The OPHS Library Online Newsletter October 2023 #27

 The OPHS Library Online Newsletter

October 2023 #27

Welcome to our 

Online Monthly Library Newsletter

Every month, in our new Library Newsletter, we will 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 (November issue), such as, what is your favourite book from our Library?  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 Online Library Newsletter, you will get a 

‘Thank You’ certificate from The Library and fabulous achievement points.

Show us what you have read and we will publish your photo in the next issue of our online Library Newsletter!

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

Book Reviews from Students

FAYZ Series by Michael Grant

 

Book 1: Gone (Blurb)

A small town in southern California: In a blink of an eye everyone over the age of 15 disappears. Cut off from the outside world, those that are left are trapped, and there’s no help on the way. Chaos rules the streets.

Now a new world order is rising and, even scarier, some survivors have power - mutant power that no one has ever seen before…

Summary

 Students Sam Temple, Quinn Gaither, Astrid Ellison, and Edilio Escobar discover an impermeable barrier cutting Perdido Beach off from the outside world; the area within the barrier is subsequently nicknamed "Fallout Alley Youth Zone", shortened to "the FAYZ". Unknown to the others, Sam had earlier discovered his superhuman ability to fire light from his hands capable of burning objects when he is afraid; after reading a journal entry by his mother Connie, a nurse at the nearby Coates Academy, Sam begins to suspect a connection to the disappearances and the barrier. While looking for Astrid's autistic four-year-old brother "Little" Pete at a nuclear power plant outside of town, the quartet discovers that the barrier's boundaries correspond to predicted radiation patterns in the case of a meltdown. Pete is revealed to have superhuman abilities in an incident where he chokes Sam, and that also exposes Sam's powers to the group, who agree to keep it secret.

Upon the group's return to Perdido Beach, they encounter vehicles bringing students from Coates Academy, led by the charismatic Caine Soren. Caine restores order to Perdido Beach with the aid of his confidante Diana Ladris and enforcer Drake Merwin, but Sam and Astrid are suspicious of Caine's motives and find out his true schemes.

Book 2: Hunger (Blurb)

An uneasy calm has settled over Perdido Beach. But soon fear explodes into desperation as starvationsets in. More and more kids are developing strange powers and, just as frighteningly, so are the animals in the FAYZ. And in the background, in an abandoned mineshaft, lies the greatest danger of all - and too needs to be fed…

Summary

Sam has become mayor of Perdido Beach, but struggles with the responsibilities of protecting the town. Food supplies are dwindling, exacerbated by the presence of mutated carnivorous worms called "zekes" that prevent access to crop fields and only partially alleviated by Quinn's idea to begin fishing the nearby ocean. Other children are beginning to discover their mutant abilities, including Duck Zhang, who can control his density, and Hunter Lefkowitz, who can emit deadly microwave rays. Little Pete is also starting to reveal more of his powers, including the ability to create life. Tensions between mutants and non-mutants escalate after Hunter accidentally kills his roommate Harry with his powers during a confrontation between Hunter and the anti-mutant Zil Sperry. Zil and his posse, dubbing themselves the "Human Crew", capture and attempt to lynch Hunter before being forced to disperse by Orc. Albert, having learned from Lana of a cache of gold near the mineshaft where the Darkness lurks, travels there with Quinn and Lana to obtain the gold with the intention of using it to make currency for the FAYZ. Lana, traumatised by her encounter with the Darkness, abandons them to attempt to kill the Darkness by detonating LPG in the mineshaft. The Darkness, which calls itself the gaiaphage and whose physical form is revealed as a mass of green crystalline particles, subdues Lana.

At Coates Academy, Caine wakes after having spent the past three months in a fugue state following his encounter with the gaiaphage and makes plans to seize control of the nuclear power plant. Will he be able to succeed? 

Book 3:Lies (Blurb)

Tensions are growing in the FAYZ. The mutants are under attack. Food is scarce. Sam’s gone AWOL. 

At night, a solitary figure roams the streets - the ghost of a boy with a whip hand, haunting the dreams of those he has tormented. Then the town is deliberately set on fire, and through the flames Sam sees the figure he dreads most - Drake. But that’s impossible, drake is dead.

