WordPress Migration

Update:
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Loutit District Library

Two weeks ago, I met my dear friend, Amy, in beautiful downtown Grand Haven for a library tour!

We started our afternoon with a delicious lunch at Lucy's Market and Deli. I'll definitely go back and you can see why:

Lakeshore Special: "Boar's Head Premium Oven Gold Turkey
with Dill Havarti Cheese, Honey Mustard,
Tomato and Lettuce on Sourdough"

Afterwards, we headed to the gorgeous Loutit District Library for a complete behind-the-scenes tour with Library Director, John Martin.

Library Profile

• Class Size: 5 (serves a population 26,000 - 49,999)
• A library that is a class 5 requires that the director have a Level 1 certificate (MLIS degree + four years of full-time employment post-MLIS) and at least one Level 3 staff member (Bachelor's degree from an accredited college/university + beginning workshop) for every 20,000 people living in the library's area
• According to the 2012-2013 State Aid Report, Loutit serves 35,540
• Loutit is quite a bit larger than the libraries in the Thumb area which typically range from Class 1 - 3
• I currently work at a Class 3 library, which serves a population of 7,000 - 11,999, with an actual population of 11,833
• The library's service area is comprised of roughly 83 square miles
• The library occupies 49,723 square feet and has a collection of 131,771 (includes digital content such as ebooks and databases)
• Loutit has two library millages - one of which was voted in perpetuity
• Operating income (local + state + federal): $2,408,429

 Notes From My Visit

I geek intellectual freedom
(hint: it is right underneath
the sticker and underlined)

• Lots of parking - all of which was free (including a covered parking structure)
• The main lobby area occasionally plays hosts to concerts 
• Loutit Library hosts children's art for the community's ArtWalk (similar to ArtPrize in Grand Rapids)
• Loutit is participating in the Geek the Library campaign
• The library's lower level features ample seating for working on group projects, vending machines (beverages are allowed in the library), and two meeting rooms
• Flat screens mounted on the wall loop through a series of informational slides about upcoming library events
• In the near future, the library will begin intershelving its paperback collection which will free up floor space
• Grand Haven has a bus system - Harbor Transit. There is even a phone with a direct line to the bus company in the foyer
• Loutit has a self-check out kiosk
• The library also has a self-service holds pick-up for patrons - books are wrapped in white paper for privacy purposes
• The children's area has reference copies of Newbery and Caldecott books for projects
• Board games are available for kids to play
• Via a Great Start grant project, the library has a number of backpacks in circulation which are filled with theme-based books and activities
• Very popular items and are hardly available during the summer months
• At the end of the semester, the youth programming room is turned into a study hall for kids
• Loutit Library houses a collection of materials for Ottawa County's literary group, R.E.A.D - Reading Enables Adult Development
• The library has a local history and genealogy room which has 6 computers just for genealogical research
• Lockers are available for patrons - no food or bags permitted  

Thank you to John Martin and the fabulous staff at LDL
for their time and hospitality! 

 To view more pictures from my tour, please visit my
Loutit District Library album on Flickr.

Life in Pictures

The month of February has been pretty eventful thus far....

At the beginning of the month, I visited John King Books on Lafayette Boulevard with fellow librarian and friend, Jeanette.

 It was my very first visit. A pilgrimage of sorts. I bought a few books -- one of which The Fight for America by Joseph McCarthy which is a fabulous addition to my intellectual freedom collection.

My last post focused on the need for multicultural literature -- February is African American history month. As you can surmise, this month's YA display features African American literature and historical materials. I created this graphic:

Here are some various pictures from work:

While working on weeding the YA collection, I discovered
this awesome note inside Or Give Me Death by Ann Rinaldi
when checking its circulation

My doll, Verity, joins the staff at CADL

And a couple of pictures of my coworkers and I:

On Monday, I toured Loutit District Library in Grand Haven, Michigan. I'll be uploading pictures and some notes from my visit in the near future.

Multicultural Literature

Working on December's YA display, Walk A While in Their Shoes, helped to revive one of my favorite discussions in library school (besides censorship and intellectual freedom chats) which centered on the notion of literature as providing the means of being mirrors and/or windows. What does that mean?

