Author Archives: Markie Deleavey

September 2024 Round up – Whitehill Secondary School Library

With the Library back into full swing after last month’s S1 Library inductions, it has been one of the busiest months to date! We’ve issued over 500 books alone to our BGE pupils.

New Book Highlights:

The New Girl by Cassandra Calin

Hollow Fires by Samira Ahmed

Kismat Connection by Ananya Devarajan

 

Book of the Day:

03.09: Who Killed the Homecoming Queen? By RL Stine

05.09: The Honeys by Ryan la Sala

10.09: You Think You Know Me by Ayaan Mohamud

12.09: The Haunting of Tyrese Walker by JP Rose

17.09: Salah Rules by Simon Mugford

19.09: Next Level Games Review 2024 by Ben Wilson

24.09: Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao

 

Author of the Week:

WB 2nd: Bali Rai

WB 9th: Cath Howe

WB 16th: MG Leonard

WB 23rd:  Nic Stone

 

Series of the Week:

WB 2nd: Agent Zaiba Investigates by Annabelle Sami

WB 9th: Soul by Chris Bradford

WB 16th: Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

WB 23rd:  Garvie Smith Mysteries by Simon Mason

 

Literary and Cultural Celebration Book Lists for September:

East and South East Asian Heritage Month: September is East and South East Asian (ESEA) Heritage Month with the aim to celebrate and honour people of ESEA heritage and their culture, and everything in between.

Trending Book Lists:

Epic Reads New Releases | The Guardian Children’s Book Roundup | LoveReading4Kids Books of the Month | Scholastic Books of the Month | Scottish Book Trust Book Lists |Toppsta Monthly Highlights | Waterstones Books of the Month

 

Recent Awards: UK book award winners, shortlists, and longlists

Winners: Klaus Flugge Prize, McIlvanney Prize Scottish Crime Book of the Year, Wainwright Prize, The Week Junior Book Awards

Shortlist: Booker Prize

Longlist: UKLA Book Award

 

Book Buzz: Latest book news from major media outlets and websites

BBC | Book Riot | Buzzfeed | Epic Reads | The Guardian | Huffpost

September 2024 Roundup – Shawlands Academy School Library

With the Library back into full swing after last month’s S1 Library inductions, it has been one of the busiest months to date! We’ve issued over 700 books to our BGE classes this month alone.

Creative Writing Competition: We’re receiving some excellent piece for our Quills Creative Writing Competition on the theme of ‘Hope’ and/or ‘Scotland’. The winners will be selected by our Pupil Library Committee panel judges and announced during Book Week Scotland.

New Book Highlights:

The Djinns Apple by Djamila Morani

Girl, Goddess, Queen by Bea Fitrzgerald

 

Book of the Day:

02.09: Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell

04.09: Sky Dancer by Gill Lewis

06.09: The Big Ask by Simon James Green

09.09: Cat Kid Comic Club by Dav Pilkey

11.09: Hijab and Red Lipstick by Yousra Imran

13.09: The Upper World by Femi Fadugba

16.09: Meesh the Bad Demon by Michelle Lam

18.09: Kane Rules by Simon Mugford

20.09: We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

23.09: Usborne Politics for Beginners by Rosie Hore, Alex Firth, and Louie Stowell

25.09: Super Fake Love Song by David Yoon

 

Author of the Week:

WB 2nd: Brittney Morris

WB 9th: Elizabeth Wein

WB 16th: Nick Lake

WB 23rd:  Kacen Callander

 

Series of the Week:

WB 2nd: Daevabad by SA Chakraborty

WB 9th: Enemy by Charlie Higon

WB 16th: Train to Impossible Places by PG Bell

WB 23rd:  Imposters by Scott Westerfeld

 

Literary and Cultural Celebration Book Lists for September:

East and South East Asian Heritage Month: September is East and South East Asian (ESEA) Heritage Month with the aim to celebrate and honour people of ESEA heritage and their culture, and everything in between.

Trending Book Lists:

Epic Reads New Releases | The Guardian Children’s Book Roundup | LoveReading4Kids Books of the Month | Scholastic Books of the Month | Scottish Book Trust Book Lists |Toppsta Monthly Highlights | Waterstones Books of the Month

 

Recent Awards: UK book award winners, shortlists, and longlists

Winners: Klaus Flugge Prize, McIlvanney Prize Scottish Crime Book of the Year, Wainwright Prize, The Week Junior Book Awards

Shortlist: Booker Prize

Longlist: UKLA Book Award

 

Book Buzz: Latest book news from major media outlets and websites

BBC | Book Riot | Buzzfeed | Epic Reads | The Guardian | Huffpost

 

August 2024 Roundup – Whitehill Secondary School Library

S1 Inductions: We had a great time meeting all of our S1 pupils during Library inductions throughout the month and managed to cover the majority of our S1 English classes which mean we can get back into our regular scheduled book borrowing periods. Throughout August, our S1s have borrowed 70+ books for class and personal reading. Great effort by all!

Reading Challenges: We’re launching three reading challenges this year. Bookopoly encourages pupils to read out with their comfort zone, challenging them to select books on different themes and genres they wouldn’t normally choose. Pupils have a chance for their names to be enter into a quarterly prize draw when the book is read and returned. Our 4 Word Book Review slips are a super easy way to get pupils to review and recommend books using only four words to describe the book. Each completed slip earns and entry into the quarterly prize draw. We’ve brought back Ask Me What I’m Reading challenge to encourage discussion around books and reading for leisure. Each completed form earns an entry into the prize draw.

Bookmark Design Competition: We’re hosting our inaugural bookmark design competition. Participants can submit their designs which will be posted on our School Library Teams to be voted on by pupils. The winning design will become this year’s official School Library bookmark. Winner announced during Book Week Scotland in November.

