Try a springtime classic this Easter!

We hope you're all looking forward to two weeks of rest and relaxation over the Easter holidays! Why not kick back in the sunshine with a springtime classic? Here are six options available now in the library. 

Watership Down by Richard Adams

Follow the epic trials and tribulations of a group of rabbits as they seek to escape the destruction of their warren and find a new place to call home.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Jane Austen's sparkling comedy of manners is a must-read at some point in life, and what better time to enjoy it than in the splendour of English spring.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Dive into this beloved tale of regrowth and discover the secrets of Misselthwaite Manor.


Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

A misunderstanding sees young orphan Anne Shirley sent to live at Green Gables farm, but her zest for life and vibrant imagination allow her to se
ttle quickly and brighten up her new home. 

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien

Join the reluctant Bilbo Baggins on his heroic quest through Middle Earth, from the original master of fantasy. 

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

Experience the whimsical springtime adventures of Mole, Rat and Badger in Kenneth Grahame's beloved 1908 classic - a perfect garden read!

World Book Day

Last week we celebrated World Book Day at GCH library with a variety of bookish events and activities! We were thrilled by your enthusiasm for the WBD books and tokens, as well as your entries into our various competitions. 

Children's author Dr Nazneen Pathak spent the day with us on Friday delivering talks and creative writing workshops, as well as signing copies of her wonderful new book City of Stolen Magic. Dr Pathak also sat for an interview with the school's own Book Corner magazine, so be sure to catch it in the upcoming fifth issue!

Congratulations to Janina, who won our dress-up-a-potato competition with this spectacular Rainbow Fish potato (pictured on the left)! Well done too to Arianna and Elsa, our joint-winners of the Calvin & Hobbes comic competition - read their brilliant entries below.  

Thanks also to everyone who took part in our book swap and gave an unloved book a new home! The swap will continue this week so please do visit us in the library to exchange your tokens. 

Women's History Month in GCH Library

This March the GCH library once more invites you all to celebrate Women's History Month with us, during which the historical erasure of women's successes are undone and their contributions to society are celebrated! This year, the library staff have offered up recommendations of a books they love that highlight either the artistic achievements or hidden history of women throughout time.

Ms Steadman

The Five by Hallie Rubenhold (available in the library, Year 9+)

In this brilliant work of non-fiction, writer and historian Hallie Rubenhold tells the story of the five victims of Jack the Ripper – women who have been ignored, misrepresented and exploited for over 130 years. The Five is a painstakingly researched yet compulsively readable account that focuses on the lives of the women who were killed, rather than on their murders or the identity of their killer. It provides a fascinating – and utterly enraging – glimpse into the ways in which Victorian women were trapped by circumstance, powerless to forge their own paths in the world and at the mercy of strict social expectations and institutional sexism. The Five is full of insight and compassion, as well as many surprises for those familiar with the gruesome narrative espoused by so-called “Ripperologists”. Winner of the prestigious Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-fiction in 2019 and adapted as a podcast series (find Bad Women: The Ripper Retold on BBC Sounds), The Five is my recommendation this Women’s History Month.

Mr Hanson

Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter (available in the library)

Nights at the Circus, my favourite book from the brilliant Angela Carter, follows the adventures of a woman named Fevvers, a 6'2" Cockney aerialiste with an enormous pair of wings sprouting from her back. Her journey from the underbelly of Victorian London to the circus, high-society St. Petersburg and then through to the wilds of Siberia is hugely entertaining, and throughout the novel Carter playfully subverts and confounds stereotypes of femininity and submissiveness.

Mrs Sewell

The King's Curse by Philippa Gregory

My claim to fame is that I am directly descended from the heroine of a book by Philippa Gregory. It is called The King's Curse and is about Margaret Plantagenet who was my thirteenth Great Grandmother. She was a threat to Henry VIII because she was from the Royal house ( Plantagenet) which was in power before the Tudors came along. She married Sir Richard Pole and their son was the last Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury. They also had a daughter, Ursula, who is my twelfth Great Grandmother. Margaret Plantagenet was made a Catholic Saint in 1886 because she opposed Henry VIII for divorcing Queen Katherine of Aragon and paid for her convictions with her life. She was beheaded in the tower of London in 1541 by an apprentice executioner. An eye witness account says that he was "a wretched and blundering youth who hacked her head and shoulders to pieces in the most pitiful manner." Margaret Plantagenet, Countess of Salisbury was one of just two women in 16th-century England to be a peeress in her own right without a husband in the House of Lords. Philippa Gregory has written many amazing books about courageous women, and The King's Curse is one of them.


Mrs Swan

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang (available in the library)

This sprawling family history, spanning a tumultuous century, recounts the lives of three female generations in China. First published in 1991, Wild Swans contains the biographies of author Jung Chang's grandmother and her mother, then finally her own autobiography. Her grandmother had bound feet and was married off at a young age as the concubine of a high-status warlord. Chang's mother rose in status as a member of the Communist Party, before Chang herself took part in the Cultural Revolution as a member of the Red Guards. As the story of each generation unfolds, Chang captures in gripping and ultimately uplifting detail the cycles of violence visited on her own family and millions of others caught in the whirlwind of history.

