Dark Lord:The Teenage Years Wins Roald Dahl Funny Prize

Go to http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/video/2012/dec/06/jamie-thompson-dark-lord-video to see Jamie Thomson, talking about his book Dark Lord: the Teenage Years which won the 2012 Roald Dahl Funny Prize.

Is Santa Claus Coming?

Follow the link below to enjoy some Christmas activities and learn some interesting facts about Santa! Take a look each day to receive updates from the North Pole..

www.noradsanta.org/

 

 

Books For Boys

Here are some great books for boys.
Maybe these are popular reads with boys because there’s plenty of  action and fast-moving plots or perhaps because the characters in the stories are mostly boys.

 However, these are  great books for girls too!

 

The Hobbit - coming soon!

Books for Christmas!

Parents can now order books online from Scholastic Book Club using the link below
http://clubs-school.scholastic.co.uk/newport-high
Using the link means books will be delivered to school with free post and packing and, as books start at £1.99, this is a great opportunity to buy some great Christmas presents.
Remember, place your order and pay online as no money/orders will be accepted in school.
For every £1.00 you spend, 20p goes back to school to spend on books for our library!

New!

In this thrilling and thought provoking adventure fantasy set in a world without water, the Cloud Hunters set out on their missions to track down the clouds and bring the water home.  Bored by his safe and comfortable life and longing for something more dramatic, Christien falls for his class mate Jenine, the daughter of Cloud Hunters.  Persuading her to take him on a trip, he soon finds he has a special role to play...

Frank Cottrell Boyce wins Guardian children's fiction prize

 

Frank Cottrell Boyce scoops a £1,500 award for his book The Unforgotten Coat, based on the true story of a girl deported to Mongolia.

The Unforgotten Coat is a hard-hitting story about the cruelty of the immigration system. Julie tells the story of the unexpected arrival at school, back in year six, of Chingis and Nergui, two brothers from Mongolia. When they ask her to become their 'Good Guide' Julie gets completely caught up in their stories of the imaginary and all-too-real dangers they face.

Read an extract here:http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site/interactive/2011/dec/09/extract-unforgotten-coat-cottrell-boyce

Children’s Literature Festival

THE author of the bestselling Diary Of A Wimpy Kid series of books will officially launch the inaugural Cardiff Children’s Literature Festival.

Jeff Kinney takes to the stage at Cardiff City Hall on November 29 to announce details of the festival, which runs from March 20 to 24.

The Cardiff Children’s Literature Festival will bring together for the first time some of the best national and local contemporary children’s writers and illustrators in key venues across Cardiff. Authors already confirmed include Jacqueline Wilson, Anthony Browne, Jeremy Strong, Catherine Fisher, Eurig Salisbury and Malachy Doyle.

Trailer for the new Wimpy Kid story

Follow this link to see a  teaser trailer for the seventh book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, The Third Wheel: http://t.co/dM7zPV99

Good news for Harry Potter fans

Young  Harry Potter fans who are disappointed that J K Rowling's new book, The Casual Vacancy, due out today, is aimed at adults with not a spell in sight, will be glad to know that she will be returning to children's fiction with her next book.

She said that "I think it very likely the next thing I publish will be for children." She added, "I have a children's book that I really like. It's for slightly younger children than the Potter books."
So, good news for readers everywhere!

 

Now available in the LRC

Hugely entertaining, this story is also thought
 provoking about the perils of having way too much money.
Joe Spud is the richest twelve-year-old in the world; he has
everything his heart desires – except happiness. As one disaster follows another, Joe and his father both learn the hard way what really matters.

WHOOPSEY-SPLUNKERS!
The BFG is 30 – join the party this Roald Dahl Day!

The official Roald Dahl Day takes place every year on 13 September, on the birthday of the World's No. 1 Storyteller. In 2012 we can celebrate 30 years of the swizzfiggling Big Friendly Giant.
To find out more about Roald Dahl Day go to www.roalddahlday.info/

Welcome!

Welcome to our new Year 7 students and welcome back to everyone else!

As we start a new school year and get to know some new faces, why not try the quiz on the website below and test your knowledge of teachers made famous in some great books.
www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site

Keep reading!

Happy summer reading to you all! 
Whatever the weather, enjoy some rest and relaxation with a good book!

Between The Lines - new teen read from Jodi Picoult and daughter

Enter the world of Olympic hopeful Tom Daley

Now available in the LRC!

The Olympics by Richard Brassey

The quirkiest guide you will ever read on the history of the world's most famous celebration of sport. From the story of how ideas from the games of ancient Greece have been carried down and into the twenty-first century, to the individual tales of heroes and heroines, this is a witty and entertaining guide.

Carnegie and Greenaway Winner Announced

A Monster Calls (Walker Books) written by Patrick Ness and illustrated by Jim Kay, has become the first book ever to win both the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals.
Ness is also only the second author to win the award in consecutive years (the first being Peter Dickinson in 1979 and 1980), having won in 2011 for Monsters of Men.

 This is an extraordinarily moving novel about coming to terms with loss. The monster showed up just after midnight. As they do. But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting. He's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming...The monster in his back garden, though, this monster is something different. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor. It wants the truth....

Enter the Morris Gleitzman short story writing competition

Top author Morris Gleitzman will be judging a summer short story competition for 7-14-year-olds - get writing and enter now!  Details at www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site

Tiger Wars

Deadly TV presenter and wildlife specialist Steve Backshall's first novel introduces Saker and Sinter on a quest to right some of the horrific wrongs done to wildlife around the planet.

Trash by Andy Mulligan

 Shortlisted for the 2012 Carnegie Medal.

Headlong and heart-stopping, this is an adventure you just can’t put down. From the squalor of a rubbish dump to the grandeur of some of the finest houses in the city, this is a thrilling adventure. Three boys who live on a dump and spend their lives sorting rubbish find something so precious, so valuable and so wanted by someone else that their whole lives are turned upside down. How can they keep their find – and themselves safe? From the pathos of deprivation to the hope of a miracle this is a story full of emotion as well as vivid drama.

Trash is to be made into a film.

Butterfly Summer is an intriguing tale of friendship, secrets and discoveries. Try the trailer

Dystopian Fiction

If you enjoyed The Hunger Games, here are some other books that are set in a nightmare world...

Love Harry Potter?

Horrible History!

Travel back in time and experience history in all its gory glory. If you have enjoyed the Horrible Histories books and the TV series, have a look at this website!

www.horrible-histories.co.uk

Carnegie Greenaway Award

Here are the Carnegie Medal shortlisted titles for 2012.  More detail about the books can be found on the Carnegie Greenaway website:

http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/2012awards/carnegie_shortlist.php

Wimpy Kid News!

Romance is set to enter the world of Wimpy Kid Greg Heffley in the latest instalment of the series, which is due out in November.
 The first novel, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, was voted best children's book of the decade by Blue Peter viewers earlier this month and Puffin is predicting that the seventh book will be one of the bestselling titles of 2012. Its publication was announced  by Jeff Kinney at the biggest annual event in children's publishing, the Bologna Children's Book Fair.
He said:
"I've only written about a third of it and I haven't drawn a single picture yet. But it's all in my head and on my phone."
Follow the link below to hear Jeff Kinney talk to Michelle Pauli about the bestselling series and answer questions from 'Guardian Children's Books' site members: http://gu.com/p/33eg4

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games, the science fiction, action-drama directed by Gary Ross and based on the novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins will be in cinemas this Friday!  The film has a 12A certificate.
Here are a few reviews from our Book Club members about the book:

'I liked this book very much.  It really caught my attention and I couldn’t stop reading it.  I liked all the characters and wasn’t bored when I was reading it because there was always a new topic or a new adventure to read about.  I admired Katniss.  This is the best book I have ever read in my life!'

'The Hunger Games is one of the best books I have read in a very long time.  It was extremely gripping and I was hooked into the story from the start.  It’s full of action and each page keeps you wanting to read onto the next.  A fantastic book!  Highly recommended!'

'A gripping, effortless twist on the dystopian genre.  The most well-paced and suspense-filled book I have ever read.  The elements I find fault with are so few I can count them on one hand (and I’m a harsh critic!).  I defy anyone not to enjoy this book.'

One for our older readers...

Here is what author Ally Kennan has to say about the storyline of her new teen novel, Bullet Boys:

 Max, 17, has been booted out of his school for extremely bad deeds. He's wily, resourceful and bubbling with resentment at his military family and the world at large. Alex, 17, is a gamekeeper's son and a crack shot. A real country-boy, he's calm and intelligent. Only a girl, teen-mum Sasha, can make him lose his cool. Diplomatic Levi, 18, is sharp and sociable, but has a thirst for adventure of any kind.

Set on Dartmoor, the boys make a deadly discovery on the edge of an army training ground. Explosive and life-threatening events are set in motion as an old crime is gradually uncovered and everyone has a different agenda.

If you would like to read an extract just follow this link:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site/interactive/2012/mar/02/bullet-boy-extract

Journey to the River Sea

‘Journey to the River Sea’ has been released with a new cover to mark its tenth anniversary.

This is an adventure story set in the Amazon rainforest. An orphan called Maia goes to live with her relatives in the Amazon and meets an Amazonian boy who is looking for his lost tribe. Maia doesn’t get on well with her cousins but strikes up a real friendship with the boy and they go on to share many adventures.

This is a great book - why not try it yourself?

The World Book Day App!

The brand new World Book Day App is available now for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch on the iTunes store, for the low, low price of absolutely FREE!
It includes six brilliant short stories written especially for World Book Day by some of the best Young Adult authors in the world!
Go to www.worldbookday.com to find out more.

World Book Day - Thursday 1st March

World Book Day is a celebration! It’s a celebration of authors, illustrators, books and (most importantly) it’s a celebration of reading. In fact, it’s the biggest celebration of its kind, designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and marked in over 100 countries all over the world!

Year 7 students will come to the Library next week to take part in some fun activities and to receive their World Book Day vouchers.  Here are the free books you can choose from.  Just take your token to W H Smith's and choose your book!

Unusual uses for a book?

New!

Penelope Tredwell is a thirteen-year-old orphan heiress of the bestselling magazine, The Penny Dreadful. Her masterly tales of the macabre are gripping Victorian Britain, even if no one knows she's the real author. One day a letter she receives from the governor of the notorious Bedlam madhouse plunges her into an adventure more terrifying than anything she ever imagined....

What if YOU were left holding the baby?

Did you enjoy Noughts and Crosses?  If so, the new novel from Malorie Blackman for older teenagers may be just the book for you.

You’re waiting for the postman – he’s bringing your A level results. University, a career as a journalist – a glittering future lies ahead.  When the doorbell rings it’s your old girlfriend; and she’s carrying a baby... Suddenly, your future starts to look very different.

War Horse

The book ‘War Horse’ by Michael Morpurgo has been made into a brilliant film by Steven Spielberg that is showing at local cinemas now.

It is set during World War One and tells the story of a horse bought by a struggling farmer for more than he can afford, which he then has to sell on for the war effort to make ends meet.


His son, Albert, who has formed a tight bond with the horse, is devastated. When he is old enough, he enlists in the army in an effort to reunite himself with the horse he calls Joey.

Book Club

We are now reading Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah. 
This is a powerful novel that tackles the issues of identity, war and the difficulties facing asylum seekers.  Benjamin Zephaniah writes stories and poetry which often carry a serious message on issues such as racism, animal rights, pollution and equal rights.  We are looking forward to reading Refugee Boy and finding out more about Benjamin too.

The Joy of the Book

Books for Boys

An excellent new blog reviewing books for boys is ‘Literature for Lads’. This blog is the brainchild of Edinburgh school librarian Duncan Wright.
Why not have a look for yourself – I don’t see why the girls shouldn’t try it out too! http://www.literatureforlads.com/

The Hobbit

The trailer for The Hobbit film is now available to view. See it at http://t.co/6yurIaiA