Winners of the Decorate-a-Door-as-a-Book Competition

JOINT FIRST
7A - Little Misses …
7B group - Alice in Wonderland
HIGHLY COMMENDED
7C - Wind in the Willows
9A - The Hungry Caterpillar
10A - Lion, Witch & Wardrobe
COMMENDED
Cecilia 8B - Inkheart
8B - The Hungry Caterpillar
Maddy & Emily 9B - Fruits Basket
10B - The Bible
VISUALLY STRIKING
10C - Noughts and Crosses
9B - Around the World in 80 Days

Well done to everybody who took part. There were some wonderfully clever ideas and great teamwork and co-operation in the making of the decorations.

World Book Day

We're celebrating World Book Day in a number of ways:
- Decorate-a-Door-as-a-Book Competition.
- Whole School Reading, 3.45 - 4.00 p.m. The three afternoon lessons are shorter by 5 minutes so everyone can stop and read. Stay with your teacher from period 8, but remember to bring something to read, or visit the Library earlier in the day.
- Assembly on the theme of World Book Day.
- Tales from around the world: a huge selection of great reads on display.
- World Book Day voucher. All students have received a £1 voucher which can be used towards book purchases in a variety of ways: in participating bookshops, orders from Cover2Cover magazine in school, and the Book Fair.

Best Children’s Book of All Time

Booktrust, the independent charity, asked 4,000 people about their 'Best Children’s Book of All Time', and the winner was The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle takes second place. Third place goes to Enid Blyton’s Famous Five Series, which was first written in 1942 and consists of 21 books about the fictional group of children. Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne came in fourth place. The character, also known as Bear Of Very Little Brain, was first created back in 1926. Fifth place goes to The BFG (the Big Friendly Giant) by Roald Dahl, first published in 1982.

The 'Best Loved Author' in the survey is Roald Dahl, who has six books listed in the top 50 best, whilst Enid Blyton has five books in the top 50. For all details of the survey results, visit www.booktrust.org.uk

Book Fair in the Library 27 Feb. - 3 March

There will be a Book Fair in the Library from Wednesday 27 February to Monday 3 March. All students will receive their £1 World Book Day voucher in advance so it can be used at the Book Fair. Reserved books must be paid for by Monday 3rd, please.

The World Book Day voucher can also be used towards orders from the March issue of Cover2Cover magazine, and in participating bookshops between 3 -30 March.

World Book Day is Thursday 6 March. More news in the next posting.

Oxford Literary Festival: 31 March - 6 April 2008

It may seem early but now is the time to plan which events you want to attend at the Oxford Literary Festival next month. Tickets will sell out fast!

Philip Pullman's new book Once Upon A Time in the North, the long-awaited prequel to His Dark Materials will be launched Monday 31 March, at 7.00 pm at the Town Hall, price £10.00 for children (£15 for Adults). It will be one of the highlights of the Festival, which will feature more than 250 writers.

Other speakers at the Children’s Events this year will include David Almond, Melvyn Burgess & Kevin Brooks, Meg Rosoff, Justin Richards, Charlie Higson, Shirley Hughes, Chris Riddell & Paul Stewart, Joanne Harris, and five writers talking about how they write for Dr Who.

Children's events cost between £2.50 and £10. Tickets are available from Tickets Oxford at the Oxford Playhouse, on 0870 3431001 or online at ticketsoxford.com. From March 31 and throughout the festival, tickets will be available from the festival box office at Christ Church. More information:
http://sundaytimes-oxfordliteraryfestival.co.uk

Red House Children’s Book Award - 2008 Shortlist

These are the top ten books published in 2007, chosen by children across the country. There are three categories: Younger Children, Younger Readers, and Older Readers.

Older Readers
The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd
Teacher's Dead by Benjamin Zephaniah
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

Younger Readers
The Perfumed Pirates of Perfidy by Charlie Small
Ottoline and the Yellow Cat by Chris Riddell
Mammoth Academy in Trouble by Neal Layton

Younger Children
The Tear Thief by Carol Ann Duffy and Nicoletta Ceccoli
A Dog Called Rod by Tim Hopgood
Penguin by Polly Dunbar
Sir Charlie Stinky Socks and the Really Big Adventure by Kristina Stephenson

You can help choose the nation's favourite children's book! Voting closes on Monday 12 May 2008 and the winner will be announced at Hay Festival on Friday 30 May 2008. More information:
http://www.redhousechildrensbookaward.co.uk/2008-shortlist.asp

Caroline Lawrence and 1000 children

Caroline Lawrence, author of the Roman Mysteries, will be guest of Our Lady’s Abingdon Senior School on 7 February. Over 1000 local children will be listening to her talk about her books and where she finds her ideas.

This event, jointly organised by the Librarians from Our Lady’s Abingdon, Abingdon and St Helen & St Katharine schools, aims to invite children from local schools who may not have the opportunity to see a ‘big name’ author. Children from 20 local primary and secondary schools will hear one of the writer's three talks during this 3rd annual Joint Schools' Author Visit.

Caroline Lawrence will dress as a Roman lady and bring some artefacts to bring to life that period of ancient history. A classics scholar, her writing is historically accurate as well as hugely entertaining.