Second Round

So, the books are now lined up for the second round.


We have:







An Act of Love   vs    The Cat's Table

Far Rockaway    vs    Fishtailing

Nothing     vs    Ship Breaker

Swim the Fly  vs  What We Keep Is 
Not Always What Will Stay

The True Tale of The Monster Billy Dean vs What We Keep Is Not Always What Will Stay

The judge for this round is Miss Murphy




Despite a number of excellent reviews, I found this very difficult to digest.  At first, it reminded me of Emma Donohue’s The Room, as it begins with a child hidden away in some sort of closet or room. At other times, it reminded me of Russell Hoban’s Riddley Walker as it too is written in a mixture of dialect and phonetic spellings (of a child born into a post nuclear holocaust world). In The Room, the voice of the child as he struggled to understand his own version of Plato’s cave convinced. In Riddley Walker, the eccentric spellings of a child trying to make sense of a world devastated by nuclear war engaged. In The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean, the combination of the child’s voice and the odd spellings did not add to any sense of verisimilitude, merely detracted from the story and created unnecessary distance between reader (this one, anyway) and protagonist. In sum, this book has had great reviews, so it may simply be a matter of the book not being everyone’s cup of tea.



At first, I was not particularly taken by the main character, Angie, as she spilled all her teenage angst over a little statue of St. Felix. However, once the statue came to life, in a magical moment of ‘magical realism’, the novel seemed to find its voice. What I took for the ramblings of a spoilt middle-class American teenager became an energetic story that managed to combine the difficulties of starting and maintaining positive human relationships in a world that is complicated by war (for Angie and her love interest, Jesse), religion (for her mother and step-father) and the primordial demands of the ego and id that their needs be met. The book takes the reader on a journey which leaves them feeling a little more human, a little more in tune with our struggle to love well and be loved in a tough world. St. Felix becomes a synecdoche for that struggle, occupying a wobbly space between sainthood and humanity, reality and fantasy, reader and novel.


My winner is What We Keep Is Not Always What Will Stay

Edible Book Competition

Today was judgment day for the Edible Books Competition. We had so many entries that we had to extend the prizes to a 1st and 2nd for students AND a 1st and 2nd for staff! Winners received book tokens.

The ingenuity and skill has been outstanding and our judge, Mrs Neville, found it very difficult. However, the results are out and the winners have been announced (in fact, as it is now the end of the school day, one prizewinning entry has been shared amongst the Librarians. Nom, nom, nom!)

First prize for students went to L. Walsh with her entry based on Rue's Song in Hunger Games.

Second prize went to A. Kailani for her amazing tribute to Memoirs of a Geisha.

Staff winners were Ms Hollis for a very smart Alice in Wonderland and Mrs Keating for We're Painting the Octopus Red.

The quality of entries was superb and here is just a sample ...

Of Mice and Men from Mrs Abi-Karam

Monster Book from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban



<> 

A Y7 student's entry

Ms Edwards - English Dept.





Lord of the Rings from the PE Dept.

 



Swim The Fly vs A Time Of Miracles

The judge for this round is Mrs Murray.

I was given two very different books. I read Swim the Fly first and thought it was unbeatable. It was funny, poignant and about boys. A group of teenage boys who set themselves a challenge. They have to see a girl, naked, before the end of the summer. Written from the standpoint of a teenage boy it's engaging and funny. It's also gross at times, just like a teenage boy, as well as naive and awkward.

The addition of the Grandfather is a nice touch as it shows the universal nature of men's problems. The teenage boys all have very distinct characters although you only really warm to the main character. Female characters are peripheral, as you would expect.

The plot is ostensibly about the summer challenge but there's also the challenge Matt sets himself to swim butterfly for the school swimming team, and how he overcomes this, the trials he undergoes and ultimately, the character he develops. I'm not sure is this is the greatest literature but it is a great read. I was engrossed from the first page.

