Library

Project Lit Book of the Month

Project Lit Book of the Month: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
The cover of A Wrinkle In TIme

March is SPACE MONTH in the Stewart Library!

"It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger.

“Wild nights are my glory,” the unearthly stranger told them. “I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me be on my way. Speaking of way, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract”.

Meg’s father had been experimenting with this fifth dimension of time travel when he mysteriously disappeared. Now the time has come for Meg, her friend Calvin, and Charles Wallace to rescue him. But can they outwit the forces of evil they will encounter on their heart-stopping journey through space?"

-Publisher’s description

Check this book out from Ms. Tarvin in the library! 

 


Stewart is part of the national Project Lit Community, which is a student-driven, adult-facilitated network of book club chapters. Project Lit books are nominated and chosen by students, teachers, and librarians at the national level every year. Each chapter can decide on its own format and organization. At Stewart, everyone is invited to check out the books of the month and to participate in Project Lit activities in the library at lunch on Fridays. When you do two book or community-related activities at our Project Lit, you can earn a prize, chips, or candy! 

More about Project Lit

Project Lit helps Stewart Students Build Connections

Stewart students use printing press to learn about local Black history

Project Lit Book for February: The Stars Beneath Our Feet by David Barclay Moore
The cover of The Stars Beneath Our Feet by David Barclay Moore.  A boy walking on a street made of Legos with his head down.

We celebrate Black History every month, but especially in February!

 

“It’s Christmas Eve in Harlem, but twelve-year-old Lolly Rachpaul and his mom aren’t celebrating. They’re still reeling from his older brother’s death in a gang-related shooting just a few months earlier. Then Lolly’s mother’s girlfriend brings him a gift that will change everything: two enormous bags filled with Legos. Lolly’s always loved Legos, and he prides himself on following the kit instructions exactly. Now, faced with a pile of building blocks and no instructions, Lolly must find his own way forward.
 
His path isn’t clear—and the pressure to join a 'crew,' as his brother did, is always there. When Lolly and his friend are beaten up and robbed, joining a crew almost seems like the safe choice. But building a fantastical Lego city at the community center provides Lolly with an escape—and an unexpected bridge back to the world."

-Publisher’s description

Check this book out from Ms. Tarvin in the library! 

 


Stewart is part of the national Project Lit Community, which is a student-driven, adult-facilitated network of book club chapters. Project Lit books are nominated and chosen by students, teachers, and librarians at the national level every year. Each chapter can decide on its own format and organization. At Stewart, everyone is invited to check out the books of the month and to participate in Project Lit activities in the library at lunch on Fridays. When you do two book or community-related activities at our Project Lit, you can earn a prize, chips, or candy! 

Find out more about Project Lit here:

Project Lit helps Stewart Students Build Connections

Stewart students use printing press to learn about local Black history

Project Lit Book for December and January: On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
On the Come Up cover

Project Lit Book for December AND January:

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

“Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least win her first battle. As the daughter of an underground hip hop legend who died right before he hit big, Bri’s got massive shoes to fill. But it’s hard to get your come up when you’re labeled a hoodlum at school, and your fridge at home is empty after your mom loses her job. So Bri pours her anger and frustration into her first song, which goes viral . . . for all the wrong reasons.

 

Bri soon finds herself at the center of a controversy, portrayed by the media as more menace than MC. But with an eviction notice staring her family down, Bri doesn’t just want to make it—shehas to. Even if it means becoming the very thing the public has made her out to be.

Insightful, unflinching, and full of heart, On the Come Up is an ode to hip hop from one of the most influential literary voices of a generation. It is the story of fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you; and about how, especially for young black people, freedom of speech isn’t always free.”  

(written by the book’s publisher)

November: Healer of the Water Monster
Boy and grandma sit in front of campfire while Water Monster watches from clouds

To celebrate Native American History Month, our Project Lit book of the month is Healer of the Water Monster by Brian Young.

“When Nathan goes to visit his grandma, Nali, at her mobile summer home on the Navajo reservation, he knows he’s in for a pretty uneventful summer, with no electricity or cell service. Still, he loves spending time with Nali and with his uncle Jet, though it’s clear when Jet arrives that he brings his problems with him.

