Back in a bit...

I know that many of you will have a busy few weeks ahead of you, with it being the last half-term of this school year, so we'll give the blog a break until September. 

If you took part in the last story competition in Elm Class, I will be putting your stories into a file so they're available for everyone to read. Thank you for taking part, and well done, Darcy, on your winning entry. They're all worth a read, so look out for the story folder, which we'll keep in the fiction library. 

Good luck with the play, Elm and Rowan classes - it looks like it'll be a good one. Best of luck to all of our year 6s. Don't forget to keep in touch with us when you head off to high school!

...read some good books, and

let us know about them!

'The Big Strike' by Billy

Here's Billy's story, 'The Big Strike'. 


Max was horrified. 'I... I... I didn't do anything!'
'Sure,' mouthed Boris the Bully. 
People bullied Max because he had warts on his freckled face. He had light brown hair, braces and glasses. Bertie chucked Max on the floor.
'Ow!' Max ran off and burst into tears.

Ding! Ding! Ding! The bell had rung and everyone was going in and getting ready for maths. Max said nothing, but people could tell something was wrong. All the nerds surrounded him. They were his friends. Kevin, Bob, Gavin, Richard, Luke and Simon. They were his family. 
'Project Protect Max,' said Simon, with his eyes twitching.
'I know! I've got a plan!' said Gavin. 

The next day, Max got tied to a thin birch tree. While the bullies were talking, Gavin cut the rope off. 'Now!' Max was suddenly joined by an army of nerds. 
'Run!' said Boris the Bully. The bullies, all four of them, ran through the path. Snap!
'Nice one, boys,' said Max. All of the bullies' feet were trapped between a piece of bamboo. 
'Ow!' screamed the bullies. 
Max suddenly appeared over Boris's face with a massive cheesy grin.
'Guess what?' said Max.
'Gulp,' gulped Boris.
'1 x 1=2, 2 x 2=4, 3 x 3=9, 4 x 4=16, 5 x 5=25, 6 x 6=36, 7 x 7=49, 8 x 8=64, 9 x ....' Max paused. The bullies had fallen asleep. 
'Ha, ha,' laughed the nerds. 
'This is our school now!' said Max.
'Hooray!' shouted the nerds. Finally the nerd gang could learn, play, walk and put books away without being bullied!'

'Diary' by Jaime

Here's the story that Jaime wrote for our competition:

Competition winners!

Congratulations!

We had two lucky winners of the Elm Class story-writing competition.

Their entries were equally good, so we gave them a book each.

Well done to Jaime and Billy!

Their stories will appear on the blog shortly.

(written by Elm Class)

Edit: That was written during our lesson on using blogs. Ollie and Shannon had the idea of adding links to the books that were won, so here they are:

Jaime won Wonder, by R. J. Palacio, and here's a link 

to the author's website:

http://rjpalacio.com/book.html

...and Billy won Friend or Foe, by Michael Morpurgo. Here's 

the link:

http://michaelmorpurgo.com/books/friend-or-foe

If you've got any ideas for things to include on the blog, let me know!

Have a great weekend!

Links to more book blogs

To the right of this post, under our 'Total page views' (over 3000!), you'll see that I've added links to other blogs on children's books. I'll add to the list if I find some good blogs during my web-wandering. Maybe you could let me know if you find any, too. 

Have a great half-term, and if you're reading any good books, tell us what they are!

Elm Class competition

If you're in Elm class, you've got the chance to win a copy of Wonder, by R J Palacio. We discussed the competition yesterday, but if you need a reminder, here are the rules:

• We're after a short story or poem with a school setting.

• It needs to be your own work. (You can use books and websites for research, but please don't copy and paste!)

• Your poem or story needs to be given to either Mrs Dale or Mrs Eyres by Friday 27th February, so that gives you half term to work on it. 

• Please write your name on your entry, and if you'd rather it wasn't included on this blog, please make a note of that on the top of your paper.

• Entries can be handwritten or done on the computer, whatever's best for you. 

And that's it! Good luck!

'The Puppy who was Loved by Bob,' by Jake

'Billionaire Boy'

Here's a book review by Chloe, from Elm Class:

Billionaire Boy

by David Walliams

Rating: 5 stars

This book is about a 12 year-old billionaire's son called Joe. Joe has everything he wants, or so his dad thought. But all Joe really wants is a friend. Joe and his dad soon realize that money doesn't solve everything. 

