The nights are long, the days are cold,
but there are so many stories to be told!
If wintry tales meets your needs,
then feast your eyes on these festive reads!
Festive and Winter Reads
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Tag Archives: Book Lists
‘Tis the Season to Read: Festive Book Recommendations for Teenagers
As the holiday season approaches, it’s the perfect time to cosy up with a good book. And for teenagers, there are some excellent options out there that will capture their imagination and get them into the festive spirit. Here are ten of the best holiday books to get for your favourite reader:
“Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares” by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
A heartwarming and charming story set in New York City during the holiday season. The book follows the adventures of Dash and Lily as they exchange dares in a red notebook, leading them on a journey of self-discovery and unexpected romance.
★★★★☆ 3.75/5 on Goodreads
“Let It Snow” by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle
A collection of three interconnected holiday romances, this novel captures the magic of Christmas and the unexpected twists that come with it. It’s a delightful collaboration by three popular YA authors, weaving together tales of love, friendship, and the joy of the season.
★★★★☆ 3.69/5 on Goodreads
“My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories” edited by Stephanie Perkins
A compilation of short stories by various YA authors, each tale captures a different aspect of the holiday season, from the enchantment of first love to the magic of celebrating diverse traditions, making it a perfect festive read for every mood.
★★★★☆ 3.66/5 on Goodreads
“Holidays on Ice” by David Sedaris
If your teenagers enjoy humour, David Sedaris brings a satirical and hilarious twist to the holiday season in this collection of essays. His witty observations will have readers laughing out loud, providing a humorous and sometimes absurd take on the traditions and quirks associated with Christmas.
★★★★☆ 3.89/5 on Goodreads
“The Afterlife of Holly Chase” by Cynthia Hand
A modern retelling of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” this novel follows Holly Chase, a girl visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve. As Holly navigates her second chance at redemption, readers are treated to a poignant exploration of self-discovery and the true meaning of Christmas spirit. A unique and thought-provoking take on the classic story.
★★★★☆ 3.96/5 on Goodreads
“Snow Like Ashes” by Sara Raasch
In this fantasy adventure, Meira, a young orphan, embarks on a journey to reclaim her kingdom from an evil ruler, with the backdrop of a perpetual winter. The story beautifully combines elements of magic, political intrigue, and a quest for identity, making it an enthralling read for teenagers who enjoy epic tales set in wintry realms.
★★★★☆ 3.88/5 on Goodreads
“What Light” by Jay Asher
In this poignant and hopeful tale, Sierra navigates teenage romance against the backdrop of her family’s Christmas tree farm. Set between Oregon and California, the story explores themes of love, forgiveness, and the enduring spirit of the holiday season, capturing the complexities of growing up and finding hope in unexpected places.
★★★★☆ 3.56/5 on Goodreads
“The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks” by E. Lockhart
While not strictly a Christmas book, this novel follows the adventures of Frankie Landau-Banks, a sharp and witty protagonist who challenges the status quo at her elite boarding school. It offers a compelling and empowering narrative for teens who appreciate intelligent and rebellious heroines.
★★★★☆ 3.81/5 on Goodreads
“How to Excavate a Heart” by Jake Maia Arlow
Shani’s paleoichthyology internship takes a backseat when she runs into May. Literally. With her mum’s car. Amidst the chaos, a dog-walking job reunites them on Christmas Eve, sparking a connection that challenges Shani to confront her past heartbreak. And when the two are snowed in together on Christmas Eve, she must decide if this unexpected romance is a fleeting moment or a chance at a more profound commitment.
★★★★☆ 3.86/5 on Goodreads
“Winterwood” by Shea Ernshaw
For fans of fantasy, “Winterwood” offers a magical and atmospheric winter setting. The story follows a girl named Nora who discovers a mysterious boy in the woods, and together they unravel dark secrets against a mesmerising backdrop. The snow-covered landscape sets the stage for a captivating reading experience, making it perfect for the holiday season.
★★★★☆ 3.85/5 on Goodreads
Happy Halloween
Looking for some spooky reads this Halloween? Check out these terrifying tales:
Click on the covers to learn more about the book.
Dyslexia Awareness Week
From the 2nd to 8th October 2023, Dyslexia Awareness Week will be celebrating individuals with dyslexia from all backgrounds and walks of life. This year’s theme is Uniquely You, which celebrates the diversity of the dyslexic community and the rich variety of lived experiences of dyslexia.