Summary

Sam is still traumatized by his torture by Drake. His fears increase after the Human Crew abduct Jill, a young girl with siren-like mutant abilities, and dump her in an empty grave which Sam and Edilio realise was previously occupied by Brittney; it is implied that Sam and Edilio know the slug on Brittney's arm was Drake's severed tentacle. Jill is taken in by Orsay and her helper, a mysterious girl named Nerezza unfamiliar to the children of Perdido Beach. Orsay, whose powers have grown so that she can contact people outside the FAYZ through dreams, begins telling children that they can escape the FAYZ through the "poof". After Sam is unsuccessful in concealing Orsay's claims from the council, Astrid convinces the other councillors to tell Perdido Beach that Orsay is lying, despite not being able to disprove Orsay's claims. Sam's deception causes a rift between him and Astrid and prompts their break-up. Brittney reappears in Perdido Beach, guided by visions of her deceased brother Tanner that give her cryptic warnings of a "demon"; her reappearance is soon followed by the discovery of several bodies who show signs of being whipped to death.

At Coates, Caine and his remaining followers learn of San Francisco de Sales, a private island owned by Hollywood power couple Jennifer Brattle and Todd Chance located within the FAYZ, and Caine makes plans to relocate to the island. To this end he reaches out to Zil and the Human Crew, arranging for the Human Crew to set fire to Perdido Beach to create a distraction

Book 4: Plague (Blurb)

Disease is spreading through the streets of Perdido Beach: devastating, a hacking cough that makes the sufferers choke their guts up - literally.

Across town, little Pete lies unconscious, struck down by the mysterious illness. With the most powerful mutant in the FAYZ out of action, the future of the world hands in the balance

Summary

Perdido Beach is now run in all but name by Albert, whose introduction of money and paid labour to the town has placed him in a position of considerable power. With water supplies dwindling, Albert sends Sam, Dekka, Jack and Taylor to find a new water source at Lake Tramonto, on the far side of the FAYZ. Meanwhile, a plague that causes those infected to cough up their insides spreads through Perdido Beach, and the town's inhabitants are instructed not to leave their homes to stop the spread. On the way to the lake, Sam's group encounters Hunter, who has become infested with parasitic bugs which have begun to eat him from the inside out. At Hunter's request, Sam uses his powers to euthanize him, but in doing so releases bugs that are invulnerable to his abilities. A coyote then leads the group to the creatures that are causing the infections. The group attacks the creatures, and Dekka becomes infested in the process. Meanwhile, Drake escapes his prison after Orc becomes drunk. He makes his way to the mineshaft and is met by the bugs, which clear the way into the mineshaft. Drake transforms into Brittney, who discovers that the Gaiaphage was an alien virus intended to seed planets with life before mutating due to exposure to radiation and human DNA. With Brittney now accepting the gaiaphage as her god, Drake and the bugs split into two armies to attack Sam and Perdido Beach. Orc, ashamed of his actions, takes refuge at Coates with Astrid, who believes that killing Pete will end the FAYZ and worries that the other children will kill him.

Book 5: Fear (Blurb)

Night is falling in the FAYZ. Permanently. The barrier that surrounds the town of Perdido Beach is turning black, blotting out the sun. It's Sam’s worst nightmare.

And as the shadows deepen, the Darkness stirs. From its lair beneath the earth, the gaiaphage reaches out for what it needs most - a human body into which it can be reborn…

Summary

Sam creates a  new community at Lake Tramonto and it is flourishing. However, Sam discovers that the missile container has been booby-trapped, and suspects that Caine has already claimed the missiles. Astrid has abandoned Sam to live alone in the woods, still guilty over sacrificing Pete and unaware of his survival. Pete experiments with his new state of existence by tampering with the genetic makeup of the inhabitants of the FAYZ, resulting in several gruesome deaths. Amongst his victims is Taylor, who survives her mutation but is transformed into a gold-skinned non-mammalian creature.

Astrid and several other FAYZ inhabitants discover that the energy barrier has begun to turn black, prompting Astrid to seek Sam out at Lake Tramonto and rekindle their relationship. Sam sends a letter to Caine offering to use his powers to provide light to Perdido Beach. Meanwhile, Drake and the coyotes are sent by the gaiaphage to bring the pregnant Diana to its cave. Drake allows the coyotes to eat Howard when they cross paths on the way to Lake Tramonto. This is witnessed by Sam's messenger, who instead runs back to Lake Tramonto to raise the alarm. At night, Astrid clandestinely travels to Perdido Beach alone to bring Sam's offer of aid. Meanwhile, Albert decides to flee to San Francisco de Sales to survive an anticipated societal collapse resulting from the barrier darkening; it is revealed that he has hidden the missiles on the island without telling Caine.