Monthly Newsletter: We’ve relaunched our monthly newsletters this year, featuring new book and eBook highlights, current book award information, short books lists, genre spotlight, librarian recommendations, monthly booklists, and author and book birthday calendar. The interactive newsletter is in PDF format on the Library Channel in Teams.

 

New Book Highlights:

Pizza Face by Rex Ogle

Stormbreaker: The Graphic Novel by Anthony Horowitz and Anthony Johnston, illustrate by Kanako & Yuzuru Tuzuru

Skylar and the K-Pop Headteacher by Luan Goldie

Football’s Champions of Change by Damian Johnson, illustrated by Damian Greenan

Amazing Muslim Who Changed the World by Burhana Islam, illustrated by Nabi H. Ali, Reya Ahmed, Saffa Khan, Aaliya Jaleel, Deema Alawa, and Aghnia Mardiyah

 

Book of the Day:

20.08: They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

22.08: Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell

27.08: Good Girls Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

29.08: Barda by Ngozi Ukazu

 

Author of the Week:

WB 19th: Stewart Foster

WB 26th: Leigh Bardugo

 

Series of the Week:

WB 19th: How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell

WB 26th: School for Good and Evil by Somain Chainai

 

Literary and Cultural Celebration Booklists for August:

South Asian Heritage MonthSouth Asian Heritage Month (July 17th-August 17th) celebrates the heritage of people with roots in South Asian countries. This year’s theme is ‘Free to be me’.

 

Trending Booklists:

Epic Reads New Releases | The Guardian Children’s Book Roundup | LoveReading4Kids Books of the Month | Scholastic Books of the Month | Scottish Book Trust Book Lists |Toppsta Monthly Highlights | Waterstones Books of the Month

 

Recent Awards: UK book award winners, shortlists, and longlists

Winners: Arthur C Clarke Award for Science Fiction | CWA Daggers Awards | James Tait Black Memorial Prize | UKLA Book Awards | Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize, YA Book Prize | Young Quills Award for Historical Fiction

Shortlists: Forward Prize for Poetry | Little Rebels Award | Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing

Longlists: Booker Prize | Diverse Book Awards

 

Book Buzz: Latest book news from major media outlets and websites

BBC | Book Riot | Buzzfeed | Epic Reads | The Guardian | Huffpost

August 2024 Roundup – Shawlands Academy School Library

S1 Inductions: What a delight it was to meet all the new S1s in our library inductions this year! We managed to cover all 10 of our S1 English classes in August meaning as of September, we can begin our regular book borrowing periods. Throughout August, our S1s have borrowed 160+ books for class and personal reading.

Reading Challenges: We’re launching three reading challenges this year. Bookopoly encourages pupils to read out with their comfort zone, challenging them to select books on different themes and genres they wouldn’t normally choose. Pupils have a chance for their names to be enter into a quarterly prize draw when the book is read and returned. Our 4 Word Book Review slips are a super easy way to get pupils to review and recommend books using only four words to describe the book. Each completed slip earns and entry into the quarterly prize draw. We’ve brought back Ask Me What I’m Reading challenge to encourage discussion around books and reading for leisure. Each completed form earns an entry into the prize draw.

Creative Writing Competition: The School Librarian is collaborating with the members of the Pupil Library Committee on launching our Quills Creative Writing Competition. We’re accepting any form of creative writing, maximum 500 words on the theme of ‘Scotland’ and/or ‘Hope’. Deadline is Friday, November 1st.  Senior members of our Pupil Library Committee are judging the competition and we’ll announce the winner and three runner ups on Monday, 18th November during Book Week Scotland.

AHE Gale Literature Resource Centre Workshop: We visited Miss McDonald’s Advanced Higher English class to deliver the Gale Literature Resource Centre workshop to help them with their upcoming dissertation. Gale Literature Resource Centre provides up-to-date biographical information, overview, full-text literary criticism and reviews for 13K+ writers, offering high quality source of information useful for Advanced Higher English pupils. Glasgow Libraries subscribes to Gale and pupils can access the resources with their school or community library card.

Games in the library: In last year’s pupil survey, respondents requested that the School Library have board games. We now have the following board games in stock to borrow during breaks and lunchtime: Catastrophe, Chess, Disney Villainous, Exploding Kittens, Lost Worlds, Monopoly: Glasgow Edition, Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza, Throw Throw Burrito, Uno

Creation Station: The School Library now offers borrowable creation packs containing a selection of felt tipped pens, pencil crayons, mechanical pencil, sharpener, ruler, eraser and glue sticks to help pupils get crafty and creative.

Monthly Newsletter: We’ve relaunched our monthly newsletters this year, featuring new book and eBook highlights, current book award information, short books lists, genre spotlight, librarian recommendations, monthly book lists, and author and book birthday calendar. The interactive newsletter is in PDF format on the Library Channel in Teams.

New Book Highlights:

The Evolving Truth of Ever-Stronger Will by Maya MacGregor

Four Eids and a Funeral by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jaigirdar

Gwen and Art are Not in Love by Lex Croucher

The Hills of Estrella Roja by Ashley Franklin

Medicine: A Magnificently Illustrated History by Briony Hudson, illustrated by Nick Taylor

Unlocking the Universe by Stephen Hawking

 

Book of the Day:

19.08: Thornhill by Pam Smy

21.08: Frankie’s World by Aoife Dooley

23.08: Sisters by Raina Telgemeier

26.08: Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

28.08: Brilliant Black British History by Atinuke, illustrated by Kingsley Nebechi

30.08: A Trip to the Future: How Today’s Science Will Shape Tomorrow’s World by Moira Butterfield, illustrated by FagoStudio

 

Author of the Week:

WB 19th: Susin Nielsen

WB 26th: Katherine Woodfine

 

Series of the Week:

WB 19th: Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

WB 26th: Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

 

Literary and Cultural Celebration Book Lists for August:

South Asian Heritage MonthSouth Asian Heritage Month (July 17th-August 17th) celebrates the heritage of people with roots in South Asian countries. This year’s theme is ‘Free to be me’.

