Christmas Books and Film tie-ins on TV

Why not enjoy a good book this Christmas holiday? Come and browse our display of Christmas books and books with a film tie-in on TV over the Christmas holidays in the Discovery library! Our display in the War Memorial Library includes ghost stories and Christmas crime stories, for those that like a scare at Christmas!

 

We have lots of great titles in the both the Discovery and War Memorial libraries, including those in our ‘new books’ section so please feel free to browse and borrow.

Also, School Librarian, Helen Smith, has compiled her annual list of Christmas book and film tie-ins that are on TV over the Christmas Period. Please click on the link below to view:
Christmas book to film listing 2013

 

 

 

Winners of the Roald Dahl Funny Prize announced

The winners are:

I Am Still Not a Loser by Jim Smith in the aged seven to 14 catagory

Monkey Nut by Simon Rickerty in the six and under category

Jim Smith's books I Am Not a Loser and I am Still Not a Loser are on our wish list so look out for them in the Discovery Library in the New Year!  Meanwhile, you can find other funny books, including previous Roald Dahl Funny Prize winners and shortlisted titles in the Discovery Library.

Roald Dahl Funny Prize shortlist - winners to be announced next week

The Roald Dahl Funny Prize celebrates funny books for children.  Six books have been chosen in each of the two categories, children aged 6 and under and children aged 7 to 14.  The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in London on Tuesday 10 December.

The books shortlisted for children aged 7 to 14 are:

The Grunts All At Sea by Philip Ardagh
 

My Parents Are Out of Control by Pete Johnson

 Press to view the Waterstones book trailer

Pants Are Everything by Mark Lowery  

Geek Girl by Holly Smale

Fish-Head Steve! by Jamie Smart  

I Am Still Not a Loser by Jim Smith

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rq1rW9JhD3M

Let us know which book you think should win.  You can find many of these books and other prize winning funny books in the Discovery Library.

For more information about the Roald Dahl Funny Prize visit the Book Trust website.

Great displays

(Click on the images to enlarge)

In the War Memorial Library ....... HELP! I'M A GREAT READ GET ME OUT OF HERE!

Come and spy out our Discovery Library display full of interesting books about Espionage.

‘Books about Town’

The National Literacy Trust, in partnership with Wild in Art, have commissioned a series of book benches to be designed by artists to celebrate stories connected to London and promote reading for pleasure.  The open book shaped benches will be unveiled in locations across London next summer.

The Trust are inviting businesses to sponsor a BookBench in order to raise money to help tackle low literacy levels in deprived communities across the UK.  Among the benches already being created are We’re Going on a Bear Hunt and Peter Pan.



Wind in the Willows bench by artist Mik Richardson
(source: theguardian.com)

Words of the Week - recent winners!

DISCOVERY LIBRARY

Constrict

Verb: To make smaller or narrower by squeezing.
chosen by Bailey 7 LC

Aggravate

Verb: To make (a disease, situation or problem) worse.
chosen by Luke 8 SH

Prosper                  
Verb: To be successful and wealthy
chosen by Harrison 7 LC

Insipid
Adjective: Dull and boring; lacking in flavour
chosen by Ben 7 ST

Archaeopteryx                  

Noun:  Oldest known bird.  Unlike modern birds, it had teeth, three claws on each wing and a long bony tail.
chosen by Gabriella 8 TN

Quare

Adjective (Irish, dialect): Remarkable or strange.
chosen by William 8 NA

Osmoregulation

Noun:  The control of the levels of water and mineral salts in the blood of a living organism.
chosen by James 8 TN

Repugnant

Adjective:  Offensive or disgusting
chosen by Fleur 7 NE

Cornucopia

Noun: A great abundance
chosen by Geoffrey 7 EV

Discommode

Verb:  To cause inconvenience or annoyance to; disturb
chosen by Jennifer Bangay (7DV)

