Events: Events and activities that took place in the School Library during March

 We delivered a range of events and activities lined up for this year’s World Book Day week. We teamed up With the English department’s literature trail scavenger hunt for S1s. Pupils were given a list of clues and tasked to find posters of book covers displayed in various windows around the school for a chance to be entered into a prize draw.

We hosted our own World Book Day activities in the School Library as well:

• World Book Day 5 Word Book Review: Pupils were invited to write a review about any book of their choice using only five words for a chance to be entered into the School Library prize draw. We received over 50 submissions and the reviews can be read on our 5 Word Book Review post.
• World Book Day Quiz: Our annual quiz saw over 30 people in attendance. There were three rounds: a general literature knowledge, emoji book titles, and a Shakespeare or Young Adult quote taster round in preparation for our Shakespeare week quiz.
• Annual Bookmark Design Competition: Our annual bookmark design contest is now in its 5^th Designs were uploaded onto Teams and voted on by pupils. The design with the most votes becomes our official Shawlands Academy School Library bookmark for 2024-25 school year. We received six brilliant bookmark designs and it has been a very close competition. Winner will be revealed April 15^th after the Spring break.

Shakespeare Week Quiz and choice board: We uploaded an interactive choice board for pupils to explore more of Shakespeare’s works and hosted our first Shakespeare Week quiz. Pupils were to guess whether a quote was from a Shakespeare play or a Young Adult novel. We’ve included a selection of quotes below, can you guess which ones were from a Young Adult novel and which ones were from one of Shakespeare’s plays? Answers are at the end of this blog post.

1. “Courage does not always roar. Valor does not always shine”

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi or William Shakespeare?

2. “No legacy is so rich as honesty”

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus or William Shakespeare?

3. “So wise so young they say, never do live long”

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera or William Shakespeare?

4. “You’re not living if you’re not regretting”

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon or William Shakespeare?

5. “Even death has a heart”

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak or William Shakespeare?

Swatch: Our Spring 24 issue of Swatch, the Glasgow School Libraries eMagazine is now available. Here are some links to our previous issues: Winter 23, Autumn 23, Summer 23, Spring 23, Winter 22, Autumn 22, Summer 22, Spring 22, Winter 21, Autumn 21, Summer 21, Spring 21, Winter 20, Autumn 20.

 

What’s Trending? Popular and recently borrowed books this month

Assassination Classroom by Yusei Matsui – ‘This is the best manga series’

The Body by Stephen King – ‘We’re watching Stand By Me in English. I want to see how the book is different’.

Carrie by Stephen King – ‘My grandmother recommended Stephen King to me’.

Cobra Kai: the Graphic Novel by Denton J. Tipton – ‘I wanted a book about martial arts and found this. Now I’m going to watch the show’.

Harrow Lake by Kat Ellis – ‘I thought this was really creepy’.

 

Book of the Day: Featured pupil recommendations

4^th: Finding My Voice by Aoife Dooley 

7^th: Jays Guide to Crushing It by Ruby Clyde 

8^th: Sad Ghost Club by Liz Meddings 

11^th: American Born Chinese by Gene Leun Yang 

14^th: The Changing Man by Tomi Oyemakinde 

15^th: Murder On A School Night by Kate Weston 

21^st: Girl From the Well by Rin Chupeco 

22^nd: The Headmaster’s List by Melissa De La Cruz 

25^th: Ellie Pillai is Brown by Christine Pillainayagam

27^th: Thieves by Lucie Byron

28^th: Booked by Kwame Alexander 

 

Author of the Week: Chosen by pupils

WB 4^th: Vashti Hardy

WB 11^th: Alice Oseman

WB 18^th: Jason Reynolds

WB 25^th: Louisa Reid

 

Series of the Week: Chosen by pupils

WB 4^th: Dork Diaries by Rachel Renee Russell

WB 11^th: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

WB 18^th: Who Let the Gods Out? by Maz Evans

WB 25^th: Maze Runner by James Dashner

 

Recent Arrivals: New Book Highlights

An Emerald Sky by Aneesa Marufu

Groosham Grange: The Graphic Novel by Anthony Horowitz

Horrible Homes by John Wood

Kismet Connection by Anany Devarajan

Murder on a School Night by Kate Weston

 

Literary and Cultural Celebration Booklists for March: Booklists to tie into various literary and cultural celebrations.

Anti-Racism Book List: Anti-Racism fiction and nonfiction.

International Women’s Day Book List: Fiction and nonfiction books about women’s history, feminism, and equal rights.

Neurodiversity Book List: Nonfiction and fiction books featuring neurodiverse characters.

Ramadan Reads Book List: Fiction and nonfiction books by Muslim authors and featuring Muslim characters.

STEM Nonfiction Book List: STEM nonfiction.

Trans & Gender Nonconforming Book List: Nonfiction and fiction books featuring transgender and gender nonconforming characters.

 

Trending Booklists: Monthly highlights and new releases

Epic Reads – New Releases

The Guardian – Children’s Book Roundup

Love Reading for Kids – Books of the Month

Scholastic – Books of the Month

Scottish Book Trust – Book Lists

Toppsta – Our Favorite New Children’s Books This Month

Waterstone’s – Books of the Month

 

Recent Awards: UK book award winners, shortlists, and longlists

Inclusive Books for Children Award – Winners

British Book Awards – Shortlist

UKLA Book Award – Shortlist

Women’s Prize for Fiction – Longlist

Women’s Prize for Nonfiction – Longlist

YOTO Carnegie Medals – Shortlists

 

Competitions: Writing competitions for young people

Foyles Young Poets of the Year Competition

Henrietta Branford Writing Competition

Poetry By Heart Competition

 

Book Buzz: Latest book news from major media outlets and book websites

BBC

Book Riot

Buzzfeed

Epic Reads

The Guardian

Huffpost

The New York Times

 

What’s On in April

Pop-Up Library: Exams will be taking place in the library starting April and throughout May, but pupils can visit our Pop-Up Library stall (location TBA) for book returns and collections as well as weekly activities.

Talk Like Shakespeare Day Activities: We’ll be creating Shakespeare masks and Elizabethan ruffle collar using the templates from Talklikeshakespeare.org and uploading a list of Shakespearean phrases still commonly used today.

Teams Quizzes: Our Quizzes will be uploaded to Teams using MS Forms in lieu of exams.

National Pet Month Quiz: Learn fun facts about our furry, feathered, and leathered friends.

World Art Day Quiz: Test your knowledge of artists, paintings, and styles. Comes with an accompany list of links to famous museums and galleries from around the world.

International Guitar Month Quiz: For serious guitar aficionados, this quiz is packed with facts about one of the world’s most popular instruments. The interactive answer sheet included is jammed with links with further information and videos.

 

Displays and Booklists for April:

Planet vs Plastics Book List The theme for this year’s Earth Day is Planet vs Plastics to raise awareness on the health and environmental risks of plastics.

Stress Book List: Stress Awareness Month calls for a greater awareness of the negative impact of stress. Our booklist features some Nonfiction titles to help young People manage their stress.

Autism Book List: World Autism Month and Autism Awareness Day (April 2^nd) aims to celebrate Autism awareness and acceptance. Our Junior, Young Adult, and Senior + Staff booklists feature nonfiction and fiction titles featuring Autistic characters.

Shakespeare Quiz answers:

1. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
2. All’s Well That Ends Well by Shakespeare
3. Richard III by Shakespeare
4. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
5. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak