Dream Library

My (imaginary) dream library is situated in heart of my neighborhood but in discreet street, shielded from noisy highways and busy supermarkets. Its books entertain and educate young generations, from children to young teens, and/or anyone who enjoys relaxing with lighter reading. Since it has a wide selection of magazines, journals, and newspapers as well, the library is often visited by all generations. 

It is equipped with long and wide wooden tables with several small lamps centered in it for writing and/or studying. There are also arm chairs placed where different section borderline. 

It is the first-floor light-orange-carpeted establishment with yellowish black-doted wood-slated walls and high ceiling. Figurines of so many characters from the books squeezed in their places at the end of the cabinets with crowded shelves. There is a whisper of background light classical music playing. 

Everyone loves going there since it gives an impression as one had crossed a threshold and entered a new realm. 

Librarians make sure their video section has all the family and children's movies in addition to the ones associated with their books. They also provide the neighborhood with any news about special tutoring programs, workshops, and with many social and cultural events. 

The air teases the nostrils with scents of paper and wood polish in this dustless oasis. Even the washrooms feel special being decorated with fresh seasonal flowers. 

At one end of the librarians' circulation desk that accommodates as many as five employees at the same time there is a four-feet high panel listing the most popular teenage novels. At the other end a similar panel displays library's recommended children's books. 

Right next it there is a twelve inches wide and twenty inches long catalog displaying a photo-cover, a small summary, and even a brief information about a writer - for each of those recommended books. 

It looks something like this:

  Mr. Popper's Penguins is a children's book written by Richard and Florence Atwater, with illustrations by Robert Lawson, originally published in 1938. It tells the story of a poor house painter named Mr. Popper and his family, who live in the small town of Stillwater in the 1930s.

The book has so many lessons how to care about animals just as if they were children but further more, it teaches the importance of seeking a solution and not running away from problems. This is all incorporated while building love and compassion for its characters. It's a classic book where children easily become interested in cute baby animals while learning many didactics from caring and smart adult characters.


The House of the Scorpion (2002) is a science fiction young adult novel by Nancy Farmer. It is set in the future and mostly takes place in Opium, a country which separates the United States and Aztlán, formerly Mexico.

The book has won many awards like National Book Award as well as Newbery Honor. It is inspired by Farmer's own life. The book camouflaged many subjects to push boundaries and thinking like the fact that one of the main characters is a clone! Teens also unknowingly learn how not to judge illegal immigration: one size doesn't fit all. Most importantly, it teaches them about so many repercussions associated with drugs while conveying them away from the vice.


Hoot is a 2002 young adult novel by Carl Hiaasen. The setting takes place in Florida, where new arrival Roy makes two oddball friends and a bad enemy, and joins an effort to stop construction of a pancake house which would destroy a colony of burrowing owls who live on the site.
This is a Newbery Award winner! A complex story where one of the themes is about a boy who steals and vandalizes and comes from a troubled home of un unstable mother. The book also deals with bullying that teaches teens about the magnitude of that problem, how to recognize it, and how to stop, or even better - how to prevent it. It also discusses the problems of lying, manipulation and many more: all the subjects teens start dealing with and can learn from this book how to solve the issues.


Hatchet is a 1987 young-adult wilderness survival novel written by American writer Gary Paulsen.^[1] It is the first novel of five in the Hatchet series.

This a Newbery Honor book. It teaches about the understanding and forgiveness like when the main character catches his mother cheating on his father. But when he gets stranded alone in wilderness and ends up desperately trying to survive, he puts many memories in different perspective. It is a great tale about divorce where many teens can relate to, including young adults whose friends come from broken homes. This classic celebrates its 40th birthday this year!



