Tag Archives: Book recommendations

St Roch’s Reads: January

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Prelims are in full swing and we’ve had lots of pupils in the library studying up. Best of luck everyone! What else has been happening in the library this month?

International Mother Language Day 

International Mother Language Day is celebrated every year on the 21st of February and the purpose of this day is to raise awareness of language, cultural diversity and multilingualism around the world.  Language helps to maintain the culture, heritage and history of a society, which is why it is so important to celebrate.  

There are books in many languages available in the library, including Arabic, Farsi, Kurdish, Polish, Portugeuse, Urdu, with lots of bilingual texts that include English translations. You can browse some of our top picks here and there’s plenty more available in the library.  

 

Cultural Diversity  celebration

Volunteers Iman, Amany, Roya, Rose and Kah Jun have been working hard to get ready for our Pop Up Library at St Roch’s Cultural Diversity Event in February. They have chosen and collected books representing authors/characters from all around the world. Lots of effort is going into decorating the library stand too- we can’t wait to see it on the day.  

 

Burns Night 

 

Every January 25th Scotland celebrates ‘Burns Night’, to mark the life and work of the poet Robert Burns. We’ve got lots of fiction books in the library that use poetry to tell a story. These verse-novels are a great way to get into poetry, using poems to tell dramatic stories of love, friendship, family, and lots more.

Check out our Poetree Display this month in the library, or browse our favourite verse novels on Padlet. Thanks to our first year story group for the creative decoration. The group practised black out poetry techniques, upcycling old pages into leafs.

 

Happy reading!

New Books at Holyrood Library

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We’re off to a great start in 2025, with a treasure trove of new books to enjoy, and expert helpers on hand to sort through deliveries, and create beautiful book displays.

Thanks to Angel and Zurie from the S3 Writers’ Group, who selected their favourite Young Adult novels, focusing on diversity and Inclusion  (complete with Christmassy tinsel)!

Recommended By Us, Diverse & Inclusive fiction

They labelled the books with a ‘Recommended by Us’ slip, as this works well in bookshops, and we like to guide readers to choose books that they will love.

 

 

 

 

Recipes from around the World

 

 

We also have a fantastic selection of cookery books featuring recipes from around the World, reflecting the wonderful multiculturalism of Holyrood. Two favourites are A World of Flavour and Recipes for Change

 

CHS Rights Respecting Book-of-the-Month: December

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The Rights Respecting Schools Award recognises a school’s achievement in putting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into practice within the school and beyond. Every month Castlemilk High School features one book that highlights particular rights included under the UNCRC.  

This month’s book is No one is too small to make a difference by Greta Thunberg, renowned climate activist. It’s a little book deals with some very big issues and links to UNCRC Articles including:

  • Article 12: Respect for the views of the child

  •  Article 24: Health and health services

In 2018, a 15-year-old Swedish girl started a global movement for action against the climate crisis. This book is a collection of Greta’s speeches on climate change, a rallying cry for why we must all wake up and fight to protect the living planet, no matter how powerless we feel.

This book brings you Greta in her own words, for the first time. Collecting her speeches that have made history across Europe, from the UN to mass street protests, No One Is Too Small to Make A Difference is a rallying cry for why we must all wake up and fight to protect the living planet, no matter how powerless we feel. Our future depends upon it.

 

Book & Audiobook available from the school library

Find out more about borrowing ebooks and audiobooks using the Libby app

Volunteering at Holyrood Library, December Update 

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Our Library Volunteers have been working hard on some great projects to brighten these dark, Winter months. 

Reader of the Month notice board

Rand and Tafsirr created a Reader of the Month noticeboard, to recognise enjoyment and effort in reading.

This month’s award winners – Balint (S2), Egbert (S1) & Melissa (S3), will each receive a book of their choice from the book vending machine.  

 

Book Swap here!

Thanks to Filza, Gia and Izza who created this beautiful giant sign for our Book Swap table during Book Week Scotland. They used the lighthouse logo to represent ‘Hope’ and added their own style and flourish. The Book Swap was a great success. 