To celebrate the week we’re spotlighting some of our new Barrington Stoke books in Whitehill School Library. Each book has a dyslexia-friendly layout, typeface and paper stock so that even more readers can enjoy it. Barrington Stoke publish a fantastic range of fiction and non-fiction books for all ages and interests, and there are lots more available in the school library.
Click the images to get a sneak peek of first chapters.
The day the hiccups took over
Frank has a big day ahead of him, with a trip to the dentist, a trumpet exam, a swimming contest and, most important of all, he has tickets to see his knitting hero on stage right here in his hometown! But all that is put at risk when Frank wakes up with the hiccups. And they just won’t STOP!
Helped by his new friend Daisy, Frank tries ever more madcap ideas to get the hiccups to go away. But will the whole day end in disappointment and humiliation, or will Frank manage to turn calamity into a dramatic triumph?
Bertie and the alien chicken
Bertie is NOT looking forward to spending the summer holidays on stinky Long Bottom Farm. But things take an interesting turn when he encounters Nugget, the alien chicken. Nugget’s mission is to find the Earth’s most valuable resource and transport it back to Nurgle 7, and he needs Bertie’s help.
But what could the Earth’s most valuable resource be, and can they find it in time to stop the Nurgles exterminating the Earth?!
Calling the wales
When Tulsi and her best friend Satchen spot something unusual in the sea near their home in Scotland, they decide to investigate. But little do they know how much danger they are putting themselves in. After rowing out to a nearby island, they become involved in a risky rescue mission and their boat capsizes in a storm.
But just as they think all is lost, help arrives from an unexpected source …
Ravencave
While mucking about in the ruins of an old farm while on holiday in Yorkshire, James hears strange laughter echoing around the walls. The ghost of a young girl appears to him and urges James to follow her but at first he’s too afraid.
When she appears again, this time James follows. But will he be able to face the terrible truth she reveals …?
Little women
When you’re one of four sisters, it can be difficult to find your own identity. But that’s never the case for the March girls – sweet Meg, tomboyish Jo, shy Beth and precocious Amy.
With their father away at war and their mother working long hours, the sisters have to look out for each other and make their own entertainment. Although disagreements arise, their strong bond, vivid imaginations and infectious sense of fun see them through the darkest of days in this timeless coming-of-age story.
Frankenstein
A thrilling gothic tale of hubris gone badly wrong. A young man’s search for the secret of the spark of life leads him to a horrific experiment in which he creates a gigantic creature from dismembered body parts. Rejected by his creator, the initially gentle creature turns monstrous when his desire to find companionship and love are thwarted.
Tanya Landman revisits Mary Shelley’s classic Gothic horror story, bringing to life Dr Frankenstein and his monstrous creation in an accessible format that more readers can enjoy.
The curio collectors
Lily, Tom and Ma Hawker are the Curio Collectors, travelling the country and enthralling crowds with their amazing collection of treasures. When an unusual piece of scrimshaw, a shell with delicate carvings, comes into their possession, it attracts the attention of a young maid, who is searching for a special shell that belonged to her mother. But another shadowy figure is also very interested in the scrimshaw, and it appears he will stop at nothing to get his hands on it.
Can the Curio Collectors uncover the mystery behind the carvings before time runs out?
Dragonracers
Kitty Hawk dreams of taking to the skies and competing in the world’s first long-distance air race. But little does she imagine that her first flight will take place on the back of a dragon! When Kitty and her brother find an unusual egg, the little dragon that hatches from it grows rapidly into a magnificently powerful creature that learns to fly with Kitty riding on her back.
Together, can they win the huge prize that’s at stake, and will their daring adventure bring Kitty closer to achieving her dreams?
Welcome back to all our pupils at John Paul Academy! Get back into the mood for school with these great school-themed books:
February Roundup
A relatively uneventful month this time around with the February break and use of the school library space. But we’ve bene having a blast with the pupils during breaks and book borrowing times. Our s1-2 pupils have created their own Book group called ‘They Both Read at the End’, inspired by Adam Silvera’s hugely popular Young Adult novel, They Both Die at the End.
Pupil Library Committee – Members of our Pupil Library Committee have been gaining experience of library work through their volunteering as part of their Duke of Edinburgh awards, where they’ve been learning how to process and display new stock. They’re also helping to prepare for the upcoming World Book Day festivities where they’ll be hosting a pop-up library in the Fuel Zone and help with the zine making workshop.
