Jesus' Christmas Party

This is one of my favourite re-tellings of the Christmas Story, probably because I sympathise with the sleep-deprived crabby innkeeper.  Late one night, Mary and Joseph arrive at the inn, which as we all know, is full up - but there is the stable round the back.  The innkeeper's sleep is disturbed by shepherds, a bright light, and lots of noisy singing.  Absolutely furious, the innkeeper himself storms round the back to see what is going on......

The pictures are funny, the text lively and it reads aloud very well indeed.  It apparently makes a good nativity play for nursery or P1 too, or so I am told!

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

A real Christmas classic!  The story of how the Grinch with his heart two sizes too small decided to stop Christmas from coming has been loved since it was first published in 1957.

The Whos in Who-ville are all getting ready to celebrate Christmas, and their preparations are all very noisy, the Grinch hates the noise and decides to stop it, once and for all.  The story whizzes along as the Grinch makes his plans and steals all the presents, and decorations and all the food for the feast. Only to find that Christmas comes anyway, despite all his efforts.

The rhyming text is great fun to read aloud, and I love the expression on the Grinch's face when he has his brilliant idea.



Have a look at the Dr Seuss website for more Grinch-ly fun http://www.seussville.com/grinch/

The Christmas Eve Ghost

Shirley Hughes has given us a delightful picture book for Christmas this year The Christmas Eve Ghost.

Inspired by her own childhood in Liverpool in the 1930s, Shirley Hughes gives us a look back at how things were for people during very hard times.  The two children, Bronwen and Dylan, are frightened by some strange noises on Christmas Eve, some very ghostly noises! Their mother has gone out to the shop at the end of the road, and in going out to find her, they literally run into their next door neighbour.  She takes them into her house where they have never been before - will this visit help solve the mystery of the strange noises?

As usual with a Shirley Hughes book, the pictures are full of the tiny details of daily life. The close relationship between the children and their mother is shown as they go through the day. Much of the detail is of historical interest, depicting the lives of the family and the community in which they live.  This is a wonderful book to share with children, as there is a fair bit of text and some of the pictures may need some explanation. As we live through our own times of austerity, it is fascinating to see how an earlier generation coped with theirs.

Lucy and Tom's Christmas, Angel Mae and Snow Lady are other seasonal Shirley Hughes picture books to enjoy.

You can watch Shirley talk about the making of The Christmas Eve Ghost here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfRvSeE1RRg

Gangsta Granny

Gangsta Granny is the latest book by David Walliams, with illustrations by Quentin Blake.  If you enjoyed the others, this is definitely a book you would like. Laugh-out-loud funny in places, this is the story about a boy and his grandmother, and how everything may not be as it seems, even the most boring of us may have a secret life

When the story begins Ben, our hero, is off to stay at his Granny's house as he does every Friday night. He hates it, hates playing Scrabble, hates the food and there is nothing to do. His secret dream is to be a plumber, he is fascinated by the pipework and how the whole water systems work together like a huge puzzle. His parents want him to fulfil the dreams they had of being champion ballroom dancers - but he hates dancing too. He phones home when he thinks his Granny is asleep to see if his parents will come and get him (they don't), but he has the awful feeling that Granny has overheard, and that he has hurt her feelings. But as Raj the shopkeeper points out, no-one is born old, and we all have secrets, and Ben should be more understanding. Even so, Ben is not prepared to find the biscuit tin full of stolen jewellery in Granny's kitchen....  she can't be a jewel thief can she? Not his old Granny?

Ben seems to be quite lonely boy, his Granny even more so. David Walliams story gives Ben the chance to rekindle his relationship with the grandmother he remembers from when he was very small. Quite sad in places but extremely funny in others (I like the bit where Granny abseils out of the hospital) and the illustrations by Quentin Blake are superb!

If you like the idea of growing old disgracefully, try the Granny Nothing stories by Catherine Macphail, or Harry and the Wrinklies by Alan Temperley. For another cameo appearance by Her Majesty, try The BFG by Roald Dahl.

The Lost Hero

As all fans of Percy Jackson will be aware, The Lost Hero is the first book in the second series about the Half-Blood heroes, children born with one ordinary mortal parent and one parent a Greek god or goddess.


Having enjoyed the original series very much, I wasn't sure how the second would work as Rick Riordan had already worked his way through the Greek pantheon, and solved the problem of what to do with all the unacknowledged children roaming around Camp Half-Blood and the rest of North America.  The solution is brilliant - take the Roman aspects of the Greek gods and their children and see what happens when you set them up against the next wave of monsters trying to take over the earth.


The story is told from the point of view of the three new characters in turn two chapters at a time, so the reader sees the events through different eyes, and very different understandings of what is going on.  Jason has completely lost his memory, and much of the action is driven by his need to discover who he really is and how he has ended up at Camp Half-Blood. His friends Leo and Piper have their own troubles to deal with. With Percy Jackson off-stage throughout the book, Rick Riordan has made his readers care very much about the new characters and how the changes at the end of the last series have affected the Half-Bloods. Piper is a good strong character, and very much like Annabeth will (probably) be pivotal to the action later on.

