Christmas reading and listening

A Christmas stocking without a book? Surely not!

By now parents of students in Years 7 & 8 should have received, in the school mailing, my end-of-term list of reading suggestions - look out for the yellow sheets. Do keep them as it could be useful for future gift ideas.

I enjoy reading the books on my lists. I don’t claim to have read them all, but try to have read at least one book by most authors I’m suggesting. My suggestions come from reading book reviews in the literary press and online, magazines for librarians and teachers, visiting book shops, as well as listening to recommendations by colleagues, friends and, of course, the young people themselves. Students have seen copies of many of the suggested books in the last two weeks of term.

Parents sometimes enjoy reading the books their children are reading and the activity offers an opportunity to chat about shared interests, as well as help motivate reluctant readers. We have some excellent contemporary authors writing for young people, hence the first page of my Reading Suggestions listing only recently published titles.

I am also keen to promote listening to stories and I regularly promote BBC 7, one of the BBC’s digital networks. Do tune in if you have recently acquired a DAB digital radio. Stories can be heard live, but you can ‘listen again’ online to many of them. Not only is this an enjoyable pastime it also develops listening and concentration skills. Look at the schedules for BBC Radio 7 and you will see that the treats during the school holidays include:
Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce, with a special online author talk about having LOTS of money!
101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith;
Toro! Toro! by Michael Morpurgo;
The Butterfly Lion by Michael Morpurgo, with an online interview with Michael Morpurgo, What's the secret of writing a great book? Michael reveals all!
Thirteen Unpredictable Tales: there's no such thing by Paul Jennings.
Anthony Horowitz's popular Stormbreaker and Point Blanc will be coming up in the New Year.

Nestlé Children’s Book Prize 2007

The winners of the 2007 Nestlé Children's Book Prize were announced on 12 December. The Prize is awarded to the best work of fiction or poetry by a British author for children in three age categories (up to 11 years).

9 to 11 years category
Shadow Forest by Matt Haig

6 to 8 years category
Ottoline and the Yellow Cat by Chris Riddell

5 years and under category
When a Monster is Born by Sean Taylor and Nick Sharratt

The Nestlé Children’s Book Prize celebrates the very best in children’s literature. It is one of the UK’s longest running prizes and has helped launch the careers of many of today’s top children’s writers, including JK Rowling and Lauren Child, who have each won the prize three times. For news about the prize and previous winners, visit www.booktrusted.com

Amazon buys J.K. Rowling’s The Tales of Beedle the Bard

At an auction held by Sotheby’s in London, Amazon, the online book shop, bought the book of five wizarding fairy tales, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, which is mentioned in the last book of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It is one of only seven handmade copies in existence. The purchase price was £1,950,000, with the proceeds being donated to The Children's Voice campaign, a charity J.K. Rowling co-founded to help improve the lives of institutionalised children across Europe.

The 157 pages of The Tales of Beedle the Bard are handwritten and illustrated by J.K. Rowling herself. It's bound in brown Moroccan leather and embellished with silver ornaments and moonstones. Photos of the book and reviews of the tales can be seen at www.amazon.co.uk/beedlebard

Blue Peter Book Awards 2007

The Outlaw Varjak Paw won Blue Peter Book of the Year 2007. Varjak Paw is a a cat who has a secret power of martial art. His adventures are illustrated by Dave McKean's drawings.

The category winners in the Blue Peter Book Awards 2007 are:
The Book I Couldn't Put Down and the winner of the overall award, The Blue Peter Book of the Year 2007
The Outlaw Varjak Paw by SF Said, illustrated by Dave McKean

The Best Book with Facts
The Worst Children's Jobs in History by Tony Robinson

The Most Fun Story with Pictures
You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum by Andy Stanton, illustrated by David Tazzyman

Blue Peter films featuring the books shortlisted for this year's Blue Peter Book Awards can be seen on the Blue Peter website.
All the books are available for loan from the Library.