Congratulations to Gillian Cross, an OLA favourite, who has been awarded the Little Rebels children's book award for her book After Tomorrow. This is the second year of the prize, which recognises children's fiction for readers aged 0-12 which promotes social justice.
Money is worthless. Armed robbers roam the streets. No one is safe. Matt and his little brother, Taco, escape through the Channel Tunnel. Their mother said they would be safe on the other side, but she was wrong. This is a gripping thriller, which was inspired by the organisation CORD, an international peacebuilding, relief and development organisation working with people affected by conflict worldwide.
News report and review here.
More information here
12 May 2014
07 May 2014
100 books to read in a lifetime
These lists are always fascinating. Amazon has just published '100 books to read in a lifetime. The list is arranged by the following categories:
Just Begun: Children's Books
Moving On: Older Children and Young Adults
Approachable Classics
Something More Modern
Classics: Nineteenth Century and Earlier
Explore Alternative Worlds
Contemporary Fiction
Twentieth Century Classics
Nonfiction Essentials
See it here.
Previously the BBC Book List Challenge kept readers absorbed.
The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books on this list. The average Goodreads member has read 23 out of 100 books on this list — how many have you read? See the list here.
Just Begun: Children's Books
Moving On: Older Children and Young Adults
Approachable Classics
Something More Modern
Classics: Nineteenth Century and Earlier
Explore Alternative Worlds
Contemporary Fiction
Twentieth Century Classics
Nonfiction Essentials
See it here.
Previously the BBC Book List Challenge kept readers absorbed.
The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books on this list. The average Goodreads member has read 23 out of 100 books on this list — how many have you read? See the list here.
30 April 2014
Reading and academic success
Research reported in today's Times:
Children’s love of reading has a bigger influence on their academic success than whether their parents hold a degree, research has shown.
Those whose parents read to them every night when they were five and who went on to develop a passion for reading did better in tests at 16 — even in maths — than peers who had similar academic ability when younger.
Academics at the University of London’s Institute for Education analysed the performance of 6,000 children born in 1970 in maths, spelling and vocabulary tests. They found reading for pleasure was more important for cognitive development between the ages of ten and 16 than parents’ education.
“The combined effect on children’s progress of reading books often, going to the library regularly and reading newspapers at 16 was four times greater than the advantage children gained from having a parent with a degree,” the report said. “We found that the home reading culture, including reading to the child, reading books and newspapers, was significantly linked to children’s test scores.
“A mother who struggles with reading is likely to struggle to read to her child, and unlikely to read in her leisure time. This suggests parental illiteracy presents ongoing problems for children’s learning throughout childhood, and also highlights the problem that parental difficulties with literacy may well be hidden due to stigma. Given the prevalence of adult illiteracy in Britain, with functional illiteracy estimated at 15 per cent, this could be an important policy lever for improving children’s outcomes.”
The study, led by Alice Sullivan, concluded that “the positive link between leisure reading and cognitive outcomes is not purely due to more able children being more likely to read a lot, but that reading is actually linked to increased cognitive progress over time”.
A separate study at Royal Holloway, University of London, published today in the journal Child Development, found babies aged nine months could learn about the world from picture books.
In the study, 30 eight- and nine-month-old babies were shown a photograph of a toy. Two toys were then placed in front of the babies — one shown in the picture and a different one. The babies tended to reach for the toy that had not been in the picture, suggesting they recognised the original toy, but found it less interesting because its novelty had worn off.
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/education/article4076176.ece
Children’s love of reading has a bigger influence on their academic success than whether their parents hold a degree, research has shown.
Those whose parents read to them every night when they were five and who went on to develop a passion for reading did better in tests at 16 — even in maths — than peers who had similar academic ability when younger.
Academics at the University of London’s Institute for Education analysed the performance of 6,000 children born in 1970 in maths, spelling and vocabulary tests. They found reading for pleasure was more important for cognitive development between the ages of ten and 16 than parents’ education.
“The combined effect on children’s progress of reading books often, going to the library regularly and reading newspapers at 16 was four times greater than the advantage children gained from having a parent with a degree,” the report said. “We found that the home reading culture, including reading to the child, reading books and newspapers, was significantly linked to children’s test scores.
“A mother who struggles with reading is likely to struggle to read to her child, and unlikely to read in her leisure time. This suggests parental illiteracy presents ongoing problems for children’s learning throughout childhood, and also highlights the problem that parental difficulties with literacy may well be hidden due to stigma. Given the prevalence of adult illiteracy in Britain, with functional illiteracy estimated at 15 per cent, this could be an important policy lever for improving children’s outcomes.”
The study, led by Alice Sullivan, concluded that “the positive link between leisure reading and cognitive outcomes is not purely due to more able children being more likely to read a lot, but that reading is actually linked to increased cognitive progress over time”.
A separate study at Royal Holloway, University of London, published today in the journal Child Development, found babies aged nine months could learn about the world from picture books.
In the study, 30 eight- and nine-month-old babies were shown a photograph of a toy. Two toys were then placed in front of the babies — one shown in the picture and a different one. The babies tended to reach for the toy that had not been in the picture, suggesting they recognised the original toy, but found it less interesting because its novelty had worn off.
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/education/article4076176.ece
23 April 2014
Today is William Shakespeare's 450th anniversary. It is also international World Book Day, which is a worldwide celebration of books and reading. It’s marked in over 100 countries around the globe. The origins of the day come from Catalonia in Spain, where roses and books are given as gifts to loved ones on St. George’s Day – a tradition started over 80 years ago on the feast day of their patron saint, also St George, and the anniversary of the great Spanish writer Cervantes who wrote Don Quixote. It's also known there as the Day of the Book.
On this day men offer a rose to their loved one, and in return she gives him a book. Those of you visiting Barcelona, for example, would not fail to see the main streets lined with stalls selling roses and books, as the tradition is hugely popular and has spread to exchanges between friends and work mates too.
On this day men offer a rose to their loved one, and in return she gives him a book. Those of you visiting Barcelona, for example, would not fail to see the main streets lined with stalls selling roses and books, as the tradition is hugely popular and has spread to exchanges between friends and work mates too.
04 April 2014
I'm delighted to be congratulating OLA friend Katherine Rundell, again, this time for winning the Waterstones Children's Book Prize. Rooftoppers, launched at OLA last year, has already won the Blue Peter Best Story award. Here's wishing her luck for Triple, i.e. the Carnegie Medal for which it's shortlisted.
21 March 2014
Canadian Author Deborah Ellis at OLA
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/
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/
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!
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