Looking for more Space information – take a look here
Did you know?
NASA astronaut Mike Massimino missed pizza so much he ordered some on his way back to Earth.
Joke:
What is an astronauts favourite key on the keyboard?
The space bar!
![I Am Thunder by [Khan, Muhammad]](https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51Bz7Jmq3vL.jpg)
Recently I have read the book ” I am Thunder” by Mohammed Khan. I read this book In Modern Studies as we had a book box filled with books specially chosen by our librarian. I can tell you now this book has changed the way I look at reading. It was the best book I had ever read without exaggeration.
This book is about 15-year-old Muzna who wants to become a writer but her controlling parents who have extreme views on culture want her to become a doctor. She is forced to leave school as her best friend is shamed in a scandal, however, she realises that bullies and repulsive people are always there. Muzna stands up for herself but there are prejudices everywhere. Tables are turned when the unpopular and confident Arif show an interest in her. he has a secret with an extreme view of religion. Will Myzna stay quiet and listen to her parents or stand up and agree with Arif?
I really liked this book as I have witnessed cultures forcing decisions on people and this book shows how wrong it is.
I really recommend this book as it is eye-opening and shows the reality of our world.
5 stars
If you need a little booky pick me up then why not fill out a library reading questionnaire?
Use the link here. new questionnaire 17
Then hand your review in to me and I will make you up a personalised reading list.
If you are at a loss as to what to watch over the festive season – fret no more.. the amazing Helen Smith ( librarian of course) from Eckinton School, Derbyshire has fixed all your woes.
This is a listing of all the movies and shows that will be on telly during the hols all based or adapted from books.
It is a real labour of love and well worth a wee look,
Librarians are just great n’est pas?
Huge thanks to Umbrella Education for picking @stninianslib reviewers as their first ever #readyouAToZ competition winners.
We received a lovely box of brand shiny new books which were eagerly snapped up by my brilliant pupils.
The books are already being read and will be reviewed for the next AtoZ and who knows we might even win again.. now I wonder where did those biscuits that were in the box go to….?
If you would like to review some books for this competition – just get in touch – any age- any stage- all welcome!
On Tuesday we were so lucky to have a visit from the one and only Matt Dickinson; one of only c4000 people in the world to have reached the top of Mount Everest!
Chilly much?
Matt began by telling us about his career as a documentary maker and showed us some hair raising pictures of the places he has been…even on top of a moving ice-flow.
He talked at length about the risks and rewards of the climb including the time when his tent was ransacked by squatters (ON EVEREST!)how he nearly lost a couple of fingers due to a helpful Sherpa and how his 300 bar supply of toffee crisps began to explode at high altitude!
There was just enough time for some brilliant questions ranging from “Did you ever think you would not make it back?” ( yes!), “To what local food did you like?” ( Yak burgers!) and “Have you ever killed and eaten an ox?” (Great question, No!)
We were joined in the talk by a group of pupils from Woodfarm High who are also studying The Everest Files and were equally enthralled.
Betty the yeti was so excited
What if you were not the chosen one?
How boring are you? Are you hero, a villain, a creature of the night? Or just the person who cleverly decides to hide in their basement when the zombies, vampires and werewolves come? Then meet Mikey, a young boy who, just like you, wants to live long enough to graduate high school. Cause while some people fight monsters and demons others fight acne and social awkwardness. In Patrick Ness’ new book The Rest of Us Just Live Here we follow not the hero’s but the spectators, dealing with serious issues that face today’s teenagers while incorporating humour into the situation. This is an incredible book that has you laughing from start to finish.
The books are way better than the movies and the movies are brilliant!
Ever wondered why Kronos ate his kids? Why Zeus and Hera got married? Or how Hades got to rule the Underworld? Well the answers to these and many more of your Greek mythological questions are here in this (one of a kind) book all about the Olympians from their rise to their almost falls. Rick Riordan’s book Percy Jackson and the Greek Gods is an epic spin off from his famous Percy Jackson series. In this book Percy Jackson himself goes through the Greek gods and some of the myths and legends surrounding them, clearing up many idiosyncrasies, in a humorous and interesting way that is sure to catch the reader’s attention.
thanks to Toni in S6 for these great reviews
A for Adventure in our review this time –
Great front cover
Great review by Andrew- do it make YOU want to pick it up?
Some of my brilliant pupils have taken up the challenge to read their A-Z.