Rules is the debut novel by author Cynthia Lord released in 2006.Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a normal life which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability. She's spent years trying to teach David the rules from "a peach is not a funny-looking apple" to "keep your pants on in public"---in order to head off David's embarrassing behaviors.
This is a Newbery Honor book while having won a Sunshine State Young Readers Award! This inspirational story is based on Lord's autistic son and his sister who had to learn how to cope with a family problem. But Lord went so much further: she spreads the awareness about anyone with a disability or special needs while conveying its mid-graders towards love, compassion, determination, but most of all she teaches patience while dealing with frustration and disappointments. 


The Egypt Game (1967) is a Newbery Honor-winning novel by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. Set in a small college town in California, the novel follows the creation of a sustained imaginative game by a group of six children. 

The book has some great lessons about the Ancient Egypt while being multicultural. It is somewhat revolutionary book since it pushes the subject of kidnapping and murder of children to 4th graders. It teaches children how to be cautious but brave as well. It conveys them to think critically and to be observant in life so they could solve a mystery or predicament and not shy away and hide from the complexity of a task.





 Thief Newbery Honor book is a young adult fantasy novel by Megan Whalen Turner published in 1996. Eugenides, the queen’s thief, can steal anything—or so he says. When his boasting lands him in prison and the king’s magus invites him on a quest to steal a legendary object, he’s in no position to refuse. The magus thinks he has the right tool for the job, but Gen has plans of his own. 

This novel of amazing imagination and unforgettable characters pushes teens to think prudently about the blackmailing. Further more, it pushes a question: what would we do if saving ourselves would jeopardize every one else?





 Blue Sword is a fantasy novel written by American author Robin McKinley, published in 1982. This is the story of Harry Crewe, the Homelander orphan girl who became Harimad-sol, King's Rider, and heir to the Blue Sword, Gonturan, that no woman had wielded since the Lady Aerin herself bore it into battle.

The book won Newbery Honor among several other awards. Its main character is a girl who's very smart and resourceful. It teaches the middle graders about the strong character where the girl never forgets the culture of her homeland while being powerful and magical while finding her place in another world of different cultures. One crucial lesson of the book: no matter how talented or smart we are, we must always retain our willingness to learn. 




Little Town on the Prairie is an autobiographical children's novel written by Laura Ingalls Wilderand published in 1941, the seventh of nine books in her Little House series. It tells the story of 15-year-old Laura's first paid job outside the home and her last terms of schooling.

This Newbery Honor novel teaches children about the blindness: its difficulties and how can one deal with it. It's a tale about sisterhood, great sacrifices, love, compassion, patience and more while having a historical value. It's also a beautiful tale about what a family is and the strength of its unity. 





 Princess Academy is a fantasy novel exploring themes of families, relationships, and education by Shannon Hale, published in 2005. It tells the story of fourteen-year-old Miri who attends a princess academy which will determine who wins the hand of the prince. This is a Newbery Honor winner among several other awards.
The most notable lesson for children is the one where a girl Miri, the main character, carries a great sense of compassion and understanding while striving to help the less fortunate ones with her academic lessons despite the bitter competition. Our female hero is intelligent and possesses great critical thinking and leadership skills who also demonstrates that without a hard work and discipline - a child or anyone could never achieve desired success. It also teaches how children will get awarded for their hard work, even if it takes much longer they anticipated. 



 Savvy is a 2008 children's fantasy novel by Ingrid Law aimed at children aged nine to twelve years named in 2009 a Newbery Honor Book. Thirteen is when a Beaumont’s savvy hits—and with one brother who causes hurricanes and another who creates electricity, Mibs Beaumont is eager to see what she gets.

The main character is a girl whose power is to read people's minds, but only of those who carry ink like tattoos or similar. It's a very interesting lesson for mid-graders to look beyond the surface and deeper into people's feelings. It's a lesson of developing empathy among many others.




