Spotlight on eBooks!

This week the library team would like to draw attention to another great resource called ePlatform. This eBook provider can be accessed via the webpage https://gch.eplatform.co/ or using the ePlatform app which can be downloaded from the app store.

To login and borrow eBooks, simply use your school email and IT password. 

After borrowing a book via ePlatform, it is then yours to read for two weeks and will be automatically returned on the due date. If you borrow your books using the app, these will be automatically downloaded to your phone or tablet when you make your choice.

New additions to the Grey Coat eBook Library include:

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna 

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab 

Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron 

Death Sets Sail by Robin Stevens

                                                                 ...and many more!

 

If you require any help accessing our ebooks, as ever, please ask at the desk and the library team will happily assist you. 

Non-Fiction November: Facts and Folklore

Non-Fiction November is not over yet at GCH Library! This week our library team has put together a display focusing on ancient history, mythology and folklore - all of which topics can be found in the non-fiction section of the library.

To help students better access these topics, we have paired some modern fiction books with a non-fiction pick about the history or mythology that inspired it.

For example, fans of Oh My Gods by Alexandra Sheppard or the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan might enjoy learning more about ancient Greek deities in Leon Ashworth's Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Greece.

You may also be familiar with classic historical adventure novel The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliffe, but how much do you know about Roman Britain? To find out more check out Terry Deary's Rotten Romans or Hadrian's Wall by James Forde-Johnstone. 

Many kinds of history, mythology and folklore feature in modern books today. Why not borrow a title from the popular my story collection and pair it with a non-fiction book to gain some further insight into your historical fiction reading? 

If you're looking to learn more about ancient Egyptian rulers you could also borrow The Egyptians by Michael Hayes from the non-fiction section and pair it with Princess of Egypt: an Egyptian Girl's Diary to experience the royal political drama of 1490 BC. 

We also have fiction books which directly retell classic folktales. For example, an exciting new addition to the library, The Wrath and the Dawn is heavily based on the traditional Middle Eastern folktale collection known as One Thousand and One Nights (or often known as The Arabian Nights in English). 

If you would like any further recommendations, or help looking for a book on a certain topic, please do ask at the desk!

Happy reading!

Upcoming author visit: Ross MacKenzie

The GCH Library is proud to welcome multi award-winning author Ross MacKenzie to Grey Coat next week on Monday 22nd!

Ross will be speaking to years 7 and 8 during the morning but all students are welcome to come to the library at break time when he will be signing copies of his books!

Copies of Evernight and its sequel Feast of the Evernight are available to order from the library at a special GCH discount. Copies will be available on the day but please do collect an order form at the desk and order your copies in advance to avoid disappointment. We will be accepting completed forms with payment until Thursday 18th.

If you would like to borrow a copy of Evernight from the library please ask us at the issue desk (where free taster chapters of the book are also available!)

 Evernight

The Evernight has been unleashed. As far back as she can remember, orphan Larabelle Fox has scraped together a living by treasure-hunting in the sewers. In a city where emotionless White Witches march through the streets and fear of Hag magic is rife, Lara keeps her head down. But when she stumbles upon a mysterious little box in the sewers, Lara finds herself catapulted into a world of wild magic - facing adventure, mortal danger and a man who casts no shadow.

Feast of the Evernight: (Spoilers ahead for Evernight!)

The Evernight has been defeated, and the sun has returned, thanks to Larabelle Fox and her friends Joe and Double Eight. White Witches have their souls back and the evil Mrs Hester is no more. It should be a time of celebration and relief. But a new threat is emerging from the mists of the Veil, the dangerous forest that surrounds the Silver Kingdom's southern lands. Mysterious killings are taking place, and                           Double Eight is the suspect. Lara and Joe journey to Lake End to                               discover what's really happening, all the while trying to stay one step                        ahead of the secret police...

The Fifth of November

Every fifth of November, people all over the UK commemorate Guy Fawkes Night and celebrate this failed attempt to attack Parliament and King James VI and I in 1605. 

In line with the library's celebration of Non-Fiction November, we've formed a Guy Fawkes Night themed reading list to highlight some useful resources. Check out these titles available now at the library and learn more about the origins of this enduring tradition, explore conspiracies and delve into the fascinating context of this 17th century assassination attempt.

