catboy review :)

 This book is about a boy named Taylor and his friend Simon.  They really like cats and want to save a cat colony. They met a security guard from India who's name is Mr. Singh.  They learned that sometimes multicultural people have come to Canada for a better life.  Taylor's school is also full of students from all over the world.  We all come from different places and speak different languages just like at Taylor's school.  by Rebeca

Catboy Review

I think cat boy is a really good book because it is more than just a story, it tells about culture in Toronto. 

I  liked the end of cat boy because Taylor gets one of Hunter's kittens, even though I would really have liked an epilogue at the end that tells about Taylor and his kitten a little older in the future.

-Emily

Catboy book review

Catboy book review

The book Catboy is a book by Eric Walters. This book is about a boy named Taylor who moved to Toronto and got into and adventure that no one would see coming. My thought on this book is that this book is great and it shows the multiculturalism of Toronto with a great story. the one thing i don't like about the book is the name that Eric Walters gave the last kitten that Hunter gave Taylor, come on Eric Walters its the last cat they name and the last sentence have a little imagination.



Book review by Feneti Bulcha

Book review on Catboy

Hello everyone,
Our team read Catboy this week and along with sharing Christmas traditions, playing online Pictionary we enjoyed a great discussion about feral colonies, being a super hero, unconditional acceptance and cats as pets!  Here is Gabrielle's book review.  Please feel free to add your comments about what you enjoyed the most about the book underneath her post and join in the collaboration!  Many thanks and blessings of the Christmas season to you!

Catboy book review, by Gabrielle Tremblay

The story “Catboy” is all about a boy who loves cats but wait it doesn’t stop there! Taylor (Catboy) just moved to Toronto from his small home town where he grew up. He made a few friends including a smart, Korean boy named Simon. Taylor and Simon are walking home one evening and Simon says he knows a shortcut. Who is Taylor to say Simon is lying? He barely knows the city yet. In the shortcut they pass by a junkyard, where Taylor spots some cats. He and Simon get closer to the cats and just watch them as they go around in the junkyard, three older kids bump into them and start throwing stones at the cats. Taylor tries to defend the cats but they get mean to him and Simon. Taylor and Simon become friends with the security guards of the junkyard. The security guard lets them come in regularly to feed and stay with the cats but what will happen to the cats when the owner of the property want sot build condominiums? Taylor, Simon and Mr. Singh (the security guard) look for ideas to save the cats everywhere and finally Taylor, Simon and their friends from school find a way to save he cats. Taylor visits Dr.Reynolds (a vet) to ask him if he has traps and cages for the cats. Why? Taylor's clever plan was to trap and cage the cats and bring them to a new community of cats on the other side of the city! Will Taylor and his friends be able to pull it off? Find out more and how Catboy got his name in this great read!

The End by, Gabrielle Louise Tremblay

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Hello from HCS Campus!

We too are reading and gaining steam with the Red Cedar selections.  We're currently reading CatBoy by Eric Walters and many are enjoying it!  Hopefully, some of the students will sign in and share too.

Jessie Davis
Learning Commons
Heritage Christian Schools
Kelowna, BC Canada

Greetings from Canada

Hello all bloggers from HCS and NDG schools!

Welcome back to a new school year!  I hope you are all reading tons!!

I wanted to post a short entry to share what we will be reading in the coming months as part of our blogging collaboration.

The first two months our book club has enjoyed reading the following books listed on the Red Cedar List and also chosen from our group sharing.

My Name is Parvana  and also the first in the trilogy by Deb Ellis, The Breadwinner
Currently we are reading The Westing Game.

Our next read will be Catboy by Eric Walters.  Our students will be blogging in the coming month about some of these books and wanted to share with you in this regard.  Please feel free to join in this collaborative adventure if you have read any of these books and we will gladly respond:D  We also look forward to hearing about some of the books you may be reading ;D

Kind Regards
Mrs Pippa Davies
Teacher Librarian HCS Learning Commons

Greenaway winner is announced!

The Winner of the Greenaway Medal was announced today. Click on his picture below to listen to him talk about his book.

Chocolate Lily Results are out!

And....

Congratulations to illustrator, Cynthia Nugent, and author, Tom Saunders, for I Want to Go to the Moon (Simply Read Books, 2011), in the Chocolate Lily Awards 2013 (in the Picture Book category).

Some of our students picked this one!! What do you think???  

