In this guide you will find information about accessing all of the resources available to you, whether on the Hickory campus or visiting in Boone.
Navigate the tabs to the left based on your needs. Mobile users will see tabs at the top of the screen.
The Instructional Materials Center (IMC) is a model Pre-K – 12 school media center. We serve Appalachian students, faculty, and staff, as well as area educators and community members.
The IMC is located on the lower level of Belk Library in Boone. Most of our resources are available for check out, both in person and from the Hickory campus.
The IMC is open when Belk Library is open. Please call us at 828-262-2790 if you have questions.
Visit the IMC website for more information!
Picture Book
By Shawn Harris
Recommended: Ages 3 to 7
Pages: 32
Summary: "Teeny-Weeny Unicorn feels like the world is not made for his small stature, but he gains a new perspective after encountering an even tinier gnome." --From Publisher's Description
Beginning Reader
By Corey R. Tabor
Recommended: Ages 4 to 8
Pages: 32
Summary: "Fox demonstrates all his foxy skills when a newcomer arrives, but the other creature can do all the same things!" --From Publisher's Description
Picture Book
By Chana Stiefel
Recommended: Ages 4 to 8
Pages: 32
Summary:
"Avocado wants to stand out, but nothing seems to be working. With the help of her friends, she discovers that she was special all along." --From Publisher's Description
Picture Book
By Meg Medina
Recommended: Grades K to 2
Pages: 32
Summary: "When Abuela comes to live with Ana and her mami, she won't need her neighbor and babysitter señora Mimí anymore. Or will she?" --From Publisher's Description
Picture Book
By Maysa Odeh
Recommended: Grades K to 3
Pages: 32
Summary: "At school, Falasteen and her classmates are tasked with finding their families' home countries on a map, but she can't find hers." --From Publisher's Description
Picture Book
By Andrea Beaty
Recommended: Grades K to 3
Pages: 32
Summary: "When Miss Greer asks each child in the class to write a story, second-grader Aaron creates a story using pictures." --From Publisher's Description
Picture Book
By Vera Ahiyya
Recommended: Ages 4 to 8
Pages: 32
Summary: "Leo ends up having a great first day of kindergarten when he makes a kindness pledge and discovers he knows a lot about being kind to others."--From Publisher's Description
Picture Book
By Andrea L. Rogers
Recommended: Grades K to 2
Pages: 32
Summary: "Sissy's younger brother, Chooch, isn't a baby anymore. So she introduces him to their family's Cherokee traditions... begrudgingly." --From Publisher's Description
Picture Book
By Marty Wilson-Trudeau
Recommended: Grades 1 to 3
Pages: 32
Summary: "Phoenix loves to play with dolls and dance. He struggles with feeling different, but his family is proud of him."
--From Publisher's Description
Picture Book
By Jenna Beatrice
Recommended: Grades K to 3
Pages: 32
Summary: "When loud-voiced Penelope becomes student-librarian, she is determined to prove she is perfect for the job." --From Publisher's Description
Poetry
By Lindsay H. Metcalf (Ed.)
