Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

When Miyax, a 13 year old orphan, runs away from her unhappy marriage, she plans to go to her pen pal in San Francisco but she had not counted on the vast Alaskan tundra.  Once out of the village she is soon lost and starving.  Relying on the Eskimo knowledge imparted to her by her father, Miyax approaches a wolf pack.  Copying the ways of the puppies and learning patience Miyax is accepted by the leader, who she names Amaroq – “Wolf”, and befriended by a feisty black pup she names Kapu, after her father.  Miyax becomes part of the pack as she and the wolves make their way across the tundra to new hunting grounds.  But as they get closer to civilization, Miyax must look hard at who she really is:  Miyax of the Eskimos or Julie of the wolves.

Food for Fines

Donate food to your local library and pay off overdue fines!

Thanks to the creators of this wonderful video!

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow

We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the Hand - Randy Pausch

There are books written that are timeless. You know that you will remember it always. "The Last Lecture" was that book for me.

Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give a lecture with other professor's about what they would want their legacy to be. Randy Pausch did not have to imagine his last lecture. He had just been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Randy was not going to talk about dying but LIVING. The title of his lecture was "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams". It was about overcoming obstacles, enabling the dreams of others, and seizing every moment in life.

This book will make you think about your dreams as a child and have you make your dreams come true. That it is never too late. Randy talks about being a Tigger or an Eeyore in life.

This is a book that will be shared for generations to come.

Randy Pausch lost his battle to pancreatic cancer on July 25, 2008

Written by Vicki Morton.

Creative ways to recycle old books.

Okay, everyone has them, those books picked up at a yard sale, second hand book shop or given as gift. Read and forgotten or just shelved, boxed and forgotten. You find your self not wanting to throw the books away, but not wanting to read them either.

Instead of letting the books molder, why not try out some of these great recycling ideas?

1. Those big, old, useless textbooks getting you down? Tried selling them, but they’re too old. Why not make bookends? Click here for simple instructions. Or use those old encyclopedias to make a free standing bookcase.

2.Got some old cookbooks with recipes you still use? Tear out those good recipes and cover with Plexiglas for a unique backsplash for your stove. Or just frame your favorites and use them as decoration.

3.Make a secret hidey-hole for trinkets, by hollowing out a book.

4.Need a new case for carrying all those DVDs? Use a book! Here’s how!

5.Make your own audiobook by turning a book into an mp3 player case.

6.Have a favorite passage from an old, falling apart book? Cut out the section, laminate it and use it as a bookmark.

7.Decorate a room by framing covers of favorite children’s books or make an eccentric clock.

8.Use a stack of books to make an invisible book shelf

9.For a unique wedding gift make a scrapbook of your best recipes for two. For an added touch include helpful hints and notes. This is one gift that will never go out of style!

Need a new lamp shade?

Trade your better looking old books for new ones or donate them to your local library. There are a numerous websites where you can trade books.bookmooch.com, paperbackswap.com, and bookins.com are just a few.

Set a good book free and watch its progress at BookCrossing.com Over 680,000 people in over 130 countries have participated. Simply register your book, then leave it at a coffee shop and track it online.

Charlie Bone and the Time Twister by Jenny Nimmo

The year is 1916. Henry Yewbeam and his brother Jamie have been sent to stay with their uncle, Sir Gideon Bloor, headmaster of Bloor’s Academy and father to the hateful cousin Zeke, for the winter holidays to avoid being infected with diphtheria. While playing marbles he finds one that doesn't belong to his collection. But this is no ordinary marble, this is a time twister. Suddenly Henry begins to disappear.

Charlie Bone is beginning a new term at Bloor’s Academy, the boarding school for gifted children. He and his friends are hoping this term will better than the last, but when his ancestor Henry Yewbeam appears at Bloor’s, twisted through time and not a day older than when he left. Charlie must find a way to protect Henry and himself from old Ezekiel Bloor and escape the clutches of the Red King's less savory descendants.

The Children of the Red King series, although aimed at a younger crowd, will please Harry Potter fans and new readers alike.

To reserve your copy of this book or others in the series from the JCLC catalog click here

The Misadventures of Maude March by Audrey Couloumbis

Sallie March, 11 year old spunky, tomboy and her older ladylike sister Maude live with Aunt Ruthie until their Aunt has the misfortune to be accidentally shot dead by the notorious Joe Harden.

The two girls are taken in by Reverend Peasley and his wife, who immediately put the girls to work running the household while they take it easy. Maude, on whom falls the brunt of the work and being courted by an elderly gentleman, decides it is time to take her’s and Sallie’s fortune into their own hands and brave the wilds of the frontier in search of their last living relative, Uncle Arlen.

But Maude and Sally soon find that losing their Aunt Ruthie is only the beginning of their problems as they ride out of Cedar Rapids and into the kind of trouble Sallie has only read about in her beloved dime novels.

Told by Sallie as she tries to set the record straight and punctuated by the erroneous newspaper reports of "Mad Maude and her gang", this rollicking Wild West adventure story will leave you begging for more.

To reserve your copy from the JCLC catalog, click here.