APH News: October 2013

Exciting New APH Products Announced!

Read on to learn about these new products – now available!

• APH Fall Harvest Sale
• Revised! iBill Currency Scanner
• Revised! The Wilson Digital Voice Recorder, Version 5
• NEW! Digital Talking Book Cartridge, 4GB, Blank
• APH Braille Book Corner

There’s Still Time to Be STEMulated! Registration for Annual Meeting Closes October 4!

If you haven’t registered for the 2013 Annual Meeting, time is running out, but you can register through October 4 for this exciting event. (After that, registration will be “at the door.”)

“The Universe at Our Fingertips: STEMulating Products for Life” will highlight the universe of products and services from APH designed to connect students, and others, with all aspects of life while emphasizing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Please visit the APH website to look over the information about our great program, outstanding related meetings, tours of APH, fun social events, and more.

Kevin O’Connor will kick off the event with his motivating keynote address, and you won’t want to miss product training sessions for great products like STACS, SAM, the Orion TI-84 Plus, and others. Want to talk to APH about accessible educational materials? We have a session for that! Want to provide input into future technology sessions? There’s a session for that, too! Want to learn about new APH projects and initiatives while STEMulating your taste buds? Come to the Information Fair to see some great posters, enjoy some awesome snacks, and find out how to win cash prizes and APH gift certificates!

You can find additional information on all of the above and register for Annual Meeting here: http://www.cvent.com/d/scqy9s/1Q.

If you want additional information, or have questions, please contact Janie Blome, jblome@aph.org, or call 800-223-1839, ext. 367.

Hall of Fame Induction of Martha Louise Foxx and Dr. Laurence C. Jones, October 18, 2013

B. J. LeJuene

Dr. Rosie Pridgen

Laurence C. Jones III

The Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will immediately follow the APH InSights Art Banquet, which honors the amazing artists who placed in the 2013 national juried art competition.

Assisting with the induction of these two giants from the Piney Woods School will be Mrs. B. J. LeJuene, of Mississippi State University, and Dr. Rosie Pridgen, recently retired Superintendent of the Mississippi School for the Blind. Responding to the induction will be the grandson of Dr. Jones, Laurence C. Jones III, and a former student of Mrs. Foxx, Napoleon Campbell.

Treasures From the APH Libraries

Subject: The Piney Woods Country Life School

The APH Barr Library supports research initiatives at APH, while the Migel Library is one of the largest collections of nonmedical information related to blindness in the world. Although the collections do not circulate, arrangements can be made to use the materials on-site. In addition, an ongoing digitization effort means APH will continue to make materials available through the online catalog at http://migel.aph.org.

Martha Louise Morrow Foxx and Laurence Clifton Jones will be inducted into the Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field this month for their work at the Piney Woods School (MS). Presented is a short bibliography of books about the Piney Woods School that are held in the Migel Library and that have been digitized for access at the Internet Archive.

James, Doris. My Education at Piney Woods School. New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1937.

This memoir was written by an office assistant from Iowa who, at the time of publication, had worked at the Piney Woods school for 18 years. It details the ways in which she had to adapt to her new position in the South, along with the history of Piney Woods during her time there.

Jones, Laurence Clifton. Pictorial History of the Piney Woods Country Life School: Fortieth Anniversary, 1910-11 – 1950-51. Piney Woods: Board of Trustees of the Piney Woods Country Life School, 1951.

Approximately 200 captioned, black-and-white photos are collected in magazine format, showing the history of the school up to 1951.

Jones, Laurence Clifton. Piney Woods and Its Story. New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1922.

A memoir by the founder of the school, this book documents the first ten years of the Piney Woods School. The copy digitized at the Migel Library’s Internet Archive page holds a librarian’s note stating "Since this book was written, a class for colored blind children has been opened at the ‘Piney Woods’ school. Miss Martha Morrow, a colored girl from the Pennsylvania School for the Blind, was selected as teacher."

Jones, Laurence Clifton. The Spirit of Piney Woods. New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1931.

This work presents a collection of Sunday evening addresses given to the students of Piney Woods, along with some of the school’s special publications between 1922 and 1931.

Webster, John R. A Brief Historical Sketch of the Early Days of Piney Woods School. Piney Woods, 1957.

This fundraising pamphlet contains the history that was used by Ralph Edwards to create the "Piney Woods Story" for Laurence C. Jones’ appearance on "This is Your Life."

