News and Book Reviews From the Library
by Margaret Woodruff, Library Director
June 2, 2011, page 7.....

June Is Audiobook Month: Be sure to check out the new selections arriving for adults and children.
June 29 Is National Camera Day: Why not check out a museum pass from the library and head to a local site for lots of photo-worthy fun? Current passes available at the library: Birds of Vermont Museum, Huntington; ECHO Lake Aquarium & Science Center, Burlington; Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, Vergennes; Shelburne Farms, Shelburne; Vermont State Historic Sites; Vermont State Parks.
Passes can be checked out for two days and reserved up to one week in advance. Only Charlotte residents are eligible to check out passes. Information on guidelines and restrictions is available at the circulation desk.
New Computers: Faster and better is what we’re aiming for! We’ve got a new computer set-up for public use that includes access to word processing and other document features as well as speedier connection to the Internet. Please let us know what you think.

BOOK REVIEW: Lost in Shangri-La by Mitchell Zuckoff. Reviewed by Georgia Edwards.
On May 13,1945, during the final months of World War II, a U.S. Military transport plane carrying 24 officers and enlisted personnel crashed in cloud cover over the mountains of Dutch New Guinea. The flight of the Gremlin Special, planned as a sightseeing tour over a lush valley called “Shangri-La,” ended in tragedy. Only three passengers would survive the fiery wreck: WAC Corporal Margaret Hastings, Tech Sargent Kenneth Decker and First Lieutenant John McCollom. Injured, without food, and trapped in the jungle with enemy Japanese and rumored cannibal tribes, they would crawl painfully towards safety. Back at base, untried and heroic plans were under way for their rescue. Native Dani tribesmen, commando paratroopers, an actor-turned-thief-turned-filmmaker and a wiry colonel with grand ideas for a glider plane would all become part of their unbelievable story. 
It could be a script out of Hollywood, but Martin Zuckoff’s Lost in Shangri-La is a true account of survival on a remote Pacific island. Documented meticulously through interviews, photos, diaries and news articles, it is supported by a wealth of accurate information. Never weighed down by details, the book reads like a fictional thriller. Zuckoff travels off course into smaller supporting stories, but these are necessary and just as entertaining. The author capably blends the components of the story: tragedy, survival, daring and even humor. He also describes with sensitivity the unexpected relationships that develop between an ancient group of tribesmen and the first white people they have ever met.
There is something for everyone in Zuckoff’s book. It is adventure reading at its best, as well as a course in history and anthropology.  Readers will become lost in Lost in Shangri-La.   

Summer Reading, 2011
One World, Many Stories. This summer we are taking a world tour from Japan to Morocco, Egypt to Indonesia. Join us for story times, afternoon adventures, and kids-can programs throughout June and July. Our date for take-off is Tuesday, June 21, at 10:30 a.m. Stop by to sign up for programs, make your summer reading passport and help launch our Heifer International “Read to Feed” event.
Middle School Literary Time Machine: Follow Percy Jackson from Camp Half-Blood to ancient Greece and back. If you’ve already read The Lightning Thief, you’re ready to learn the mythology behind Percy’s adventures. If not, jump in and discover how Percy’s life transcends time and space. Join us and you will do all this AND complete the summer reading requirements for Charlotte Central School before summer really starts!
When: June 27-July 1, 10 a.m.-noon
Where: Charlotte Library
Who: Incoming 6-8th grade students at Charlotte Central School and other local students
How: Call the Library to sign up: 425-3864.

BOOK REVIEW, Kid’s Perspective: The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor. Reviewed by Shane Beal, 6th grade CCS student.
Alyss Heart. The princess of Wonderland. In her era, the queendom is ruled in general peace. However, this is all about to change. As the book itself states, “Fantasy just declared war on reality.” In a vicious coup of an exiled queen, Alyss’s parents are killed and the throne taken by the ex-queen, Redd Heart. Alyss is distraught, and she and her bodyguard dive into the pool of tears, a portal to our world. From this point, three stories twist to form an amazing combination of a book: the bodyguard’s search, Alyss’s new life and the rebels’ struggle back home. This is a fantasy/action book I would recommend to most fifth graders and up, but warn of some gory young adult content. It is not for the weak of heart (or stomach). Most readers of action books will be put off when they hear the words “princess” and “wonderland.” However, quite honestly, I’ve got to say that this princess doesn’t skip through rose beds or ride unicorns. And Wonderland is less a site of caucus-racing dodo birds and more a site of battling soldiers. There are occasional digressions into romance but not enough to cancel out or ruin the book’s standing as an adventure. If you like your war with a seasoning of magic, enjoyed Eragon or Redwall, or found the original Alice in Wonderland too silly, this is the book for you. Overall, my biggest message to action readers all around is that this is not the Wonderland you know! This is war.