If you are looking for a fast-paced action adventure this is for you, but at over 500 pages you will need to set aside a bit of time to read it all.  The sequel Son of Neptune has recently been published too.

Cabin Fever

Yes, it's finally here, the new Wimpy kid book has hit the library shelves.

This story takes place over a shorter space of time than the earlier books, just the 4 or 5 weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Greg is dealing with the usual problem of how to earn more money to spend on his computer games, since his mom disapproves of him playing so much. Things do not go according to plan, and the family is snowed in during the week before Christmas.

Jeff Kinney will be doing a live webcast on Friday 2nd December 2011 sponsored by Puffin Books.  You can register at www.jeffkinneyvirtuallylive.co.uk  The webcast will be available to watch later for those of us who will be at school on that day.

The people who have read this book have really enjoyed it. So did I, but Mrs Heffley, how could you!!!

Scottish Children's Book Awards

We are taking part in voting for the Scottish Children's Book Awards, formerly the Royal Mail Book Awards, this year.

The Bookbug readers are being voted for by Primary One, Two and Three. All our children will have a chance to read the books between now and the deadline for voting in January 2012.

 

 

 

Roald Dahl Competitiion - Results

Congratulations to our winners - Erin in P3K and Francesca in P5w.

This competition was a really tricky one, so here are the answers.

Red Matilda, read by Mrs Le Good

Blue The Twits, read by Mr McCrossan

Orange Fantastic Mr Fox, read by Mrs Purcell

Purple James and the Giant Peach, read by Mrs Ballance

Green The BFG, read by Mr Drysdale

Well done to everyone who took part, and thank you to the teachers who did the reading.

Book Fair 2011

The Kingarth Street Book Fair 2011 was held between 3rd and 7th October 2011.

Every class was able to come and have a look at the books on offer, and most people found something that looked interesting. Parents were welcome to come and have a look at the books too, before deciding whether or not to grant any requests.

Everyone should now have all the books which were ordered and we hope you are enjoying reading them.

Thank you all for your support, and we look forward to seeing you next time (when the library staff have recovered!)

Roald Dahl Day Competition

To celebrate Roald Dahl Day and the 50th anniversary of the publication of James and the Giant Peach, why not enter our library competition?

All you have to do is listen carefully to the five recordings.
Next, write down the book character you think is being described.
Then work out who is the teacher doing the reading.
Remember to put your name and class on your entry form.

Good luck and listen very carefully - it's not as easy as you think!

Welcome Back!

Welcome back to a new school year. It is lovely to see you all and hear your news.

Library discussion times have been full of talk about all the marvellous books you have been reading over the summer. I will have a huge list of recommendations by the end of this week, thank you to every one who has given me ideas for my reading pile.

There are a lot of library events planned for this year, look out for visits from authors and illustrators, Book Week next term, and a book fair where you can buy new books to keep.

Run Rabbit Run

This is a family story set during the Second World War. The story of Lizzie and her younger brother Freddie is quite different from many of the stories we are all familiar with. Lizzie's mother has been killed when a bomb landed on the shop where she worked. Her father is refusing to fight in the war because he doesn't believe in fighting, nor does he want to leave his children. Eventually, the call-up papers arrive, his appeal is turned down, and the choice is to fight or go to jail. Mr Butterworth takes the third option - to go on the run, and he takes his children with him. The family move to an alternative community in Gloucestershire where they are made welcome, but they are unable to stay after local police become suspicious and have to move on again.

This is an exciting story as the family have several narrow escapes, they meet some amazing people. The book also gives a different picture of how life was for many people during World War Two, but also has much in common with books about evacuees and the constant anxiety suffered by families left behind when the men go to fight.

If you liked Carrie's War, or Goodnight Mr Tom, try this too.

The Sisters Grimm

Sabrina and Daphne Grimm have run away from countless foster homes since their parents disappeared eighteen months ago. When Granny Relda turns up to claim them as her grand-daughters, the girls are amazed and suspicious. How come they didn't know they had a grandmother? Who is she really? And why on earth does she lock up her house with 12 different keys?

Life really is different in the small town of Ferryport Landing. With a cast of characters ranging from Prince Charming to the Three Little Pigs, many fairy tale characters you will have met before - and hundreds you won't know, there is plenty for the Fairytale Detectives to get their teeth into.

This is great fun to read, and if you like it you could spend hours following a reading trail finding the original stories. If you would like to read more like this, you could try Ian Beck's books about Tom Trueheart, Lyn Gardner's Into the Woods, or just watch Shrek!

Book Week 2011 Keith Charters

Primary 6 pupils were the hosts when Keith Charters came to chat about books, writing, publishing and anything else interesting. A great time was had by all, as we were royally entertained, informed, and read to - all just perfect for a Friday afternoon.

