UKLA Book Awards 2014

The UKLA (UK Literacy Association) is unrelated to libraries officially but totally related to my key interest: promoting literacy and reading in schools.  They have an annual book award, with age categories, with a longlist chosen by a panel of teachers from a selection sent to them by UK publishers.  I thought it would be interesting to see how much of an overlap there is between their longlist for 12-16+yrs and the Carnegie longlist this year.  Although the winners are all announced in the summer the UKLA longlists come out a lot earlier than the CKG:

Kite Spirit by Sita Brahmachari - I hadn't heard of this until very recently so I need to seek it out
The Bunker Diary by Kevin Brooks - love love love this book, but it is the most depressing thing I've read for a long time
Anthem for Jackson Dawes by Celia Bryce - my girls at school keep telling me to read this but I haven't got round to it yet
Waiting For Gonzo by Dave Cousins - better than '15 Days Without a Head', a brilliant story
After Tomorrow by Gillian Cross - the most realistic picture of the future out of all the 'dystopia' I have read, without exception
Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner - just gorgeous, but obviously it has already won the Carnegie as it was actually published in August 2012...not sure how it ended up on this list!
The Disappeared by C.J. Harper - I know nothing of this book, will have to look it up
The Seeing by Diana Hendry - I read it a while ago and can't remember much so maybe it wasn't all that great
Monkey Wars by Richard Kurti - I have a copy of this and keep meaning to read it!
Hostage 3 by Nick Lake - again, I have a copy...
The Positively Last Performance by Geraldine McCaughrean - I don't like McCaughrean's books very much so I try to avoid reading them, unless they end up on the Carnegie longlist, which this inevitably will <sigh> but I'll try to keep an open mind!
Ferryman by Claire McFall - looked at the blurb, sounds intriguing, need to get hold of it
Siege by Sarah Mussi - also already on my tbr pile
Into That Forest by Louis Nowra - I did enjoy it but it felt more like a book for adults, a memoir of childhood
Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher - really very good
Song Hunter by Sally Prue - I've missed this one as well
The Wall by William Sutcliffe - another on the tbr pile, but pretty close to the top!
A World Between Us by Lydia Syson - I did enjoy it, some history and great story, but I don't think it is award winning
Now is the Time for Running by Michael Williams - another new one to me
Silver by Chris Wooding - loved this book, very well crafted

So, I won't challenge myself to finish them all like I do with the Carnegie, too much on my tbr pile already, but we'll wait and see how many match up in a couple of months!

Book Monopoly

I tweeted a photo of my Book Monopoly Board last week and a number of people wanted to know how it works - too much for a tweet!  So here we go:

Towards the end of last term, someone on SLN (School Librarians Network - a yahoo mailing list) mentioned a book monopoly game that they play with their pupils and I thought it sounded like a brilliant idea to try here to get pupils to try different genres.

If you google 'monopoly template' there are lots available, and it is just a case of changing the names of the streets!  I used a 'poster' template on Publisher and so printed it really big for a display in the library and brought a die in to school.  Each label has a picture of one of the traditional Monopoly pieces, but obviously I have more than 6 players!

The rules are very simple: 

Pick a book from the genre of the street you have landed on.

Before your next roll you must pass an AR* quiz on the book,

write a review or draw an illustration

Chance

Mrs Fielding chooses a book for you

Community Chest

Choose a book that another pupil recommends

Free Parking

You choose any book!

Sweet shop

instant sweet and another roll

10 points**

instant 10 points and another roll

25 points for passing ‘Go’!**

On my board I don't have 'jail', I have extra 'free parking'.  

*AR = Accelerated Reader.
** we have a House Point system so all the points go towards rewards.

Some of you will know that my school is being closed down, we only have 125 pupils left, mainly in year 11 (the rest is a small year 9) so I have opened it up to all pupils and was really surprised at how many year 11s wanted to get on there.  I now have about 60 pupils signed up so it is rather crowded along the bottom!

Anyway, that's it, simples!