To me, it means that children, tweens, and teens should be able to readily see themselves reflected by the "mirrors" of contemporary literature. Further, literature can serve as "windows" into other cultures by way of allowing youth to learn and even possibly, depending upon how well-written, vicariously walk awhile in the shoes of someone else.

In the 1990 essay titled Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors by Rudine Sims Bishop (which was shared with me during library school and more recently cited in a Bitchmedia article), Bishop expounds:

When children cannot find themselves reflected in the books they read, or when the images they see are distorted, negative, or laughable, they learn a powerful lesson about how they are devalued in the society of which they are a part. Our classrooms need to be places where all the children from all the cultures that make up the salad bowl of American society can find their mirrors.

Children from dominant social groups have always found their mirrors in books, but they, too, have suffered from the lack of availability of books about others. They need the books as windows onto reality, not just on imaginary worlds. They need books that will help them understand the multicultural nature of the world they live in, and their place as a member of just one group, as well as their connections to all other humans. In this country, where racism is still one of the major unresolved social problems, books may be one of the few places where children who are socially isolated and insulated from the larger world may meet people unlike themselves. If they see only reflections of themselves, they will grow up with an exaggerated sense of their own importance and value in the world -- a dangerous ethnocentrism. 

In the article, Black Girls Hunger for Heroes, Too: A Black Feminist Conversation on Fantasy Fiction for Teens, authors Zetta Elliott and Ibi Zoboi discuss their experiences and thoughts about literature -- I'll share a few excerpts that resonated with me:

ELLIOTT: Do you remember reading books as a child that served as a mirror for you?

ZOBOI: Not at all. I remember having to read the Chronicles of Narnia. I went to a Catholic school in Bushwick, Brooklyn and Sister Ann was reading it to us and we were bored to death. It was all Black and Latino kids in the class. The nuns for the most part were Irish. I remember Sister Ann loved the book and we were like, "YAWN." I was that kid who did not read because I just didn’t care about the characters.

ELLIOTT: I recently met a Black teenager who told me she didn’t like to read. And I said, “But there are so many great books out there and many of them are being made into movies. Did you see The Hunger Games?” And she had. After we parted ways I thought to myself, “What do Black girls do when they’re watching The Hunger Games? Do they identify with Katniss more than Rue?" I thought of Jacqueline Bobo and her work on Black women as cultural readers. So many of us walk into the theater knowing that Hollywood is going to screw us over. And so we’re already prepared to navigate around stereotypes and extract meaning from the film. I was listening to the lively commentary during the film and it was clear the Black women and girls were engaged with the movie. I thought, “They’re finding a way to enjoy this experience even if there are no Black girls on the screen.”

//

ELLIOTT: I noticed in the previews that came on before Catching Fire that there are so many YA novels being turned into films—including Divergent. And so you have predominantly young white women being featured in these books that are then being adapted into films—

ZOBOI: And garnering a much larger audience. That’s the subject of my MFA thesis. If you’re going to create an atypical hero—she’s a girl, she’s not as pretty, or maybe she’s clumsy—you’re going to raise her to the rank of hero and let her save the day. Why not go deeper and get that girl who’s really at the bottom of the pile? Around the world, girls of color are the most marginalized group. So if you’re going to write a story about the marginalized, why not reach down and pick the darkest girl?

//

ELLIOTT: That brings me back to Rudine Sims Bishop and how she said the lack of diversity in children’s literature is also harmful to white children because they grow up thinking they’re the center of the universe. And that then makes it very hard for them to communicate cross-culturally because they haven’t had to learn how.  So what are your fears and your hopes for your daughters specifically in terms of finding heroes in literature and film?

ZOBOI: I have more hope than fear at this point. I’m teaching my daughters in an indirect way to think critically about everything they’re consuming. If they’re watching TV, I ask, “Where are the brown girls?” To them it seems like there’s more diversity because of what I intentionally put in place around them. They don’t see a dearth because on our bookshelf there is abundance of books that feature girls and boys of color. In terms of what we can do, I think it has to start at the ground level. I see it in the classroom. The teachers don’t know what books are out there. And if the teachers don’t know, the kids don’t know, and their parents don’t know. It’s choice fatigue if they walk into a bookstore.

