
GJH Library News
January 2025

Happy New Year and Welcome Back to 2nd Semester of the 2024-25 school year!
This semester is full of exciting opportunities for you to enjoy a great book, and share your readings with others! Why not start at the library to check out the new book collection? Or, ask your teachers for book recommendations. They love it when you do!
Reading Challenge
Do you have any resolutions for the new year 2025? Tienes Resoluciones para el nuevo año?
¿Por qué no hacer un reto de lectura? Aquí tienes algunas ideas:
- A book with more than 500 pages * Un libro con más de 500 páginas
- A book you can read in a day. * Un libro que puedas leer en un día
- A Fantasy Novel * Una novela de fantacia
- An award winning book * Un libro que ha recibido un premio
- A book becoming a movie/series in 2024 * Un libro que se hizo una película/serie en 2024
- 2025 release * Un libro nuevo este año
- An inspirational story * Una historia que te inspire
Play the Reading Bingo. Check with us when you complete a line, we might have a gift for you!
J.R.R. Tolkien
J.R.R. Tolkien was born 3 January 1892, and died 2 September 1973. He was born in South Africa, but moved to England as a child. He was a writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known for the classic high fantasy works: The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion. The success of his novels led to a popular resurgence of the fantasy genre and Tolkien is referred to as the ‘father’ of modern fantasy Fiction. The Oxford companion to English Literature called him “the greatest influence within the fantasy genre.
Chapter 1 A Long-Expected Party
When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be
celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special
magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton.
Bilbo was very rich and very peculiar, and had been the
wonder of the Shire for sixty years, ever since his remarkable
disappearance and unexpected return.
Chapter 1 AN UNEXPECTED PARTY
IN A HOLE IN THE GROUND there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet
hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry,
bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was
a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.
The Silmarillion
The tales of The Silmarillion were the underlying inspiration and source of J.R.R. Tolkien's imaginative writing; he worked on the book throughout his life but never brought it to a final form. The Silmarillion is the history of the rebellion of Feanor and his people against the gods, their exile in Middle-earth, and their war, hopeless despite all the heroism of Elves and Men, against the great Enemy.
Parents may read too! ¡Los papás también pueden leer!
Siempre carga un libro contigo: Si siempre tienes un libro contigo, estarás listo/a para leerlo cuando se presente la oportunidad!
Audiobook count! - Listening to a book is not cheating. For some people, listening to an audiobook helps them focus on the story more than when they read it.
Los audiolibros también cuentan: Escuchar los libros no significa que estas haciendo trampa. Para muchos escuchar el libro les ayuda a enfocarse en el cuento mucho mejor de cuando lo están leyendo.
Schedule time for reading! Put it on your calendar. Just a few minutes a day is enough to get you on your way to a reading adventure!
Aparta tiempo para leer: Ponlo en tu calendario, solo unos minutos al dia sera suficiente para empezar el hábito de lectura.
Get social! Join a traditional or virtual book club. goodreads.com has great book recommendations, plus it helps you keep a record of what you'd read
Unete a un grupo de lectores. goodread.com tiene muy buenas recomendaciones y ademas te ayudara a llevar un record de tus lecturas.
Did you know?
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was inspired by the Africans who gained independence from colonial rulers during the 1950s.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Chinese New Year Celebration
People often hang glowing lanterns in temples or carry them during a nighttime parade. Since the dragon is a Chinese symbol of good fortune, a dragon dance highlights festival celebrations in many areas. This procession involves a long, colorful dragon being carried through the streets by numerous dancers.
A Gift from Penguin Random House Book Donation - San Diego Libros Association
Francine Pascal's Sweet Valley Twins Graphic Novel
The Smartest Kid in the Universe Evil Genius
Meet middle schooler Jake McQuade. Jake became the smartest kid in the universe when he accidentally ate a jarful of ingestible knowledge jelly beans. But what happens when those jelly beans fall into the wrong hands?!
Superworld Save Noah
Thanks to his tin foil superhero costume, Noah's powers got deflected -- onto his little sister. He's literally the only normal person in all of Superworld. He can't fly. He can't scale tall buildings. He can't turn broccoli into candy. (And of course his little sister got double powers. Of course. ) And still...when the biggest, baddest villian in town plots to take over Superworld forever, normal Noah and his supercharged best friends are the ones who just might save the day. Seriously.
