2012 Carnegie Medal shortlist

The shortlist for the prestigious children’s book award, the Carnegie Medal, was announced today. The eight titles:
My Name is Mina by David Almond, Hodder (9+)
Small Change for Stuart by Lissa Evans, Doubleday (8+)
The Midnight Zoo by Sonya Hartnett, Walker (9+)
Everybody Jam by Ali Lewis, Andersen (12+)
Trash by Andy Mulligan, D. Fickling (12+)
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, Walker (9+)
My Sister lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher, Orion (10+)
Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys, Puffin (12+).
Founded in 1936, the Carnegie Medal is awarded annually by CILIP (Chartered Institute for Librarians and Information Professionals) which encourages schools to get children and teenagers reading the books shortlisted with its Carnegie Shadowing scheme.
At OLA we have a reading group with pupils from years 7 and 8, who will reading and reviewing the books as well as meeting pupils from the five other local secondary schools to discuss the books.

Three competitions

Here are three competitions.
What the Dickens? Creative Writing Competition
This competition is open to primary and secondary school children in the UK aged 9–14 Entries must be received no later than Friday, 27/04/12. Full details at https://www.whatthedickens.org/home.
The ReadingZone Picture Book Competition 2012
Children and young people aged four to 18 years are being challenged to make their own picture book in the ReadingZone Picture Book Competition, which closes 14th April 2012.
Author and illustrator Nick Sharratt and Jacqueline Wilson will choose the winners. More information at
http://www.readingzone.com/index.php?zone=sz&page=full_picture_book&id=1272.
Wicked Young Writers 2012
Entries must be no longer than 750 words and can be any genre, including stories, poems and drama. Illustrations may even be included. Writers must be between 5 and 25 years old on the closing date of 31 July 2012. A shortlist of 100 finalists will be announced in the autumn, followed by a special showcase of the winners’ entries at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre, home of the award-winning musical. More information at WickedYoungWriters.com.

Blue Peter - Best Book of Last 10 Years

Blue Peter viewers have voted for the Best Children's Book of the Last 10 Years. They chose their favourite book from a shortlist of the 10 best-selling works of children’s fiction from the last ten years, which allowed one book per author.
FIRST PLACE: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Jeff Kinney
SECOND PLACE: Candyfloss, Jacqueline Wilson
THIRD PLACE: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J. K. Rowling
FOURTH PLACE: Private Peaceful, Michael Morpurgo
FIFTH PLACE: Mr Stink, David Walliams
SIXTH PLACE: A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Austere Academy, Lemony Snicket
SEVENTH PLACE: Horrid Henry and the Football Fiend, Francesca Simon
EIGHTH PLACE Alex Rider: Skeleton Key, Anthony Horowitz
NINTH PLACE: SilverFin: A James Bond Adventure - Young Bond, Charlie Higson
TENTH PLACE: Theodore Boone, John Grisham
Full details