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 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 Diana Murray
Recommended: Grades K to 3
Pages: 32
Summary: "The unicorns are celebrating their favorite day of the year. But when an impostor (a horse with a fake horn) arrives, will the party continue with all its glittery glory?" --From Publisher's Description
Picture Book
By Stephanie Seales
Recommended: Grades PreK to 3
Pages: 32
Summary: "A young girl and her father greet their horses and ride together through the waking city streets." --From Publisher's Description
Picture Book
By Robert Raczka
Recommended: Ages 5 to 9
Pages: 32
Summary: "Niko loves to draw his world. But no one understands the abstract pictures he makes until a new friend sees the thoughts and feelings within his shapes and forms." --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
Picture Book
By Cynthia Harmony
Recommended: Grades PreK to 3
Pages: 32
Summary: "While he spends the summer months working on faraway farms, Lucía watches the skies for signs of the monarchs' --and her papá's--return." --From Publisher's Description
Beginning Chapter Book
By Kate DiCamillo
Recommended: Grades K to 3
Pages: 72
Summary: "Can Orris the rat rescue Timble the owl, despite the fact that owls and rats are natural enemies?" --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
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 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
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 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
Nonfiction
By Maile Carpenter
Recommended: Grades 3 to 7
Pages: 192
Summary: "More than 100 photographed recipes for everyday and special-occasion baked favorites." --From Publisher's Description
Nonfiction
By George M. Johnson
Recommended: Ages 14 to 18
Pages: 133
Summary: "An illuminating set of profiles of Black and Queer writers, performers, and activists from the Harlem Renaissance." --From Publisher's Description
Nonfiction
By Elaine Kamarck
Recommended: Grades 10 and Up
Pages: 160
Summary: "This is a book for concerned citizens who want to recognize disinformation, understand it, and protect themselves and others." --From Publisher's Description
Nonfiction
By Deanna F. Cook
Recommended: Ages 8 to 12
Pages: 143
Summary: "Kids gain practical kitchen skills through preparing breakfasts, drinks, snacks, dinners, and desserts from around the world." --From Publisher's Description
Nonfiction
By Melissa Blake
Recommended: Grades 10 and Up
Pages: 256
Summary: "A frank, illuminating memoir and a call to action for disabled people and allies." --From Publisher's Description
Nonfiction
By Sally M. Walker
Recommended: Ages 10 to 14
Pages: 288
Summary: "Explores the extraordinary lives of the brave soldiers who served with honor in the line of duty, despite enduring broken treaties, loss of tribal lands, and racism." --From Publisher's Description
Nonfiction
By Rosanne Tolin
Recommended: Grades 4 to 7
Pages: 130
Summary: "The first biography about the writer behind the beloved series reveals how he poured his personal feelings about the events of his era into the story." --From Publisher's Description
Graphic Novel
By Wahab Algarmi
Recommended: Ages 8 to 12
Pages: 215
Summary: "Hassan faces a hectic month of homework, soccer and gaming while fasting every day for the holy month of Ramadan." --From Publisher's Description
Graphic Novel
By Jose Pimienta
Recommended: Grades 4 to 8
Pages: 237
Summary: "Ave must adjust to a new country, a new school, and a new family dynamic when their mom and younger brother move to Kansas while their father and older sister stay in Mexico during the parents' divorce." --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 Kyle Starks
Recommended: Ages 14 to 18
Pages: 154
Summary: "From prom to the after-party to graduation, Don and Sam will have to fight their way through a gauntlet of opponents, all in the name of love." --From Publisher's Description
Graphic Novel
By Ursula Murray Husted
Recommended: Ages 8 to 12
Pages: 255
Summary: "Though girls can't be official apprentices to artists in Florence, Mella has been secretly teaching herself to paint while tending to artist Sandro Botticelli's chickens." --From Publisher's Description
Graphic Novel
By Cameron Mukwa
Recommended: Grades 3 to 7
Pages: 175
Summary: "Anang is two-spirit and wants to make a ribbon skirt, a piece of clothing typically worn by women in the Anishinaabe tradition, for an upcoming powwow." --From Publisher's Description
Graphic Novel
By Dave Roman
Recommended: Ages 8 to 12
Pages: 203
Summary: "The first few years of Brian Reyes' life were unremarkable. Then one day, a bump appeared on his head, and it grew until it was a full-blown, sparkling, unicorn horn. Soon weird occurrences start stacking up, and Brian has to embrace his fate to rescue his best friend." --From Publisher's Description
Graphic Novel
By Shaina Lu
Recommended: Ages 8 to 12
Pages: 216
Summary: "Momo has lived in the same town her entire life. She knows where to get the best meal: Noodle & Bao. But now rent is becoming unaffordable, and the restaurant has been edged out of its storefront. Can Momo protect her town from "beautification?" --From Publisher's Description
Graphic Novel
By Jeremy Whitley
Recommended: Ages 15 and Up
Pages: 220
Summary: "When new students Neesha and Gabby discover they like the same manga series, they become friends and set out on a mission to find the remaining books." --From Publisher's Description
Graphic Novel
By Zachary Sterling
Recommended: Ages 8 to 12
Pages: 228
Summary: "When creatures from Filipino folklore appear in their town and threaten their family, JJ and Althea realize that the myths their parents have always told them may be more real than they'd suspected." --From Publisher's Description
Graphic Novel
By Molly Knox Ostertag
Recommended: Grades 10 to 12
Pages: 470
Summary: "High school senior Magdalena has a deadly secret hidden in the dark of the basement, one that drains her of energy and could kill if it ever got out." --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
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 Jonny Garza Villa
Recommended: Grades 9 to 12
Pages: 338
Summary: "When a mariachi star transfers schools, he expects to be handed his new group's lead vocalist spot. What he gets instead is a tenacious current lead with a very familiar, very kissable face." --From Publisher's Description
Fiction
By Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Recommended: Grades 9 to 12
Pages: 434
Summary: "A collection of novellas and short stories set before, during, and after the Inheritance Games series." --From Publisher's Description
Fiction
By Malia Maunakea
Recommended: Grades 3 to 7
Pages: 298
Summary: "12-year-old Anna must dig deep into her Hawaiian roots in order to save her best friend and her island from an angry fire goddess." --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 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 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
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 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
Fiction
By Kwame Mbalia
Recommended: Grades 4 to 8
Pages: 405
Summary: "Tristan is supposed to be keeping an eye on his younger cousin when he sees his archenemy, King Cotton, and a mysterious girl grabs his magic cellphone." --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