Trending Book Lists:

Epic Reads New Releases | The Guardian Children’s Book Roundup | LoveReading4Kids Books of the Month | Scholastic Books of the Month | Scottish Book Trust Book Lists |Toppsta Monthly Highlights | Waterstones Books of the Month

 

Recent Awards: UK book award winners, shortlists, and longlists

Winners: Arthur C Clarke Award for Science Fiction | CWA Daggers Awards | James Tait Black Memorial Prize | UKLA Book Awards | Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize, YA Book Prize | Young Quills Award for Historical Fiction

Shortlists: Forward Prize for Poetry | Little Rebels Award | Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing

Longlists: Booker Prize | Diverse Book Awards

 

Book Buzz: Latest book news from major media outlets and websites

BBC | Book Riot | Buzzfeed | Epic Reads | The Guardian | Huffpost

June 2024 Roundup – Shawlands Academy School Library

Library Mascot: We welcome our new School Library mascot, Maximus, designed by ‘C’ in S4 who’s winning design was voted by pupils and made by the talented Miss West, School Librarian at John Paul Secondary School. As mascot, Maximus will be our sidekick for the upcoming school year and will help promote reading for pleasure on our displays at during activities as well as appear in future School Library Twitter photos.

 Bookmarks: Our winning bookmark designs have arrived in time for the 2024-25 school year, and we can’t wait to show them off. The bookmarks will be revealed and available come August.

 Zine Workshop: We had a fabulous time with Martha from Glasgow Zine Library who delivered an engaging lunchtime zine making workshop in the School Library. Pupils enjoyed browsing the selection of the GZL collection which inspired them to create their own. We really look forward to more collaboration with the GZL in the future.

 Senior Libby Refreshers: We visited some English classes to deliver Libby refreshers for our senior pupils in hopes of inspiring them read for leisure over the summer. Libby by Overdrive is an app subscribed to by Glasgow Life Libraries which has thousands of fiction, nonfiction, and magazine titles. There is something for everyone.

Swatch: The Summer issue of Swatch, the Glasgow School Libraries’ eMagazine is now live. Packed with booklists, an exclusive interview with Maisie Chan, and lots of fun stuff including a recipe for salt and chilli wedges, an origami paper fan craft, and a quiz. Interactive back issues are available on the Library Channel on Teams.

Book of the Day:

03.06: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

06.06: Lionheart Girl by Yaba Badoe

07.06: An Amazing Animal Atlas of Scotland by Anders Frang

10.06: Furthermore by Darren Simpson

13.06: Guardians of the Wild Unicorns by Linday Littleson

14.06: Magical Boy by Vincent Kao

17.06: All about Eid: Things to Make and Do by Sarah Shaffi and Aaliya Jaleel

20.06: I Kick and I Fly by Ruchira Gupta

21.06: Windrush Child by Benjamin Zephaniah

 

Author of the Week:  Chosen by pupils

03.06: Patrick Ness

10.06: Camryn Garrett

17.06: Krystal Sutherland

 

Series of the Week: Chosen by pupils

03.06 Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld

10.06: The Extinction Trials by SM Wilson

17.06: Rugby Academy by Tom Palmer

 

Literary and Cultural Celebration Booklists for June:

Read with Pride: June i Pride month, an internationally recognised celebration of the LGBT+ community. We’ve compiled a list of LGBT+ fiction and nonfiction for all ages.

Empathy Day: Empathy Day (June 6th) ‘inspires children to learn more about empathy, have transformational experiences through stories, and to put empathy into action’ by shining a ‘light on book’s role in raising an empathy-generated generation’. Check out Empathy Lab’s Primary and Secondary booklists, the majority of titles are available in the school library.

Refugee Week: Refugee Week (June 17th-23rd) is ‘the world’s largest arts and cultural festival celebrating the contributions, creativity, and resilience of refuges and people seeking sanctuary. This year’s theme is ‘Our Home’. Our booklists features fiction and nonfiction for Junior and Young Adult readers.

Windrush Day: Windrush Day (June 22nd) honours the contributions of British Caribbean communities and marks the arrival of passengers of the Empire Windrush to the UK. Our booklist includes fiction and nonfiction for all ages.

South Asian Heritage Month: South Asian Heritage Month (July 17th-August 17th) celebrates the heritage of people with roots in South Asian countries. This year’s theme is ‘Free to be me’. Our booklist come a month early to ensure it is promoted within the school term and includes fiction and nonfiction for all ages.

 

Trending Booklists:

Epic Reads New Releases | The Guardian Children’s Book Roundup | LoveReading4Kids Books of the MonthScholastic Books of the Month | Scottish Book Trust Book Lists |Toppsta Monthly HighlightsWaterstones Books of the Month

Recent Awards: UK book award winners, shortlists, and longlists

Winners: Branford Boase Award, Excelsior Awards, FCBG Children’s Book Awards,  Jhalak Prize, The Kitchies, Orwell Prizes, Sports Book Awards, Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, Women’s Prize for Fiction and Nonfiction, YOTO Carnegies.

