Published 29 February 2024
Once again, we’re turning World Book Day (March 7) into a week of activities, this year based around the theme of book recommendations, and we ask you to encourage your children to get involved.
It starts on the Monday with another visit from our patron of reading, the acclaimed Peter J Murray, who will be talking to Year 7 about his latest book, The Darker Side of Wight. As well as featuring a very scary and bloodthirsty-looking bunny on the cover, it’s billed as a compendium of spooky stories from the place not so far from here that Peter calls “the Isle of Fright”. And we didn’t even plan that tie-in with “gothic writing”! No doubt he’ll be discussing his hugely popular Mokee Joe series, too, and signing copies.
All of KS3 are in the process of receiving an old-fashioned paper voucher that they can exchange at “all good bookshops” for a special WBD publication or use to get £1 another book purchase, and WH Smith are kindly giving us enough free books to give a copy to everyone in Year 8, which is great news. On RM Unify, any student (or member of staff) can also recommend a book using the special tile and be in with a chance of winning a £5 Amazon voucher in a raffle. Recommendations will be rolled out during a lunchtime on a mobile display board for maximum publicity!
Building on its excellent “Blind date with a book” initiative that saw 100 free books given away to interested students last term, the Library is again at the heart of our WBD plans. In addition to their by-now-traditional design-a-bookmark competition, Mrs Hewetson and Mrs Kirby are also organising a couples-in-literature quiz that we’re calling “Paired to Perfection”, which will involve 40 staff volunteers wearing badges that show one half of a famous literary duo, with students having to match each pair and name both the characters and the book they are from. With thanks to the staff book group for the suggested pairs, the texts range from established classics to student-friendly YA fiction. All competition entries (by individual students) will be put into a hat for a prize. Students should look out for the Google form heading their way on Satchel One if they wish to take part.
Happy reading – and recommending!
