Avast, me hearties

Did yer be knowin' that 19th September be "Talk like a pirate day"? Maybes yer did and maybes yer didn't. But to celebrate this event yer Library has a display of some mighty magnificent pirate tales and blood-curdling pirate facts for yer entertainment. So hurry on down scurvey rat and grab yerself some pirate booty.

Geoffrey Malone's book Pirates is a thrilling tale set in the South China Seas. Can Tom Lee's knowledge of the seas enable him to overcome the sinister pirate leader, the Dragon Lady?

Prefer to be terrified by true facts? The Horrible Histories Handbook on Pirates tells you all you ever wanted to know about pirates (and lots more you would probably have preferred not to know!) Find out about keel-hauling and dragging - fine examples of pirate punishments.

But be warned land-lubbers these books be not for the faint-of-heart!

Royal Mail Book Awards

The shortlists for this year's Royal Mail Book Awards were announced on Thursday 9th September. Students can take part in the judging process to decide which book should win. To take part you have to read all 3 books in a category between now and January. All votes have to be sent in by the 28th of January and the winners are announced on 22nd February. As well as voting for your favourite there are review competitions both national and here in the school. If you are interested in taking part please come and see me in the Library.

The shortlisted books are:

Category 1 - John Fardell The secret of the black moon moth

Lucinda Hare The dragon whisperer

Barry Hutchinson Invisible fiends:Mr Mumbles

Caetgory 2 - Elizabeth Laird The witching hour

Cathy MacPhail Grass

Gillian Philip Crossing the line

For more information about the books come to the Library or visit the Scottish Book Trust's website: http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/

HOWL...ing good books

The new display in the Library this week highlights books featuring wolves. There is a mixture of fact and fiction all about wolves - good wolves, bad wolves, prehistoric wolves and the last Scottish wolf. If you find wolves as fascinating as I do, why not come along and borrow one of the books?

Mortal Engine series

You don't have to have been coming into the Library for long to find out that Philip Reeve is one of my favourite authors. In particular I love his Mortal Engines series. If you too have read the books from Mortal Engines to A Darkling Plain, why not read Fever Crumb the prequel to Mortal Engines?

Fever Crumb is set a generation before Mortal Engines and explains the origins of the traction cities and of the character the stalker Shrike. It is an exciting adventure which is also peppered with humour - look out for the cult that worships "Hari Potter"!!

Fever Crumb can be read without having read any of the other books. The series is of a genre known as "steampunk" this refers to books set in an age when steam power was still widely used, often the Victorian era, but features futuristic inventions and ideas.

For more information about the author Philip Reeve and all of his books:

http://www.philip-reeve.com/

http://www.mortalengines.co.uk