Please click into the individual blog post, as the links are currently not visible on the library page, (formatting issue being investigated).
I hope you are enjoying our SGS Library book advent calendar. And don't forget to email us your nominations of friends at SGS who have done something kind by 15 December. One of the nominees will win a £10 book voucher.
Two of our Y11 students have been writing articles for the Local Guardian. Miles tells us why sixteen year olds should not be given the right to vote and Chris P interviews our local MP Paul Scully.
We are still waiting for the logins for the new library catalogue to be set up, as work on the servers takes priority, but in the meantime I'll share the preview link again.
For those of you who haven't logged into Sora yet, here is a reminder of how to borrow library ebooks via Sora. But if you are having any difficulties accessing Sora, then I will be happy to help you.
There is a link to the Sora app on the pupil page of the school website or at the top of the sidebar here on the library page. Download the Sora app or explore in browser https://soraapp.com Enter the setup code uksecondary if asked, and sign in with your school Google login and email password. And in the meantime, here is a Getting Started video guide or there is a PDF version on the P drive in the P:\LIBRARY\Sora folder.
Overdrive who manage Sora have published lists of the top titles checked out from libraries here. You'll need to page down to the bottom to see the top 10 for young people
This week's Top Tip for Sora is that they have curated a list of fiction and non-fiction titles which will help you cope with difficult situations, take care of yourself and develop empathy for the difficulties people face.
The first full week in December is ReadingAfrica Week which encompasses books by African authors and/or books set in Africa, so I thought I would mention some fiction titles which are available on Sora. I've already previously highlighted Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, a fantasy set in West Africa, when I was telling you about the National Shelf Service resource. And here are some other titles.
The Bitter Side of Sweet by Tara Sullivan In Too Deep by Tom Avery The Secret of the Purple Lake by Yaba Badoe Blood Runner by James Riordan AK by Peter Dickinson
I also recently read Spud by John Van de Ruit, the first title in a series set in an elite boys' boarding school in 1990 South Africa at the time of Nelson Mandela's release from prison and before corporal punishment was banned in South African schools. (This title is not on Sora).
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Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty which we have mentioned previously, has picked up another award at the An Post Irish Book Awards in the Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year category.
Other winners are as follows: Break the Mould by Sinéad Burke in the Children's Book of the Year – Senior category. This is an empowering guide to encourage young readers to believe in themselves, have pride in who they are and use their voice to make the world a fairer, more inclusive place. Savage Her Reply by Deirdre Sullivan in the Teen & Young Adult Book of the Year category. This is a dark and witchy retelling of a traditional folklore tale.
You may click onto the categories here to see the other shortlisted titles.
Yesterday, 10 December was Human Rights Day and this year's theme, relating to the pandemic is Recover Better - Stand Up for Human Rights.
Here are a couple of Human Rights book recommendations.
Here I Stand is a collection of short stories and poems for teens which speak for freedom, solidarity and activism, by authors including John Boyne, Sarah Crossan, Neil Gaiman, Matt Haig, Frances Hardinge and Elizabeth Laird. (available on Sora)
Channel Kindness: Stories of Kindness and Community introduced by Lady Gaga is a collection of fifty-one stories of kindness, bravery, and resilience from young people all over the world, including those who created safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth and those who who prevailed in the face of bullies and those who started their own social movements.
Today is International Mountain Day and this year's theme is mountain biodiversity. Did you know that their conservation is a key factor for sustainable development. Climate change is causing mountain glaciers to melt at unprecedented rates.
Here are some fiction recommendations set in mountain areas.
The Everest Files trilogy by Matt Dickinson. We have all 3 titles here in the SGS library. Book 1 is also available on Sora and book 2 is available to borrow online via LLC. If you do read these books, we have saved details of The Everest Reading Challenge on the P Drive in the P:\LIBRARY\READING CHALLENGES folder.
Savage Mountain by John Smelcer. Brothers Sebastian and James decide to climb one of the highest Alaskan mountains. Available on Sora.
The Boy at the Top of the Mountain by John Boyne. Set in 1935 in the home of Adolf Hitler. Available on Sora.
Now for a quick round-up of a few other ideas and resources.
This week's author of the week on the National Literary Trust's Virtual School Library is Eoin Colfer. The resources include daily instalments for you to listen to from the audiobook of The Fowl Twins. And you may check out previous featured authors here.
Are you a fast reader? Simon & Schuster are celebrating #25ReadsOfDecember with 25 free teen reads, but each is only available for 24 hours!
DK have a fun quiz on Christmas traditions from around the world.
It is the Penguin Big Book Quiz of the Year on 15 December. This is a free online event at 7pm which you may register for tickets here.
There is a competition here to use your 3D design skills to create an iconic trophy. Open to age 14+ and closes 21 December.
The World Today and the FT have launched a schools competition for you to describe what you believe are the characteristics of the best leaders. Open to those aged 16-18.
Here is a collaborative poetry challenge.
There are always plenty of giveaways on the Book Trust website. Today I am highlighting this one to win a complete set of Chris Ryan's Special Forces Cadets books. This is an author I am considering for our first book when we are able to get a book club up and running.
Don't forget that we will happily accept all book-related contributions from students and staff to our blog. And please email us your suggestions for what you would like to see on our blog.
Finally now for a bit of fun, we have a crossword on mountains. I created this crossword at puzzle-maker.com myself and you may wish to try making your own word searches or crosswords there.
(For easier printing, open the image in a new tab. The way you do this will vary according to the browser you are using).