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It’s time to celebrate bedtime reading! So grab your PJ’s and join in the fun on Friday 1st May. Sign up here for a festival of stay-at-home story-filled fun

Registration for Book Buzz 2020 has been extended until October 2020. Aimed at Year 7 and Year 8 students it costs £3.00 per student. Register before 22nd May 2020 to get free resources. You can register here

The winner of this years’ YA Book Prize is Meat Market by Juno Dawson. You can find out more about the winner and all the shortlisted titles here

Lots of authors, illustrators and publishers are using social media to support children reading for pleasure at home. Here are some of our favourites to start you off….

• Watch the inimitable Basil Brush reading Sadsville by Martin Roberts. Plus, you can download a fun home school work book from Martin’s website here
• Embark on an adventure with Little Red Riding Hood and the cheeky wolf with this free Once Upon an Adventure activity pack from the British Library
• Podkin One Ear author Kieran Larwood has created a fantasy map-drawing video for all you Podkin fans out there – that includes us too!
• Visit #SaveWithStories to hear a great selection of celebrity reads including David Tennant reading the Highway Rat by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.
• Julia and Axel have also produced twelve lovely illustrations of their favourite book characters to help young children understand social distancing.
• Also for younger children, Eoin McLaughlin and Polly Dunbar have released a video of their picture book While We Can’t Hug
• Axel Scheffler has also illustrated a free digital booklet about coronavirus aimed at primary school age children, published by Nosy Crow.
• Join more celebrities reading chapters of James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl on YouTube
• Cressida Cowell reading from This Rabbit belongs to Emily Brown and How to Train Your Dragon 
• Author Vashti Hardy  has some great fun home learning support on her website
• Draw along with illustrators Rob Biddulph #DrawWithRob 
• Author Robin Stevens will be posting Writing Prompt Mondays on her website
• There are some great free apps out there too. Try CBeebies Go Explore or the official YouTube Kids app and Scratch Junior coding fun for kids.
• For teachers, there are free resources for your classroom at Puffin Schools
• You can also check out publisher websites such as Chicken House  and Walker Books

Check out your favourite authors on You Tube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and their websites too. You can also use #UnitedByBooks to find lots of reading activities and tips.

Have fun!

Meet the Silly Squad!

The theme for this year’s Summer Reading Challenge (SRC) is “Silly Squad” – a celebration of funny books, happiness and laughter. The SRC encourages children aged 4 to 11 to enjoy the benefits of reading for pleasure over the summer holidays, providing lots of fun and enjoyment as well as helping to prevent the summer reading “dip”

This year, children can sign up  to do the SRC online at Silly Squad  The site is free to access and will feature video content, games, quizzes, and digital downloadable activities to incentivise and encourage children and their families to take part in the Challenge at home. It is a place for children to rate and review their books and work towards their reading goal.

Teachers can visit the School Zone to find ways to support pupils to take part in the SRC

The SRC starts on Friday 5 June 2020 and will run until September.

We want you to get the most out of your School Library Service.  As well as your topic loans, you can order a fiction loan and a class reader each term. You can also borrow story sacks and enhancement boxes to support your teaching.

Loan request forms

Loan request forms are sent to schools towards the end of each term and can also be accessed electronically:

• You can print a Fiction Loan Form here (or alternatively click here to submit an online form)
• You can print a Project Loan Form here (or alternatively click here to submit an online form)

Forms can be returned by e-mail to kathryn.walsh@knowsley.gov.uk or via the School Library Service van driver.

You can find some helpful hints and tips for completing your form here

We aim to provide you with the best possible resources to support your teaching and we would welcome any feedback you may have about your loans.

You can find the latest information on deliveries and collections here

Newsletter Spring 2020

Author visits are a great way to enthuse children about books and to encourage them to read for pleasure. They help to widen children’s reading choices and to facilitate book ownership. Meeting a “real life” author can be both inspirational and motivational for the children, which is often reflected in their own writing.

We were delighted to have author Sophie Anderson visit us in September. Sophie visited 3 schools, engaging with with approximately 450 pupils and 101 books were sold on the day. “Sophie is my favourite author and I will never forget this moment” (Pupil from Malvern Primary)

We have the following authors booked for 2020;

• 4^th March 2020              Maz Evans
• 5th March 2020             Liz Kessler 
• 26th June 2020              Vashti Hardy

Look out for more author visits during the year

We are delighted to be sponsoring #RRGoesToUni for the third year running. It’s set to be a great day filled with keynote speakers, workshops, exhibitors and of course, a travelling bookshop.

This informal CPD event is aimed at anybody with a passion for reading in both the primary and secondary sectors. The day will focus on practical ideas to promote reading for pleasure, look at ways to nurture competent readers and writers and examples of using reading materials across the curriculum and the education phases. It is a great opportunity to meet fellow Reading Rockers and to share practice and ideas together. And of course we will be there too!

Taking place at Liverpool John Moores University on Saturday 7th March 2020. Tickets available here

Do come and say hello.

This year Empathy Day will be 9th June 2020. Take a look at the book collections and find out more here