Death Leap by Simon Chapman - Barrington Stoke Book 39

The Barrington Stoke website describes Death Leap by Simon Chapman like this:

Jake sees a murder and the hitmen are after him. He needs all his biking skills to survive.

And that really is all that happens, it is perhaps the shortest book I have read. The time period covered is a matter of minutes. The website also adds:

Adrenaline-fuelled page-turner.

And that is so true too. The short length and the fact that the action takes place in no time at all, means the story grips from page one and the pace doesn't let up until the end.

The minimal text is supplemented with great pictures of mountain bike action, gunmen and bloody injuries. It is a very simple story, but that is the point, it would be a perfect first book for an older reluctant or struggling reader, or a younger reader looking for a challenging 'older' book.

Reading, Communicating, Mentoring

This week I was at the northern launch of the National Year of Communication - Hello, it was a different audience than I am used to, lots of Speech and Language Therapists and people from Early Years settings such as Children's Centres. There are some good resources on the Hello website if you want more information.

It reminded me about how reading is just once facet of communication, but also what a difference the reading partnerships we help facilitate can make to all aspects of children's lives, a sample quote;

At 11 years old only a fifth of children with significant speech, language and communication needs reach the expected levels for their age in both English and Maths

Another benefit of successful reading partnerships is the supportive relationships they help build. Reading Matters have been working with the Mentoring and Befriending Foundation to really explore this aspect of the reading partnerships.Their Supporting Life's Journeys Campaign is a great way for anyone to sign up to the the cause.

Shhh! - National Day of Action for Libraries

What are you doing this Saturday? Why not pop along to your local libary to support Shhh! - National Day of Action for Libraries.

Look at the Guadian's map for an event near you. I'll be at Sheffield Central Library taking out my quaota of 15 books!

Whether you can make it or not you can get involved in all sorts of ways see the CILIP website (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals).

There is also a super set of images in support of the campaign by Phil Bradley in the style of World War 2 posters.

Reading Partnerships in Action

Since October 2010 I have been working in a new role, which has meant I have not caught up with our Reading Mentors and Reading Leaders as much as I used to. This week I did get into a few schools to see some reading partnerships in action. It reminded what a great job I have!

It is great to see what a difference the simple half hour reading sessions make, how varied, fun and engaging they are. It is the enthusiasm and positivity of the Reading Mentors at Yewlands School and Reading Leaders at Seven Hills School that really inspires. However, I wanted to share a few of the reading resources the Reading Mentors at Yewlands School and Reading Leaders at Seven Hill School had found for their reading partnerships. In no particular order:

• Fun With Food by Simon Cheshire (Rapid)
• The Boy Who Cried Wolf (Usborne First Reading)
• X Factor Magazine
  
• Simpson's Top Trumps
• Reading Matters Fun Sheets
• Horrible Histories Magazine
• Hangman game
• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis
  
• Midnight Library - The Whisperer by Nick Shadow
• Night Sky Word Search
• Worry Website by Jacqueline Wilson
• Mini Cross-words
• Alien by Tony Bradman (Barrington Stoke)
  
• Scrabble

It is quite a list, and reflects the dedication, time and effort our Reading Mentors and Reading Leaders put in.

Jeremy Strong's Campaign for Fun

Author Jeremy Strong is looking for the funniest school in the UK and Ireland with his Campaign for Fun.

By being a bit silly you could win all sorts of cool stuff! Mr Strong also has some nice downloadable resources to check out. He has also introduced the Campaign for Fun in an article on The Guardian website. He list all sorts of great books to cheer us all up:

• Fungus the Bogeyman
• Lauren Child's Clarice Bean
• Allen Ahlberg
• Julia Donaldson
• Elephant Elements
• Andy Stanton
• The Wrong Pong
• Louise Rennison

For something a bit more involved but no less fun how about The Reading Zone's picture book competition.

A Kind of Magic by Catherine MacPhail - Barrington Stoke Book 38

A Kind of Magic by Catherine MacPhail is another book that Barrington Stoke don't seem to be publishing any more. Like Turnaround by Alison Prince, that I review previously, I think this is a shame. It is a mischievous little book that is bound to appeal to a certain audience.

A found or stolen fossil may or may not be magic. Either way the results include zits, the runs and a bit of snogging! It's pretty disgusting in places, perfect for a certain type of young person!

Despite, the gruesomeness, some interesting themes are explored; guilt, morality, the cause and effect of our actions. Two such ideas are quoted by characters in the story:

• You get what you wish for
• You get out of this word what you put in

A cheeky book like this, is a great way to explore these themes with a reading partner.

Map of The Voyage of the Silver Bream

I am currently looking for books with a local, connection. With this in mind The Voyage of the Silver Bream by Theresa Tomlinson has been a revelation. It is based in an area I know well, The Sheffield Canal and River Don. I have a bit of a thing for old industrial areas, and have spent a lot of time mooching about in those areas. The Voyage of the Silver Bream gives these locations an involving historical context.

