Archive for the Category »Book News «

Summer Reading Challenge 2012

Can you read six books over the summer holidays?

The Summer Reading Challenge for 2012Your local libraries are running this great challenge for children aged 4 – 11 years over the summer of 2012 – watch out for Story Labs events during the summer months.

All you have to do is read six books over the holiday. Libraries taking part are linking their promotions to some great events and there are prizes too!

The trailer below tells you more…

You can see more about the Summer Reading Challenge on the web pages of The Reading Agency here.

There are 97% of the  libraries in the UK sharing the event – so there’s bound to be one near you and your family.

Happy summer reading…. 

We Give Books – read online and give…

wegivebookLogoThe We Give Books web site is a great tool for children, families and carers to share a good book together and do some good.

A project by The Pearson Foundation, We Give Books is based on a very simple idea. Just go to the web site and read a book online. When you have finished you will be asked to submit your email address and the Foundation will donate an actual book to their current projects across the world.

Totally brilliant! The Pearson Foundation should donate their one millionth book this week. Why not add your book to the enormous pile already been given away.

We often take our resources for granted, with the simple act of reading a book and having that book available to read, often way out of reach for millions of children.

We Give Books is one way to alter the balance, to make great books for others more readily available.

After confirming your email address as part of the process you can then volunteer to formally join the We Give Books programme for regular updates, special book offers and project news.

We Give Books – help contribute to the lives of so many other people.

World Book Day: 1st March 2012

World Book Day is nearly upon us for 2012. You can find some great resources on the The World Book Day web site for children of all ages.

This year you will soon be able to download a free World Book Day ‘app’ from the appStore – with exclusive short stories from Malorie Blackman, Anthony Horowitz and a whole load of other authors too.

There are all the usual resources for children, schools and libraries from the World Book Day website – with activity sheets, lesson plans and news about the latest books – for Nursery and Pre-school, Primary and Secondary school children too.

This year you can watch some great trailers and and see authors talking about their books too.

You can also enter a Design a Bookmark competition, with prizes for children up to 8 years, 9-12 years and 13-16 year olds.

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Don’t forget you can use your World Book Day voucher to get some great books for just a Pound from a participating bookshop.

Get celebrating the book together – the World Book Day website is a great place to start!

Lunch Bites in Kings Lynn

sandwichPic44Kings Lynn library have just introduced a new March 2012  initiative – Lunch Bites.

Why not visit the library with your lunch, if you are busy. You can sign up as a member, or if you already belong, find a quiet corner to select a book and have your break.

Lunch Bites, what a great idea.

Libraries could also introduce after school ‘Read and Rest’ sessions, making best use of a quiet corner or reading den in a library space.

What about having a ‘Saturday Space’ in a library, a corner dedicated to weekend reading together for families. (The events could be themed, or linked to the curriculum of local schools).

Get imaginative in your library during March. You can see the Kings Lynn Library opening times here.

Sam’s Selection – featured author this month

stiegLarssonPicStieg Larsson, was a Swedish journalist and writer, born in Skelleftehamn outside Skellefteå.

He is best known for writing the “Millennium series” of crime novels, which was published posthumously. Larsson lived and worked much of his life in Stockholm. he died suddenly at the age of 50 from a heart attack, after climbing seven flights of stairs at his office because of a broken lift.

At his death, Larsson left behind manuscripts of three completed but unpublished novels in a series. He wrote them for his own pleasure after returning home from his job in the evening, making no attempt to get them published until shortly before his death.

The first was published in Sweden in 2005 as Män som hatar kvinnor (“Men who hate women”), published in English as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It was awarded the Glass Key award as the best Nordic crime novel in 2005. His second novel, Flickan som lekte med elden (The Girl Who Played with Fire), received the Best Swedish Crime Novel Award in 2006. The third novel in the Millennium series, Luftslottet som sprängdes (“The air castle that was blown up”), published in English as The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest, was published in the United States in May 2010.

The Swedish film production company Yellow Bird has produced film versions of the Millennium series, co-produced with The Danish film production company Nordisk Film and TV company, which were released in Scandinavia in 2009.

Stieg Larsson acknowledged that a significant number of his literary influences were American and British crime/detective fiction authors.

Topping the list were Sara Paretsky, Agatha Christie, Val McDermid, Dorothy Sayers, Elizabeth George and Enid Blyton. One of the strongest influences originates from his own country: Pippi Longstocking, by Sweden’s much-loved children’s author Astrid Lindgren. Larsson explained that one of his main recurring characters in the Millennium series, Lisbeth Salander, is actually fashioned on a grown-up Pippi Longstocking as he chose to sketch her.

You can watch an interview online about Stieg Larson and the publishing phenomenon he became on the Charlie Rose U.S. website.

Are you strong?

Can you help in our Community Library?We are moving some furniture and books around in the library!

If we could get some helpful volunteers to support us in this process that would be great. Our aim is to improve accessibility to our books and library services, as well as give you some more space to sit, read and think whilst you’re in our space.

If you can help (…you don’t need to be Charles Atlas really…) thank you so much.

Please make contact with Sam in the libary to arrange how we can work together as a team on the world of books.

A Fiction Festival nearby

kingsLynnPicKings Lynn is holding it’s annual Fiction Festival from 11th to 13th March 2011.

Writers you can see at this years festival include…

DJ Taylor, Rachel Hore, Sophie Hannah, Scarlett Thomas, Robert Edric, Paul Bailey, Lindsay Clarke, Christopher Bigsby, Robert Radcliffe and Roger Garfitt.

You can find short biographies of the writers here on the Festival web pages.

Over the festival weekend you can browse the bookstalls and talk to the authors about their work, as well as get your books signed too.

You can find details of tickets and booking for the festival here.

Listen to poetry too!

poetryArchiveLogoHave you discovered The Poetry Archive yet?

This is a fantastic resource for lovers of poetry, or those who wish to explore and take their imagination to new landscapes.

On the site you can hear the voices of poets reading their own works, as well as access recordings via the guided tours that poets and celebrities have created from the archive.

What is Andrew Motion listening to in the files, what is Stephen Fry or Monica Ali? You can find out by visiting The Poetry Archive.

The site has some great resources for students, librarians and teachers. We particularly liked the New to Poetry pages – if you are just discovering poetry or are just becoming confident as a reader this is the section for you.

The Poetry Archive also has a section dedicated to children’s poetry. It can be really surprising to hear some of your favourites in the voice of the poet, changing the way you think about the work by hearing it spoken as the poet imagined it.

This is a great resource – visit The Poetry Archive here and be surprised…


Sam’s Selection – featured author this month

The writer and photographer Ifeoma OnyefuluIfeoma Onyefulu is a children’s author, photographer and writer from Nigeria.

Currently living in London, Ifeoma travels widely, particularly in Africa, to get ideas and stimulation for the writing of her books.

Using her photographic skills, Ifeoma creates wonderfully illustrated stories for children, which echo the landscapes and cultures that she has travelled through.

Ifeoma travels with her children and her camera.  Her photo-stories shine a light on the people she meets and offer us the reader, a great insight into other cultures, countries and people.

You can read more about Ifeoma’s work on her web page… http://www.ifeomaonyefulu.co.uk/

Ifeoma has recently completed a lengthy trip to Timbuktu and has a blog about her experiences of travel, writing and her photography. You can read her blog here...

 

World Book Day

Don’t forget that March 3rd is World Book Day 2011.

The project has a great web site, packed full of ideas, particularly for children. The web pages also contain some great reading and learning resources for children, both pre-school and primary school children.

Have you got an event planned, or does your local school? Then catch up with this years events here