It's a really funny book by David Walliams, and as it's his third book, there are lots more funny stories to come.

Recommended because of humour and story plot. 

Illustrated 'Harry Potter' books to be published

I've just read a newspaper article on how all seven Harry Potter books are going to be published with illustrations. The first one, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, will be out in September this year. While you're waiting, here's a link to find out more:

http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2013/dec/06/harry-potter-artist-jim-kay

I've just finished re-reading the Harry Potter series. What have you been reading? 

The Girl Who Walked on Air

Our first book recommendation of the new year! 

Willow, from Elm Class, told me about a new book she had for Christmas, and after reading the blurb, I think I'm going to have to add it to my wish list! It's called The Girl Who Walked on Air, and is by Emma Carroll. It's been nominated for the Carnegie Medal 2015, and this is what Emma Carroll's website has to say about the story:

Abandoned as a baby at Chipchase’s Travelling Circus, Louie dreams of becoming a ‘Showstopper’. Yet Mr Chipchase only ever lets her sell tickets. No Death-Defying Stunts for her. So in secret, Louie practises her act - the tightrope - and dreams of being the Girl Who Walked on Air. All she needs is to be given the chance to shine.

One night a terrible accident occurs. Now the circus needs Louie’s help, and with rival show Wellbeloved’s stealing their crowds, Mr Chipchase needs a Showstopper - fast.

Against his better judgement, he lets Louie perform. She is a sensation and gets an offer from the sinister Mr Wellbeloved himself to perform in America. But nothing is quite as it seems and soon Louie’s bravery is tested not just on the highwire but in confronting her past and the shady characters in the world of the circus...

Merry Christmas and Happy Reading!

Here's wishing you a Merry Christmas!

I hope you have a lovely break from school, and get time to enjoy some books.

I love this library's Christmas tree! 

A project for next year, librarians? ;-)

New library books!

Thanks to the School Council deciding to spend lots of money on books, there'll be some new additions to both the fiction and non-fiction libraries. Over the next few days, the librarians will be stocking the shelves in the fiction library with books suitable for light blue and dark blue reading levels. 

So look out for:

• Graphic novels based on stories by Charles Dickens

• Omnibus editions of books by Jacqueline Wilson

• Loads of adventure books

• A series of stories by Hilary McKay: Meet Charlie, he's trouble!

• Joke books

• Football stories

... and loads more!

Let us know what you think. If you enjoyed one of our new books, write us a review for the blog, won't you?

Thank you!

A huge 'thank you' to the team of librarians, who spend many of their break-times putting books in order and keeping everything tidy. I know some of them have plans for book quizzes too, so keep an eye on the blog!

"Rameses' Revenge," by Brooke

This is the winning story from the Rowan Class story-writing competition: 

Rameses' Revenge

by Brooke

Once upon a time there was a princess, her name was Cleo. She lived in Egypt during the time of the pharaohs. Her dad was called King Khufu, he spent most of his time building the biggest pyramid ever. Cleo's friend is called Rafiki. Cleo's dad said, 'Don't ever go to the Valley of Kings because frightening things happen in there.'
'OK,' she said.
But at night, they crept out of the palace and went to the Valley of the Kings where Ra's tomb was.
'Are you OK, Rafiki?' Cleo said in a shaky voice.
'Yes, I think.' 
'OK, if you say so.'
In the Valley of the Kings, they couldn't see anything until...
'Who dares to wake up Rameses?'
'AAAAA!!!! What was that?'
'I don't know, it sounds like Ra,' they said quickly.
'I'm not Rarrrrr...'
'Don't look round,' said Rafiki.
'Why?' said Cleo.
'Just don't.'
'AAAAA!!!' screamed Cleo. 'It's a mummy.'
'I know, run in there.' 
'OK, Rafiki.'
So they ran into another room in the Valley of Kings.
'I'm glad we are here.'
'Yes, I know.'
'Wait, what's that thing glowing?'
'I don't know, it's fire?'
'Wait a minute, no it's not,' said Cleo.
'It's a magic staff, with an emerald on top.' 
'You're right, it is,' said Rafiki. 'Pick it up.'
'OK,' said Cleo.
Then it started glowing and glowing. It went mad.
'Do you think it wants us to follow it?'
'Yes, yes, yes, do it now,' said Rafiki.
'OK.'
So they followed the glowing. It led right on to the top of the Valley of the Kings.
'Phew, I'm glad we are safe, this staff comes in handy. I'm amazed. We should keep it and hide it from my dad.'
'That sounds like a bad idea, Cleo, really!!'
'OK, well, I'll have to think of another idea myself then,' Cleo said.
'Uuuuu, I'm back, it's Rameses. Ha, ha, haa...'
'It's Rameses the mummy. Run, follow the glow!'
'OK, Cleo, I understand.'
'Oh no, it's getting light. What is Dad going to say?'
'I don't know, but he'll be very cross.'
'We better hurry, to get Rameses back in the tomb.'
'Anyway, if we see inside Ra's tomb, we will get cursed and bad things will happen.'
So they tried and tried to get him in the tomb, but couldn't. So they quickly went back in to find something, but still couldn't find anything. So they got the staff and hit Rameses with it and shut him up in the tomb again. So they told Cleo's dad about what happened and promised never to go in it again from that day. One more thing, Rameses said he'll come back for revenge!!!!

