When we went to the Norfolk Children's Book Festival, the author Cathy MacPhail asked us to write a story based on a first line that she had given us. Here is the part of the winning entry from Kaitlyn in Year 5.
Chapter One
"There was a knocking sound on the door and I knew they had come for me," I began in my spookiest voice. Melissa and Taylor were staying round mine for a sleepover. We were sitting around the camp-fire we had made, telling each other ghost stories. It was finally my turn. "Tap, tap, tap," I carried on.
"I asked who was there but there was no answer, just the echo of my shivering voice. I waited and waited. The door slowly creaked open and I gasped. Coming through the door were Melissa and Taylor. They had gone pale, like all their life had been drained away. They told me that I had to go with them immediately and we raced down to the ditch in the middle of my garden. A terrifying and ancient looking hand was starting to push its way through the damp soil. We screamed. Just at that moment the moon came out and I caught sight of the time on the church clock. It was 3:33am. I immediately knew who the hand belonged too."
I stopped and looked round. By now Taylor and Melissa were looking terrified. It was getting late and almost time for bed, so thought I had better carry on with my story. Before I could speak, there was a sound from further down the garden. It sounded as if a small animal, such as a rat or a mole, was digging...
How spooky! If you want to read the rest of the story, you'll have to ask Kaitlyn.
Friday, 11 July 2014
Wednesday, 9 July 2014
Summer Reading Challenge 2014
Make sure that you take part in this year's Summer Reading Challenge! The theme this year is Mythical Maze and, as ever, it sounds very exciting.
You can learn more about it by visiting the website:
http://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk
Elena from the Norfolk library service will be in next week to do a special assembly to tell us more about it, including how you can get involved.
You can learn more about it by visiting the website:
http://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk
Elena from the Norfolk library service will be in next week to do a special assembly to tell us more about it, including how you can get involved.
Tuesday, 8 July 2014
Our favourite class book of the year, by 4JB
My favourite class book of the year was Koala Calamity by Joanthan Meres. It was really funny.
Gemma
My favourite class book of the year was Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face by John Dougherty. I loved the sneaky badgers.
Jaya
My favourite class book was Koala Calamity by Jonathan Meres. It was brilliant.
Connor
My favourite class book of the year was Fortunately The Milk by Neil Gaiman. It was just epic!
Tyler
My favourite class book of the year was Do Goalkeepers Wear Tiaras? by Helena Pielichaty. I love stories about football and have never read a story about a girls' team before. I am a goalkeeper too, so I liked it even more.
Oliver
My favourite class book of the year was definitely Billionaire Boy by David Walliams. I thought it was one of the funniest books ever.
Megan
My favourite class book of the year was One Dog and His Boy by Eva Ibbotson. It was wonderful and some parts of it made me cry!
Honey
My favourite class book of the year was was Fortunately The Milk by Neil Gaiman, because it was really funny and it made me laugh out loud.
Thomas
My favourite class book of the year was One Dog and His Boy by Eva Ibbotson. I like the bit when he finds out he isn't able to keep the dog, it was so sad.
William
My favourite class book of the year was Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face by John Dougherty. It was really funny and adventurous, and I love the song.
Michael
My favourite class book of the year was Billionaire Boy by David Walliams. It was witty and made some very good points about being rich.
Mr Arden
My favourite class book of the year was Koala Calamity by Jonathan Meres. I thought it was really funny and I just enjoyed listening to it.
Lauren
My favourite class book of the year was The Firework Maker's Daughter by Philip Pulman because I love the bit when she had to try and climb the volcano. I also enjoyed it when she met the pirates., they were really hopeless pirates.
Emily
My favourite class book of the year was Koala Calamity by Jonathan Meres. The three koala bears were really lazy and just wanted to sleep.
Kristopher
My favourite class book of the year was Koala Calamity by Jonathan Meres. I love koalas and I liked Mr Biddle having to try and read it in an Australian accent.
Madison
My favourite class book of the year was Stars of Mine by Kevin Crossley-Holland because it was short but really good. I also knew what was going to happen because I have heard Rapunzel.
Toby
My favourite class book of the year was Koala Calamity by Jonathan Meres. I thought it was really good, but I like the second one even more with their little sister Squeak.
Tamzin
My favourite class book of the year was The Firework Maker's Daughter by Philip Pulman. It is just full of amazing adventures.