Physiognomy
Noun:  The features of a person’s face.
chosen by Aaron 7 ML

Cantankerous

Adjective:  It means that you are bad tempered, argumentative and uncooperative.

chosen by Hannah 7 EV
                                   

WAR MEMORIAL LIBRARY

Colossal

Adjective: Very large in size
chosen by Jim 10 WH     

Ascension

Noun: The act of ascending.
chosen by Miss Bigsby (English Department)

Americanisation

Adjective: Term used to describe the how American culture is dominating the world, putting other cultures in danger of extinction.
chosen by Alecia 12 CA

Spelunker                 

Noun:  A person who explores caves, chiefly as a hobby. 
chosen by Leighanne 13 DN
        
Palaeontology
Noun:  The branch of biology that studies the forms of life that existed in former geologic periods, mainly by studying fossils.
chosen by Cathy Whiting (Business Manager)

Flamboyant

Adjective: Someone who is richly coloured, resplendent and elaborate in all that they do.
chosen by Matty 13 DH

Grandiose

Adjective:  Impressive or magnificent in appearance or style, in a pretentious way.
chosen by Eniola 13 DH

Phantasmagoria

Noun: A sequence of real or imaginary images constantly shifting, as seen in a dream.
chosen by Larra 13 CA
             
Distillation
Noun:  The process of purifying a liquid by boiling it and condensing its vapours.
chosen by Callum 10 MH
            
Serenity
Noun:  A state of calm and peace. 
chosen by Hawa 13 CA
                  
Palpable
Adjective:  Capable of being handled, touched or felt. 
chosen by Monique 12 PL

Transformation

Noun:  A marked changed, as in appearance or character, normally for the better. 
chosen by Falka 11 MW

Remembrance Day – lest we forget

Remembrance Day takes place on 11 November every year in Commonwealth Countries to remember the members of the armed forces who have died since the end of the First World War. People wear remembrance poppies to show that they have not forgotten those who have died. The Discovery Library has a special Remembrance display of war time story books for you to borrow.

 

The Ravensbourne School war memorial, initially dedicated to students and staff who gave their lives in the Great War, is situated in the KS4/5 Library; known as the War Memorial Library. It was added to again after World War II. The war memorial is important to the life of the school and we mention it often.

As the War Memorial Library is for the use of KS4 and 5 students and staff only and we are aware that the KS3 students do not get to see the memorial, we are hoping to arrange a timetable of visit for the Year 7 students during Form Time this term.

Celebrating Michael Morpurgo

To celebrate Michael Morpurgo’s 70^th birthday, his publishers HarperCollins, will be promoting 30 of his books throughout the month of November.  Schools, libraries and bookshops will be invited to focus, week by week, on themes of Animals, War, Legends and Voyages as represented throughout his books.  The first book they will be focusing on is War Horse.


Michael Morpurgo is taking part in a one off event at the National Theatre on Sunday 10^th November 2013 at 5pm to mark Remembrance Sunday called Anthems for Peace.  For more information and to book tickets visit the Anthems for Peace web page.

War Horse and other titles by Michael Morpurgo are available to borrow from the Discovery Library.

Children’s Laureate, Malorie Blackman, named as UK’s most influential black figure

According to a report from BBC Entertainment and Arts news online, author Malorie Blackman has topped publishing company Powerful Media’s annual Powerlist, which also included athlete Mo Farah and media agency boss Karen Blackett.

Malorie Blackman began her career as a computer programmer and TV scriptwriter before writing her first book, as she believed that there was a lack of children's stories featuring black characters.



She has now written more than 60 books, including Noughts and Crosses, Pig-Heart Boy, Hacker and Cloud-Busting.  We have a selection of her books in both the Discovery and War Memorial Libraries, including her new book Trust Me.

New Books

We have introduced 'New books' pages on our blog for the Discovery and War Memorial Libraries to let you know what is new for you to read. We will be providing regular updates and promoting our new books based upon a theme in the Discovery Library and providing a short synopsis for new books in the War Memorial Library.

