Library news 

Library Loyalty Card

At the end of last term, we launched our new Library Loyalty Card program. All students who borrow books are offered a loyalty card in the colour of their house and each time they borrow a book, they receive a special stamp. Once they have borrowed five times and received five stamps, students go into a prize draw to win a prize. 

A massive congratulations to Mia in Year 9 who was the lucky recipient of the first prize this term and earned IRWIN House an additional 50 house points. While every time a student borrows a book, they earn 5 house points, all students who complete a ‘library loyalty card’ earn an additional 20 house points which is noted in a green chronicle on Compass.  HAPPY READING EVERYONE! 

Write a Book in a Day

Unprecedented numbers turned up to find out about the Write a Book in a Day event that will go ahead in Term 3. This is our fifth year participating in this fantastic event and it was so fabulous to see students gathered in the library with their friends to sign up.

Write a Book in a Day is a fun and creative team writing competition with some very unique aspects: 

• It involves a collaborative team effort, where students plan, write and illustrate a book
• Every story grows from a unique set of parameters that are given to each writing team
• The book must be completed within 12 hours between 8:00 am and 8:00 pm
• Completed books are shared digitally with children in hospitals across Australia.

Students are encouraged to fundraise for The Kids’ Cancer Project. All sponsorship funds raised go toward scientific research to discover better treatments and ultimately a cure for children with cancer. 

If you are interested in taking part, please see Ms Collins or Ms Pearson in the library by the end of May. Whether you are a readymade team or an individual (we have quite a few teams who are looking for another member) everyone is more than welcome to sign up.

Knitting and Crocheting Club

Our incredible talented and creative team have been gathering every Friday to come together and spend time learning a new skill and or developing their creative projects. These last few weeks the knitting club has been provided with a new challenge; to create little beanies for the maternity ward at St John of God hospital in Berwick. 

Working from a pattern that has been supplied to the club, Library Technician Ying Yu who runs our Knitting and Crocheting Club made a head start to demonstrate what these gorgeous little beanies look like. Our first batch will be collected soon. If you love knitting and would like to contribute to this special project, the pattern is outlined here, and you can drop off your knitted beanies to our Front Office where we will ensure they are delivered.

Library Masterclass – a Feast of Genres

On Thursday 16th May Ms Pearson presented a Masterclass to students titled – A Feast of Genres.  This presentation explored the 20 plus genres that exist in our library; their conventions as well as the myriad of academic and health benefits to reading from across a broad range of genres. 

Students were reminded about the important connection between reading and writing development as well as exploring how books help us to build connections with one another and understand the world. Numerous book recommendations for each genre were provided and for those interested, Mensa actually produce a reading list for different year levels. I have included the links below but my recommendation for all students is to create your own Reading List Challenge and identify a book from each of the 20 genres in the library. 

Ms Collins and Ms Pearson are always happy to help anyone with this. 

MENSA READING LISTS:

Year 9-12 https://www.mensaforkids.org/achieve/excellence-in-reading/excellence-in-reading-9-12-list/

Year 7-8 https://www.mensaforkids.org/achieve/excellence-in-reading/excellence-in-reading-7-8-list/

Reading is Magic: Parent Student Book Club 2024

This term we thought it might be interesting to explore the six books shortlisted for the Book of the Year award that will be announced in August this year. Students who have signed up to the Children’s Book Council of Australia Shadow Judging program are currently reading and critiquing the top six books from the Older Readers category. These books are aimed at readers 13-17 and it is always interesting to hear their thoughts on these shortlisted novels. 

The six books that were shortlisted this year are outlined below but our personal two favourites are listed first:

Grace Notes by Karen Comer https://www.cbca.org.au/book/grace-notes 

This beautifully written verse novel is set in Melbourne and is a powerful chronicle of the pandemic. Set in 2020 just before the first round of lockdowns, this novel follows two stories that run in parallel – Grace and Crux. The verse is very accessible and explores the emotional thoughts and experiences of the two main characters. Comer manages to explore the myriad of emotions that were felt across the community during this time and line it with the hope for the two main characters as they persevere through this very challenging time. 

Inkflower by Suzy Zail https://www.cbca.org.au/book/inkflower 

Inkflower by Suzy Zail, is the retelling of her father’s story. He was a survivor of the holocaust and a few weeks ago, Suzy posted a message on Instagram on Holocaust Remembrance Day which made us stop and think: She said: 

'If we held a minute of silence for every holocaust victim, we would be silent for eleven and a half years'.  