A Time of Miracles is a serious book. It is based around the story of a refugee from the former Soviet Union and his journey to France and citizenship. It is an engaging read and although I didn't expect to enjoy it, I did. It's a fast moving story with a large cast of colourful characters. The refugees, because of their plight keep having to move on and meet new people so there are plenty of tales to tell. It's told from the child's eye view and inevitably there is a feeling that you know how the story will end because you are not as innocent or naive as the main character.

My winner is Swim the Fly

Pigeon English vs Ship Breaker

The judge for this round is Mrs McKenzie.

Pigeon English depicts life on a gang ridden estate as seen by a young boy, recently arrived from Ghana with his mother and sister. It conveys the closed world of school and the rituals and lore of schoolchildren very well but the voice of the main character, Harri, is not entirely convincing. He and his friends are in the first year of secondary school but seem younger.

Other characters are much more believable, especially the women such as Harri's aunt or his sister's schoolfriend who are emotionally tied to the men who treat them so brutally. Harri's attempts at being accepted by his local gang are well drawn and the reader really feels his shame and horror in what he becomes involved in. The episode where he is challenged to throw stones at a bus, only to be seen and chastised by his Mum, is particularly good.

However other elements do not work so well, one such being the mystical pigeon/angel sections. The book also loses narrative pace part way and this, coupled with the unconvincing nature of the boy, Harri, take away from its good points.

By the by, the two very different covers are quite interesting - the one in the red and orange was the first to appear, the top one appeared later. It seems to me that the early one is intended for an adult audience whereas the later edition is geared to younger readers. The later edition gives up on the pigeon while using the trainers over the wire to give some indication of content. 

Ship Breaker is a very different story, set in a dystopian future although it too is concerned with young people working out how to survive in a difficult environment.

It centres on the lives of teams of scavengers - ship breakers - who eke out a precarious living by cutting up beached oil tankers. Only the small and agile can work deep within these vessels and our hero, Nailer, is close to becoming too big. Luckily for him, he discovers a wrecked ship, owned by one of the remaining wealthy families who control his world, and rescues a girl, Nita, who belongs to the family.

After this he is plunged into a world of intrigue and adventure as he and Nita set out to restore her to her family. Their situation is complicated by his father who is a vile and vicious bully and by the power struggle between the great families. Will Nailer and Nita even survive?

This is a very well told story with well defined and believable characters. The action is exciting and the doubts that assail Nailer are quite understandable - is he going to end up like his father or will he prove himself to be a true hero?  There is plenty of action and excitement and the dilemmas faced by Nailer are convincing. The book transcends the hectic nature of an ordinary adventure by its attention to scene setting, and its exploration of character.

My winner is Ship Breaker.

A Dance of Ghosts vs Far Rockaway

The judge for these two books is Mrs Plant.

In A Dance of Ghosts, Kevin Brooke explores a dark world of violence and corruption. Still numb with pain 16 years after his wife’s death, private investigator John Craine embarks upon an investigation that opens up old wounds.
The character of John Craine, a man who drinks too much and has a reckless disregard for his own safety, is very believable. However, some of the other characters felt a bit too contrived: in particular, a computer geek who would not be out of place in any formulaic Hollywood action adventure film. The plot was well put together and tied up loose ends well, but occasionally took a turn which seemed convenient for the author rather than entirely naturalistic.

It isn't often I read a book from beginning to end without putting it down but A Dance of Ghosts drew me in from the first page. The book is fast paced and taut throughout; overall a very exciting page-turner.

In Charlie Fletcher’s Far Rockaway, Cat and her grandfather are involved in a terrible accident before they could make a long promised journey to Far Rockaway at the end of the subway line. It leaves both gravely ill with Cat in a coma. The story shifts between the hospital and another world populated by characters from books that Cat’s grandfather had been reading to her since she was small, in which she finds herself on a quest to save her grandfather, or so she thinks.
The scenes in the hospital, where the family are watching and waiting, are honestly and painfully written. The characters Cat meets are faithful to the original books and it was a pleasure to be reacquainted with them. Long John Silver was just as I remembered him. In my impatience I googled a character I didn’t know, but needn’t have done so as Charlie Fletcher introduces them all so well that you are left in no doubt as to their true nature. This is a real swashbuckling adventure story in which the landscape, its inhabitants and their emotions are vividly and richly described.