Well done, Brooke, for winning the competition!

"Ewan Pleasant and the Evil Mummy," by Ewan

Here's Ewan's story for the Rowan Class competition:

Ewan Pleasant and the Evil Mummy

Ewan Pleasant was waiting for a mystery and while he was reading the newspaper, he saw somebody had opened a tomb with an evil assassin mummy that only killed at night. His name was Exedeow and he lived in Egypt. So Ewan Pleasant set off to Egypt. One month later, he was at Egypt and the sun was going down and he hid and he made a plan how to catch and what to do after. The he heard a scream. Somebody had just been murdered, now the game was on! The next day, Ewan Pleasant set off to go and find Excedeow, then he got kicked and standing there was Excedeow, and Ewan Pleasant used his lightning to fight Excedeow, and Ewan Pleasant  knocked Excedeow then he realized that it was a human! He knew that anyone that got attacked by Excedewo that he would put a chip on you. Something funny was going on here, so Ewan Pleasant set off home again. When he got home, he thought of a way to stop the evil assassin called Excedeow!

He heard seven more screams until he thought of a brilliant plan to stop Excedeow. He asked a man to stand there, then suddenly Excedeow appeared and Ewan Pleasant jumped down and got his lightning out. Somebody put the tomb behind Ewan Pleasant and Excedeow charged at him and he just moved to the side and Excedeow got trapped in the tomb and they had a big party. They did music, dancing, feasting and games. The food was delicious and it was lots of fun!!!

Next time: the winning story, "Rameses' Revenge!"

"The Missing Diamonds," by Grace

Here is Grace's entry to the Rowan Class story competition. I've scanned it, as she made good use of fonts to create her story. 

Stories by Anouk and Maddie.

We've just finished a short-story competition in Rowan Class. Students were asked for a crime story set in Egypt. Here are entries from Anouk and Maddie. 

The Mystery

by Anouk

Hi, we're in Egypt. I'll tell you my name and my trusty sidekick's name soon. "Oh no, someone is cursing all the animals, I'm glad you're okay..." I looked at my dog and I shouted, "Buddy!... No! I have to save him." A tear dropped from my eye. "Don't worry Buddy." I found the person who was cursing the animals and I stopped him and all the animals woke up. I rushed to Buddy, but Buddy was playing a trick on me. Buddy was okay. So me and Buddy went back to the pyramid and ever since that happened everything was cool. Right, now I'll tell you my name. My name is Cleo and as you guessed it, Buddy is my trusty sidekick. Now we're all happy, I'll tell you how I found the person who was cursing all the animals. This strange man had a bag. The bag was glowing, it had special powers so he could curse animals, but luckily I've seen him before, so I stopped him by taking his bag of powers. 

The Stolen Pyramid

by Maddie

Once a long time ago, Cleodenile, the queen of the Egyptians, took a walk through the desert looking at all her beautiful pyramids, but her most beautiful one of all was gone.

"Aaaagggghhh!!!" she cried.

All of her guards came rushing to her.

"What is it, your majesty?" said one of her guards softly.

"My pyramid's gone, the beautiful one," she cried.

