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 18^th. 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 13^th-19^th 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 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: 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 6^th) ‘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 17^th-23^rd) 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 22^nd) 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 17^th-August 17^th) 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.

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 22^nd 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

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

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

19^th: The Marvels by Brian Selznick

Author of the Week: Chosen by pupils

WB 15^th: Chris Priestly

WB 22^nd: Robin Talley

WB 25^th: Jenny McLachlan

Series of the Week: Chosen by pupils

WB 15^th: Onyeka by Tola Okogwu

WB 22^nd: Summoner Trilogy by Taran Matharu

WB 25^th: 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 2^nd) 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 31^st.

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 22^nd. 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 13^th-19^th 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

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 5^th 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 15^th 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?

2. “No legacy is so rich as honesty”

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

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

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

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

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon or William Shakespeare?

5. “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 Matsui – ‘This 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

4^th: Finding My Voice by Aoife Dooley 

7^th: Jays Guide to Crushing It by Ruby Clyde 

8^th: Sad Ghost Club by Liz Meddings 

11^th: American Born Chinese by Gene Leun Yang 

14^th: The Changing Man by Tomi Oyemakinde 

15^th: Murder On A School Night by Kate Weston 

21^st: Girl From the Well by Rin Chupeco 

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

25^th: Ellie Pillai is Brown by Christine Pillainayagam

27^th: Thieves by Lucie Byron

28^th: Booked by Kwame Alexander 

Author of the Week: Chosen by pupils

WB 4^th: Vashti Hardy

WB 11^th: Alice Oseman

WB 18^th: Jason Reynolds

WB 25^th: Louisa Reid

Series of the Week: Chosen by pupils

WB 4^th: Dork Diaries by Rachel Renee Russell

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

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

WB 25^th: 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 2^nd) 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

As part of our World Book Day festivities, pupils were invited to write a five word book review for a chance to be entered into a prize draw.

We received over 50 submissions. Below is a list of the books they’ve reviewed.

1. Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner: Decadent, multi-faceted, opulent, feverish, majestic 
2. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins: Dystopian, love., page turner sad, tragedy 
3. The Beast of Buckingham Palace by David Walliams: Royal, dystopian, funny, British, rebellious 
4. The Boy in Stripped Pyjamas by John Boyne: Sad, dramatic irony, realistic, friendship, abuse
5. The Boy in Stripped Pyjamas by John Boyne: War, WW2, Germany, death, Jewish
6. The Call by Peadar O’Guilin: Brutal, myth, retelling, satisfying, intriguing 
7. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon: Weird, surprising, mysterious, sad, entertaining
8. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon: Simplistic, slightly mind numbing, Kafkaesque, martyr complex, original 
9. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney: Funny, easy to read, relatable, family, interesting 
10. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney: Funny, grumpy, relatable, happy, entertaining
11. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney: Comedy, family, friends, drawings, funny 
12. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney: Funny, school-life, diary, wants to be rich 
13. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney: Wimpy, sporty, dilemma, funny, humorous
14. Face by Benjamin Zephaniah: Intriguing, interesting, thrilling heartwarming 
15. Face by Benjamin Zephaniah: Prejudice, judging, acceptance, interesting 
16. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore by JK Rowling and Kloves, Steve: Mysterious, adventure, script, complete
17. Five Survive by Holly Jackson: Mysterious, funny, suspenseful, thrilling, dark
18. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling: Witchcraft, wizardry, pain, power, death 
19. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling: Magical, Fantastic, frightening, remarkable, thrilling
20. Haikyu! By Haruichi Furudate: Sporty, exciting, engaging, amazing, thrilling
21. Homegrown Herbs by Tammi Hartung and Holt, Saxon: Informative, DIY, creative, medicinal, herbal
22. Huda F Are You? By Huda Fahmy: Creative, interesting, funny, insisting, lovely 
23. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: Exciting, dystopian, survival, death, very good
24. Keep This to Yourself by Tom Ryan: Thrilling, mystery, eerie, immersive, exciting 
25. Last One to Die by Cynthia Murphy: Suspense, thriller, historic, mysterious, romance 
26. The Last Wild by Piers Torday: Beautiful, classic, nature, mythical, depressing
27. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien: Exciting, action, suspense, absorbing, addictive 
28. My Hero Academia by Kohei Horikoshi: Exciting, fast, cool, fun, superpowers 
29. My Hero Academia Vigilantes by Hideyuki Furuhashi: Funny, mystery, suspicious, villains
30. Naked Lunch by William S Burroughs: Disgusting, traumatising, trippy, transcendent, beautiful 
31. Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman: Dramatic, frustrating, gut-wrenching, melancholy, missed opportunity
32. The Nowhere Emporium by Ross Mackenzie: Thrilling, heart wrenching, entertaining, understanding, magical 
33. One of Us is Lying by Karen M McManus: Trilling, intriguing, suspenseful, exhilarating, fast-paced 
34. One Piece by Eiichiro Oda: Treasure, pirates, devil fruit, swords, overpowered 
35. One Piece by Eiichiro Oda: Treasure, friendship, pirates, marines, map
36. The Outsiders by SE Hinton: engrossing, interesting, unique, emotional, entertaining 
37. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster: Mysterious, strange, funny, action-packed, exciting 
38. Renegades by Marissa Meyer: Sci-Fi, dystopian, sad, action, tragic 
39. A Single Thread of Moonlight by Laura Wood: Love, romance, crush, cold, heart 
40. Scarlet and Ivy by Sophie Cleverly: Intriguing, mysterious, phenomenal, mischievous, engrossing 
41. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo: Teen, fantasy, dramatic, page turner, entertaining
42. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han: Summer, beach, love, holiday, family
43. The Brilliant World of Tom Gates by Liz Pichon: Amazing. Interesting. Funny, kind, cool
44. Trash by Andy Mulligan: Interesting, detailed, surprising, lots of characters, exciting 
45. Trash by Andy Mulligan: Brilliant, exhilarating, heart stopping, you never know what’s next, realistic
46. Trash by Andy Mulligan: Adventurous, poor, dumpsite, money, stealing 
47. Trash by Andy Mulligan: Boring, time wasting. Dramatic, stealing 
48. Trash by Andy Mulligan: Interesting, trash, poverty, dull, adventures 
49. Trash by Andy Mulligan: Adventure, suspense, mystery, police brutality, death
50. Trash by Andy Mulligan: Poverty, corruption, teamwork 
51. Ultimate Football Heroes: Bellingham by Matt and Tom Oldfield: Funny, dramatic, inspirational, sportive 
52. The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli: Heartwarming, cute, comfort, romantic, predictable 
53. What Beauty There Is by Cory Anderson: Thriller, romance, real world, crime, heart-breaking
54. What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli: Love, crush, cute, universe, meant to be 

