The Mystery Writers of America 2006 Edgar (Allan Poe) Nominees for Best Young Adult novel after the break:

Looking for Alaska - Vote For Me!
When Miles, an introspective 16-year-old, goes away to an Alabama boarding school, he is looking for “a Great Perhaps.” He finds great friend, great pranks and even a great love, but is haunted by the search for answers after an unexpected tragedy.

Ball Don’t Lie -- Vote For Me!
Sticky is an orphan, has OCD, and is one of the best street basketball players in Venice Beach. As the end of high school approaches, he must make some tough decisions about his future, his girlfriend, and his compulsive shoplifting habit.

If March madness hasn’t given you enough basketball, give this book a look. I loved not only the action stuff at the Lincoln Rec Center but Sticky’s relationship with the guys he plays with who are more family to him than his own.

Boy Proof -- Vote For Me!
Victoria’s life revolves around movies, from the cloak she wears to her shaved head to her nickname, Egg, after the heroine in her favorite sci-fi movie. But a new boy, Max sees past all that, and Egg has a hard time staying wrapped in her shell.

Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow -- Vote For Me!
Elizabeth Vetter was eight when she turned her parents in for criticizing Adolph Hitler. Hans Scholl rose quickly through the ranks of Hitler Youth but soon rebelled—he was caught and beheaded. Read the chilling stories of Elizabeth, Hans and other German youth who grew up in Hitler’s shadow.

This book is the only nonfiction book on the list, but reads like fiction. I found the dramatic stories combined with sharp black and white photos to be quite compelling. If this book is your choice for the best of 2005, vote for it by using the green ballot available at the library and put it in the box posted in the teen area, or give it to the librarian, or e-mail your choice to davise@aadl.org.

Help choose the best teen book published in 2005. Select from the list of Thumbs Up Award nominees for best teen literature. I’ll highlight each of the titles on AXIS(to read about more titles, click "teens" tag) over the next two weeks. (You can also find them online or in green brochures in all the branch libraries.)

Read all the books (or as many as you want) then select the ONE you think is best. Vote for your choice by using the green ballot available at the library and put it in the box posted in the teen area, or give it to the librarian,
or e-mail your choice to davise@aadl.org.

4000 Women In Science is a site compiled by two astronomers. It features short biographies on some 125 women researchers along with active links to notable 20th Century women in sciences.

from "Website Reviews by John Peters", March 2006 School Library Journal, pg 89

Did you know?
The actress Danica McKellar (better known as Winnie from The Wonder Years television show), graduated with highest honors from UCLA with a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics, and is the co-author of a mathematical research paper published in the Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and General. Her accomplishments in mathematics have been profiled in the New York Times.

Wanna know some more about women in math? The website Biographies of Women Mathematicians features some 200 entries with information on women mathematicians who are not mentioned in standard histories of science. The articles are backed up with links to scholarly research.

from "Website Reviews by John Peters", March 2006 School Library Journal, pg 89

This gripping legal thriller by real-life lawyer Dugoni, features golden-tongued, never-lost-a-case, legal ace David Sloane who is the The Jury Master. Now baddies are after him. Could they be after the package that came in the mail?
Two other converging storylines (suicide of a presidential confidant and the murder of a rookie cop), bring together a rumpled police detective and a shadowy ex-CIA operative who happens to share Sloane’s mysterious nightmares.
Fresh and fast paced, this conspiracy theory debut mystery compares well to vintage Grisham, and Martini. Readers who enjoyed Baldacci’s Absolute Power and fans of Enemy of the State will find much to like here. Surely, movie deals can’t be far behind.

To get your daily dose and to celebrate April as National Poetry Month, check out "Poem-A-Day." When you sign up, you will receive a poem every day in your e-mail beginning April 1 and continuing throughout the month.

The Academy of American Poets established National Poetry Month in 1996 as a month long celebration of poetry to bring to the general public greater attention to and appreciation of poets, past and present, their books and the importance of poetry in our culture. Events and resorces that have grown out of National Poetry Month include reading series, curriculum ideas for teachers and tip sheets for booksellers and librarians. Their colorful posters are free Even local businesses have become involved as in one restaurant where poems were printed on placemats.