The Literate Mother

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The Literate Mother


The Messenger (Grades 6 - High School
Gathering Blue (Grades 6 - High School)
Crown Duel (Grades 6 - 9)
Beastly (High School)
The Westing Game (Newbery Medal, Grades 4 - 7)
The King of Attolia:The Queen's Thief, Book 3 (High School)
The Fairy Tale Detectives (Grades 4 - 7)
Tombs of Terror (Grades 6 - High School)
Fang: Maximum Ride Book 6 (High School)
I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You (High School)
The Queen of Attolia:The Queen's Thief, Book 2 (High School)
Peter and the Starcatchers (Grades 4 - 9)
Heir Apparent (Grades 6-9)


Wishing you beautiful May flowers,
The Literate Mother

MOTHERS DAY BY OPAL B SKINNER

She could not give her children gold,

So she gave them faith to have and hold,

She could not give them royal birth,

A name renown throughout the earth,

But she gave them seeds and a garden spot,

And shade trees when the sun was hot.

She could not give them a silver spoon,

Or servants, waiters night and noon –

She gave them love and a listening ear,

And told them God was always near.

She could not given them ocean trips,

Abroad majestic sailing ships,

But she gave them books and quiet time,

Adventures found in prose and rhyme.

She could not give them worldly things,

But what she gave them was fit for kings,

For with faith and books and sod,

She made each child aware of God.

If I am that child, Oh God, it is because

Thou gavest me such a mother.

Quoted in the book shattered silence about Mellisa G Moore with M. Bridget Cook

Words by Marianne Williamson
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us. We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?” Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so others won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. Are as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we our liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Quoted in the book shattered silence about Mellisa G Moore with M. Bridget Cook
A MUST READ BOOK OF GREAT COURAGE.

“John W Nelson aka Black Jack Nelson”

FROM The Special Collection of the Newton Library
Contrary to popular belief Newton’s famous bandit “John W Nelson aka Black Jack Nelson” was still living in Newton with his 6th spouse in 1920. To read of his escapades and alleged escapades come to the library and check out our collection of stories about him and his family. Once again Larry D Christiansen has done a masterful job of putting Black Jacks past in perspective.
We also have the 1870 and 1880 census of Newton and Clarkston (which were transcribed by Larry) at the library. All of the above can be checked out at the library.

Cleo Griffin needs your help, we are trying to identify where each household lived in the 1870 per the census records. If you have pictures, histories of the following people please let us borrow them. Cleo will scan them and return them to you with a copy for you also.
Joseph or Joe Wilson , Cyrus Clark, Samuel Worthington, Arthur Goody, Godlip Surivel, James Johnson, Peter Anderson, Fredrick Busler, John Suter, Leland Whitaker, Elizabeth Loosli , Ann Eckerman, Ole Anderson, William Sparks, Alva Cummings, Willam Ricks, Paul Larson, . The spelling could be wrong as the census taker may not have known the correct spelling. Please call her @ 563-6540 or email her @ cleo144@ gmail.

NEWTON FIRE DEPARTMENT

Change Your Clocks, Change Your Batteries

Posted by Greg F on Thursday, March 04, 2010 / Labels: Fire /
The Newton Fire Department encourages everyone to change the batteries in their smoke detectors over the weekend of March 14th when Daylight Savings Time begins.

A free-burning fire in your home can double in size every minute. If a fire occurs while family members are sleeping and is not discovered, the chance of safely exiting the home is greatly diminished. It is extremely important to use smoke detectors as an early warning device that will allow your family members to escape before fire conditions make it impossible to exit your home.

Please review this US Fire Administration information page on smoke detectors, as a guide to the types of detectors available and how to install and maintain smoke detectors in your home.

THREE CUPS OF TEA

Starred Review. Some failures lead to phenomenal successes, and this American nurse's unsuccessful attempt to climb K2, the world's second tallest mountain, is one of them. Dangerously ill when he finished his climb in 1993, Mortenson was sheltered for seven weeks by the small Pakistani village of Korphe; in return, he promised to build the impoverished town's first school, a project that grew into the Central Asia Institute, which has since constructed more than 50 schools across rural Pakistan and Afghanistan. Coauthor Relin recounts Mortenson's efforts in fascinating detail, presenting compelling portraits of the village elders, con artists, philanthropists, mujahideen, Taliban officials, ambitious school girls and upright Muslims Mortenson met along the way. As the book moves into the post-9/11 world, Mortenson and Relin argue that the United States must fight Islamic extremism in the region through collaborative efforts to alleviate poverty and improve access to education, especially for girls. Captivating and suspenseful, with engrossing accounts of both hostilities and unlikely friendships, this book will win many readers' hearts. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child by Francisco Jiménez

01/31 K. Elliott gave 5 stars to: The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child by Francisco Jiménez
status: Read in January, 2010

Picked this up from the library on a whim. On the back cover, one reviewer says: "A jewel of a book. The writing is full of sentiment, but not sentimentality. ...A must for the general reader, students, and professors alike. In brief, a joy to read."

Well, I have to disagree about the "joy" for the most part, some of it was very hard. But it was worth the glimpse into the life of an illegal-immigrant-migrant-worker family. The author really knew how to put it on to paper.

Some of it was agonizing, some sweet, some just made me cry in pity. He didn't describe much of their life in Mexico, but I had to wonder if it really was any better here. Perhaps it was since they stayed. ?

The ending was horrible, just too abrupt. Obviously things worked out as the author is a professor in California now, but it just felt...well, I suppose it felt a lot like the characters felt--uprooted again right at the beginning of something good.