So we chose to break with convention and start with …. A
First up is
Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan
Reviewed by Caitlyn
To be honest, this book was not for me. Normally, I am into the usual soppy story about reunion and love, however, this book takes it too far. I’m sorry to say this, but for me, this was not a credible book.
First of all, the book has too many ideas going on in a short period of time. It seems like the main character of her book, Apple, has almost every problem known to man. She loses her mum and is in the midst of losing her friend and her mum finally comes back and she has a new sister and then her mum isn’t being a proper parent. Not only is this all happening, but at the same time Apple is an amazing writer but is too scared to follow her talent. Furthermore she falls in love with a boy who helps her find her sister who ran away. What I’m trying to say is that there is too much going on at once and, after a while, the plot just gets confusing. I believe that this could have been one of my favourite books if it had a plot that didn’t stray off to completely different ideas.
Another point I believe should be noted is that why is a girl, of 13, finding love at the end of the book? No one that I have heard of has ever found love this young, yet Apple does? Not only does this have nothing to do with the main idea, but also I think that it is unbelievable which just does not flatter the book. I love books that make me believe in any possibility, which helps me to visualise myself in the main character’s shoes, yet, due to this ending, ‘Apple and Rain’, it does not have that effect on me.
Finally, I would like to point out the names of the main characters. Apollinia Apostolopoulou is the full name of the main character in this novel. I understand it’s Greek and it is to link to the title, but it is far-fetched when most parents in the UK would go for the more generic names such as Lucy, Sophie, and Eve etc. I know that the long name which is hard to say is probably a metaphor for how no one understands Apple and her life, but in all seriousness, this book is for your free time. You’re more than likely not to see this book being analysed in an English lesson, so why the symbolic name?
Overall, even though this book is probably not her usual writing style, it has sadly put me off reading any of her books.
Books are books right? They all look the same, feel the same and smell the same? Well, no. If you take the time to open a Barrington Stoke titles you will be aware that you are looking at a book with a difference. The pages are well banana coloured, the chapters short and easily accessible, the font just the bit easier on the eye and the page set up just that bit simpler to follow.
Is this a fluke? Has the world gotten a little bit stranger?
Nope- this is how Barrington Stoke see the world or indeed how they want their readers to see the world.
As a fluent reader from an early age I find it difficult to comprehend just how hard it must be for some pupils with specific reading issues to pick up and read a book.
If words danced in front of your eyes and shapes and order lost their meaning would you keep going? Barrington Stoke books and those like them make reading easier. Please don’t just take my word for it take the words of my S1 class a mix of fluent and not so fluent readers who were up for the challenge of reading some of my over 200 different Barrington Stoke titles.
We started with a very honest lesson about how we saw ourselves as readers and what reading meant to us. Several pupils would not class themselves as readers at all with one or two saying they didn’t read at all. For some reading was a pleasure which they often indulged in after school for others just another bit of classwork.
Our challenge was to read 3 titles over the course of 3 months. So far, after 3 weeks most pupils have read 2 titles. I could not be prouder and neither could they.
I chose one lesson to be reflective- How are they getting on? What do they like and what don’t they like? How do they see themselves now?
Here are some quotes from my brilliant readers to speak for themselves –
Here is what they had to say when I asked them I have ( or have not) enjoyed reading this Barrington Stoke book because:
I just enjoyed it I don’t really know why.
It is very interesting because there are lots of characters in it and a lot of different storyline.
It was really interesting when it came to the Saturday game because I didn’t know what Blake was going to choose. This book made me not want to stop.
It was about football
The font is much easier to read
The books are short and really exciting to read!
It is very interesting and mysterious and at some moments it can be a little bit funny
I have never read a book like this
The pages are different colours and it is easier for me because I have Meares Irlen.
It was really exciting and I wanted to know what happened next.
I have loved this book because it was a horror/sport/romance novel. It covered lots of different types of things which kept me interested.
it is quite upsetting at the fact that Matthew hasn’t got a lot of money and is getting bullied, but I found it interesting when he got the new uniform and the bully ended up being the one who got bullied.
I found the story to be interesting. I wanted to know whether or not he would be able to convince people he was really ill.
I like the story.
It is really exciting and tense. You don’t know if he is going to succeed or not.
These books are better because it’s a better font because my dyslexia I find it harder for me to read fonts
I can not tell you how proud I am of these pupils willing to give this project a go and being able to see the results.
Who knows how far they will go after this?
