March 2009

Elementary Student Book Choice of the Month

The Retired Kid

By Jon Agee

Hyperion Books for Children (2008)

32 pages

ISBN-13: 9781423103141

One day young Brian decides that he needs a break from his hard life as a kid. He flies off to the Happy Sunset Retirement Community in Florida. It has everything; Brian thinks he should have retired years ago. He enjoys the card games, golf, napping, and the pool. His new friend Harvey takes him fishing, to a ball game and the movies. But Brian soon tires of listening to the old folks and does not really appreciate some of the other activities. Harvey advises him to "think back to the good old days." He does, and some of them he remembers are pretty good. It may be hard work being a kid but he decides "I love my job!" and goes home.

Secondary Student Book Choice of the Month

Over a Thousand Hills I Walk with You

By Hanna Jansen

Lerner Publishing Group (2006)

342 pages

Before one fateful April day, Jeanne lived the life of a typical Rwandan girl. She fought with her little sister, went to school, and teased her brother. Then, in one horrifying night, everything changed. Political troubles unleashed a torrent of violence upon the Tutsi ethnic group. Jeanne's family, all Tutsis, fled their home and tried desperately to reach safety. They-along with nearly 1 million others-did not survive. The only survivor of her family's massacre, Jeanne witnessed unspeakable acts. But through courage, wits, and sheer force of will, she survived. Based on a true story, this haunting novel by Jeanne's adoptive mother makes unforgettably real the events of the 1994 Rwandan genocide as one family experienced it. Jeanne's story is a tribute to the human spirit and its capacity to heal.