Reading Matters at JPC

Mariatu Kamara grew up in a small village in Sierra Leone. When the civil war broke out, Mariatu, who was only 12 years old, was attacked by rebels and had her hands cut off. She survived and was moved to a camp near Freetown where she and her relations begged to survive. Eventually Mariatu was accepted to begin a new life in Canada. She is now studying at college in Toronto to become a counsellor. Mariatu has been named a UNICEF Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict.

This book can be found in the Biography section of our library.

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Free Rice is a non-profit website run by the United Nations World Food Program. For each answer you get correct, 10 grains of rice are donated through the UN food program to help end hunger.
Test yourself with Famous Paintings, Chemical symbols, English Grammar and Vocabulary, Identify Countries on the Map, World Capitals, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Basic math (Pre-Algebra) and Multiplications Tables.
Best of luck. See how much rice you can donate.

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Richard Harland, fantasy and sci-fi author has created a website, Richard Harland’s Writing Tips to help you with your writing. The sections include:
* good writing habits
* elements – action, setting, dialogue
* characters
* story
* language
* getting published

You might also like to borrow Richard’s latest book, World Shaker from the library.

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I’ve just finished reading Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd and have not been disappointed. Set in Northern Ireland in 1981 during the Troubles, Fergus McCann and his uncle Tully discover a body in the bog while digging for peat. The book continues with two stories – that of the girl from 2000 years ago and the present. Both Mel (the girl found in the bog) and Fergus must decide whether to betray their brothers or sacrifice themselves.
Unfortunately Siobhan Down died before this book was published.

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The Nest, is Paul Jennings first novel for older readers. It has been described as a stunning and original network of crossing trails which combine to tell the dark, tense and ultimately uplighting story about a boy who dares to stare into the spider holes of his own mind.

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A powerful story of survival and loss based on the real-life events of the Katkaoa eruption in 1883, written by Allan Baillie.

Kerta didn’t want to go to Krakatoa. He knows that a dark spirit, Orang Aljeh, is there and he is terrified he might wake it. But Kerta is there on the volcano, and the Ghost of Krakaoa has woken up.

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This image came from a site called Tag Galaxy . I selected the terms books and reading and this is what it produced from photos on Flickr with those tags. I was surprised that several of them feature books from the Twilight series. On the website itself the globe can be spun around to reveal more images.

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Welcome to a new year of Reading Matters at JPC. This year I am looking forward to more suggestions for books to buy to make our library even better than it is. I intend to start a Bookclub in the next couple of weeks. Listen for the announcement at assembly.

It is wonderful to see so many of the new year 7 students coming to the library before school and at lunchtime. Many of you have already made a fantastic start to the 2009 Premier’s Reading Challenge. To complete the challenge you need to read 20 books before the end of August. Last year those who successfully finished the challenge were treated to morning tea in the library with Mr Walton.

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This week the 2008 Children’s Book Council Awards were announced. 

Older Readers – Book of the Year 2008

Winner     Hartnett, Sonya         The Ghost’s Child

Honour    Heffernan, John         Marty’s Shadow

Honor      Metzenthen, David    Black Water

Younger Readers – Book of the Year 2008

Winner    Wilkinson, Carole       Dragon Moon

Honour   Clark, Sherryl              Sixth Grade Style Queen

Honour   Hirsch, Odo                 Amelia Dee and the Peacock Lamp

Picture Book of the Year

Winner      Ottley, Matt                Requiem for a Beast

Honour    Spudvilas, Anne         The Peasant Prince

Honour    Thompson, Colin        Dust

We have many of these books in our library. Why not come in and borrow some of the best books published this year for children.

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