The War That Save My Life is a Newbery Honor historical book by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, published in 2015 for middle grade. An exceptionally moving story of triumph against all odds set during World War 2 where a nine-year-old Ada has never left her one-room apartment. Her abusive mother is too humiliated by Ada’s twisted foot to let her outside. So when her little brother Jamie is shipped out of London to escape the war, Ada doesn’t waste a minute—she sneaks out to join him.
It's a story where children learn it is possible to deal with issues that seem impossible to survive and cope with. A girl Ada has been abused by her mother physically and mentally. She spends her entire life crawling and can barely stand up. Didactic of courage, persistence, determination and empathy all entered a new dimension in this amazing book. 


The Wednesday Wars is a 2007 young adult historical fiction novel written by Gary D. Schmidt. The novel is set in suburban Long Island during the 1967–68 school year. The Vietnam War is an important backdrop for the novel. This novel was given a Newbery Honor medal in 2008.

This is a tale about religious differences as well as coming out of age as a teenage boy. It deals with common issues where teens can relate to like having a strict parent or a feeling that an adult with authority is out there to get you, like main character's teacher. "He" learns he was wrong. He even makes friends out of enemies. Most importantly, the book deals with many issues that take place at school where teenage readers spend so much time: a hot topic for high school adolescents. 


 Last Stop on Market Street is a 2015 children's book written by American author Matt de la Peñaand which won the 2016 Newbery Medal. The book follows a young boy named CJ as he learns to appreciate the beauty in everyday things during a bus ride.
CJ’s journey with his Nana is not just a simple bus ride; it is a multi-sensory experience through which he discovers that beautiful music, nature and people surround him.  CJ’s questions are familiar, and Nana answers him with gentle wisdom.  Right up until their arrival at the last stop on Market Street, Nana guides CJ to become “a better witness for what’s beautiful.”
Beautiful story for children to recognize the world's many wonders through a simple act of observation that turns out is not an easy task after all. In the process, CJ learned and discovered many things about himself. It made him a better person - thanks to his wonderful Nana.


The library enjoys a huge success, especially once we made sure to have an updated website each week which brought all elementary school generations. We even have grandparents who read the updated newspapers and magazines while their grandchildren search and study for school. Sometimes they browse the internet while having eight computers at their disposition. Printing too is easy and free of charge. The library operates in the mornings or afternoons depending on a day while being a rarity for being open even on Saturdays. Since my team and I showed such an engagement with the community, we have received numerous donations in books, magazines and even some top movies! Most importantly, the library works closely with a local elementary school to make sure to include all the material a local child or a teen would require. 

Matilda

A sweet little girl lived with her mom, dad, and brother in an all American house. She was observant, smart and shocked everyone with her hunger for knowledge. She satisfied her cravings when she discovered books at an age as early as three! She started with children’s books but a few years later she very quickly moved on to an adult’s level. The only people who missed the whole thing while witnessing a creation of a genius were her parents who concluded she was pretty dum to waste her time on reading. In their eyes she was nothing but an annoying roach. That roach is our little hero, and her name is Matilda.

Her father was a car salesman who enjoyed cheating people out while making big bucks in the process. That latter would be his cheesy choice of words that matched his ugly suit. Once one looked away from his small round black eyes sitting right above his pencil thin evil mustache they would hear a sweet talk and fall into his sticky web of lies.

Her mother was a housewife who did some very important things every day. She made sure her hair was done. Nails too. She would spend a lot of time giving herself a facial and putting on a perfect make up. That was the first part of her daily regime. In the second part she was busy watching TV. She had so many favorite shows it was hard to imagine she had time for anything else. But this wonder woman even squeezed some time to put frozen TV dinners in microwave. That sometimes took several minutes!

Matilda’s brother followed his parents steps. He’s been listening carefully his father's lectures like a good boy so he could get a proper education how to run a dishonest business while learning from his mother how one can do absolutely nothing in the afternoons and evenings. Amazing! Parents were very proud of him.

Dear readers, do you care to learn the names of Matilda’s family? I didn’t think so.

I hope you have fun so far.

