On Friday 16th of June, a group of students from Years 7, 8, and 9 went to Archer Academy to discuss the shortlisted books for the Carnegie Award with other Barnet schools. Mrs Colangelo-Lillis held a reading group every week for months in advance, discussing the shortlist with students, and Mrs Cobb came along on the day.
Carnegie Longlisted Author, Nicky Singer, held us spellbound as she told us about her books Feather Boy and Island. It was particularly interesting to hear how Feather Boy had been adapted for the BBC from her original book and we were captivated by the extracts from the BBC series which she showed us. Carnegie nominated Island, is extremely topical as it is about polar bears and how they are affected by global warming: it is illustrated by Chris Riddell – our recent Children’s Laureate.
EBS students gave a fantastic performance on Sputnik’s Guide To Life On Earth by Frank Cottrell Boyce: one student in our group says of the presentation, “We acted as if we were in a courtroom with the audience as the jury, trying to decide whether Sputnik belonged on this list because our group was divided on whether this book belonged on the shortlist alongside other, more serious novels ”. Talking about the other school presentations, another student said that they “showcased a variety of media, including engaging PowerPoints and interesting acting”.
Then we all voted for our favourite book. Salt To The Sea by Ruta Sepetys won our Barnet vote. We enjoyed a fun event and great discussions. All books on the shortlist are now available in the School Library.
