite series. Enola Holmes, much younger sister of Sherlock, solves mysteries, cracks codes, and lives undercover while negotiating the strict rules of gender and class in Victorian London. Smile by Raina Telgemeir: graphic novel memoir of a twelve-year old girl who accidentally knocks out her two front teeth right before starting junior high. For...

This month’s picks will delight all history buffs and those interested in delving into our past to trace the roots of many of the political problems facing the world today. Many of these conflicts, national and global, have their roots in events that occurred centuries ago - battles fought and won, rebellions, revolts, and political maneuverings that have dotted the history of nations. By laying out detailed national histories, the authors provide the readers with the vital link that is required to gain an understanding of the current dynamics and interrelationships that exist between countries across the world. Yalta: The Price of Peace by S. M. Plokhy For eight days in February 1945, the Crimean city of Yalta hosted three legendary towering political figures, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin, who met to iron out the end of World War II, define the terms of peace, and redraw many of the boundaries of European nations. Harvard historian Serhii Plokhy brings t...

Perhaps spying seems So Cold War – or at least did, until June 27 2010 when the FBI arrested 10 people as part of a Russian espionage ring. These sleeper agents had been living peacefully in Yonkers, Boston and Virginia, passing themselves off as common garden-variety suburbanites. Only one oddity – the agents never passed any classified information to Moscow. So, as we can’t accuse them of really spying (perhaps because they did a bit too much sleeping), we can return them to sender and so we did. In return, Russia released four men who had been convicted and imprisoned for real, down and dirty espionage. If you are now intrigued, you are not alone. There is a rich literature on the US-Soviet/Russian espionage – and fact is often more fantastic than fiction! P u tin's labyrinth: spies, murder, and the dark heart of the new Russia by Steve LeVine. Recently, much more dangerous and lethal action has taken place - there have been (probably) Russian state sponsored assassinati...

Vote for the 2011 Garden State Teen Book Awards! Back in February, Andrea L. posted the winners for the 2010 Garden State Teen Book Awards. Now YOU can be a part of selecting the 2011 winners! The Garden State Teen Book Award is a project of the Young Adult Section of the New Jersey Library Association. New Jersey teens are invited to vote for their favorite books in three categories: FICTION: Grades 6-8; FICTION: Grades 9-12; and NON-FICTION: Grades 6-12. The 2011 Garden State Teen Book Awards ballot lists twenty nominees for each category, based on teen appeal and quality of writing. Votes will be collected through January 8, 2011, and the winners will be announced in February 2011. Teens are welcome either to vote online or to submit the downloadable ballot . This is your award, representing the choices of the New Jersey teenagers. Make sure you cast your vote! -- Anna, Hopewell Branch (photo courtesy of Chocolate Geek )

A faint image that appears behind your text, such as a company name or logo, is a watermark which will add zest to your document. If you use text watermark, you can select from built-in phrases that do not require any additional formatting or you can type in your own text. If you choose to use a picture, make sure to lighten it, or wash it out, so that it doesn't interfere with your document’s text. You can use pictures from ClipArt, photographs from your digital camera or a scanned picture that you have saved in your file. To add a text watermark : Open Word. On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Background group, click Watermark . Choose Custom Watermark . Click Text watermark . Select the text you want to use or type in your own. Select any other formatting options you may want to use. Click OK and viola your document has a fancy diagonal or a simple horizontal watermark! To add a picture as watermark : Open Word. On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Background group, click Wat...

Did you know many of your school's summer reading list titles are available in audio and eBook format online? This year you have plenty of options when looking for that always out of stock title. All can be downloaded to a PC or portable device. Here are some websites to check out: Audiobooks and eBooks can be downloaded from ListenNJ at any time, all you need is an internet connection and a library card. While most titles work the same way as a library book and can be out of stock, we've put together a collection of 125 classic and contemporary novels in audiobook format that allow unlimited use. Most of these titles appear on school reading lists. If you have a PC, you can download any of the titles to an mp3 player or iPod. Mac users can download select titles to their players. The eBooks can be downloaded to any eBook reader except for the Kindle. This summer, teens can find two free audiobook downloads a week at SYNC , courtesy of OverDrive and the Audio Publishers Assoc...

And it’s free... check out these three websites for your kids! All three websites are recommended by The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA)! 1) Academic Skill Builders Online educational video games that offer a powerful approach to learning basic math, language arts, vocabulary, and thinking skills. 2) BAM! Body and Mind Body and Mind is an online destination for kids created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This website is designed for kids 9-13 years old. Children will receive the information they need to make healthy lifestyle choices! 3) Dogo News A fun, safe and interactive environment for children to read and learn about real world news. News articles are short, simple and include photos/videos in order to keep children focused and interested. - Miss Sue

There’s no better time than the month of July to learn more about our nation’s history. Here are some new books worth checking out: America, Empire of Liberty: A New History of the United States By David Reynolds In this new single-volume history spanning the entire course of U.S. history, from 1776 through the election of Barack Obama, prize-winning historian David Reynolds explains how tensions between empire and liberty have often been resolved by faith—both the evangelical Protestantism that has energized American politics for centuries and the larger faith in American righteousness that has driven the country’s expansion. American Insurgents, American Patriots: The Revolution of the People By T.H. Breen Challenging and displacing decades of received wisdom, T. H. Breen's strikingly original book explains how ordinary Americans—most of them members of farm families living in small communities—were drawn into a successful insurgency against imperial authority during the America...

Sound the Vuvuzela Horns! It’s World Cup Time! Looking for more information? The ESPN World Cup Companion by David Hirshey and Roger Bennett—full of facts and photos from every tournament plus extras like popular player superstitions Also try: World Cup by Matt Christopher Great Moments in World Cup History by Diane Bailey Want to follow beyond the Cup? Goal! By Mark Stewart and Mike Kennedy--details about the top ten goals and history’s weirdest goals Also try: Eyewitness Soccer by Hugh Hornby Soccer the Ultimate Guide by Martin Cloake Learning to Play? How Soccer Works by Keltie Thomas—rules, popular plays, and the physics behind the game Also try: Kids’ Book of Soccer by Brooks Clark Play Soccer by Catherine Saunders - Miss Emily