Shortlists: The Week Junior Book Awards, YA Book Prize

Competitions:

Foyles Young Poets of the Year Award

 Book Buzz: Latest book news from major media outlets and websites

BBC | Book Riot | Buzzfeed | Epic Reads | The Guardian | Huffpost

 

May 2024 Roundup – Shawlands Academy School Library

Book Returns: As exams took place throughout May, the School Librarian visited all S1-3 English classes to distribute lists of books on loan. There are over 900 books on loan to S1-3 pupils, highlighting the brilliant readership of our pupils and support from our English department in Shawlands. The lists have proved to be a helpful reminder to the pupils of the books they have borrowed and the library book return boxes are located in each classroom make it easy for them to return their loans. So far, pupils have returned 200 books, with more being returned each day. This is a tremendous effort on behalf of our department and the young people who truly value their library service and love reading for pleasure. Great work everybody, keep them coming!

Creative Writing Contest: Our seasonal creative writing contest is underway with ‘Summer’ as the theme. Any form of creative writing is accepted, maximum 500 words.

International Museums Day: International Museums Day was celebrated May 18th. We uploaded an interactive list of 50 famous international museums and a list of 20 Glasgow museums on our Library Channel for pupils to explore, featuring famous art galleries and national museums who’ve digitised pieces from their collections. Visit the Glasgow Life Museums page for information on local museums and galleries or try one of these highlights from our international list:

Anne Frank House – Amsterdam, Netherlands

The Louvre – Paris, France

The Metropolitan Museum of Art – New York City, USA

Natural History Museum – London, England

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History – Washington, USA

Sistine Chapel – Vatican City

National Walking Month: May was National Walking Month. On our Library Channel, we’ve uploaded a list of local community libraries in the catchment area all within a walking distance of an hour or less from the school.  Community Libraries nearby the school include:

Langside Library, 2 Sinclair Drive (0.8 miles, 19 mins walking time)

Pollokshaws Library, 60 Shawbridge Street (0.8 miles, 19 mins walking time)

Pollokshields Library, 30 Leslie Street (0.9 miles, 21 mins walking time)

Govanhill Library, 170 Langside Road (1.1 miles, 25 mins walking time)

Couper Library, 84-86 Clarkston Road (1.8 miles, 40 mins walking time)

Gorbals Library, 180 Crown Street (2.0 miles, 45 mins walking time)

Ibrox Library, 1-5 Midlock Street (2.0 miles, 45 mins walking time)

Pollok Library, Pollock Civic Realm, 2EN Cowglen Road (3.0 miles, 1 hour walking time)

Poe or Young Adult Quiz: Pupils were invited to take part in our Poe or Young Adult quiz on Teams as part of World Goth Day. Participants had to decide whether the quotes were from a YA novel or from the ‘Father of Goth’, Edgar Allan Poe.

Waterstones Haul: We received a fantastic haul from Waterstones, selected by our very own Glasgow School Librarians. Here are some highlights:

The Attack of the Robot Librarian by Sam Copeland and Jenny Pearson, illustrated by Robyn Boyden and Katie Kear

Bite Risk by SJ Wells

The Ramadan Family Cookbook by Anisa Karolia

Roar: A Guide to Dreaming Big and Playing the Sport you Love by Beth Mead

Explanatorium of Science by Robert Winston

Human 2.0: A Celebration of Human Bionics by Patrick Kane and Samuel Rodriguez

Swatch: The Summer issue of Swatch, the Glasgow School Libraries’ eMagazine is now live. Packed with book lists, an exclusive interview with Maisie Chan, and lots of fun stuff including a recipe for salt and chilli wedges, an origami paper fan craft, and a quiz. Interactive back issues are available on the Library Channel on Teams.

Author of the Week:  Chosen by pupils

06.05: Benjamin Zephaniah

13.05: Sue Wallman

20.05: Bali Rai

27.05: Samira Ahmed

Series of the Week: Chosen by pupils

06.05: Pandava (Aru Shah) by Roshani Chokshi   

13.05: Young Elites by Marie Lu

20.05: Pages & Co by Anna James

27.05: Pizazz by Sophy Henn

Literary and Cultural Celebration Book Lists for May:

Gothic Book List: Featuring all ages gothic fiction to tie in with World Goth Day festivities.

Shelf Help Book List: Mental Health Awareness Week took place from 13th-19th May on the theme of “Movement: Moving more for our mental health”. Our book list features some helpful titles on mental health for Young People that are available in the School Library.

 Trending Book Lists:

Epic Reads New Releases | The Guardian Children’s Book Roundup | LoveReading4Kids Books of the MonthScholastic Books of the Month | Scottish Book Trust Book Lists |Toppsta Monthly HighlightsWaterstones Books of the Month

Recent Awards: UK book award winners, shortlists, and longlists

Winners: International Booker Prize | British Book Awards | CrimeFest Awards | Dylan Thomas Prize | Jhalak Prize

Shortlists: CLiPPA Poetry Award | CWA Daggers Awards | Klaus Flugge Prize | Sports Book Awards |

Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction

Competitions:

Foyles Young Poets of the Year Award

 Book Buzz: Latest book news from major media outlets and websites

BBC | Book Riot | Buzzfeed | Epic Reads | The Guardian | Huffpost

 

What’s On in June

Zine Workshop: Glasgow Zine Library will be popping by Thursday, June 20th during lunchtime to host a zine workshop. Pupils will; learn how to create their very own zine from scratch.

 Picnic in the Library: The School Library will host a special ‘picnic in the library’ during lunchtime as part of National Picnic Week. Music, books, and snacks will be provided.

Libby refreshers for seniors: The School Librarian will make her rounds to S4, 5, and 6 English classes to deliver Libby refresher sessions to promote reading for leisure throughout the summer holidays. The Libby app has thousands of fiction and nonfiction books, audiobooks, and eMagazines that can be accessed on their iPads

Book Lists for June: Interactive book lists available on the Library Channel on Teams

Read with Pride: June is Pride month, an internationally recognised celebration of the LGBT+ community. We’ve compiled a list of LGBT+ fiction and nonfiction for all ages.