APH is working with the LYRASIS Consortium and Internet Archive to digitize portions of the M.C. Migel Library. Search the phrase “full text” to find these items at http://migel.aph.org. The digitized texts are available in a variety of formats, including DAISY, Kindle, EPUB, PDF, etc.

Contact Library staff: library@aph.org, 800-223-1839, ext. 705

Honoring a Florida State University Legend

Dr. Gideon R. Jones was recently celebrated at a banquet in Tallahassee honoring the 50th Anniversary of the FSU vision program. APH President Dr. Tuck Tinsley presented his former professor with an engraved stone that will be included in the Wall of Tribute of the Hall of Fame for the Blindness Field. Former students and other fans of Dr. Jones contributed toward the stone.

Awesome Summer 2013 Video Star from Virginia

APH wishes to congratulate ‘The Team of Awesomeness’, the first prize winners of this summer’s Unforgettable APH Star Contest.

Kathryn and Laura Skeen, from Great Falls, Virginia, are the winners of the $150.00 cash prize, as well as a $25.00 Amazon.com gift certificate. Their awesome and informative video entitled “Why the Book Port Plus is my favorite product of APH”, will soon be featured on our contest page. If you wish to participate in the next Unforgettable APH Star Contest, watch out for the upcoming February 2014 deadline.

Congratulations Team of Awesomeness!

We Need YOUR Input on a Possible Product for Braille Readers

APH is considering the development of a product to assist teachers with contraction practice for braille readers, and your feedback will be greatly appreciated.

Our questions are designed to obtain information regarding students who are on and above a fourth grade reading level.

Please complete our Take Action on Braille Contractions Survey by visiting
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1aIp8wR4MtmejG2io87Idaqc4ZhFMMEuXsKV-m5ptuvw/viewform

Thank you for your input!

Field Testers Needed for Functional Skills Assessment

The Functional Skills Assessment is a comprehensive program designed to assess a student’s current skill levels in each of four areas: Clothing Management; Food Management; Home Management; and Self Management. Each of these four content areas is assessed at four levels:

• Beginning (preschool through Grade 3 or has not mastered skills assessed at this level)
• Middle (Middle school grades or has not mastered skills assessed at this level; younger students can be assessed at this level if they have already mastered all skills at previous levels)
• Secondary (secondary school or has not mastered skills assessed at this level; younger students can be assessed at this level if they have already mastered all skills at previous levels)
• Transition (transition students or adults in rehabilitation programs; younger students can be assessed at this level if they have already mastered all skills at previous levels)

Each of the four content modules includes an assessment manual and a scoring book. Each level of each module consists of approximately 20-30 student activities to be assessed. Activities to be assessed are described concretely and specific scoring directions are listed for each activity. The manual also provides a Scoring Scenario for each activity so that the examiner can see how scoring criteria are applied to a specific set of student behaviors. Content has been provided by Dianne Bender, a Family and Consumer Science teacher in a residential school for the blind for more than 30 years. It is believed that changes in assessment scores for a given level of a module should reflect parallel changes in student ability in that area. it is also believed that a student’s score on specific items can be used to determine those skills that require more instruction and those that are already mastered by the student. A Scoring Book for a specific module can be used to track student progress in that area of functioning from preschool through transition/rehabilitation programs.

Each tester will be given one of the four modules to test. To complete the field test, each tester must:

• Complete testing within a 6-week time frame during the spring of 2014
• Commit approximately 30 hours of time to reading, reviewing, and commenting on the manual and scoring book for a given module
• Read and answer Expert Review questions on all four levels of the Assessment Manual for a given module
• Read and answer Expert Review questions on all four levels of the Scoring Book for a given module
• Use this module with a minimum of two students
• Use a minimum of two levels of the given module
• Administer a minimum of ten test items to each student
• Return Manual Review Forms; Scoring Book Review Forms; and Scoring Books for all students who were tested

If you are interested in testing and believe that you have the time and students required, please contact Terrie Terlau at tterlau@aph.org.

Around the House:

Welcome new staff members!

Cecilia Peredo

Tom Dunn

Cecilia Peredo is the newest member of APH’s Development Department, filling a new position as Director of Grants. Her primary focus is finding new sources of funding from private and corporate foundations. Cecilia received her MA Degree from the University of South Florida. APH is excited to have Cecilia’s expertise in writing and administering grants as a part of the Development Team.

