Becoming a Writer 4 - Nicola Morgan

Our next author is Nicola Morgan on November 20th.

BECOMING A WRITER 3 – OCTOBER 2013 – ANNE CASSIDY



 We were thrilled to welcome the acclaimed Anne Cassidy as the third writer in our series ‘Becoming a writer.’ Anne is the author of over thirty books for teenagers, all in the crime genre.  Possibly her most famous book, ‘Looking for JJ’ was published ten years ago which was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, the Whitbread Book Award and winner of the Booktrust Teenage Prize in 2004.
Anne was born and grew up in Essex road, Islington, and although being a bit of a ‘bad girl’ as a child, she came to writing later in life. When she was asked to write a story as a piece of homework when studying English she realised that she had found her calling in life! Her first novel was inspired by a childhood prank and she described the moment when she held her first book in her hands as the best moment in her life – along with the birth of her son!
Anne used these words to describe her books and writing, ‘dark, murder, blackmail, abduction, mystery.’


Huda with her prize!

‘Not every book suits every person’ – Anne explained to the girls that if you can’t get on with a book, try a different one, there are so many great books out there to choose from.
Anne had brought along copies of the ‘Murder Notebooks’ – Dead Time, Killing Rachel, and Butterfly Grave – the latter book is due to be published on November 7th. The fourth and last in the series will be published next year. She talked about the series and how she has enjoyed writing a series of books as opposed to stand alone novels which she is accustomed to writing.

The hugely successful ‘Looking for JJ’ was published in 2004. Anne had never intended to write a sequel despite being asked for one whenever she spoke about her writing. However, she has now decided that the time is right and has written a sequel which is to be published in 2014 – I know all her fans are going to be delighted. We were extremely excited and privileged to witness the first reading from the sequel – ‘Finding Jennifer Jones’.
At the end of the session one lucky student had her name drawn from a hat and won copies of all three books in the ‘Murder Notebooks’ series. Huda Ali Aman from 8E was the lucky winner and was thrilled – especially as she is now the proud owner of the first ever signed copy of ‘Butterfly Grave’.

EGA - new outside area

We now have a MUGA!

(Multi user games area)

Becoming a writer display - excuse the glare!

September book reviews

Two welcome additions to library stock this month are 'Picture me gone' by Meg Rosoff and 'Shine' by Candy Gourlay, both previous visitors to our 'Becoming a writer' programme. Both books are beautifully written - see my reviews here.

PICTURE ME GONE by MEG ROSOFF

 

Picture Me Gone is tells the story of 12 year old Mila, who sets of on a trip to America with her father Gil to visit his old friend Matthew. Shortly before they set off, they find out that Matthew has gone missing, but decide to go anyway and try and find him. After meeting Matthew’s family, Gil and Mila embark on a road trip to Matthew’s cabin to see if he has gone there.
Picture Me Gone is a beautiful book. I fell in love with Mila straight away. Her observations of the adults around her are delightful. She fancies herself as a bit of a detective and notices things that others miss. The book is written in the present tense first person and has the effect of making Mila very present, it is almost like a stream of consciousness, aided by the fact that there are no speech marks in the book. The relationships of the adults are beautifully observed and whilst observing others Mila also unravels her own complex relationship with her best friend. 
Picture Me Gone is tells the story of 12 year old Mila, who sets of on a trip to America with her father Gil to visit his old friend Matthew. Shortly before they set off, they find out that Matthew has gone missing, but decide to go anyway and try and find him. After meeting Matthew’s family, Gil and Mila embark on a road trip to Matthew’s cabin to see if he has gone there.

Picture Me Gone is a beautiful book. I fell in love with Mila straight away. Her observations of the adults around her are delightful. She fancies herself as a bit of a detective and notices things that others miss. The book is written in the present tense first person and has the effect of making Mila very present, it is almost like a stream of consciousness, aided by the fact that there are no speech marks in the book. The relationships of the adults are beautifully observed and whilst observing others Mila also unravels her own complex relationship with her best friend. 

SHINE by CANDY GOURLAY

Thirteen year old Rosa has something to hide and is forced to hide away on the island of Mirasol. When she encounters a friend online and makes arrangements to meet him, she uncovers some complicated truths about her family. Myths and ghosts are interwoven into the story, and Rosa discovers the truth about what really happened to her mother.
Shine is a delight to read. Rosa is a feisty character who is forced to live her life hidden away, with limited contact with the outside world. I loved the many tales from different cultures which are woven into the story, and the ghosts both real and imagined which haunt the edges of Rosa’s life. Told alongside the story of twins Kara and Kat, this is a thought provoking book about relationships and growing up.