Empathy Day: Empathy Day (June 6th) ‘inspires children to learn more about empathy, have transformational experiences through stories, and to put empathy into action’ by shining a ‘light on book’s role in raising an empathy-generated generation’. Check out Empathy Lab’s Primary and Secondary book lists, the majority of titles are available in the school library.

Refugee Week: Refugee Week (June 17th-23rd) is ‘the world’s largest arts and cultural festival celebrating the contributions, creativity, and resilience of refuges and people seeking sanctuary. This year’s theme is ‘Our Home’. Our book lists features fiction and nonfiction for Junior and Young Adult readers.

Windrush Day: Windrush Day (June 22nd) honours the contributions of British Caribbean communities and marks the arrival of passengers of the Empire Windrush to the UK. Our book list includes fiction and nonfiction for all ages.

South Asian Heritage Month: South Asian Heritage Month (July 17th-August 17th) celebrates the heritage of people with roots in South Asian countries. This year’s theme is ‘Free to be me’. Our book list come a month early to ensure it is promoted within the school term and includes fiction and nonfiction for all ages.

 

 

 

 

April 2024 Roundup – Whitehill Secondary School Library

This month, we’ve uploaded some fun quizzes and activities to our Library Channel in each year group Teams. For Talk Like Shakespeare Day, we shared our ‘Shakespeare Dictionary’ and Shakespeare Phrases’ information sheets for pupils to learn more about the common words the Bard invented that are still in use today.  Our quizzes include National Pet Month, World Art Day, and International Guitar Month. Pupils were encouraged to complete one or all three quizzes for a chance to be entered into our monthly prize draw.

Recent Arrivals: New Book Highlights

Forensic Science by Chris Cooper

Joey Drew Studios: Employee Handbook by Cala Spinner, illust. Paul davies

Johnny Ball: International Football Genius by Matt Oldfield, illust. Tim Wesson

Seven Million Sunflowers by Malcolm Duffy

The Weather Well by Vashti Hardy, illust. Natalie Smillie

Literary and Cultural Celebration Booklists for April: Booklists to tie into various literary and cultural celebrations.

Planet Vs Plastics Book List: The theme for this year’s Earth Day is Planet vs Plastics to raise awareness of the health and environmental risks of plastics.

Stress Booklist: Stress Awareness Month calls for a greater awareness of the negative impact of stress. Our booklist features some nonfiction titles to help young people manage their stress.

Autism Book List: World Autism Month and Autism Awareness Day (April 2nd) aims to celebrate Autism awareness and acceptance. Our Juniorl, Young Adult, and Senior + Staff book list feature nonfiction and fiction titles.

Trending Booklists: Monthly highlights and new releases

Epic Reads – New Releases

The Guardian – Children’s Book Roundup

Love Reading for Kids – Books of the Month

Scholastic – Books of the Month

Scottish Book Trust – Book Lists

Toppsta – Our Favourite New Children’s Books This Month

Waterstones – Books of the Month

Recent Awards: UK book award winners, shortlists, and longlists

British Science Fiction Awards – Winners

Branford Boase Award – Shortlist

CWA Daggers Awards – Longlists

Granta Best of Young British Novelists – Winners

Jhalak Prize – Shortlists

Women’s Prize for Fiction – Shortlist

Competitions: Writing competitions for young people

Foyles Young Poets of the Year Award

Henrietta Branford Writing Competition

Young Writers Competition

Book Buzz: Latest book news from major media outlets and book websites

BBC

Book Riot

Buzzfeed

Epic Reads

The Guardian

Huffpost

The New York Times

What’s On in May

International Museums Day: Take a virtual tour and explore some artefacts held by some of the world’s famous museums and galleries using our interactive documents available on the Library Channel on Teams.

National Walking Month: National Walking Month is a campaign launched by Living Streets. This year, Living Streets invites people to discover the #MagicOf Walking to celebrate the many health and happiness benefits of walking and wheeling. To celebrate, the School Library has created an interactive guide to local Glasgow Life Community Libraries all within walking distance to Whitehill Secondary School which will be available in the Library Channel on Teams.

Teams Quizzes:

World Goth Day – Poe or Young Adult quiz: World Goth Day is observed annually on May 22nd. We’re hosting a quiz on Teams featuring none other than the father of gothic literature, Edgar Allan Poe. Pupils are invited to guess whether the quotes are from Young Adult Gothic novels or from one of Poe’s works.

Book Lists for May:

Gothic Book List: Featuring Junior, Young Adult, and Senior + Staff gothic fiction to tie in with World Goth Day festivities.

Shelf Help Book List: Mental Health Awareness Week takes place from 13th-19th May on the theme of “Movement: Moving more for our mental health”. Our book list features some helpful titles on mental health for Young People that are available in the School Library.

Mental Health websites:

Children’s Mental Health Scotland

Mental Health Foundation

Mind.org

Rethink.org

Scottish Action for Mental Health

See Me

Young Minds

Young Scot

April 2024 Roundup – Shawlands Academy School Library

It’s exam time for our senior phase pupils which means that our school library will be used throughout the exam period. However, the School Librarian has taken this opportunity to reach out to our S1-3 classes to deliver a list of books out on loan. It’s fantastic to see that over 950 books are issued to our BGE pupils alone!

In lieu of the library being closed for exams week beginning 22nd April, we’ve uploaded some fun quizzes and activities to our Library Channel in each year group Teams. For Talk Like Shakespeare Day, we shared our ‘Shakespeare Dictionary’ and Shakespeare Phrases’ information sheets for pupils to learn more about the common words the Bard invented that are still in use today.  Our quizzes include National Pet Month, World Art Day, and International Guitar Month. Pupils were encouraged to complete one or all three quizzes for a chance to be entered into our monthly prize draw.