Jodie
My favourite class book of the year was Foul Play: Brazil by Tom Palmer. It's just brilliant how he wrote a bit of it every night during the World Cup. We still don't know how it will end.
Andrew
My favourite class book of the year was The Busker by Paul Jennings. Every year when I read it to my class, it always makes them cry. And I like making my class cry...(not really!)
Mr Biddle
Gemma
My favourite class book of the year was Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face by John Dougherty. I loved the sneaky badgers.
Jaya
My favourite class book was Koala Calamity by Jonathan Meres. It was brilliant.
Connor
My favourite class book of the year was Fortunately The Milk by Neil Gaiman. It was just epic!
Tyler
My favourite class book of the year was Do Goalkeepers Wear Tiaras? by Helena Pielichaty. I love stories about football and have never read a story about a girls' team before. I am a goalkeeper too, so I liked it even more.
Oliver
My favourite class book of the year was definitely Billionaire Boy by David Walliams. I thought it was one of the funniest books ever.
Megan
My favourite class book of the year was One Dog and His Boy by Eva Ibbotson. It was wonderful and some parts of it made me cry!
Honey
My favourite class book of the year was was Fortunately The Milk by Neil Gaiman, because it was really funny and it made me laugh out loud.
Thomas
My favourite class book of the year was One Dog and His Boy by Eva Ibbotson. I like the bit when he finds out he isn't able to keep the dog, it was so sad.
William
My favourite class book of the year was Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face by John Dougherty. It was really funny and adventurous, and I love the song.
Michael
My favourite class book of the year was Billionaire Boy by David Walliams. It was witty and made some very good points about being rich.
Mr Arden
My favourite class book of the year was Koala Calamity by Jonathan Meres. I thought it was really funny and I just enjoyed listening to it.
Lauren
My favourite class book of the year was The Firework Maker's Daughter by Philip Pulman because I love the bit when she had to try and climb the volcano. I also enjoyed it when she met the pirates., they were really hopeless pirates.
Emily
My favourite class book of the year was Koala Calamity by Jonathan Meres. The three koala bears were really lazy and just wanted to sleep.
Kristopher
My favourite class book of the year was Koala Calamity by Jonathan Meres. I love koalas and I liked Mr Biddle having to try and read it in an Australian accent.
Madison
My favourite class book of the year was Stars of Mine by Kevin Crossley-Holland because it was short but really good. I also knew what was going to happen because I have heard Rapunzel.
Toby
My favourite class book of the year was Koala Calamity by Jonathan Meres. I thought it was really good, but I like the second one even more with their little sister Squeak.
Tamzin
My favourite class book of the year was The Firework Maker's Daughter by Philip Pulman. It is just full of amazing adventures.
Jodie
My favourite class book of the year was Foul Play: Brazil by Tom Palmer. It's just brilliant how he wrote a bit of it every night during the World Cup. We still don't know how it will end.
Andrew
My favourite class book of the year was The Busker by Paul Jennings. Every year when I read it to my class, it always makes them cry. And I like making my class cry...(not really!)
Mr Biddle
Norfolk Children's Book Festival 2014
Last week, ten children from Year Four and Five went to the Norfolk Children's Book Festival, which was held in a big marquee at Norwich School. There were over 500 children there to listen to four amazing authors talk about their books and writing.
The first author to speak was the Radio 2 DJ, Simon Mayo, who has written Itch and Itch Rocks. His books are about a boy called Itchingham who is an Element Hunter. This means his hobby is to try and collect all the different elements that are in the Periodic Table.
His talk was really funny and entertaining, sharing where he got his ideas from and how long it takes to write a book. I got chosen to go to the front and help him with an experiment using a computer, which was really exciting (I had to say "Oooh, wow!" in front of everyone). I haven't read any of his books yet as I'm a bit young, but I definitely will soon. There is a new book about Itch which is out soon called Itchcraft.
After Simon Mayo, the next author was Cathy MacPhail. She was my favourite author of the day. She told us how to use our imaginations and how to think about spooky things which could happen in the marquee, like all the balloons popping one by one or strange voices coming over the speakers. She had stayed the night in the Maid's Head hotel in Norwich which is well known for having lots of ghosts. She has written loads of books, including Run Zan Run, which was her first book. Her new book is called Another Me, which is about a girl who is being haunted by herself.