Both books deal with family tragedy effectively and humanly. A Dance of Ghosts kept me reading and on the edge of my seat, but has faded quickly after finishing. Far Rockaway remains rich and colourful and vivid.


My winner is Far Rockaway

Life: An Exploded Diagram vs Nothing

The judge for this post is Ms Mayes.

Mal Peet has created a strong narrative voice in the character of Clem Ackroyd. You are immediately drawn into his world, one which spans the years from 1945-2001; from his birth - brought on by an explosive burst of gunfire from a Spitfire, to the destruction of the Twin Towers. Along the way, Clem's life is punctuated by a number of other, notable explosions. We travel from rural Norfolk to metropolitan London and New York.

The novel is funny, sad, exciting and tense. There is young,forbidden love and the tormenting loss of that love. It is beautifully written, historically interesting and thoroughly enjoyable. It is a book to sink yourself into.



This is one of the darkest novels I have read and it will stay with me for a very long time. It is written for a young adult/teenage audience: perhaps young people's tolerance for the message - that life is pointless - is higher than mine.

That is not to say that I would not recommend the novel; on the contrary, it is my choice to go through to the next stage. The only reason why I put it aside at times, was when I could not bear to read on. I often had to brace myself before reading what I could see was going to happen next.
Events take place in a small town ant the action starts when Pierre Anthon walks out of class declaring that school, indeed life itself, has no meaning. His peers set out to prove him wrong and destroy their youth, their hopes and their innocence in the process.


My winner is Nothing.

Fishtailing vs In The Sea There Are Crocodiles

The judge for this round was Ms Thom.

It was difficult to choose a "winner" out of these two books.

I read Fishtailing first and it only took me a little while to complete the book but I felt I had entered the world of a number of different characters. This was developed very creatively, through poetry.

The book follows four students who are all in the same poetry class. Each has different situations and issues at home but come together with a terrible twist at the end.

Each of the teenager's stories was very engaging and the prose was so cleverly written that it took a simple number of words to describe the feelings and emotions of the students. I found it extremely easy to picture them in my head.

The character of the teacher who was asking them to write poetry was just as interesting as the teenagers themselves. Her journey, from a very strict exterior, to the image of her crying in the car ar the end used incredible imagery.

I loved the fact that the story did not need a full narrative but still was dramatic and painful. The characters were very believable through the poetry form and it seemed obvious to me that Wendy Phillips had been a teacher as she was able to capture the teenagers' emotions very well.

In The Sea There Are Crocodiles was an equally compelling story, following the journey of Enaiatollah - a refugee from Afghanistan.

His journey from his small Afghan village to Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Greece and then finally to Italy where he receives refugee status was harrowing at times.

When you are reading a true story of such a young boy being left by his mother to make his way in the world, it seems so shocking. I cannot imagine any of the eleven year olds here having to do some of the things that Enaiatollah was expected to put himself through.

He was constantly put into extreme danger by his traffickers, and these people were doing the trafficking purely for money with no thought of the human life they are in charge of.

There were moments I found very distressing, for example, the walk over the mountains into Turkey where many of the refugees died and it was pure luck whether you survived the journey, or the journey in the under carriage of a truck for days - in a squatting position with many other people wailing and crying to get out.

However, there were moments when friendship and laughter and the kindness of strangers made me smile and I hope that it has made me look differently and think what would I do if I came across someone who had been on such an immense journey.

My winner is Fishtailing.

Minor hiccough but the battle will continue ...

We do not have a decision today (so far) because one of our judges has been subject to a series of unfortunate events ...

So, instead, we shall look at the first two contestants through to the next round. Step forward -
An Act Of Love by Alan Gibbons and The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje.

These two magnificent books will go head to head in the next round.

If you are disappointed that a book you like has not gone through remember that if it gets enough votes, one losing title will COME BACK FROM THE DEAD. So it's up to you ...