What’s Trending: Popular and recently borrowed books this month

Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli – ‘This is the best book I’ve ever read’.

Book of the Day: Featured pupil recommendations

15th: A Different Kind of Freedom: A Romani Story by Richard O’Neill

18th: Lil’ Muffin Drops the Mic by Romesh Ranganathan, illust. James Lancett

19th: The Marvels by Brian Selznick

Author of the Week: Chosen by pupils

WB 15th: Chris Priestly

WB 22nd: Robin Talley

WB 25th: Jenny McLachlan

Series of the Week: Chosen by pupils

WB 15th: Onyeka by Tola Okogwu

WB 22nd: Summoner Trilogy by Taran Matharu

WB 25th: Burn for Burn by Jenny Han

Recent Arrivals: New Book Highlights

Awful Animals by John Wood, Illust. Jasmine Pointer

Barb and the Shadow Army by Daniel Raj Abdo, illust. Jason Linwood Patterson

The Impossible City: Vol 1 by Jed MacKay, illust. Carlos Villa

Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian

Pandora Perfect by Roger Langridge, illust. Brett Parson

Literary and Cultural Celebration Book Lists for April: Book lists to tie into various literary and cultural celebrations. Interactive book lists available on the Library Channel on Teams

Planet Vs Plastics Book List: The theme for this year’s Earth Day is Planet vs Plastics to raise awareness of the health and environmental risks of plastics.

Stress Book List: Stress Awareness Month calls for a greater awareness of the negative impact of stress. Our book List features some nonfiction titles to help young people manage their stress.

Autism Book List: World Autism Month and Autism Awareness Day (April 2nd) aims to celebrate Autism awareness and acceptance. Our Junior, Young Adult, and Senior + Staff book list feature nonfiction and fiction titles.

Trending Book Lists: Monthly highlights and new releases

Epic Reads – New Releases

The Guardian – Children’s Book Roundup

Love Reading for Kids – Books of the Month

Scholastic – Books of the Month

Scottish Book Trust – Book Lists

Toppsta – Our Favourite New Children’s Books This Month

Waterstones – Books of the Month

Recent Awards: UK book award winners, shortlists, and longlists

British Science Fiction Awards – Winners

Branford Boase Award – Shortlist

CWA Daggers Awards – Longlists

Granta Best of Young British Novelists – Winners

Jhalak Prize – Shortlists

Women’s Prize for Fiction – Shortlist

Competitions: Writing competitions for young people

Foyles Young Poets of the Year Award

Henrietta Branford Writing Competition

Young Writers Competition

Book Buzz: Latest book news from major media outlets and book websites

BBC

Book Riot

Buzzfeed

Epic Reads

The Guardian

Huffpost

The New York Times

 

What’s On in May

Shawlands Academy School Library Quills Prize for Creative Writing Contest: Our final seasonal creative writing contest of the school year in time for National Share a Story Month. Any form of creative writing is permitted, 500 words or less. Deadline May 31st.

International Museums Day: Take a virtual tour and explore some artefacts held by some of the world’s famous museums and galleries using our interactive documents available on the Library Channel on each year group Teams.

National Walking Month: National Walking Month is a campaign launched by Living Streets. This year, Living Streets invites people to discover the #MagicOf Walking to celebrate the many health and happiness benefits of walking and wheeling. To celebrate, the School Library has created an interactive guide to local Glasgow Life Community Libraries all within walking distance to Shawlands Academy which will be available in the Library Channel on each year group Teams.

Teams Quizzes:

World Goth Day – Poe or Young Adult quiz: World Goth Day is observed annually on May 22nd. We’re hosting a quiz on Teams featuring none other than the father of gothic literature, Edgar Allan Poe. Pupils are invited to guess whether the quotes are from Young Adult Gothic novels or from one of Poe’s works.

Book Lists for May: Interactive booklists available on the Library Channel on Teams

Gothic Book List: Featuring Junior, Young Adult, and Senior + Staff gothic fiction to tie in with World Goth Day festivities.

Shelf Help Book List: Mental Health Awareness Week takes place from 13th-19th May on the theme of “Movement: Moving more for our mental health”. Our book list features some helpful titles on mental health for Young People that are available in the School Library.

Mental Health websites:

Children’s Mental Health Scotland

Mental Health Foundation

Mind.org

Rethink.org

Scottish Action for Mental Health

See Me

Young Minds

Young Scot

March 2024 Roundup – Whitehill Secondary School Library

Events: Events and activities that took place in the School Library during March

To celebrate World Book Day, the School Library invited pupils to write a review about any book of their choice using only five words for a chance to be entered into a prize draw. Read the reviews on our 5 Word Book review blog post. We also hosted a quiz featuring three rounds: a general literature knowledge, emoji book titles, and a Shakespeare or Young Adult quote taster round in preparation for our Shakespeare week quiz.

Shakespeare Week Quiz and choice board: We uploaded an interactive choice board for pupils to explore more of Shakespear’s works and hosted our first Shakespeare Week quiz. Pupils were to guess whether a quote was from a Shakespeare play or a Young Adult novel. We’ve included a selection of quotes below, can you guess which ones were from a Young Adult novel and which ones were from one of Shakespeare’s plays? Answers are at the end of this blog post.

  1. “Reading would make me brilliant, but writing would make me infinite”

Juliet takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera or William Shakespeare?

2. “All that glitters is not gold”

All That Glitters by Lucy and Lydia Connell or William Shakespeare?

3. “If love is like a possession, maybe my letters are like my exorcism”

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han or William Shakespeare?

4. “My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations”

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green or William Shakespeare?

5. “If music be the food of love, play on”

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan or William Shakespeare?

