Friday, 29 June 2007

Wimbledon

Well, even though we have no Brits to support for the rest of Wimbledon, it's still an exciting contest. We have an interactive display in the LIC - help us fill in the scoreboard by looking up results on the internet or in the papers. All the interesting Wimbledon-related news is on there too. Come and see!

Check out these websites:



Tuesday, 26 June 2007

COMPETITION: Guardian Young Critics

If you're under 16, write a 200-word review of one of the nominated books for the Children's Fiction Prize as part of the Young Critics award.

Prizes:
10 people will win £20 of Book Tokens and a set of the nominated books for their school.

If you enter as a class and write lots of good entries overall, then the whole class together could win a trip to the Guardian Newsroom, £300 of Book Tokens and a set of the nominated books.

Click here for how to enter.
Click here for the longlist.

Fairtrade chocolate and Ghana


Thursday, 21 June 2007

and the Carnegie winner is...



Meg Rosoff with her book called 'Just in case'.





From the blurb:


"Every minute of every day, a million things happen... The day David Case saves is brother's life, his whole world changes... He changes his name and the way he looks... He finds himself caught up in a series of strange and extraordinary misadventures. He even falls in love..."





The judges picked it because of the 'highly original' plot, cleverly realised characters, 'edgy and often unpredictable' writin style and 'wonderful use of language'.



Read some teenage reviews of this book.

Come and borrow our LIC copy, or seek it out at the local library or bookshop.

Do you think it's as good as the judges say??

Tuesday, 19 June 2007

Flickr Vision

Do you know about the site Flickr.com where you can put your photos onto the internet? (You can't access it from school so there is no link here but you might like to try it at home).

Now someone has come up with the idea of logging all the images which are uploaded, so you can look at a world map and see who is posting what, where, as it actually happens.
It's really interesting to watch.

It's called 'Flickr Vision'.

Things to think about:
What images are coming from what countries?
What is the time in the country where they are posting? 3am? lunchtime? bedtime?
Which parts of the world seem to be using the internet the most?

It's best to try it at home where connection is faster - that way you can see the pictures too, not just where they are coming from.

Friday, 15 June 2007

Carnegie Shadowing by 8ASY




8 ASY have been reviewing the Carnegie shortlist in English lessons based on first impressions. The 3 things we looked at were the cover, blurb and opening pages.


8 ASY voted overwhelmingly for Beast as the best book, but we will have to wait until next week for the official winner of the award.

We will try to buy a few more copies for the LIC collection, as Beast looks like it will roar off the shelves!








Thursday, 14 June 2007

Big Bad Write




Think you can create the ultimate baddie?


Write a short story about a super-villain and enter into the Big Bad Write competition.




All the info is on the website (click on the link above) but here are the basics:




You have to be aged 8-16


The story has to be 500 - 1000 words long


Dealine is 10th August 2007.



Get writing now!

Wednesday, 13 June 2007

Darren Shan competition no.2

"WHSMITH is also running a Blood Beast competition this month -- you lucky, lucky people!!! In this competition, you and a friend have a chance to get a limited edition poster with a facsimile of my signature, and you also have the opportunity to win a meeting with Darren Shan!!! To enter, you'll need to pay a visit to your local branch of WHSmith and pick up a FREE Blood Beast booklet (it features a chapter out of Lord Loss, to whet the appetites of those who haven't yet sampled the delirious delights of The Demonata!!). The booklet will provide you with a web link where you'll be able to submit your details and enter the competition."

From an extract on Darren Shan's own blog: http://www.darrenshan.com/monthly/index.html

Tuesday, 12 June 2007

The new Children's Laureate is announced!!!


The new Children's Laureate was announced yesterday as Michael Rosen.


You can read all about it on the official website.


Michael Rosen will hold the post until 2009. It is a very important and prestigious role in the UK. The Children's Laureate has to promote reading for children in new and exciting ways. Michael Rosen is the first poet to be given this role, so it will be exciting to see his ideas.
We have many of his poetry books in the LIC. Come and see if you think his poems are any good!
(And we have lots of books from the previous Children's Laureates too - see below).



Previous Children's Laureates:

2005-7 Jacqueline Wilson

2003-5 Michael Morpurgo (born in ST ALBANS!)

2001-3 Anne Fine (on the Carnegie shortlist this year)

1999 -2001 Quentin Blake

Monday, 11 June 2007

The new Harry Potter???



People in publishing are worried about what will be the next 'Big Thing' now that Harry Potter is finishing. The man who discovered JK Rowling thinks he knows what it will be - a book called 'Tunnels'. It's about a boy who digs tunnels under London leading to other worlds. Find out more here.




Do you think it sounds interesting? Post a comment!

Tuesday, 5 June 2007

Casting call for GIRLS!!!


Do you want to be in a new film adaptation of Louise Rennison's book


Angus, thongs and full frontal snogging???


Click here for how to audition! But be quick! They're soon!


Monday, 4 June 2007

Darren Shan competition no.1




The bookshop Waterstones have launched a fantastic Darren Shan competition. Complete the 10 challenges and you could win an X Box 360!
The competition is called Have you got the guts for Darren Shan?
The first 3 challenges are available now.
Challenges 4,5 and 6 come out on 8th June.
Challenges 7,8,9 and 10 come out on the 15th June.