To kick off, we have chosen 'next in the series…' as our theme in the Discovery Library, with new books available by Anthony Horowitz, Jacqueline Wilson, Ally Carter, Andrew Lane, Lauren Child and Robert Muchamore.

Keep a look out in the Discovery Library for the ‘recommended reads’ bookmarks in books that other students have enjoyed, and our ‘like for like author’ shelf talkers, suggesting other authors you might like. Don't forget to ask your Librarians to help you find a book and check out Lovereading4kids for reading recommendations and to find out more about your favourite authors.

Lights, camera, read!

We have a new display of books that have been made into films in the War Memorial Library. Including Meg Rosoff's teen dystopian novel How I Live Now, the gothic supernatural romance Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl and the spellbinding and tragic The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald.  Come and browse and borrow and let us know which you enjoyed best, the book or the film!

Carve out time to read this Halloween!

Why not choose a 'scary' book to read over half term? Come and browse our display of horror books for Halloween in the Discovery Library. We have something for everyone - from vampires to werewolves and books that are horrifying and funny!

Man Booker 2013 winner announced

Eleanor Catton has won this year’s Man Booker prize with her novel The Luminaries.  The Luminaries is a gold-rush murder mystery novel set in the 19^thCentury. 

At 28, the author from New Zealand is the youngest person to win the award and her novel is the longest winner at 832 pages.

Post-a-read - what we were reading!

Thank you to everyone who told us what they were reading over the summer holidays.  We had postcards from all over the world – from Canada to Croatia and Las Vegas to Amsterdam! Come and have a look at our display, which is on the noticeboard outside the Discovery Library.

National Poetry Day

National Poetry Day is a nationwide celebration of poetry held every year on the first Thursday of October.  It's a chance to celebrate and inspire creativity through poetry.  This year it took place on the 3^rd October and the theme was ‘water water everywhere’. 

The first Young Poet Laureate for London was announced yesterday by Poet Laureate Carol Anne Duffy.  Her name is Warsan Shire, a 24 year old Kenyan-born Somali poet and she was chosen from a shortlist of six young poets.  Ealier this year she won the Brunel University inaugural prize for African Poetry.

To find out about more about poetry and for advice on writing your own visit The Poetry Society and the Young Poets Network.

We are hoping to welcome back Adisa the amazing performance poet www.adisaworld.com to TRS next term so watch this space! 

Man Booker Prize 2013

The Man Booker shortlist 2013

The winner of the Man Booker Prize 2013 for fiction is due to be announced on 15th October.

Previous winners of this award have included Life of Pi by Yann Martel (2002), Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle (1993) and Schindler’s Ark by Thomas Keneally (1982).   These books, and other prize winning novels, are available to borrow from the War Memorial Library.



Reading for pleasure and your school libraries

A recent report from the Institute of Education shows that children who read for pleasure made more progress in maths, vocabulary and spelling than those who rarely read.  In particular, reading for pleasure between the ages of 10 and 16 was found to be more important for children’s cognitive development than having a parent with a degree. 

In the libraries we have an excellent collection of fiction and non-fiction, including many of the latest titles.  Whether you like funny, crime, horror or adventure we have the book for you – just ask your librarians! We are open to suggestions too, so if there is a book that we don’t have but you think we should stock let us know.

Look out for more library competitions coming soon.

Horrible Histories: Spies Exhibition

 








Are you are fan of Horrible Histories?  If yes, why not visit the Horrible Histories Spies exhibition which is on at the Imperial War Museum, London until 4^th January 2015?

“Find out which sneaky spies told the biggest lies, how exploding rats were used to sabotage German factories, and what secret agents carried in their suitcases (apart from their socks!). From exploding camel poo to irritating itching powder, this exhibition reveals the terrible tricks, traps and techniques used by spies to make secret war on the enemy – all the gore and more!” 

There is also an opportunity to meet the illustrator of the Horrible Histories series, Martin Brown, on the weekend of 19^th/20^th October.