Book 6: Light (Blurb)

All eyes are on Perdido Beach. The barrier wall is now as clear as glass and life in the FAYZ is visible for the entire outside world to see.

The society that Sam has struggled so hard to build is about to be shattered for good. It’s all come down to this. The Endgame

Summary

The inhabitants of the FAYZ have become distracted by the outside world and lose interest in their duties, which leads to Quinn returning to San Francisco de Sales to get Albert, as he is the only one who can get everyone back to work. Brianna gives an interview to a news station that reveals the level of violence experienced by the children of the FAYZ. Annoyed at Brianna, Sam and Astrid send her to search for Gaia, Diana, and Drake. Brianna encounters Drake foraging for food for Gaia; she dismembers him and scatters his parts throughout the FAYZ, keeping his head in a chest below the boats on Lake Tramonto.

Gaia schemes to kill the FAYZ residents in order to prevent Pete from fighting her by inhabiting another person's body. Gaia and Diana spot two young men on the other side of the barrier; Gaia uses her power to briefly remove the barrier, causing one of the men, Alex Mayle, to fall through. Gaia removes and eats Alex's arm and informs Alex that she will use him as food. Intimidated, Diana and Alex follow Gaia to Lake Tramonto. Diana escapes and warns the community, but Gaia appears and slaughters most of the community before being forced to retreat by Brianna. Sam and Caine join forces to kill Gaia and rescue Diana. Sam and Caine find Gaia, and their efforts to kill her result in Caine being taken hostage and Sam heavily injured, before he is rescued by Taylor and Lana.

The kids regroup at Perdido Beach and discuss their next move. It is revealed that Gaia, though possessing every power of every living person in the FAYZ, loses that power when the person dies. Sam contemplates whether he must sacrifice himself in order to stop Gaia.

Main Character

• Sam temple

What are my thoughts on any of these books?

On the whole, I love all of these books and this is the best series of books I have read so far!

How would I change any part of the books if I were to be the author?

If I could change anything it would be how the FAYZ dome collapsed and the number of people killed in battle (e.g Caine Soren)

Would I recommend these books to anyone and why?

Absolutely, I would recommend these books as they can spark your imagination and creativity, as well as expanding knowledge/vocabulary

What other books would I recommend?

• The Power of Five 

Book name and Author: 

Mollie on the March by Anna Carey

My favourite character: Mollie

Summary of the book:

This book is about a young girl called Mollie who is a Suffragette. Mollie and her friend Nora are given a shock when Nora’s annoying cousin Grace comes to stay with Nora. Grace takes a liking to tennis and Mollie’s neighbours' annoying dog, which surprises Mollie and Nora. Mollie and her friend Nora want to protest so Millie’s sister and her friend sneak Millie and Nora into the protest where a lot of things go wrong. As well as the protest, Mille has to worry about Nora's cousin, who Millie saw at the protest, and the dog that Millie and Nora call ‘the menace’.

My favourite part: My favourite part of the book is when Millie and Nora sneak out to go to the protest.   Rating: I rate this book 4/5 stars

A book review on ‘How to Train your Dragon-How to seize a Dragon’s Jewel’

by Cressida Cowell

 

This book is highly recommended by me as this book is the best fit for people who like to read fun books. This book contains humour and suspense.  The suspense is so incredibly large that you may also fall off whatever you are sitting on.

You are also going to get addicted to the book and read the whole series. I know this for a fact because I have told my friends to read the book and they got addicted to it so much that they read the whole series in a week. (This also happened to me).  

The book has emotional parts, for example, the main character almost failed on the quest. This book is cleverly written by the wonderful author Cressida Cowell.   

                       SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT

           Mortal Coil

            BY DEREK LANDY   

    

This book is about Valkyrie having a dark secret that the gang does not know about.  HOWEVER, the gang is as vulnerable as ever as they have to stop a plague of body snatchers which are known as Remnants and stop a hired adept killer.

