New Books the Library
Updated May 2008
Mrs. Schultheiss's Teacher of the Year 2007 Book Selections
Classic Origami by Paul Jackson
This book guides the reader through creating more than 30 of the world's very best paper folds of varying sophistication.
A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower by Kenneth Henshall
Japan occupies just one 300th of the planet's land area, yet wields one sixth of the world's economic power. From an obscure land of paddy fields and feudal despots 150 years ago to its economic superpower status today, Japan's history is full of set backs and surprises.
Underground: the Tokyo Gas Attacks and the Japanese Psyche by Haruki Murakami
The story of the subway gas attacks from personal perspectives of the people who were there.
Learning to Bow: Inside the heart of Japan by Bruce Feiler
A funny, lively and insightful book about the clash of cultures between America and Japan. Bruce Feiler spent a year as a teacher in a small rural town in Japan and recounts his experiences with Japanese culture.
The Japanese Mind: understanding contemporary Japanese culture by Roger J. Davies
Twenty-eight essays offer an informative, accessible look at the values, attitudes, behavior patterns, and communication styles of modern Japan - from the unique perspective of the Japanese themselves.
The Japanese have a word for it: The complete guide to Japanese thought and culture by Boye Lafayette de Mente
This book examines the underlying meaning of more than 200 key words and expressions and provides a comprehensive guide to the thought and culture of contemporary Japan.
Confucius lives next door: What living in the east teachers us about living in the west by T. R. Reid
T. R. Reid served as The Washington Post's Tokyo bureau chief for five years. He provides unique perspective on the country and its 2,500-year-old Confucian tradition, a powerful ethical system that has played an integral role in the country's "postwar miracle".
Secrets of Origami - the Japanese art of paper folding by Robert Harbin
This book contains hundreds of diagrams giving step-by-step directions for constructing over 120 fragile objects and graceful figures ranging from simple to complex.
New Fiction
Saving Juliet by Suzanne Selfors
Mimi Wallingford has the life that most girls dream about, playing Juliet opposite teen heartthrob Troy Summer on Broadway in Shakespeare’s famous play. Unfortunately, she has no desire to be an actress, a fact her mother can’t seem to grasp. But when she and Troy are magically thrust into Shakespeare’s Verona, they experience the feud between the Capulets and Montagues first hand.
Undercover by Beth Kephart
School Library Journal (starred review) describes Undercover as "A beautifully written, engrossing tale…This is a book that no serious-minded teen will want to miss, and high school English teachers may also take note as it has a well-crafted and highly teachable text."
The Declaration by Gemma Malley
It’s the year 2140 and Longevity drugs have all but eradicated old age. A never-aging society can’t sustain population growth, which means Anna should never have been born. Nor should any of the children she lives with at Grange Hall. Then one day a boy named Peter appears at the Hall, bringing with him news of the world outside, a place where people are starting to say that Longevity is bad, and that maybe people shouldn’t live forever...
The Last Universe by William Sleator
Teenagers Susan and Gary live in the house that has belonged to the family for generations. Now Gary has contracted a disease that has him confined to a wheelchair. Susan pushes her brother through the garden of their peculiar estate. Gary has been reading about quantum physics, a subject in which Great-Uncle Arthur won an international prize. He is also the one largely responsible for the creation of the garden and just possibly the maze that no one has ever seen except from one window in the house. Ultimately Susan must brave the maze on her own when Gary is rushed to the hospital. The twist at the end is entirely logical (if anything about quantum can be) and entirely shocking.
I am Rembrandt's Daughter by Lynn Cullen
After her mother dies and her beloved brother moves away, 14-year-old Cornelia is left alone with her father, Rembrandt van Rijn, who works in poverty after wealthy patrons denounce him. Growing up "in the shadow of Vader's instability," Cornelia craves convention. Then she develops a warm friendship with handsome Carel, heir to a shipping fortune, and she imagines a future of wealth, decorum, and the outspoken love she rarely feels at home.
New Videos in the Library
Becket - The Clash between church and state in twelfth century England is brought into focus through the friendship of two powerful, strong-willed men. Thomas Becket accepts Henry's impetuous appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury, and serves in that office with such zeal that it transcends his allegiance to his king.
Guns, germs and steel: the fates of human societies - Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book and national best seller, Guns, Germs, and Steel is an epic detective story that offers a gripping expose on why the world is so unequal. Our destiny depends on geography and access to: guns, germs, and steel.
Lost Boys of Sudan - The journey of two teenage Sundaese boys, orphaned by their war torn country, who traveled to America looking for a safer environment and learning to cope with the unfamiliar complexities of contemporary American society
Sylvia Hyman: Eternal Wonder - This DVD explores artist Sylvia Hyman's "trompe l'oeil clay". Hyman's scuptures inspire both disorientation and delight when viewers realize that everyday objects that appear to be made of wood, cardboard and paper are actually superbly realized simulations made of clay.