 

 

Book swapping at interval

Enjoying books together at the Coffee morning

Our Staff Coffee Morning was a hoot (thanks to Ms Ford for bringing Hedwig along), and S3 Volunteers helped serve refreshments, and gave out copies of ‘Hope’ kindly gifted by the Scottish Book Trust. There was plenty of great chat between staff and young people, who love sharing book recommendations together .

 

S4 Volunteer Lucy, working at the issue desk

Our 14 Volunteers, ranging from S3 – S6 have a lot of fun, but there’s also a goal to achieve, which is completing their Duke of Edinburgh Award at either Bronze or Silver level; or for S6 – their Caritas or Leadership Award.

 

 

 

Like all school librarians, I’m always proud to support our young people with their volunteering, and see this is a key aspect of our School Library Service, offering  “a wide range of interesting and fun volunteering experiences that help others develop new skills and make new friends”. A Vision for Glasgow Life Libraries, April 2023

Our October Volunteers’ Survey asked –  What is your favourite thing about volunteering?

“Meeting new people and becoming friends. The Library is a really inviting space and the people I’ve met are all amazing.” (S3 Volunteer)

“I really enjoyed the creative tasks like wrapping a gift and putting up the posters. But also the less creative tasks like taking record of newly ordered books so all in all I’ve enjoyed pretty much everything!” (S6 Volunteer)

In the survey, our young people agreed that they had achieved some, or all of the following outcomes through volunteering :

1. Of benefit to the school community 2. Teamwork 3. Helping other people 4. Learning new skills 5. Good for my mental health 6. Good for my confidence

 We’ll have more projects and book recommendations to share in 2025. Happy Reading!

October @ Holyrood Library

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We’ve had a busy month so far, with plenty to celebrate in the Library.

October is Black History Month, so our S3 Duke of Edinburgh Volunteers -Tafsirr, Rand and Lauren created this fantastic book  display. 

They wanted to highlight books that were joyful and celebratory, so included biographies of famous actors, sportspeople, scientists, musicians and World leaders. And some history books, celebrating art and culture, but also remembering the sad and unjust parts of Black history in a respectful way.

 

In Holyrood, we feel that it’s very important to provide diverse and anti-racist books.  So in a survey, when asked what they would like to see in the library, our Senior pupils made these suggestions :

  • A section focused on highlighting ethic minorities like biographies or books on cooking
  • More books in different languages, and also books to encourage people to learn more about other cultures
  • Scottish brown and black boys/girls everyday experiences
  • Maybe more history books on Scotland’s involvement in the slave trade.

Some of the books purchased so far:

 

Higher ESOL requests

Our readers are passionate about seeing voices of all different nationalities and cultures represented on the library shelves. Mrs Cooper’s Higher ESOL class asked for a selection of books by black authors for the classroom. Here are some of the authors they are currently enjoying: Malorie Blackman, Jumata Emill, Sharon Flake, Danielle Jawando, Shade Lapite, Jason Reynolds, Efua Traore, Alex Wheatle.

And we often like to discuss favourite authors and poets in our library Teams chat. We thought these words were very inspiring: “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive: and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humour, and some style”. Maya Angelou

At the start of October, we also celebrated Dyslexia Awareness Week with a pupil-led outreach library in the Fuel zone.

This showcased the books we have available in a dyslexia friendly format; and Mr. Lang provided a Quiz about famous people.  We also had a Design Your Own Superpower competition, to show that all skills and talents are valued, such as super strength, invisibility, telekinesis, talking to animals, being kind, helping one another, and putting your rubbish in the bin. So many skills – what a talented bunch!

Well done everyone

Miss Kindness

 

 

 

CHS Rights Respecting Book-of-the-Month: October

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The Rights Respecting Schools Award recognises a school’s achievement in putting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into practice within the school and beyond. Castlemilk High School is currently working hard towards getting a Gold award this year. To help raise awareness of pupils rights, every month the library features one book that highlights some articles from the UNCRC. October’s Book-of-the-Month is The curious case of the dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon,  which links to a number of articles including:  

  • Article 2: Nondiscrimination
  • Article 12: Respect for the views of the child
  • Article 23: Children with a disability

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a murder mystery novel like no other. 

