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

Library Picker (09.30.2010)

A weekly episode where we "pick" around the library shelves... looking for great, worn-in, but valuable finds. In this week's episode, we find Mortal Engines, Freak the Mighty, The Ghost of Lost Island, Murder at Midnight, The Arrival, & Runner.

New Arrivals Video

Latest books to hit the shelves in Messing Library...

Library Picker (09.23.2010)

In this week's episode of "Library Picker" we find Born to Fly, Rift, Little Brother, Maniac Magee, and The Water Mirror.

Research Tips: GI Paper #1

6 1/2 minute video with tips for researching your first GI paper! Gives ideas for finding print resources in the library and on our databases.


New Arrivals Video

Latest books to hit the shelves in Messing Library...

Library Picker (beta)

Here's a look at something we're trying out... "Library Picker" ... A weekly video where we do some "picking" amongst the library shelves, looking for older or less-publicized new(ish) books that are great reads. Tune in every Wednesday night or Thursday morning (we haven't decided which yet) for new episodes during the school year!

Rick Riordan Tickets Now Available!

Hey MICDS Middle Schoolers! We're told that tickets to author Rick Riordan's event in the MAC at MICDS on October 14th are now available in the MICDS Business Office, which is near the bookstore in Olson Hall. Just ask for Ms. Hancock. Looks like there's a limit of 4 per family. Tickets are also available at various library locations around St. Louis. Read part of the St. Louis County Library's press release below for more information...

"The St. Louis County Library’s event with Rick Riordan in 2009 attracted over 1,600 young readers and was the largest event in Library history! We are thrilled to announce that Mr. Riordan will be returning to St. Louis for an even bigger and better event in 2010. And this year, the Library will host the event in the McDonnell Athletic Center at MICDS (Mary Institute and Country Day School) so that over 2000+ fans will definitely get to hear Mr. Riordan speak and have their books signed!... " (click here for full story)

New Arrivals Video (beta)

Here's a little something we're trying out... A video view of new arrivals in the library and a look at some of the stuff we've recently ordered...

BLACK DUCK

BOOK REVIEW  |  Great beginning to this book... An interview, a beach, and a dead body. From the book jacket:

What happened next that spring afternoon is something I know Jeddy remembers. I can see us standing there, two raw-boned boys beside the bootleg crate, seagulls wheeling overhead, making dives on a tidal pool up the beach from us. Almost as an afterthought we wandered toward this pool, not expecting to see anything. It came into view with no more drama than if it had been a sodden piece of driftwood lying on the sand: a naked human leg.

This one's a good read, a gritty piece of suspense fiction that takes place on the Prohibition-era shores of a small Rhode Island town. Two best friends, one the son of the police chief and one whose father is the manager of the local general store, find the body of a notorious rumrunner abandoned on the beach, and the mystery unfolds from there. Who killed this guy? Why? Pay close attention and you'll catch the hints the author leaves for you. Along the way you'll meet an old fisherman living in a shack, mobsters from New York and Boston, a couple of dogs you wouldn't want to mess with, and the captain of a rumrunning ship that has a Robin Hood-type reputation amongst the locals.

You'll find this one in our Historical Fiction section, but it would be just as easily at home in our Action & Suspense section. Enjoy!

PIRATE LATITUDES

BOOK REVIEW  |  Everyone loves pirate stories. Pirates are smart. They're dangerous. They wear funny hats. I mean, we've all read Treasure Island, right?
 
No?

Seriously?
 
Okay, go read it. Now.

I'll wait.

See, Pirate Latitudes is a great adventure story like Treasure Island, but the language is more modern, so it's all adventure from start to finish; no getting used to writing from the early 1880s. This story is about a privateer in a British colony taking on an enormous Spanish garrison on a fortified island in the Caribbean. One little ship with a handful of men with a crazy plan to invade an island guarded by hundreds of soldiers in order to steal a pirate ship laden with a huge treasure. 

If you like action & adventure, give this one a try, even if you're not that into pirates. Pirate Latitudes was found in Michael Crichton's files and published one year after his death. This is the guy that wrote books like Jurassic Park (once a required book for 8th grade English!) and The Andromeda Strain, and produced the hit TV show "ER." All these books are available in the library. And you can visit our YouTube "Book Trailers" playlist to find the trailer for Pirate Latitudes. Arrrrrr! 
 

p.s... Book Trailers? Yes, please.

We love book trailers. And now you can too. We've posted a link to "official book trailers" on our site beneath the "Class Stuff" sidebar. There are a ton of book trailers out there... the ones we've included on that YouTube playlist are made by the publishing company or the authors themselves, not fans. We'll keep updating it with fresh trailers when we come across them!

Here are a few of our recent favorites: