Are you in Years 6, 7 or 8?

Are you an enthusiastic and mature reader with a ZPD greater than 6.5?

Do you enjoy talking about what you are reading?

Are you interested in meeting authors and getting your books autographed?

If so, would you like to help select this year’s winner of The North East Book Award?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these, click continue reading to find out more.

We have just 8 weeks to read and discuss all 6 shortlisted books before voting! Obviously, there’s more to say – and disagree about – as the weeks progress and more people have read more of the books! As we read, we post our reviews and comments on the NEBA website, which is closely monitored by the shortlisted authors. Extracts are used for giant promotional posters that the authors like to take home as souvenirs. (You can see some outside the library.)

When all participating schools have voted, we attend an evening prize giving at The Centre for Life in June. We talk to the authors, get our books signed and generally have a good time.

If you think you’d like to give this a go – and don’t forget that you need to write a bit about the books as well as reading them – please see Mrs Inverarity in the library at morning break as soon as possible. When making your decision, bear in mind that the shortlisted books are aimed at Key Stage 3 and sometimes contain challenging themes.
The ceremony this year will be held on the evening of June 14th and clashes with the final evening performance of the Summer Showcase. If you’d still like to give NEBA a go, we will get your books signed for you!

Visit the NEBA website for more information – http://northeastbookaward.wordpress.com

Meetings are as follows: 

Tuesdays after school until 4:20pm in Newminster library – numbers limited

Thursday lunchtimes in Chantry library at 12:30pm

The books involved are:

• Time Travelling with a Hamster – Ross Welford
• The Boy Who Sailed the Ocean in an Armchair – Robin Stevens
• Looking at the Stars – Jo Cotterill
• Gorilla Dawn – Gill Lewis
• The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow – Katherine Woodfine
• Phoenix Rising – Bryony Pearce

– Mrs Inverarity