swindon libraries & information service · 2015. 10. 15. · diamond brothers series by anthony...
TRANSCRIPT
D esigned for
teachers to
help your
children get reading,
loving stories and being
inspired by books.
Each issue will come to you termly, from Swindon Libraries & Information Service, with the following useful information:
- Top books being borrowed
by children in our libraries
during the past month: the
must have reading for
pleasure books that get even
the most reluctant reader
buried in a book…
- An ‘If you liked…’ section:
the best books to suggest to
your pupils to read next if
they have particularly liked a
chosen author or theme.
- Must have Quality Texts
for teaching: are you
needing inspiration on quality
texts for fiction teaching?
In each issue, we will identify
texts that we feel will capture
children’s imaginations,
immerse them into the story
and inspire them to write for
themselves. We will suggest
stories that can be linked to
different themes in a cross
curricular approach, or used
as a class text for English and
Literacy teaching.
SWINDON LIBRARIES & INFORMATION SERVICE
Issue 1 Autumn 2015
READING EXTRA
Inside this issue:
Top 5 children’s fiction and picture books 2
If you like...David Walliams… 2-3
Quality texts for WW1 and 2 Topics 3
Local Studies at Central Library 4
CPD Workshop: Bringing Story Time to Life 4
Explore Theme Class Visits 4
Welcome to Reading Extra….
Get in touch and let us know if there is
anything you would be interested to see
in our next newsletter! Email:
*Infogram images in this newsletter from: http://www.scholastic.co.uk/readingreport
swindonlibraries.wordpress.com www,swindon.gov.uk/libraries
D on’t miss out
on our brand
new CPD
Workshop Bringing
Story Time to Life, as
well as the exciting
new Explore Theme
Class Visits we are
developing for schools.
Turn to page 4 for
further details.
@SwindonLibrary
O ur top 5 fiction books for September hold few surprises!
1 Jacqueline Wilson, Katy (RA 8-10 IA 8-11)
Inspired by the classic novel, "What Katy Did," Jacqueline Wilson creates an irresistible modern version for the twenty-first-century. 2 Jeff Kinney, The Long Haul , Book 9 (RA 9-11, IA 9-13) [Diary of a Wimpy Kid] - Tried and tested formula that keeps kids coming back for more!
3 Rachel Renee Russell, Once Upon a Dork (RA 10-12, IA 9-13) The Queen of the Dorks is back Plot line is a little daft
but main character is fairly engaging and the series is almost as popular as Wimpy Kid NB: US spellings
4 David Walliams, Billionaire Boy (RA 9-11, IA 8-13) A sweet tale of money and friendship with real laugh out loud moments—great appeal for both boys and girls.
5 Liz Pichon, Yes! No. (maybe ... ) (RA 9-11, IA 8-12) Another great bet for reluctant readers, these books are fun and great for fans of Wimpy Kid. Unlike some series, the books just keep getting better too.
RA = Reading age IA = Interest Age
September 2015, Top 5 Junior Fiction Books
Page 2 READING EXTRA
Kids can’t get enough of David Walliams: he writes like they think; the books are laugh out loud funny, with a good balance of puerile and intelligent humour. They also broach ‘issues’ in a humourous way and reach across traditional social barriers. Roald Dahl is an obvious author to point kids to, but where else to look? Why not try:
Danny Wallace, Hamish and the Worldstoppers: (RA 9-11, IA 8-12) A 10-year-old boy has to save the
world after time is stopped by evil creatures…really fun adventure for both girls and boys
Tom McLaughlin, The Accidental Prime Minister (RA 8-10,IA 7-11) A boy finds himself in the role of Prime Minister when a video of him goes viral over the internet. OTT outrageous plotline, consistently funny and a suitably dastardly baddie, dual gender appeal.
Jamie Thomson, Dark Lord, the teenage years (RA 9-11,IA 9-13)
If you like…David Walliams….
1 Julia Donaldson, Princess Mirror-Belle And the Dragon Pox: fun, pink and very glittery!
2 Nick Sharratt, Shark in the Park! : Classic book, kids love to join in with. Look out for the latest in the series Shark in the Park on a Windy Day!
3 Ed Vere, Bedtime for Monsters. Perfect to read aloud.
4 Claire Freedman, Monsters Love Underpants. Kids love these books! We do too!
5 Chloe Inkpen, Pirate Treasure! Simple story and charming illustrations.
Top 5 Picture Books
Favourite Books/Series of 6-8 year olds
http://www.scholastic.co.uk/readingreport
Dark Lord beat Walliams to win the 2012 Roald Dahl Funny Prize. Main character is pure evil but surprisingly loveable – also good for fans of Wimpy Kid.