The family lived well. Father made good money when charging high prices for used parts while lying to customers he replaced the broken parts with the new ones. The cars would break after a week or two. The family prospered while laughing at “losers.” Except Matilda of course. She confronted her father about it which turned out to be a mistake. He loved snapping at Matilda to shut up and calling her stupid. The occasion to put his second child down on a daily basis didn’t have to be any special. It became a routine. 

When confronted, both parents raised their eyebrows as if she wasn’t annoying enough. When Matilda realized she was only wasting her time, she scolded and went silent. She restrained herself from future remarks and secluded herself in her room, or in an invisible spot of the living-room. But that didn’t keep her out of trouble.

Her father really hated watching her reading. He couldn’t understand what was wrong with her and why she didn’t watch TV like normal people, in his limited opinion. At one point he exploded and destroyed her library-borrowed book. Matilda decided to be more careful and avoided any further incident. She stopped making any comments whatsoever. 

Finally the day arrived when parents expressed aloud their twisted understanding of the world. Matilda’s teacher Ms. Honey came to talk to them about their daughter’s amazing intelligence. Well, she just didn’t know, did she?

And the show began. They told Ms. Honey how they hated seeing Matilda reading. When challenged, the father defended his literacy explaining he’s reading every day Motor and Auto-car. After Ms. Honey pointed out that Matilda read heavy literature like Hemingway he replied that such a stupid act didn’t bring any profit. 

The mother said that “a girl should think about making herself look attractive so she can get a good husband later on. Looks is more important than books, Miss Hunky . . ." Then she topped herself with even more stupidity, “Now look at me, then look at you. You chose books. I chose looks.” 

Ms. Honey still didn’t give up. She told them Matilda was a mathematical genius and that in a few years she could actually go to college. After the parents replied that was all stupid and a waste of time in a world of calculators and colleges where students only picked up bad habits, Ms. Honey finally left. In total disbelief what she had witnessed. 

We laughed hard at this scene while worrying and feeling helpless in desire to rescue poor Matilda from these lunatics she called her family. 

And school was not really a happy zone either. A crazy and sadistic school principal and teacher Ms. Trunchbull enjoyed tormenting children. Her excesses were so extreme that children knew that nobody would believe the stories they witnessed. Would you believe if someone told you that a teacher took a six-year-old child and through it across the meadow, and a chid miraculously survived without any lasting damages?

Ms. Honey was too weak. It turned out she was Ms. Trunchbull’s niece whose aunt managed to break her spirit and found the ways to blackmail her. Ms. Honey’s very own livelihood  depended on her mean aunt who controlled her job and salary.

But sweet justice did catch up with all those maniacs - with Matilda’s help, a little earlier than expected. Her parents had to flee the country when police caught up with her father’s foul business. He would have to pay back a small fortune in taxes as well as other penalties with a possibility of going to prison. Both parents were relieved to leave Matilda behind, letting her stay with Ms. Honey. In the meantime Matilda found a way to scare of Ms. Trunchbull with her temporary kinetic powers. She convinced her that headmistress' brother - Ms. Honey’s late dad as well - had come from the dead to haunt his horrible sister if she didn’t leave his house that actually belonged to his daughter all this time. Therefore Ms. Trunchbull followed the footsteps of Matilda's family and fled the town, to escape the haunting by her dead brother.

Ms. Honey reclaimed her house! She reclaimed her life! 

And took in Matilda to raise her as her own.

Matilda was free of her horrible family! 

Everyone was free of the terrible headmistress!

Some stories have cliche happy endings, but this one had been screaming for one while keeping us in apprehension till the very end.

The cricket and his great adventure

"Newspaper! Newspaper" yelled Mario. He was a six-year-old boy who liked helping his parents run their small family-owned newspaper stand in underground of Times Square. It was a nasty place. There were more people than rats where they all coexisted in a great rush. One might wonder how they don't fall off the subway platform when passing Mario's stand in the middle of it. Garbage and coal-like dirt as well as dried-out stepped-on chewing gums that became a part of cement gave it a special city charm. Among all those rapid shoes, voices and train squeals it's surreal that people accepted that chaos as their everyday reality.