I wholeheartedly concur with Zoboi: it needs to start at the ground level. As a librarian, it starts with YOU and your library's collection. Not only teachers, but the entire community looks to librarians to provide them with recommendations for materials. Aligning with S.R. Ranganathan's fourth law of library science, "save the time of the reader," librarians can develop annotated bibliographies to recommend and call attention to a specific works.

Throughout the course of my tenure at CADL, I've created a number of bibliographies for teachers and patrons alike; however, my most recent bib project focused on contemporary fiction featuring African American characters -- not as supporting characters or in the background of the story, but as main characters. Originally, the list focused on materials for the YA demographic (ages 13 - 18), but was later expanded to include works for children and tweens with the last phase of the project will include works of historical fiction. While working on the project, I flagged works of historical fiction (because I wanted the primary list to focus on contemporary pieces) and plan on building a supplemental list which will exclusively focus on African American protagonists in historical contexts. In the near future, I will sharing my lists here. Stay tuned. 

So...my fellow Bibliothekare, what say you?

Do you have lists/bibliographies to assist readers or even perhaps a special collection like several libraries do -- YA African Heritage. My library has a Coretta Scott King Award collection which primarily focuses on books for children and tweens.

Ideas

Confession: I miss library school.

I miss the open sharing of ideas with enthusiasm and excitement. While I am certainly learning in the field, it just isn't the same.

People seem guarded...even cynical. They don't have time. They already know it all. They are too shy. Perhaps they've had their ideas/thoughts/opinions mocked by others and are subsequently insecure about sharing. Blah blah blah blah. A plethora of reasons.

Within the last few months, I had someone say to me (paraphrase), "You have interesting ideas, but they aren't always applicable."

Ideas are seeds -- they need to be cultivated. Don't kill the creativity and flow just because it doesn't seem readily applicable to your X and Y variables.

Shape it. Cultivate it. Encourage it.

Conclusion: I miss the openness and freedom of expression that library school encouraged.

YA Displays

December's YA display, Walk A While in Their Shoes, featured contemporary realistic fiction, biographies, and autobiographies:

What I Did
Using Sharpie markers, I drew stars on an old pair of my Converse. Looking around, I found a scrap piece of black construction paper and laid it over the library's cutting board. From there, I took a couple of pictures from various angles and tweaked the images using Instagram. The lettering, which didn't turn out all that well, was done via freehand. Overall, putting this display together didn't take very long and the cost was minimal.

 

As a result of this display, I checked out Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan and Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver.

//

January's YA display, Books with a Bang, features books with at least one explosion within the story -- idea compliments of Guys Read author Jon Scieszka:

What I Did
Once again, the lettering and two dynamite sticks were done via freehand using white printer paper, red construction paper, and crayons.

A Case of Credential Fraud?

When I was mulling over my 30Y.30L project in 2011, it was a no-brainer to include Brandon Township Library as I had grown up in the neighboring town of Oxford. Further, having worked in the new Oxford Public Library, I learned that BTL was deemed a sister library, of sorts, sharing the very same architect.

I have much to write about; however, each time I start working on the post, I begin having doubts and questioning my professional ethics -- see, there is a bit of a scandal coming to light in Michigan library-land...

The issue: Brandon Township Library hasn't received State Aid in the past 5 years and the library board wanted to know why. Upon calling a special meeting, the library director tendered her resignation effective immediately and subsequently retired.

Here are the relevant articles in the press:
11.20.2013: Brandon Twp. Library Director resigns; investigation underway
11.27.2013: Brandon Township Library on administrative lockdown
12.4.2013: Brandon Township Public Library director resigns after library receives no state funding for five years
12.20.2013: Brandon Township library hires forensic auditor, tightens finances after director’s resignation

A case of credential fraud?

Having just jumped through all of the hoops in order to complete my MLIS...and the fact that I currently hold a nonprofessional/non-salaried position in the LIS-field, this is a very bitter pill for me to swallow...

