MERRICK AVENUE MIDDLE SCHOOL LIBRARY
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                        April                                                               May
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 Mr. Ringel, Health Teacher

*Which book is your favorite and why? 
It's so tough to choose a favorite book because different books are my favorites for different reasons.  The Road is a book that gripped me from page one and still to this day has not let go!  The setting is so desolate and McCarthy does such an amazing job of placing you right in the middle of it.  He uses no names for the characters which invited me to live as if it were me and my son trying to find our way in a post-apocalyptic world.  It is an emotional unfolding of one of the most important relationships in life - father and son.  Moving, brilliant stuff.  

*Which book affected you the most as a person?  
The Omnivore's Dilemma and Ishmael both have changed the way I think about the world.  The Omnivore's Dilemma stirred a passion in me to research the modern day factory farming system, leading to complete changes in how I eat, what I eat, and what I believe in.  Ishmael helped me to see that there are other sides to everything, even some of the most fundamental beliefs that many of us hold true. 

*Which book do you recommend to others and why?  
This depends on the person.  I recommend that all coaches read as much of John Wooden's books as possible.  It should be mandatory.  I just recommended Ishmael to a friend who seems like he would enjoy it.  The book I've probably recommended the most is Fight Club, mostly to people who love the movie but who have never read the book.  As usual, the book far exceeds the film! 
                                              
                                   Favorite Books
The Road                                        Ishmael 
By Cormac McCarthy  
                     By Daniel Quinn

Fight Club                                      The Jungle Book
By Chuck Palahniuk                        By Rudyard Kipling

The Omnivore’s Dilemma                   Fahrenheit 451
by Michael Pollan                            By Ray Bradbury

Wooden: A Lifetime of                        It

Observations and Reflections               By Stephen King         
On and Off the Court 
By John Wooden

The Hobbit                                      Talent is Overrated    
By J.R.R. Tolkien                                By Geoff Colvin 
                     

                            March                                                                  January/February
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Mrs. Mathieu-Leo, Library Media Specialist

*Which book is your favorite and why? 
It is so difficult to choose just one book as my favorite.  Each of these books has affected me in a different way and has made a unique mark on my heart.  If I were pressed to choose just one as a favorite, I would have to say The Kite Runner.  Beautifully written, with rich descriptions and detailed characters, the story begged me to read more about a culture I had previously not known much about.  Prior to reading this book, the history and the cultural landscape of Afghanistan was foreign to me.  I had only known of the bleakness that I had seen on the news, and had known nothing of its rich history.  Through the author’s words I was transported to another place, met people I wanted to know, and learned about things that made me only want to read and learn more.  These are the hallmarks of a wonderful author and a classic piece of literature.  I devoured it quickly and I still think of it often.

*Which book affected you the most as a person?  
I read The Little Prince to my daughter and she loved it for the fanciful story of the little alien who had lost his way.  I loved it for the allegory on human nature.  The Little Prince spoke to me profoundly and changed the way I think about life.  It challenged me to enjoy life, to notice the beauty in small things, to avoid being materialistic, to value others, and above all, it taught me to hold on to my imagination and not to look at things too closely – I might find a boa constrictor eating an elephant, and not a boring hat! 

*Which book do you recommend to others and why?  
Night is a must-read for everyone.  In this crazy world we live in, Night reminds us what might happen if we sit back and ignore hate and the atrocities that affect others.  Sadly this happens too often, and if we wish to prevent history from repeating itself, we need to always remember, and never forget.

                             Favorite Books

Great Expectations        
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
By Charles Dickens        
By Kate DiCamillo

Jane Eyre                     
The Little Prince
By Charlotte Brontë        
By Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Monster                       
Bud, Not Buddy
By Walter Dean Myers    
By Christopher Paul Curtis

Love That Dog              
Hamlet
By Sharon Creech          
By William Shakespeare

The Kite Runner           
The Georgia Nicolson Series
By Khaled Hosseini       
By Louise Rennison

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn      The Great Gatsby
By Betty Smith             By F. Scott Fitzgerald
   
Night                        
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
By Elie Weisel              
By Brian Selznick


Because of Winn Dixie
By Kate DiCamillo



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Ms. Johnson, Principal

*Which book is your favorite and why? 
Song of Solomon is my forever favorite! I fell in love with it in 9th grade and almost every year since, I have reread it.  The story evokes memories of the South and my summers with my grandmother and other family in Florida.  Not only is the story magical…it is the writing.  I am completely mesmerized by the author’s use of words.


*Which book affected you the most as a person?  
That is such a difficult question.  With every book you read, something in you should change, grow, or at the minimum, give you a different perspective.  That is the beauty of reading.


*Which book do you recommend to others and why?  
I recommend them all.  But my greatest recommendation is that everyone makes time to read and ignite the passion that the journey through a book brings to its reader.


                    Favorite Books
Song of Solomon            Breath, Eyes, Memory
By Toni Morrison           By Edwidge Danticat

The Glass Castle            The Lovely Bones
By Jeanette Walls           By Alice Seabold

Things Fall Apart           The Kite Runner
By Chinua Achebe          By Khaled Hosseini

The Giver                      A Long Walk to Water
By Lois Lowry                 By Linda Sue Park

Wonder                        Follow the Rabbit Proof Fence
R.J. Palacio                    
By Doris Pilkington














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