Please click into the individual blog post, as the links are currently not visible on the library page, (formatting issue being investigated).
Yr7 enjoyed a virtual author event via Zoom with Christopher McDougall earlier this week, discussing his book Born To Run and how he started writing, plus quizzing him with 20 questions. They followed this up with a barefoot run around the playground. You may see some photographs of the event on English department's tweet.
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 almost 200 overdue books.
This week's top tip is for Sora rather than Reading Cloud. When books that you wish to read are already out on loan, it is always worthwhile placing a hold, even if the estimated wait time seems quite lengthy. This is because people above you in the queue may possibly freeze their holds if they are reading something else when the held title becomes available, so you would then move up in the queue. For example, I placed a hold on the Run Rebel audiobook at the end of last term when it was showing an estimated 16 week wait and got it within 2 weeks. Similarly you may choose to freeze your hold for 7 days.
This week at our book club we started voting for our favourite choices of books to win the 2021 CILIP Carnegie Medal. 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.
Book Spotlight!
This week marks one year since the murder of George Floyd, so for this week's book spotlight I have chosen The Black Friend on Being a Better White Person by Frederick Joseph which was published in the UK last month. We have been gifted a copy for the school library, along with some posters, a welcome addition to our Black Lives Matter collection. You may see more details about both the book and the author on his own website. There is a discussion guide on the book here and I've also saved a copy on the P Drive in the P:\LIBRARY\BLM_suggested reading folder. And you may watch a book trailer by the author on YouTube, This title is also available to borrow online from Sora.
Penguin have compiled a list of titles published by writers of colour. The books included are mainly Penguin titles but they have included some from other publishers too. They have titled this The (incomplete) Lit in Colour book list, as it would be a very difficult task to make it exhaustive, but they plan to update it annually. The list of secondary diverse reads is split into KS3, KS4 and KS5. We have also saved a PDF copy of the secondary list on the P Drive in the P:\LIBRARY\BLM_suggested reading folder. I will highlight a few of the titles that are either in the school library or available to borrow online via Sora or LLC
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander (Sora / LLC) Noughts & Crosses series by Malorie Blackman (SGS / Sora / LLC) Sawbones by Catherine Johnson (SGS / LLC) Black and British by David Olusoga (SGS / Sora) Cane Warriors by Alex Wheatle (SGS / LLC) Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (SGS / Sora) Run Rebel by Manjeet Mann (SGS / Sora / LLC) The Good Immigrant by Nikesh Shukla (Sora) The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (SGS / Sora / LLC) Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge (SGS / Sora)
Winners were announced this week on Africa Day for the Jhalak Prize for Book of the Year 2021 by a Writer of Colour. The winner of the Children’s & YA books category is Eight Pieces of Silva by Patrice Lawrence. And the winner of the adult category is The First Woman by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi. Both winning links also include the other short and longlisted titles. Jhalak seeks to support and celebrate writers of colour in Britain.
More award news from the Scottish Teenage Book Prize 2021 where the winner is Evernight by Ross MacKenzie. This award is voted for by young people all across Scotland and synopses of all titles on the shortlist are shown here.
And LoveReading have a giveaway to win a copy of the sequel Feast of the Evernight which was published earlier this month.
For those of you who enjoy the horror genre, the winner of the YA category in the Bram Stoker Awards is Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare. You may see the other shortlisted titles here.
What I'm reading listening to this week!
This week I borrowed the audio version of The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds from Sora. An excellent YA book from the US Ambassador of Young People’s Literature, which I highly recommend. 17 year old Matt, the lead character is dealing with grief and loss, when he meets a girl who's dealt with even more.
I also listened to Elidor by Alan Garner, which I borrowed via LLC. This dark fantasy classic tale was written over 50 years ago in the 1960's. We have a copy of this title in the school library within an omnibus of Alan Garner stories. What have you read recently? How about posting a review of your latest book on Reading Cloud.
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Now for a round-up of some other ideas, resources and articles.
This week's free book from Oak National Academy's Virtual School Library is the audio version of Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy. Resources also include a video and Q&A with the author. And Derek Landy's latest book The Skulduggery Pleasant Grimoire, a compendium recapping on the books so far, plus a reference guide to characters and a treasure-trove of bonus content, was published yesterday.
Yr7 may be interested in this competition to write a short summer story. Open to those aged upto 12. Closes 31 May.
I mentioned the Hay Book Festival last week. Events from the Schools Programme are now available to catch up and the Main Programme will be continuing through half term. Here are the links to catch up and watch a couple of the events from this week.
Benjamin Dean talks about his book Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow. Liz Hyder talks about her book Bearmouth which won last year's Branford Boase Award.
LoveReading have a giveaway here to win a signed copy of Michelle Paver's latest title Skin Taker.
Book Trust always have plenty of giveaways. This week I'm highlighting one to win copies of the Crater Lake books by Jennifer Killick.
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 we have a Cycling themed wordsearch to tie in with it being Bike Week over half term. For those of you who enjoy cycling, I hope you get out for a bike ride over half term.
Wordsearch created at puzzle-maker.com