National Gahetna Archives

Like vintage photographs? If so, head on over to the Gahetna photo archives. I know what I will be doing for the next several hours.....

Librarian's Pick of the Week: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Title: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Author: Mildren D. Taylor
Genre: Historical Fiction
Published: 1976
Age: 9+

Synopsis: An African-American family living in Mississippi during the Depression of the 1930s is faced with prejudice and discrimination which its children do not understand.

Review: In all Mildred D. Taylor's unforgettable novels she recounts "not only the joy of growing up in a large and supportive family, but my own feelings of being faced with segregation and bigotry." Her Newbery Medal-winning Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry tells the story of one African American family, fighting to stay together and strong in the face of brutal racist attacks, illness, poverty, and betrayal in the Deep South of the 1930s. Nine-year-old Cassie Logan, growing up protected by her loving family, has never had reason to suspect that any white person could consider her inferior or wish her harm. But during the course of one devastating year when her community begins to be ripped apart by angry night riders threatening African Americans, she and her three brothers come to understand why the land they own means so much to their Papa. "Look out there, Cassie girl. All that belongs to you. You ain't never had to live on nobody's place but your own and long as I live and the family survives, you'll never have to. That's important. You may not understand that now but one day you will. Then you'll see."- Amazon


If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Librarian's Pick of the Week: True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

Title: The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
Author: Avi
Genre: Historical Fiction
Published: 1990
Age: 9+

Synopsis: An ocean voyage of unimaginable consequences... Not every thirteen-year-old girl is accused of murder, brought to trial, and found guilty. But I was just such a girl, and my story is worth relating even if it did happen years ago. Be warned, however: If strong ideas and action offend you, read no more. Find another companion to share your idle hours. For my part I intend to tell the truth as I lived it.

Review: On a long, grueling journey from England to Rhode Island in 1802, a 12 year old changes from a prim and proper girl to a swashbuckling mate of a mutinous crew and is accused of murder by the captain. Awash with shipboard activity, intense feelings, and a keen sense of time and place, the story is a throwback to good old-fashioned adventure yarns on the high seas. -School Library Journal


If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

I Believe I Can Fly

I Believe I can Fly ( flight of the frenchies). Trailer

So this is insane! Have you seen this trailer for I Believe I Can Fly, which is a 40-minute documentary about a bunch of crazy French guys who created "skylining," a new European sport that combines tightrope walking, slacklining and base jumping. They walk tightropes across fjords in Norway, and do cartwheels mountains. Wow..

New Arrivals!!

December 1st - December 15th

Secret Passageway Switch

This secret passageway switch is so neat! This switch has been designed so that you can use it to activate a secret passageway or turn on a lamp. When placed in a bookshelf, this electrical switch uses your favorite hard-bound book to conceal its true function. An idea by Ben Light.

Librarian's Pick of the Week: The Princess Bride

Title: The Princess Bride
Author: William Goldman
Genre: Fantasy
Published: 1973
Age: 12+

Synopsis: William Goldman's modern fantasy classic is a simple, exceptional story about quests--for riches, revenge, power, and, of course, true love--that's thrilling and timeless. Anyone who lived through the 1980s may find it impossible--inconceivable, even--to equate The Princess Bride with anything other than the sweet, celluloid romance of Westley and Buttercup, but the film is only a fraction of the ingenious storytelling you'll find in these pages. Rich in character and satire, the novel is set in 1941 and framed cleverly as an "abridged" retelling of a centuries-old tale set in the fabled country of Florin that's home to "Beasts of all natures and descriptions.

Review: The Princess Bride is a true fantasy classic. William Goldman describes it as a "good parts version" of "S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure." Morgenstern's original was filled with details of Florinese history, court etiquette, and Mrs. Morgenstern's mostly complimentary views of the text. Much admired by academics, the "Classic Tale" nonetheless obscured what Mr. Goldman feels is a story that has everything: "Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles." Is The Princess Bride a critique of classics like Ivanhoe and The Three Musketeers, that smother a ripping yarn under elaborate prose? A wry look at the differences between fairy tales and real life? Simply a funny, frenetic adventure? No matter how you read it, you'll put it on your "keeper" shelf. - Nona Vero


If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

Christmas Lights

Mind blown, thankyouverymuch!

Gift Complaint Form

Gift complaint forms. Do you think our parents would be mad if we have a few of these little lovelies in reserve for the inevitable ill-fitting, out of style Christmas gifts? You know, just in case?

Librarian's Pick of the Week: Maniac Magee

Title: Maniac Magee
Author: Jerry Spinelli
Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy
Published: 1990
Age: 9+

Synopsis: Maniac Magee comes home! Little, Brown and Company takes great pleasure and pride in announcing that, effective immediately, we will be the sole publisher of the paperback edition of Jerry Spinelli's classic Newbery Medal winner, Maniac Magee. It has been eight years since Maniac Magee won both the prestigious Boston Globe-Horn Book Award and the Newbery Medal, and its popularity among young readers remains undiminished. The story of a boy who finds himself when he runs away from an intolerable situation continues to reverberate with humor and truth.

Review: Warning: this interesting book is a mythical story about racism. It should not be read as reality. Legend springs up about Jeffrey ``Maniac'' Magee, a white boy who runs faster and hits balls farther than anyone, who lives on his own with amazing grace, and is innocent as to racial affairs. After running away from a loveless home, he encounters several families, in and around Two Mills, a town sharply divided into the black East End and the white West End. Black, feisty Amanda Beale and her family lovingly open their home to Maniac, and tough, smart-talking ``Mars Bar'' Thompson and other characters are all, to varying degrees, full of prejudices and unaware of their own racism. Racial epithets are sprinkled throught the book; Mars Bar calls Maniac ``fishbelly,'' and blacks are described by a white character as being ``today's Indians.'' In the final, disjointed section of the book, Maniac confronts the hatred that perpetuates ignorance by bringing Mars Bar to meet the Pickwells--``the best the West End had to offer.'' In the feel-good ending, Mars and Maniac resolve their differences; Maniac gets a home and there is hope for at least improved racial relations. Unreal? Yes. It's a cop-out for Spinelli to have framed this story as a legend--it frees him from having to make it real, or even possible. Nevertheless, the book will stimulate thinking about racism, and it might help educate those readers who, like so many students, have no first-hand knowledge of people of other races. Pathos and compassion inform a short, relatively easy-to-read story with broad appeal, which suggests that to solve problems of racism, people must first know each other as individuals. - Joel Shoemaker, Tilford Middle School, Vinton, IA


If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

Introvert vs. Extrovert

How funny! Which are you? I am most definitely introverted.

It's Here!!

Be sure to come in and reserve your copy today! It definitely won't stay on the shelves for long, so don't take any chances.

New Arrivals!!

November 1st - November 15th