EAL Book Group – Our EAL book group is continuing with the non-fiction book, YouthQuake: 50 Children and Young People Who Shook the World by Tom Adams and Sarah Walsh as part of the Inspiring Lives series by Nosy Crow. In this project, each pupil has selected five inspiring young people that they’d like to learn more about. We research two people per session, looking at their biographies, videos and other online multimedia resources to get a sense of who they are and what they’ve achieved. It leads to some very engaging discussions with the pupils.
February Booklists:
February 2022 Booklists – BookTrust
Best new Children’s Books – Toppsta
Bookbug’s Books of the Month – Scottish Book Trust
Books of the Month – LoveReading4Kids
February Roundup – Love Reading
Book of the Month – Scholastic
Books of the Month – Waterstones
Children’s Book roundup – Guardian
Upcoming events:
African Festival of Emerging Writers (March 17th-19th) – ArifFesti (Cameroon)
British Science Week (March 11th) – British Science Week (UK)
Earth Hour (March 26th) – Earth Hours (International)
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (March 21st) – United Nations (International)
International Women’s Day (March 8th) – International Women’s Day (International)
Jaipur Literary Festival (March 5th-14th) – Jaipur Lit Fest (India)
LitFest 2022 Mini Children’s Festival (March 11th-12th) – LitFest (UK)
Shakespeare Week (March 21st) – Shakespeare Week (UK)
World Book Day (March 3rd) – World Book Day (International)
World Poetry Day (March 21st) – UNESCO (International)
World Storytelling Day (March 21st) – (International)
Past events:
Alasdair Gray Day (February 25th) – Gray Day (Scotland)
Emirates Literature Festival – (catch up on YouTube) Emirates LitFest (UAE)
International Festival of Children’s and Youth Literature (Catch up on YouTube) – FESTILIJ (Spain)
Jewish Book Wee (February 26th-March 6th) – Jewish Book Week (UK)
Literary Awards & Prizes:
American Indian Youth Literature Award Winners – American Indian Library Association (USA)
Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Winners – Asian/Pacific American Library Association (USA)
Blue Peter Book Awards Shortlist – BBC/BookTrust (UK)
Bookbug Picture Book prize announced – Scottish Book Trust (Scotland)
Caldecott Medal Winners – American Library Association (USA)
Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Award Long Lists Announced – CILIP (UK)
The Klaus Flugge Prize Long List Announced – Klaus Flugge Prize (UK)
The Laugh Out Loud Book Awards 2022 (the Lollies) – Scholastic (UK)
Prémio Autores/ Authors Awards Winners – Sociedade Portuguesa De Autores (Portugal)
Waterstones Children’s Book Prize Shortlist 2022 – Waterstones (UK)
In the news:
17th Century Buddhist Texts for the Illiterate: how ‘Buddhist Emoji’ made the Sutra Legible for those who couldn’t read – Open Culture
Bologna Children’s Book Fair (March 21-24th) – Bologna Fiere (Italy)
The Book of Kells, has been digitised and put online – Open Culture
Campaign for every Scottish Secondary School to receive a copy of Me and White Supremacy (YA edition) by Layla F Saad successful – Lighthouse Bookshop (Edinburgh, Scotland)
February 2022 Roundup
LGBT+ History Month – During February, the Pupil Library Committee and LGBT+ group pupils curated their own display for LGBT+ History Month, creating their own poster, bunting and selecting books to highlight from the Libraries collection. The school library also curated a digital booklist for Young Adult Fiction and Graphic Novels to add to Mr Lynch’s LGBT History Month interactive choice board, that enables pupils to learn about significant events, activists, and literary figures from the LGBTQ+ community. The Library also hosted an LGBT History Month quiz to highlight the history, social change, and figures with prizes to be won.
EAL Book Group – Our EAL book group completed two books. The House of Clouds by Lisa Thompson, a beautiful story that explores friendship, bereavement, and imagination. Our other book, Under the Skin by Cathy MacPhail, discusses bullying and refugee issues within a Scottish context. In the story, our main character Omar writes about how much he loves living in Scotland to his cousin Chat, which we modelled for our letter writing activity.
Reading Schools – The school library continues our Reading Schools journey. Our committee met to plan a wealth of activities for the upcoming World Book Day week. The Pupil Library Committee is heavily involved in this years WBD festivities, hosting pop-up Libraries, helping with arts and crafts workshops, and creating displays to promote an array of literary events taking place throughout March.