For more information including how to book tickets visit the Imperial War Museum online.

Don’t forget that we have lots of Horrible Histories in the Discovery Library, along with copies of the Horrible Histories magazine and other ‘Horrible’ series.

Welcome back!

It is the start of a new year and we would like to welcome back all the students and staff and welcome all those who are new to the school and we hope that you enjoy your time here. 
 

We hope you had a great summer - we received some postcards telling us what you were reading and look forward to displaying these.

 

We have a great collection of fiction and non-fiction to browse and borrow in our libraries, with librarians on hand to help with homework and recommend a good read - just ask! Remember that for the KS3 students, the Discovery Library is open before and after school as well as at lunch time for quiet study. For KS4 students, the War Memorial Library is open at lunch time and for Post 16 students, it is available to use throughout the day including morning break.

 

Look out for our library competitions, including our weekly Word of the Week competition, with loads of great prizes to be won. We have changing book displays and displays of new books to encourage reading for pleasure. We are happy to consider buying any books that we do not currently have – just ask! There are suggestion boxes too for any comments or suggestions you may have.

 

We look forward to seeing you in the Discovery and War Memorial Libraries.

 

 

Book Reviews

Hunger by Michael Grant
Reviewed by Edward  KS3

One normal day at Perdido Beach, everyone over the age of fifteen disappears.  Very soon the others run low on food.  However, horror haunts all the vegetable patches – worms mutated by radioactivity are now man-eaters.  Will everyone survive…?

Choose this book if you want a book that catches your eye; one that you can’t stop reading.  Read this if you liked Harry Potter, Percy Jackson or The Kane Chronicles and if you like magic and fantasy.

I would give this book 5 stars.

Golden Goal by Dan Freeman

Reviewed by Harry B KS3

The author of this brilliant book has written various other books, such as Too Easy and Shoot & Score.  If you liked these, then you will certainly like this one!  He is an adventurous, fun-packed writer.

You should read this book because you will laugh, smile and cry: it will blow your socks off. 

 

Brigands M.C. (Cherub Series) by Robert Muchamore

Reviewed by Finn KS3

The three main characters are Dante, whose family was murdered by a motor cycle club, and his friends James and Lauren.  They are sent on a mission by Cherub to avenge the death of Dante’s family.  I would make this book into a film and wouldn’t change a thing.  It’s a great read and has some action, some romance and lots of gripping, thrilling events.  This book is the eleventh in the series and I would give it a rating of 5 stars.

Survival by Chris Ryan

Reviewed by Kian KS3

The story is about five brave but adventurous teens, who are aboard a sailing ship.  Unexpectedly the group gets marooned on a desert island where they have to survive.  They are challenged by deadly sharks, killer komodo dragons and even modern day pirates.  The book also contains Chris Ryan’s top S.A.S survival tips in a tropical area.

I choose this book because it has an intriguing blurb and also because I wanted to read a fairly large book.  At the beginning I didn’t really enjoy it but I eventually began to really enjoy it.

I would give this book 4 out of 5 because it is full of action and is so good that I have read it more than once!

The Night Bus (Horowitz Horror Series) by Anthony Horowitz

Reviewed by Harry E KS3

The Night Bus is another massive achievement by Horowitz.  The book has three stories and none are for the squeamish or faint-hearted.

The first story is called the Night Bus, which is the story of Nick and Jeremy, who were out late partying but ended up stranded and needed to get home.  This was the beginning of their terrible encounter that started when they got on the 227B bus.  The bus looked like a 1950s version and had some very strange passengers, including a biker man with half a head and some very well dressed people with green bloody hands and smoke rising from them.  The second story is about a hitch hiker and a boy called Jacob.  Jacob is on his way back from a wonderful day on the beach when he Dad stops to pick up a hitch hiker.  This gets him into the journey from hell!

I would give this book 3 and a half stars out of 5 and would recommend it to 11 year olds and above.