My favourite part is when the remnants are free and when they cause havoc and murder.  Also, when Tanith got a remnant gor stuck inside of her for more than four days and now the remnant is stuck inside of her forever controlling her mind.  When Dr Nye(a creature that probably has no gender) had to seal Valkyrie’s true name but things got a bit messy.

My least favourite part is when Dr Kenspecle Grouse dies and when Tesseract(the hired killer), murdered inspector Davina Marr before Skulduggery and the gang got answers from the inspector on why she blew up the sanctuary and killed 29 sorcerers. 

The reason why I recommend this book is because it is full of action, magic, comedy and crime.  This is the fifth book in Skulduggery Pleasant.

Goodnight Boy (book review) by Nikki Sheehan

Goodnight boy was a really interesting and different book that although the circumstances it was strangely sad but cute and happy at times.The book follows the tails of a young JC, a refugee from his country who now lives in America with his adoptive mother Melanie, pet dog ,Boy and adoptive father.Things aren't so simple though,JC, due to certain circumstances is in America illegally.JC must be kept a secret when his adoptive mother leaves on a trip to somewhere JC does not know about. He is left alone with Boy and with his not so kind adoptive father when things take a turn for the worse.JC and Boy cause a grave accident and are banished to the dog kennel in the backyard, with only each other to keep them company and small supplies every now and then from his father; JC tells his four legged companion the tails of his past and how he came to this country.

What I like personally about this book is the companionship that we see between JC and Boy.It's such a pure and caring friendship which further shows the ability kids can connect with dogs on a more personal level.Also the way the book is written is extremely fascinating. The structure of the way the sentences are typed out on the pages almost, somehow follow JC’s thoughts as he tells the tales of his past in a way where you can connect with the characters on a deeper level.

My favourite character would have to be Melanie.Her kindness and selflessness is nothing short of admirable.You can't help but smile as you read about how JC talks about his adoptive mother.The way she cares for JC, and empathizes with his experiences and change to a new environment, makes her a very lovable character; especially when she completely juxtaposes the negative and materialistic views of her husband.

Overall I give this book a 4/5 because it truly is something I will remember for a very long time.

Goodnight Boy Book Review

What I expected from the book. I expected the book to be a little bit more descriptive of what has happened in JC’s life, but in the stories he told he breaks down his key moments throughout the book by being straightforward and not describing his life as much as I thought he would. But you cannot have everything you want in a story. The author still tried really hard to add these bits in though.

What is the genre of the book? The genre of the book is young adult fiction. What this tells us about the book is that it shows Jean Caleb (JC) explaining  his challenging issues that he had to tackle himself, which teaches us that life has unexpected twists and turns. This book is for ages 12+.

The plot of Goodnight Boy. The plot of Goodnight Boy is about a boy named Jean Caleb who was born in a place called the riverbeds with his older and younger brother’s, but one day a man in a suit, who knew his mother, asked him if he would like a ride home and he said yes but he did not know that they were going to abandon him once they got the chance. So after they dumped JC at the Sweet Angel Orphanage his hair got shaved off and he ended up making a good friend in the Orphanage.

The main characters in the story are Jean Caleb, Boy, Melanie and one unnamed character who is the husband of Melanie and also soon to be stepfather of JC. I enjoyed this book alot because it has a lot of laughs, a lot of drama and quite a lot of heartwarming messages towards the readers. That is why I encourage others to read this book as well so it can have the same effect on others as it had on me. One scene I really enjoyed in the book was when his new father’s sister spoke to JC over the fence saying that she thinks JC’s new father might have killed his actual son. I recommend this book to people who like drama because this book is filled with it.

I can compare this book to Goodnight Mr Tom because it had a lot of sad parts in it as well and it was very uplifting as well as Goodnight Boy because it teaches people very valuable lessons and life skills. Overall I urge others to read this book because you can see how people are actually living in different conditions. The moral of this story is to be grateful for everything you have because some people have nothing. I would give this book a rating of 4 stars.

The Bombs that Brought us Together 

by Brian Conaghan

This book was written by Brian Conaghad, it was shortlisted for the Costa book award. It’s about the war and hatred between Small town

and Old Country. Small town is home to Charlie; one day, Pavel arrives, he and his family are refuges from Old Country. They become best friends even

though Pav is the last person he should be

friends with. When the bombs and Old

Country troops come, they threaten to

overthrow the government using force,

their friendship and the survival of Small

Town is put to the test. As well as coping

with the pressure, Charlie fantasises his

relationship with a certain red head, Erin F.