When I attended the library board meeting back in November, I was surprised that the board refused to directly respond to any of the comments or questions raised by taxpayers and former employees. I am not sure if that's their standard operating procedure...or if it's due to the open investigation. (Note: I serve as a trustee on a township board and that is not how we conduct our meetings.)

Mystère Neigeux

cold Gordian knot
intricate complexies
finite - without end

Review: Neville by Norton Juster

2011, Schwartz & Wade Books
New York, NY
Unpaged, $20.99 (hardcover)
ISBN: 9780375967658; OCLC: 649077295

Author
Neville was written by Norton Juster, author of the classic children's book The Phantom Tollbooth.

Synopsis
Melancholic over relocating and skeptical about making new friends, a young boy takes a walk through his drab, monochromatic neighborhood where he begins yelling the name, "Neville." After just a couple of shouts, he is joined by a neighbor boy who begins yelling for Neville, too. Soon a gaggle of neighborhood kids, and dogs, are yelling and howling for someone named Neville. Curiosity overtakes the group and they enthusiastically begin asking the new boy all about Neville -- the boy in which they were all calling. As the boy answered more and more questions, someone cried out, "I like Neville already!" When the kids began parting company to make their way home, the group consensus was to meet up again tomorrow to continue looking for Neville. Feeling much better about the move, the boy's walk back home is illustrated in color. At bedtime readers learn the boy's name when his mother tucks him into bed and whispers, "Good night, Neville, pleasant dreams."

Illustrations
Illustrations for Neville were done by G. Brian Karas. Technique: mixed media. (He started with SketchUp!) Rather than droning on about his methods, I found a trailer for Neville:

The illustrations were supportive of the story and transmitted feeling/mood to the reader by way of the Karas's use of color -- e.g. the monochromatic neighborhood at the beginning of the story to depict the boy's melancholy. 

Accolades
Starred Review, School Library Journal, September 2011
Starred Review, Booklist, October 15, 2011
Parents' Choice Award, 2012

My Thoughts
While the story was predictable (it's a children's book), I found it to be humorous and heart-warming -- a great book to share in a classroom or a library story hour for early elementary school-aged children regardless if they have/haven't experienced a move in their life. In addition to the story showing readers that new friends can be made wherever you might be, it sheds light -- color in this case -- on how it feels to be befriended as the new kid. 

I plan on purchasing a copy for my private collection.

Tags 
children's picture book, life transitions, moving, making friends, illustrators,

Mr. Darcy

Quote from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen...

Other Darcy-related posts:
Austen and Alcott
Creativity and Innovation
Pride and Prejudice
Riding with Severus Snape

Lieben

I would like to let the record reflect that I absolutely adore my co-workers at CADL.

Handful of Stars

On Saturday, I replaced the Get Your Hands on a Good Book display with another generic display for the new YA books.

This time around, I opted to keep it simple yet colorful by using funky freehand letters (we can call the font: JCB) which I colored with fun glitter crayons. I used a black Sharpie to outline the words.

The little stars were created using the ready-made shapes available via Word.  They were colored with crayon and outlined using a black Sharpie.

Graphic Novels @ Your Library

For October, I swapped out the Take a Look display for one featuring YA graphic novels! While colorful and eye-catching, it was very simple and inexpensive to put together.

Method:
Using Publisher, I laid out an 8x14 panel using graphics from 5 different books with the spirit of appealing to both boys and girls. The 6th graphic was a popular internet meme which I edited to read, "I didn't Caro Library had graphic novels!

The background: Sunday comics from the Detroit Free Press.

For the border, I traced around the panel and colored in the area using a red Sharpie.

KABOOM! was created using WordArt and colored in using the same red Sharpie and a yellow crayon. POW was done freehand.

The materials on display are just a sampling of CADL's YA graphic novel collection and were selected by a young patron who enjoys coming to the library. I'll keep refreshing the materials on display over the coming weeks.

Facebook

Via Facebook, I’ve “liked” a number of institutional pages mainly for the reason to receive news about upcoming events and, of course, I enjoy the opportunity to read relevant and interesting articles in which they choose to share.

