Sadly I'm signing off from my role as Librarian @foresthillschool.bsky.social 👋 ...I'm moving on, leaving the library in the capable hands of my successor and have left lots of great books on display, ready for the new term: School Stories with a wide genre range, new fiction and new non-fiction 😀

Great to hear author Katherine Rundell talking with Amol Rajan about the joys of reading 'older' books as a child, the importance of media literacy, and of prison/school/public librarians as well as books & shelves www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Looking for summer holiday activities? Find events and activities in your local public library, searchable by theme and location via #LibraryOn, funded by @artscouncilengland.bsky.social and delivered by @britishlibrary.bsky.social libraryon.org/libraries?pa... #LoveLibraries #LibrarySky 📚

Great news! This is why we have lots of "forced" reading time in library lessons @foresthillschool.bsky.social ...exposure to good books and requirement to engage (plus arranging the conditions this can happen in) produces the magic✨️😀

Katherine Rundell on why every school needs a library AND a librarian www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Yes! You often hear the ‘library’ part but hardly ever ‘the librarian’ bit. Katherine Rundell is spot on.

Manga for children. 📚👍🏼 schoolreadinglist.co.uk/genres/manga... #kidlit Manga for children including titles by Hayao Miyazaki, Osamu Tezuka, Haruichi Furudate, Kamome Shirahama, Konami Kanata, Keisuke Sato, Kristen Mai Gia...

Tony Jones is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, champions of YA Horror, and today he gives you his pick of the last 10 years of the YA Horror Bram Stoker Awards gnofhorror.com/top-ya-bram-... #UkKidLit #BookBloggers 💙📚 🩸📚 😱📚

The shortlists for The Wainwright Prize, a celebration of nature and conservation writing, have been announced. The Children’s Wainwright Prize now includes the Prize for Fiction, the Prize for Non-Fiction & the Prize for Picture Books. #KidLit #WainwrightPrize 🍃 booksforkeeps.co.uk/yuval-zommer...

On 1 August 2008: Pauline Baynes passed away. One of Tolkien's favoured artists, her illustrated works include Farmer Giles of Ham, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, and Smith of Wootton Major. Her map of Middle-earth is notable for the amount of extra detail it includes. Photo © Brian Sibley

It's #InternationalFriendshipDay, but did you know that reading is associated with improved interpersonal and social skills, helping children to form meaningful relationships? Find out more about the benefits of reading here: www.booktrust.org.uk/resources/re...

Tuesday wisdom from Natalie Haynes @nataliehaynes.bsky.social in her fascinating look at the great Library of Alexandria. “Knowledge is hard-won, but easily lost… Cherish your libraries. They are places that scare people who don’t want us to think for ourselves.” www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Why read books? Because there's a book for EVERYONE out there. And once you find the right book - reading will change your life forever! #literacy (Art: Charles M Schulz)

Looking for an audiobook to listen to while on the move? 🚗Or in the sunshine? ☀️ We've got some fantastic audiobooks available including new arrivals - Gargoyles Guardians of the Source, BrainBots Science Fair: Plants and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. 📖 Available to listen here - buff.ly/vObI72d 🎧

Multilingual classrooms are now the norm, with over 1 in 5 pupils speaking #EAL in England. But a policy vacuum, alongside the disappearance of expertise and services, has left learners unsupported and teachers unprepared. We’re calling for urgent changes to plug the gap: bit.ly/4nSDEje

Libraries are vital parts of our communities, offering free access to knowledge, resources, & shared spaces. But library engagement in England has declined. This report offers valuable insights for policymakers, library staff, and the general public alike. dcmslibraries.blog.gov.uk/2025/07/16/r...

Schools across the country have now broken up for the summer holidays and if you are looking for ways to encourage children to enjoy books and stories I hope that some of the books and links I am sharing here will be helpful. #UKKidLit #SchoolsOut #Summerreading alibrarylady.blog/2025/07/23/s...

Take your kids to libraries and bookshops, and let them browse freely. These are places of magic and wonder - the places where we find the books that make us readers; the ones that shape us at the deepest levels and stay with us forever. Librarians and booksellers change children's lives! #literacy

We welcome the news that the Government is committing to ensure all primary schools have libraries by 2029. But don't forget librarians. To build a school reading culture you need trained staff. @sla.org.uk #GreatSchoolLibraries www.thebookseller.com/news/governm...

Many schools could improve their library provision, with adequate budget, space & staffing (ideally a Chartered Librarian plus assistant) as we do @foresthillschool.bsky.social where this year we've had approx 35 visitors coming to hear about and see what we do for RfP; & we are a boys' state school

I totally support the National Year Of Reading initiative. We desperately need a culture of reading for pleasure to replace the culture of constant testing in schools, backed by proper government funding. And we need STORYTIME to be part of the school day, every day! #literacy (Art: Chris Riddell)

The better you are at a thing, the more "AI" will be a drag on your time, because it's operating at a lower level of skill than you are, and you have to fix what it does, rather than just do what you already know how to do.