Becoming a writer - Candy Gourlay

At the end of the summer we welcomed Candy Gourlay as the second author in our ‘Becoming a writer' programme. Candy is the author of ‘Tall Story’ and her new book, ‘Shine’ is published in September 2013. Candy’s took the students through the ‘Hero’s journey’, which works through the narrative structure of a novel. She interspersed this with her own journey to becoming a novelist, as well as her experiences of being a newspaper correspondent in the Philippines. Her workshop was very engaging with lots of humour and was also enjoyed by Mr Hughes and Mr McIntyre.
The series returns in October with award winning author Anne Cassidy.

 

ISLINGTON CARNEGIE SHADOWING - WONDER WINS!

On Thursday June 19^th, the Bookaholics – including new members Saruka Jeyaseelan, Julahka Jahan and Zahra Arefa 8E went to Platform in Hornsey Road to take part in the 2013 Islington Carnegie Shadowing award ceremony. The girls have been reading the eight books on the shortlist, and put on a presentation called ‘Take Me Out of the Library,’ based on the TV programme ‘Take Me Out.’ Six girls represented six of the books and presented their case to be selected on a date by the Librarian (Shuma, 10E). Paddy (Amy Coffey) facilitated the presentation.

The event was compered by author of Tall Story, Candy Gourlay.

Other Islington schools put on presentations, powerpoints, videos and it was a very enjoyable afternoon  and lovely to see so many students inspired by books. Wonder by RJ Palacio was the overwhelming favourite of the students, but Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner was the national winner. 

Congratulations to all those who took part!

PopUp - Gillian Cross at the Jewish Museum

Yesterday I accompanied 7L to the Jewish Museum as part of the Pop Up Festival, to meet the author Gillian Cross. The class have been reading her book, 'After Tomorrow,' in which Matt and some of his family are forced to flee to a refugee camp in France, when food becomes scarce in England and the family are under the threat of violence.

Gillian and Judith from the museum looked at various themes during the morning, such as 'leaving', in which she talked about her own experience of leaving a town where she had lived for many years and the feelings that had evoked. Next the girls looked at a picture of Jewish children leaving to go on the Kindertransport, and thought about how they would feel if they had to leave home and how Matt in the novel was very resourceful in order to survive. The girls had clearly read and enjoyed the book and some very lively discussion was had.

Afterwards they had a look around the museum, searching for particular artefacts which they had thought about that morning.

Gillian signed some books and is going to come to EGA as part of the 'Becoming a Writer' series next year. She set the girls a writing task which they can bring along to the session if they wish.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable morning, extremely interesting and I was thrilled to see how a good book can inspire and educate. Even Ms Turpie bought a copy to read!

Lia's Guide - the musical!

The Bookaholics - Amy, Khadra, Munna, Nasra, Shuma, Zahra, Aissato and Mahmuda first met Keren David in 2010, when she visited EGA to talk about her new, first novel for teenagers, 'When I was Joe.' The book was a huge hit in our school, and at the time the girls pestered Keren for news of a sequel. Meanwhile, Keren was working on 'Lia's Guide to Winning the Lottery,' and she asked if she could come in and show the group the proposed cover for 'Lia,' and get some feedback.

The girls thought the cover was a little 'adult,' but enjoyed the excerpt that Keren read from the book and went on to read and enjoy it when it came out - along with Almost True and Another Life, of course.

Yesterday I took the group along to see a musical version of 'Lia's Guide to winning the Lottery,' at the Bridewell Theatre, London. We had no idea what to expect, but what a treat it turned out to be.

The musical was performed by students from the MTA, all of whom were excellent. It was one of the best musicals I've ever seen.

Lia the musical is colourful, uplifting and loads of fun, as well as packing in quite a few 'issues' such as the role of the press, wealth, relationships and family dynamics. In the musical the lottery numbers are played as 'characters' who fulfill the role of backing singers throughout the play. I loved these girls. Dressed immaculately as different characters, they sang, dance and acted their Jimmy Choos off.

The students loved the fact that the play was about teenagers, romance, and had loads of stuff that they could relate to such as hashtags and Facebook pages.  I was told afterwards it was the most fun school trip they've ever had,  and Shuma awarded it one thousand out of ten!

The acting was of a very high standard as were the set design and props - I particularly liked the giant fans made of £50 notes and the cupcakes matching the coloured blocks which moved around to form the set and the girls' dresses. The songwords held my attention the whole time as part of the dialogue and the music was uplifting.