The book cover was very aesthetically

pleasing and the book was really interesting

to read. My favourite character in the book is Charlie, even though he is

bullied into committing a crime, he ends up doing the right thing and

saves his friendship with Pav. Plus he was very patient with Pavel when

he taught him the Small town language.

The Pearl Thief by Elizabeth Wein

This book is about Julia Beaufort-Stuart (Julie). She wakes up in hospital and can’t recall what had happened to her. She finds out that it wasn’t just an accident but something way more sinister.

I found this book very interesting. In the book, two individuals told her grandfather that his collection of about three hundred pearl could not be sold /worth much- which was a lie, it was priceless. They took the pearls themselves when Julie’s grandfather died, they hid it in a jar and were going to run away with it but Julie foiled their plans. In the end, it was very emotional as she destroyed most of the pearls by driving over them in the gravel. Plus, Ellen (her friend/ best friend/ girlfriend?) swallowed a pearl at the end.

My favourite character is Julie; this is because she is very clever and cunning, although she likes to make out with pretty much everyone. 

The girl who could fly by Victoria Forester

This book is about a girl called Piper McCloud who lived in Lowland county, she has a special ability, she can fly. Ever since she was little she would always float a little off the ground. She would practise her love of flying, until one day the incident occurred. Piper went to an intuition ran by Dr Helion, where she agreed to not fly. Unfortunately, it doesn’t turn out how Piper expected it to be. The girl who could fly and the boy who knows everything has to work together to save the world.

This book is probably the best book I have ever read, this is because it was really tragic when Piper was crippled by the EVIL Dr Helion but is eventually ‘healed’ by Jasper (his power).

My favourite character is Conrad- he knows everything. This is because he understood what was actually happening in the intuition before anyone else did and he was the one who came up with the ingenious plans to save everyone.

The mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow by Katherine Woodfine 

This book is about Sophie, she was a rich and spoilt girl who had everything she ever wanted.  But when her father died, everything started to crash down and she was left pennyless and alone.  In order to carry on living she pulls herself together by finding a job. However, when she was a suspect of a stolen clockwork sparrow, she was fired and she needed help from her friends, Lil and Billy, to clear her name and get her job back. This book is different to other books because in between a few chapters there are a hats and it explains what and why they wear them (because she works on hats). Plus, in the book the description of Sinclair’s store is so detailed you could picture it.  My favourite character is Lil, she is one of the ’mannequins’ and she wants to be a famous actor. This is because she is very loyal and a good friend to Sophie.

Year 9 Student Poem

Choices

 

Choices,

Some hard,

Some easy,

Some might even call it breezy,

It's a funny word,

That not all understand,

How important it can be,

Choices can affect.

Choices can hurt,

Choices aren't all bad!

Though the ones you make are important.

But always remember,

Life is full of choices ,

Make sure you pick the right one!

Books to Movies

What film adaptation did you love?

What is your favourite movie that has been adapted from a book?  Below are a few Movie adaptations from books that are highly recommended:

Chaos Walking, The One and Only Ivan, Hansel and Gretel

If your favourite book to movie adaptation is not on this list, let us  know the name of the book and movie, saying if you prefer the book or the movie, and why.  Your contribution will then be added to our next Newsletter in November!

Black History Month

On 22 June, 1948, the SS Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury Dock from the Caribbean. Its arrival has long been marked as the moment that Britain changed from a White country to a racially diverse one. Yet Africans have been present in Britain since Roman times. And there has been a constant Black presence in Britain since the 16th Century.

October is Black History Month in the UK, a chance to learn more about the stories from our past that have often been neglected. Much of this history is traumatic: from the people being torn from their homes in West Africa and shipped to a new continent 5,000 miles away, to their descendants facing discrimination and violence in Europe and the United States. 

But this month is also an opportunity to remember the Black heroes who have made the world a better place. From 19th-Century heroes Ira Aldridge and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor to today’s role models: Stormzy, Michelle Obama, Edward Enninful, Malorie Blackman and many more.

