Some words and pictures inspired by the chilly weather…enjoy!
Winter words and pictures
Leave a reply
Monthly Archives: February 2012
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
For me Patrick Ness is Jekyll and Hyde ; not in the drinks a potions and turns evil type way (though I am really not sure what he gets up to in his spare time!) but more in the like him but don’t really like his books category.
His last series – the Chaos Walking trilogy won awards left right and centre but left me cold and I know a certain English teacher who visibly cringes at his name she dislikes his books so much!
But he does such nice things – he runs marathons for charity and with this latest book he is taking an idea from a lovely author; Siobhan Dowd, who died of cancer a couple of years ago and created a fascinating book; the proceeds of which will go to a charity in her honour.
So, now we come to the book. It is a curious mix of story, illustration and fantasy. We follow Conor’s journey of discovery and loss on learning of his mother’s illness.
It is an emotional book which will have you laughing and crying in the same page. – the book itself says it is “darkly mischevious and painfully funny”.
My problem with it was the main character who I could not connect with. I could empathise with his pain and reactions to the situation he found himself in but I could not warm to him as a character – perhaps we are not supposed to?
The book, as I mentioned, is illustrated and please do not think that just because a book has pictures in it it is a children’s book; this is definately a young adult fiction title. The pictures and dark and brooding and draw you in to the tale. (I actually wish more books made use of images in as clever a way as A Monster Calls.)
I shall leave it up to you to find out who or what the monster actually is or even if there is more than one.
What I would say is please get yourself a hankie or two as you will need it.
Mrs B
Teacher’s Dead by Benjamin Zephaniah
“Teacher’s Dead” is a book that as soon as you read the title, makes you want to read it. In my opinion, it is one of the most interesting and exciting books I have read in a while through the many twists and turns in the storyline. It wasn’t what I expected it to be as in the first paragraph the reader is told, who the murderers are and who has been killed but we are not told why. The reader then follows a teenage boy named Jackson, who was a witness, putting all the pieces together to try and find out why Mr Joseph was murdered. The author illustrates Jackson as the average teenager caught in a complicated situation. I think that the author has done this very well as there are very few authors that can accomplish this. I would recommend this book for both boys and girls that like detective books which are also quite humorous.
Sarah S3
World Book Day
Remember this Thursday is WBD.
S1 will be taking part in a giamuncus quiz.
The winners of the Book of the Future competition will be announced and S2+ pupils can collect their £1 book token from the library.
Get Glogging
www.glogster.com
Create your very own interactive poster – insert music, videos and photographs and watch it all come alive.
You will never use glue again – so get glogging!
Bunker 10 by J.A.Henderson
In this exciting book the story begins with the dramatic destruction of all the main characters, the main characters, a group of teenagers, are residents of the top secret and isolated Pinewood Military Base.
Jimmy Hicks, a 15 year old boy, unintentionally sets off a chain of unpredictable events involving time travel, genetic mutations, computer simulations, undercover operations, and violent explosions. With snappy dialogue, short chapters, and video-game-like action, this book will be a good match for many readers.
Boys will likely find the violence brilliant, and girls should appreciate the tragic love story and romantic conclusion. The author’s plot twists and surprise revelations will appeal to readers who like to be tricked. This book is one of the best I have ever read.
You feel sympathy for many of the characters, and the discovering the truth about Pinegrove was one of the biggest plot twists I have ever seen, in text and film.
I thought this book was the perfect example of a Thriller Novel because of its wonderful plot and fast-paced action. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Thriller or Action books or to anyone who hasn’t yet read a Thriller Book.
Dean S2
Frozen in Time by Ali Sparkes
After A BORING SUMMER Ben and Rachel certainly didn’t think that they would find an underground lavatory in their back garden. It was created by a previous scientist who had lived in their house, fearful that that time a nuclear war was going to occur. He built it for shelter but also, as a scientist, had been experimenting in ‘freezing’ his children if a nuclear war was to occur. This was so they could have basically eternal life.
After finding and exploring the lavatory Ben and Rachel found in a far room two missile looking containers. Actually, this contained two children the same age as Ben and Rachel who had been frozen successfully by their father since 1950s. After finding and retrieving the two children they bulk of the story began as the two children Freddy and Polly tried to fit into modern day life.
An amusing story which ends as Polly and Freddy find their father who had been frozen somewhere in Russia and had been found and released and had returned to England in hope his son and daughter had been a success. It ends as they walk through the streets in London, trying to think what to do fit into their new life.
It was an extremely enjoyable book and would definitely recommend it to anyone who is searching for a good Thriller.
Paul S3
Aye Write and Michael Grant
How would you like to meet an author and not just any author but hit US author Michael Grant?
If your first thought is Who? Then skip this page. If your first thought is ” I would eat my own sock to see this man” then come and see me in the library by Friday 25th to secure a place. It should only cost about £3 and will take place at the Mitchell Library in sunny Glasgow on Wed 14th March.
(please note that due to the timing and location of the event you will be a bit late getting back to school so you will need to make arrangements to get picked up)
Blood Red Road by Moira Young
Dystopian fiction is all the rage at the moment; taking over where the vampires all left off.
Obviously, the big blockbuster of the summer is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins but why not try something a little different?
The first couple of chapters lacked something of punch but stay with it as soon as her quest begins and we witness just how feisty and gutsy our heroine is the story moves along quite nicely.
There is a strong cinematic feel to this book and indeed if rumours are true it may indeed grace the big screen (though hold off on buying the popcorn yet it will be a year or two).
So, back to the book – once Saba is on her quest we meet a rag taggle bunch of heroes and anti-heroes. From a girl gang that would give the Mafia a run for their money to a pompous, vain and brutal King to a handsome hunk!
The author has used an interesting dialect which takes a few pages to get in to the swing of- unless, that is, you are Canadian.
This is another title on the long list for the Carnegie award and another that I think might make it to the short list.
A good read for those who read good!
Animoto
As many of you know I HATE boring presentations but to be honest who does?
So, one web site I am very happy to tell you about is animoto.
This is a clever little site where you can create your own mini videos; or as I am currently working on with S1 mini adverts.
You can sign up for free as long as you only want to create vids or films of 30 seconds long then it stays free.
Bye Bye Powerpoint- hello Animoto
Add your own pics or ones from the web – add some music – add a groovy backgrouns and Robert is your mother’s brother!