She went on to say that on this day it is so important to remember the 6 million Jews, the countless Romani, disabled, LGBTQI and the political objectors who lost their lives as well as those who survived but carried the scars with them. Suzy's father was just 13 when he was forced into a cattle car bound for Auschwitz. Decades later, with only months to live, he shared his story so that his children would continue to tackle hate and indifference. His job was to survive, rebuild and love again. Suzy has said her job now is to remember and educate the next generation so together we can build a world where we all feel safe. '

Inkflower is told in two parts. The first follows the story of Lisa, Emil Keller’s daughter. We navigate with her as she attempts to deal with the grief surrounding her father’s diagnosis with Motor Neuron Disease alongside her shock as she discovers that her father is Jewish and experienced the horror of the concentration camps during the Second World War. At the same time Lisa must figure out how to share this with her best friend and her first crush who wants to be there for Lisa – but does saying it out loud make it too real?  The second narrator is that of Lisa’s father Emil as he decides to share the story of his survival at Auschwitz before disease takes away his ability to do so. We loved this book and every student who has read this and returned it to us has loved it too. 

The Quiet and the Loud by Helena Fox https://www.cbca.org.au/book/the-quiet-and-the-loud 

This novel is about friendship, family, forgiveness, trauma, and love. A beautifully written novel that follows the main character George as she falls in love for the first time; navigates the changing status of her friendships; tries to figure out the relationship she wants to have with a parent struggling with alcoholism and all the while surrounded by the love and warmth of those she lives with – her two mothers and her grandfather. The quiet and the loud explores the idea that we all have the loud in our lives, but we also have the place where we can escape and be quiet.

A Hunger of Thorns by Lili Wilkinson https://www.cbca.org.au/book/a-hunger-of-thorns

A fantasy novel that explores magic, power, good and evil this book follows the main character Maude and her unravelling of secrets, friendships, and love. When her childhood friend goes missing, Maude journeys to the enchanted world of Sicklehurst – set in an abandoned power plant, to try and find her. But Sicklehurst is not all as it seems. There is dangerous magic and frightening creatures everywhere. This is a world that feels vastly familiar but is extremely treacherous and while searching for her childhood friend, Maude uncovers secrets about her grandmothers and her mother that she can never unknow.

Two Can Play That Game by Leanne Yong https://www.cbca.org.au/book/two-can-play-that-game 

This is a love story that follows the two characters Sam Khoo and Jay Chua who meet by complete accident. Both intent of securing a ticket to a game design workshop which for Sam is the key to her dream career and for Jay is a secret gift for his younger brother, they both lay claim to the last remaining ticket and decide that the fairest solution is to compete in a play-off of their favourite video games. 

This book is told from Sam’s perspective and the two meet in secret to play a video game weekly – slowly working towards figuring out who will secure the precious ticket. However, as the weeks progress, Jay and Sam learn more about themselves and each other and the complexities of navigating early adulthood amidst the high expectations of their Asian families. 

Let’s Never Speak of this Again by Megan Williams https://www.cbca.org.au/book/lets-never-speak-of-this-again 

This is very much a relationships book and explores the complex nature of friendships, family and first love experiences. Abby is a really relatable character. She is generally happy at home and at school but is challenged by her feelings when a new girl arrives and the dynamics of her friendship group – in particular with her best friend, changes. Abby wishes that something bad would happen so that her friend's ‘perfect world’ is not so perfect. However, when it does, Abby must figure out how to support her best friend as she grieves, as well as how to work through her own complex array of emotions. This novel covers a myriad of teenage experiences including love and relationships, sexuality, consent and grief. 

While the six books outlined above are all eligible to win the prestigious award for the CBCA Book of the Year for older readers, we also promote and discuss the other 15 books that were longlisted in this category. This list and the reviews on each of these books can be found at https://cbca.org.au/notables-2024 

As always, the books here provide options so students can select a book that is suitable to their age and maturity. While you can always find a synopsis and reviews of the books online, please don’t hesitate to contact us if you would like further information on any of the books selected, or if you would like a book in another genre altogether. We have over 20 genres in our library and this is just a sprinkle of the new YA books that have made their way into our collection this term. 

Happy Reading!