Winner of Chocolate Lily 2013

I want to go to the  moon by Tom Saunders

http://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/9673767-i-want-to-go-to-the-moon

Our final few posts....or is it?

I hope that you have all enjoyed looking at the Greenaway and Chocolate Lilly awards. It is great to discuss books on a blog as it gives you the chance to say what you think but also comment on what someone else thinks.

Do you want to continue? I would be happy to help you all continue with this blog if you would still like to share books with each other. We could maybe talk about chapter books that you are reading.

If you want to continue then add a comment to this post and maybe we can come up with a list of books that we would like to share.......

Looking forward to talking to you all on Wednesday.

Elizabeth

Which book is the overall winner of both awards?

If all these books were up for the same award which book would win?

More Winning Predictions from Heritage Christian School

Our Predictions for the Kate Greenaway Medal and why:

Reid Faitala: I Want My Hat Back, by Jon Klassen
"It is suspenseful and it is also going to make you laugh--and laughing is healthy."

Emily Siemens: Again!, by Emily Gravett
"I like the funny storyline and the "hole" at the back of the book as well as the illustrations are hysterical."

Victoria Clement: King Jack and the Dragon, by Peter Bently
"I think it will win because it is funny and cute and great for all ages.  The illustrations are great because they look like they were sketched."

Ben Morris:  Pirates 'n' Pistols, by Chris Mould
"This book will win because it is a book that has lots of interesting facts."

Feneti Bulcha:  King Jack and the Dragon, by Peter Bently
"It is cute and imaginative with the dragons and ogres, etc.  The pictures are very appealing to children the way that they are drawn."

Ashley Gerk:  I Want My Hat Back, by Jon Klassen
"I think this book is hilarious."

Isabella Caicedo:  Pirates 'n' Pistols, by Chris Mould
"This is a winner because of the illustrations and the techniques the author used that are very interesting."

Jesse Ward:  Again!, by Emily Gravett
"The book is the winner because the humor is fun for all ages!"       

And the winner is....

Well, we've come along in our understanding of what makes a great children's picture book.  We have had some discussion and we all have our own predictions on which books will be the winners.  One thing we must agree upon is that we are quickly drawn to a particular book's style or story and then it stands out as the clear winner no matter what!  Can the appointed judges refrain from this instant pull?  Do they need to?  Some things to think about. 

Here are some of our predictions for the Chocolate Lily Book Award and why:

Victoria Clement: I Want to Go to the Moon, by Tom Saunders
"There is something in the book that lets me feel a little bit confident.  I love how the illustrations draw the story together."

Emily Seimens:  Can Hens Give Milk, by Joan Betty Stuchner and Joe Weissmann
"It is hilarious that the family doesn't learn their lesson the first time, and the illustrations are original."

Feneti Bulcha:  Louis the Tiger Who Came From the Sea, by Michael Kozlowski
"It is funny and interesting as well as appropriate for children.  The illustrations are distinctive and the layout draws it together."

Ben Morris:  I Want to Go to the Moon, by Tom Saunders
"This book is an interesting and learning experience type of book."

Isabella Caicedo:  Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat, Where Have You Been, by Dan Bar-El
"It's pictures, details and colour make it good.  I also like how most of the words rhyme."

Ashley Gerk:  Louis the Tiger Who Came From the Sea, by Michael Kozlowski
"It is not only interesting, but amazing.  It is a book for all a wide range of ages (3-9years).  I like it!"

Can you help Jonah find Patrick's address?

Hi everyone,
I got a letter from a guy named Patrick to be penpal's and I am writing him back and cannot find his address. Is he one of the students here? He can email me his address at bouillon@pris.ca with the address..thanks!
Jonah

Louis the Tiger Who Came From the Sea by Kozlowski

This book is really good.  The pictures are good from a young child's perspective. The drawings look similar to kids' drawings.  The plot is well done and silly.  The book is about a tiger that came from the ocean and two little kids try to get him back to the ocean.  This book is BOSS! (awesome)

Pirates 'n Pistols by Chris Mould

I like the illustration techniques the author used--they are very interesting.  He uses different kinds of brushes, toothbrushes, sponges, etc.

by Reid Faitala

Oh No George! by Chris Houghton

I loved the book Oh NO, George!  because it had great illustrations.  I find the illustrations fabulous in that the images were looking almost 3D.  The pictures are just like abstract art.  The story is short, simple and fun.

by Ben Morris

I want to go to the moon By Tom Saunders and Cynthia Nugent

I love this book.Why?Because if I had someone tell me I couldn`t achieve my dream I wouldn`t try to achieve it.I love that he didn`t care what people said, and he tried and did it.The illustrations look like they are sketched and very colourful and detailed.It shows that this boy is normal just like you.So when you have a dream don`t let anyone tell you that you can`t achieve your dreams.