At the same time, far from all that very important and arrogant commotion, there was a place filled with blossomed trees, wide sheets of grass, flowers, clean skies and friendships - all basking in the Sun. Laughter filled the air carried out by picnickers who stretched on their blankets and enjoyed the tasty goodies of their picnic baskets. No one noticed when a gentle little cricket jumped in one of them, driven by delicious smell. This is where the little hero's story begins.

The Newbery Honor book "The cricket in Times Square," depicts a story of great friendships. It is also a story of immigrants where the second and third generations of Italians as well as the first generation of Chinese make their daily survival in New York City - world's symbolic capital of immigrants. Readers face the possibility of stereotyping, profiling and prejudice against the portrayal of its characters with the positive verdict: the stories delineate them with respect.

Chester the cricket filled his tiny tummy with the food from the basket and fell asleep. When he woke up he realized he was stuck inside, felt so much motion, and heard a lot of strange noises. Little did he know that he was carried all the way from beautiful nature of Connecticut to one of the most dangerous and busiest cities in the world in 1950's, and specifically, to the heart of New York City - Times Square. If that wasn't enough, he finally managed to escape his temporal accidental imprisonment and found a sanctuary inside Mario Bellini's stand. Amidst all the fear his little pounding heart had to endure, he turned out to be very lucky. Mario found him and caught him - but Mario was one of the sweetest boys in the world. He immediately adopted Chester as his pet and decided to care of him as his new best friend.

Parents were puzzled with his choice but digressed. Mario's dad was a sweet man while it was nice to see Mario's mom as a head of a family who gave her permission but set up certain conditions. One might notice a strong stereotype of an Italian household, where a woman stands as its head, which in a world of inequality is very welcomed. While meeting his new host family and familiarizing with the new strange environment without the Sun or anything "normal," Chester was monitored by two pairs of eyes.

When Bellini family finally left for the day, the eyes finally came out to introduce themselves and meet Chester who appeared very unusual to them, but handsome as well with his clean, smooth, shiny, pitch black, perfect complexion. Tucker the mouse and Harry the cat turned out to be very friendly. They gasped while listening to Chester's incredible story. They also decided to help little cricket to alleviate his anxiety and find a way to send him back to his home.

So many lessons of sacrifice in the story where laziness never stood a chance. Mario decided to go all the way across the city to find someone who might help him to learn how to take care of his little friend. A warm and a wise Chinese man gave him some great insight and taught him some wonderful mythology. Tucker and Harry risked their lives and spared their food for Chester's well being. Chester worked hard to save Mario's livelihood with his music, no matter how exhausting, or at times, how scary it was.

Every time I imagine them interacting with each other with so much caring, respect, compassion, great interest and constant thinking how to help - where one jumps to work without any trace of hesitation - brings tears to my eyes. 

Even though Tucker and Harry were poor and on alert for their lives every single day, they would give their heart and soul to Chester who regarded them in the same way. It was also so beautiful when Mario expressed over and over his strong empathy and realized at the end it was a time for Chester to go home; all three of them wanted Chester to be happy, no matter how much sadness his departure would bring them. But he had to go to restore his smile. And he did.

Don't be sad dear readers. For those of us who tasted the pain of parting this is a very hard subject. Just because the book finished here it doesn't mean the story didn't continue. 

Alternative ending. It took Harry and Tucker nearly one year to plan their trip to visit Chester. A big orange male cat and an unpleasant looking rat couldn't just sneak on a train like adorable tiny cricket.  They boarded a freight train and hid near a bulk material that nobody cared about. They recognized the scenery Chester described! They hopped off, clumsily and dangerously, but landed safely. It didn't take long to hear Chester's amazing music that made him a wonder and celebrity in Times Square. He had made the news! They all tried to hide their tears when they spotted each other.

