Please click into the individual blog post, as the links are currently not visible on the library page, (formatting issue being investigated).
Yesterday saw the first session of the Yr8 Creative Writing Club. Wow, I loved listening to what you wrote. If you fancy trying this, then come along to the library after school next Thursday.
There will be no library blog next Friday. Instead there will be a bumper edition of the blog on the last Tuesday of term. Don't forget to reserve your holiday reads for collection from the school library before the end of term. Lower School may borrow upto 4 books over the summer holiday or upto 8 for the Upper School.
For those of you who haven't tried the 'Click and Collect' service for the school library out yet, here is the link to our library catalogue. Key in SUT, to search for our school. Books reserved before lunchtime, will be available for collection after school on the same day. If you don't see a book you are searching for listed, please let us know and we will consider adding it to our wishlist. Sora will continue to be available in parallel for those of you who prefer ebooks or audiobooks, plus it may offer a wider choice of titles to those on our shelves here.
And please may we remind you to return books to the Library lobby as soon as possible. There are still about 175 overdue books.
This week's top tip is regarding Sora rather than Reading Cloud and is relevant for those of you live outside the London boroughs in Surrey. You can now link the Surrey County Council library catalogue into Sora, in the same way as London Library Consortium (LLC).
So a reminder of how to access a public library within Sora. Under settings, click add a public library, then type in Surrey County Council (for all Surrey public libraries eg Epsom, Banstead etc) in the search bar and select by clicking on the "This is my library" button.
Winners have been announced for the 2021 Waterstones Children's Book Prize. The winner of the older category is Wranglestone by Darren Charlton (SGS/Sora/LLC) and the overall winner is A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll, a book which we have previously featured for having also won Blackwell's Book of the Year 2020 and the Blue Peter 2021 book award.
After Carnegie Shadowers Choice Award, there is more success for Run Rebel by Manjeet Mann which is the joint winner alongside The Last Paper Crane by Kerry Drewery in the 11-14+ category at the 2021 UKLA Awards. These are the only national awards in the UK judged by class teachers, plus this is the first time that the judges have considered two books to be so exceptional, that they have awarded joint winners. You may see details of all shortlisted titles and winners of other categories here.
Book Spotlight!
Following its UKLA success, I've chosen The Last Paper Crane by Kerry Drewery as this week's featured book spotlight. Here is a YouTube video of the author reading from her book when it was published last year. This book is set in Japan both in modern day and at the time of the Hiroshima bomb in 1945. If you wish to have a go at folding a traditional origami paper crane, here is a tutorial on YouTube, as suggested in the book.
Winners have also been announced for the Amazing Book Awards for both 2020 and 2021. For these young adult awards, students select which titles make it onto the longlist and shortlist plus vote for the winners. Any school may participate, so this may be something we consider joining in the future for our book club.
2021 Bronze – The Deathless Girls by Kiran Millwood Hargrave Silver – Blood Moon by Lucy Cuthew Gold – The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta
2020 Bronze – Viper by Bex Hogan Silver – Alex in Wonderland by Simon James Green (SGS / LLC) Gold – A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
I'm continuing to remind you weekly for the rest of this term that Toppsta are running a weekly book review competition throughout the summer with prizes for you, your class and the school. However it is limited to reviews of books featured in their pack, so I have mentioned below those which are available in the school library or via Sora or LLC. Of course there may be other titles that you have already read, so do check out the full list. Final closing date is 27 August.
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy (SGS / Sora / LLC) Malamander by Thomas Taylor (SGS / Sora / LLC) Gargantis by Thomas Taylor (Sora / LLC) The Danger Gang by Tom Fletcher (Sora / LLC) After The War by Tom Palmer (Sora) Future Friend by David Baddiel (LLC)
What I've been reading recently!
This week with football and tennis in full swing, I chose to borrow Unstoppable by Dan Freedman from Sora. A great read encompassing themes of sibling relationships, rivalry and gang violence. We will be purchasing a copy for the school library. This title is the July read for the Oxplore book club, who have plenty of resources including a preview of the first 4 chapters. I also listened to the audio version of Radio Silence by Alice Oseman from LLC. This is a powerful YA book covering many topics including sexuality, relationships, bullying and internet fandom. What have you read recently? How about posting a review of your latest book on Reading Cloud.
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Weekly News Round Up!
Here is this month's selection of free teen reads from publishers Simon & Schuster.
There is a Young Poets Takeover at Wakefield LitFest at 6.30pm on 15 July with online open mic opportunities for those aged 14+
Book Trust have put together a list of 100 best books over the last 100 years and you may see their recommendations in the age 12-14 category here and in the age 9-11 category here.
Book Trust also always have plenty of giveaways. This week I'm highlighting one to win copies of The Truths We Hold by Kamala Harris and The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman, both of which I mentioned on the blog back in January in a US inauguration feature. Closes 23 July.
The theme of the Young Wild Writer Competition 2021 is what does rewilding mean for you? Open upto age 16. Prizes include an online author visit to school. Closes 16 July.
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, select Sutton Grammar School 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.
To tie in with today's STEAM event at school which I hope you have all enjoyed, I have created a crossword featuring STEM related fiction. All titles can be found either in the school library or online via Sora or LLC.
Crossword created at puzzle-maker.com