Columbiana graduate publishes book

Columbiana graduate publishes book

COLUMBIANA

Stunning photographs and accessible text tell the story of a science expedition to the North Pole in the newly published children’s book “To the Top of the World” by Columbiana High School graduate Katlin Bowman, Ph.D.

Roaming polar bears, mechanical failures and stormy seas lend excitement to the expedition’s technical mission to map the chemistry of the Arctic Ocean. The book balances explanation of a few key scientific concepts with stories and images of life aboard the Healy, a Coast Guard icebreaker.

Funding to publish the book came from the National Science Foundation, and all proceeds will be donated to nonprofit organizations supporting STEM education and ocean conservation. Books can be purchased online at healycruisebook.com.

Bowman graduated from Columbiana High School in 2006, received her bachelor’s degree and doctorate in environmental sciences from Wright State University in Dayton. She is a postdoctoral research scholar at the University of California in Santa Cruz. Learn more about her work at hginthesea.wordpress.com.

Suspended novels back on shelves in Virginia

ACCOMAC, VA.

Two classic American novels, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and “To Kill a Mockingbird,” will immediately return to public school library shelves in a Virginia county.

News outlets report the Accomack County school board voted last week to return the books to classrooms and libraries. The books were suspended Nov. 29 according to school policy after a formal complaint by a parent against the use of racial slurs in the books.

School board chairman Ronnie Holdman said the board agreed that some of the language used in the books is “offensive and hurtful.” However, he said teachers and staff “have a wonderful talent for conveying the bigger meanings and messages in literature.”

The board said it will form a new committee to re-examine the existing policy regarding content complaints.

Staff/wire reports