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 all enjoying our SGS Library book advent calendar. It continues upto Christmas, so don't forget to email us your entries by the end of the first week of next term. May I wish everyone a Merry Christmas. And a Happy Hanukkah to those who have been celebrating the festival throughout this week.
Three of our students have been randomly selected to each receive a free book, kindly gifted by author Tom Palmer, which we have now presented. These are James D of Y7 and Suhard and Heejun, both of Y8. We hope they enjoy their books.
We are still waiting for the logins for the new library catalogue to be set up but in the meantime I'll share the preview link again. You may search for titles without being logged in.
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 if you can't decide what to read next, take a look at the curated lists from the Explore page. These are regularly changed. Currently these include a list of Christmas reads and a list of Winter reads.
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More book award news this week from the Goodreads Choice Awards 2020.
Winner of the Nonfiction category is Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi. Winner of the Middle Grade & Children's category is The Tower of Nero by Rick Riordan. Winner of the YA fiction category is Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo, (available to borrow online from LLC) Winner of the YA Fantasy and Science Fiction category is The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black, (available to borrow online from LLC) Winner of the Graphic Novels and Comics category is Heartstopper: Volume Three by Alice Oseman.
You may see the other nominated titles via the following links. YA Fiction YA Fantasy and Science Fiction Graphic Novels and Comics Nonfiction Middle Grade & Children's
Also Foyles Books of the Year 2020 winners have been announced. The children's winner is too young for you, but Upper School students may enjoy reading Real Life, by Brandon Taylor, winner of the fiction category.
18 December is International Migrants Day and this year it focuses on the stories of social cohesion, which are as varied and unique as each of the 272 million migrants living new lives and building new communities in every corner of the globe. I thought I would highlight a few topical titles on Sora, a couple of fiction and one non-fiction.
A Land Of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi Welcome to Nowhere by Elizabeth Laird The Global Refugee Crisis by Stephanie Sammartino McPherson
Here is a selection of books published this year which you may wish to put on your Christmas list. Ali Cross by James Patterson (available to borrow online from LLC) This Winter by Alice Oseman (available to borrow online from LLC) Another Twist in the Tale by Catherine Bruton, inspired by Charles Dickens' classic Oliver Twist. Deny All Charges by Eoin Colfer - Book 2 in The Fowl Twins series (both books 1 and 2 are available to borrow online from LLC)
And a selection of Winter Reads for the holiday period. Flury by Tony Bertauski (available on Sora) Ronin by Tony Bertauski (available on Sora) A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J Maas (available on Sora) Wranglestone by Darren Charlton (available to borrow online from LLC) Amundsen's Way by Joanna Grochowicz
Plus here are some recommendations from authors of their favourite books for young people in which they felt represented. Sometimes it is all about identifying with a character as to how much you enjoy reading. From the list, Walkabout by James Vance Marshall and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C S Lewis are both available to borrow online from LLC and Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë is available on Sora. And of course, Santa does arrive in Narnia in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, so a good read for this time of year.
Now for a quick round-up of a few other ideas and resources.
I know we are already part way through advent but you may enjoy this downloadable book advent calendar, which includes YouTube book trailers. And there is a poetry advent calendar here.
There is a local Sutton poetry competition here on the theme of parks and lockdown.
We've saved another edition of the Golden Beano on the P Drive in the P:\Library\Comics folder.
Here is a list of LGBT Stocking Fillers.
For those of you who enjoy Game of Thrones books by George R R Martin or Harry Potter books, there are some free game apps here.
There are always plenty of giveaways on the Book Trust website. Today I am highlighting this one to win the new illustrated edition of Philip Pullman's Northern Lights. Have you been watching The Subtle Knife, the second title in his Dark Materials trilogy on Sunday evenings on BBC1? You can catch up with both series on iPlayer.
And here is another giveaway that will appeal to Yr7. This one is for a copy of the latest Wimpy Kid book - The Deep End along with a signed print from author Jeff Kinney.
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 Christmas wordsearch. I created this wordsearch 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).