If you are a School Librarian or teacher, you might be interested in the Patrons of Reading scheme which aims to match up authors and schools to work with each other and promote reading for pleasure. The first partnership started in Wales between Helen Pielichaty and Ysgol Esgob Morgan and the first Scottish Patron was Nicola Morgan who is now working with Larbert High School. There's a list of authors still available, including two in Scotland: Joan Lennon, based in Fife, and Lynne Rickards of Glasgow.
While we're on the subject of promoting reading, there are more ideas from the winners of the Siobhan O'Dowd Trust's competition last year to promote the joy of reading. As with the Patrons of Reading scheme, both primary and secondary age-groups are covered.
So, short and to the point - this is the first post of 2013. I'll try to write more next time and in the meantime, as the graphic says, Happy New Year!
Spread the joy of reading in your school - and maybe win prizes! Michael Rosen has teamed up with the Siobhan Dowd Trust in a campaign to build a database of good ideas for buliding a book loving school. The 10 schools who make the best suggestions will win £1000 worth of books.
Michael Rosen needs no introduction; he is a former Children's Laureate and we have large numbers of his books in the Library. Siobhan Dowd is also an author, but she had much less time to write - she died of cancer in 2007 aged just 47. One of her last acts was to set up this trust with the simple aim of bringing the joy of reading to those who need it most: children and young people who are disadvantaged and deprived of access to books. For this reason, one of the things you are asked when entering the competition is the percentage of children in your school who are eligible for free school meals. (Fee-paying schools are not eligible for a prize, though good ideas for encouraging reading are still welcome. Schools in more prosperous areas are eligible for entry
if their initiative is very strong, but the Trust exists to favour readers from
a disadvantaged background.)
We have three of Siobhan's books and are about to add to stock A monster calls by Patrick Ness, written from an idea she left behind and did not have time to do anything with. This is a great initiative and even if you don't win you could get some good ideas from the other entries to use in your school.
Patrick's latest book A monster calls is published today and will be in the library very soon. This book is different, as the review from our supplier, Holt Jackson, shows:
"Conor is dealing with his Mum's cancer and finding it very difficult to come to terms with it. Each night he struggles with nightmares and one night a monster calls at his window much to his surprise and fear. What happens next is a gripping and sometimes challenging tale of having to deal with fear, loneliness and loss. This is a book like no other - originally imagined by Siobhan Dowd who sadly died of cancer before writing it, Patrick Ness took up the mantle and wrote the book in her honour. He should be proud of his achievement as this is one of the best teenage books I have read. Both gripping and moving in equal parts, this is a book to look out for and a great testament to both Patrick and Siobhan."
In the meantime, you can read a different extract every day on the Monster calls blog tour - see Patrick's website for details of this and other publicity, including a Radio Scotland interview. The Guardian has a podcast of him reading an extract and answering questions and A monster calls is also book of the week on the Ultimate Bookguide.
Click on the links here to see our catalogue holdings on Siobhan Dowd and Patrick Ness (whose Chaos walking trilogy now has its own discussion forum if you are interested). And finally, click on the Patrick Ness label at the end of this post to see my own reviews of these books.
