You Are What You Read

The National Year of Reading’s monthly theme for September is You Are What You Read. It's a great opportunity to explore a whole range of books. As well as factual books about origins and identities, families and communities, the genre of historical fiction can be an introduction to the past, and a way to gain an understanding and develop empathy for people who came before. Suggestions for the month can be seen at: http://www.sla.org.uk/nyr-booklist-september08.php.
Some suggestions:
Websites
For researching family history:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/familyhistory/
Annotated list of historical fiction:
http://www.marysmoffat.co.uk/bibliography/cont.htm
Books in the Library
All about Malorie Blackman by Shaun McCarthy
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
Coming to England by Floella Benjamin
How the World came to Oxford: Refugee Stories Past and Present by Nikki van der Gaag
Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo
Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah.

The ‘Jamie Oliver for reading’ launches Campaign for the Book

Alan Gibbons, the children's writer, has launched a nationwide campaign to promote the central place in society of reading for pleasure, a recognition of school libraries as key engines of learning, and the defence of public libraries and librarians from attempts to cut spending.

Launched only last weekend Campaign for the Book, has over 300 writers and professionals pledging their support, among them Michael Rosen, Philip Pullman, Anne Fine, David Almond, Anthony Browne, Malorie Blackman and Beverley Naidoo.

Libraries Charter
We, the signatories of this charter commit ourselves to campaigning for the following:
1. The central place of reading for pleasure in society
2. A proper balance of book provision and information technology in public and school libraries
3. The defence of public libraries and librarians from attempts to cut spending in a "soft" area
4. An extension of the role of the school librarian and a recognition of the school library as a key engine of learning
5. The recruitment of more school librarians. It is a national scandal that less than a third of secondary schools has a trained librarian
6. The defence of the professional status of the public and school librarian. Opposition to downgrading. In some places this has reduced librarians' salaries by up to half
7. The promotion of reading whole books in school, rather than excerpts
8. A higher profile for reading for pleasure in schools, including shadowing book awards, inviting authors and illustrators to visit, and developing school creative writing magazines

http://alangibbons.net/
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/66369-author-launches-libraries-campaign.html
http://www.thebookseller.com/blogs/66479-page.html

The Man Booker Prize Shortlist

The Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2008 shortlist has been announced:

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
The Clothes on Their Backs by Linda Grant
The Northern Clemency by Philip Hensher
A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz

The winner will be announced on 14 October 2008
More information

What did you read over summer?

Welcome back! What have you read during the last two or three months? OLA needs your family summer reading recommendations to make into a booklet and share with other families in this National Year of Reading.

Over the holiday I hope many of you will have taken part in the OLA Family Summer Reading Group, by sharing books with one another, and then listing what you read, with a brief comment, on the form sent to you in the July mailing. Now is the time to return it, but if it's lost then please write your family's favourite summer reads on a piece of paper and ask your daughter to bring it to the Library.

Later in the term we plan to hold a special book-themed social evening, with surprises, in the Library and reveal the favourites of each year group.

This term in the school library will also feature the start of the Reading Olympics and reading buddies, book chains, a book swap, 'poetree', Kids' Lit Quiz heats, and 101 dalmatians....

Read the Game

The National Year of Reading’s monthly theme for August, Read the Game, produced a list of suggestions covering the real and the virtual, from football to mountaineering, cycling to swimming. Why not borrow one of these from the library?

MacB by Neil Arksey
Football can be deadly... In this highly original reworking of the Macbeth story, MacB is driven to do whatever is necessary to fulfil his ambition to captain the school team.
Divided City by Theresa Breslin
In Glasgow, with its religious, sporting and political divisions, football unites people as nothing else. Joe and Graham, from opposite religious camps, are a brilliant team on the pitch - and as they work together to get a place in the Glasgow team, and to help the young asylum seeker Kyoul, a new tolerance and understanding is forged.
Fat Boy Swim by Catherine Forde
Jimmy is obese, useless at football, and the constant target of the school’s most unpleasant bullies. However he's a talented cook, and at night he is haunted by dreams of being a powerful and graceful swimmer. A hugely satisfying read in which dreams come true, wrongs are righted and family secrets uncovered.
A Little Piece of Ground by Elizabeth Laird
Living in the occupied Palestinian city of Ramallah, 12 year Karim wants more than anything to be 'champion footballer of the entire world'. Despite the curfews and the dangers of living under Israeli occupation he and his friends make a football pitch out of a patch of waste ground. The preoccupations of an ordinary boy sit movingly alongside a tragic and terrifying modern conflict.
The Penalty by Mal Peet
Sports journalist Paul Faustino is unwillingly drawn into a hunt for a missing young football prodigy. A story of corruption, murder, slavery and the power of the occult, and a thrilling read.
Touching the Void by Joe Simpson (on the non-fiction shelves at 796.52 SIM)
A mountaineering classic, this is the true story of two men's near fatal ascent of the 21,000 foot Siula Grande peak in the Peruvian Andes. An extraordinary and controversial tale of survival, and a page-turning read.
Tennis Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
A 1937 classic about four children who set out to follow in the footsteps of their father, once a top class tennis player. Competition between them appears gentle and good-natured by today's standards, and the emphasis is on making the most of the talents you have.
See the full list at http://www.sla.org.uk/nyr-booklist-august08.php.

Family Summer Book Group

Every family in the school is invited to take part in OLA’s Family Summer Book Group, where all members of the family read the same books. Later, during the Michaelmas term, with the help of some of the Senior School Association, we’ll meet up for a social evening centred around the books you have read in the summer holidays.

2008 is National Year of Reading so what better way than to enjoy books together. Parents often ask how they can help their children. Reading, and then talking about books, is an excellent way of doing this; being part of a family book group promotes the pleasures of reading.

In the school mailing you will have a received a card on which to record your choices, with a few comments. In September the Library will collect in your reading choices and collate them to produce a booklet of OLA Family Favourite Reads.

Please enjoy choosing your own books, but, if you want some ideas each card has a selection of recommendations made by your year group to be.

Happy Reading!

P.S.
Reading Olympics
The Library runs a Reading Olympics, for Years 7 & 8, to gain Bronze, Silver and Gold certificates. Books read over the summer, and/or in the Family Summer Book Group will give a head start for the Bronze award. For this you will need to have read 7 books, so your selection could include:
- 5 Fiction books - including a favourite writer, an author you have never tried before, a mixture of genres, and including one classic,
- 1 non-fiction book,
- 1 biography or autobiography.
We also write a book review, usually in a session in the library, although keen readers sometimes do one in their own time.

Reading Diploma
For those who have completed their Gold Reading Olympics. See details by clicking on the 'Reading Diary' link in the side menu.

UK team win World Final of Kids' Lit Quiz

The winners of the 2008 World Final were UK National Winners, Arnold House School, London. Truro School, representing England, came second. Whitchurch High School from Wales came third, and Cathedral Grammar School, Christchurch, New Zealand came fourth. This was a nail-biting competition, tense until the very end.
http://www.kidslitquiz.com/World/2008.html