We’re pleased to announce that the finalists from the City of Culture writing and art competition, led by Cannon Park Shopping Centre, are on display outside Wilko and Iceland at Cannon Park Shopping Centre. Well done to the finalists – please do pop down and take a look at your amazing writing and artwork.
We’ll see you all back in September – enjoy the rest of the holidays!
Hello everyone, it’s the last Friday Library for this school year, so I’m going to share a couple more books that tie in with the Summer Reading Challenge theme of #WildWorldHereos, and then I have a special book for Year 6.
Don’t forget, you can sign up to the challenge at https://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/ or pop into your local library. It’s totally free!
First up I have Amara And The Bats by Emma Reynolds.
Environmental activism gets a nocturnal twist in this utterly charming picture book about a young girl and her mission to save the bats! Amara loves bats! Her favourite thing to do is to collect bat facts and watch the amazing mammals fly at night by her house. But when Amara moves to a new town, she learns that her beloved bats no longer roost nearby because they are losing their habitat. Amara is upset. What can she do to help? She’s just one person, and the problem feels so much bigger than her. But after doing some research, she discovers that there are many young people making big changes all around the world. Inspired to take action, Amara gathers her new friends to help save the bats. Together, she knows they can make a difference! Emma Reynolds crafts an inspiring story about community action, perseverance, and what to do in the face of climate anxiety. At its heart, this is a story about hope and finding a place to call home.
Next up is The Most Important Animal Of All by Penny Worms, illustrated by Hannah Bailey.
A beautiful picture book where a teacher challenges her class to decide which is the most important animal of all. Seven children champion a different animal for the top spot. Is it bees as master pollinators, or bats who are night-time predators and pollinators? Is it elephants who shape their landscapes and spread seeds, or beavers who create watery habitats? Is it tigers or sharks who keep populations in balance so there is food for all? Is it tiny krill, food for so many whales and sea creatures? Packed with information about a myriad of species, and combining captivating illustrations and photographs showing them up close and in their habitats, this is a brilliant book to introduce the concepts of habitat loss, endangered species and climate change to younger readers.
Song Of The Far Isles by Nicholas Bowling is a stunningly beautiful, evocative writing bring this gripping adventure to life.
Oran lives on Little Drum, where music is everything. Every islander has a birth instrument and a life song – and the ancestors, called ghasts, linger to hear the music. But when the Duchess arrives from the mainland bringing orders of silence, she threatens the ghasts’ existence, the very soul of the community. When Oran hears of a mythical instrument with the power to manipulate hearts, she brings her ghast best friend, Alick, on a quest to find it, play it, and change the Duchess’s mind…
And finally, for Year 6, You Are A Champions by Marcus Rashford.
A brilliant book to help ease any worries you may have about moving on to secondary school, and build the skills you need to be the best you can be. It shows you how to:
As Marcus says, you are already a champion – you just might not know it yet.
As scientists this afternoon, the children in Year 3 continued their learning of light and investigated different materials and objects to see which were transparent, translucent and opaque. Using torches, they were able to group items according to the amount of light that was transferred through them.
The children also made their own translucent stained glass windows which look beautiful hanging up in the classroom! Super work Year 3.
Our ‘Bubble’ Sports Days were a great success this year! Thanks must go to Mr Sawbridge, Mr Cotton and Mrs Amphlett for organising the events, which the children really enjoyed.
Get ready for Wild World Heroes, arriving online and in your local library this summer.
Pack your bags, we’re headed for Wilderville! It’s a pretty cool place, but there are lots of things that the Wild World Heroes can do to make their town even better for the people and animals that live there.
Join the Wild World Heroes for the Summer Reading Challenge and discover how you can make a difference to the environment too at https://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/ or sign up at your local library. It’s totally free!
Are you excited to join the #WildWorldHeroes this summer?
Here a just a few of my favourite books featuring #WildWorldHeroes.
Unplugged by Steve Anthony
A delightful picture book about the wonders of all the fun you can have inside AND outside, by the award-winning Steve Antony, author of the bestselling Please Mr Panda.
BLIP spends all day plugged into her computer, playing games and having fun. But when there is a POWER CUT, Blip goes down the stairs and out the front door, where she discovers playing games and having fun . . . OUTSIDE. Isn’t it wonderful to be UNPLUGGED?
Agents Of The Wild by Jennifer Bell and Alice Lickens
When 8-year-old Agnes is signed up for SPEARS (the Society for the Protection of Endangered and Awesomely Rare Species), she has no idea of the adventures that lie ahead with her elephant-shrew mentor Attie (short for “Attenborough”). Operation Honeyhunt sends them to the Brazilian rainforest, on a mission to save an endangered, dance-loving bee named Elton. Will Agnes pass the test and become a full SPEARS agent? Species in danger? Girl and shrew to the rescue!
Twitch by MG Leonard
Twitch has three pet chickens, four pigeons, swallows nesting in his bedroom and a passion for birdwatching. On the first day of the summer holidays, he arrives at his secret hide to find police everywhere: a convicted robber has broken out of prison and is hiding in Aves Wood. Can Twitch use his talents for birdwatching to hunt for the dangerous prisoner and find the missing loot?