Tom Dunn joined the Accessible Tests Department as its newest Accessible Test Editor. He has been with APH since June 2011 as a Prototype Developer in the Accessible Textbooks Department. Tom holds a MFA in Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

A Garden Space for APH Employees

This year, after the annual plant swap, left-over plants were planted and became the employee garden. A few pepper plants were planted, and then later Fred Otto planted a few plants of his own. Next year, APH employees hope to find a place and the time to expand from four pepper plants to other vegetables.

There are a handful of employees who spend non-work times tending to the garden; they find it relaxing and fun.

APH on the Road

APH Goes to ACS! (Chemicals!)

Dr. Rosanne Hoffmann, STEM Project Leader, was an invited speaker at the 246th American Chemical Society National Meeting & Exposition on September 10 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Dr. Hoffmann participated in a session titled “Current and Future Trends to Provide Equal Access to Chemistry and Science Curricula for Students with Special Needs,” chaired by Dr. Cary Supalo, President of Independence Science. Dr. Hoffmann demonstrated how to explore graphs with audio and haptic feedback with the newly released APH Orion TI-84 Plus Talking Graphing Calculator. She also showed how basic molecular biology concepts are easily accessible to science students with the soon-to-be-released DNA-RNA Kit. It was an exciting one-day trip for Dr. Hoffmann, who got back in town in time to teach a 5 pm lecture at the University of Louisville!

SAM in New Mexico!

Millie Smith, APH Consultant, and Tristan Pierce, Multiple Disabilities Project Leader, recently spent a week filming at the New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. The videos will be used for training with SAM: Symbols and Meaning and the Sensory Learning Kit. Ex Officio Trustee Linda Lyle, and her staff welcomed Millie and Tristan. The teachers and students did a fabulous job and rolled right along with last minute changes; they were real pros! Special thanks to Kelly King, Program Coordinator, who coordinated the schedule for the filming, and to Lee Rohovec who followed the group from building to building with all his audiovisual gear and did a great job filming the routines and games.

Back row: Lorrie Francis, Music Teacher and TVI; Danette Fuller, Director of Student Services; Tristan Pierce; Kelly King, Program Coordinator and Athletic Director; Julie Johnson, Outreach and TVI, Alex Burks, Speech-Language Pathologist. Front row: Virginia McGoldrick, Classroom teacher and TVI; Millie Smith; Dana Lyons, Classroom teacher and TVI; and Mary Vaughn, Classroom teacher and TVI. Photo taken by Lee Rohovec.

Oldies but Goodies: The "Established" APH Product Series

The Prevocational Skills Development Materials Kit was designed to help multiply disabled students develop manipulative skills, such as matching, sorting, counting, assembling, and packaging. The complete kit contains five sets of materials and a print guidebook. Each set of materials is also available as a separate purchase.

The kit includes a Paper-Folding Jig for tri-folding 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper. (APH also carries the FoldRite: Letter Folding Tool to assist with this task.) The Round and Square Containers with Screw Tops includes 10 plastic bottles of graduating size and two seated boards. The Bolt, Nut, and Washer Board includes eight bolt, nut, and washer sets of graduating size. The Bolt Practice Boards includes four boards mounted with bolts and nuts of various sizes. The Sorting and Assembly Tray comes with adjustable dividers for sorting two to twelve different items.

Like many APH products, some parts of this kit can be used in additional ways, making them useful beyond their original purpose. For instance, the Sorting and Assembly Tray can also be used as a calendar box system. Calendar boxes are used to teach daily schedules, improve communication, and develop the concept of time. Each divided section represents a specific period of time and an object placed within that area represents an activity to be worked on during that time period. APH’s Sorting and Assembly Tray is especially useful for this purpose because it is durable and can be expanded from just one or two activities per day to a more advanced calendar box by simply adding additional green dividers.

If you have additional ideas of new and innovative ways to make use of older APH products, please consider contributing an article to our Fred’s Head Blog by emailing us at fredshead@aph.org. If you have any suggestions for other products you would like to see highlighted in this monthly feature, please send your comments to Monica Turner at mmturner@aph.org.

New at the APH Museum Website

A new feature on the APH Museum website allows Web users to access the recorded labels from the museum exhibits. Narrated by well-known Talking Book readers at the Printing House—such as Mitzi Friedlander, Jack Fox, and Madelyn Buzzard—the labels are physically available in the museum on audio wands at various stations. Now they are also available online as part of a virtual tour, thanks to a Web project created by Scott Blome and Malcolm Turner in the APH Communications Department. You can find the recorded labels here along with a description of the two main museum galleries, under the two links that begin with “Virtual Tour”: sites.aph.org/museum/programs/main-gallery/. And coming soon, we will announce new Web pages celebrating the company’s historic printing and embossing presses, and our Talking Book narrators!

