The Library Online Newsletter August 2023 #25

 The OPHS Library Online Newsletter

August 2023 #25

Welcome to our  

Online Library Newsletter

Every month, in our Online Library Newsletter, we have reviews on wonderful books that we have in our Library, snippets of new books on the horizon and interesting information about lovely Authors and books-to-movies information. There will be links to access upcoming books that are in The Library and lots of book information that you will enjoy.  We will have competitions, winner announcements, links to short stories and poems and other interesting literacy information all in one Newsletter!  

If you would like to add a contribution to our next Newsletter (September issue), such as, what did you read over the summer?  What were your favourite and/or worst books that you have ever read?  Would you like to send in a book review and/or a literacy picture? Can you think of anything else that would look great in our newsletter?  Then please email 

ltaylor@oakspark.redbridge.sch.uk

If your contribution is displayed in the Library Newsletter you will get a ‘thank you’ certificate from The Library.  

Show us what you have read over the Summer

Take a photo of yourself reading your favourite book over the summer and it will go in the next Library Newsletter!

Mrs Taylor, reading ‘Goodnight, Boy’ by Nikki Sheehan

Spongebob Square pants, reading ‘You don’t need a Licence to Drive a Sandwich’ by JJ Jones

Miss Fox, reading ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’ by Arthur Golden

New books that have arrived in The Library during the Summer Holidays…..

Book Reviews from Summer 2023

The Infinite by Patience Agbabi

The heroine of Patience Agbabi’s novel, is special in several ways. Twelve-year-old Elle lives in a British town with her Nigerian grandmother.  Elle is autistic, and can find ordinary life a bit tricky. She is a “Leapling” too, born on 29 February, and – last but definitely not least – she is one of the few such children who have “The Gift”, an ability to leap through time.

Elle is a pupil at Intercalary International, a school for kids with a variety of special needs, but things aren’t going well for her. Learning to control The Gift is hard, and she is being bullied. She’s looking forward to a school trip, though, a “Leap” to the HQ of the Time Squad in the year 2048. They are the guardians of chronology, an elite group of time travellers who stop criminals from changing the past and rupturing the space-time continuum. There’s a strong environmental theme here – the future is pretty much carbon neutral and meat free, and the Time Squad is tough on all eco-crimes.

The story’s inciting incident is a mysterious text from the future, evidence that something dodgy is going on. Before long, Elle discovers that other Leaplings have gone missing, and that a major temporal conspiracy is under way. As with any conspiracy, there are two big questions – who can she trust, and how can she defeat the bad guys? And, of course, it turns out that there’s a link between the two.  Available in The Library

How I Saved The World in a Week by Polly Ho-Yen

Rule number one: Always be prepared . . .

Billy's mum isn't like other mums. All she wants is to teach him the Rules of Survival - how to make fire, build shelter and find food. She likes to test Billy on the rules until one day she goes too far, and Billy is sent to live with a dad he barely knows.

Then the world changes forever as people begin to be infected with a mysterious virus that turns their skin grey. As chaos breaks out, Billy has to flee the city. Suddenly he realises that this is what his mum was preparing him for - not just to save his family, but to save the whole world.  Available in The Library

The Race by Roy Peachey

This is what it feels like when I'm running. When I'm running fast, I feel free.

12-year-old Lili is determined to defeat her arch rival in front of the Queen during her school's anniversary celebrations.

Adopted from China as a baby, Lili also has personal challenges to overcome, but when her training is thrown into chaos by events outside her control, she realises that she must choose between family and the race of her life.

Meanwhile in 1944, Eric Liddell, hero of the 1924 Olympics, finds himself in a war zone. Separated from his family, he is getting ready to run his final race in a prison camp in China when his lifelong principles are challenged by the imprisoned children he is trying to help...  Available in The Library

Links to Fabulous Author’s Websites:

Neil Gaimon       https://www.neilgaiman.com

Philip Pullman     https://www.philip-pullman.com

J K Rowling    https://www.jkrowling.com 

Books to Movies

Chaos Walking – The Knife of Letting Go by Patrick Ness  In the first book of the Chaos Walking series, we meet Todd Hewitt, the sole boy living in a town of men. In a society where everyone can hear each other’s thoughts, Todd can tell that the men of the town are holding something back. Then one day, he discovers something inexplicable in the woods: a girl. Starring Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley. 

Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie  While on vacation on the Nile, Hercule Poirot must investigate the murder of a young heiress.  This is the second adaptation of this book, the first film was in the 1970’s.

Dune by Frank Herbert  Meet Paul Atreides, the heir apparent to the House of Atreides. At the beginning of the novel, his family takes control of the desert planet Arrakis, the source of the most sought after commodity in the galaxy. But power like that breeds many enemies who will stop at nothing to take over Arrakis. 

Tiny Pretty things by Sona Charaipotra  A melodramatic teen series with a diverse cast of characters features three ballerinas at an elite Manhattan school willing to do whatever it takes to be the best. 

Panic by Lauren Oliver  Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a poor town of twelve thousand people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do.  Heather never thought she would compete. She’d never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out.  Dodge has never been afraid of panic.  But what he doesn’t know is that he’s not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for.  For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most.  

Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi   There are two adaptations of Carlo Collodi's novel on the way!  If Pinocchio makes you think of Disney, you might be interested in the live-action film from them, starring Tom Hanks as Gepetto.  If you want to go back to the novel for a darker twist on the Pinocchio tale, keep an eye out for the adaptation, directed by Guillermo Del Toro. 

Peter Pan and Wendy by J M Barrie   Wendy Darling meets Peter Pan when he flies in her family's window to retrieve his lost shadow. She convinces Peter to take her home with him to be his “mother.” Wendy and her two brothers travel to Neverland where they meet the Lost Boys and have adventures involving Indians, mermaids and pirates.  A wonderful adaptation that we will all love, young and old! 

Author of the Month:

Cressida Cowell

Cressida Cowell is the author and illustrator of the bestselling The Wizards of Once and How to Train Your Dragon books series, and the author of the Emily Brown picture books, illustrated by Neal Layton.

The Wizards of Once series has been translated into 37 languages and has been signed by DreamWorks Animation. How to Train Your Dragon has sold over 11 million books worldwide in 38 languages and is a major DreamWorks Animation film franchise, as well as being made into a TV series on Netflix and CBBC.

Cressida is an ambassador for the National Literacy Trust and the Reading Agency, a Trustee of World Book Day and a founder patron of the Children’s Media Foundation. She has won numerous prizes, including The Blue Peter Book Award.

CRESSIDA ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS

Who was your favourite author/illustrator as a child?

I particularly enjoyed the books of Diana Wynne Jones as a child. The Ogre Downstairs, in which five children find two magical chemistry sets, was my favourite.

 

What is your earliest childhood memory?

My earliest childhood memory is of a game I played with my father in which he launched me to the ‘moon’ – my fingerprints were on the ceiling for years afterwards.

 

If you could meet anyone in the world, who would it be and why?

I would love to have met Shakespeare. I am a bit addicted to reading books about him and I would love to find out if any of them are at all accurate, but unfortunately whatever else may or may not be true about him he is most definitely DEAD.

How long does it take to write a book?

About a year including illustrations!

 

Who are your favourite authors?

Ooo dear, I’m terrible at favourites; there are just too many wonderful writers to choose from. I love David Almond, Lauren Child, Louis Sachar, Eva Ibbotsen, Michelle Paver, and so many, many more.

 

What advice would you give kids who would like to become writers?

My top writing tip would be to read lots, to give you a feel for the way different stories can be told. Also practice writing as much as you can – write, and re-write – don’t worry if you don’t finish a story, as long as you are practising, that’s what matters. Have a notebook for all of your ideas, and don’t worry about your spelling, or your handwriting.

 

How does it feel seeing your creations come to life on the big screen?

How to Train Your Dragon 3 is an absolutely magnificent ending to the film trilogy, and I am so very proud of all three movies. Everything in the films is true to the spirit of the books, all the messages about how we need to look after the environment, and the wild creatures and places in this beautiful world we live in. And the kind of leaders that we need, kind, clever, imaginative leaders like Hiccup, who have creative ideas.

 

What would your school reports have said about you?

They said that I day-dreamed a lot and that I was very disorganised. I was called ‘Messy Cressy’…

What inspired How to Train Your Dragon?

The ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ books were inspired by the summers I spent as a child on a tiny, uninhabited island off the west coast of Scotland. The island had no roads, houses or electricity, and I used to imagine that there were dragons living in the caves in the cliffs. There was no telephone or television, so I spent a lot of time drawing and writing stories. In ancient times, Vikings lived on that little island, and Vikings believed in dragons.

 

What was the inspiration for The Wizards of Once?

As a kid, I wanted to be magic. Children are surrounded by adults who are VERY BOSSY. They might not always mean to be bossy, and they have the best of intentions, but still, they are definitely bossy. I think one of the reasons kids want to be magic is to get back some of the control…

My Wizards of Once books are also inspired by holidays spent playing in the chalk and the woods of the Sussex South Downs, where my grandparents lived. These are old, old landscapes that have been inhabited by human beings and their stories for so long, that you feel you would not be terribly surprised to meet a Roman legionary striding across the hillside… There are lots of magic stories about those hills that sparked my imagination.

I also wanted to write a story about children from different tribes, who have to see things from another point of view in order to defeat a common evil. Empathy is what we need in these present times and it’s something that children are quite good at!

 

Where do you write?

I am lucky enough to have a studio at the end of my garden. It only takes 10 seconds to walk there, but I find it very important to make a break between work and home. I’ve put up lots of pictures up on the wall – some my own drafts of illustrations, some of the amazing artwork that children have sent to me (mostly of dragons).

Library Book Reviews by Students:

Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire

by J K Rowling

My favourite book that has been adapted into a movie is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

 

My reason for this is that it is better than the movie and The Goblet of Fire is my favourite Harry Potter movie, so I knew that the book would be even better.

In my opinion, the book is  more immersive, and you can get really carried away with book.  The book is action-packed and leaves you on the edge of your seat.

Anthony Horrowitz: 

The Falcon’s Malteaser

The Diamond brothers are a series of books in which ‘Tim Diamond’ (real name Herbert Simple) and his younger brother Nick, go on various adventures as detectives. 

In this book, Tim and Nick are struggling to find a way to earn money when suddenly, a man named Johnny Naples, a dwarf, tells them to hide a suspicious package for him for 200 pounds.  The next day, Tim and Nick find Johnny dead in a hotel unexpectedly, and after all this, they unwrap this package to find out that the package was a box of maltesers. Why would someone be after a box of maltesers so bad ? 

Read this book if you love a good detective story!

Creative writing stories by our students:

Out of this World!

Did you ever wonder if giraffes could fly, if elephants could actually dance?  How about if birds could actually sing or if zebras were able to tap-dance? Well, you are just about to find out.

Way beyond the Savannah district in Africa, there is a land where no one has yet discovered. There are animals, but not just any regular animals - animals with secret features! (Do not tell anyone about this as the animals are happy the way they are; they don’t want to be discovered. Shhhh!) 

Just as I said at the beginning, there are giraffes who can fly and there are zebras who can tap dance and there are birds that can sing and there are elephants that can dance! It is what any child could possibly ever dream of. All of the wildlife was content with their life and did not want anything to destroy

it.

But what I am just about to tell you, could possibly change their lives forever.

A little girl, named Emerald Jenkins came on a holiday to Africa. She belonged to a very rich family and was able to get anything she wanted. She even had her own butler! 

But the one thing she wanted was to have a pet who was SO special. One day, Emerald and her family were in the hotel and Emerald was getting bored and decided that she would visit her friend’s house as it was nearby. 

So, Emerald and her butler arrived at her friends house and she gazed at the exalted sights before her eyes.  She saw some giraffes in the distance. Since they were so tall of course she could see them! 

Emerald ran as fast as she could; she discovered that these were no ordinary giraffes, they were giraffes with wings. Confused, she thought that it must have been some sort of rare species. However, when she discovered the zebras, lions, birds and elephants, she realised that these were animals that have super powers and were not part of the regular ecosystem. 

She discovered lions who could write in English, ostriches that could drink with normal glasses and peacocks with shoes!

Emerald had mixed emotions: she didn’t know whether to feel shocked or happy that she could finally have her dream pet.  But, thankfully, Emerald realised that these animals had to stay where they were, because if she took one home as a pet, it would be dreadfully unhappy.