February Booklists:
February 2022 Booklists – BookTrust
Best new Children’s Books – Toppsta
Bookbug’s Books of the Month – Scottish Book Trust
Books of the Month – LoveReading4Kids
February Roundup – Love Reading
Book of the Month – Scholastic
Books of the Month – Waterstones
Children’s Book roundup – Guardian
Upcoming events:
African Festival of Emerging Writers (March 17th-19th) – ArifFesti (Cameroon)
British Science Week (March 11th) – British Science Week (UK)
Earth Hour (March 26th) – Earth Hours (International)
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (March 21st) – United Nations (International)
International Women’s Day (March 8th) – International Women’s Day (International)
Jaipur Literary Festival (March 5th-14th) – Jaipur Lit Fest (India)
LitFest 2022 Mini Children’s Festival (March 11th-12th) – LitFest (UK)
Shakespeare Week (March 21st) – Shakespeare Week (UK)
World Book Day (March 3rd) – World Book Day (International)
World Poetry Day (March 21st) – UNESCO (International)
World Storytelling Day (March 21st) – (International)
Past events:
Alasdair Gray Day (February 25th) – Gray Day (Scotland)
Emirates Literature Festival – (catch up on YouTube) Emirates LitFest (UAE)
International Festival of Children’s and Youth Literature (Catch up on YouTube) – FESTILIJ (Spain)
Jewish Book Wee (February 26th-March 6th) – Jewish Book Week (UK)
Literary Awards & Prizes:
American Indian Youth Literature Award Winners – American Indian Library Association (USA)
Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Winners – Asian/Pacific American Library Association (USA)
Blue Peter Book Awards Shortlist – BBC/BookTrust (UK)
Bookbug Picture Book prize announced – Scottish Book Trust (Scotland)
Caldecott Medal Winners – American Library Association (USA)
Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Award Long Lists Announced – CILIP (UK)
The Klaus Flugge Prize Long List Announced – Klaus Flugge Prize (UK)
The Laugh Out Loud Book Awards 2022 (the Lollies) – Scholastic (UK)
Prémio Autores/ Authors Awards Winners – Sociedade Portuguesa De Autores (Portugal)
Waterstones Children’s Book Prize Shortlist 2022 – Waterstones (UK)
In the news:
17th Century Buddhist Texts for the Illiterate: how ‘Buddhist Emoji’ made the Sutra Legible for those who couldn’t read – Open Culture
Bologna Children’s Book Fair (March 21-24th) – Bologna Fiere (Italy)
The Book of Kells, has been digitised and put online – Open Culture
Campaign for every Scottish Secondary School to receive a copy of Me and White Supremacy (YA edition) by Layla F Saad successful – Lighthouse Bookshop (Edinburgh, Scotland)
LGBTQ+ History Month @ Sgoil Ghàidhlig Ghlaschu!
Hi and welcome to our LGBTQ+ History special!
As you can see, we have displayed some excellent books which deal with LGBT themes or feature leading LGBT characters or protagonists. Some are more ‘obvious’ than others, but we hope there is something for everyone here!
Thanks to the LGBTQ+ group for their suggestions! There were some that even caught the librarian off-guard! We have put up some posters (see below) of some of their recommendations. If you can’t find them in the library, most are available on the Libby app (email gwmcgregormark@glow.ea.glasgow.sch.uk if you need more info on this!). We are always looking for more recommendations so please get in touch if you have any that haven’t been mentioned here.
The next update will be for World Book Day on March 3rd. We are hoping to have quizzes, giveaways and much more!
Holyrood Secondary #LibrariesWeek
To celebrate #LibrariesWeek 6th-10th October, this blog has been written by one of our most enthusiastic and book – loving classes: Miss Belton’s S3 English Class, who are pleased to share their book recommendations with you.
Jared “My favourite book is The Avatar. As it was the only book in this series in the library, I also had to borrow other books. The library is fun because most of the books are fun to read, and this makes your reading better. I hope that you will try to read more too”.
Fantastic advice, thank you Jared.
Sawdah is one of our most enthusiastic readers and it is always great to see her in the Library. “My favourites include Cry Baby, the Story of Tracy Beaker, and the Dockside series, because there are so many titles in the series to read!”
Abdou “The book that I like reading is the Last Kids on Earth series by Max Brailler. It’s a book about monster zombies and kids surviving the apocalypse”.
Thanks to Abdou, other pupils have now enjoyed this series too!
Azeem likes “ all the Roald Dahl books, also comic books, and books about football”.
Denis and Mahmod both enjoyed a book that they read in class The Housekeeper’s Lunch – “this book was really funny and great because the housekeeper couldn’t have his lunch because the crows ate it all”.
Faizan says “My favourite book is Five Famous Fairy Tales”, This is a superb choice, containing tales by Hans Anderson and brothers Grimm. Abdullah recommends history books, and he has read many history and other non-fiction titles.