Be sure to come and check out these titles in the library, and feel free to peruse our Women's History Month display and selection too!

Harry Potter Night

Friday 9th February saw the GCH library host its annual Harry Potter Night, at which four travelling Hogwarts professors lent their expertise to the training of this year’s batch of promising young witches in the magical arts. 

The evening commenced with the sorting ceremony, with the students sorted into their houses by the omniscient sorting hat (kindly loaned by Hogwarts for the occasion). 

Madam Leda Cygnus delivered a lecture on the fine art of wand-making, before leading the students in choosing from several magical cores and materials to construct a wand attuned to their strengths and personality. 

Professor Filius-Patergracia led a workshop on the introduction to duelling basics, pitting classmates against each other in a light-hearted magical battle royale. No students were harmed in the process, although several small fires had to be extinguished as a result of overzealous spell-slinging by several more enthusiastic students. 

Renowned linguamancer Professor Malleus led students in decoding an ancient script, before instructing them in the creation of their own runic text. 

Finally Madam Kentauros oversaw a quidditch training session for each house in preparation for the evening’s crowning event, the annual Quidditch Cup! The two playoffs were hotly contested, and resulted in a Ravenclaw vs Gryffindor final in which the Ravenclaw seeker won it for her house in the final seconds of the game. Congratulations to Ravenclaw for their well-fought victory!

The evening was unfortunately marred by the arrival of an owl from the Ministry of Magic, warning of their suspicions that several renegade wizards were in attendance of the evening in disguise. No disturbances were recorded, but continued vigilance is advised. 

Introduction and Summer Reading Challenge Summary

Hello GCH! My name is Mr Hanson, and I’m the new graduate trainee librarian. Prior to this role I completed a degree in English Literature before spending a year in a public library, and I’m really looking forward to working with you all this year. My own literary interests lean more towards American classics like Hemingway and Steinbeck but I believe that everyone should keep an open minded approach to reading, so please do seek me out with your own recommendations!

One of my first tasks this term was to go through all of your fantastic submissions to the Summer Reading Challenge, the theme of which was “readaxation”. I’d like to thank you all for your excellent effort, and also apologise for the fact that we couldn’t fit them all on our display!

The editors of our very own school newspaper are currently hard at work sifting through the short stories you submitted - keep an eye out for the upcoming edition, which will feature the chosen winners. If you completed all of the challenges, please do remember to drop by the library to collect your book prize if you haven’t already. 

 

South Asian Heritage Month

In our final blog post of the academic year, the Library team would like to draw attention to South Asian Heritage Month. This year, SAHM begins on 18th July and concludes in the middle of the summer holidays on 17th August.

August 17th is a particularly significant date as it marks the anniversary of the Partition in 1947 - a major change in political borders which created the two independent dominions of Pakistan and India following the end of almost two centuries of British colonial rule in South Asia. 

 This year, SAHM have chosen the theme 'Stories to Tell' and in this spirit we have selected a range of books which we hope embody the month's central ideas of 'Celebrate, Commemorate and Educate'.

Artichoke Hearts and Jasmine Skies by Sita Brahmachari (STA)

The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar (STM)

Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie (STM)

Ellie Pillai is Brown by Christine Pillainaygam (STA)

Meet Me in Mumbai by Sabina Khan (STA)

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth (STM)

Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom by Sangu Mandanna (STA)

The Million Pieces of Neena Gill by Emma Smith-Barton (STA)

Asha and the Spirit Bird by Jasbinder Bilan (STA)

The Wheel of Surya by Jamila Gavin (STA)

My Story: Noor-un-Nissa Inayat Khan by Sufiya Ahmed (STA)

The Balloon Thief by Aneesa Marufu (STM)

Zara Hossain is Here by Sabina Khan (STA)

Further Reading:

The following titles are not at GCH but are worth looking out for at your public library this summer!

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon (YA Contemporary)

All My Rage by Sabba Tahir (YA Historical and Contemporary)

Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel (Adult Fiction, Hindu Mythology)

Hunted by the Sky by Tanaz Bhathena (YA Fantasy)

Partition Voices: Untold British Stories by Kavita Puri (Biography, History)

The Family Tree by Sairish Hussain (Adult Fiction, Family)

Tell Me How You Really Feel by Aminah Mae Safi (YA Romance, LGBTQ)

The Love Match by Priyanka Taslim (YA Romance)

Recommended for schools from the SAHM website:

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy 

The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid 

Brick Lane by Monica Ali 

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini 

'Readaxation'

 The Summer Reading Challenge has now begun!

This years theme is 'Readaxation' and the challenge includes six challenges including: 'Get Caught Reading', design a bookmark, creating a postcard, reading for pleasure, visiting a public library and writing a 'Mini Saga'. 

Students are invited to complete all or some of the challenges with every completed challenge earning them a small prize to collect in September.  

Please hand in all completed challenges to the new Graduate Trainee Librarian Mr. Hanson at St Andrew's Library in the new academic year.