1 . ※ Brown Girl Dreaming

By Jacqueline Woodson

As a winner of the National Book Award, the Coretta Scott King Award, and a Newberry Honor Book, in her book, Brown Girl Dreaming, the author uses poetry to tell her true story of growing up as a black woman in the 1960s and 1970s. Woodson’s beautiful language explores big ideas while describing her family, her growing awareness of race and the civil rights movement, and her life in South Carolina and New York City.

※ When You Were Everything

By Ashley Woodfolk

Cleo and Layla have been best friends for years. But in their second year of middle school, everything changes. Layla starts hanging out with her new friends, and the two girls’ friendship slowly ends. Cleo is still trying to make sense of what happened as she tries to make new friends. Told across two timelines, Cleo’s story of sadness surrounding a lost friendship will be relevant for many 8th graders trying to deal with past middle school friend drama and looking forward to high school.

※ The Hound of the Baskervilles

By Arthur Conan Doyle

The famous detective Sherlock Holmes and his friend Watson set out to look into a new case in Dartmoor, England. A man is dead, with many dog paw prints leading to his body. Holmes and Watson arrive in Dartmoor to find several unexplainable events and clues. Together, they start to figure out a puzzle that has defined mystery and detective fiction ever since.

※ The Hobbit

By J. R. R. Tolkien

This story is an opener to the longer and more challenging The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It’s an adventure story set in a fantasy world. With dwarves (小矮人), hobbits, sword fights, wizards and dragons, the book’s plot and humor have stood the test of time.

3 . Pigeons have a bad reputation. Maybe these birds’ familiarity makes them an easy target: They are common residents of every continent, save Antarctica. Some people think pigeons are dirty or diseased, as they spend chunks of their days pecking at trash. Others might ignore them entirely, or perhaps go so far as to call them “rats with wings.” But Rosemary Mosco, a science writer, cartoonist, and naturalist, believes these creatures deserve more respect. “We’ve gotten them super wrong,” she says.

In Mosco’s latest book, A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching, she shares her positive views of the species that fell from grace. Once highly valued for their meat, and way finding abilities, pigeons are now largely rejected by human society. But Mosco, a lifelong city-dweller, has always found them fascinating. “If you do watch them, you’re just entranced,” she says. Her travel-sized book details pigeons’ coloration, field marks, and anatomy (解剖结构). But it’s more than a field guide. It’s also an informative account of pigeon history, biology, and behavior, complete with Mosco’s delightful illustrations.

Because pigeons’ fates are so connected with our own, pigeon history closely mirrors ours. Pigeons were distributed across the globe due to centuries of European exploration and colonization. In North America colonists hunted the native Passenger Pigeon for meat and destroyed its native forest habitat, driving it to extinction. Wherever humans domesticated pigeons, some escaped and went wild. Today’s city pigeons are descended from those birds.

Mosco says she’s met more birders who like pigeons than those who hate them. Birders, with well-developed observation skills, can understand pigeons’ entertaining behavior, she says. Plus, if pigeons aren’t enough of a draw on their own, there could be predators, such as hawks or falcons, nearby.

She wants all her readers to be kind to pigeons. But she also hopes that some will follow their pigeon fancy and become hooked on birding. “It’s my secret plot,” she says. After reading her book, you may agree with her that pigeons are as worthy a spark bird as any other.

4 . For the students, researchers or simple lovers of knowledge and art, it is a privilege to have a free virtual library at hand, being able to download important texts without spending a single dollar.

◆Internet Archive

It is a non-profit digital library created in 1996 by Brewster Kahle. In addition to millions of books available to the general public, it also hosts a large number of video (movies), audio (music) and software files, etc. It is not necessary to register to access the information, so any user can easily view and download it, although those who decide to register obtain other benefits such as access to more than 1.3 million copyrighted e-books.

◆InfoBooks

Read, Learn, Grow… is the slogan of the digital library. It is divided into three sections to facilitate the search for content, and the first called “Best books to read” focuses on a special collection of various topics classified by famous authors. The second is “Free books and texts”, where you will find public domain literature that you can download, and the third section contains resources to improve your reading.

◆Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg is a site that has available sixty thousand “free” books that are free of copyright so to speak, since the rights according to certain laws have expired in this case. That is why they can be downloaded with total peace of mind. The Project Gutenberg also has an Open Audio book Collection, almost 5,000 titles from 2023, via a Project Gutenberg collaboration with Microsoft and MIT. These use neural text-to-speech technology for more natural-sounding computer-generated audio books. These audio books are also available on major music/podcast platforms.

5 . Increasing your reading speed is a journey that combines technique, practice, and a patient mindset. By following these strategies, you’ll improve your reading speed.