Fatima says “my favourite book is Dork Diaries. I like to read them because they are fun to read”. This is a very popular choice
This dedicated Class is always up for a challenge, and successfully completed last year’s Glasgow Libraries Christmas Reading Challenge, receiving certificates to mark their outstanding achievement.
As an experiment, we also tried reading as a Book Group – our chosen titles were Under the Skin, by Cathy Macphail, and the Fastest Boy in the World, by Elizabeth Laird. However, we decided that we preferred reading our own choice of books (although we do still like to have quiet discussion and share ideas together).
Miss Kindness, Librarian says “It has been a pleasure to see how this class have grown in enthusiasm and confidence over the past two years. I look forward to more fun projects and reading challenges with them”.
We would all like to say a big thank you to Miss Belton for all her patience, and enthusiasm, and for making the time for us to go to the library.
We hope you have a wonderful retirement and enjoy more time to read books and have new adventures.”.
February Roundup
Participatory Spend Books: Throughout October, the Library worked with six S3+4 classes to collect pupil book suggestions that would be used to inform purchasing new stock. This year the Library is prioritising books for reluctant, struggling, and learning readers. This means resourcing titles that will appeal to a broad readership and tastes. The Librarian narrowed the choice of books between two publishers: Barrington Stoke and Badger Learning. Classes were instructed to select the books that they found interesting from both websites. The suggestions were then collated and checked against the Library’s catalogue to ensure books already stocked in the Library were not purchased and therefore making the best use of the allocated budget. The Librarian then bought the most popular books from our supplier.
The books are now available in the Library and a display will be set up for World Book Day in March.
Click Barrington Stoke and Badger Learning Participatory Spend Titles Book List for more information about the books.
- Ward 13 by Tommy Donbavand (13)
- Knife Edge by Robert Swindells (13)
- Runaway by Ann Evans (11)
- The Front Room by Michelle Magorian (11)
- Jon for Short by Malorie Blackman (10)
- Good Boy by Mal Peet (8)
- Ghosting by Keith Gray (7)
- White Eagles by Elizabeth Wein (7)
- Nightmare by Ann Evans (7)
- United by Emma Norry (6)
- The Lane by Iain McLaughlin (6)
- 2 Die 4 by Nigel Hinton (6)
- Letting Go by Cat Clarke (6)
- The Number 7 Shirt by Alan Gibbons (5)
- Have a Go by Jon Mayhew (5)
- Copy Cat by Tommy Donbavand (5)
- Ghost Stadium by Tom Palmer (5)
- Shadow Girl by Sally Nicholls (4)
- The Last Days of Archie Maxwell by Annabel Pitcher (4)
- Final Girl by Tim Collins (4)
- Wasted by Karen Moncrieffe (3)
- Tilly’s Promise by Linda Newbery (3)
- The Tiger on his Back by Bernard Ashley (3)
- Plague by Echo Freer (3)
- Kidnap by Tommy Donbavand (3)
- ME2 by Catherine Bruton (3)
- Keeper by Ann Evans (2)
- Home by Tommy Donbavand (2)
- The Wishing Doll by Beverly Sandford (2)
- Sitting Target by John Townsend (2)
- Change by Chitra Soundar (2)
- Stop by Jenny Spangler (2)
- Stalker by Tony Lee (2)
- The Corridor by Mark Wright (2)
- Johnny Delgado by Kevin Brooks (2)
- The Night Raid by Caroline Lawrence (2)
- Second Best Friend by Non Pratt (2)
- The Family Tree by Non Pratt (2)
Book Group: The Library launched a book group for S2+ pupils who are developing their English skills. We meet weekly in the English Base and read one or two chapters of the book. The title we are reading is Eagle Warrior by Gill Lewis. Set in the Scottish Highlands, this story follows a young girl and her grandmother who are determined to solve the mystery of an illegal poaching trade taking place in the area. Eagle Warrior was chosen because it introduces the pupils to Scottish landscape, language, and wildlife as well as prompting discussion of topics ranging from Scottish law, cuisine, and history.
More about Eagle Warrior: “Bobbie is thrilled that a golden eagle has settled near her family farm. She loves climbing the hills to watch it soar across the sky and stalk its prey. But not everybody shares her feelings for the magnificent bird. When it becomes clear that the eagle is in grave danger, Bobbie is determined to do everything she can to protect it. But she is also facing the threat of being sent away to boarding school, far from everything she knows. Will Bobbie be brave enough to fight for the bird and home that she loves?”