Tactile Book Competition Winners Fly to Finland…on a “Little Breath of Wind”

Books with tactile illustrations offer children with visual impairments rich learning opportunities and a doorway to enjoyment and imagination. They engage young children in exploring books and encountering both tactile displays and braille and print text. Interactions built around these encounters allow adults to scaffold the child’s learning. They are an irreplaceable tool on the road to literacy …and they’re simply fun!

In September, five tactile books “took flight” from APH, headed to Finland. They are the U.S. entries in the Typhlo & Tactus (T&T) international tactile book competition, to be held October 24-25 in Helsinki. APH acted as the U.S. national contact organization, publicizing the competition, directing participants to competition guidelines, and accepting and judging U.S. entries.

T&T is an organization including western and eastern European nations. It exists to improve the quality and quantity of tactile books available to children with visual impairments. Since 2000, they have conducted biennial, tactile book competitions that have raised awareness and interest in tactile book design, production, and conducted supporting research in participating countries.

In the past, winning entries were mass produced and distributed by the tactile books publisher Les Doigts Qui Rêvent (Dreaming Fingers). Funding for this has been reduced sharply in recent years, but the competition continues to serve its purpose of sharing and learning from one another.

Thank you to everyone here in the U.S.—those who submitted tactile books and to our judges—for your participation in the 2013 Typhlo & Tactus book competition! The U.S. winners are:

• Ready, Set, Go: An Introduction to the White Cane, by Laura Chartier & Kara Miller;
• Pockets, by Carla Robertson;
• Look, Look Ladybugs, by Lori Gellhaus;
• Going to the Doctor, by Sue Parker-Strafaci & Kevin McCarthy;
• An adaptation of Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?, by Jeeun Kim.

Look for the final T&T competition results in the December APH News.

You can purchase an English translation of a past acclaimed T&T competition entry. APH contracted with Les Doigts Qui Rêvent (Dreaming Fingers) to produce an English translation of Little Breath of Wind, by Elisa Lodolo. It is available as a quota purchase.

To view the APH English version, visit the APH Shopping site:
https://shop.aph.org/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_Little%20Breath%20of%20Wind_6-77950-00P_10001_11051

For a look at each of the varied, highly textured, hand-applied illustrations inside (sorry, but the book text at this link is in French) visit:
http://ldqr.org/livresVirtuels/petitSouffle/UkPetitSouffle.php

While you’re there, you can examine a few of the many other tactile books—now numbering almost 200 titles—Les Doigts Qui Rêvent has produced. More of these could be translated and made available from APH in the near future. Tell us about your favorites.

Braille Plus 18: So Capable, It’s Hard to Describe!

APH’s Braille Plus 18 device is difficult to describe. It is somewhere between a traditional braille note taker and an advanced mobile tablet. In recognition that this new platform is different from anything in the past, APH is developing tutorials and curriculum to focus on specific tasks to you can accomplish with this capable device. See the new resources page at http://tech.aph.org/plus_res.htm.

Measuring less than 6.5 inches by 4.1 inches and just over one inch in height, Braille Plus 18 combines a high-quality braille keyboard and refreshable braille display with an advanced mobile platform and specialized accessible software to create the world’s first Android smartphone designed for blind students and professionals.

Braille Plus 18 Features Include

• Improve retention, enjoy privacy, and increase literacy with the 18-cell refreshable braille display.
• Quickly move the cursor or click on a button with one of the 18-cursor routing keys located above each braille cell.
• Easily understand the human-sounding speech.
• Use the 5 megapixel camera with flash to quickly and accurately convert menus, papers, and books into braille or speech. Note: does not recognize handwriting.
• Use GPS to determine current location, discover nearby businesses, and get directions.
• Efficiently start apps or find information with the Google search technology built into the platform.
• Maintain privacy and convenience with the separate braille navigation stick.
• Read books and periodicals from Bookshare®. Note: bookshare.org account required.
• Create, edit, and read documents in multiple formats and change them to braille with the word processor.
• Take full advantage of the Internet with the browser.
• Read and write messages with the email program.
• Automatically read everything in contracted braille.
• Schedule appointments and alarms with the calendar and clock.
• Record lectures or music with the built-in stereo microphones and recorder.
• Play music on the device or from the cloud with the music player.
• Connect to Wi-Fi hot spots with wireless "N" technology.
• Enjoy stereo playback through the speakers or with a Bluetooth headphone.
• Share media and documents with the full size SD card or USB port.
• Send and receive text messages.
• Make and receive phone calls.
• Stay connected to the internet with 3G wireless connections. Note: text messaging, phone calls, and 3G internet require a cell phone plan from AT&T or T-Mobile. Verizon compatible starting in 2013.
• Enjoy thousands of additional apps written for Android smart phones and tablets. Note: Not all programs written for Android are accessible.
• Share or collaborate with sighted peers, teachers, or parents with the TV signal outputs. Note: TV not included.

