Tag: Books

BorrowBox Stats Through the Roof!

Staff and pupils in Falkirk Council have had automatic access to 1000s of eBooks and eAudiobooks through their Glow account since 2018. We provide this service for every school for free and as pupils/staff already have a Glow log-in there are no barriers to joining the library, just download the app and read or listen. It complements our physical collections and we wanted pupils to have access to a wide-range of audiobooks (CDs were on the way out!). Reading books on a device also offers lots of accessibility options like font-size, spacing, dictionary, colour of background etc. and can be used with Immersive Reader.

We started with a small collection and built it up over the years – new content gets added every month and we regularly give the collections an extra boost. The library has always been well-used but lockdowns and the roll-out of Falkirk Connected iPads has seen our numbers of active users and loans soar! Originally content was only for early years and primary, as that is who we provide our service to, but when lockdown struck we started to add teenage content to support our high schools.

From April 2021 to March 2022 we loaned:

17256 Eaudiobooks

23161 Ebooks

It’s makes our librarian hearts sing to see so many children using the service we provide and reading all these books. However, it’s not without challenges, we can have long waiting lists for popular books no matter how many copies we buy. We also need to keep building our teenage content as the service is quickly growing in popularity with older pupils.

Reviews of The Exploding Life of Scarlett Fife by Maz Evans from #FalkirkReadingTeachers’ Book Group

The Exploding Life of Scarlett Fife by Maz Evans is a fabulously funny story about a girl who has BIG FEELINGS which get her into trouble.

Find out what our #FalkirkReadingTeachers think – Warning! These reviews contain spoilers.

Ages 7-9

 

 

 

 

 

Review 1 – 4/5 stars

Scarlett Fife has Big Feelings. And she’s about to get into BIG TROUBLE.

Scarlett is on her last warning from her mum about her temper. She tries very hard to squash down her temper but when she does things start exploding! Scarlett is worried that this will ruin her Aunt’s wedding.

Spoiler Alert!

Scarlett finds out that her gran had the same problem when she was younger. She learns to control her temper a bit better and understand others. She also realises that sometimes it is ok to be angry.

I think lots of children would enjoy this book as it is easy to read with lots of funny parts. It is a good starting point for discussions on dealing with feelings such as anger and disappointment through events which will be relatable to most children e.g., friends making new friends, forgetting packed lunches etc. Reluctant readers may also enjoy this as the book includes lots of illustrations to support the text. The characters in the book also come from a range of backgrounds and family situations which could also open up discussions.

Good for – empathy, inference, reluctant readers, reading for pleasure.

Review 2 – 5/5 stars

Every time Scarlett gets angry things around her explode. She is on her final warning from her mother. She must learn to control her temper for her Aunts wedding or she won’t get to go to her favourite theme park.

Spoiler Alert!

Scarlett begins to learn lots of ways to control her breathing but there are accidents along the way. She learns that her Gran had the same problem as a child. She also learns that sometimes it’s good to be angry.

This book made me giggle from start to finish. I can imagine a lot of pupils will love it simply because of the trouble which Scarlett gets into. However, it also makes a good jumping off point for discussing anger, how we control it and the fact it is a healthy and natural emotion.

Good for – empathy, reluctant readers, curriculum links, reading for pleasure

Review 3 – 5/5 stars

Scarlett is having trouble with her big feelings.  Sometimes she gets so angry it feels like something will explode. She has a new teacher; a new girl has arrived and she’s way too very popular; and mum always seems to be grumpy.  Things just seem so unfair.

Scarlett keeps getting into trouble for being angry and spoiling things.  Maybe she can hold her feelings down and not let them out.  Maybe she can shut her eyes and things will just stop.  Maybe not.

Spoiler Alert!