Swatch: Our Spring 24 issue of Swatch, the Glasgow School Libraries eMagazine is now available. Here are some links to our previous issues: Winter 23, Autumn 23, Summer 23, Spring 23, Winter 22, Autumn 22, Summer 22, Spring 22, Winter 21, Autumn 21, Summer 21, Spring 21, Winter 20, Autumn 20.

 

Literary and Cultural Celebration Booklists for March: Booklists to tie into various literary and cultural celebrations.

Anti-Racism Book List: Anti-Racism fiction and nonfiction.

International Women’s Day Book List: Fiction and nonfiction books about women’s history, feminism, and equal rights.

Neurodiversity Book List: Nonfiction and fiction books featuring neurodiverse characters.

Ramadan Reads Book List: Fiction and nonfiction books by Muslim authors and featuring Muslim characters.

STEM Nonfiction Book List: STEM nonfiction.

Trans & Gender Nonconforming Book List: Nonfiction and fiction books featuring transgender and gender nonconforming characters.

 

Recent Arrivals: New Book Highlights

Forensic Science by Chris Cooper

The Illustrated History of Ghosts by Adam A Boardman

The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland

Kicked Out by AM Dassu

The Minecraft Ideas Book by Thomas McBrien

 

Trending Booklists: Monthly highlights and new releases

Epic Reads – New Releases

The Guardian – Children’s Book Roundup

Love Reading for Kids – Books of the Month

Scholastic – Books of the Month

Scottish Book Trust – Book Lists

Toppsta – Our Favorite New Children’s Books This Month

Waterstone’s – Books of the Month

 

Recent Awards: UK book award winners, shortlists, and longlists

Inclusive Books for Children Award – Winners

British Book Awards – Shortlist

UKLA Book Award – Shortlist

Women’s Prize for Fiction – Longlist

Women’s Prize for Nonfiction – Longlist

YOTO Carnegie Medals – Shortlists

 

Competitions: Writing competitions for young people

Foyles Young Poets of the Year Competition

Henrietta Branford Writing Competition

Poetry By Heart Competition

 

Book Buzz: Latest book news from major media outlets and Young Adult book websites

BBC

Book Riot

Buzzfeed

Epic Reads

The Guardian

Huffpost

The New York Times

 

What’s On in April

Pop-Up Library: Exams will be taking place in the library starting April and throughout May, but pupils can visit our Pop-Up Library stall (location TBA) for book returns and collections as well as weekly activities.

Talk Like Shakespeare Day Activities: We’ll be creating Shakespeare masks and Elizabethan ruffle collar using the templates from Talklikeshakespeare.org and uploading a list of Shakespearean phrases still commonly used today.

Teams Quizzes: Our Quizzes will be uploaded to Teams using MS Forms in lieu of exams.

National Pet Month Quiz: Learn fun facts about our furry, feathered, and leathered friends.

World Art Day Quiz: Test your knowledge of artists, paintings, and styles. Comes with an accompany list of links to famous museums and galleries from around the world.

International Guitar Month Quiz: For serious guitar aficionados, this quiz is packed with facts about one of the world’s most popular instruments. The interactive answer sheet included is jammed with links with further information and videos.

 

Displays and Booklists for April:

Planet vs Plastics Book List: The theme for this year’s Earth Day is Planet vs Plastics to raise awareness on the health and environmental risks of plastics.

Stress Book List: Stress Awareness Month calls for a greater awareness of the negative impact of stress. Our booklist features some Nonfiction titles to help young People manage their stress.

Autism Book List: World Autism Month and Autism Awareness Day (April 2nd) aims to celebrate Autism awareness and acceptance. Our Junior, Young Adult, and Senior + Staff booklists feature nonfiction and fiction titles featuring Autistic characters.

Shakespeare Quiz answers:

  1. Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera
  2. The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
  3. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
  4. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
  5. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

 

March 2024 Roundup – Shawlands Academy School Library

Events: Events and activities that took place in the School Library during March

 We delivered a range of events and activities lined up for this year’s World Book Day week. We teamed up With the English department’s literature trail scavenger hunt for S1s. Pupils were given a list of clues and tasked to find posters of book covers displayed in various windows around the school for a chance to be entered into a prize draw.

We hosted our own World Book Day activities in the School Library as well:

  • World Book Day 5 Word Book Review: Pupils were invited to write a review about any book of their choice using only five words for a chance to be entered into the School Library prize draw. We received over 50 submissions and the reviews can be read on our 5 Word Book Review post.
  • World Book Day Quiz: Our annual quiz saw over 30 people in attendance. There were three rounds: a general literature knowledge, emoji book titles, and a Shakespeare or Young Adult quote taster round in preparation for our Shakespeare week quiz.
  • Annual Bookmark Design Competition: Our annual bookmark design contest is now in its 5th Designs were uploaded onto Teams and voted on by pupils. The design with the most votes becomes our official Shawlands Academy School Library bookmark for 2024-25 school year. We received six brilliant bookmark designs and it has been a very close competition. Winner will be revealed April 15th after the Spring break.

Shakespeare Week Quiz and choice board: We uploaded an interactive choice board for pupils to explore more of Shakespeare’s works and hosted our first Shakespeare Week quiz. Pupils were to guess whether a quote was from a Shakespeare play or a Young Adult novel. We’ve included a selection of quotes below, can you guess which ones were from a Young Adult novel and which ones were from one of Shakespeare’s plays? Answers are at the end of this blog post.

  1. “Courage does not always roar. Valor does not always shine”

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi or William Shakespeare?

  1. “No legacy is so rich as honesty”

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus or William Shakespeare?

  1. “So wise so young they say, never do live long”

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera or William Shakespeare?