Being able to “check-in” at a given location is also quite fun and has even encouraged others to stop by and visit! Aside from the “check-in” option, Facebook serves as a secondary website, of sorts – a place where agencies can share their hours of operation which is quite convenient.

From the 'What Bothers JC' files...
When institutions get caught up with how many “likes” they have and begin either: (a) campaigning/soliciting for more or (b) posting how many “likes” they currently have and setting goals – e.g. “Help us reach 1,000 ‘likes’ by the end of the week!”

I understand that one of the main reasons institutions employ Web 2.0 technologies is to increase visibility; however, I am a firm believer of quality versus quantity

Please don’t get me wrong, seeing several posts in my news feed from an institution doesn’t bother me as long as the content is relevant and meaningful – e.g. news that Ray Bradbury passed away, several response articles to Forbes slamming the MLIS, institutional blog posts, an upcoming exhibit at another agency.

Once again: it needs to be meaningful content.

Dark Blue Wallflowers

As of late, I've been culling through recommended works of realistic fiction and compiling a list for a young yet "intelligent beyond his years" patron. While working on this project, I cannot help but think about Charlie from The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

Tonight while piecing together a mixed CD for tomorrow's road trip to ArtPrize, I was once again reminded of Perks -- Charlie's mixed tape.

Even better... I think Dark Blue by Jack's Mannequin, a song I added to my iTunes playlist, could possibly be a favorite of Charlie's, if the story was set later.

My Precious

Challenging Your Own Assumptions

Yesterday, while doing a bit of reading about Perks author Stephen Chbosky, I stumbled upon this quote from an interview:

"You can learn a lot from challenging your own assumptions and admitting you don't know everything."

Love it!

Harbor Beach Reading

Yesterday afternoon, before a board meeting, I cruised to Harbor Beach...and, of course, took my book:

Current reads: Monsters by Ilsa J. Bick, Beneath the Meth Moon by Jacqueline Woodson, and a friend's manuscript she hopes to soon publish...

Life in Pictures

Life has been pretty busy, so I think a picture post is in order...

Work Life
I've been helping out the assistant director with preparations for the upcoming story hours by pulling together some of the children's crafts:

Felt bookmarks for the kids to decorate

A bit of humor. Allegedly, the book is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix -- my favorite Potter book:

I really do love my co-workers at CADL

I have been working on weeding my way through the 800s -- truly an honor to work with that part of the collection. (Sorry about the slightly blurred picture):

After a rather long shift at CADL, I noticed this awesome mural for the first time while waiting for the light to change:

I snapped this panoramic on my way home from work:

Displays: I have been working on two upcoming YA displays: graphic novels and CADL's version of United States of YA: Reading Your Way Across America.

Life Outside of Work
Since I never leave home without a book, I happened to have my copy of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson with me when I toured the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park:

While out surveying the township's back roads, I snapped a couple of pictures on McPherson Road:

Doing some reading up on the Open Meetings Act and public comment practices before September's township board meeting:

And, yes, that is *my* copy of Robert's Rules of Order: leather with gold edging

I am such a nerd that I get excited over seeing binding marks -- first edition of a A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle:

My amazing niece turned 22 on Thursday. Since she is a traveler and I am a librarian, I couldn't resist:

 

Get Your Hands on a Good Book!

Voting for MLA's Thumbs Up! Award closed this past Saturday. Since CADL didn't purchase many of the books, there really was no point in keeping the display up.

With the help from a "regular", we created this fun display which features new YA books:

We even got a few staff members and patrons to trace their hands!

Learning

 "...I think you should learn, of course, and some days you must learn a great deal. But you should also have days when you allow what is already in you to swell up inside of you until it touches everything. And you can feel it inside you. If you never take time out to let that happen, then you just accumulate facts, and they begin to rattle around inside of you. You can make noise with them, but never really feel anything with them. It's hollow."
--Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (E.L. Konigsburg, 1967)

Take A Look...Borrow a Book

Because I wasn't too impressed with how my Printz display turned out -- I had envisioned something much different -- it came down a touch earlier than originally planned.

With the new school season starting, feelings of stress and angst amongst some students isn't uncommon and I wanted to do a display on the lighter side which might get even a few smiles and giggles.