Here’s a roundup of what’s been happening in Shawlands Academy School Library during February.

MYSP meet and greet: Our LGBT Youth Scotland MSYP representative held their first drop-in surgery during lunchtime, where pupils could come and discuss important issues.

Shawlands Acaddemy Anti-Racism Association: Shawlands Academy’s Anti-Racism Association group meets in the Library every Thursday during lunchtime where they discuss issues and plan events for the school. They were excited to unbox the new books we ordered as part of our participatory selection which will be added to our Equality and Empowerment collection:

Hot Comb by Ebony Flowers

Let Me Hear A Rhyme by Tiffany D Jackson

War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

City of Stolen Magic by Nazeen Ahmed Pathak

Brown Girl Like Me by Jasprett Kaur

American Born Chinese by Gene Lurn Yang

Stolen History: The Truth about the British Empire and How it Shaped Us by Sathnam Sanghere

Whale by Myeong-Kwan Cheong

Black Skin, White Mask by Frantz Fanon

The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani

SfL Book Group: Our S3 book group in collaboration with Support for Learning continues as we select different short stories from Horowitz Horrors, a collection of spooky stories by Anthony Horowitz.

Pupil Library Committee: Members of our Pupil Library Committee have been busy helping tidy the library this month and prepping for our upcoming March display for International Women’s Day, British Science Week, Anti-Racism Day, Ramadan, and Neurodiversity Celebration Week

School Library Mascot reveal: Congratulations to Candice for the winning design of our School Library mascot! Each participant received a small prize for their amazing entries.

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

One of Us is Lying by Karen M McManus – ‘Saw this on TikTok and wanted to read it’

Heartstopper 5 by You Are A Champion: How to be the best you can be Alice Oseman –  ‘I’ve been waiting ages to read this book! So excited to see it in the Library’

My Hero Academia by Kohei Horikoshi – ‘My favorite Manga series’

Glitter Boy by Ian Eagleton – ‘I laughed. I cried. Great book for LGBTQ+ teens!’

You Are A Champion: How to be the best you can be by Marcus Rashford, Carl Anka, and Katoe Warriner – “This is a nice book”

 ‘Book of the Day’ chosen by pupils: Featured pupil recommendations.

Huda F Are You? by Huda Fahmy

Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun by Tola Okogwu

Diary of a Confused Feminist by Kate Weston

The Weirn Books, Vol 1: Be Wary of the Silent Woods by Svetlana Chmakova

Five Nights at Freddy’s: The Silver Eyes by Scott Cawthon

A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll

Queen of the Tiles by Hanna Alkaf

Recent Arrivals: New book highlights.

Stand Up by Nikesh Shukla

All About Romance by Daniel Tawse

I Feed Her to the Beast by Jamison Shea

Mythopedia: An Encyclopedia of Mythical Beasts and their Magical Tales by Good Wives and Warriors

City of Stolen Magic by Nazeen Pathak

Trending Booklists

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

Excelsior Award – Shortlist

Klaus Flugge Prize – Shortlist

Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize – Shortlist

YOTO Carnegie Medals for Writing and Illustration – Longlist

Book Buzz

BBC

Book Riot

Buzzfeed

Epic Reads

The Guardian

Huffpost

The New York Times

What’s On – March

World Book Day week:

Annual Book Mark Contest – Each year during World Book Day week, the School Library hosts a book mark design contest. Submissions are posted anonymously on the Teams Library Channel for pupils to vote their favorite design. The design with the most votes becomes the official School Library bookmark for 2024.

5 Word Book Review Prize Draw – This year, we’re encouraging pupils to submit book reviews of some of their favourite or most recently read books using only 5 words. Each entry goes into our World Book Day prize draw. The reviews will be displayed outside the library on our bulletin board.

World Book Day Quiz – We’ll also be hosting our annual World Book Day quiz, hosted by members of our Pupil Library Committee during lunchtime.

Shakespeare Week:

Choice Board – Pupils can learn more about Shakespeare and his work using our interactive choice board which will be posted on our Teams Library Channel.

Shakespeare or YA Quiz – Participants must guess if a given quote was featured in either one of Shakespeare’s plays or from a popular Young Adult novel.

Displays and Booklists for March: Booklists of monthly cultural and literacy events.Interactive booklists available on the Library Channel on Teams

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

STEM Nonfiction Book List: STEM nonfiction.

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

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

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

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