Akata Witch vs The Cat's Table

First round, second set of contestants. We have Akata Witch by Nnedi Okrafor pitched against The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje. The judge for this round is Ms Diaz.

Although Akata Witch took me into Africa and I journeyed with the four children who enter a world of magic-realism, I was blown away by Michael Ondaatje’s The Cat's Table. 

Ondaatje's autobiographical prose is beautiful; the reader is transported to a different time and place through his powerful imagery and ability to capture moments from his time travelling on a ship bound for England.  Each moment on board the ship is captured like a photograph and he weaves between adulthood and childhood with simplicity. A thoroughly good read!

My winner is Cat's Table.

The Absolutist vs An Act Of Love

First round, and first contestants. We have The Absolutist by John Boyne versus An Act Of Love by Alan Gibbons. The judge for this round was Ms Knight.

The story begins in 1919 as Tristan Sadler travels to Norfolk to meet up with the sister of a dead comrade and the narrative moves back and forth between their meeting and Tristan's account of his war experiences.

Boyne describes in a graphic and visceral way the horrors of trench life, but ultimately this is a book about repressed sexuality, unrequited love, and the true nature of bravery and cowardice.

This is not a difficult book to read as Boyne has a straightforward and readerly style. The plot, though compelling, did not engage me on an emotional level. Strangely, since I have finished this novel, I find the story has stayed with me, and I am beginning to see layers and ambiguities in the plot which I was not aware of while I was reading.

This is the story of Chris and Imram, inseparable childhood friends, so committed to each other that they become sworn blood brothers. As political tensions eventually force them apart, Chris joins the Army and is sent to Afghanistan, and Imram becomes involved with a group of Muslim jihadists who attempt to radicalise him.

Set against a background of terrorism both local and international, Alan Gibbons' story explores the nature of patriotism and fundamentalism. The author offers us insights into why his characters behave the way that they do and enables the reader to see events from a new perspective. This novel demonstrates that there is no such thing as a random act of terror, but violence breeds violence and whether it occurs in New York, Afghanistan or on the streets of Britain, each of us cannot fail but be involved in some way. I was impressed by the non judgmental and even handed way that Gibbons manages to achieve this.

This is a compelling novel which has at its heart the relationship between Imram and Chris and what it means to be a loyal and true friend.



My winner is An Act Of Love which will be up against the winner of next pair of battling books. More tomorrow.

Rugby musings

This afternoon sees the second bash at France vs Ireland after the very very late cancellation of the International in February. It was really hard on the travelling fans who, no doubt, spent a great deal of money on travel and accommodation costs - let alone the cost of tickets.


I am able to watch this match as a neutral which is a relief. I spent much of last week's Scotland vs France match not daring to look at the screen (though there was the satisfaction of two tries which was a Good Thing.)

Anyway, this match gives me the chance to use a photo taken in Paris when we went en famille to the Heineken Cup Final of 2010. A touch of style and class, methinks.
It was a marvellous weekend that gave us many jolly memories. We will never forget the call of "crouch, touch, pause, engage" ... when we were inside a packed metro train and a group of supporters were organising their way onto the train. No harm done.
Then there was the food --- ah, happy days.

Reading as an essential skill

Today I am spending a lot of time thinking about finding books for students who don't read. Not the 'reluctant' reader i.e. someone who is able to read but chooses not to. No, my focus is on students who have real difficulty.

We in the Library have been involved with the school's Link Group (a small group of students who, on entry in Y7 were found to have low literacy and numeracy). The aim of the Link Group is to improve their literacy and numeracy and enable these students to return to regular classes.

So, there are some students whose reading age is considerably below that of their peers and we have to find a way of encouraging them to read. Bear in mind that most of the Link students have been subject to reading schemes, phonics, Literacy Hours etc. Yet they still cannot read fluently. They have spent at least six years in school but this essential skill is lacking.

There is, to my mind, no point in going back over reading schemes for them and, to be fair, they are not small children any more so much of what is available is too young for them. I have looked at a great deal of material that is available from educational publishers and find much of it really unpleasant. The illustrations are awful, it does not look like a real book and they just do not offer an enjoyable reading experience. In this instance, I believe that style is as important as substance. I refuse to offer second rate, flimsy books which imply that non-reader equals not important enough to offer real quality.