I highly recommend anyone who gets the chance to see the show to buy your ticket NOW- details below:
http://lotterywinner.eventbrite.co.uk/

 

                                    Edible Comics Workshop

Last Friday a group of year 7 girls from Breakfast Club participated in an edible comics workshop with writer Canan Marasligil and illustrator Karrie Fransman. Canan has been joining us at Breakfast Club for the past few weeks, getting to know the students and encouraging them to tell stories around the breakfast table. Over this time the girls wrote a story about their favourite head teacher Miss Dibb. At the workshop on Friday we were joined by Karrie, who has created comics for a range of publications including Time Out and The Guardian, who helped to turn the story into an edible comic strip. Instead of drawing on paper, each girl was given a paper plate upon which to illustrate a scene from the story. And instead of using traditional drawing materials, the girls made their comics out of food, using fruit, nuts, vegetables and biscuits. The story charts a surreal adventure Miss Dibb has one morning on her way to school, in which she encounters talking strawberries, takes a ride inside a giant apple, and flies on the back of a butterfly! The girls came up with some great ideas, using parsley for hair and mushrooms for heads. Great fun was had by all in what proved to be a creative and enjoyable exercise in telling stories. Next Thursday the girls will be showcasing photographs of their edible comic at the Free Word Centre as part of the Islington Word Festival.

Carnegie short review: 4

Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner

Maggot Moon is an unusual book. Set in a dystopian 1950’s world that is reminiscent of Nazi Germany, Standish Treadwell is a dyslexian schoolboy whose best friend Hector has disappeared. The writing style is spare yet powerful, and the book is illustrated with unpleasant rats and spiders – and I didn’t like the cover either. Unpleasant and violent things happen in Standish’s world and his quest to find Hector is not an easy one. This book is extremely powerful and unlike anything I have previously read.

Becoming a Writer

The books have arrived for our 'Becoming a Writer' event next week, complete with the new cover designs! These will be on sale at the event next Thursday.

BECOMING A WRITER

Here at The Cloud we are very excited to be launching our new series of Author Events, 'Becoming a Writer.' Launching next week with our first guest author Meg Rosoff, the series will feature a series of talks, Q & A sessions and workshops encouraging young peeople to write. The author talk will be filmed and featured on this blog and the school website, enabling others to benefit from the sessions.

Authors to feature inlcude:

Keren David

Phil Earle

Candy Gourlay

Catherine Johnson

Nicola Morgan

Val Rutt

Malaika Rose Stanley

If you are an author and you would like to take part please email: lesley.cheetham@egas.islington.sch.uk

Carnegie Short Review: 3

A Greyhound of a Girl – Roddie Doyle

This is a charming story, easy to read, telling of Mary O’Hara and four generations of the women in her family. I loved the Irish lilt in the voice of the narrator. It’s a very emotional book, telling of Mary’s Great-Grandmother Tansey who returns as a ghost when her own daughter Emer, now a Grandma is dying. Tansey died when her daughter was only three, but through Mary, the pair are reunited and go on a journey to the farm where they used to live, sharing bits of family history along the way. The relationships between mothers and sughters reallyy came alive for me and it was a very enjoyable read.

Carnegie Books: Short reviews 2

Wonder
RJ Palacio

This book had been on the library shelves for several months and had never gone out. It was one I intended to read, and as soon as I started reading it I couldn’t put it down. The first few chapters are from Auggie’s point of view, then it changes to include various other characters. I would have preferred Augustus to be the narrator the whole way through, as I was sorry when the first section came to an end, but the other characters offered interesting perspectives on what was happening to Augustus. However, his sister only had a short section and I found her very interesting as a character. The book tugs at the heartstrings, but it is very American and everything ties up neatly at the end. I don’t find the cover very appealing and wonder if it puts readers off, as I’m still having difficulty persuading students to read it, despite recommending it to them.  

Carnegie Shortlist - my short reviews: 1

The Weight of Water
Sarah Crossan

This book is delightful. I hope the verse layout doesn’t put teenagers off because it is so beautifully written and easy to read. Important issues are dealt with in this book, seen through the eyes of Kasienka, a young Polish girl who comes to London with her mother, following the footsteps of the father. It soon becomes clear to Kasienka that her father does not want to be found and she finds herself in the middle of a complicated family situation. Kasienka also has to try and fit in at school, deal with bullies and her growing friendship with Will, who recognises her talent for swimming.
This book is both sad and humorous. It didn’t take me long to read, but the book stayed with me afterwards.

Farewell to Pam Dix



Pam proudly shows off her Librarian badge



Today the Islington School Librarians said farewell to Pam Dix, Head of the Education Library Service in Islington. Pam has facilitated the School librarians group for many years now and has been a mentor to all of us as we have started working as librarians in Islington schools. In the last two years she has overseen two office moves, most recently the installation of the Education library service in the Islington Central Library Building in Fieldway Crescent, N5. Pam has worked tirelessly to promote the service and we are all sad to see her go. We wish her well and thank her for her support over the years.

We gave Pam a selection of literary/librarian type gifts, including a Banned Books Bracelet and a Librarian badge!

A literary teatowel



Librarians





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World Book Day Competition 2013 - Do you recognise the book jacket? Even upside down/sideways?!