We were delighted to welcome to OLA the award-winning Canadian author Deborah Ellis talk to Year 8 about bringing real settings and context into fiction, and to tell us about some of the people she had met who inspire her fiction.
As part of her UK tour Deborah Ellis spoke about her critically acclaimed 'Breadwinner' series, including her latest title ‘I am Parvana’.
In 1996 Deborah read about the Taliban occupation of Afghanistan. She visited refugee camps in Pakistan, met Afghan women and heard about their experiences. In particular hearing about girls who cut off their hair and disguised themselves as boys so they could earn money lead her to write 'The Breadwinner' about Parvana and her best friend, Shauzia, fictional characters who did just that.
Her Breadwinner books have sold hundreds of thousands of copies in twenty-five languages. A passionate advocate for the disenfranchised, Deborah donates most of her royalty income to worthy causes — Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan and UNICEF. She has donated more than one million dollars in royalties from her Breadwinner books alone.
An amazing woman! A privilege to have met her.
Read more about Deborah Ellis: http://deborahellis.com/
21 March 2014
20 March 2014
Carnegie Shadowing starts at OLA
Our joint schools Carnegie launch took place yesterday, with 100 readers looking at the blurbs, openings and front covers of the eight shortlisted titles. This was a great way for the shadowers to get an overview and choose their first, or more likely second, read.
Happy reading!
Happy reading!
18 March 2014
Carnegie Medal - good news and shadowing
We're delighted that one of our favourite authors, Katherine Rundell, has been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Rooftoppers, which I'm proud to say was launched at OLA with a roof-blowing countdown on World Book Day last year. Having just won the Blue Peter Best Story award, this delightful adventure set in Paris is one of the eight books announced today.
The full list:
Julie Berry ALL THE TRUTH THAT'S IN ME
Kevin Brooks THE BUNKER DIARY
Rachel Campbell-Johnston THE CHILD'S ELEPHANT
Susan Cooper GHOST HAWK
Anne Fine BLOOD FAMILY
Katherine Rundell ROOFTOPPERS
Rebecca Stead LIAR & SPY
William Sutcliffe THE WALL
The shadowing scheme engages thousands of children and young people in reading the books on the shortlist every year, almost certainly reading some books they may not otherwise have chosen. Whilst this prestigious children's book award now includes the wider remit of teen fiction, which did not exist when the award started in 1936, reading high quality, sometimes challenging, fiction and possibly a future classic (past winners include Watership Down, Northern Lights, Skellig and a roll call of famous titles) offers young people the opportunity to additionally discuss and write reviews and then compare their views with those of the adult judges.
When it comes to reading, everyone is a winner.
More information
The full list:
Julie Berry ALL THE TRUTH THAT'S IN ME
Kevin Brooks THE BUNKER DIARY
Rachel Campbell-Johnston THE CHILD'S ELEPHANT
Susan Cooper GHOST HAWK
Anne Fine BLOOD FAMILY
Katherine Rundell ROOFTOPPERS
Rebecca Stead LIAR & SPY
William Sutcliffe THE WALL
The shadowing scheme engages thousands of children and young people in reading the books on the shortlist every year, almost certainly reading some books they may not otherwise have chosen. Whilst this prestigious children's book award now includes the wider remit of teen fiction, which did not exist when the award started in 1936, reading high quality, sometimes challenging, fiction and possibly a future classic (past winners include Watership Down, Northern Lights, Skellig and a roll call of famous titles) offers young people the opportunity to additionally discuss and write reviews and then compare their views with those of the adult judges.
When it comes to reading, everyone is a winner.
More information
17 March 2014
Clarissa Dixon-Wright - RIP
Sorry to hear the news today of the death of Clarissa Dixon-Wright.
We were fortunate to have her as our guest for the public event of the OLA Reading Festival in September 2012.
A great raconteur with strong opinions on politics, hunting and food. Badger culling was in the news and Clarissa was of the opinion they should be made into burgers. She was kind enough to pose with my friend Boris the Badger.
A memorable evening.
We were fortunate to have her as our guest for the public event of the OLA Reading Festival in September 2012.
A great raconteur with strong opinions on politics, hunting and food. Badger culling was in the news and Clarissa was of the opinion they should be made into burgers. She was kind enough to pose with my friend Boris the Badger.
A memorable evening.
04 March 2014
More World Book Day celebrations
OLA is delighted to welcome back Marcus Sedgwick, award-winning author, this coming Friday, for writing workshops with Year 10 pupils in the morning, and to talk to Year 7 & 8 about books and writing in the afternoon.
Watch him on TV the day before as he'll be presenting the Blue Peter Book Awards. We're rooting for Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell to win the Best Story category. The book was launched here at OLA on World Book Day 2013, and we almost blew the roof away with our countdown! Katherine Rundell is an OLA favourite, who's visited us several times.
Marcus Sedgwick will be judging the Decorate a Door as a Book Competition and will be available in the Library between 1.15 and 1.45 pm to chat to any budding writers.
There is still time for pupils to email a ‘shelfie’ for our World Book Day competition. Do take a look at the shelfies of some of our past visiting authors, including Marcus Sedgwick’s, on our Twitter page, @OLAabingdon.
Marcus Sedgwick sent us his 'shelfie' of his rather special signed editions.
Watch him on TV the day before as he'll be presenting the Blue Peter Book Awards. We're rooting for Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell to win the Best Story category. The book was launched here at OLA on World Book Day 2013, and we almost blew the roof away with our countdown! Katherine Rundell is an OLA favourite, who's visited us several times.
Marcus Sedgwick will be judging the Decorate a Door as a Book Competition and will be available in the Library between 1.15 and 1.45 pm to chat to any budding writers.
There is still time for pupils to email a ‘shelfie’ for our World Book Day competition. Do take a look at the shelfies of some of our past visiting authors, including Marcus Sedgwick’s, on our Twitter page, @OLAabingdon.
Marcus Sedgwick sent us his 'shelfie' of his rather special signed editions.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)