Retro Book of the Week: Summer of My German Soldier

Summer of German Solider
by Bette Greene
1973

To go with our romance theme for February, this is a WWII story about an American girl who falls in love with a German soldier. Patty is a 12-year-old girl living in Arkansas, and Anton is a German POW who has escaped from an Arkansas POW camp. Patty hides Anton above her garage, and becomes friends/falls in love with him, despite their age difference. The tow become friends, even though Patty is taking a big risk in helping him.

There is no inappropriate romance in this novel; Patty simply has a school-girl crush on Anton. The bigger themes are those of prejudice and self-esteem. The people in Arkansas have a huge prejudice against Anton and the other German POWs, without even seeing the men as people. Anton says in the story that he does not sympathize with the Nazi cause, and he is actually an intelligent, kind man. Patty develops her self-esteem throughout the story, learning to lover herself despite the abuse and insults of her parents.

Summer of My German Soldier may be a "retro" book, but it stands the test of time because it is historical fiction. Check it out today @ your library!

February's Featured Books: Romance

Romance books are on display for the month of February here in the media center. However, we aren't just featuring traditional romance stories! Sure, we've got lovey-dovey tales of teens falling in love, legends, retold fairy tales, and classic novels with stories of romance. But I also dug up many books with male protagonists, GLBT teens, adventure stories with a romantic twist, non-fiction books about relationships, and a few stories with not-so-happy endings. Check one out today @ your library.

Today in the Media Center

Today Ms. Hardin's class came in to start their social studies projects on Animal Real Estate. Students are collaborating to research habitats using LiveBinders and create a PowerPoint advertising the habitat to different animals.

Check out this Animoto video to see the research in action. The first shot is a picture of Ms. Hardin with our new 6th grade ESL assistant, Ms. Dimov!


Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

This Just In...

CHAMPS: A Proactive and Positive Approach to Classroom Management
2nd Edition
by Randy Sprick

45 copies, with CDs

If you are a teacher or a student in our school, you know what CHAMPS is by now. We just got enough copies of this book for all teachers to check it out, read it, and use it for the school year.