Category: Library

It’s A No Money Day by Kate Milner

As today is Children In Need, I’m sharing this thought-provoking picture book suitable for everyone in school.

Mum works really hard, but today there is no money left and no food in the cupboards. Forced to visit the local foodbank, Mum feels ashamed that they have to rely on the kindness of others. Maybe one day things will be different but for now together they brighten up even the darkest of days.

It’s A No Money Day is a gentle exploration of the poverty in our country. and how it can affect anybody – a brilliant conversation starter!

Tom Gates Doodle Competition

Your doodled cover could be printed in the next Tom Gates book!

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Tom Gates we are asking fans to draw their own Tom Gates cover! 

All winners will win a signed book, signed print, limited edition badge AND a bag of goodies. The overall winner will also receive a Skype visit from Liz Pichon to their school!

Author & illustrator Liz Pichon will pick her favourites to appear in the endpapers of Tom Gates: Ten Tremendous Tales.

Doodled entries need to:

·       Have the words TOM GATES on them

·       Include characters from the books (Tom, Delia, Marcus, etc).

·       Be black & white!

·       Be postcard size! (Portrait or landscape is fine)

·      The deadline to get entries to Miss Cleveland is 16th November.

The Winter Mini Reading Challenge

This year, the Reading Agency are partnering with Knights Of children’s publishers for the
Challenge – the award-winning inclusive publisher focuses on ensuring the most diverse team
possible, from across backgrounds and communities, work on every book.

The theme for this year’s Challenge is Everyone Is A Hero. We want to champion a diversity of
perspectives across children’s books and encourage everyone to nominate their own personal
reading heroes – whether it’s a librarian, a teacher, a family member, a carer or a friend! You
can read more about nominating your Reading Hero below.

The Winter Mini Challenge encourages children to keep reading through the winter holidays by
rewarding them for reading and reviewing books.

 

To take part in the Winter Mini Challenge online,
children simply read any books (including eBooks and
audiobooks) of their choice (we recommend reading at least three), then rate and review them at
www.wintermini.org.uk

Books added to the website during the six-week Mini
Challenge period will count towards unlocking special
rewards including a certificate and a virtual badge. The website will also feature activities, recommendations for great winter reads, and competitions. And, just like the Summer Reading Challenge, the website will also feature the Book Sorter – a unique database which has over 1.3 million peer-to-peer recommendations.

 

Get Involved – Nominate Your Reading Hero

As part of the Winter Mini Challenge, we want to invite people across the country to nominate
their Reading Heroes on social media. You can post a picture, share a story about them, or even
record a video about them! Just make sure to get their permission first!

When you post, please remember to tag us in the post and use the hashtags #WMC2020 and
#ReadingHero so we can find the posts. At the end of the Challenge, we will compile a list of all
the entries and enter them into a prize draw – and the winning hero will receive the Winter
Mini Challenge booklist bundle!

Your reading hero can be an individual or a group – whether that’s a teacher, a library, a
reading group, a friend, a carer or a family member. It’s up to you! We just want to hear about
how people have supported each other with reading this year – whether that’s by helping you
to improve your literacy, encouraging you to enjoy reading or recommending you some great
books!

The Mini Challenge begins on Tuesday 1 December 2020!

Children can rate and review their books, collect rewards, and take part in Winter Mini Challenge activities through our website www.wintermini.org.uk

The Mini Challenge will end online on Friday 15 January 2021. Make sure you get yourselves signed up!

Armistice Runner by Tom Palmer

This week’s book recommendation links to Remembrance Sunday, and is suitable for children in Year 4 up…

Lily is a fell runner and is training for the first big race of the season in the Lake District village where her grandparents live. She discovers from her grandmother (who has Alzheimer’s disease) that her great-great grandfather was a trench runner during the last few days of  World War I. Given a box of his things, Lily becomes enthralled with his trench running logs which contain far more information than times and distances – it’s a diary of his time in France.

Full of family, endurance, determination and heart, this is a well researched reminder of the lives of the men in the trenches that we remember this Sunday, and how we can honour their memory through our actions today. Kindness and empathy echo throughout the story that you are sure to be as determined to finish as Lily was to read Ernest’s diary entries.

 

Rain Before Rainbows by Smriti Halls and David Litchfield

Walker Books has released Rain Before Rainbows by Smriti Halls and illustrated by David Litchfield as a free eBook to raise awareness for Save the Children’s Save with Stories campaign which is helping children most affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

The rainbow has become an incredible symbol of hope and optimism during this time and we hope that this uplifting story can be a source of comfort and light to children and families, and that it inspires anyone who is able to do so, to donate to the Save with Stories campaign.

You can download this beautiful free book from here.

Reading Resources

There are a wide range of resources to help you to continue accessing books during lockdown. While many independent bookshops have closed, Amazon and Waterstones are still open online, although delivery may take longer than usual.

Scholastic Learning Zone Library

All children in Key Stage 2 (Year 3-6) have access to the Scholastic Learning Zone Library, with lots of ebooks available both fiction and non-fiction for them to read.

Amazon and Audible

For as long as schools are closed, Amazon have made some their Audible resources for children free. Children everywhere can instantly stream an incredible collection of stories, including titles across six different languages, that will help them continue dreaming, learning, and just being children. All stories are free to stream on your desktop, laptop, phone or tablet – just follow this link to start listening.

Amazon have also made a number of Kindle Books available for free download. Click here for more information.

Oxford Owl

Oxford Owl have a wide range of free ebooks on their website suitable for the whole primary age range, as well as a section on Phonics and Maths Games. Take a look here.

British Library

The British Library has a host of activities inspired by well know children’s stories, poems and illustrations. Find out more here.

Coventry City Libraries

If you are a member of Coventry City Libraries, you can access all of their e-books, e-comics and audio books for free using the service provided by Borrow Box. Don’t worry if you haven’t joined up already – you can sign up online for temporary access. You can find more information here.

The Schools Library Service are also running a Virtual Book Club with challenges and ideas to inspire you.

National Literacy Trust

The Book of Hopes: Words and Pictures to Comfort, Inspire and Entertain Children in Lockdown has been released today, which can be read exclusively online at the National Literacy Trust. It’s a collaboration of short stories, poems and illustrations with contributions from over 100 authors and illustrators – it’s well worth a look!

Publishers

Some publishers have put together activities based on their books, and are releasing audio stories daily. Click on the links below to see what they have on offer for you.

Barrington Stoke

Chicken House

Nosy Crow

Puffin

Usborne

Toppsta

Toppsta is a book review website where you can win a book in exchange for a review, many of which before their publication date. Find out how here.

CBeebies Bedtime Stories

Many of the bedtime stories from CBeebies can be accessed on their YouTube Channel, here.

And don’t forget to:

  • Check our school Twitter feed every day for a list of lots of bookish activities, whether it’s a chat with an author, a draw a long session, or storytime.
  • Listen to your class story every week day at 3pm in your Google Classroom.

If you are stuck for ideas about what to read next, you can always ask in your Google Classroom. I’m sure we can come up with some great ideas together!

Happy reading,

Miss Cleveland