For more on Guy Fawkes see:

Rebels With A Cause: Undercover Agents by Paul Thomas

The Gunpowder Plot: Unclassified by Nick Hunter

Guy Fawkes by Leon Ashworth

The Truth about Guy Fawkes: A Stuart Mystery by Terry Deary 

       'The Gunpowder Plot Conspirators'* 

If you would like to learn more about King James, early modern England and the political and religious contexts surrounding the events of 1605 you may also wish to read:

The Gunpowder Plot: Terror and Faith by Antonia Fraser 

Elizabethan and Jacobean England: sources and documents of the English Renaissance by Arthur Kinney 

The Stuarts ed. Antonia Fraser 

'Domme preachers'? post-reformation English Catholicism and the culture of print by Alexandra Walsham 

The Church of England 1570-1640 by Andrew Foster 

As ever, please ask the library team if you have any questions or need help finding resources!

This week the Year 7 Book Club also discussed Guy Fawkes and created some wonderful acrostic poems.

Here's one by Mena, Hawa and Yu Qing:

F    Fire works in the sky

I     Interfered with the Christian religion

R    Re-tell me the story of Bonfire Night

E    Enrich your knowledge 

W   Wonder why they light the fire

O    Ongoing legends of Guy Fawkes

R    Remember that night

K    Kneel down in prayer and

S     Say thanks 

Well done to all of the Year 7 Book Club for their fantastic work!

*Crispijn de Passe the Elder, c.1605, The Gunpowder Plot Conspirators, National Portrait Gallery, London. 

Remembrance Day

Originally called 'Armistice Day' in 1919, Remembrance Day is observed every year on November 11th to mark the armistice agreement made at 11am on November 11th 1918 which ended the First World War. Today, the anniversary is used to remember everyone who died during war. 

This month the GCH Library will also be celebrating 'Non-Fiction November' - a great opportunity to challenge yourself to read more non-fiction books! Texts on topics such as the World Wars and many more can be found in the library. 

If you would like to find out more about Remembrance Day and its history and traditions, you may wish to read The Story of Remembrance Day by Monica Hughes or 1918: Remembrance Day by Gillian Clements. 

Other great non-fiction resources linked to Remembrance Day include:

Horrible Histories: The Blitzed Brits by Terry Deary 

In Flanders Fields: the 1917 Campaign by Leon Wolff 

Memoirs of an Infantry Office by Siegfried Sassoon

Hidden: True Stories of children who survived World War II by Marcel Prins and Peter Henk Steenhuis 

Dear Jelly: Family letters from the First World War by Sarah Ridley 

Tales from the Secret Annexe by Anne Frank 

Somme Mud: The Experiences of an Infantryman in France, 1916-1919 by E.P.F. Lynch 

Armistice 1918 by Reg Grant 

Women at War (ed.) Nigel Fountain 

Another very important resource is The Black British soldiers who were deliberately forgotten video which can be accessed via the library app. This is a great way to learn about the black military units who, though vital to the Allied victory, were intentionally erased in order to advance the ideology of the British Empire. For more information about the contributions of Black British soldiers in the World Wars you may also wish to read Black and British by David Bygott or Black and British: a forgotten history by David Olusoga. 

While this selection has focused mainly on the World Wars, as we remember those who died during all wars on November 11th, you can also find non-fiction books on other conflicts such as the Korean War, the Vietnam war and the conflict in Afghanistan at the library. 

Although this months focus is non-fiction, we have some great fiction books relating to both World Wars in the library too! While reading non-fiction is a great way to learn more about these subjects, reading fictional accounts can be a useful way to put yourself in the shoes of people who lived in very different circumstances to us.

Highlights from the Remembrance Day fiction display include: 

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne 

Remembrance by Theresa Breslin 

Carrie's War by Nina Badwen 

Salt to the Sea  by Ruta Sepetys 

Medal for Leroy by Michael Morpurgo 

The Enigma Game by Elizabeth Wein 

Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo 

Charley's War [GN] by Patt Mills and Joe Colquhoun 

Please do ask the library team if you are looking for something in particular and keep an eye out for our Non-Fiction November display!