Scarlett’s best friend Maisie is the voice of reason throughout this book and she tries to help Scarlett to stop being so angry and volatile.  There’s only one problem.  When Scarlett shuts her eyes and squeezes her big feelings down, she make things explode, literally.  Her friend Maisie is the only one who knows (until near the end when Gran notices (and the confides in Scarlett that she’s had the same experience).  Scarlett’s mum is the rock of the patchwork family.  She has a new husband called Jakob and he’s really nice.  Scarlett’s dad is lovely and still has a kind relationship with mum.  Dad is looking for love and Jakob is looking for his job, which he seems to have lost (Xenophobic boss).  Mum is stressed and Scarlett doesn’t want to add to that.

Scarlett’s favourite teacher goes off and she is worried about the new teacher (Miss Pitt-Bull). But, it turns out that she’s actually very kind and insightful.  All the teacher’s names are puns.  A great little device for reading this book to a young audience.  It would be a great class novel for P4 or P5 but, a lovely story for P3 as well.

The new girl, Polly is annoyingly nice, and she got the best part in the school play, and she’s popular….  However, it turns out that Polly’s dad has died and that makes Scarlett change her mind about Polly. 

Just wait until Polly’s mum get’s together with Scarlett’s Dad!

This book is an excellent vehicle for exploring relationships and pent-up feelings.  Scarlett is dealing with divorced parents who have had a “kind” divorce (not like Kevin’s parents).  Mum’s husband has lost his job and is going through a court case.  Dad is lonely (he also has a disability).  Aunty Rosa and Aunty Amara are getting married.  Mum’s working long hours and Scarlett feels neglected.

Although there are many facets to this story, you could have lots of great class discussions.  From a HWB perspective there is a lot to go through.  Scarlett’s feelings but, also all the things in her life that make it rich and varied and also a bit complicated.

From a literacy perspective there are lots of neat little passages to explore the meaning of all those odd phrases that adults use (and don’t really understand).

The concept of making things explode with your feelings just makes for such a fun story.

Good for – HWB, empathy, diversity

#Falkirk Reading Teachers’ Early Years Book Group: STEM Focus

Our Early Years Book Group has been looking at new picture books that can be used for STEM. Picture books are fantastic for stimulating learning and many are wonderful for a STEM Through Stories focus. The Falkirk STEM Officers support us by providing story planners for each book to give teachers and practitioners a starting point but our members always find creative ways to use the books and bring the learning to life.

King of the Swamp by Catherine Emmett and Ben Mantle

King of the Swamp Plan

McDarkly lives all on his own, growing orchids in his dank swamp, until one day his peace is disturbed by an arrogant king who wants to turn the swamp into a roller-skate park. This story is brilliant for looking at nature, minibeasts and environmental issues.

Practitioners took the book with them on a visit to the local woods and it stimulated lots of role-play and den building. One child commented that they didn’t want them to ‘take away our green stuff’ when they saw building work happening nearby.

 

Tad: a big story about a brave minibeast by Benji Davies

Tad Plan

Tad is the smallest tadpole in the pond and she is scared of ‘Big Blub’. When the other tadpoles start to disappear she worries ‘Big Blub’ has got them. This story is brilliant for looking at life cycles and feelings.

The children loved this story and found it very engaging. They walked to a local pond to see some real tadpoles and practitioners felt it would be best to use this at spring time.

 

Tiny Little Rocket by David Fickling and Richard Collingridge

Tiny Little Rocket Plan

A little rocket takes you on an adventure to space. This book is great for looking at space, rockets and technology.

This was a strong favourite of the children who loved to pour over the pages together with friends. The black background makes the pictures bold and attention-grabbing and encourages the children to learn about space. The children took their interest outside to see the moon and this lead to lots of discussion about what’s in the sky.

 

Izzy Gismo by Pip Jones and Sarah Ogilvie

Izzy loves to invent but her inventions don’t always go to plan. This story is good for looking at inventions, technology, block play and developing a growth mindset. Izzy is also a strong, diverse role-model for getting girls into STEM.

A planner wasn’t created for Izzy as the STEM Officers felt it was the perfect book to inspire free and creative play in children. Practitioners felt it is a good book to leave in the building area to inspire children. They loved the rhyming text and the pictures have a lot of detail for children to pour over.