By Victoria Clement

pussycat ,pussycat ,where have you been by : dan bar -el

I THINK THAT PUSSYCAT, PUSSYCAT WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN WAS VERY GOOD AND INTERESTING BECAUSE OF THE PICTURES ,DETAILS ,AND COLOUR. I ALSO LIKE HOW MOST OF THE WORDS RHYME. MY FAVORIT PAGE WAS NUMBER SIX . IT SAID "THE PUSSYCAT SHOW TONIGHT".



BY : ISABELLA :)

oh no George

oh no george is an okay book. its a little bit funny and kinda weird. the ending leaves you hanging  but its an interesting tecnique because he wants the kids to keep imaganing after the story is done what else george will do. the pictures are really distorted and color is unusual, but over all the book is way pretty great.


by Feneti Bulcha

Can Hens Give Milk? by Joan Betty Stuchner and Joe Weissmann

I think a child would like this book because it has a funny story line. The illustrations are clever because they are kind of scribbled. I just think some words are hard to read, because they are long. But I still think it's a good book.

By: Emily

Pussycat, Pussycat, where have you been by: Dan Bar-el

This book is about a cat who goes on these adventures, like going to the circus and in the end that cat comes back and asks about the cats' day.
 I think this book was pretty good, especially the pictures. I think the pictures were inspirational. Just the detail that was shown was absolutley incredible. That's why i like this book.


  By: Ashley

Can Hens Give Milk? By Joan betty stuchner and Joe weissmann

I like this book because it was funny and they did not learn their lesson, the pictures were bright and colourful.

Watch Listen and read Greenaway awards

Hi all

I Just wanted to give you this link to the Greenaway awards site that allows you to listen to the authors and illustrators talk about their books. You need to scroll down past the first books (they are the Carnegie award) the books we are reviewing are at the bottom.

Listen to the illustrator talking about I Want my Hat Back....does it change your opinion about it?

http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/shadowingsite/watch_listen.php

I hope you are all enjoying reading these books. I love your reviews! Don't forget to check to see 
if someone else has already reviewed something and see if you can comment. It's nice to know 
that someone else has read what you have written. 

Keep going you are all doing really well. 

Mrs Hutchinson

Lois the tiger who came from the sea by michal kozlowski

This is a book about a tiger who came from the sea. I like this book because its not normal for a tiger to come from the sea. I like the illustrations they look like some one sketched them.   They are good for young readers because they are silly and funny.  They add to the story because you can almost tell what's going to happen without even reading the words.  The pictures are quite colourful, too.

by:Victoria clement

What do you think about LUNCHTIME by Rebecca Cobb?

I would love to read your comments about this book.  I found it endearing with the "scribbled and drawn" style of illustrations and the little girl's pictures entering her imagination and into her "reality".  The tablecloth with the growing vines and the painted crocodile are my favorites.  Of course, I love happy endings too!  Did anyone else love this book?

Oh no Geoge! (By: Chris Haughton)

I thought that the illustrations are a bit blocky.The plot of the story is not that good because it is repeative even for a kids book.The colours are good and well used.The age group is at around 4-7 and some of the words look a little hard for the age groop some of the words are surprised and favourite.

By:Jesse Ward

Louis the tiger who came from the sea by Michael Kozlowski

Louis the tiger who came from the sea is a great book. I loved it because it is funny, cute and kinda goofy.  Michael kozlowski is an awesome author.   I wish I could read all of his books. The illustrations are wonderful. They are great. I love how there is a lot of hidden animals hidden in each picture. It is probably the best book I have ever read. michal kozlowski is very creative I would never think in a million years to write a book like this that is one of the many reasons I love this book he is unique and that's what I love about him and this book.

By feneti bulcha

Pirates n Pistols by Chris Mould

Hi my name is Ben Morris  and I felt that the book Pirates n Pistols was more leaned towards an older age group. I felt this because of the illustrations. They look as if you intended for maybe grade 7.  This troubles me because I have cousins that are in grade 2 and in Kindergarten and frankly, they would be SCARED by these images.
The illustrations were great:  I liked the sketched design of them and all the bright use of colour.  I liked the stories in the book-- they were not too hard but just hard enough. I love ancient myths and this book is full of myths. Pirates n Pistols is a great book full of great stories. I would recommend this book, but to an older age group.

