On the 14th June a group of Y8 & Y9 students accompanied by Miss Baker and Mrs Locke attended Herefordshire Libraries Carnegie Shadowing Event at the Shirehall in Hereford.
These students and students from other Herefordshire schools have spent the last term reading the 8 books nominated for this prestigious award in children’s literature, discussing them and preparing to attend this event and ultimately choose which book deserves to be awarded the medal. During the event students took part in a quiz on all of the books and debated which one we felt should be the winner in groups.
Each school had prepared a 5 minute presentation on their nominated book. JMHS’s book was Fire Colour One by Jenny Valentine. Lucy and Millie had created a PowerPoint presentation which Lucy presented accompanied by music recorded by Lucy and Ella. We also had some beautiful artwork by India and Olivia and our performance was completed with a fantastic poem inspired by the book written and performed by Lizzie.
The students all voted for their favourite book and the winner on the day was Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley. This is an intelligent thought provoking book set in a High School in America during desegregation.
The event was a fantastic opportunity for the students to explore their love of literature. The highlight of the day was an inspiring talk on writing and books from the author of last years winning novel “Buffalo Soldier” Tanya Landman. Students had the opportunity to ask Tanya lots of questions and get her to sign copied of her book.
If you are looking for some great summer reading, the nominations for this award are a great place to start. You can find more information on these books and the award at http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/carnegie
The Carnegie Shadowing group are now eagerly awaiting the announcement of the winner on Monday 20th June.