Costa Book of the Year 2014

Winner of the Samuel Johnson prize, the Costa Biography prize and now the overall Costa Book of the Year, 'H is for Hawk' by Helen Macdonald explores grief, love and nature as well as being a manual on how to train a goshawk. It tells how the Cambridge historian, illustrator and naturalist, overwhelmed by grief following the death of her father, decided to train the most difficult of all birds of prey. Interwoven is a shadow biography of T.H.White along with nature writing, a true mixing of genres.

Read Helen Macdonald's interview with the Guardian here.

The door that led to where

Sally Gardner's eagerly awaited 'The door that led to where' has just arrived in the library and promises to be just as original and imaginative as her previous bestsellers. Read this review from the Daily Telegraph and/or reserve your copy via email.

John Green quotes

It’s 10 years since John Green published his first book, ‘Looking for Alaska’. To celebrate, The Guardian has put together the best quotes from his books. A favourite of mine is “Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.” (Fault in our Stars)
Do you have any favourites? Email them to the Guardian at children.books@theguardian.com and have them added to their blog.

Harry Potter Book Night

Are you celebrating Harry Potter Book Night on 5th February?

The Kimbookworms are counting down the days!

 

In the meantime, why not enter the national schools competition to win a masterclass with Jonny Duddle, the new official Harry Potter jacket illustrator. There are lots of other prizes too. All you have to do is design your own Witch or Wizard card (like the ones Ron shows Harry in the packs of Chocolate Frogs). Find out more here.