Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us.

Join us in the Mepham High School Library to celebrate the right to read starting on September 27th!

The American Library Association’s Top 10 Most Challenged Books list has been released. "This year’s list includes titles that address racism and racial justice, as well as those that shared the stories of Black, Indigenous, or people of color. As with previous years, LGBTQ+ content also dominated the list." How many books from this list have you read? 

1. George by Alex Gino
   Challenged, banned, and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content, conflicting with a religious viewpoint, and not reflecting “the values of our community.”
2. Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds
   Banned and challenged because of the author’s public statements and because of claims that the book contains “selective storytelling incidents” and does not encompass racism against all people.
3. All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
   Banned and challenged for profanity, drug use, and alcoholism and because it was thought to promote antipolice views, contain divisive topics, and be “too much of a sensitive matter right now.”
4. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
   Banned, challenged, and restricted because it was thought to contain a political viewpoint, it was claimed to be biased against male students, and it included rape and profanity.
5. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
   Banned and challenged for profanity, sexual references, and allegations of sexual misconduct on the part of the author.
6. Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story about Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzard, illustrated by Jennifer Zivoin
   Challenged for “divisive language” and because it was thought to promote antipolice views.
7. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
   Banned and challenged for racial slurs and their negative effect on students, featuring a “white savior” character, and its perception of the Black experience.
8. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
   Banned and challenged for racial slurs and racist stereotypes and their negative effect on students.
9. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
   Banned and challenged because it was considered sexually explicit and depicts child sexual abuse.
10. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
    Challenged for profanity, and because it was thought to promote an antipolice message.

STEAM Cart

We recently purchased this Whitney Brother's STEAM Cart to celebrate the reopening of the Mepham MakerSpace! Woohoo!

STEAM Cart in the Mepham High School Library

"This rolling cabinet features three shelves that each accommodate three Gratnells trays with interchangeable fitted lids. We included a message on the dry erase board on top of the shelves encouraging students to help themselves.

The back of the cart has a top-to-bottom pegboard to keep tools within easy reach, plus a big pocket shelf at the bottom to store large papers, clipboards, and more. The cart also includes an accessory package with ten J-hooks, five red plastic trays, and five spring clips, which all attach to the pegboard (in the back, not pictured).

This cart is mounted on non-marking, heavy-duty locking casters, so we can easily bring it with us wherever it’s needed, even when it’s fully loaded. It’s made of durable birch plywood with a safe, non-toxic, natural UV finish that won't yellow and withstands rigorous use."

This STEAM cart was purchased thanks to a generous donation from Mepham's Class of 1954.

Fall Books 2021

We ordered over 350 books this summer for our September delivery. You can check them out on display in our Mepham High School Library. We have everything from memoirs to science fiction and everything in between! 

The Library is the Place to Bee!

Mepham High School Library Bulletin Board

Our Unofficial Book Club is Offical

The unofficial Mepham High School Book Club is officially official. Yay! Mepham High School students can join our Google Classroom. The code is: 2r7zedd. You can also follow us on Instagram @_mhsbookclub. Our goal is to read 6 books this year. We will pick our first book via a poll on Google Classroom by Wednesday, September 29th for our meeting, which will take place on Wednesday, October 27, 2021, at 2:15 pm. Mrs. Stack will be able to provide multiple copies of the title - either hard copy, eBook, or audiobook. 

These are the books up for discussion:

Every Day by David Levithan
Summary: Every morning A wakes in a different person's body, in a different person's life, learning over the years to never get too attached, until he wakes up in the body of Justin and falls in love with Justin's girlfriend, Rhiannon.

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera
Summary: After enduring his father's suicide, his own suicide attempt, broken friendships, and more in the Bronx projects, Aaron Soto, sixteen, is already considering the Leteo Institute's memory-alteration procedure when his new friendship with Thomas turns to unrequited love.

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus
Summary: When the creator of a high school gossip app mysteriously dies in front of four high-profile students all four become suspects. It's up to them to solve the case.

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
Summary: Aza Holmes is a young woman navigating daily existence within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
Summary: Spending the summers on her family's private island off the coast of Massachusetts with her cousins and a special boy named Gat, teenaged Cadence struggles to remember what happened during her fifteenth summer.

Please vote by Wednesday, September 29, 2021 in our Google Classroom. Mrs. Stack will announce the selected book on Friday, September 17, 2021.

UPDATE: The book selected was One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus. The club will meet in the library to discuss on Wednesday, October 27th at 2:15 p.m. 

Not Reading? Kinda Sus

Mepham High School Library Bulletin Board

Yo Ho Ho! Welcome Pirates!

Welcome (back) Pirates to a hopefully "normal" school year! Since we had to limit the number of students that entered our doors last year, we are hoping that this year we can resume our normal operations. This means lots of NOISE in our library coming from you! We also want to extend a very special welcome to our Class of 2025! You will find that this school library is a place for all students. The library (room 300) is open from 7:30 AM until 4:30 PM, unless otherwise posted. Students are welcome to use the library during any free period, before, or after school. Many of our new books have arrived - almost 350 of them!

If you want to find out what's going on in the school and in the library you should follow us on Twitter and Instagram? We are @MephamHS! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to stop by and see us. We can't wait to have a great school year with you.