It turned out a family closest to Chester's tree sought a cat and Harry was quickly adopted. Chester also instructed Tucker about a warm cozy hole at the bottom of his tick and hundreds of years old tree. He wasn't allowed to go anywhere near Harry's new house and risk to be seen; Harry and Chester would provide for him. They celebrated many Thanksgivings together. Harry and Tucker wondered, "Why we didn't leave Times Square for this paradise a long time ago?"

Karana

It's the 1800s, a world of wild laws filled with misfits who got away with stealing and even murders, against those who wished to live only from hard work in peace. This is a tale of an American Indian girl Karana who due to unfortunate events ended up alone with her brother Ramo on an island when her tribe managed to escape their centuries old village they called home. After only seven days on the island her brother got killed by wild dogs. He was only six years old, half his sister's age. Karana spent 18 years on the island by herself. This is a true story. This is Karana's story.

Where to even begin to grasp the fact that a cild was left behind when her "people" franticly tried to leave the island in a rush. That were different times, sailing a ship was a nasty business. The ship left in a hurry to avoid the dangers of mirky weather and perilous storms and little Ramo got stranded behind. His sister and our hero Karana, jumped from the ship knowing there won't be a way back, so she could be with her little brother. Wow! The sense of love, devotion and responsibility in a young girl is heartwarming. After all, besides Karana's older sister and her, Ramo didn't have anyone else to look after him since their parents died. 

What happened in the first place, why the tribe decided to leave their small island? White sailors were to blame. They would come on a ship and steal a livelihood from people it belonged to. They promised a share but it was a big fat lie. They had no intention to give anything to their subordinates, as they considered them. They were cold and arrogant. They did not think of anyone who did not have a white skin as their equal. Especially a modest Indian tribe that nobody knew about. 

When the Indian chief, Karana's father, stood up to white extortionists he made a huge mistake. He was naive. He was under impression if he had firm attitude he would be able to reason with aluets, the way Indians named the Russian hunters they fought or as a matter of fact any white visitors, he would get them at least some share. The next thing that followed was him dyeing in a massacre. Aluets had guns while Indians a bow and an arrow. The tribe never recovered after the ship of death left. It became sad, serious and continued a life filled with apprehension. When "good" aluets arrived, the tribe took its chance to board the ship and sail for a modern island that promised a life in peace. 

It will take 18 years for Karana to learn the whereabouts of her people. Her first months were filled with sadness, sorrow, bitterness, loneliness and a desire for revenge. Thankfully, she was preoccupied with her survival. It wasn't enough just to catch and grow her daily meal: it was crucial to prepare and save the food for winters. However, she wasn't alone after all. When the reality sank in and anger diminished, Karana made a life changing decision, almost all accidentally: instead of killing the wild dogs that killed her little brother, she befriended their leader. What a moment of triumph that was where Karana didn't continue a cycle of those Russian murderers but continued the tradition of her people which were wisdom and peace. 

Together with Karana we all came to love her best friend a wild dog Rontu. We also cried when he left her(us) due to an old age. We also learnt from her to love and care about all animals. We learnt to respect all living creatures, like wild birds and otters. She became an expert to tame nature through love.

Karana overcame so many obstacles of fear and distrust in 18 years and the moment finally came for the last test: can she dare to trust to Aluets who seemed nice and will she take a chance and go with them on their ship in a hope to rejoin her older sister and her tribe? Karana finally gets a grip over her fears. She takes that giant leap.

They reached Santa Catalina island, maybe an hour or so from today's Los Angeles. And there they were: all her friends waiting, her people, and finally her sister! The cries of joy cut through a bay breeze, embraced in never ending hugs while women wept from despair and heartbreak over a miracle. Their wildest dreams came true. Even the white folks shed their tears for a happy reunion. Older women passed out from the overwhelming scene.

Unfortunately my dear readers, the ending is only my fictional fantasy. The ship with Karana's tribe and those good sailors never reached the island...