Book Ahead!

Book Ahead is an initiative by the Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) in England, which aims to get enjoyable books into the hands of young children in Early Years settings to develop enjoyment in reading at an early stage, and also to strengthen the links between those settings and their local public and Schools Library Services.It is based on a booklist commissioned from the School Library Association, written by Julia Eccleshare, with contributions from other library organisations. The booklist is available free and each local authority in England has been funded by DCSF to purchase books from the list to use with Early Years settings such as playgroups and nurseries in their area.The full version of the booklist is available online, including search and index facilities, the introduction and the appendices. The whole booklist is also available to download as a PDF file.

www.bookahead.org.uk


Book Ahead was officially launched by Schools Minister Jim Knight in June 2008, and the books and booklists are being rolled out by local authority library services around England over the next few months.

Carnegie Medal Book Award

I have just finished shadowing the Carnegie Book Award (for the fourth time now too) and just want to say how much I enjoyed it. The mixture of delights that came my way through the choice of books was fantastic. I have once again been able to read new books that I would never otherwise have read and also had the opportunity to meet new authors/genres.

www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk

Fancy a swap?

How about swapping books? I've just discovered Read it Swap it website

http://www.readitswapit.co.uk/TheLibrary.aspx

It's wonderful!

Grab a bookmark

Bookmarks have always been a vital part of reading and as a child I always loved to collect them. No matter what book I had, I always had a bookmark on hand. Now even as an adult you will still find me with a bookmark and you will often find me designing my own too. A bookmark becomes your friend!

Special touches

Reading a book is wonderful enough but having something to accompany the book is even better. I always try to buy the story I am reading on audio - if it's available that is. Once I've read the book I then listen to the audio - what a wonderful way to help the story sink in even more.

National Year of Reading 2008

What have you been reading this year?
Books, newspapers, magazines, journals?

Doesn't matter what you have been reading, the fact that you have been reading means so much during this special year.