Messing Library

in the Middle School @ MICDS

LIBRARY BY NUMBER


118,503: Pages printed in the library 2010-11
110,917: Words we wrote for 2010 NaNoWriMo
2,020: % increase in book circulation since 2008
316: Pieces of art exhibited in the library 2010-11
164: Books featured on Library Picker 2010-11
27: Videos featured in "ON CAMERA: 2015"
1: Books about gnomes in the library collection

THE INVISIBLE

BOOK REVIEW  |  This is an interesting one... A kid (Hilmer Eriksson) follows around a police detective that's trying to solve a missing persons case. The detective (Harald Fors) is kind of the loner-sort... no partner, no family, and no ideas about what happened to the missing kid. Together, the two move from place to place while Fors interviews witnesses and uncovers clues.

The catch? Hilmer is the missing person. He, like Fors, has no idea what has happened to him... all he knows is that he is now invisible to everyone around him. And he frequently feels pain on certain areas of his body and experiences the sensation that something has been stuffed into his mouth. So Hilmer's only choice is to follow Detective Fors around to try to understand what, if anything, has happened to him.

While this was an interesting (and short) book, I expected to see more of the subject of the title... Hilmer. Despite being the main subject of the plot, we very rarely see or hear from him... which may lend to the feeling that he's invisible and right alongside you as you read the book. It did creep me out a couple of times.

If the the names and some of the expressions sound a little strange, no worries... this book was translated from Swedish and takes place in Sweden. It may also have been made into a movie at some point recently... but probably not a very good one since I don't ever remember hearing about it!

CLICK HERE to learn more by visiting the book's Google Books page!



Big Donation of MICDS Books

Books donated by the Middle School Library and the MICDS Bookfair are helping support a reading program this year in St. Louis area public schools...

From a St. Louis Public School District press release on 01/02/2008:

St. Louis—Starting January 3, the St. Louis Public School District will launch a new family and community reading initiative entitled “A Million Minutes by March.” The district-wide program will challenge all students to read a minimum of twenty minutes each day outside of the classroom. The goal is to encourage children and teenagers to develop strong, lifelong reading habits; view reading as a rewarding leisure activity; and engage parents/guardians in their children’s educations... MICDS (Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School) and other local organizations have already donated thousands of books.



Over 3000 books from Messing Library were organized, boxed, and moved in August as part of the 8th grade football team's annual service project. Over half of these books have already made their way to the "A Million Minutes by March" program. CLICK HERE to view the press release.