I bought this book and got it signed. I am reading it now and am already on chapter seven. We also watched the trailer of the film which has been made of her book, but unfortunately it was in Spanish. I think Cathy MacPhail might be one of my new favourite authors.
We then had lunch. My lunch was nice but the teachers' lunches looked delicious. The next author to speak was called Paul Dowswell. He has written lots of books about children growing up in countries where the government have not treated people well. His most famous book is called Auslander which is about a boy in Nazi Germany. He also wrote a book called Red Shadow which is set in Russia.
He was really interesting to listen to, especially when he was talking about one of his books called Powder Monkey, which is about what life used to be like as a boy working on a ship. I thought he was really good at answering questions from people and he knew lots about history. Mr Biddle bought some of his books to read at home.
The final author to speak was Marcus Sedgwick who had spent the weekend in Las Vegas (but he hadn't been doing gambling, he had been talking to some librarians). He said he was a bit tired though. He talked about the room where he worked and did his writing, and we could choose things from the room to ask him about. There were so many things to talk about that we didn't get through them all. He told us a great story about when he broke into an empty psychiatric hospital in America, but he didn't break the law. He heard footsteps above him and so ran out again really quickly. His books sound really thrilling. He also talked to us about the number 354, which he says is following him everywhere in his life.
All of the writers who spoke to us were great and I had a really good day. I learned about lots of new authors and bought some new books which I am really enjoying. I hope I get to go next year as there are lots more authors that I would like to meet. We also got a bag which had things in like a bottle of water, a notebook, a pencil and a book voucher. There was also a raffle ticket but I didn't win anything, although I nearly did. I had the right numbers but they were in the wrong order.
Thank you for inviting me.
The first author to speak was the Radio 2 DJ, Simon Mayo, who has written Itch and Itch Rocks. His books are about a boy called Itchingham who is an Element Hunter. This means his hobby is to try and collect all the different elements that are in the Periodic Table.
His talk was really funny and entertaining, sharing where he got his ideas from and how long it takes to write a book. I got chosen to go to the front and help him with an experiment using a computer, which was really exciting (I had to say "Oooh, wow!" in front of everyone). I haven't read any of his books yet as I'm a bit young, but I definitely will soon. There is a new book about Itch which is out soon called Itchcraft.
After Simon Mayo, the next author was Cathy MacPhail. She was my favourite author of the day. She told us how to use our imaginations and how to think about spooky things which could happen in the marquee, like all the balloons popping one by one or strange voices coming over the speakers. She had stayed the night in the Maid's Head hotel in Norwich which is well known for having lots of ghosts. She has written loads of books, including Run Zan Run, which was her first book. Her new book is called Another Me, which is about a girl who is being haunted by herself.
I bought this book and got it signed. I am reading it now and am already on chapter seven. We also watched the trailer of the film which has been made of her book, but unfortunately it was in Spanish. I think Cathy MacPhail might be one of my new favourite authors.
We then had lunch. My lunch was nice but the teachers' lunches looked delicious. The next author to speak was called Paul Dowswell. He has written lots of books about children growing up in countries where the government have not treated people well. His most famous book is called Auslander which is about a boy in Nazi Germany. He also wrote a book called Red Shadow which is set in Russia.
He was really interesting to listen to, especially when he was talking about one of his books called Powder Monkey, which is about what life used to be like as a boy working on a ship. I thought he was really good at answering questions from people and he knew lots about history. Mr Biddle bought some of his books to read at home.
The final author to speak was Marcus Sedgwick who had spent the weekend in Las Vegas (but he hadn't been doing gambling, he had been talking to some librarians). He said he was a bit tired though. He talked about the room where he worked and did his writing, and we could choose things from the room to ask him about. There were so many things to talk about that we didn't get through them all. He told us a great story about when he broke into an empty psychiatric hospital in America, but he didn't break the law. He heard footsteps above him and so ran out again really quickly. His books sound really thrilling. He also talked to us about the number 354, which he says is following him everywhere in his life.
All of the writers who spoke to us were great and I had a really good day. I learned about lots of new authors and bought some new books which I am really enjoying. I hope I get to go next year as there are lots more authors that I would like to meet. We also got a bag which had things in like a bottle of water, a notebook, a pencil and a book voucher. There was also a raffle ticket but I didn't win anything, although I nearly did. I had the right numbers but they were in the wrong order.