Enter Pinterest.

With a few handy keywords, I was browsing thousands of library display ideas and found one that actually made me laugh out loud in the workroom. It's cheesy, yes, but definitely eye catching. *giggle*

The theme: all of the books feature eyes on the cover.

The idea came from Molly Wetta on Pinterest and was originally put together by Pamela McKirdy from Wellington East Girl's College.

Thank you, Lisa, for snapping the pictures at work and recommending the purple background!

A Mysterious List

Recently, I worked on pulling together a reading list for a mature "tween" patron who was interested in mysteries. The patron being a guy, I opted to build a list which consisted mainly of books featuring male protagonists. Age recommendations, from School Library Journal, are just that merely recommendations -- to be used loosely. On the original document, I also included the location of each book and had a separate list of items in which we could interloan from other libraries.

Want a copy of this list? Download here.

The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan
First book in a series – 39 Clues
Recommended for grades 4 – 7
Summary: What would happen if you discovered that your family was one of the most powerful in human history? What if you were told that the source of the family's power was hidden around the world, in the form of 39 clues? What if you were given a choice - take a million dollars and walk away ... or get the first clue? If you're Amy and Dan Cahill, you take the clue - and begin a very dangerous race.

Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett
First book in a series – Chasing Vermeer
Recommended for grades 5 – 8
Summary: When seemingly unrelated and strange events start to happen and a precious Vermeer painting disappears, eleven-year-olds Petra and Calder combine their talents to solve an international art scandal.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Recommended for grades 4 – 9
Summary: Orphan, clock keeper, and thief. Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.

The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shullman
First book in a series – Grimm Legacy
Recommended for grades 6 – 9
Summary: New York high school student Elizabeth gets an after-school job as a page at the "New-York Circulating Material Repository," and when she gains coveted access to its Grimm Collection of magical objects, she and the other pages are drawn into a series of frightening adventures involving mythical creatures and stolen goods.

Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
First book in a series
Recommended for grades 6 – 9
Summary: Roy, who is new to his small Florida community, becomes involved in another boy's attempt to save a colony of burrowing owls from a proposed construction site. From the bestselling mystery novelist comes this story for younger readers. New to Florida, Roy is on the school bus when he spots the running boy--running away from the bus, carrying no books or wearing no shoes. Sensing a mystery, Roy sets himself on the boy's trail, which leads him to potty-trained alligators, a fake-fart champion, and a renegade eco-avenger.

Heist Society by Ally Carter
First book in a series – Heist Society
Recommended for grades 6 – 10
Summary: A group of teenagers uses their combined talents to re-steal several priceless paintings and save fifteen-year-old Kat Bishop's father, himself an international art thief, from a vengeful collector.

Shelter by Harlan Coben
First book in a series – Mickey Bolitar
Recommended for grade 9 and up
Summary: After tragic events tear Mickey Bolitar away from his parents, he is forced to live with his estranged Uncle Myron and switch high schools, where he finds both friends and enemies, but when his new new girlfriend, Ashley, vanishes, he follows her trail into a seedy underworld that reveals she is not what she seems to be.

Down the Rabbit Hole: An Echo Falls Mystery by Peter Abrahams
First book in a series – Echo Falls
Recommended for grades 6 – 9
Summary: Like her idol Sherlock Holmes, eighth grader Ingrid Levin-Hill uses her intellect to solve a murder case in her home town of Echo Falls.

Acceleration by Graham McNamee
Recommended for grade 8 and up
Summary: Stuck working in the Lost and Found of the Toronto Transit Authority for the summer, seventeen-year-old Duncan finds the diary of a serial killer and sets out to stop him.

Don’t Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon
First book in a series -- PERSEF0NE
Recommended for grade 8 and up
Summary: After waking up on an operating table with no memory of how she got there, Noa must team up with computer hacker Peter to stop a corrupt corporation with a deadly secret.

Trash by Andy Mulligan
Recommended for grades 7 – 10
Summary: Fourteen-year-olds Raphael and Gardo team up with a younger boy, Rat, to figure out the mysteries surrounding a bag Raphael finds during their daily life of sorting through trash in a third-world country's dump.

