SEWING 201: REPURPOSED DRAWSTRING BACKPACK Saturday, November 16 | 1:30-2:30 pm Put your 101-level sewing and machine skills to use. Bring your own t-shirt to repurpose into a drawstring backpack! Sewing machines are provided. For grades 6-8. Reserve your spot for Sewing 201: Repurposed Drawstring Backpack . TOKENS OF THANKS Tuesday, November 19 | 4:30-5:30 pm Make a button or a bookmark to share. For grades 6-8.  Add Tokens of Thanks to your calendar.

WELLNESS WARRIORS Friday, November 22 | 1-3 pm Compete with your friends to complete various yoga and exercise-related tasks that also engage your brain. For grades k-8. Add Wellness Warriors to your calendar. THE MIDDLE SQUAD Tuesday, November 26 | 4:30-6 pm Work with library staff to prepare for programs, pull books, and help as needed. Please visit the  middle school volunteer page of gepl.org  to fill out an application. For grades 6-8.  Add The Middle Squad to your calendar.

Diary of a Middle School Kid: Charles When sixth grader Charles isn't busy eating tacos or training to run a 5-minute mile, he's adjusting to life at Hadley Junior High School. Among the many activities he's been exploring in middle school, Charles has recently discovered  The Alchemyst  book series and the song "Strange" by Clockyy.   The perfect national holiday would let people do whatever they wanted and not be judged for it, according to Charles—who strongly dislikes chicken nuggets, a popular food among his peers.   If you're looking for a new TV show or movie to check out, he recommends the Pokémon series and Disney's  Penguins .

New Book Spotlight: Verify by Joelle Charbonneau From Goodreads... Meri Beckley lives in a world without lies. When she turns on the news, she hears only the facts. When she swipes the pages of her online textbooks, she reads only the truth. When she looks at the peaceful Chicago streets, she feels the pride everyone in the country feels about the era of unprecedented hope and prosperity over which the government presides. But when Meri’s mother is killed, Meri suddenly has questions that no one else seems to be asking. And when she tries to uncover her mother’s state of mind in her last weeks, she finds herself drawn into a secret world full of facts she’s never heard and a history she didn’t know existed. Suddenly, Meri is faced with a choice between accepting the “truth” she has been taught or embracing a world the government doesn’t want anyone to see—a world where words have the power to change the course of a country, and the wrong word can get Meri killed. Check out Verify by Joelle Charbonneau .

Peer Review: Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson I did not like the book Ghost . Our whole school had to read it, but it didn't really connect with me. The topic was sports, and that does not intrigue or interest me. The book begins with a really dark note. Castle Cranshaw, aka Ghost, had an alcoholic father who tried to shoot him and his mother. Ghost was a really fast runner, so he easily escaped his father's grasp. Because of this talent, he gets interested in track, and when he observes a track team meeting at his school, the coach puts him on the team. Not everyone likes sports, and the plot never intensifies in my opinion. The whole storyline seemed flat, mundane, and humdrum. I am not trying to disparage the book, it could really connect to other readers, and many of my classmates enjoyed the book. But if you are not into running or sports in general, if you are not thoroughly enthusiastic about sports books, and if this genre doesn't necessarily fill you with mirth, then this might not be the best book for you. Someone who likes sports and/or is really athletic would enjoy this book. I give this book one star.   Check out Ghost by Jason Reynolds .

Fanboying  by Tom Malinowski, Middle School Librarian I’m lucky to have been starstruck by celebrities I’ve met – Tony Bennett, Big Bird, and Jason Priestley. However, what makes me more nervous is meeting comic book authors and artists.  Recently I attended the Anderson’s Annual Young Adult Literature Conference . A plethora of authors were keynote speakers and hosted breakout sessions. It was great to hear about their inspiration and the challenges of writing and publishing a book. I met Alex London and Laura Ruby . A common theme among these authors was that they tried and tried, never gave up, and drew their inspiration from other writers. I look forward to reading books of the future. Some may even be written by you! Check out some books by Alex London. Check out some books by Laura Ruby. Thanks for reading and see you next month!

Mon-Thurs: 9 am to 9 pm, Fri-Sat: 9 am to 5 pm, Sun: 1-5 pm

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