Black Dog By Levi Pinfold

This book is about a black dog that at the beginning of this book the black dog is a big dog and starts to get bigger and bigger. The youngest of the family and is not scared of the dog. She goes outside with the dog and the dog starts to follow her everywhere and then starts to shrink until the dog is a normal sized dog.
The illustrations were a little scary but good and were drawn with lots of detail.

by Reid Faitala

i want my hat back by jon klassen

The book is mainly about a bear who lost his hat but he doesn't know where and how to find it so he goes and asks a bunch of animals and they don't know where it is. One of them has it on but he did not reconize it. I don't like the book because it is very boring. There's no colourr or any movement in the book.  I don't like how it ends and they wasted too much paper. I don't really recommend  it.

by : isabella caicedo

I want my hat back, by Jon Klassen

This book is about a bear who has lost his hat. He asks alot of animals if they have seen his hat, but they haven't.
The illustrations are not very convincing, because the main character, a bear, actually looks like a giant gopher!!! I think the pictures are extremely boring, because the bear is in the same position in almost the whole book, and the pages are almost completely blank. The colours are all the same, except for one red page.

by,
Emily Siemens

We can't wait to get started!

Hello!  It took us some time to arrive on the blog--thanks for waiting for us!  Now we at HCS are reading and exploring and enjoying the short listed books for the Chocolate Lily and Greenaway Awards.  My name is Jessie, (Mrs. Davis), and I am very excited to dive into these books!   I love children's lit! 
Our class of Grade 6 and 7 students are really excited to be able to meet you and blog along side of you!  Do you have a favorite pick yet?  We'll talk soon...

Pirates 'n' Pistols by Chris Mould

This book is about pirates. We read one story called Cross-Legged Jack which is about a cused pirate toy. He is cursed because he gives you nightmares. We liked this book because the pictures are very detailed, there also is alot of good discription.

 by Samuel and Anya

Pussycat ,Pussycat, where have you been? by Dan Bar-el

Pussycat,pussycat,where have you been? this is a story about a pussycat that has amazing adventures around the world like London,France and the north sea. We have heard the poem pussycat,pussycat but not all the verses he has created new verses which is very cleaver.We really liked the bold colour and the imagination that the illustrator has used.We didn't like the moon as we thought it was very creepy.We recommend this book to for all ages 3-11.

Jess, Charlotte and Ellie

Sounds of The Ferry Written by Sara Leach Illustrated by Steven Corvelo

Sounds of the Ferry 

I liked this book because of the simple rhyming text that was kind of like a poem. It describes the sounds of a ferry very well and gives you a good mental picture of the sounds. I thought the illustrations were a little unusual but showed a lot of action. Each picture tells a story. I thought they were a little unusual because the people looked a bit odd.

I think this book is a little too short and too simple to do a book review on the story but the illustrations is what told the story.

King Jack and the Dragon by Peter Bently

The book is about three small children Jack, Zak and baby Caspar, who build a small tent and pretend to fight dragons and monsters. As it started to get dark the children went back to their stronghold which was their make believe castle. A giant ( Dad ) came to take Zak then, another giant ( Mum ) came to take Caspar. Jack was left in the dark. He sat in his stronghold listening to the sounds of nature. Owls tooting mice scuttering and frogs croaking. Jack was scared. He heard footsteps, something with four legs ..........his mum and dad coming to take him into the house for a nice warm bath.

I liked this book because the use of colour for showing when they were imagining things and when it was real life was really clever. When it was real life it was kind of like a sketch but when they were fighting dragons and monsters it was in colour. This meant that we didn't get confused between imagination and real life. Another way that the illustrator showed us imagination was that the baby wasn't scared of the monsters and they didn't mind him being there.

I really like this book because the illustrations were really clever and the story was really good.

Sofia

Louis the tiger who came from the sea By Michal Kozlowski

This book is about a tiger from the sea called Louis. Ali and Ollie find a tiger in the garden and try to give it breakfast.The tiger gets into the house.They dress up as sea creatures and lead him to the sea.

The pictures are clever because in one of the pictures there are dolphins in the clouds when the tiger is asleep in the grass.

I found this book funny because tigers don't normally come from the sea, tigers don't normally have baths and the parents walked down the street in sea creature costumes.