A school librarian in every school can go a long way to address this, as we do @foresthillschool.bsky.social #AReadingSchool

We know lots of children will be preparing to start school later this year - but did you know that sharing books and stories can help them to get ready? Here's how 👇🧵

It will soon be time to reveal the 2025 Reading Championship Heroes @foresthillschool.bsky.social ...who has won the medals, vouchers & sweets? And have Turing retained the cup? All will be revealed in Thursday's Reading Celebration assembly 📚 🏅

Cool display by our @foresthillschool.bsky.social #LibraryHelpers promoting & celebrating our visit by Chris Bradford 4th July 😁 We've also been reading from his books in library lessons 📚

Lovely new books being borrowed as they are catalogued and reach the new books table @foresthillschool.bsky.social ...plenty of Manga and other fiction waiting in the library office, should be out within the week 😀

The move to secondary school can be a really exciting time - but a bit nervewracking too. Books can help children to process these emotions, so we asked Zak Monroe is (Not) My Friend author @simonpackham.bsky.social to recommend some to try: www.booktrust.org.uk/book-recomme...

#Teachers, #SchoolLibrarians, #EdTech folks... Please don't allow / encourage students to ask AI to answer factual questions. It's not a replacement for curated, vetted library resources. @astrokatie.com provides this great, simple explanation you can share #MediaLiteracy #InformationLiteracy 🍎📚

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” - C. S. Lewis #BookSky #WritingCommunity

Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.

Oh wow! This looks amazing - thank you for taking part!

#Booksky #Readersky #Books

Preparing for our Empathy Assemblies @foresthillschool.bsky.social next week with displays of #PositiveMasculinity books & reading aloud from #The57bus by Dashka Slayer to yr8s & #CoramBoy by Jamila Gavin to yr7s. In yr9 & 10 assembly we'll read from #Lads by Alan Bissett @empathylabuk.bsky.social

Rest in peace Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o www.theguardian.com/books/2025/m...

Our new research highlights how the role of reading and sharing stories evolves across the early years. From supporting bonding with babies to developing toddlers' imagination, find out more in our report, based on longitudinal research with families: www.booktrust.org.uk/resources/fi...

We're promoting our collection of musical books this week, playing "Ghost Town" in library lessons & reading the chapter from #MusicalTruth by Jeffrey Boakye #780DDC 😊 🎶

May 20th is #WorldBeeDay so here are two poems about bees plus others about a variety of insects. All written by top children's poets. brian-moses.blogspot.com/2020/06/mini... @nealzetterpoet.bsky.social @joshuaseigal.bsky.social @suehardy-dawson.bsky.social #bees

Surprisingly tricky quiz at the end of this www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

For #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek we are promoting our #ShelfHelp books @foresthillschool.bsky.social & reading aloud from #GoldfishBoy @lthompsonwrites.bsky.social & #BoyInTheTower by Polly Ho-Yen in Yr7 & 8 library lessons...great books!

In library lessons this week @foresthillschool.bsky.social we are reading from #AfterTheWar by @tompalmerauthor.bsky.social & screening part of Tom's video. Our display of WWII fiction & non-fiction books features #TopicalTalk material, helping us commemorate, reflect & think about current wars...

If we care about the future of our children - we need a library & a librarian in every single school, to help every single child find the books that will make them lifelong readers! Libraries & librarians create the readers of the future! #libraries #librarians #literacy (Art: Chris Riddell)

This week in library lessons @foresthillschool.bsky.social we have been reading from the modern classic & Carnegie Prize winning #TheOtherSideOfTruth by Beverley Naidoo and marking #WorldPressFreedomDay, discussing how Journalists can be Heroes 🖊 💪

At last! 😊

The @foresthillschool.bsky.social 2025 Reading Heroes Championship has begun! We're looking forward to reading reviews & reflections, giving out lots of prizes (comics for Bronze, books for Gold) & creating lots of Silver Champions... but who will win the vouchers, sweets, 🏅s & 🏆?

New #poem #poem #poems #LibrarySky #EduSky #BookSky #poetry #TeacherSky #poetrylovers #PoetrySky #PoetryCommunity #WritingCommunity #teachers #literacy @schoolreadinglist.bsky.social l #kidlit @troikabooks.bsky.social ky.social @otterbarrybooks.bsky.social

This is not a drill!! 🎉🎉🎉 Metaphorically runs around the room screaming for joy! 🤩 #TerryPratchett #GraphicNovels #BookSky terrypratchett.com/news/discwor...

Today would have been Beverly Cleary's 109th birthday! #DropEverythingandRead