Who Could That Be At This Hour? By Lemony Snicket
First book in a series 
Recommended for grades 4 – 7
Summary: Thirteen-year-old Lemony Snicket begins his apprenticeship with S. Theodora Markson of the secretive V.F.D. in the tiny dot of a town called Stain'd By The Sea, where he helps investigate the theft of a statue.

Mistakes Were Made by Stephan Pastis
First book in a series – Timmy Failure
Recommended for grades 3 – 8
Summary: Meet Timmy Failure, the founder, president, and CEO of the best detective agency in town, probably the nation. And his lazy sidekick, Total, a 1,500-pound polar bear.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Catherine Edwards Sadler
First book in a series
Recommended for grade 7 and up
Summary: Magnificently illustrated with 12 powerful watercolors by award-winning artist Moser, "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" features the complete text of the original collection of Doyle's short stories and is an ideal introduction to the fascinating world of this mesmerizing detective.

Hardy Boys series by Franklin Dixon

Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage
Recommended for grades 4 – 7
Summary: Washed ashore as a baby in tiny Tupelo Landing, North Carolina, Mo LoBeau, now eleven, and her best friend Dale turn detective when the amnesiac Colonel, owner of a café and co-parent of Mo with his cook, Miss Lana, seems implicated in a murder.

Code of Silence by Tim Shoemaker
First book in a series – Code of Silence
Recommended for grades 6 – 8
Summary: When thirteen-year-olds Cooper, Hiro, and Gordy witness a robbery that leaves a man in a coma, they find themselves tangled in a web of mystery and deceit that threatens their lives.

Shadowlands by Kate Brian
First book in a series – Shadowlands
Recommended for grade 8 and up
Summary: Rory Miller had one chance to fight back and she took it. Rory survived and the serial killer who attacked her escaped. Now that the infamous Steven Nell is on the loose, Rory must enter the witness protection with her father and sister, Darcy, leaving their friends and family without so much as a goodbye. Starting over in a new town with only each other is unimaginable for Rory and Darcy. They were inseparable as children, but now they can barely stand each other. As the sisters settle in to Juniper Landing, a picturesque vacation island, it seems like their new home may be just the fresh start they need. They fall in with a group of beautiful, carefree teens and spend their days surfing, partying on the beach, and hiking into endless sunsets. But just as theyre starting to feel safe again, one of their new friends goes missing. Is it a coincidence? Or is the nightmare beginning all over again?

The Christopher Killer by Alane Ferguson
First book in a series – Forensic Mysteries
Recommended for grade 9 and up
Summary: On the payroll as an assistant to her coroner father, seventeen-year-old Cameryn Mahoney uses her knowledge of forensic medicine to catch the killer of a friend while putting herself in terrible danger.

Shift by Jennifer Bradbury
Recommended for grade 8 and up
Summary: When best friends Chris and Win go on a cross country bicycle trek the summer after graduating and only one returns, the FBI wants to know what happened.

Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley
Recommended for grade 8 and up
Summary: Seventeen-year-old Cullen's summer in Lily, Arkansas, is marked by his cousin's death by overdose, an alleged spotting of a woodpecker thought to be extinct, failed romances, and his younger brother's sudden disappearance.

The Dragon’s Tooth by N.D. Wilson
First book in a series – Ashtown Burials
Recommended for grades 5 – 8
Summary: When their parents' seedy old motel burns down on the same night they are visited by a strange man covered in skeleton tattoos, Cyrus, Antigone, and their brother Daniel are introduced to an ancient secret society, and discover that they have an important role in keeping it alive.

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey
First book in a series – Monstrumologist
Recommended for grades 8 – 10
Summary: In 1888, twelve-year-old Will Henry chronicles his apprenticeship with Dr. Warthrop, a New Escientist who hunts and studies real-life monsters, as they discover and attempt to destroy a pod of Anthropophagi.

Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer
First book in a series – Chronicles of Vladimir Todd
Recommended for grades 5 – 8
Summary: For thirteen years Vlad has kept secret that he is half-vampire, but when his missing teacher is replaced by a sinister substitute, he learns that there is more to being a vampire than he could have guessed.

