LitCharts!

Revising for GCSE or A-Level English Literature exams? Have a look at LitCharts!, which has lots of great guides on widely studied texts- including Animal Farm, The Canterbury Tales, The Great Gatsby, King Lear, Macbeth, Measure for Measure,  Oedipus Rex, Paradise Lost...and loads more!

Why not have a browse of the guides, perhaps as 'reinforcement' to your own notes!

New book!

I'm very pleased and chuffed to report that we now have a copy of 'The Handmaid's Tale' in stock in the Library once again! A fantastic book, definitely worth a read for anyone in Year 11 or above- a book review from James shall follow shortly! :)

Guardian Books

Have a look at the Guardian Book website. Their is a children section and one of our Library Assistants is a member.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site

May Half-Term

The Library team wish you all a very happy May Half-Term, when you can read lots of books, so you can write reviews for the blog.

Top 10 unsuitable books for teenagers...

So, alright! We are always looking for the best books to read. We ask friends, search the internet and most of all, pop into our School Library. So, when someone writes the top 10 most unsuitable books for teenagers, it gets us thinking! Have a look at the link below to see what you should'nt be reading!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site/2011/apr/08/patrick-ness-top-10-unsuitable-books-teenagers

And why not go into the Library, and tell the Libraians which books you think are not your unsuitable top ten, but your favourite top ten. We might even be able to make a display!

A little quote...

A library book, I imagine, is a happy book.

• So that that means that our Library is full of happiness!
  

Cornelia Funke

Remember....

Children's Book Website-

Have a look at the following website. It has lots of good books and information on each one!

http://www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/

Guardian Childrens Books website

Don't know the latest book in a series? Wondering who wrote a certain book and when?



Why not ask the book doctor on the Guardian Children Books Website?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site/series/the-book-doctor

James :)

Armadillo Newsletter

For teenage book news and reviews, the latest Armadillo newsletter is available here: http://sites.google.com/site/armadillomagazine/teenage1

Jon Mayhew visits The King's School

Author, Jon Mayhew visited our school today and ran sessions with Year 7 and 8 pupils. Jon started by introducing us to his first book, Mortlock, which is set in Victorian London in 1854. 

"Josie lives with a stage magician. A man with a dark past. A past that seeks him out in the form of three hideous witch-like women who can turn into giant eyeball-pecking crows called ghuls! They invade Josie’s house and send her on a quest for The Amarant, the immortal flower of life. Pursued by the ghuls, Josie meets her twinbrother, Alfie ..."

Jon's latest book, published on 7 March 2011, is The Demon Collector, which is related to but can stand alone from Mortlock. "In The Demon Collector Edgy Taylor is a Prime Collector (if you don't know what this is, look it up!) and his life is miserable! On top of that, he sees demons when others can’t!"

If you like dark gothic historical adventure, then you'll love Jon's books. 

Today's visit was kindly arranged by the lovely ladies from Barrowby and Grantham Childrens' Book Group who enthusiastically and tirelessly share their love of reading and books.

 

William Hussey visits King's

Author William Hussey visited the Library at King's again for an informal session organised in conjunction with the Barrowby and Grantham Children's Book Group. William read an extract from his latest book Gallows at Twilight, the second in his Witchfinder triology. He then answered many questions from the audience such as where does he get his inspiration from? How does he go about writing his books? How long does he spend researching the background? William gave us a taster of ideas for his future novels which sound excellent.

William Hussey is back!

Highly acclaimed author William Hussey ... "the new king of horror" will be visiting King's again.

William be talking about his new book Gallows at Twilight the second part in the Witchfinder Trilogy,
at The King's School Library, 5.00 - 6.00pm
on Wednesday 9th February.

There will be copies of both parts one and two Dawn of the Demontide and Gallows at Twilight to buy and have signed.

This event is being organised by the Barrowby and Grantham Children's Book Group. Please let Mrs Dawes know if you would like to attend. 

" An ancient evil walks again . . .
Eight pale hands—some with fingers stripped down to the bone—rose out of the earth. Slimy with rain, the rat‐gnawed heads of four soldiers loomed into view. They moaned at the sky and their cry moulded itself into a word: ‘FLLLLLLEEESSSSSSHHHHHH!’" from  Gallows at Twilight

Witchfinder: Gallows at Twilight ∙ 978‐0‐19‐273191‐3 ∙ PB ∙ £6.99 ∙ January 2011 · Age 12+ 

Red House Book Reviews

The deadline for all red House Book Reviews is 1 February. 

Please bring any Red House books back to the Library together with your review slip before then. 

3 reviews = 1 merit; 5 review = a free book courtesy of Barrowby and Grantham Children's Book Group.

Diary of a Wimpy kid: The Ugly Truth by Jeff Kinney

Unusually, for books I review, I have not yet finished this brilliant book but so far I’ve been captivated. Such is the magic of Jeff Kinney’s books that I read nearly half the book in WHSmith for an hour. This book does not disappoint any readers of the other books in the series documenting the life of Greg Heffley. In this particular book, Greg has had a fight with his best friend Rowley and has resulted in them not talking to each other for the beginning of the New School Year. Slowly, another problem arises. Greg realises the problems with growing up! I highly recommend this book as a book which will be enjoyed by all Diary of a Wimpy Kid fans. 5 Star

By Jack Shannon

New fiction books in the Library

Welcome back! Hope you had a relaxing Half Term.

We have lots of brand new fiction books in the Library on loan from Barrowby and Grantham Children's Book Group to review for the Red House Children's Book Award 2011. To take part all you have to do is to nominate any book or novel first published in the UK during 2010 by rating it using the following options:
*Brilliant! A winner.
*Very good indeed. I'd definitely recommend it.
*Pretty good, better than most.
*Nothing special.
*Rubbish! Bury it in the garden.

You can nominate as many different titles as you like and nomination forms are available in the Library. 

Review 3 books and receive a merit; review 5 books and receive a free book from a selection kindly provided by Barrowby and Grantham Children's Book Group.

For further information about the Red House Book Awards go to: www.redhousechildrensbookaward.co.uk

Calling all young books fans

The Guardian is planning a new dedicated books site for young readers – and they would like the target audience to help put it together ...

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/oct/14/calling-young-books-fans

A little Reading Quote

Books to the ceiling


Books to the sky


My pile of books is a mile high


How I love them! How I need them!


I’ll have a long beard by the time I read them.


By Arnold Lobel




Submitted by James K. Yr 9

The Essential Man's Library

 Have a look at this link and let me know how many you've read!

http://artofmanliness.com/2008/05/14/100-must-read-books-the-essential-mans-library/

Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy

SPECIAL REVIEW/ INTERVIEW

This review is a interview with a reader of the Skullduggery Pleasant series.  Thomas Armson is a loyal reader of the series and the first to take out the book in the library, this was his view on the latest, exciting book in the series.

What was the book like to read?

“The series is deeply moving and extremely enjoyable to read.”

What is the basic plot around the latest book?

“Skullduggery is a detective who has a partner that is a descendant of an all-powerful ancient. They work in a secret magical community encountering every type of villain or monster on the way, but fate turns against them as Valkyrie discovers she has a dooming fate.” At this point I asked Tom not to give away too much of the plot.

Would you recommend it and how many stars would you give it?

“I recommend it to anybody who enjoys mystery and magic. 5 Stars."

Jack Shannon, Year 8