Emerald returned to the hotel by noon, telling no one about what she encountered.

Reviews of  The Library by our Students:

Near the Acorn Centre, the great O.P.H.S Library is located………..  I love the library because there are three great, kind and hardworking librarians there. 

This library is situated over two floors with a total of 29 computers to use for homework and research.  Two books (or more if you want) are allowed to be taken out of the Library along with 2 quick reads. All books (and they even have other resources e.g rubix cubes and even a plastic wand) can be borrowed on a three week loan period. 

If  you want to have more time to read your book/books, you can ask the librarians and they’ll give you more time.

All the fiction books are arranged alphabetically by the author’s name and Non-fiction books are arranged in numerical order, dewey, according to their subject. 

Every morning, you can arrive at 8:00 sharp and you’ll find the library door open, welcoming you in.  The amazing librarians always put on a movie every morning so you can sit and watch until it’s time to line up. 

What do you do once you finish your books? Well, you line up in front of one of the librarians and they’ll scan your library card and then you can change your books. 

There are even Manga books you can access when you are in a certain year. I hope you can see why I love the Library.  I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

What I like about the library is that we have library lessons often. The library has a quiet and a peaceful environment to study or finish off any work.  The books that are in the library are interesting to read.  The teachers who look after the library are kind and friendly.

THE LIBRARY IS ONE OF THE BEST PLACE IN SCHOOL, AND HERE'S WHY:

FIRSTLY,THE DECORATIONS ARE ABOVE EXCELLENT AND ARE A GREAT ADDITION TO THE LIBRARY.  SECONDLY, THE LIBRARY IS VERY COSY AND HOMELY, AND AS IF THAT WAS NOT ENOUGH, THERE ARE A GREAT SELECTION OF BOOKS TO READ FROM.

DID I MENTION THE COMFORTABLE SEATING? IF NOT, THE LIBRARY INCLUDES  VERY COMFORTABLE SEATING RIGHT OPPOSITE A TV! 

ENOUGH BLABBER, NOW GO CHECK IT OUT FOR YOURSELF!

The library is important to me because I find it amusing and entertaining. I can learn new things by reading books I'm not familiar with. The books help me understand new words and what they are used for.

I come to the library every morning and afternoon. You can do your uncompleted homework, you can read, revise for upcoming tests and you can do lots more! The teachers in the library are very understanding and they make me feel comfortable. I love their energy and the way they make everybody feel like they are having a good time.

I LIKE THE LIBRARY BEACUSE IT IS VERY WELCOMING AND HAS A GOOD VARIETY OF BOOKS OF ALL GENRES.  

The library is a wonderful place to develop your imagination and skills.  It is also a peaceful and quiet place.  All in all, it is a great environment to work in. 

The library (or LRC) is a calming place where you can catch up on any homework, read silently and even watch movies! 

The staff are lovely in the library and Mrs Taylor encourages you to read everyday for 20 minutes, and we have the accelerated reader programme,  where you have to have a big book and two small books. 

After you finish your book, you do a test giving you an amount of words that you can get rewarded with! 

There are thousands of books to choose from ranging from different genres.

Our library and reading staff are like no other, with their words of encouragement to read new books and helps us to be the best.

They have certainly helped me achieve new feats I’ve never thought I’d get to, but enough of that let’s talk about the actual library, shall we? 

Well, the library here is surely a sight to see with their wide range of books that are surely enough to satisfy my thirst for knowledge as well as enjoyment! 

My heart goes out to our library as it has not served me as just a learning centre…but a home.

I like the library because when I come into the library the teachers are always smiling and helping me find a book. 

I also enjoy the library lessons because they are so fun and enjoyable.  I really liked it when we got a book and had to read the book and then make a similar story from the book.

I like the library because it has many books that I find interesting to read and I enjoy them a lot. There are a wide range of books that you can choose from. Some of my favourite books are Harry Potter, Beast Quest and there are many others as well. You have the opportunity to pick any book you would like. The staff are friendly and recommend books that you might like to read. It is quiet here and it is perfect  to do your reading and your homework as well. 

In the library, I love coming in and seeing people reading and also love watching the films. The library has so many books, it's almost like paradise. 

