Felix , 9Bd (reading the Outsiders on a water ski)

Charlie, 9Bl (backflip off a boat)

Drew , 9Hl (reading on Inferno rollercoaster)

Noah , 9Bd (Land’s end sign)

Eve , 9W (on a post in a lake)

William, 9L (mountain bike)

Kitty, 9C (The Pyranees)

Harry , 9Bn (waterskiing reading ‘Diplomatic Immunity)

Nils(top of mast)

Louis  (reading with a dolphin)

Eagle House Students

1^st – George, Eagle House 7 (on castle ruins)

2^nd – Olly, Eagle House (set of three photos of canoe going over rapids)

3^rd – Ben, Eagle House (in the stocks)

4^th – Sophia, Eagle House (long jump)

Librarians’ choice award – Sofia (The Diamond Heist)

Staff

Winner – Mr Allcock (Head of Classics) on top of the Old Man of Hoy

The Summer Holiday Extreme Reading Photo Competition is back by popular demand!

Take a photo of yourself reading in an “extreme” place. Be as creative or imaginative as you like (without putting yourself in danger!)  You could win an e-reader.

Encourage your  families to join in!

Email your photos to the Library: library@wellingtoncollege.org.uk before 8th September.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you are looking for an exciting and thought-provoking read for the summer try The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

All the new 3^rd form will receive a copy of this excellent book from the Librarians. Let’s make it the Wellington Summer Read!

It’s a coming of age story of gangs in the USA, written by a 17 year old girl. It is brilliantly written, has appeal for all ages and doesn’t take long to read.

Read the book and take the brief online book quiz in September. Prizes for the House with the most readers.

You could combine it with the Extreme reading photo competition and read it in an unusual or exotic location.

Two book recommendations – I’ve finally got around to reading ‘Fahrenheit 451’ by Ray Bradbury and ‘The things they carried’ by Tim O’Brien this summer. Both books are incredible. Ray Bradbury wrote his disturbing, futuristic story in 1953. His first version of the novel took him 9 days to write and he often wrote on hired typewriters in public libraries. In his dystopian world the job of firemen is to burn books as they are forbidden, being deemed the source of all unhappiness.

‘The things they carried’ is a book of short stories linked together through the young US soldiers whose experiences shape the stories. It is a fictional account of the Vietnam war narrated by a veteran. The writing is haunting and disturbing and it has become a classic anti-war book.

 

The Summer Holiday Extreme Reading photo competition is back by popular demand

Take a photo of yourself reading in an “extreme” place. Be as creative or imaginative as you like (without putting yourself in danger!)  You could win an e-reader.

Encourage your  families to join in. You could combine it with the ‘Extreme Reading Photo Competition’ and read the book in an exotic or unusual place.

Email your photos to the Library: library@wellingtoncollege.org.uk before 8th September.

The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton 

If you are looking for an exciting and thought-provoking read for the summer try The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

All the new 3^rd form will receive a copy of this excellent book from the Librarians. Let’s make it the Wellington Summer Read!

It’s a coming of age story of gangs in the USA, written by a 17 year old girl. It is brilliantly written, has appeal for all ages and doesn’t take long to read.

Read the book and take the  brief online book quiz in September. Prizes for the House with the most readers.

Holiday Reading – Library recommendations

I love having the time to read during the summer – my “to be read” pile is large and varied, including Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Don’t forget to look at the Top Ten reads for suggestions of subject specific books and Mr Wayman’s Wellington English100 for an eclectic mix of classic literature and modern fiction.

Fiction fans are in for a treat on 31^st July with the publication of “What Milo Saw”; the first novel  by Wellington English teacher, Virginia Macgregor.

I feel privileged to have been able to read this touching book in advance of publication. It tells the story of Milo Moon, a young boy suffering from retinitis pigmentosa, who sees the world through a pinhole. He sets out to expose the problems at his gran’s nursing home (accompanied by Hamlet, his pet pig). The story is peopled with a wonderful mix of flawed but interesting characters. There is plenty of humour amidst the adversity and Milo is a hugely appealing protagonist.  Although intended for adults, the book “will be adored by fans of child-narrated fiction like The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night and Wonder” but for me it had parallels with Frank Cottrell Boyce’s ‘Millions’ and an arch-villain reminiscent of Miss Trunchbull in Matilda. It’s quirky, thought-provoking with big themes and an entertaining  plot. This beautifully written book stayed with me a long time after the first reading – but I’m looking forward to re-reading it, discussing it with my friends and family and seeing the final published version.

Here’s a Christmas Animoto giving a flavour of what’s been happening in the Library this Michaelmas term.

I love the end of the year and the Christmas break for the plethora of themed booklists which spring up in all the papers. It’s a good opportunity to seek out the great books you’ve missed from earlier in the year.  It’s also the season of book quizzes.

Reading Times 2013

School librarians are excellent sharers of good ideas. Here’s a lovely idea from Helen Smith, Learning Resources Manager at Eckington School. She has compiled a wonderful booklet called Reading Times 2013 in which she lists all the Christmas TV and radio based on or relating to books. Helen has very generously shared it with all of us. It makes fascinating reading.

Hidden Books Quiz

Caboodle website has two great pictoral book quizzes. Work out the title of the famous books from the pictures. Almost impossible to leave until you’ve cracked all 20.

The Guardian Children’s Book Website has a vast range of quick online book quizzes – from Elephants in Fiction to Graphic Novels and Comic books or banned books 

Our head of Maths Mr Sproat just reminded me about Sporcle. This is the perfect site for quiz and trivia fans. Try the book cover quiz (identify the book by a portion of its cover) or can you name the book titles given their loosely based antonyms? or name the book titles without vowels or spaces? In fact there are 1000 quizzes relating to books!

Best books of the Year

Here is The Guardian’s Best Fiction List of  2013

The Telegraph: Best Fiction of 2013 …’a vintage year for lengthy fiction’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t forget to send your Extreme Reading Photos to the library for your chance to win a Nook e-reader!

Mail to library@wellingtoncollege.org.uk

Thank you for all the original and inventive entries we are receiving. We are really enjoying your creativity.

We had fun experimenting with Extreme Reading photos on holiday in Northumberland. Popular books in our family this summer have been:

“The Humans” by Matt Haig (very funny and moving story of an alien inhabiting a mathematican’s body. Everyone should read the alien’s advice for humans. Watch the book trailer here)

“The Outsiders” by S.E. Hinton (young adult classic written by a 17 year old girl in 1967)

“The Tomorrow Series” by John Marsden

“Itch Rocks” by Simon Mayo (sequel to “Itch”  – more adventures of an element hunter)

“Game of Thrones” by George R.R. Martin

“Flip” by Martyn Bedford (the author who wrote “A capsule in Time” for Wellington)

“The Raven Boys” by Maggie Stiefvater

“Rubicon” by Tom Holland (gripping story of the rise of Julius Caesar)

“Where’d you go, Bernadette” by Maria Semple (extremely funny novel, set in Seattle with plenty of Microsoft and Antarctica references!)

“Gone” by Michael Grant

“The Death of Grass” by John Cristopher (mixture of science-fiction and psychological thriller written in 1956 but still a chilling post-apocalyptic novel)