  1. “You’re not living if you’re not regretting”

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon or William Shakespeare?

  1. “Even death has a heart”

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak or William Shakespeare?

Swatch: Our Spring 24 issue of Swatch, the Glasgow School Libraries eMagazine is now available. Here are some links to our previous issues: Winter 23, Autumn 23, Summer 23, Spring 23, Winter 22, Autumn 22, Summer 22, Spring 22, Winter 21, Autumn 21, Summer 21, Spring 21, Winter 20, Autumn 20.

 

What’s Trending? Popular and recently borrowed books this month

Assassination Classroom by Yusei MatsuiThis is the best manga series’

The Body by Stephen King – ‘We’re watching Stand By Me in English. I want to see how the book is different’.

Carrie by Stephen King – ‘My grandmother recommended Stephen King to me’.

Cobra Kai: the Graphic Novel by Denton J. Tipton – ‘I wanted a book about martial arts and found this. Now I’m going to watch the show’.

Harrow Lake by Kat Ellis – ‘I thought this was really creepy’.

 

Book of the Day: Featured pupil recommendations

4th: Finding My Voice by Aoife Dooley 

7th: Jays Guide to Crushing It by Ruby Clyde 

8th: Sad Ghost Club by Liz Meddings 

11th: American Born Chinese by Gene Leun Yang 

14th: The Changing Man by Tomi Oyemakinde 

15th: Murder On A School Night by Kate Weston 

21st: Girl From the Well by Rin Chupeco 

22nd: The Headmaster’s List by Melissa De La Cruz 

25th: Ellie Pillai is Brown by Christine Pillainayagam

27th: Thieves by Lucie Byron

28th: Booked by Kwame Alexander 

 

Author of the Week: Chosen by pupils

WB 4th: Vashti Hardy

WB 11th: Alice Oseman

WB 18th: Jason Reynolds

WB 25th: Louisa Reid

 

Series of the Week: Chosen by pupils

WB 4th: Dork Diaries by Rachel Renee Russell

WB 11th: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

WB 18th: Who Let the Gods Out? by Maz Evans

WB 25th: Maze Runner by James Dashner

 

Recent Arrivals: New Book Highlights

An Emerald Sky by Aneesa Marufu

Groosham Grange: The Graphic Novel by Anthony Horowitz

Horrible Homes by John Wood

Kismet Connection by Anany Devarajan

Murder on a School Night by Kate Weston

 

Literary and Cultural Celebration Booklists for March: Booklists for various literary and cultural celebrations. Interactive booklists available on the Library Channel on Teams

Anti-Racism Book List: Anti-Racism fiction and nonfiction.

International Women’s Day Book List: Fiction and nonfiction books about women’s history, feminism, and equal rights.

Neurodiversity Book List: Nonfiction and fiction books featuring neurodiverse characters.

Ramadan Reads Book List: Fiction and nonfiction books by Muslim authors and featuring Muslim characters.

STEM Nonfiction Book List: STEM nonfiction.

Trans & Gender Nonconforming Book List: Nonfiction and fiction books featuring transgender and gender nonconforming characters.

 

Trending Booklists: Monthly highlights and new releases

Epic Reads – New Releases

The Guardian – Children’s Book Roundup

Love Reading for Kids – Books of the Month

Scholastic – Books of the Month

Scottish Book Trust – Book Lists

Toppsta – Our Favorite New Children’s Books This Month

Waterstone’s – Books of the Month

 

Recent Awards: UK book award winners, shortlists, and longlists

Inclusive Books for Children Award – Winners

British Book Awards – Shortlist

UKLA Book Award – Shortlist

Women’s Prize for Fiction – Longlist

Women’s Prize for Nonfiction – Longlist

YOTO Carnegie Medals – Shortlists

 

Competitions: Writing competitions for young people

Foyles Young Poets of the Year Competition

Henrietta Branford Writing Competition

Poetry By Heart Competition

 

Book Buzz: Latest book news from major media outlets and book websites

BBC

Book Riot

Buzzfeed

Epic Reads

The Guardian

Huffpost

The New York Times

 

What’s On in April

Pop-Up Library: Exams will be taking place in the library starting April and throughout May, but pupils can visit our Pop-Up Library stall (location TBA) for book returns and collections as well as weekly activities.

Talk Like Shakespeare Day Activities: We’ll be creating Shakespeare masks and Elizabethan ruffle collar using the templates from Talklikeshakespeare.org and uploading a list of Shakespearean phrases still commonly used today.

Teams Quizzes: Our Quizzes will be uploaded to Teams using MS Forms in lieu of exams.

National Pet Month Quiz: Learn fun facts about our furry, feathered, and leathered friends.

World Art Day Quiz: Test your knowledge of artists, paintings, and styles. Comes with an accompany list of links to famous museums and galleries from around the world.

International Guitar Month Quiz: For serious guitar aficionados, this quiz is packed with facts about one of the world’s most popular instruments. The interactive answer sheet included is jammed with links with further information and videos.

 

Displays and Booklists for April: Interactive booklists available on the Library Channel on Teams

Planet vs Plastics Book List The theme for this year’s Earth Day is Planet vs Plastics to raise awareness on the health and environmental risks of plastics.

Stress Book List: Stress Awareness Month calls for a greater awareness of the negative impact of stress. Our booklist features some Nonfiction titles to help young People manage their stress.

Autism Book List: World Autism Month and Autism Awareness Day (April 2nd) aims to celebrate Autism awareness and acceptance. Our Junior, Young Adult, and Senior + Staff booklists feature nonfiction and fiction titles featuring Autistic characters.

Shakespeare Quiz answers:

  1. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
  2. All’s Well That Ends Well by Shakespeare
  3. Richard III by Shakespeare
  4. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
  5. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak