Scarlet Ibis

Scarlet Ibis by Gill Lewis

This book is in the shortlist for 7-11 year olds.  Emily (year 6) came home from school with it at the same time as I began reading it for the UKLA book awards.  It has been lovely to be able to discuss it with her.  We both thouroughly enjoyed it.
It tells the story of Scarlet and Red who live with their mum.  However, their mum is not well and when a fire starts in their flat they are both taken into care.  For Scarlet and Red this is made worse by the fact that the social worker separates them.
Gill Lewis tells the story from Scarlet's point of view.  It is very easy to feel the frustration that Scarlet is feeeling when no one is listening to her as the adults make the decisions.

It is a great book that I am looking forward to sharing with my class.

Judging the 2015 UKLA Book Awards

This year I am judging the UKLA shortlists.  This is the only book award judged by teachers. It is the third time I have been fortunate enough to judge the 6 books in each shortlist. I am really enjoying reading the books and look forward to meeting to pick the winners in June.

Rose Under Fire

This is the second book by Elizabeth Wein about the second world war.  I loved Code Name Verity so was looking forward to reading this.
The story is so gripping that it took a few days to read.  The story stays with you long after you have read it and when you then realise that the author has actually visited the camp in Germany and has based the book on the accounts of the women who survived.

It is a book that I would highly recommend.

http://www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/book/8996/Rose-Under-Fire-by-Elizabeth-Wein.html

I can't wait until this comes out.  I loved the first two.

The Worst Witch and the Wishing Star

Lucy aged 8 was fortunate to be given a copy of this to review for Lovereading 4kids.
Having really enjoyed the Worst Witch books it was great to have the latest of Jill Murphy's Worst Witch books.
Below is the review she wrote completely independently:

The  book, THE WORST WITCH AND THE WISHING STAR, is a very exiting book that makes you want to know what happens next. But sometimes it is scary because you don’t know what Miss Hardbroom will find out. It gets really scary when Ethel sees Mildred’s bag move. Inside the bag was her wish! Her best friends loved her wish! But it wasn’t the kind of thing a witch should really have. When Miss Hardbroom had a wish from the wishing star she saw, she wished for something that made Mildred’s wish useful! One day when Ethel once decided to follow Mildred, Mildred’s wish almost got taken! That was another really scary part.

I really like the book. It was very interesting. I bet you would like it too! Will you like it too? 

Book Awards

On Friday 7th July I will get the opportunity to meet some of the authors of the fantastic books I have read.  Since beginning the book judging I have read all the books on the 3 -6 year old long list and then went on to read the short listed books for all the age groups.


This book judging has made me question the importance of teachers reading the books that the children in their class are reading.  I have been surprised by the content of some of the books and feel that it is important as a teacher to be able to discuss some of the issues that occur in the books.  


The whole process has been great for both myself and for my school.  The children have been reading the books and providing their own feedback.  The children have written book reviews and discussed which book they think should win.  Some children have also contributed to a blog that I have created for them.


Following this experience I aim to continue to read new books and think about how they can be used in school.  I would like to continue to be able to advise children and teachers on books that they might enjoy.  I have found that the education library at County Hall has been an excellent resource for books including sets of some of the books.  I hope to be able to continue to use the library to access the most up to date good quality children's literature. 

Emily's favourite book

Emily loves Little Red Hood so much that on book day at school she insisted I made a red cloak for her so she could be Little Red Hood.  She took the book with her to school as she didn't want anyone to mistake her for Little Red Riding Hood.