Thank you for inviting me.
by Megan, 4JB.
Wednesday, 2 July 2014
Free World War One Resources
This year, Britain is commemorating the centenary of the start of World War One. That’s 100 years since the start of the First World War.
Starting in 2014 and lasting until 2018, the First World War Centenary is the birthday of WW1. From exhibitions and concerts to a movie and football match, a whole range of events will take place to celebrate the anniversary.
World War One is remembered, primarily because it was the first war fought on a continent wide scale, from 1914 to 1918, and resulted in the League of Nations.
If you’re looking to teach students about the significance of the First World War, why not do so with an educational pack?
To explain further, the UK’s largest private archive of old newspapers, Historic Newspapers, stock more than seven million genuine original newspapers in their ever-growing collection.
Looking after the world’s biggest private archive of original newspapers means Historic Newspapers are exceptionally passionate about history. It’s for this reason they decided to select interesting and important coverage from significant historical dates – all in the name of learning – with a view to teach others about the past, as it was reported at the time.
Best of all, they’re offering these teaching packs completely free of charge – all of which are available to schools, universities, libraries and accredited education establishments – to help students discover the cause and consequence of historical events.
A newspaper book is a wonderful way to teach children about World War One, as each newspaper is filled with stories from eyewitnesses who were present at the time, making it a pleasurable way to aid learning and engage a pupil’s interest and imagination. The World War One newspaper book can be used to discuss the changing nature of conflict, the cooperation between countries, the shift of alliances and the lasting impact of the war on national, ethnic, cultural and religious issues.
A newspaper offers teachers the chance to encourage chronological understanding, evoke a sense of period and provides a framework to discuss today’s events in a historical context.
The World War I Pack contains a book of compiled newspaper coverage, including Battle of Loos, Gallipoli Withdrawal, London Air Raid and War is Over. The other two education packs available contain complete newspaper reprints on World War II and Major Events.
Sunday, 15 June 2014
My Horrid Henry reading day by Tyler
I read eight Horrid Henry books today. They were all really funny. In Horrid Henry's Christmas Presents, it was so funny when Henry gave out his presents that he had found all around the house. He wrote a poem for his dad calling him old and bald, and also a poem for his mum and called her wrinkly and said that she had a big bum and tum. I laughed so loud that I had to read that bit to my mum. Luckily she laughed too!
In Horrid Henry's Homework, he had a spelling that he had to practise. If you know Horrid Henry, then you will know that he didn't practise at all! On the test day, he copied every spelling from Clever Clare and ended up getting every spelling correct. The teacher was so pleased that she moved Henry up to the next spelling group which meant that he had extra words to learn. That will teach him for cheating!
These books are really funny and enjoyable to read. I would recommend them to all ages if you enjoy really funny books.
In Horrid Henry's Homework, he had a spelling that he had to practise. If you know Horrid Henry, then you will know that he didn't practise at all! On the test day, he copied every spelling from Clever Clare and ended up getting every spelling correct. The teacher was so pleased that she moved Henry up to the next spelling group which meant that he had extra words to learn. That will teach him for cheating!
These books are really funny and enjoyable to read. I would recommend them to all ages if you enjoy really funny books.
Friday, 6 June 2014
The Black Crow Conspiracy by Christopher Edge
The Black Crow Conspiracy is the third (and seemingly final) book in the Penelope Tredwell series by Christopher Edge. Although I thoroughly enjoyed Twelve Minutes To Midnight and Shadows Of The Silver Screen, this is definitely my favourite book in the trilogy.
The story starts at a fantastic pace, with the mysterious theft of the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London by a strange glowing man. Penelope, along with her usual accomplices, Alfie and Montgomery Flinch, appear to be behind the crime. After all, how else could they have published an almost identical story in their magazine, The Penny Dreadful, several months earlier? In order to clear their names, they have to work fast to solve the crime, which could not only destroy them, but also threaten the safety of the whole country.
Penelope is an absolutely wonderful central character, brave and determined but with enough weaknesses to make her interesting. There has been a lot of discussion in the media lately about boys being reluctant to read books that have girls as the main characters, but The Black Crow Conspiracy would definitely appeal to all readers. It has a great balance of adventure, science-fiction and horror. The story moves along quickly, is full of action and has an extremely exciting plot. Highly recommended for Year Five and upwards.
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