The library is a wonderful place where you can learn something new everyday. All you need to do is borrow a book you’re interested in and get lost in your own imagination! The library offers a large range of books from fiction to nonfiction and many genres to choose from. The library has helped nurture my knowledge and vocabulary overall.

The reason why I enjoy the library is because I like the selection of some of the books and the different types of genres of books, such as fantasy, gothic and adventure. 

What I like about the library is the variety of books that are there. There are very nice librarians and it is very easy to get a book. 

The library is not just about how many books you read, or the number of words you read or about any of the famous Authors that you have read and that you can impress your friends with, it is about enjoying the books you pick and read yourself.

The school's library is awesome… Here are my reasons why: They have a dvd player so we can watch movies on it.. They have various books for us to use… We have computers so you can do your homework… we have great library teachers… and finally the library is calm and it's huge… The books there are amazing!  You must read every day for 20 minutes.  There are books such as horror, fairy tales, peaceful, happy and calm books in our library!  To me, the library means to have intelligence and calmly  read the books here or watch the movies our librarian puts on…  Also it means to do all your homework in time as we have the computers to use for homework.  Our library has so many books.  Our library is  colourful with an upstairs as well. Keep reading!

Quotes from Great Books

1.  “There is some good in this world, and it’s worth fighting for.” — J R R Tolkien, The Two Towers

2. “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince

3. “I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will, which I now exert to leave you.” — Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre  

4. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” — Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities  

5. “Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.” — Mary Shelley, Frankenstein  

6. “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.” — Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird   

7. “A man, after he has brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have left only the hard, clean questions: Was it good or was it evil? Have I done well — or ill?” — John Steinbeck, East of Eden 

8. “The only way out of the labyrinth of suffering is to forgive.” ― John Green, Looking for Alaska

9. “This above all: To thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.” — William Shakespeare, Hamlet

10. “‘Why did you do all this for me?’ he asked. ‘I don’t deserve it. I’ve never done anything for you.’ ‘You have been my friend,’ replied Charlotte. ‘That in itself is a tremendous thing.’” — E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web

11. “I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart: I am, I am, I am.” — Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

12. “Love is or it ain’t. Thin love ain’t love at all.” — Toni Morrison, Beloved

13. “We accept the love we think we deserve.” ― Stephen Chbosky,  The Perks of Being a Wallflower

14. “And so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

15. “Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.” — Margery Williams, Velveteen Rabbit

16. “Ever’body’s askin’ that. ‘What we comin’ to?’ Seems to me we don’t never come to nothin’. Always on the way.” — John Steinbeck,  The Grapes of Wrath

17. “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.” — Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights

18. “There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” — Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God

19. “I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.” — Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

20. “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” — Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

21. “Memories warm you up from the inside. But they also tear you apart.” — Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

22. “It is nothing to die; it is dreadful not to live.” — Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

23. “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”  — George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four

24. “Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat.” — Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man

25. “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” — Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca

 

 

Accelerated Reader

All Year 7 and Year 8 Students MUST have at least ONE library book on them at all times.  You must read your AR library book for AT LEAST twenty minutes every night.  Please do not forget to write your completed book in your planner on page 20.  You must then complete your online book quiz within 24 hours of completing the book, then write your quiz result on page 19 of your planner

ePlatform

Please do not forget that you can also use our reading app ePlatform to read lots of fabulous electronic and audio books!  For instructions on how to use ePlatform, please use the link below:

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/8064653522683152574/1799106046324446297

Book Art, aka, “Artists' books” 

(Or book arts or book objects) are works of art that utilize the form of the book.  From giving old books a second life by making sculptures out of their pages, Artists have found a better second life for unwanted books.

(Source: Jodi Harvey-Brown   https://www.jodiharveyart.com/)

(Source: Jonathan Callen  http://www.jonathancallan.com/2016)

N.B.  Please do not try this with books from the Library

Yummy Treats that look like Books!

(Source:  https://www.google.com/search?q=cakes+that+look+like+books)

Well, that is the end of this month’s Library Newsletter!

Is there anything else that you would like to see in The Library Newsletter?  If you have any contributions or queries or great ideas please email ltaylor@oakspark.redbridge.sch.uk