The geographical setting feels very close to home, but so are the central themes. The family in the story are forced to adjust to new economic circumstances, as the railways take-over from the canals. I know a lot of families that are having to make similar changes today as the availability and security of jobs and education changes.

Perhaps I am feeling all too emotional, but some of the passages that describe the family pulling together really brought a tear to my eye.

I was so caught up in the book, I plotted the locations on an online map, which I have shared below. I think this is a really nice way to explore a story or factual account, especially one set in a local area or on a topic you want to explore. A good idea for a reading partnership, I think.

View The Voyage of the Silver Bream in a larger map

The Voyage of the Silver Bream by Theresa Tomlinson is part of a series called Victorian Flashbacks, there is a Victorian Flashbacks: Teachers' Guide which looks like it would provide plenty of resources to explore the stories further.

Snakebite by Robert Swindells - Barrington Stoke Book 37

According to the Author's Note Snakebite by Robert Swindells is inspired by a Bradford journalist, so just about qualifies for my search for books with a local connection. In fact, judging by the language, it seems to be set in Glasgow (although I am basing this on a view viewings of Trainspotting and the Chritopher Brookmyre books I have been reading recently.

Where ever it's set, Snakebite is a smart read, with an engaging narrative direct from Alex, the unemployed, bullied main narrator. He's into animals and gets a snake for his seventeenth birthday. Because he's lonely, bored and scared of the violent gang members on the estate, he starts taking the snake out with him.

Almost inevitably the snake in the pocket comes into it's own. but not before the bullying becomes pretty scary. It is made worse by some very dark undertones. Alex's parents are oblivious, the police don't care and the gang are linked in with some serious drug gangs.

The use of language, "acting the numpty" and Alex's general upbeat demeanour take the edge of what would otherwise be a terrifying tale.

Interplay Leeds Volunteer Reading Mentors Meeting 2

I said in my last post about our recent Volunteer Reading Mentors Meeting at Interplay in Leeds, I would share my short presentation. So here it is:

Reading Matters Presentation - Interplay 10-12-09

My overall message was that, despite so many changes, in schools, government and at Reading Matters, the need for us to keep on improving reading skills and changing lives is as great as ever.

In fact, the week after our meeting there was a flurry of news stories about how thousands of boys start secondary school 'barely able to read', the BBC report highlighted some of Reading Matters core areas of work. For example, in Rotherham 14% of 11-year-old boys in state schools did not reach level three in their reading tests this summer, this means they were at the level expected of a seven-year-old.

It is true that 'raw data' from the controversial SATS reading tests will not provide the full story, but headlines like these indicate there are still huge numbers of children and young people in primary and secondary schools that do not have special educational needs but still need extensive support for them to reach their full potential in life.

The next part of my presentation shows that through Reading Matters Reading Mentors, Reading Leaders and other programmes, we do reach these young people with simple, targeted and effective support. In fact in the the 2009-10 academic year we supported 3768 children and young people.

The last 12 months we have won a number of awards and accolades that back this up, including the Yorkshire Forward Creating Better Future Awards 2010 and Business Link Social Enterprise Awards 2009. But even more important to me is the feedback form the schools we work in:

“The Reading Matters scheme not only improves the reading ability of all students involved, it also creates a fantastic reading culture, promoting responsibility and maturity”. Sheffield School Co-ordinator at
Firth Park Community College.

Like all everyone to continue to meet our objectives, Reading Matters is finding new and innovative ways of working and new partners such as the Summer Reading Challenge, Special Schools and Foster Carers. Having said that, we will be drawing the line at canine support.

Happy Christmas everyone.

Interplay Leeds Volunteer Reading Mentors Meeting

Last Thursday (9 December 2010) we held our latest meeting for Volunteer Reading Mentors and School Co-ordinators. The first thing to say is that it was very cold and very icy, so thanks to all those people that made it along. Leeds was Frozen.
We are very grateful to Steve Byrne and all the staff at Interplay for hosting us and supplying generous amounts of much needed tea, coffee and cake. The refreshments were not the main reason for travelling to Interplay however, we were there to hear about their latest project, which has potential for Reading Matters to work along side them in schools.

Interplay have been delivering a workshop in Special Schools that is based on the short Story Spit Nolan (Creative Short Stories), author of Alfie.

The workshops provide a thrilling and engaging sensory learning experience centred around the construction of old-fashioned go-carts that feature heavily in the story.

We are hoping that as Interplay take the workshops to more schools, Reading Matters will provide Reading Mentors and/or Reading Leaders to sustain and embed the inspiration and enthusiasm generated by this exciting project.

At the same meeting I gave a short presentation about some recent developments at Reading Matters. I'll share these with you in a separate blog post very soon.