Kimbookworms' Christmas Party

Food, jokes and games were on the menu for the Kimbookworms' annual Christmas party. Anna had made a delicious cake but then wasn't well enough to attend :( Thank you Anna!

Accelerated Reader

First Form pupils have been busy quizzing all term using Accelerated Reader. We already have 5 pupils who've joined the Millionaire's Club, having read over 1,000,000 words since September. Everyone who has managed to score 85% or more in quizzes received a free book this term whilst the overall winner of the prize draw, Ross Basser, received a book token for £20.

To see details of books in the Accelerated Reader quiz scheme, click here: http://www.arbookfind.co.uk/default.aspx

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Six members of the Kimbookworms had a cinema outing in November to see the first part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Everyone agreed that it was a superb film with some truly exciting and scary sequences, especially for those of us who don't like snakes. Our appetites have certainly been whetted for the big battle between good and evil that awaits in Part 2.

Kids' Lit Quiz

Great excitement this week! The Central England heat of the Kids' Lit Quiz was held here on Weds 17th Nov. Seventeen teams took part together with a team of authors - Mark Robson, Julia Jarman and Lucy Coats. The teams worked collaboratively to answer 100 questions on all aspects of children's literature from 'Books made into films' and 'Mythical beasts' to 'Cartoon characters'.

The New Zealand quizmaster, Wayne Mills, kept everyone glued to their seats with quick-fire questions between rounds where individuals could win money prizes.
Our teams did extremely well - in fact both came equal 3rd so there had to be a sudden death play-off which the 2nd Form team won.

Aylesbury Grammar, the overall winners, will now go on to compete for a place in the grand final in New Zealand in 2011.

BookTrust Teenage Prize

'Unhooking the Moon' by Gregory Hughes has just won the BookTrust Teenage prize. Beautifully written, highly original and funny, this debut novel is a must-read.

Two orphans embark on an epic road trip to New York to find their long-lost uncle. Read the review here Guardian review.

Mark Robson

Mark Robson's visit in October was a huge success. His talk on life in the RAF and the effects of G-Force entertained the 1st-3rd Form whilst his writing workshops, usuing Neo2 word processors, enabled 1st Form pupils to pick up lots of tips on short-story writing. Mark signed copies of his books, selling more than 50 books over the 2 days. Mark's latest book, 'The Devil's Triangle' will be published in March.

Mark Robson's website

Guardian Children's Fiction Prize

Michelle Paver has won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize for Ghost Hunter, the final part in her Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series.

Guardian article

Roger McGough

Five members of the Kimbookworms attended Roger McGough's evening of poetry and prose at The Castle Theatre in Wellingborough.

Book signing and poetry on cats were the highlight of the evening for us!

Terry Pratchett visits Kimbolton School!

We were very fortunate to have Sir Terry Pratchett with us on Weds. 29th Sept. 'Nation' was the school summer read and Terry came to talk to the whole school about the book and his life as an author. He also made time to talk to the Kimbookworms in the library, adding to some of the stories he'd begun earlier. One surprise was that The Moomintrolls by Tove Jansson was one of his all-time favourites.

World Cup Quiz

Despite England's lack of success on the international field of football, lots of interest was generated in the library's World Cup Quiz. Football facts and figures challenged even the most football-savvy but the overall winner managed to score a magnificent 100%. Prizes of a Jabulani ball and book token were awarded to James Belbin with 7 runners up receiving mini balls and chocolate.

Neil Gaiman gets a hat-trick!

Neil Gaiman has been awarded the Carnegie Medal 2010 for The Graveyard Book. Earlier this year he won the Newbery Medal (US) and the BookTrust's Teenage Book Award for his book about Bod, the boy brought up by ghosts.

The Kimbolton Shadowing group disagreed with the Carnegie judges, placing Revolver as the favourite with Nation and The Vanishing Act of Katharina Linden as runners-up. See the group's reviews at Kimbolton's Carnegie web page

Information Jungle

The 2nd Form Library Challenge returned for another successful run with 'The Information Jungle - Get Me In There!' theme. Four teams from each tutor group raced around the library to find the answers to their quiz questions. The grand final took place on Friday 18th June with 2P winning a very close competition.

World Poetry Day

World Poetry Day was marked with visits from two performance poets. Adisa captivated the whole school in assembly and then ran workshops for the Sixth Form whilst Justin Coe entertained the 4th Form and Year 6 from the Prep.

The winning entries from the Poetry Competition will be on display in the library.

Alan Gibbons

Have you ever thought of being a comedian? Where do you get your ideas from for your Horror stories? What's your favourite book of all time?

Just some of the questions posed to Alan Gibbons when he spoke to First Form pupils on 15th March. As well as entertaining everyone with some hilarious stories, Alan spoke about the books he enjoyed when he was younger, how his career took off when he won the Blue Peter Book Award for Shadow of the Minotaur, and how his love of stories and language has led him to write over 50 books of all different genres. Tips on writing along with thoughts on Britain today, made Alan's talk both useful and thought-provoking. A superb speaker who obviously has a huge social conscience and a brilliant sense of humour!

Book Sale

The Book Sale in aid of Book Aid International begins on World Book Day, Thursday 4th March. Book Aid International is a charity that sends books to sub-Saharan Africa and to Palestine. Find out more about the charity's work and how books can change lives at http://www.bookaid.org/.

P.S. Thank you to everyone who supported the Book Sale, raising the grand total of £115.

Neil Gaiman wins the BookTrust Teenage Prize

Neil Gaiman has been awarded the BookTrust Teenage Prize for his brilliant 'The Graveyard Book'. Find out more at www.booktrustchildrensbooks.org.uk/Teenage-Books .

Blind Date a Book

'Blind Date a Book' has begun! Good reads, nominated by pupils, are hidden in brown paper bags. There are no nasty surprises (no gory horrors or girly romances) - just brilliant reads that you may not initially have chosen for yourself. Just commit yourself to reading the first 2 chapters - you'll be hooked!