The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci
First book in a series – Steepleton Chronicles
Recommended for grade 8 and up
Summary: Chris Creed grew up as the class freakthe bullies' punching bag. After he vanished, the weirdness that had once surrounded him began spreading. And it tore the town apart. Sixteen-year-old Torey Adams's search for answers opens his eyes to the lies, the pain, and the need to blame someone when tragedy strikes, and his once-safe world comes crashing down around him.

Rat Life by Tedd Arnold
Recommended for grades 6 – 10
Summary: After developing an unusual friendship with a young Vietnam War veteran in 1972, fourteen-year-old Todd discovers his writing talent and solves a murder mystery.

The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin by Josh Berk
Recommended for grade 8 and up
Summary: When Will Halpin transfers from his all-deaf school into a mainstream Pennsylvania high school, he faces discrimination and bullying, but still manages to solve a mystery surrounding the death of a popular football player in his class.

Paper Towns by John Green
Recommended for 9 and up
Summary: One month before graduating from his Central Florida high school, Quentin "Q" Jacobsen basks in the predictable boringness of his life until the beautiful and exciting Margo Roth Spiegelman, Q's neighbor and classmate, takes him on a midnight adventure and then mysteriously disappears.

Snatched by Pete Hautman
First book in a series – Bloodwater Mysteries
Recommended for grades 7 – 11
Summary: Too curious for her own good, Roni, crime reporter for her high school newspaper, teams up with Brian, freshman science geek, to investigate the beating and kidnapping of a classmate.

Getting the Girl: A Guide to Private Investigation, Surveillance, and Cookery by Susan Juby
Recommended for grade 9 and up
Summary: Ninth-grader Sherman Mack investigates the "Defilers," a secret group at his British Columbia high school that marks certain female students as pariahs, at first because he is trying to protect the girl he has a crush on, but later as a matter of principle.

The Boxer and the Spy by Robert G. Parker
Recommended for grades 9 – 11
Summary: Fifteen-year-old Terry, an aspiring boxer, uncovers the mystery behind the unexpected death of a classmate.

The Death Collector by Justin Richards
First book in a series – Department of Unclassified Artifacts
Recommended for grades 6 – 10
Summary: Three teens and a curator of unclassified artifacts at the British Museum match wits with a madman determined to use unorthodox methods to reanimate the dead, both humans and dinosaurs.

The Weirdo by Theodore Taylor
Recommended for grades 6 – 9
Summary: Chip Clewt, whom people have named the "weirdo," is determined to protect the Powhatan swamp from the local hunters. "An eloquent debate pitting human and animal rights against each other is both informative and moving as this murder mystery/love story/environmental thriller weaves its uncommon spell. Deftly drawn characterizations, from the admirable to the loathsome, and an engrossing journalistic format are two of the many strong points that make this timely and compelling novel a winner."—Publisher’s Weekly

Nobody by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Recommended for grade 7 and up
Summary: Fifteen-year-old Claire Ryan has always felt invisible, always lived beyond people's notice, which causes trouble when she instantly connects with seventeen-year-old Nix, who really can become invisible and has been sent to assassinate her.

SilverFin: A James Bond Adventure by Charlie Higson
First book in a series – Young James Bond
Recommended for grades 6 – 9
Summary: Prequel to the adventures of James Bond, 007, introduces the young James when he is just starting boarding school in England and is about to become involved in his first adventure.

Death Cloud by Andrew Lane
First book in a series – Young Sherlock Holmes
Recommended for grades 6 – 9
Summary: In 1868, with his army officer father suddenly posted to India, and his mother mysteriously "unwell," fourteen-year-old Sherlock Holmes is sent to stay with his eccentric uncle and aunt in their vast house in Hampshire, where he uncovers his first murder and a diabolical villain.

Guys Read: Thriller edited by Jon Scieszka
Summary: A collection of short mystery/thriller stories by various authors.

Breakwall

This summer, I have taken to reading atop the outermost breakwall in the Port Sanilac harbor:

1984 by George Orwell

A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin