A Kind of Paradise by Amy Rebecca Tan

"I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library." -- Jorge Luis Borges

Jamie Bunn was only trying to help the boy she had a crush on, but she ends up getting herself caught up in a cheating scandal at school. So her punishment is to do community service at her town's public library.

While spending her summer at the library, she comes face to face with members of the community she would not normally interact with: an elderly patron who tries to downplay his health issues, a man who has come on financial hard times, and even the girl who humiliated Jamie in front of her entire class.

But as the summer continues on, Jamie soon realizes that her summer of punishment is actually a blessing in disguise. Not only does she see firsthand what value the library holds for her community, but she also gets to have a front row seat to civic participation at work when her town's mayor is on a mission to close the library in order to save the town money.

A Kind of Paradise is the middle grade book answer to the The Public, the 2018 movie starring Emilio Estevez, about a renegade librarian who is on a mission to save his job while he gets himself caught up in a sit-in with homeless patrons who refuse to leave due to the extreme cold outside. Just as The Public is not a perfect movie, A Kind of Paradise has its flaws, but enumerating a long list in this book review would be missing the point of the book, which is to show kids and remind adults that libraries are important centerpieces of our community and they mean more to so many people than just borrowing books. The library is one of the few places that you can go in America today where you are not expected to spend any money, especially even more so now that many libraries are doing away with fines.

A Kind of Paradise by Amy Rebecca Tan
Published: April 30, 2019
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 303
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Audience: Middle Grade
Disclosure: Audiobook copy provided by publisher

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound. 

Madeline Finn and the Library Dog by Lisa Papp

 
Madeline Finn hates reading. Because every time she tries, she always gets a heart sticker instead of a star sticker, and she wants to be a star.

But one day she goes to the library and meets Bonnie. Who is a great listener. And doesn't judge her when she struggles.

Bonnie is a dog.

And reading this book has made me even more determined to get my dog certified to be a therapy dog so I can bring him to our school library and have kids read to him every day. That would make me happy, him happy, and the kids happy. It's a win-win-win. :)

Madeline Finn and the Library Dog by Lisa Papp
Published: October 1, 2016
Publisher: Peachtree
Pages: 32
Format/Genre: Picture book
Audience: Primary/Middle Grade
Disclosure: Library Copy

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound. 

Why I love my library

I live in southeastern Michigan in the town of Canton, Michigan. It is the busiest single branch library in the state and it is by far one of the best benefits of living in this town.

In addition to having some of the best selection of any library in our area, this summer they seem to have brought in programs that surprise and delight its patrons.

For example, one day I was walking back to my car and stumbled across this gorgeous chalk rendering of my favorite painting of all time: Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh
 

Then today, this lovely string duo was playing outside the entrance.


What do you love about your library?

Speaking of awesome libraries, another awesome Michigan library, the Troy Public Library came close to closing last year because they needed to raise taxes to keep its doors open. Check out the ingenious way they rallied to keep it a viable part of the community.

ETA: Apparently the Troy library had nothing to do with the campaign shown in the video. Rather than pretend I never posted it, I'll let you watch the video and then read the comment by my first poster to let you draw your own conclusions.

Libarary Gets Rid of Books. What's Next? Using Them as Kindling?

This morning I was sitting at my desk taking attendance, doing my morning paperwork while my class watched Channel One, when all of a sudden, a story came on that immediately caught my attention. Have any of you heard about the high school in Massachusetts that's getting rid of all the books in their library?

I am completely and utterly appalled. Now, I don't want you to think that I am not for promoting new technologies, because I am one of the teachers at my school who embraces technology and am always finding new ways to use it in my classroom. But the idea of getting rid of books because the students don't use them, is not only misguided, it's STUPIDITY!

The headmaster's logic for getting rid of the books is that the students don't use them and, in their stead, are finding unreliable sources on Google. By giving them e-readers and access to peer-review journal databases, he seems to think that students will use more reliable sources in their research.

My contention with this idea is that he assumes that students aren't looking at books because they're "outdated" and "archaic" when, in reality, if you have a knowledgeable teacher who requires the use of book sources, and who is willing to help students find books, and gives them time in class to look, then THEY WILL USE THEM!!!!!

I have done several projects in my English and social studies classes this year and make sure I take my students through the steps of how to find reliable books, review how to use the Dewey decimal system, and then model for them how to find information from that book. Because I have done this prep-work, I find students continually carrying books around that relate to their projects.

Saying that students aren't using books is a cop out. Teachers aren't modeling for their students HOW TO USE THEM. Giving students e-readers takes away the joy of perusing through a stack of books, and also reduces your ability to find free books to borrow.

I can't think of a more misguided use of new technology than to get rid of the books in a library. Books are still relevant. And given the fact that there is not an abundance of e-books to "check-out", this seems like a very expensive endeavor. Even without the expense, whatever happened to the joy of holding a book between your hands and experiencing the new worlds between those pages? I pray with all my might that other schools don't follow this trend.