The Borrow a Boyfriend Club
A feel-good, coming-of-age rom-com from debut author Page Powars that follows a trans teen who joins a boyfriend borrowing service masquerading as an Italian Club to prove that he’s one of the guys, especially to its frustratingly handsome leader.
The last Rose
For as long as Mera can remember, she and her sister Darina have feared the Beast who lurks in the castle above their village. On countless nights they have locked themselves into their home while the Beast led his hounds on the Wild Hunt, preying on anything in his path.
Mr. Lemoncello's Fantabulous Finale
It's time for one last fantabulous challenge with Mr. Lemoncello-the world's most famous gamemaker! This time everything is on the line—literally! Mr. Lemoncello has invited thirteen lucky 13 year-olds—including his biggest fan, Kyle Keeley— to compete in the final games.
The Ruins of Gorlan Book 1
Will is about to learn, there is a large battle brewing. The exiled Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, is gathering his forces for an attack on the kingdom. This time, he will not be denied....
Impossible Creatures
The day Christopher saved a drowning baby griffin from a hidden lake would change his life forever. It's the day he learned about the Archipelago, a cluster of unmapped islands where magical creatures of every kind have thrived for thousands of years—until now. And it's the day he met Mal, a girl on the run who desperately needs his help.
The Encanto's Daughter
MJ Rodriguez has spent her life hiding in the human world, keeping a heavy secret. She’s half-encanto. As the only child of King Vivencio of the Sirena Court, she’s also next in line for the throne. And now, upon her estranged father’s sudden death, MJ must claim her place as rightful heir.
Akata Woman
From the moment Sunny Nwazue discovered she had magic flowing in her blood, she sought to understand and control her powers. Throughout her adventures in Akata Witch and Akata Warrior, she had to navigate the balance between nearly everything in her life–America and Nigeria, the “normal” world and the one infused with juju, human and spirit, good daughter and powerful Leopard Person.
City of Saints and Thieves
In the shadows of Sangui City, there lives a girl who doesn't exist. After fleeing the Congo as refugees, Tina and her mother arrived in Kenya looking for the chance to build a new life and home. Her mother quickly found work as a maid for a prominent family, headed by Roland Greyhill, one of the city’s most respected business leaders. But Tina soon learns that the Greyhill fortune was made from a life of corruption and crime. So when her mother is found shot to death in Mr. Greyhill's personal study, she knows exactly who’s behind it.
Last one to die
16-year-old, Irish-born Niamh has just arrived in London for the summer, and quickly discovers that girls who look frighteningly like her are being attacked.
Determined to make it through her Drama Course, Niamh is placed at the Victorian Museum to put her drama skills to the test, and there she meets he’s kind, fun, attentive, and really hot! Nonetheless, there's something eerie about the museum...
As present-day serial attacker and sinister Victorian history start to collide, Niamh realizes that things are not as they seem. Will she be next?
Royal Scandal
From desperate clickbait articles about her and the President's son to Royal Record headlines pitting her against Princess Maisie, it seems everyone is dying for Evan to return back to America for good. Meanwhile Evan is receiving mysterious threats about her real story being revealed in a tell-all biography.
The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel Graphic Novel
The Nicholas Flamel's tomb is empty.
The Nicholas Flamel lives.
Nicholas Flamel is the greatest Alchemyst to ever live. The records show that he died in 1418, but what if he's actually been making the elixir of life for centuries?
The year I stopped trying
Mary is having an existential crisis. She's a good student, she never gets in trouble, and she is searching for the meaning of life. But by junior year, Mary isn't so sure anymore.
The first time, it's an accident. She forgets to do a history assignment. And Nothing happens. She doesn't burst into flames, the world doesn't end, the teacher doesn't even pull her aside after class.
So she asks Why am I trying so hard? What if I stop?
Please check our Amazon Wish List and make a donation to our library. Feel free to share it forward.
Email: mercedes.hernandez@sweetwaterschools.org
Website: Granger Jr. High School
Blog: ReadingAdventures@LaBiblioteca
Location: 2102 Granger Avenue, National City, CA, USA
Phone: 619-472-3030