Our First Online Ceremony!

This year the Surrey Libraries' Children’s Book Award has gone online – with its first ever ‘virtual ceremony’!

Despite the current closure of schools, the participating Champion schools have still been busy reading and voting for their favourite titles. Take a look at our online awards ceremony below!

The ceremony features work from our 10 Champion schools, participating library Chatterbooks groups, as well as videos from our shortlisted authors, and - most importantly - the announcement of the winner of this year’s award!

So have a watch, and then scroll down to congratulate the winner with us!

Have you watched? Then join us in saying a huge congratulations to...

Claire Barker and 'Picklewitch and Jack'! 

 

Thank you all for getting involved with the Surrey Libraries Children's Book Award for our 10th year! Even though this has been a bit of a different experience for us all, we hope you've enjoyed reading and talking about the books as much as we have!

We hope you'll join us again next year!

Haslemere Library Chatterbooks have now read all five books. Everyone has thoroughly enjoyed themselves and we are now in the process of voting.

Book Review: Sherlock and the Baker Street Curse!

We're fast approaching the time for some of our wonderful shortlisted authors to visit our champion schools! Are you excited? We certainly are!

Today we've got another lovely book review to share with you all, written by another one of our fab team, Neil! Here's a secret for you all: Neil loved this book so much that he dressed up as the main character for World Book Day this year!

So, without further ado, let's hear what Neil thought of 'Sherlock and the Baker Street Curse' by Sam Hearn!

 

Sherlock and the Baker Street Curse – Review

The second book in Sam Hearn’s Baker Street Academy series brings the welcome return of schoolboy detective Sherlock and his super smart friends, John Watson and Martha Hudson, as well as arch nemesis, James Moriarty. This wildly inventive story follows Sherlock’s attempts to solve the mystery of a centuries old curse, and a scary ghost who has been haunting the Academy.

The book is easy to read, with lots of action, and comic book style illustrations which help to bring the story and the characters to life.

I had great fun trying to crack the case before Sherlock did, and would recommend this book to anyone who likes puzzles, riddles, and being the smartest kid in the class!

Have you read 'Sherlock and the Baker Street Curse' yet? What did you think? Let us know in the comments, or on Twitter @SurreyLibraries!

An Author Appears! Say 'Hello!' to Claire Barker!

 

Today we're excited to be able to introduce you to one of our fab shortlisted authors - Claire Barker! Claire is the author of the Picklewitch and Jack books, as well as the Knitbone Pepper, Ghost Dog series.

Claire lives all the way in Devon (quite far away from us in Surrey!), but is very kindly coming to visit us to see FOUR different schools! We're all excited to meet her, and we can't wait to introduce her to you, too!

If you'd like to know more about Claire, you can visit her website HERE

You can also find Claire on social media!
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram

Book Review: Night of the Living Ted!

Hello, everyone!

We're all enjoying reading the shortlisted books - have you started reading them? Do you have a favourite yet?

Today's post is a review of Barry Hutchison's 'Night of the Living Ted', written by one of our wonderful Book Award team, Laura!

Night of the Living Ted - Review

'Night of the Living Ted' by Barry Hutchison is about Lisa Marie and her step brother Vernon. They are looking for a birthday present for their father when they discover that the Create-a-Ted shop is giving away free Halloween bears! They make a bear for themselves, as well as an Elvis bear for their father - however, that night, the bears come to life! The book tells the story of how Lisa Marie and Vernon are able to learn to work together and become closer as a family. The book looks at several themes, such as peer pressure and families, and explores how the main characters are able to overcome challenges. 

Overall, I enjoyed the book and I would give it a 4/5. 

This is the first book in a new series, so if you enjoy this book there are more adventures for Lisa Marie and Vernon to come!

Do you agree with Laura's review? Let us know what you thought of 'Night of the Living Ted' in the comments, or on Twitter @SurreyLibraries!

2020 Shortlist!

Have you seen our announcements on Twitter? It's time to take a look at the amazing books on the 2020 Surrey Libraries Children's Book Award shortlist!

So, let's dive straight in! In no particular order...

Picklewitch and Jack written by Claire Barker, illustrated by Teemu Juhani!
'Picklewitch lives in a tree at the bottom of the garden. She has a nose for naughtiness, a mind for mischief, and a weakness for cake. And unluckily for brainbox and all-round-goody-two-shoes Jack (who's just moved in) - she's about to choose him as her new best friend...'

Hotel Flamingo written and illustrated by Alex Milway!

'When young Anna inherits a dilapidated once-grand hotel from her Great Aunt Mathilde, she's determined to restore it to its former glory. But this is no ordinary hotel - all of her staff and guests are animals!'

The Night of the Living Ted written by Barry Hutchison, illustrated by Lee Cosgrove!

'The Create-a-Ted Laboratory is offering free Halloween Bears! What could possibly go wrong? Vernon and his step-sister Lisa Marie are about to find out…'

Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Curse! written and illustrated by Sam Hearn!

'Welcome to Baker Street Academy, where there's always a mystery to be solved! Luckily Sherlock Holmes is on the case, with his friends John Watson and Martha Hudson.'

The Boy Who Lived With Dragons written by Andy Shepherd, illustrated by Sara Ogilvie!

'Tomas has a secret - a big secret. He has his own tiny dragon, Flicker! A dragon which grew on a very special tree at the bottom of his grandad's garden. And not only that - his friends Ted, Kai and Kat have dragons too, all grown on the same dragonfruit tree...'