New Video: Using Bookshare with the Braille Plus 18

Student Chase Crispin and his teacher LeAnna MacDonald have created a new video about using Bookshare® with APH’s Braille Plus 18. The video demonstrates searching for, finding information about, and downloading a book using the Bookshare.org Book Search app on the Braille Plus 18. Find this and many other product videos on APH’s products video page. Thanks as always to Chase and LeAnna for creating many helpful videos!

Social Media Spotlight

APH Joins Google+

We have expanded our social media presence by creating a Google+ page! Anyone with a Google account can join, so come follow us or add us to your Google+ Circles to keep up-to-date with the latest from APH and the field of blindness.

https://plus.google.com/107207922244442924910/

"Like" APH at Our Facebook Page!

We invite you to visit our Facebook page and "Like" us! You can find APH at these social media sites: Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, and at our blog, Fred’s Head from APH.

APH Welcomes New Ex Officio Trustee

William Tubilleja, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction PNP account, replacing Julie Kagy.

APH Travel Calendar

October

October 7-8, 2013
NIP Event: SAM;
Vinton, IA

October 10, 2013
Nevada Early Intervention Services and CCSD APH Product Presentation;
Las Vegas, NV

October 16-19, 2013
APH Annual Meeting;
Louisville, KY

October 23-25, 2013
Wisconsin AER & NIU Student Disability Office;
Wauwatosa, WI

October 24, 2013
Wisconsin AER;
Wauwatosa, WI

October 24-25, 2013
Nebraska Fall Conference on APH Products;
Nebraska City, NE

October 25, 2013
NIP Event: Math;
Nebraska

October 31 – November 1, 2013
NY State Technology Hands-On Training;
Watertown, NY

November

November 6-8, 2013
NCTM 2013 Regional Conference;
Louisville, KY

November 7, 2013
NIP: Symbols & Meaning Kit and the APH Intervention Continuum including SLK and Tactile Connections;
hosted by the Missouri School for the Blind in St. Louis, MO

November 8, 2013
Missouri AER;
Columbia, MO

November 11-13, 2013
ASERT/MACRT 2013;
Savannah, GA

November 14-15, 2013
South Carolina AER 2013 (SCAER);
South Carolina

November 14-16, 2013
AERO 203 Convention;
Worthington, OH

November 21, 2013
Indiana AER & IU Student Disability Office;
Bloomington, IN

December

December 4-8, 2013
Getting In Touch With Literacy Conference 2013;

December 5-6, 2013
NIP Event: Cortical Visual Impairment;
Grand Forks, ND

December 11-14, 2013
AER International: All-Orientation & Mobility Conference 2013;
New Orleans, LA

December 13, 2013
VRATE-17th Annual Vision Rehabilitation & Assistive Technology Expo;
Phoenix, AZ

January

January 29-February 1, 2014
ATIA 2014;
Orlando, FL

APH Fall Harvest Sale

Load up a world of savings on selected APH products with APH’s Fall Harvest Sale 2013, October 1—December 31. As always, first come, first served.

archive.aph.org/sale

Revised! iBill Currency Scanner

1-03931-01 — $119.00

Not available with Quota funds

Avoid wondering which bill you just pulled out of your wallet or purse. With iBill™ you’ll know within seconds! This currency scanner recognizes all U.S. bills in circulation and is easily updateable to recognize new banknote designs.

New Features

• Enhanced volume
• Earphone jack for privacy
• Redesigned slot for easier bill insertion
• Recessed buttons to avoid inadvertent activation

Additional Features

• Ultra-slim and compact key fob design measures 3 x 1.6 x 0.7 inches
• Ultra-high accuracy – better than 99.9%
• Recognizes currency in any orientation
• Clearly indicates unidentifiable bills (e.g., torn or badly defaced ones)
• Durable construction – fully sealed to resist dust and fluids
• Clear announcement of denomination by speech, tone, or vibration
• Long battery life

Includes

• One AAA battery
• User manual in large print and audio CD-ROM
• One-year limited warranty

Revised! The Wilson Digital Voice Recorder, Version 5

1-03993-03 — $39.95

Not available with Quota funds

New version includes earpiece! This state-of-the-art digital voice recorder is simple to use. Record up to 12 hours of voice messages and download to your computer via the included USB cable.