Keith has a new book of his own out this year, Lee on the Dark Side of the Moon. This is the fourth story about the irrepressible Lee and his daft adventures. This time Lee is on a trip to the moon because he won a competition on the back of a cereal packet. Lee obviously eats more exciting cereal than I do! After an uneventful flight, Lee and his fellow astronauts find that all is not well on the surface of the moon - someone (or something!) else is also on a lunar trip....

As usual, the book is exciting, funny, silly and great fun to read, and includes a lot of fascinating facts of interest to every budding space traveller - well ,what is the food like? and how do you go to the toilet in zero gravity? All this and more is explained as Lee gets to grips with life on board the rocket.

Keith also told us about some of the new books his publishing company has recently brought out and we will be looking out for these soon too. There may also be another Lee book, but no date on that one yet!

Book Week 2011 Katie Grant

We were delighted to welcome Katie Grant back to school this year to speak to Primary 7 pupils about writing, and story, and ideas, and the power of words. We had a very entertaining morning, with plenty of information about stories and how Katie goes about writing and working out plots, and all the research that goes along with making a book historically accurate - or as accurate as possible.

The de Granville trilogy, Blood Red Horse, Green Jasper and Blaze of Silver are regularly borrowed from the library, although after Katie's talk the hangman Ned Skinslicer had by far the longest waiting list!

Belle's Song is Katie's newest book and has only just been published. This one is set in the time of Geoffrey Chaucer and looks at his life from a rather different point of view, as the heroine Belle joins a pilgrimage to Canterbury....

Book Week 2011 Alan Burnett

For a wee change from authors of fiction, we invited Alan Burnett along to school to talk about his information books, in particular, his biographies of famous Scots. Primary 4 and Primary 5 children are studying the Scottish Wars of Independence and Mary Queen of Scots, so Alan's visit was perfectly timed to give us all an insight into some of the important people involved.

Alan did two tremendous sessions, full of fascinating facts about people in Scottish history and the times they lived in. Everyone loved his version of a timeline - with year 0 at the library window, Ancient Egypt across the playground, and the dinosaurs miles and miles down the road! All the children were fascinated by his talk, and Alan kept them all awake and involved by firing out questions - and there were some brilliant answers! He was very impressed.

Alan has two new books coming out in the summer. Both deal with true stories from Scotland during the First and Second World Wars. We are looking forward to seeing these books soon.

Book Week 2011 - John Fardell visit

John Fardell visited us on Tuesday to talk to Primary 3 children. He showed us his book of ideas and drawings where he writes down everything that might be useful in a book later. We all heard the story of Jeremiah Jellyfish, who wanted to do more than just drift with the shoal and ended up flying rocket planes. One of the best bits according to the audience, was being able to make up a story together starting with one picture, then another, and another!

John gave us an inspiring talk which was taken to heart by all his listeners. Some people took his advice to start their stories with pictures first and then writing. Others have tried their hand at comic books, or inventing gadgets for use by Manfred the Baddie.

Ross Collins came to play with Primary One and Primary Two children on Monday 28th February. What an amazing start to our Book Week for 2011! My Amazing Dad was perhaps the most popular story we had read before the visit, and it was lovely to see Ross draw Snip for us, and read the story and explain how he had had the idea for this character and how the story had changed since his first drafts. And yes, Snip's Dad is amazing.

Everyone helped Ross read the story of Billy Monster and his terrible daymares about children - horrible-looking creatures who hide under the bed. Ross asked for help because he can't scream very well and he was pretty sure that P1 and P2 could - and they did! At the end of the story, our ears were ringing, but we had made sure that everyone knew that Billy had had a very bad dream indeed.

Everyone had a lovely time with Ross, and he signed books and we all drew our own pictures of monsters and crocodiles and ghost pets - but that one is another story.

Royal Mail Book Awards

The Royal Mail Book Awards for 2011 were announced on Tuesday 22nd February.

The winner in the books for 0-7 category is Julia Donaldson What the Ladybird Heard. This is the story of how all the animals work together to prevent two thieves from stealing the farmer's prize cow. Each page has a sparkly ladybird to find too.

The winner in the books for 8-12 category is Barry Hutchison for Invisible Fiends: Mr Mumbles. This is the first in a series of very scary stories, not to be read after dark!

Thank you to all of our pupils in P2, P3 and P5 who took part in voting for this year's winners.

For more information on the Royal Mail Book Awards and a look at the awards ceremony go to http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/

Book Week

Book Week 28th February - 4th March 2011

We are all very excited about our School Book Week next week. An amazing group of authors and illustrators are coming to visit us.

Ross Collins will be drawing with Primary 1and 2 on Monday.
John Fardell will be chatting with Primary 3 on Tuesday.
Allan Burnett will be enthusing Primary 4 and 5 on Wednesday.
Katie Grant will be enthralling Primary 7 on Friday.
Keith Charters will be entertaining Primary 6 on Friday.

Primary 6 O will be performing a special World Book Day Assembly, with treasure chests from each class. Remember to bring your pirate hat!!