The old adage that “time flies when you are having fun” is certainly true, as here it is already spring! This year has been a whirlwind of activity at the EMS Library. Circulation at the library this year has been high. Hundreds of great books have been read and shared. A wealth of knowledge and information has been gained. The library staff hopes that EMS students’ love of books and quests for knowledge will carry on through the spring and summer.

Does your student get bored a week after school is out? What better way to alleviate that lament than to enroll him/her in a summer reading program. The Wichita Public Library has an idea that would be perfect for those summer doldrums. Teens 12-17 or entering grades 6-12 in fall 2010 may join either the Summer Reading Club or Teens Read. In Teens Read, participants get the chance to win great prizes based on their time spent reading. Summer’s the time to read whatever you want, without book reports to write or presentations to give.  Reading is a great way to fight the summertime blues! Go to the Wichita Public Library Website (http://www.wichita.lib.ks.us/kids/summer+reading+club/) and click on Teens Read. You might also visit the Goddard Public Library which is located at 118 N. Main Street in downtown Goddard.
If your student would prefer to design his/her own reading program, the William Allen White award books for 2010-2011 would be a good place to start. The following is the new list of W. A.W. books:

“The Underneath” by Kathi Appelt, illustrated by David Small, 2008
Synopsis - An old hound, chained up at his hateful owner’s run-down shack, and two kittens born underneath the house cross paths with a vengeful once-human snake and a cunning alligator who have survived for centuries in the bayou.

“A Difficult Boy” by M. P. Barker, 2008
Synopsis - In Farmington, Massachusetts, in 1839, nine year old Ethan experiences hardships as an indentured servant of the wealthy Lyman family alongside Daniel, a boy scorned simply for being Irish, and the boys bond as they try to right a terrible wrong.

“The Boy Who Dared” by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, 2008
Synopsis - In October, 1942, seventeen year old Helmuth Hübener, imprisoned for distributing anti-Nazi leaflets, recalls his past life and how he came to dedicate himself to bring the truth about Hitler and the war to the German people.

“Waiting for Normal” by Leslie Connor, 2008
Synopsis – Twelve year old Addie tries to cope with her mother’s erratic behavior and being separated from her beloved stepfather and half-sisters when she and her mother go to live in a small trailer by the railroad tracks on the outskirts of Schenectady, New York.

“Diamond Willow” by Helen Frost, 2008
Synopsis - In a remote area of Alaska, twelve year old Willow helps her father with their sled dogs when she is not at school, wishes she were more popular, all the while is unaware that the animals surrounding her carry the spirits of dead ancestors and friends who care for her.

“Itch” by Michelle D Kwasneym, 2008
Synopsis - In 1968, after the death of her beloved Gramps, Delores “Itch” Colchester and her grandmother move from Florida to an Ohio trailer park, where she meets new people and, when she learns that a friend is being abused by her mother, tries her best to emulate her plain-spoken Grandfather.

“Savvy” by Ingrid Law, 2008
Synopsis - Recounts the adventures of Mibs Beaumont, whose thirteenth birthday has revealed her “savvy,” a magical power unique to each member of her family, just as her father is injured in a terrible accident.

“Every Soul a Star, A Novel” by Wendy Mass, 2008
Synopsis - Ally, Bree, and Jack meet at the one place the great eclipse can be seen in totality, each carrying the burden of different personal problems, which become dim when compared to the task they embark upon and the friendship they find.

“Milagros: Girl From Away” by Meg Medina, 2008
Synopsis – Twelve year old Milagros barely survives an invasion of her tiny, Caribbean island home, escapes with the help of mysterious sea creatures, reunites briefly with her pirate-father, and learns about a Mother’s love when cast ashore on another island.

“The Cabinet of Wonders” by Marie Rutkoski, 2008
Synopsis – Twelve year old Petra, accompanied by her magical tin spider, goes to Prague hoping to retrieve the enchanted eyes the Prince of Bohemia took from her father, and is aided in her quest by a Roma boy and his sister.

“Keeping the Night Watch” by Hope Anita Smith and Earl B. Lewis, 2008
Synopsis - A thirteen year old African American boy chronicles what happens to his family when his father, who left temporarily, returns home and they all must deal with their feelings of anger, hope, abandonment, and fear.

“The Floating Circus” by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, 2008 
Synopsis - In 1850’s Pittsburgh, thirteen year old Owen leaves his younger brother and sneaks aboard a circus housed in a riverboat, where he befriends a freed slave, learns to work with elephants, and finally comes to terms with the choices he has made in his difficult life.