We're excited to get reading - which one will you be reading first? Let us know!

Happy reading, everyone!

Coming soon...

It's the 2020 Surrey Libraries' Children's Book Award!

We can't wait to share the new shortlist with you, so don't forget to check back here on Tuesday 19th November for the announcement!

You can also keep your eyes peeled for our announcements on our Twitter, @SurreyLibraries!

Happy reading, everyone - see you soon!

And the winner is...

'Ask Oscar' by Alan MacDonald!

Congratulations, Alan (and Oscar!)

It was wonderful to see everyone who joined us at the ceremony in Dorking Halls - we had a great day, and we hope you did too!

 Thank you all for taking part in the Surrey Libraries Children's Book Award 2019, it has been truly fabulous to hear about everyone's experiences, and we hope you'll join us again next year!

Spectacular Sweets from Ottershaw Primary School!

Have a look at some of the great sweet inventions that the students of Ottershaw Primary School came up with based on the chocolate factory in David O'Connell's book 'The Chocolate Factory Ghost'!

Chatterbooks at Haslemere Library have finished reading Song of the Dolphin Boy by Elizabeth Laird and Noah Scape Can't Stop Repeating Himself by Guy Bass. We have now read all five books and thoroughly enjoyed all of them.  Now to vote!

Dogs and Dirt with Alan MacDonald at Shawley and Nutfield Primary Schools!

Everyone at Shawley and Nutfield Primary Schools had a great time when Alan Macdonald came to visit! We heard all about the mischief of Dirty Bertie, as well as the amazing talking dog, Oscar! Alan even taught us how to draw Dirty Bertie! Check out the attempts by two of our working group!

Getting Punny with Guy Bass at The Hermitage and The Grove Primary Schools!

Guy Bass gave a hilarious talk to the students of The Hermitage and The Grove Primary Schools! Everyone enjoyed hearing about how Guy decided he wanted to write children's books, and we loved the reading from Guy's newest book - Laura Norder: Sheriff of Butts Canyon!

Drawing Dinos with Tony De Saulles at St Joseph's and Boxgrove Primary Schools!

Check out some of the amazing drawings by the students of St Joseph's and Boxgrove Primary Schools from their sessions with Tony De Saulles!

Reigate library Chatterbooks have just enjoyed reading Song of the Dolphin Boy by Elizabeth Laird, we talked about helping to look after our world and played a board game about having an environmentally friendly packed lunch

Reigate library Chatterbooks have just finished reading The Chocolate Factory Ghost by David O'Connell, we completed lots of work sheets and then played The Chocolate Game.....just throw a six and start eating !!!!

Chatterbooks at Haslemere Library have just enjoyed reading Bee Boy Clash of the Killer Queens by Tony De Saulles and Ask Oscar by Alan MacDonald. Below are our own guidelines on how to look after a dog, an illustration of a beehive and a poster of a demolition robot.

Chatterbooks at Haslemere Library has really enjoyed reading 'The Chocolate Factory Ghost ' by David O'Connell.  We are having fun designing our own treasure hunt.

Welcome to the 2019 Children's Book Award!

Happy new year everyone! Welcome to the 2019 Surrey Libraries Children's Book Award!

Introducing our wonderful team from left to right: Jenny Booth, Deborah Warwick, Jenny Gordon, Lorna Dicken, Owen Dixon, Carol Hales, Jayne Mairs, Isobel Blackley, and June Hughes!

We're so excited for you all to get stuck in with the books we've chosen this year, so let's hear a bit about what our team thinks of them!


Noah Scape Can't Stop Repeating Himself by Guy Bass

• "Made me laugh with all the trouble he caused at school!"
• "This story shows that you should be careful what you wish for - and helps with Maths as well!"
• "I love how she [the dinner lady] links her outlook on life with the availability of spaghetti and meatballs!"

Bee Boy: Clash of the Killer Queens by Tony De Saulles

• "A fascinating and quirky view of the life of bees from the inside!"
• "Really interesting as it had funny parts in it but was also quite informative about bees."
• "Melvin faces a lot of opposition to his bee-keeping, mostly due to people being misinformed or unaware of the facts!"

Song of the Dolphin Boy by Elizabeth Laird

• "Makes you reflect on how we value the animals in our world!"
• "A touching adventure story that skillfully combines Scottish folklore and current ecological concerns."
• "This book is full of things to think about, from the pollution of the oceans by plastic to ways of dealing with (not always positive) emotions."

Ask Oscar by Alan McDonald

• "I admire Dad's optimism about the possible success of his inventions - even when it is clear no one else shares his faith in them!"
• "A talking dog, a Poopomatic machine, a dastardly villain and a visit by the Queen - great fun!"
• "The tale of a talking dog! Well what's not to love about that!"

The Chocolate Factory Ghost by David O'Connell

• "Action packed quest adventure story with loads of twists and spooky turns!"
• "Reminded me of the mystery stories I used to read when I was a child!"
• "This is a great book if you like puzzles and following clues!"

And the winner is...

Me and Mr. P by Maria Farrer!

Congratulations, Maria (and Mr. P!)

It was wonderful to see everyone who joined us at the ceremony in Dorking Halls - we had a great day, and we hope you did too!

Thank you all for taking part in the Surrey Libraries Children's Book Award 2018, it has been truly fabulous to hear about everyone's experiences, and we hope you'll join us again next year!