And for non-fiction lovers, Wild Child by Dara McNulty
Join brilliant young naturalist Dara McAnulty – winner of the 2020 Wainwright Prize for his book Diary of a Young Naturalist – on a nature walk and experience the joy of connecting with the natural world on your multi sensory journey. This beautiful book, illustrated in full colour by Barry Falls, is divided into five sections: looking out of the window, venturing out into the garden, walking in the woods, investigating heathland and wandering on the river bank. Dara pauses to tell you about each habitat and provides fantastic facts about the native birds, animals and plants you will find there – including wrens, blackbirds, butterflies, tadpoles, bluebells, bees, hen harriers, otters, dandelions, oak trees and many more.
Each section contains a discovery section where you will have a closer look at natural phenomenon such as metamorphoses and migration, learn about categorization in the animal kingdom or become an expert on the collective nouns for birds. Each section finishes with an activity to do when you get home: plant wild flowers, make a bird feeder, try pond dipping, make a journey stick and build a terrarium.
Dara ends the book with advice for young conservationists, which he is fully qualified to do being the youngest ever recipient of the RSPB medal for conservation.
This afternoon, Year 3 and 4 got to meet Matt Goodfellow who poets all over the UK and beyond. Matt is proud to be a National Poetry Day Ambassador for the Forward Arts Foundation and has worked with all sorts of different people including The Premier League, The National Literacy Trust and many more…
“Matt Goodfellow was excellent – very funny. He read us lots of his poems from his books – Bright Bursts of Colour and Being Me. They were very funny and made us laugh. He also gave us ideas for our own poem – ‘Blessings’. Finally, he answered our questions.”
The Euros are well underway, and I’m sure you are as excited as I am that England have made it to the group of 16! Here’s hoping that “Football’s coming home!” doesn’t just mean we are playing our games at Wembley…
This week’s books all celebrate the beautiful game. There are some fabulous non fiction books from Simon Mugford and Dan Green – the Football Superstars Series, featuring many well loved players including Aguero, Pogba, Rashford and Sterling, and coming out this summer is the Football Quizzes Rule which will really test your knowledge about your favourite clubs and players.
Fantastic Footballers: 40 Inspiring Icons by Jean-Michel Billioud and Almasty celebrates great footballers throughout history from Stanley Matthews to David Beckham and Pele to Neymar. Featuring stats, honours and and the greatest goals of all time, you can learn how these players became the best in the world.
There are some great stories out there about football too. Whether it’s Frank Lampard’s Frankie’s Magic Football series, or Tom Palmer’s Football Academy or Foul Play series there really is something for everyone.
Some of my favourite fiction books are Cyborg Cat: Rise Of The Parson’s Road Gang by Ade Adepitan. Previously shortlisted for the Coventry Inspiration Book Awards, this charts Ade’s arrival in the UK and shines a light on the discipline and perseverance he showed to overcome his fears. It’s a story about standing out, settling in and stepping up from an inspirational Paralympian.
The Mighty Dynamo by Kieran Crowley celebrates football’s ability to bring children together to work as a team. This hilarious book charts Noah’s determination to play in the School’s World Cup, despite being banned from playing for his school team (for something he definitely didn’t do). Great illustrations are dotted through the book, and the player profiles between chapters are a great addition. Packed with humour, emotion, friendship, football and a great ending!
Kick by Mitch Johnson looks at football from a completely different angle. Budi’s plan is simple. He’s going to be a star. Budi’s going to play for the greatest team on earth, instead of sweating over each stitch he sews, each football boot he makes. But one unlucky kick brings Budi’s world crashing down. Now he owes the Dragon, the most dangerous man in Jakarta. Soon it isn’t only Budi’s dreams at stake, but his life. A fast-paced, adrenaline fuelled, action packed story with a conscience. From the very first page until the last, we are immersed into the slums of Jakarta, where dreaming big, hope and heroes, and never letting anything stand in your way keep the difficulties of day to day life at bay where dreaming big, hope and heroes, and never letting anything stand in your way.
And, Eve Ainsworth has brought the first female league to life in her series about the Dick, Kerr Girls. The Perfect Shot is the second book in the series. As the girls embark on their first domestic and international tour against the French Ladies team, Freddie finds he is on a journey of his own, facing up to his mistakes and taking a step to correct them. Can he learn from the vital lesson that the Dick, Kerr Girls have to offer? That team work, communication and friendship can overcome just about anything.
The series also has the companion Dick, Kerr Ladies: Football’s Forgotten Legends by Gail Newsham. Lace up your boots and get ready for kick-off – it’s time discover the true story of the Dick, Kerr Ladies football team, courageous pioneers of women’s football in the UK. From the founding of the team in World War One to the eventual ban of the women’s game by the FA, join the team in their journey to the top of the league. Written by a world authority on the Dick, Kerr Ladies, and featuring original artefacts, and history of the game, this Companion Guide is a must for any football fan. Gail is a former footballer and lives in Preston. She’s 100% dedicated to bringing this remarkable story to younger readers. The Dick, Kerr Ladies: the greatest sporting heroes you’ve never heard of.