I really liked this book.
Dominic

Oh No George! By Chris Haughton

The story is about a dog called George and his owner Harris. Harris is going out and George is told to be good while he's out. George says to himself that he will be good but George can't help himself from messing up the place.

We like how when George is thinking about things that the background is white so it shows just him. When George is being mischievous the background is all colourful and bright. We love the pictures and think it is a great contender.

We liked how the words were set out and even though they were simple it still made it a great story for all ages ( literally )

As we said this book is for all ages and even made our teacher laugh. Anyone who reads the book or is reading the book to someone else will have a good little giggle and enjoy the book.

Sofia and Paris

I want to go to the moon / Words and music by Tom Saunders Illustrated by Cynthia Nugent

I Want To Go to The Moon by Tom Saunders

This book is about young Neil that wants to go to moon his whole life. It is based on a true story about Neil Armstrong: The first man to set foot on the moon. I think this was a great book and that it written for all ages.

 I loved the story because it was uplifting and tells a good message on following your dream and the dream God has put in your heart. This book was written in poetry form and has a CD that comes with it that sings the story (At least mine did).

I loved the illustrations because they were cartoony yet detailed and very pleasant. I think they really combined well with the story. 

Book reveiw / Seal Song written by Andrea Spalding illustrated by Pascal Milelli

Seal Song written by Andrea Spalding

This book is about a boy named Finn that works with his father at a cannery. After the day’s work is done he goes to his secret cove to swim with the seals. Every time he goes there he asks seals to sing. One day a strange girl comes to town and becomes friends with Finn. People say that she is a seal folk and that she will bring ill fortune. They also said that saltwater can’t touch her skin or else she will have to return to the sea. But when Finn goes fishing one day and a storm hits she has no choice!   

I liked the illustrations because they were made of lots of different shapes and had lots of unusual colours.  I especially like the picture showing Finn in the boat at dawn because the character was dark but it still showed a lot of detail.

The only thing I disliked about this book was that it was a bit superstitious. It talked about good fortune and seal magic. I don’t believe in magic and I don’t believe in good fortune, I believe in God’s blessings.

 I liked this book because it was happy and uplifting and had lots of joy. 

AGAIN! By Emily Gravett

This book is about Cedric the dragon who wants his Mum to read him a bedtime story again and again and again.This book made us laugh because it reminded us of when we were little and didn't want to go to sleep so made our parents read us stories over and over again.

We think the pictures are quite clever because Cedric the dragon starts to become the dragon in the story that is being read to him. Then Cedric the dragon starts to turn red and the dragon in the story goes green and falls asleep.

At the end of the book Cedric starts to get really angry with his Mum because she falls asleep and won't read it again so he burns a hole through the book. We think it's really clever because there is actually a hole in the book as if the book has really been burnt.

We don't think you have a copy of this yet but let us know what you think of it when you do.

Izzy.R and Sofia

Book Review / Grandpa's Girls By Nicola L. Campbell and Kim LaFave

Grandpa's Girls

This story is about some girls (who are cousins) that go visit their Grandpa's farm. Their Grandpa is a veteran, a cowboy, a rancher and a businessman. Their Grandpa was a soldier in World War II. Going to their Grandpa's is the highlight of their summer. They have lots of fun at their Grandpa's; they play house in the root seller, they swing on swings in the barn, they tease the pigs and raid the the candy jar.

Ienjoyed the story because it was an warm uplifting book. It showed family closeness. I thought the illustrations were unique. They were cartoonish yet detailed. Almost every picture in the book has a lot of movement and good amount of colour. Overall I thought the illustrating matches the story pretty well.

NDG - A proper introduction

Izzy P, Izzy R, Paris, Dominic, Samuel, Sofia, Anya, Lottie, Jess , Ellie

We held our first meeting for our book club and this is the group that will be shadowing the awards. We are in our new school library! They were told of our plans to blog with students in Canada about both the Greenaway awards and the Chocolate Lily awards and were very excited to see photo's of the students they will be talking to. They really hope that this may lead to future friendships.

Notre Dame is a small Catholic school in Guernsey. Here is a link to our school website. Our school moto is 'Learning together Loving God'

Guernsey is a small Island that is part of the UK but is near the French coast so we don't get snow very often. The children were very happy to have a couple of days off school to go out and play in it. It was lovely to see your students enjoying the snow too!