CILIP Rebranding, my Two Penn'orth

Please note: this is entirely my personal opinion

I've been following the disharmony over the CILIP rebrand since all members were invited to complete a questionnaire which included ranking 6 possible names for the professional body as part of the rebranding.  I didn't like any of the names and, while I don't dispute the need for a rebrand, I question the necessity of changing the name as part of it.

The reason for changing the name seems to be simply that no one knows who CILIP is and it is difficult/boring to explain...that bothers me a lot.  There are so many societies/charities/bodies with initials that need to be explained at first.  I'm sure when the NSPCC first started asking for donations they had to constantly expand "we're the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children" - not a catchy name but encompasses exactly what they do and now everyone recognises it.  The IEEE is probably unknown to most of you but it is the professional body for my husband's line of work - 'The Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers' - but they're not considering changing it just because the layman doesn't recognise it immediately.  So it is a question of whether it is more important to be known by the wider public or to be the respected professional body that, if you look into choosing that certain career, you will discover and value.  I think in CILIP's case it is hard to separate the two ideas because of the vast range of industries or sectors that an 'information professional' might find themselves in, or that someone might drift into without realising that they're doing something that could be under the umbrella of CILIP.

The name does seem to be becoming more widely known, someone commented that the CILIP Carnegie Greenaway Awards were mentioned in the news without an explanation of what CILIP is on the assumption that people know (or don't care I suppose), so capitalise on that instead of starting from scratch.  If people who work for CILIP are constantly having to explain what it is, to rolled eyeballs and boredom, that won't change with a snazzy new name. It will still require explanation, and the second you use the word 'library' or 'librarian' or 'Information Professional' they will look just as glazed as ever. What might change it is a better strapline, smarter logo, wider outreach and publicity and a firm idea of exactly what CILIP's purpose is. It isn't a union for library staff, although it should support it's members interests, but a source of professional development, support, and understanding as well as the mouth piece for the profession.

One thing I saw on twitter, that prompted me to write something, was the statement, quoted by someone listening to speakers at the emergency general meeting, "'Librarian' is known and understood: 'information professional' could be an IT worker".  This made me laugh, because people might assume they know what a Librarian does but I think our working lives are generally pretty different to the stereotype of a librarian 'shh'ing patrons and sitting at a desk reading a book!  But that is why I think CILIP is a good name for the body, Library and Information Professionals, because we don't all work in a physical library and we're not all called Librarians.  If it is doing it's job right then less people will slowly side-step away from us at parties and might actually be interested in what we do.

So that is why I think rebranding is important - and to be fair this is probably the cheapest rebrand since the concept of 'rebranding' began - but please don't change the name.  I for one am quite happy explaining what CILIP is but would be very embarrassed to be known as one of 'The Knowledge People'.

Improving Reading, Toe by Toe

I have completely neglected the blog since March, didn't even post my excitement about the announcement that Maggot Moon, one of my favourites of last year, won the Carnegie!  But OfSTED have been and gone (we're a 'good' school and they were particularly impressed with our improvements in literacy, hooray!), the KS3 and 4 exams have ended, it is nearly time for me to give reading prizes to the pupils and so I find myself with a bit of extra time.  Just a quick post today to draw your attention to the article I wrote for Information Europe Today a few weeks ago about the reading sessions I've had with some Year 10 boys this year and the fantastic books we've used (in particular a shout out to Barrington Stoke)

Improving reading, Toe by Toe

Unfortunately the photo is not of my library and I do not have a big cuddly bear, although it does make me tempted to bring one in!

CILIP Carnegie and Greenaway Shortlists announced!

Some surprises for me!

CILIP Carnegie Medal 2013 - Nominees

Sarah Crossan, The Weight of Water Roddy Doyle, A Greyhound of a Girl Sally Gardner, Maggot Moon Nick Lake, In Darkness R.J. Palacio, Wonder Marcus Sedgwick, Midwinterblood Dave Shelton, A Boy and a Bear in a Boat Elizabeth Wein, Code Name Verity

I nominatd Boy and a Bear in a Boat so it is a nice surprise to see it up there, I thought it might be a little bit too simple.  For the same reason I'm surprised to see A Greyhound of a Girl: although I really enjoyed it it didn't seem quite enough.

