Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

How would you feel if when you read aloud from a novel, the characters came alive in front of you whilst simultaneously someone from your world was dragged into the story and disappears? Excited or terrified? This is what had happened to Meggie when her father read the book Inkheart to her and her mother 9 years ago. Suddenly her mother was gone, and the evil Capricorn had appeared.  However, Meggie remembers nothing of this until a fire-eater called Dustfinger appears at their house. Suddenly they are leaving to stay at her Aunt Eleanor’s book filled house and her father won’t say why. Has Capricorn finally has tracked down Meggie’s father? What evil does he want him to read out of Inkheart now? I loved all the characters in this book, and it gripped me right until the end. This is a book and a world that I really didn’t want to leave. I can’t wait to get stuck into the next one in this trilogy!

Mrs Godden

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

This is book one in a series that combines fantasy and crime and I decided to read it on the recommendation of the shedunnit podcast which is a podcast all about detective fiction. I discovered an enjoyable story about a new Metropolitan police constable, Peter, and a crime which doesn’t seem to make sense. Soon Peter is plunged into a world of magic, ghosts, and wizards, all the while trying to make peace between Father Thames and Mother Thames who have massively fallen out! If you throw in some Punch and Judy references, and the slight disadvantage that all the victims have part of their face peeled off, the story is complete. I really enjoyed this new take on a mashup of genres and definitely want to read book 2 of the series.

Mrs Godden

World Book Day - How it all went down!

After a year without celebrations World Book Day was back with a bang for 2022. It was so uplifting to see so many smiling faces and crazy costumes in the Library, and that was just the staff!

Fairy tales, Myths and legends in time for World Book Day

 

Fancy learning a bit more about fairy tales, myths & legends before our amazing extravaganza on this year’s World Book Day after half term. Look no further as here are a selection of books containing those stories for you to explore. You might even get some inspiration for your costume, and you will certainly be prepared when it comes to the World Book Day library quiz!

Slightly spooky books?

 

Fancy some books to curl up with during these cold days? I read these books over Christmas and loved the slightly spooky element that all three had. Why don’t you try one of them out?

         

How to have a happy new year in 2022: An introduction to our new Wellbeing Collection!

January is a tough month for many, the sky is grey and the mornings are dark, the lustre of the festive season is fading and we have to wrap up warm and get our heads down…BUT…there are plenty of joys still to be had and the BGS Library’s Wellbeing Collection has a really diverse range of books that remind you to look after yourselves and others and can help raise your spirits high again. There are books about neurodiversity, mental health, self-care, guides, studies, essays, memoirs and informational non-fiction all designed to help us navigate the trickier parts of life.

Why not have a browse and see what appeals to you?

Christmas Reading! Librarian Recommendations...

Merry Christmas, one and all! Here are our recommended festive reads to help you get in the spirit of things. Come and see more on the Library display, lovingly crafted by Mrs Sadek, Miss Poole and the Pupil Librarians...

Year 7 Activity - Short's House

It was lovely to welcome our second house to the library for our year seven activity. Incredibly all of them had already borrowed books from us and so were very familiar with our system! Read on to find out how Short’s House got on…

One book, two friends and two book reviews

Have you and a friend ever read the same book and had differing opinions of it? If you then went on to write a book review, would they be different? We decided to find out when two members of our library staff read Cinderella is dead by Kalynn Bayron.

Black History Month Book Reviews

We are celebrating Black History Month in the Library showcasing some of the fantastic resources we are lucky enough to have here that reflect on the importance of comprehending black histories of the world, ancient to modern, through the glorious medium of books!

Year 7 Activity - Glenn's House

This was the first week of the first library activity for Year seven in this academic year and we were very excited because we were back in the library rather than in tutor rooms! We had a amazing house to begin with lots of lovely readers in it.

What did you read this summer?

 Do you think books can still be gripping if you know the central plot in advance? This is what I decided to find out when I read these two books this summer!

 

Supporting cast by Kit de Waal

If you fancy a collection of amazing short stories set in the present world, then I would thoroughly recommend this book.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Want to read a book that makes you really think about your life and the choices you make as well as being a great story? This is the book for you!

 

Tales from the Hinterland by Melissa Albert

 

Fancy a different kind of fairy tale?  Step inside the world of the Hinterland and prepare to be shocked, repulsed and grossed out in this beautiful but brutal land.

 

Easter Reading: (Other) things to think about this March!

We are nearing the Easter holidays and there is a lot for us all to grapple with at this time of year and that’s without “the pandemic that shall not be named” in tow. So we thought you might like some interesting distractions to remind you that the Earth is still turning and there is still intrigue and curiosity to be fulfilled!

Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter

Today’s series is set in the modern world in a school that isn’t quite what it seems. Gallagher Academy might claim to be a school for geniuses - but it's really a school for female spies. Cammie Morgan is fluent in fourteen languages and capable of killing a man in seven different ways (three of which involve a piece of uncooked spaghetti). But what happens when she falls for an ordinary boy who thinks she's an ordinary girl. How can she ever have a normal relationship and be a trainee spy and keep the Head happy (someone who just happens to be her Mum!) I loved the various stories and how Cammie matures throughout the series. Also, the inventive titles are great! Age 11+

     

Mrs Godden

 

Ink Trilogy by Alice Broadway

 

In Leora’s world every action, every deed, every significant moment is tattooed on your skin for ever. When her father dies, she knows he deserves to have all his tattoos removed and made into a Skin Book to stand as a record of his good life. But when she discovers that his ink has been edited and his book is incomplete, she wonders whether she ever knew him at all or whether to trust anything he ever said to her. This trilogy is full of great themes such as finding your place in the world, reconciling your past and your future, first love, secrets and lies as well as questioning everything you have been told and working out for yourself what path you want to take. All three books were different and drew you in further to Leora’s world and the choices that she was making. Age 11+ and I loved it!!

    

Mrs Godden

The Australia Trilogy by J P Smythe

More series recommendations for Christmas and this is a series I only read because Mrs Osafo enthused so much about it! This trilogy follows a character called Chan and is not set in Australia but in a spaceship which is rapidly descending into anarchy. When Chan’s mother dies, the teenager has to step up and become more ruthless to survive. It is violent in places but introduces you to lots of characters you care about and there are some massive twists and turns that I certainly didn’t see coming. The whole story arc is fast paced and as soon as you have finished one book you want to read the next. Great for 11+ - I loved it!

  

Mrs Godden

The Secrets of the Immortal by Michael Scott

Our next series recommendations veers onto a magical theme. If you love Harry Potter, you will love this series by Michael Scott. Nicholas Flamel is mentioned in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone as the man who made the stone that Voldemort is so desperate to get hold of. This series concentrates on that man and the legend that accompanies him.

Nicholas Flamel was born in Paris on 28 September 1330 and nearly seven hundred years later, he is acknowledged as the greatest alchemist of his day. It is said that he discovered the secret of eternal life although records show that he died in 1418. But his tomb is empty and Nicholas Flamel lives! The secret of eternal life is hidden within the book he protects - the Book of Abraham the Mage. This is the most powerful book that has ever existed and in the wrong hands, it will destroy the world. Dr. John Dee plans to do exactly that when he steals it. Humankind won't know what's happening until it's too late and if the prophecy is right, Sophie and Josh Newman (our teenage heroes) are the only ones with the power to save the world as we know it. Sometimes legends are true and Sophie and Josh Newman are about to find themselves in the middle of the greatest legend of all time.

    

Mrs Godden