Suffice it to say that it is not at all easy to find suitable material. However, we are very fortunate in having a brilliant Head of ICT in school who works with Link Group and we have decided to use ipads with them. Hooray! (Cheers to the senior staff for agreeing to this.)

This we hope will remove some of the fear engendered merely by the appearance of a book and will provide our students with an opportunity to achieve success with their reading. Now to find some good stuff for them to read ... Hmm, back to where I started, I think.

CWCS Battle of the Books 2012

What exactly is the Battle of the Books?
Sixteen books, suitable for students in Y10-Y13, have been selected to battle it out to find a winner.

How were they selected?
Choosing the books was not an easy task. We looked at many, many titles and were determined to choose books that were exceptional. Of the books selected, some have been prizewinners in other countries (and may not have originally been written in English). Some are adult books that are accessible to younger readers. All of them are books that we believe should be read by as many people as possible.

How does the Battle of the Books (BoB) work?
There will be four rounds

Round One: Each book is pitted against one other. Selection is made using title order (employing Bookshuffler principles therefore ignoring 'the', 'a' and 'an' ...).
Eight judges have two books to read and have to decide which book will go through to the next round.
Results of the first round will be made public from Thursday 8th March to Friday 20th March.


Round Two: Eight books make it to this round. Four judges read one pair of books (still in title order) and decide on a winner.
Results of the second round will be made public from Wednesday 18th April March to Monday 23rd April.


Round Three: Four books make it to this round. Two judges read one pair of books and decide on a winner.
Results of the third round will be made public on Tuesday 23rd May.

Round Four: Only two books are left BUT there is a chance for one book to come back from the dead ... There will be an opportunity for public voting to save one book from extinction.
The final choice will be between these three books. There can be only one winner!
The winning book will be announced at a Grand Tea Party in the Library on Thursday 14th June.
The winning author will be sent a certificate and be placed on the CWCS Library Roll of Honour.

LET BATTLE COMMENCE!

Soooooo - what are the books?

The Absolutist by John Boyne (2011) 

vs

An Act of Love by Alan Gibbons (2011)

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor (2011)

vs

The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje (2011)

A Dance of Ghosts by Kevin Brooks (2011)

vs
Far Rockaway by Charlie Fletcher (2011)

Fishtailing by Wendy Phillips (2010)
vs
In The Sea There Are Crocodiles by Fabio Geda (2011)

Life: An Exploded Diagram by Mal Peet (2011)
vs
Nothing by Janne Teller (2010)

Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman (2011)
vs
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi (2011)

Swim The Fly by Don Calame (2011)
vs
A Time Of Miracles by Anne-Laure Bondoux (2010)

The True Tale Of The Monster Billy Dean ... by David Almond (2011)
vs
What We Keep Is Not Always What Will Stay by Amanda Cockrell (2011)


There will be more information about judges and the books themselves on the CWCS Battle of the Books later.
Bookshuffler would like to acknowledge the concept of BoB and thank School Library Journal (USA) for inspiring us.

If you would like to see what these books look like please follow this link to our Library's OPAC. Use the search term CWCS Battle of The Books 2012 and the list should appear. We apologise for a glitch that prevents some of the images appearing.

Is there anyone there?

Welcome to the Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School's blog.

As today is World Book Day we would like to mark the occasion by announcing our latest competition in honour of WBD. (Though, of course we believe that EVERY day is world book day).

Now - information about the competition. We are asking members of our school community, students and staff, to create an edible masterpiece inspired by a book. It does not have to be a cake! We would like to thank Zoe Toft, whose blog (Playing by the Book) set us on this path.

Judging will take place in the Library on Tuesday 20th March at lunchtime. Entries for the competition may be brought to the Library from Monday 19th March. There will be prizes! The winner will receive £20 in book tokens and the runner-up will receive £10 in book tokens. We have given you loads of time to plan your magnum opus.
For more ideas, follow this link.