Over the past couple of months, we have been running the Carnegie Book Club in the Library. The Carnegie Medal for Writing, established in 1936, is a British literary award that annually recognises one outstanding new English-language book for children or young adults. We discussed which books were our favourites before announcing that the winner was……..The Blue Book of Nebo!
‘The Carnegie shadowing is something that I look forward to every year. It is a chance to come together in a wonderful, warm environment and talk about our passion: books. Every year, the students amaze me with their knowledge and breadth of different genres that they have already enjoyed. The joy of Carnegie is that it pushes the group even further to consider new genres from the shortlist- dystopian fiction, dual narratives, illustrated texts, and narratives told through poetry. With the favoured texts chosen by the students, we then incorporate a range into our curriculum for future years.‘ – Mrs J White, English Teacher.
‘I really enjoyed the Carnegie book club, as I have never experienced anything like it before. It was very fun talking to new, kind people about books and exploring new genres. I am looking forward to coming to it next year, and to teach the new year 7’s about the club!’– Alice J, Y7.
For the first time in the award’s almost 90-year history, the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing was awarded to a book in translation – The Blue Book of Nebo by Manon Steffan Ros. Told through the dual narrative of a mother and son in post-apocalyptic Nebo, this “compelling, conceivable” story explores Welsh identity and culture, and offers a beautiful appreciation of language. The original Welsh publication, Llyfr Glas Nebo, won multiple awards, including the 2019 Wales Book of the Year.
We would recommend students give it a read over the summer if they haven’t already. Several copies are available in the library.
We very much look forward to running it again next year.
The Library Team.