 

Learning for Sustainability Resource Boxes

We have been working with the Falkirk STEM Officers, Laura McCafferty and Barbara Hanning, to extend our range of STEM resources and develop new resources to support STEM Through Stories. This year’s COP26 in Glasgow has meant many schools are covering Learning for Sustainability and we have produced new resource boxes to support this at early, 1st and 2nd levels.

Each box has a story book with a planner developed by the STEM Officers:

Early Level

Somebody Swallowed Stanley by Sarah Roberts

Somebody Swallowed Stanley Plan

 

 

 

 

1st Level

Eco-wolf and the three pigs by Laurence Anholt

Eco Wolf and the Three Pigs

 

 

 

 

 

2nd Level

Song of the dolphin boy by Elizabeth Laird

The Song of the Dolphin Boy

 

 

 

 

 

 

Class sets of the books and the resource boxes are available to borrow from us.

#Falkirk Reading Teachers’ Book Group

Our teacher book group is continuing to read, discuss and review a range of new books for children and we want to share this as widely as possible. Here we review ‘When the sky falls’ by Phil Earle and ‘The small things’ by Lisa Thompson

#FalkirkReadingTeachers′ Book Group

Challenging Gender Stereotypes in Picture Books

You Can Be Campaign – Book Audit | Zero Tolerance

The You Can Be Book Audit is a chance for ELCs and nurseries to win £100 worth of books by taking part in an audit of their book collections. The idea is to bring greater gender balance and challenge old-fashioned gender stereotypes that can be harmful to children and stop them achieving their full potential.

Check out the link above for more information and book ideas.

We have also put together book recommendations that challenge the gender stereotypes:

Go to this Sway

 

#FalkirkReadingTeachers Book Group Reviews

https://sway.office.com/IRT1xngbeioesEsE?ref=Link

The Learning Resource Service runs two book groups for teachers and early years practitioners in the Falkirk council area. They aim to:

 

  • increase teacher knowledge of quality children’s books
  • support teachers in creating a reading culture in their classroom
  • provide opportunities to talk about children’s books
  • identify books that support different aspects of the curriculum
  • ensure that the books we promote to children are diverse and inclusive
  • have fun!

 

If you need some reading inspiration or want to find out about good reads for your pupils then click on the link above.

 

 

The RED Book Award is 15 years old!

20200527_195610.jpgThe RED Book Award celebrates its 15th anniversary and to mark this achievement, the wonderful shortlist focuses on a BAME theme:

Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman

A Pocketful of Stars by Aisha Bushby 

Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin

My Name’s Not Friday by Jon Walters

The authors will join the young people in each Falkirk Council secondary school at the digital Award Ceremony on Wednesday 19th May 2021. The Award Ceremony  will feature creative interpretations of each of the shortlisted books by the young people and a Q & A session with the authors before the winning book is revealed.

The RED Book Award ceremony on the 19th May 2021 was attended by all the shortlisted authors and the S2 RED classes from 6 of our secondary schools. The authors gave us interesting and insightful guidance on writing, there was dancing and prizes were awarded for best alternative ending and front cover designs of the shortlisted books and the Q and A session was really interesting.

Congratulations to all the authors for reaching the RED shortlist.

AND THE WINNER IS…

Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin.

 

The Book of Hopes

Scrapbook of Hopes banner2

The Learning Resource Service promoted The Book of Hopes when it was published last year, it is a wonderful book to comfort and inspire children. Edited by the well known and loved author Katherine Rundell, it contains contributions from more than 100 writers and illustrators, including Lauren Child, Anthony Horowitz, Greg James and Chris Smith, Michael Morpurgo, Liz Pichon, Axel Scheffler, Francesca Simon and Jacqueline Wilson. The publisher, Bloomsbury, have kindly made the on-line book available free during this lockdown.

There are some brilliant activities and ideas that have been produced based on the Book of Hopes as well as a challenge to spread hope, inspiration and a love of reading in your school and local community with a chance to win prizes!