Fifteen-year-old Christopher knows a very great deal about maths and very little about human beings. He loves lists, patterns and the truth. He hates the colours yellow and brown and being touched. He has never gone further than the end of the road on his own, but when he discovers a dead dog on a neighbour’s lawn he decides to solve the mystery and write a detective thriller about it.

As in all good detective stories, however, the more he unearths, the deeper the mystery gets.. 

The curious incident of the dog in the night-time is available now in book , ebook and audiobook format from the school library.

Find out more about borrowing ebooks and audiobooks using the Libby app

You Said – We Did @ Holyrood Library

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It’s been an exciting first month back – getting to know our new S1pupils, ordering new books and sorting through deliveries. Best of all has been seeing our keen readers borrow their first books, and the delight when they realise there is no limit to the number of books that can be borrowed (other than what can fit into your schoolbag)! With new books arriving regularly, there will always be great choice of both old favourites, or something completely new to try.

In June, 70 members of our outgoing S1 took part in a Library Survey. This was a goldmine of information, showing what’s been going well, and where improvements could be made. Here’s some examples from the survey:

You said Get more Dork Diaries & Wimpy Kid. More comics.

We did Ordered more comics, including Marvel, DC, Bunny vs Monkey, Star Wars.     

Our funny Diary & Joke books are now all shelved together in a clearly labelled special section to make them easier to find.

You said Have a rule to get people to talk quieter. No loud music. Have more of a chill out spot.

We did  Our quiet, Autism – friendly lunchtime now runs on Wednesdays. No phones, low lighting and quiet activities only. On other days, Librarian & Pupil helpers do a walk round and make sure everyone is being considerate and mindful of noise levels.

Quiet time to chill out

When asked ‘What do you like to do in the Library?’ the most popular answer was Chill out with friends, closely followed by Read, and Do Homework.

 

S1 Helpers planning activities

 

“The library is already amazing and I love spending time there”

All your comments are so valued! We’ll continue to have regular customer surveys to keep improving, and display all your suggestions and the corresponding actions taken on our ‘You Said – We Did’ giant whiteboard.

The librarian is reading …..

Apple and Rain, by Sarah Crossan 14 year old Apple is having a difficult time with bullying, and events at home. A favourite teacher encourages Apple to read poetry and write her own poems. Writing helps her to find her voice, face some really difficult family problems and bravely seek help. I loved this book.

Reading can sometimes seem trivial when you’re faced with difficult events, but the right book, at the right time can be a lifeline. Any time you’re feeling a bit down, why not pop into your school or community library and have a browse. There will always be friendly staff on hand to chat, and you’ll not leave empty-handed. Happy reading!

Ms Kindness

Rights Respecting Book-of-the-Month: September

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Castlemilk High School: Rights Respecting School

The UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) works with schools in the UK to create safe and inspiring places to learn, where children are respected, their talents are nurtured and they are able to thrive. The Rights Respecting Schools Award embeds these values in daily school life and gives children the best chance to lead happy, healthy lives and to be responsible, active citizens. 

The Award recognises a school’s achievement in putting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into practice within the school and beyond. 

The Rights Respecting group and Mrs Heffron are working hard to get the Gold award for Castlemilk High School. One part of this is a Book-of-the-Month promotion, to help raise pupils’ awareness of their rights under the UN Convention . Each month, the library promotes one book highlighting UNCRC articles. This month’s book is ‘Noughts and Crosses’ by Malorie Black, which links to a number of articles including:  

2: Nondiscrimination 

15: Freedom of association 

28: Right to an education 

In an alternate reality the population is divided into two: the white Noughts are second-class citizens, and the black Crosses are highly-revered and perceived as the superior race.Sephy is a Cross: she lives a life of privilege and power. Callum is a nought: he’s considered to be less than nothing – a blanker, there to serve Crosses.