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The Diverse Book Awards 2023

Created by bestselling, award-winning author Abiola Bello and award-winning publicist Helen Lewis. We want to highlight the best of the diverse voices published in the UK & Ireland both traditionally and self-published. We believe there's a need to showcase the talent of marginalised voices, so we came up with The Diverse Book Awards to open a space where the spotlight is on them. Now in our forth year!

The Diverse Book Awards  2023 shortlist! These are the top 9 diverse UK books in Picture Books, Children's, YA and Adult fiction. The winners will be informed on October 25th 2023 at Waterstones Piccadilly (invite only).

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Dadaji's Paintbrush by Rashmi Sirdeshpande, illustrated by Ruchi Mhasane (Andersen Press)

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John Agard's Windrush Child by John Agard, illustrated by Sophie Bass (Walker Books)

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Nour's Secret Library by Wafa Tarnowska, illustrated by Vali Mintzi (Barefoot Books)

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Our Story Starts in Africa by Patrice Lawrence, illustrated by Jeanetta Gonzales (Magic Cat)

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Our Tower by Joseph Coelho, illustrated by Richard Johnson (Frances Lincoln Children's Books)

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Saving The Butterfly by Helen Cooper, illustrated by Gill Smith (Walker Books)

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Small's Big Dream by Manjeet Mann, illustrated by Amanda Quartey (HarperCollins Children's Books)

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The Missing Piece by Jordan Stephens, illustrated by Beth Suzanna (Bloomsbury Children's Books)

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You Need To Chill by Juno Dawson, illustrated by Laura Hughes (Farshore)

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Children's

 

A Flash of Fireflies by Aisha Bushby (Farshore)

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Ajay and The Mumbai Sun by Varsha Shah (Chicken House)

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Future Hero: Race To Fire Mountain by Remi Blackwood (Scholastic) 

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Kiki Kallira Conquers A Curse by Sangu Mandanna (Hodder Children's Books)

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Mia and the Lightcasters by Janelle McCurdy, illustrated by Ana Latese (Faber Children's)

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Sadé and her Shadow Beasts by Rachel Faturoti, illustrated by Rumbidzai Savanhu (Hodder Children's Books)

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The Lizzie and Belle Mysteries: Drama and Danger by J.T. Williams, illustrated by Simone Douglas (Farshore)

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The Secret of Haven Point by Lisette Auton, illustrated by Valentina Toro (Puffin)

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The Twig Man by Sana Rasoul (Hashtag Press)

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YA 

 

Bad Things Happen Here by Rebecca Barrow (Hot Key Books)

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Cuts Both Ways by Candice Brathwaite (Quercus Children's Books)

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Gay Club! by Simon James Green (Scholastic)

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If You Still Recognise Me by Cynthia So (Little Tiger)

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Love In Winter Wonderland by Abiola Bello (Simon & Schuster)

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The Haunting of Tyrese Walker by J.P. Rose (Anderson Press)

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The Society for Soulless Girls by Laura Steven (Electric Monkey)

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When Our Worlds Collided by Danielle Jawando (Simon & Schuster)

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Why Is Nobody Laughing by Yasmin Rahman (Hot Key Books)

 

 

How to Write an Epic Short Story

Write a short epic

Truth is stranger than fiction. Often it is funnier too. Short Epics are nuggets from the daily news that might raise a smile or prompt a remark that starts: “You wouldn’t believe it, but…” They must be no longer than 140 characters long including spaces. Do have a go at writing one and send it to ltaylor@oakspark.redbridge.sch.uk and your epic story will be in our next issue of our online Library Newsletter!

Below are examples of short epic stories from The Day Online Newspaper https://theday.co.uk

Snap happy

Lindsay Bull, animal handler, was bitten by Darth Gator, a performing alligator. "I love him. He is like a member of the family," she said from hospital.

Hop knot

Laetitia Ky, 25, a hair artist from the Ivory Coast, made a skipping rope out of her own locks and jumped her way into the Guinness Book of Records.

Great Book Quotes 

 

 

Accelerated Reader

 

All Year 7 and 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 18.  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!!!

Links to Fabulous 

Authors’ Websites:

Neil Gaimon       https://www.neilgaiman.com

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

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

 

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, queries or great ideas please email: ltaylor@oakspark.redbridge.sch.uk