Recommended: Ages 5 to 9
Pages: 32
Summary: "14 poems honor young activists who have stepped up to make change in their community and country." --From Publisher's Description
Poetry
By Kirsten Hall
Recommended: Ages 4 to 8
Pages: 32
Summary: "A cento poem that celebrates the beauty of our forests and encourages readers to respect, honor, and be in awe of their natural wonders." --From Publisher's Description
Nonfiction
By Roopa Farooki
Recommended: Ages 4 to 8
Pages: 32
Summary: "If you think of your body as a machine, your brain would be the control room. This book explores how different parts of the brain work and also how they work together." --From Publisher's Description
Nonfiction
By Stephen Krensky
Recommended: Grades K to 2
Pages: 48
Summary: "Hot chocolate is a treat with a long history. This entertaining, fact-filled book walks independent readers through the evolution of the delicious drink." --From Publisher's Description
Nonfiction
By Patricia Newman
Recommended: Grades 4 to 8
Pages: 56
Summary: "Kerstin Forsberg made waves in Perú when she started a community-focused project to save manta rays. Find out more about these gentle giants and how local people are working to save them." --From Publisher's Description
Nonfiction
By Monique Gray Smith
Recommended: Grades PreK-2
Pages: 32
Summary: "Gves examples of how children can be kind and how kindness can make us feel." --From Publisher's Description
Nontiction
By Shane Jordan
Recommended: Grades K to 3
Pages: 28
Summary: "
During a pride parade, a young child and their supportive father meet and help a non-binary child feel comfortable in their own skin." --From Publisher's Description
Nonfiction
By Hadi Mohammadi
Recommended: Grades 2 to 5
Pages: 32
Summary: "In this gentle story based on an Iranian folktale, Naneh Sarma journeys to the far off land of Spring to seek Amu Nowruz, Spring's herald, who sows the meadows with the seeds from his knapsack." --From Publisher's Description
Nonfiction
By Maria "Masha Knots" Makarova
Recommended: Ages 10 and Up
Pages: 140
Summary: "Celebrate your relationships and express your style with the ultimate guide to creating friendship bracelets!" --From Publisher's Description
Nonfiction
By Candace Fleming
Recommended: Grades 7 and Up
Pages: 356
Summary: "Reveals the makings of a monster from Jim Jones's humble origins to to his transformation of the Peoples Temple into a nefarious experiment in mind-control." --From Publisher's Description
Nonfiction
By Livia Blackburne
Recommended: Ages 7 to 11
Pages: 40
Summary: "Illuminates a tragic episode in our nation's past, when on October 24, 1871 in Los Angeles, 18 Chinese men were murdered in a racist attack." --From Publisher's Description
Nonfiction
By Bibi Dumon Tak
Recommended: Ages 8 to12
Pages: 223
Summary: "This is a book of oral presentations given by animals, for animals, and about animals. Yes, fox? What is it? Yes, you'll get to talk about geese and how delicious they are." --From Publisher's Description
Nonfiction
By John Micklos Jr.
Recommended: Grades 4 to 8
Pages: 32
Summary: "Learn facts about the Southeast United States, including its history, culture, geography, major cities, and everyday life." --From Publisher's Description
Biography
By Jonathan Eig
Recommended: Ages 12 to 18
Pages: 246
Summary: "A young readers' adaptation of Jonathan Eig's Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Martin Luther King, Jr." --From Publisher's Description
Graphic Novel
By Meredith McClaren
Recommended: Ages 8 to 12
Pages: 187
Summary: "Emily, her mom, and her aunt Gina have a very special magical power: They can bake emotions into desserts. There is only one rule: Never bake a bad feeling..." --From Publisher's Description
Graphic Novel
By Christopher Sebela
Recommended: Ages 12 to 17
Pages: 152
Summary: "Haley and her brother Max are sent to Wayfair Academy, a special needs boarding school, where they find a family among other deaf children. When the group decides to commit a crime, they soon find out that stealing from the wrong person has its consequences." --From Publisher's Description
Graphic Novel
By Tui T. Sutherland
Recommended: Grades 3 to 7
Pages: 216
Summary: "When Scarlet threatens Jade Mountain Academy, Peril sets off to find her former queen, stop her, and save the day, no matter what it takes." --From Publisher's Description
Graphic Novel
By Tyler Page
Recommended: Ages 8 to 12
Pages: 201
Summary: "It's the start of a new school year for Tyler, and with it comes brand-new problems. There are new bullies, new rules, and a new understanding of his body." --From Publisher's Description
Graphic Novel
By Kami Garcia
Recommended: Ages 8 to 12
Pages: 192
