The Weight of Water

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The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World’s Most Notorious Nazi” by Neal Bascomb Suitability:Chalkline is a novel which will hold the interest of all readers. Very clear cross-curricular links include C.S.P.E and R.E. Morris Gleitzman is one of Australia’s bestselling authors. Once is the story of a young Jewish boy who is determined to escape the orphanage he lives in to save his Jewish parents from the Nazis in the occupied Poland of the Second World War. Once is the first in a series of children’s novels about Felix, a Jewish orphan caught in the middle of the Holocaust.

Kasienka. William. The writing. Friendship. Saying goodbye. Reunions. Butterfly stroke. Kisses like Haribo. Love is a large W. Mama. Resilience. Culture. Blueberry ice cream. Girly sleepovers. Tummy tumbles. People who have ever felt at a loss with themselves. People who like to adopt happiness as their revenge. People who thought their first kiss way awkward *cringe*. People who always leave the best stories at a sleepover for when the lights are out. Lord of the Flies is an allegorical tale about the conflict between “civilization” and “savagery”. In the midst of a nuclear war, a group of school boys become abandoned on an island when their plane goes down. Separated at first, but through the use of a conch (shell), Ralph, a twelve year old summons the boys together and we soon learn that they are of all age groups, toddlers and adolescents. They learn that there are no adults on the island and initially this gives cause for some general enjoyment. Without adult supervision they must work together to survive and they elect a leader, the boy Ralph: ‘the being that had blown that (conch), had sat waiting for them on the platform with the delicate thing balanced on this knees, and was set apart.’ Student Voice:“This is a thrilling, exciting novel that is overflowing with surprises. A gripping read which you will struggle to leave down.” Amy, aged 15In 2012, Into the Grey won both the CBI Book of the Year and The Children’s Choice Award. In 2013, the novel also won The Reading Association of Ireland Award and in the same year Robert Dunbar named it as one of the best books of the past twenty five years in the Irish Times. Suitability:A novel in a western setting with a heroine as its narrator. Accessible to all readers. A number of setting specific references which may need a little explanation for the student. Swimming is just about the only thing Kasienka can do right; in the water, she is too much of a winner to be a loser. It's the one place she is untouchable. And while the idea of young teens turning to their passion to escape from reality has been explored to death, Kasienka's story still feels fresh. I think it is all the other things that make this story stand out from the crowd - Kasienka's relationship with her mother, the difficult choices she has to make at such a young age, and the exploration of the alienation that many immigrants face. For such a short book, I was blown away by how powerful and moving it was. Suitability:A supernatural thriller challenging in parts which will hold the attention of the reader with its imaginative narration. Suitability:Stone Cold is a novel that will appeal to all readers of all ability levels. The novel also offers cross-curricular opportunities with R.E and C.S.P.E.

Sarah Crossan is an Irish author. She is best known for her books for young adults, including Apple and Rain and One, for which she has won several rewards. Themes:memory and the past; landscape and environment; social class, gender and ‘otherness’; endurance in the face of hardship; growing up Michael Morpurgo wins Children's Book Award for fourth time". BBC News. 11 June 2017 . Retrieved 11 June 2017. The Wind Singer is the first book in the ‘Wind On Fire’ trilogy. It is a fantasy novel set in the mythical meritocratic city of Aramanth, where each family is judged entirely on their ability to perform in examinations, and to be unsuccessful in these is seen as a great source of shame. Every citizen must abide by the ‘Oath of Dedication’, meaning that they must constantly ‘strive harder to reach higher.’Themes:A novel with political themes and moral messages which is accessible to all readers. Will need some direction from teacher to explain the context but will engage. I would have loved to have had a few more poems set when Kasienka and her mum were in Poland. I think it would have added a great contrast between the different cultures. Or… well, wait until she’d changed out of her cozzie because I don’t want to get all chloriney but then we’d cuddle. Definitely. Suitability:Shadows on our Skin is a novel accessible to all readers which captures a real sense of Northern Ireland during “the Troubles”. The drunken farm owner of Manor Farm, Mr Jones, arrives home and forgets to feed his animals. Old Major the eldest of the pigs gathers the animals together into the barn and tells them of a dream he has had about what the earth will be like when man has vanished. He outlines how man is the only creature that consumes without producing and encourages the neglected animals to rebel and run the farm themselves, with one important qualification: everyone should be equal. The rebellion takes place with the pigs being the smartest animals, naturally taking the leadership role. The animals succeed and the initial excitement of their actions has a unifying effect on them and a set of rules is drawn up which seem to offer equality for all animals. All too soon, the unity begins to break up and two pigs, Napoleon and Snowball, vie for control. As time passes, the rules begin to change and the newly named Animal Farm becomes a place of fear and terror.

Celine Kiernan Interview:Celine Kiernan is an accomplished, award winning Dublin born, Irish writer. If we had gone to school together I bet we’d be the best of friends and we’d stay up all night, swapping stories and drinking pop and being giddy. In our interview with Celine Kiernan which was filmed in her own home in Virginia, Co. Cavan the novelist shares her insights about her novel Into the Grey. The book takes its title from Kasienka’s newly found love of swimming. Several people encourage her involvement, and she persists until she gets to go to a national competition in London. Again, the poetry works well here, communicating through vivid imagery the relief that Kasienka feels as she swims. Her mundane worries slide off her body; she revels in the feel of the water on her skin, the intensity of the competition of which she is a part. For her, the weight of water is something special, something almost holy. Crossan portrays the refuge that children (and adults, often enough) seek in a hobby or singular activity, something they can focus on—something they can control. At home Mama and Kasienka befriend their next-door neighbor, Kanora, who had been a physician in Kenya, but here in Coventry he’s a janitor. He tells mother and daughter that there is honor in every job.

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Drabble, Emily (17 March 2015). "Carnegie medal and Kate Greenaway 2015 shortlists announced". The Guardian . Retrieved 11 June 2017.

Sarah Crossan wins the Carnegie medal with verse novel One". The Guardian. 20 June 2016 . Retrieved 8 July 2016. CBI Book of the Year Award winner is Sarah Crossan!". Children's Books Ireland. 20 May 2016 . Retrieved 8 July 2016. Upon arrival, Pat thinks the cozy house seems shabby, dark, and stale; he knows something is wrong. We soon find out what it is; a goblin of sorts is haunting Dom, and Pat is the only one who knows it. We share his mounting horror as he watches his brother go where the ghoul leads him, helpless to do anything about it. Student Voice:“Mitchell creates a captivating and emotion-filled novel which allows the reader to connect to the characters.” Oísin, aged 15 Until you realised how it’s OK to be different and how there’ll always be moments where you feel a bit odd or alone but that there is always people who are just as different as you.

In “The Weight of Water” (Bloomsbury 2012), Sarah Crossan tells us only what we need to know in her spare verse. We can fill in the rest ourselves. She must think her readers are intelligent, which makes us feel good. Student Voice:“I would recommend this novel to students who enjoy the topic of war and history.” Lauren, aged 13 year-old Callum is a Nought, and his best friend, Sephy, as well as being a Cross, is also the daughter of one of the most powerful and ruthless politicians in the country. In their hostile world noughts and crosses do not mix. When Callum and Sephy’s childhood friendship grows into a deeper love, they are determined to find a way to be together. The story focuses on their relationship, which is frowned upon by society, and explores the discrimination they meet as a result. Bloomsbury.com. "Bloomsbury - Sarah Crossan - Sarah Crossan". www.bloomsbury.com . Retrieved 8 March 2017.