Features

• LP/SP switch for Long Play or Standard Play (shorter recording time, better sound quality)
• When memory is full, the oldest recorded message is automatically deleted
• Will store multiple messages
• Easy to add or delete messages
• Clips to your belt, visor, or purse
• Earpiece (mono)
• USB cable port and included cable

Use to Record

• Phone numbers
• Addresses
• Shopping lists
• Reminders
• To-do lists
• Notes
• Appointments
• Messages
• Lectures
• Directions
• Audio instructions
• more!

Measures 2 x 3 x 0.5 inches. Requires 2 AAA batteries (not included).

Note: The Wilson digital recorder is not related to the Wilson Reading System product.

NEW! Digital Talking Book Cartridge, 4GB, Blank

1-02609-00 — $13.00

Note: Cartridge, cable, and mailer are not available with Quota funds.

Related Products

Digital Talking Book Cartridge: USB Extension Cable Digital Talking Book Cable: 1-02612-00 — $5.00

Digital Talking Book Cartridge: Mailer, Container: 1-02611-00 — $2.50

This new 4GB blank cartridge has twice the capacity of our previous cartridge for only $1 more! This blank cartridge is for use with APH’s Book Port DT or the National Library Service (NLS) Digital Talking Book Player. The digital cartridge is a newer medium for playing digital talking books and magazines.

Features

• Connect this cartridge to your PC via USB cable (sold separately) to download NLS books (you must be an authorized NLS user). The cartridge can then be disconnected from your PC and plugged into the Book Port DT or the NLS digital player to play back the downloaded material.
• Large capacity: 4GB blank cartridge will hold approximately 40 NLS Talking Books or hundreds of Daisy Text Files. Cartridge is green in color.

For more information about National Library Service digital talking books, please visit http://www.loc.gov/nls/digital.html.

APH offers a number of recreational books in braille (Quota funds can be used). Each of these titles was originally transcribed and produced by APH for the National Library Service which has graciously granted permission for this offering. As usual, these titles have been added to the APH Louis Database where you can find thousands of titles produced in accessible formats.

Note: all books are produced upon receipt of orders, therefore, please allow several weeks for delivery.

Attack of the Shark-Headed Zombie
by Bill Doyle: T-N1936-50 — $15.00
To earn money for new bicycles, nine-year-old cousins Keats and Henry take a job at a very strange house where doors disappear, carpets bite, and a zombie shark comes after them. Grades K-3. *(AR Quiz No. 143708, BL 3.4 Pts 1.0)

The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall
by Mary Downing Hahn: T-N1920-60 — $28.50
In the nineteenth century, ten-year-old Florence Crutchfield leaves a London orphanage to live with her great-uncle, great-aunt, and sickly cousin James, but she soon realizes the home has another resident, who means to do her and James harm. Grades 4-7. *(AR Quiz No. 140166, BL 4.4 Pts 4.0)

The Dark and Hollow Places
by Carrie Ryan: T-N1938-40 — $92.00
Alone and listening to the moaning of the Dark City dying around her, Annah wants to find her way back home, to her sister and family and their village in the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Some violence and mature content. Grades 9-12. *(AR Quiz No. 143260, BL 5.7 Pts 16.0)

Apocalypse of the Dead
by Joe McKinney: T-N1938-50 — $128.00
After a virus outbreak following Hurricane Mardell turns people into zombies, Texas is placed under quarantine. When a desperate group of uninfected survivors tries to escape the quarantine zone, horror creeps out with them — leaving humanity struggling to survive. Some violence and mature content. Adult reader.

Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith
by Deborah Heiligman: T-N1885-00 — $71.50
Portrays the private life of Charles Darwin (1809-1882), a public proponent of evolution. Discusses his marriage to devout Emma Wedgwood (1808-1896) and their lifelong debate over natural selection versus Christian creationism. Covers his work habits, poor health, and dedication to family. Grades 4-8. *(AR Quiz No. 127228, BL 7.6 Pts 11.0)

*Accelerated Reader quiz number, book level, and point value. For more information on the Accelerated Reader program, see the January 2006 APH News or www.renlearn.com/ar/