The Weight of Water and Midwinterblood were both good reads but I there were other things on the list that I thought far more worthy.

The book I thought might win isn't even on the list!  I'm now torn between Maggot Moon and Code Name Verity.

But my short list was half right!  Which is your favourite?

My Personal #CKG2013 Short List!

Ah, the announcement you've all been waiting for, which of the nearly 70 books do I think are Carnegie worthy?  It was a difficult choice, there wasn't anything that I actually disliked, although only maybe 20 of them that I thought were great.  Have a look at my previous posts for brief reviews.

Without further ado, my shortlist of 8 (never know whether it will be 6 or 8 on the real one...) is:

VIII by H.M. Castor

 

Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner

 

After by Morris Gleitzman

 

A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge

 

In Darkness by Nick Lake

 

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

 

Mister Creecher by Chris Priestley

 

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

 

Special mention for: Kill All Enemies by Melvin Burgess and Dying To Know You by Aidan Chambers

 

I can't wait to find out if I match the judges choices although I have a feeling I might be completely out of line with them!  I try to look at the criteria but mainly go with gut instinct as to how 'good' a book is.  I'm not 100% certain of what will win.  Last year I knew it would be A Monster Calls because it was a league above everything else, this year nothing's jumping out at me (not to say they're not as good of course) but I have a feeling it may be...

 

 Keep your eyes peeled for the official shortlist announcement on Tuesday!

Carnegie Longlist - final update!

At last, I've finished!  See this post for my previous update.

The official shortlist is announced on Tuesday so I shall be sharing my personal shortlist at some point this weekend...but here are my feelings about the Carnegie books I've read since the end of January.  This year there hasn't been a single story that didn't have something going for it, although I think I might have been less critical this year than last year!  orange means it was alright, red means I love it:

Soldier Dog by Sam Angus - a great tale, I really felt for Stanley, but it reminded me too much of War Horse

The Traitors by Tom Becker - a rough diamond of an idea but not very well polished...
The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket by John Boyne - cute but irritating - if he'd just held on sometimes instead of relying on people grabbing him then it would make his life much easier!
Scramasax by Kevin Crossley-Holland - I really struggle to enjoy his stories, even though some very excitng things happen his style dulls it down for me.

Call Down Thunder by Daniel Finn - brilliant scene setting, I can see it as a film, but didn't grab me as much as Two Good Thieves
To Be A Cat by Matt Haig - a lovely Dahl-esque tale, with evil characters getting comeuppance, best friends and comedy moments!
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman - well written fantasy, great idea but mostly predictable
The Girl in the Mask by Marie-Louise Jensen - exciting story but too contrived, the plot relied a lot on coincidence or luck.
Skulduggery Pleasant: Death Bringer by Derek Landy - I love the Skulduggery books, the humour is perfect, but I don't think it could end up on the short list.
At Yellow Lake by Jane McLoughlin - the three voices worked well but occasionally I forgot who was 'speaking' as they weren't quite different enough.
The Apothecary by Maile Meloy - exciting adventure but a little too far fetched in places
The Treasure House by Linda Newbery - I couldn't believe the premise of the disappeared Mum (the resolution was very unsatisfying) but it was nicely told.
Gods and Warriors by Michelle Paver - I thought this was great, I was worried that it would just be Wolf Brother but with a dolphin but the story was engaging and there were some moments of real suspense.
Burn Mark by Laura Powell - great idea but nothing unexpected happened and the resolution came too easily
The Flask by Nicky Singer - didn't think I'd enjoy it at all but I was actually gripped by the story, really well told!A Waste of Good Paper by Sean Taylor - pretty good but I was disappointed by the 'happy ending' because up to a point it was a quite realistic story.  Life isn't like that!

This is likely to replace something I'd thought of for my shortlist:

After by Morris Gleitzman

So beautifully written. I thought it might be less emotional than Once and Then (I didn't really like Now much), because it was about fighting back in the Resistance, but it was heart wrenching.

 

 

Keep your eyes peeled for my shortlist.  What's on your's?