Summary: "Stella knows fifth grade will be the best year ever. But when the classwork starts piling up, she struggles to stay on top of it. Her loving teachers and family must get Stella the support and tools she needs to succeed." --From Publisher's Description
Manga
By Mai Matsuda
Recommended: Grades 4 to 7
Pages: 192
Summary: "Middle-school student Hikaru Ogino dreams of holding a microphone, not a mop. When her best friend invites her to try out for a pop star survival camp together, it's the chance of a lifetime." --From Publisher's Description
Novel in Verse
By Safia Elhillo
Recommended: Grades 9 to 12
Pages: 368
Summary: "When Samira joins an online poetry forum, she catches the eye of an older, charismatic writer. Soon she is keeping a secret that could jeopardize her reputation." --From Publisher's Description
Fiction
By Jake Maia Arlow
Recommended: Ages 10 to 14
Pages: 284
Summary: "12-year-old Al navigates an overprotective mother, growing apart from her best friend, and her first girl crush, all while her recent Crohn's diagnosis puts a literal knot in her stomach." --From Publisher's Description
Fiction
By 'Pemi Aguda
Recommended: Grades 10 and Up
Pages: 208
Summary: "A beguiling collection of twelve stories set in Lagos, Nigeria dramatizing the tension between our yearning to be individuals and the ways we are haunted by what came before." --From Publisher's Description
Fiction
By Megan E. Freeman
Recommended: Grades 5 and Up
Pages: 465
Summary: "Told from multiple points of view, four kids relocated to the same evacuation camp investigate the mysterious threat that forced a large-scale exodus." --From Publisher's Description
Novel in Verse
By Lesa Cline-Ransome
Recommended: Grades 3 to 7
Pages: 296
Summary: "Three women narrate a perilous wagon journey westward that could set them free--or cost them everything they have--in this intergenerational verse novel that explores the history of the Black homesteader movement." --From Publisher's Description
Fiction
By Ibi Zoboi
Recommended: Grades 9 to 12
Pages: 387
Summary: "15-year-old Marisol, a reluctant fireball witch, and 17-year-old Genevieve, haunted by a mysterious hunger and family secrets, uncover a powerful connection that threatens to ignite their fragile existence." --From Publisher's Description
Fiction
By Maya Van Wagenen
Recommended: Grades 7 and Up
Pages: 310
Summary: "Dolores was recently diagnosed with a chronic condition. The painful disease isn't life threatening, but it IS threatening to ruin her life." --From Publisher's Description
Fiction
By NoNieqa Ramos
Recommended: Grades 9 to 12
Pages: 361
Summary: "16-year-old Yuiza, a proud queer Boricua who loves to make horror movies, finds themself living in one when they are sent to an elite boarding school with sinister secrets." --From Publisher's Description
Fiction
By Kristiana Kahakauwila
Recommended: Grades 4 to 8
Pages: 273
Summary: "When she attains the ability to hear what boys are thinking, Clara hopes to reverse her ex-best friend's betrayal but ends up making a mess of everything." --From Publisher's Description
Fiction
By Cornelia Funke
Recommended: Grades 4 to 8
Pages: 297
Summary: "Five years after the events of Inkdeath, Orpheus has found an unexpected way to seek vengeance against his greatest adversary." --From Publisher's Description
Fiction
By Kekla Magoon
Recommended: Ages 8 to 12
Pages: 373
Summary: "Finding a mysterious letter from her late Grandpa, Dally is led straight to a library of secrets where each book is a portal to a precise moment in time." --From Publisher's Description
Fiction
By Andrew Clements
Recommended: Ages 8 to 12
Pages: 198
Summary: "Josh and his friends can't stand Mr. N's ELA class; it's a strict no-tech zone. When he discovers a secret, Josh is determined to solve the mystery of Mr. N's past." --From Publisher's Description
Novel in Verse
By Ann Clare LeZotte
Recommended: Ages 10 to 14
Pages: 209
Summary: "With a family who refuses to learn sign language, 12-year-old Effie is mostly cut off from human communication; only her interpreter is willing to fight to provide her with a safe home." --From Publisher's Description
Fiction
By Meredith Adamo
Recommended: Ages 14 and Up
Pages: 438
Summary: "When Jo-Lynn Kirby 's former best friend--pretty, nice Maddie Price--comes to her claiming to be in trouble, Jo assumes it's some kind of joke. But then Maddie is gone..." --From Publisher's Description
Fiction
By Kelly Yang
Recommended: Ages 8 to 12
Pages: 339
Summary: "10-year-old Lina wants to create a viral video to help her mom's business, but as she navigates the online world, she must find the courage to stay true to her authentic self. --From Publisher's Description