All the guards looked where the pyramid was. "It is gone," said the guards...

Next time: stories by Grace and Ewan. 

Opal Plumstead by Jacqueline Wilson

Thanks to the librarians for telling me that the new Jacqueline Wilson book is out. Set just before the First World War, it's about the Suffragettes. Follow this link to Jacqueline Wilson's website and find out more! 

'Mystery of the missing car' by Oli C.

Mystery of the missing car

by Oli C.

'The blue what?' asked Mike. 'Lizard?'

'No, it's salamander!!' shouted Kelly angrily. Mike never listened to her and was always getting things wrong! 'Should we go and see it?' 'Ok,' agreed Mike. 'When shall we?' 'Tomorrow,' said Kelly, 'I've got nothing to do then.' 'All right then,' agreed Mike. The next day, Mike grabbed his bike and raced off towards the wheel power test track where Kelly was meeting him. 'How are we gonna get in Kel?' he asked. Kelly answered 'I know this sounds awkward but... I know one of the workers and... he's over there.' Then she peered closer. 'Hey? That's 10000% not him.' 'Er...Kel? I think he's over here,' said Mike. Kelly suddenly shouted 'I knew that, you idiot!!!!' 'Sure you did... not,' muttered Mike under his breath. They went in at last and as soon as they did, Mike shouted 'Whoa, sooo cooool,' as he saw the salamander roar past on the track. 'Awesome, isn't it?' said Kelly, grinning. Mike nodded. 'Agreed!' The next day, Mike woke on Kelly's dog, Span!!? 'Wha...wha...?' stammered Mike. 'I thought I went to sleep at home!' 'No, you fell asleep here!!' 'I was just asking,' muttered Mike under his breath. 'Sorry,' replied Kelly. 'Anyway, where's the car?!' asked Mike uncertainly. 'I didn't notice!' worried Kelly alarmed. She knew it was there yesterday! 'Who could have stolen it?' 'Uh-oh,' said Mike. 'I feel an investigation coming on!'

To be continued....

'Dimension Dilemmas: Australia' (part four)

Brownness ('cos of the milk). Then total blackness, and they returned to reality, once again. 

Martine was dazed, and wondering where she was. She looked up, and realized she was in Carhays beach, the one she and J and H had visited. She had got washed up on the shore, and was lying face flat on the sand. Coffee was a bit shaken, but otherwise fine, and Martine was happy to see J and H lying next to her, with their eyes closed. Just then, Julia awoke, staring at Martine. 'Where are we?' she asked, thoughtfully. (By the way, Harold was still out cold.) 'We got washed up on Carhays beach,' replied Martine. They woke Harold up, and told him where he was, then they walked back to the hostel. Martine's turn to cook She cooked a quick microwave pizza then off they went to bed. Martine washed, dressed, and put Coffee in his cot. The she was out like a light. (By the way, they had discussed how they were going to the biggest water park in Australia before they go home.) She dreamed of going down slides, and tunnels, and playing water polo, and all of that. Aaaahhh, what happy memories she would have... zzz...zzzzzzz...zz.....

Martine had packed her swimming costume (plain black, not girly) and towel. So had Julia. Harold said he had to have goggles so he doesn't get the chlorine in his eyes.

They caught the bus there and got changed in the changing rooms. Then they ran out, excited, to a really big slide. It was really like Australia. The slides had Australian Aborigine art painted on them, and there was one Australian themed, where you twist and turn, then you fall into a big open space of brown water, like a waterhole. Then you got tipped into icy water at the bottom. They went on loads of other slides, until it was time to go home. Well, back to the hostel. They got dry, then caught a taxi back home. They were really worn out. It was Harold's turn to cook. He cooked a lovely homemade pea and ham soup, in the soup-maker. Mmmm. Then to bed.

Martine was so tired, she couldn't even be bothered to dress in her onesie. She fell into a deep, deep sleep. Coffee, if you're wondering, has been asleep the whole day, the lazy pig.

A few months later:

Byeeeee! Martine waved one last time to J and H as she walked up the steps into the aeroplane. 10 minutes later, RRrrrooooaaarrrRRRGgggh! roared the aeroplane, for the last time, thankfully. Just so you know, this story is ending now, so I'd want you to know that Martine got home safely.

The End.