Please click into the individual blog post, as the links are currently not visible on the library page, (formatting issue being investigated).
If you haven't already done so, don't forget to check out your copy of the Scholastic Teen Book Club catalogue, as the order deadline is Monday 17 May. There are some great book offers and more titles are available to browse online. Orders usually arrive in school a few days later.
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 new 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 over 200 overdue books.
This week's top tip is how to write a review on Reading Cloud for a book you have read. First find the book you wish to review. This may be either via your Current loans or Past loans, but if it is a book you have read from elsewhere, then just search to see if we have it listed on our catalogue at school. Then click on the Create Review button and write your review in the pop-up text box, giving it a star rating. Once you save, it will be submitted to us for approval and an Edit Review button will appear in case you wish to make changes to your review.
This week we published our first reviews at our new book club for Carnegie Shadowing. It's not too late if anyone else would like to join the group. We meet in the library after school on Wednesdays for 30 minutes.
This week is Mental Health Awareness Week and the theme this year is "Connect with Nature". You may enjoy the Reading Nature series of videos from Kingston libraries. Reconnecting with nature helps your wellbeing. May is also National Walking Month, another great way of connecting with nature.
Toppsta have put together a list of recommended reads for young people including both fiction and non-fiction titles. You will need to page to the bottom to see those for your age group. And here are some classic titles on mental health and well-being for upper school.
We have previously mentioned Reading Well which provides helpful reading to support health and wellbeing, encompassing expert endorsed books about mental health, including advice and information for young people about issues like anxiety, stress and OCD, and difficult experiences like bullying and exams. We have saved a copy of their suggested reading list on the P drive in the P:\LIBRARY\ folder.
Manchester United Foundation has partnered with publisher DK to distribute over 5,000 books and balls to children living in deprived areas of Greater Manchester, in support of Mental Health Awareness Week.
Book Spotlight!
This week's book spotlight is Fighting Invisible Tigers by Earl Hipp, a book on stress management for teens. We have a copy of the book available for you to borrow here in the school library. This book offers proven techniques that teens can use to deal with stressful situations. Stress can affect our mental health, so this particularly ties in with this week being Mental Health Awareness Week. It is one of the titles featured on the Reading Well booklist above.
You may see a preview of the book here and I've also saved a copy on the P Drive in the P:\LIBRARY\Mental_Health folder. The author's website also details other helpful titles he has written for young people. And you may listen to a selection of calming exercises from the author here.
May is National Share a Story Month and this year's theme is myths, magic and mayhem. This week we are featuring the final topic mayhem, encompassing mysteries and adventure.
Here are their suggestions of Mayhem Fiction Books for Young Adult and Teens (12+)
The Outlaws Scarlett & Browne by Jonathan Stroud The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker by Lauren James The Infinite by Patience Agbabi (available to borrow via LLC) The Time Thief by Patience Agbabi
We do have several other books of a similar genre by Jonathan Stroud in the school library. And you may also borrow other titles by both Jonathan Stroud and Lauren James via Sora or LLC. Some other authors you may enjoy are Derek Landy, Philip Pullman, Eoin Colfer and Chris Priestley.
This weekend is the Pontypridd Children’s Book Festival and all events are online this year due to the pandemic. Yr 7/8 may enjoy the session with Lesley Parr, author of The Valley of Lost Secrets. This book was Waterstones book of the month earlier this year and ties in well with this week's mystery and adventure mayhem theme.
Brighton Festival is also ongoing all this month, including some free online sessions. I have spotted that Benjamin Dean, author of Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow, which I featured in a Book Spotlight last term, will be speaking next weekend.
The winner of the YA Book Prize 2021 has been announced as Loveless by Alice Oseman. Plus Malorie Blackman received a Special Achievement Award to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first title in her YA series, Noughts & Crosses. You may read the first chapter of each of the 10 shortlisted titles here.
Also the longlist for the 2021 Information Book Award has been announced. I'll give you more details on this once the shortlist is announced next month.
What I've been reading this week!
This week I read Crusade by Elizabeth Laird and Malamander by Thomas Taylor. Both great titles, a historical tale and a fantasy mystery respectively. And Malamander has won the 2021 Awesome Book Award this month. What have you read recently? How about posting a review of your latest book on Reading Cloud, now that I have explained how easy it is.
Random book fact for the day is that Thomas Taylor was the illustrator of the first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, so of course he did his own illustrations for Malamander.
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Now for a round-up of some other ideas, resources and articles.
Sir David Attenborough celebrated his 95th birthday this week. He is an amazing campaigner for the future of our planet. We have a copy of his latest book A Life on our Planet here in the school library. So I thought I would mention an upcoming Zoom event on Children's Fiction and the Climate Crisis, which will be at 7pm on 26 May.
Another climate change YA novel that was published last month is Burning Sunlight by Anthea Simmons and you may read an interview with the author here.
Marlborough LitFest together with the English Literature department at Bath Spa University have launched a ‘Love Books’ competition for you to explain your choice of a favourite book, poem or play. This may be a written or video submission and is open to age 13+.
Simon & Schuster publishers are running a Pizazz Superhero Day competition where you may win £1,000 worth of books for the library plus prizes for yourself. You need to design a Super Mask using the template. This is open to all, so staff may enter too.
And another chance to win books for the library is by nominating our school in the National Book Tokens competition, where the prize is £5000 book tokens for the school and £100 for you.
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.
This week's puzzle is a crossword based on nature or planet themed books to inspire you to Connect with Nature" for Mental Health Awareness Week.
Crossword created at puzzle-maker.com