Active reading involves engaging with the material rather than passively absorbing words. Techniques such as underlining key phrases, quickly taking down notes in the margin (页边空白) and asking questions about the content can significantly enhance your reading speed.     1    .

A substantial portion of reading involves the movement of your eyes across lines of text. By expanding your peripheral vision, you can take in more words with each glance. Practice widening your focus to capture groups of words rather than focusing on one word at a time.     2    .

Subvocalisation, or the habit of pronouncing each word in your head as you read, can be a major obstruction to reading speed. Subvocalisation is a natural part of early reading development.     3    . Train your mind to get rid of this inner voice by consciously focusing on visualising concepts and ideas rather than saying each word internally. This change can lead to a fast reading experience.

Like any skill, increasing your reading speed requires consistent practice. Mix up your reading materials to expose yourself to various writing styles and subjects. Whether it’s fiction, non-fiction, academic articles or industry reports, diversifying your reading content enhances your adaptability and speed in processing different types of information.

    5    . Gradually increase the complexity and length of the material, challenging your brain to read faster while maintaining comprehension. This intentional and varied practice is key to training your newfound speed-reading skills.

6 .

			The Mysteries of the Universe: Discover the best-kept secrets of space (DK Children’s Anthologies) Hardcover-International Edition September 1,2020 by Will Gater (Author) ★★★★★4,045 ratings Part of: DK Children’s Anthologies (5 books) Editors’ pick Best Nonfiction for Kids See all formats and editions
			Kindle $1.99	Hardcover $12.29
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Buy new:	$12.29		Travel to the furthest reaches of the Universe and visit 100 remarkable objects along the way with this stunning space book. Space is so much bigger than young minds can imagine and there is always more to learn. The Mysteries of the Universe is a space encyclopedia for young readers to explore, with reference pages packed with fascinating information. Little learners will be captivated as they journey through the vastness of the Universe. From planets to black holes and galaxies, every page of this space book reveals the secrets behind more than 100 objects. Each body is shown both photographically and illustrated, and children will love poring over the detailed close-up images. Get ready to explore fun facts and exciting new scientific discoveries as this best-selling picture book will illuminate imaginations and spark curious minds to explore the vastness of space. The engaging storybook-style descriptions and simple text shed a light on facts, myths, and key discoveries about the universe, perfect for children aged 7-9 and beyond.
FREE delivery: Saturday, March 18on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon. Ships from: Amazon.com Sold by: Amazon.com
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It celebrates your children’s curiosity as they: -Explore beautiful illustrations and incredible photography that showcase the mysteries of space. -Reveal engaging storybook-style descriptions that explain key discoveries about the universe. This space encyclopedia is the perfect combination of storybook-style text with out-of-this-world illustrations. Compared with reading alone, reading the book with family doubles the pleasure as family ties are strengthened through exploring the unknown together. Explore the vastness of space whilst uncovering: -Excellent Jacket Detail: gold book cover& luxury metallic gold edges -Striking photography& illustrations inside -A quality gift to be passed down through the generations More in the Series The Mysteries of the Universe is part of the beautiful and informative Anthology series. Complete the series and cultivate your children’s curiosity as they explore the natural world with Wonders of Nature or let them walk with the dinosaurs with Intriguing Animals.

7 . For a long time, I kept a selection of books on a shelf next to my bed that I called my “heart books”. To qualify for a place on the shelf, a book had to be not only one I loved, but one that mattered. There was one book that never made it onto that shelf, though I read it in high school: Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg.

I can still remember the day I bought it. It was summer and I must have been 14 or 15. Desperate to get out of my house, I rode my bike into town and walked into the bookstore. I was going through the shelf of books on writing and it caught my eye. I picked it up, read a few pages, and bought it. Then I took it with me to a park, read the first few chapters, and opened my notebook to write.

It’s a fairly straightforward writing book. Goldberg’s method is simple: you choose a topic, set a timer, and write for 10, 15, or 20 minutes without picking up your pen. Free writing, timed writing, writing topics: anyone who has taken a creative writing class may have encountered these things. It’s not earth-shattering. There was nothing particularly new or unusual about the book so I can’t say why it attracted me so much. But it changed everything. I went from being someone who enjoyed writing to being a writer.

During my teen years and early twenties, following Goldberg’s method was at the core of my identity. No matter where I was or what I was doing, I filled notebooks. When I eventually started writing fiction, I did the same thing. The “I” in my notebooks became someone else, but I held to the same practice.

This writing practice led me to a writing group in Boston. It led me to my current career. It led me, in so many ways, to myself. Becoming a writer allowed me to become so many other things: an activist, a business owner, a farmer, a baker. . . Writing is where I found my confidence. It was where I became curious about the world. From that, everything else has followed.