Oaks Park LRC

  Silent Night                                                      by Tom Palmer   It was the coldest winter in living memory. So cold, in fact, that when I noticed two people breaking into a building that night, I thought my chattering teeth might give me away as I watched. I bit hard into my greatcoat collar to keep myself silent and hid behind some low bushes.  The pair – a girl and a man – did not see me, so I decided to wait to work out exactly what they were doing before I took action. I touched the pistol that was strapped to my hip to check it was there.   Who were they? What were they doing here? You might ask the same question of me. I was a soldier back then in ‘44. In the German army. On patrol in the old part of a Dutch village and looking out for suspicious behaviour.  It seemed I had found some. Everything around me was ice. Hard, bright, cold ice covering the ground. And although the world was at war, the scene appeared almost as if it was happening on top

  OPHS Library Young Adult Books What our older teenagers are reading Why should we know what our YA (young adult) students are reading and how can this knowledge encourage our students/children to become readers for life? A genre of fiction geared toward preteen and teen readers, young adult (YA) literature explores the experiences and challenges of coming of age. Themes in YA literature include young love, identity, social conflicts, and family relationships, all explored through the unique lenses of young protagonists. Straddling the realm between fiction for children and fiction for adults, YA literature is as diverse as its young readers. With themes and characters that often resonate with students more than those found in the traditional literary way, YA literature can be invaluable in encouraging students to become lifelong readers. Teachers constantly struggle to get students to read, but YA literature makes reading more attractive by providing students with a world they recogn