Well done for doing so much for charity. We were very impressed with Jeffrey shaving his hair for Faith and we are very glad to hear that she is getting better. We too support charities and we support Cafod. A representative from CAFOD will visit our school on Monday 4th March to tell our junior children how we can make a real difference to people's lives this Lent.

We looked at our first book this week and after our Easter holidays we will get one of the students to tell you about it.

HCS - An Introduction

Here is a picture of some of the students in the grade 7 class at Heritage Christian School in Kelowna, B.C. Canada.  We all wore mustaches to raise money for an orphanage in Kitale, Kenya.  Our Principal shaved his off!!

We understand what snow is like! Here is a picture of some of the students sledding during a day of snow fun at the end of January.  Emily, at the end of the "train" will be one of the students who does the book reviews. 

Here is picture of Jeffrey who is presenting his art project.  He is a real artist!  He will be the other main student reviewer.  

The reason his hair is so short is because he chose to shave it off in support of his classmate, Faith, who has just beat cancer.  She was diagnosed in October and has completed all her chemo treatments.  She was able to even come back to class just before our Spring Break.  We are so thankful she is better!   Here is a picture of Faith (in front, middle, staying away from us due to low immunity to germs) with all of us wearing T-Shirts made in support of her battle with cancer.

We are looking forward to being involved in this project with you!!!

About ourselves - NDG

We were today going to introduce you to our group here in Guernsey but due to adverse weather 'snow' all schools across Guernsey have been closed. So instead of not posting anything I thought I would give you some pictures of the snow that has brought everything to a standstill.

We will be meeting as a group next Tuesday so hopefully I can send you some pictures of people next time.

I am really looking forward to getting to see the books on both shortlists and can't wait to see the discussions that will hopefully take place.

Shortlists for Chocolate Lily award and Greenaway award

Here is the list of books that our students will be reading and disscussing which do you think they will pick?

Congratulations to the publishers, authors, and illustrators for their 2012 – 2013 Chocolate Lily nomination!

2012- 2013 Picture Book Nominees (Kindergarten – Grade 4)

Pussycat, Pussycat Where have you Been by Dan Bar-el

I want to go to the Moon by Tom Saunders and BC illustrator Cynthia Nugent

Seal Song by Andrea Spalding

Can Hens Give Milk by Joan Betty Stuchner

Sounds of the Ferry by Sara Leach

Louis the Tiger Who Came from the Sea by Michal Kozlowski

Grandpa’s Girls by Nicola I. Campbell

The CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2013 shortlist in full:

Lunchtime by Rebecca Cobb, Macmillan Children's Books

Again! by Emily Gravett, Macmillan Children's Books

Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton, Walker Books

I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen, Walker Books

Pirates 'n' Pistols by Chris Mould, Hodder Children's Books

King Jack and the Dragon by Helen Oxenbury (illustrator) and Peter Bently (author), Puffin Books

Black Dog by Levi Pinfold, Templar Publishing

Just Ducks! by Salvatore Rubbino (illustrator) and Nicola Davies (author), Walker Books

Greenaway and Chocolate Lily Awards - international discussions

Every year we Shadow the Greenaway book awards with students in Guernsey. Within our schools we bring groups of students together to talk about the shortlist and encourage some students to post their thoughts on the CILIP website.

 

In our groups we try to guess who we think the winner will be and why. On the day that the real winner is announced we bring 4 students from each school together at the Guille-Allés Public Library for a celebration lunch. The students then split into groups to again discuss the books and have another vote; this allows us to have a Guernsey ‘winner’.  We are given a gold envelope that contains the real winner and we then open it to reveal who has really won the Greenaway award.

The students really enjoy the whole process from reading the books to discussing what they like and don’t like about them and then choosing a winner. They especially look forward to the lunch when they get the opportunity to share their thoughts with students they have not met before.

Not many of my students were keen to post their thoughts about the books on the website so I began to think about what would encourage them to write more. Blogging book reviews is something that has started to become popular but it has been done before so what could I do that would be so different that they would want to write something?

I was recently talking about encouraging older students to read and look at picture books to Pippa Davies through a social networking site called scoop.it. We began to hatch a plan that would enable her students who are in Canada and follow the Chocolate Lily award

 

to talk to my students about both awards by blogging. We have made sure that all students have access to all the books and we hope that they will be inspired to talk to each other about them. We are going to finish this off with a virtual  classroom where they will meet each other and talk about what they have done.  Please follow and see the results.