They’ve been friends since they were children, and they both know that’s as far as it can ever go. Noughts and Crosses are fated to be bitter enemies – love is out of the question. Then – in spite of a world that is fiercely against them – these star-crossed lovers choose each other. But this is love story that will lead both of them into terrible danger . . . and which will have shocking repercussions for generations to come.

Noughts and Crosses is available now in book and ebook format from the school library. 

 

St Roch’s Reads: September

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What’s been happening this month in St Roch’s School Library?

After a brief visit from the sun, Autumn is definitely here. This week our library assistants Niamh and Ava put together an autumnal- themed display, full of lovely seasonal colours. 

The library also got a wee refresh this month, with some new carpet. All the library volunteers were on hand to help with emptying the shelves and they deserve a huge Thank You for their efforts. Now the real task is reshelving– but they’re doing a great job of it! 

We welcomed all our new S1 pupils to the library this month. Classes learned how to use the library, all about the different books available and they also got their brand new library cards.

We had some kind S2 and S3 pupils on hand to help answer questions and show younger pupils around too. Everyone is ready for a great year of library visits! 

Lastly, the new book options have been great this month. Here’s the top picks so far from library assistant Roya.  

Eastbank goes book bonkers

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Welcome back to school Eastbank !  It has been a lonely library without you all.  Can you believe our library actually looks this big?  Isn’t it weird looking at it without any pupils in?

New Feature – Click the link.  In our blog posts now, if you click on any underlined text, you’ll be taken to some exciting new internet content.  This could be a book review or even an author’s page.  So there’s lots more for you to explore in the blog this year.

S1 Induction Time   It’s great to see all the new S1 pupils come into the library for the first time this month.  Everyone has now been given their library cards and can borrow books for the first time.  Remember, the library is free and you can borrow books for 2 weeks, or longer if you need more time to read the books you have.  But remember to bring them back !!  Stuck for an idea what to read?  Why not check out our display of new books?  This table is where you find a selection of new books covering all subjects.

Creation Corner

Don’t forget about the other activities you can do in the library.  Our creation corner has been very popular this month, with a gratitude rainbow, a brilliant Mickey Mouse drawing and a good few filled in word searches, I’ve been blown away with what you’re doing.  You could see your work here if you hand it in to Mrs Marshall !

New books to borrow 

On the new releases table, you can find the following books.  As a sneak peak, click on the links and you will be able to read all about them !  If you want a book, just ask the librarian who will be happy to reserve one for you.

Echostar is Always Listening  Definitely the creepiest of the new books, and a great read to set you up for Halloween in October !  It’s not ghosts and ghouls, it’s even scarier than that.  Ruby and her best friend have discovered a new AI tool which helps them get great grades at school.  But is that just too good to be true?  Read this Super Short story and find out….

EchoStar: Is Always Listening

The Final Year 

Matt Goodfellow has done it again with this book, he simply gets better and better.  Nathan is struggling at school, and trying his best to keep the few friends he has. The Final Year But what if your best friend starts doing things they shouldn’t really be doing?  And it’s serious.  Combined with trouble at home, the Final Year is a great read and one you can identify with concerning your first year at a new school.

 

 

 Unfamiliar  Unfamiliar What an amazing reader request has just come in to Eastbank.  The graphic novel of Unfamiliar and it’s follow up have arrived.  An adorable wee witch – Planchette – moves into a haunted house together with her familiar Marlow.  Not a problem for a witch you’d think !  But a bargain haunted house throws up some funny problems for the young witch and her familiar.  A cosy read about insiders, outsiders and all those in-between, there’s not much you can’t love about Unfamiliar.  Ask Mrs Marshall to reserve both copies if you want double the fun.

Author of the Month – Tom Palmer 

Our first author of the month for this term is Tom Palmer.  Tom writes amazing books on football, the Second World War and many other things.  His books are in our Super Shorts section, which means they are a great read with not so many pages.  Also they have yellow pages which means pupils with dyslexia challenges can read the words with more ease.  But everyone can borrow these books and they are amazing reads