One night, while lost in the nearby desert, Nathan finds someone extraordinary: a Holy Being from the Navajo Creation Story — a Water Monster — in need of help.

Now Nathan must summon all his courage to save his new friend. With the help of other Navajo Holy Beings, Nathan is determined to save the Water Monster, and to support Uncle Jet in healing from his own pain” -Publisher’s description

“If you like Percy Jackson-type stories, read this book!”- Ms. Tarvin

May: Kiki's Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono
Kiki's Delivery Service

We are celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and community in May!

Half-witch Kiki never runs from a challenge. So when her thirteenth birthday arrives, she's eager to follow a witch's tradition: choose a new town to call home for one year.

Brimming with confidence, Kiki flies to the seaside village of Koriko and expects that her powers will easily bring happiness to the townspeople. But gaining the trust of the locals is trickier than she expected. With her faithful, wise-cracking black cat, Jiji, by her side, Kiki forges new friendships and builds her inner strength, ultimately realizing that magic can be found in even the most ordinary places.

March: The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera
The Last Cuentista book cover

March's theme is Space!

There lived a girl named Petra Peña, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita.

But Petra's world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children – among them Petra and her family – have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race.

Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet – and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity's past. They have systematically purged the memories of all aboard – or purged them altogether.

Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again?

-Levine Querido, Publisher

February: Clean Getaway by Nic Stone and Some Places More Than Others by Renée Watson

We celebrate Black History every month, but especially in February!

Clean getway book cover

Clean Getaway by Nic Stone

Some Places more than others book cover

Some Places More Than Others by Renée Watson

 

 

January: The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman
Bridge home cover

January's theme is Around the World

Project Lit will happen every Friday in Janaury!

“Life is harsh on the teeming streets of Chennai, India, so when runaway sisters Viji and Rukku arrive, their prospects look grim. Very quickly, eleven-year-old Viji discovers how vulnerable they are in this uncaring, dangerous world. Fortunately, the girls find shelter - and friendship - on an abandoned bridge that's also the hideout of Muthi and Arul, two homeless boys, and the four of them soon form a family of sorts. And while making their living scavenging the city's trash heaps is the pits, the kids find plenty to take pride in, too. . .” –Penguin Books​

December: Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga
Other Words for Home book cover

“Chocked with equal parts fear and moxie, Jude is a heart trying to figure out how to beat outside the body. I ached for, but simultaneously, found that though our stories are different, I am her. This is a necessary story. We’re lucky to have it in the world.”​

-Jason Reynolds, award-winning, bestselling author of Ghost, Look Both Ways, Stuntboy, in the Meantime, and Long Way Down​.

Using Our Library Catalog

Put A Book on Hold

  1. Visit the Stewart Library Catalog.
  2. Find the login button in blue at the top right side of the screen.
  3. Login using the same username and password you use to login to your school laptop.
  4. Find a book your want to put on hold and click the "Hold" button in blue under the image of the book cover.

Tip! You can also add books to your favorites or make your own collection by clicking on the three little dots at the bottom right of the book.

Find A Book in Our Library

Each book in our online catalog has details about the book and information to help you find the physical book in our library.

  • A green book icon means the book is checked in. A red book icon means the book is checked out. 
  • The book's call number tells you where where it lives in the library. 
  • The book's genre is listed at the bottom. 
Screenshot with arrows on items in the library catalog

Tools & Resources

Tacoma Public Library

We partner with Tacoma Public Library for students to access library resources. Use your student ID number to login.

student resources PARENT & EDUCATOR resources free TUTORINg & Homework help

Britannica School

Explore an online encyclopedia with digital resources.

britannica school Tutorial Video

Free Live Tutoring

Students in grades 3-12 can access free tutoring services seven days a week from Tutor.com.

Student Access Through Schoology Demonstration Video

Sora

Borrow e-books and audiobooks.

SORA

Students use printing press in library

Contact Us

Carinna Tarvin

Carinna Tarvin
Teacher Librarian
253-571-2241

Library Hours

Monday - Friday
8:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

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Email TPS Help Desk
253-571-4357 

Our school's library helps students find a passion for reading, develop research skills, become media literate and gain the digital safety skills they need to be productive citizens in today's world.