New Books Are In!

Our first shipment of new books has arrived! 600 new titles have come in and I'm already getting requests to put them on reserve. We have all the new award winners, all the best urban and street literature, and not to mention vampire books out the wazoo!

Check out the list of new titles by clicking HERE- Scroll through page by page and if you see something you like, let me know!

**NOTE** I purchased multiple copies of some books because everybody and their brother has been asking me for them (example: A Child Called It series).

More to come, so stay tuned!

Book of the Week Time!

Mr. Bott's Book of the Week: 

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

This is the strangest, craziest, most...well...peculiar book I've read this year. The pictures on the back cover act as a nice little preface when beginning this story. The story will be adapted to a film which Tim Burton is going to direct in the near future. Until then, check out the book trailer and description below. Don't get too freaked out....

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs.

It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. 

As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

Can You Pick Up The Pieces?

Mr. Bott's Book of the Week: Fallout by Ellen Hopkins  

  Hunter, Autumn, and Summer—three of Kristina Snow’s five children—live in different homes, with different guardians and different last names. They share only a predisposition for addiction and a host of troubled feelings toward the mother who barely knows them, a mother who has been riding with the monster, crank, for twenty years.      As each teen searches for real love and true family, they find themselves pulled toward the one person who links them together—Kristina, Bree, mother, addict. But it is in each other, and in themselves, that they find the trust, the courage, the hope to break the cycle.     
Told in three voices and punctuated by news articles chronicling the family’s story, Fallout is the stunning conclusion to the trilogy begun by Crank and Glass, and a testament to the harsh reality that addiction is never just one person’s problem.

Miss Gerke Reviews The Hunger Games

Miss Gerke, our global history teacher, is in the midst of finishing The Hunger Games series. She visited the SCLA Library to give her review on what she has read so far.

Click here to hear her podcast!

Weekly Geekly: The Case of the Giant Eyeball

Imagine you're out for a stroll on a beautiful, warm beach. Do you feel the soft sand between your toes? The water brushing against your ankles? The squish of a GIANT EYEBALL beneath your feet? That's never happened to you? Oh...

Well it happened to Gino Covacci in Florida last week. He didn't step on it, but he found it washed ashore on Pompano Beach north of Ft. Lauderdale. At first, people were baffled. Many speculated that it could have been from the elusive giant squid, but experts from Florida's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute say that it is from, WAIT FOR IT....A Swordfish...

Okay, so not that astounding, but still weird. Experts also think the eye was removed by a fisherman after the swordfish was caught. Look at that thing! The only thing I've ever found on the beach was a sea urchin I stepped on when I was 9. I subsequently found an adult with a band aid.

This Book is WICKED...

Mr. Bott's Book of the Week: The Maze Runner by James Dashner

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.

Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers.

Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.

The Button

If there was a button that, if pressed, could grant you any wish or take away any problem you might have, but someone you don't know would die as a result- Would you press it? James and Nick discuss on this week's edition of Mr. Bott's Philosophy Spot.

Check it out! Don't forget to click this button:   
 If you would like to be part of the Philosophy Spot, email Mr. Bott bottb@schenectady.k12.ny.us

If You Had to Choose Between Living or Dying...

Mr. Bott's book of the week: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

A critically acclaimed novel that will change the way you look at life, love, and family. In the blink of an eye everything changes. Seventeen ­year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall what happened afterwards, watching her own damaged body being taken from the wreck. Little by little she struggles to put together the pieces- to figure out what she has lost, what she has left, and the very difficult choice she must make. Heartwrenchingly beautiful, Mia's story will stay with you for a long, long time.

Why Mr. Bott Disagrees With Columbus Day...

Yesterday was Columbus Day and sure, it was nice to have a day off; however, I have trouble with this "holiday." Everyone knows that rhyme, "In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue..." but few know the rest of the song and moreover what ol' Chris Columbus was actually looking for.

In one word: Gold! He wanted GOLD and he knew there was gold in Asia. He wanted to sail from Spain, around the world, to Asia (India and China) in search of these riches.

There were some problems...Columbus thought the earth was much MUCH smaller. He thought he could sail around the world in much less time. Keep in mind, it was 1492 and he didn't know what we now know today.

This is what he thought the earth looked like: Japan and China are not that close to America!

So where did he land? Well, look at the map...He landed where he wanted to land. Only he wasn't in India, he was near Cuba off the coast of Florida! He THOUGHT he was in India and had discovered a new land. This was later called the West Indies (because he traveled WEST and thought he was near INDIA). He also called those people who inhabited the land, Indians, a term the Americas later widely adopted.

So instead of being here

He was actually here

_____________________________________________________________________________

He couldn't find any Gold, but he did find something of value to the Queen: Slaves! By his own admission in writing, he wanted to take the peaceful Arawaks of the Bahama Islands and show them WHO'S BOSS!

Columbus wrote:

"As soon as I arrived in the Indies, on the first Island which I found, I took some of the natives by force in order that they might learn and might give me information of whatever there is in these parts. "

Took the natives by force---He and his men gladly took whatever the Arawak tribe gave them and then proceeded to kill and enslave them. A priest named Bartolome de las Casas who was traveling with Columbus wrote:

"there were 60,000 people living on this island, including the Indians; so that from 1494 to 1508, over three million people had perished from war, slavery, and the mines. Who in future generations will believe this? I myself writing it as a knowledgeable eyewitness can hardly believe it...."

UGH! Hardly a hero....

Zinn, Howard. A People's History of America. New York, New York, USA. HarperCollins Publishers, 1995.

If a Tree Falls...James vs Jerrell

Recently, I sat down with James Rivera and Jerrell White to discuss the old rhetorical question: If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? James and Jerrell both give their take on Mr. Bott's Philosophy Spot. Click the link below to hear!

http://mrbottlibrarian.podbean.com/ -- MAKE SURE TO CLICK   :)

Enjoy!

It's October Already?

Happy October everyone!

1. Interim grades are coming out soon- This means a few things. You should be keeping track of your grades by keeping hand outs and checking Home Access Center. If you don't have a Home Access Center login, don't worry, come see me in the library or email me: bottb@schenectady.k12.ny.us . This is an opportunity to talk to your teachers and use your time wisely! I know I sound like a broken record here, but teachers do not give grades YOU EARN THEM!

2. It's Spirit Week! The days go as follow:
Monday - Character Day
Tuesday - Twin Day
Wednesday - Retro Day
Thursday - Classy Day
Friday - Patriot Pride Day (dress in red, white, and blue!)

3. Scary Story Contest- My scary story contest has started! I have 3 entries already and I hear there are many more to come. Remember, the entries must be turned in by October 24th and they must be typed! Here's the best part- Your English teachers will be giving you EXTRA CREDIT if you hand in a story!
Check out official rules here: https://sites.google.com/site/steinmetzlibrary/
OR "Like" SCLA on Facebook



4. Mr. Bott's Book of the Week: The Mockingbirds, by Daisy Whitney: SEE BELOW FOR VIDEO

Some schools have honor codes.
Others have handbooks.
Themis Academy has the Mockingbirds.

Themis Academy is a quiet boarding school with an exceptional student body that the administration trusts to always behave the honorable way--the Themis Way. So when Alex is date raped during her junior year, she has two options: stay silent and hope someone helps her, or enlist the Mockingbirds--a secret society of students dedicated to righting the wrongs of their fellow peers.

In this honest, page-turning account of a teen girl's struggle to stand up for herself, debut author Daisy Whitney reminds readers that if you love something or someone--especially yourself--you fight for it.