Frank Cottrell Boyce, Millions (RA 10-12, IA 10-13) won the CILIP Carnegie Medal, with its wonderful characters, laughs, and thoughtful addressing of various issues. Broad appeal!
Georgia Pritchett, Wilf the Mighty Worrier: Saves the World (RA 7-9, IA 6-9) OTT, funny adventure, again with dual appeal.
place, the Lockwood children are evacuated to the countryside, to stay with their Uncle Peregrine .
“Seamlessly weaves two separate stories of children facing upheaval during turbulent times. Useful support for WWII topics as well as Plantagenet period. Immersing & atmospheric.” Peters Booksellers.
Sonya Hartnett, The Children of the King
(RA 10-12, IA 10-14)
A hauntingly beautiful wartime story with a
ghostly twist - this is set to become a modern classic. Set in WW2, with London becoming an increasingly dangerous
This is a meticulously crafted story, with a narrative within a narrative, that provides a lot of scope for literary study as well as historical topic support.
Connections across hundreds of years demonstrate that past circumstances shape contemporary events.
Quality Text: World War 1
language and characterization.
As Alfie searches for the truth, pupils can use their growing knowledge to predict what will happen.
There are many brilliant passages to study language, e.g. passages where Boyne appeals to the reader’s five senses. The repetition of the phrase ‘stay where you are then leave’ throughout the book is used to create suspense, fear and movement.
(This is also an ideal book for reading passages aloud to
Quality Text: World War 2
pupils even those 10+)
Researching social and political history and finding out how WW1 impacted not only soldiers but normal families living in England.
Researching life in 1914 and looking at the differences in everyday life between 1914 and now.
Ideal for supporting English and History, Art, Drama and Music topics.
All in all, excellent topic support and appeals to adults and children alike.
John Boyne, Stay Where You Are Then Leave
(RA 10-12, IA 9-14)
A warm and moving story of a boy's search for his missing father, who has
been shell shocked during the First World War. Fantastic novel from the author of Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, written from the point of view of Alfie, who is 5 at the beginning of the story.
Useful for:
Literary study of setting, plot ,
Page 3 ISSUE 1 AUTUMN 2015
Jamie Rix , The Incredible Luck of Alfie Pluck, (RA 10-12, IL 9-12) How do you transform yourself from being the unluckiest boy in the world into the luckiest? Full of Roald Dahl-esque characters, this is another wacky title that has been on a Roald Dahl Funny Prize shortlist.
On the puerile humour level any Jiggy McCue book by Michael Lawrence (e.g. Toilet of Doom) goes down well with kids 8+.
Louis Sachar, There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom, (RA 10-12, IA 11-14) For older readers, Louis Sachar relates a heartwarming story with an underlying message similar to those Walliams portrays, about believing in yourself and building self-confidence.
...and not forgetting the Diamond Brothers series by Anthony Horowitz, always great for enticing reluctant male readers.
Find out more at: http://www.sonyahartnett.com.au/pdf/Children_of_the_King.pdf
If you liked these suggestions, why not consider booking on to our CPD workshop:
Bringing Story Time to Life.
A ½ day workshop for Teachers and TA’s on best practice for bringing stories alive
and running story and rhyme times.
Or, why not bring your class to one of our
Exploring Theme Library workshops? We
are trialling these from Autumn 2015 based
on the themes of The World Wars and The
Swindon Libraries & Information Service: Learn! Enjoy! Discover! Page 4
We have thousands of photographs (1850s to 2015), complete runs of historic local newspapers, local maps (1700s to 2015), and much, much more!
We offer a wide range of resources which can help teachers across a wide range of subjects – including family and local history, the Great War, the GWR, and the Victorians.
We can help children of all ages bring the past to life and learn about the history of their town, their school, their house or even their own family!
Local Studies (at Swindon Central Library)
We hope that you’ve found this newsletter useful but if you don’t want to receive it in future or if you would like us to send a copy direct to your email address please let us know by emailing us at:
Thank you, Swindon Libraries and Information Service, Outreach and Local
Studies teams
Victorians…bring your children into a world of
fiction, non-fiction and characters to help them
uncover the answers to all of their questions
as well as learning about how to use the
library and its resources! This could be added
on to a visit to our Local Studies collection for
a full day of discovery.
We are also looking for a school to partner us in developing these Exploring Theme workshops to get the maximum relevance and interest for schools. Would you like to
help us out? Please do get in contact if so.
For more information on either of these areas of development, please email: [email protected]
CPD Workshop: Bringing
Story Time to Life.
To find out more about our teacher resource packs or arranging a class visit,
please email us: [email protected]
Have you explored our
Swindon history gallery?
www.flickr.com/swindonlocal
Exploring Theme Workshops
* Some review Information taken from ‘Peters Books’