READING NEWSLETTER
Welcome to our festive edition of the St Cuthbert’s Reading Newsletter . In this issue, we continue to update you on how we have promoted and celebrated reading this half term. After a very long term, why not curl up and relax with a festive read to help you unwind over the Christmas Holidays? Wishing you a very happy Christmas and best wishes for 2025.
That’s a wrap!
Spotify are not the only ones wrapping up in December! We have put together a ‘wrapped’, which details the top authors, top books, top genre, and the total number of books borrowed in 2024. Here’s ‘St Cuthbert’s Wrapped’! To check out the animated clip visit our Library’s X page @StCuthbertsRead
A whopping 6626 books were borrowed from the library this year! Of the books borrowed, it appears action and adventure was the most favoured genre.
The most popular author in 2024 was Jeff Kinney, followed closely by Matt and Tom Oldfield with their football narratives.
Well done to all those who have used the library this year. We look forward to seeing what our 2025 ‘wrapped’ looks like next year!
“Bah! Humbug!”
Over the last couple of weeks of term, Mr Murray read to classes in Years 7 and 8, from Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’. The boys have commented that Mr Murray makes a very convincing Mr Scrooge with some very convincing “Bah Humbugs!”
FESTIVE READING COMPETITION
Enjoy the gift of reading this Christmas!
We wrapped up some library books in festive wrapping paper. For those of you who picked up one of these presents, make sure you read it over the festive period and write a review of the book. Once we’re back to school after Christmas, hand your review to Ms Black and receive a prize. Happy reading!
An interview withMr Knowles, HeadofMaths
What is your favourite book and why?
That’s a tough one! I have really varied taste - from 20th Century historical fiction and espionage thrillers to autobiographies of people who inspire me and books about travel, exploration and adventure. I think I will go for ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ by Khaled Hosseini. It’s an incredibly moving story about friendship, sacrifice and loss, set in war-torn Afghanistan.
When and where do you most like to read?
I listen to audio-books on my walk to school and I read in bed for about 45 minutes before I go to sleep. At the weekend, I’ll take a book to a cafe, and in the holidays, when I have more time, I’ll binge-read in the garden and on the beach.
Why do you enjoy reading?
It helps me unwind and relax after a long day. I find that all of my stresses and worries melt away when I’m fully focused and absorbed in an engaging and interesting book. I also love to learn, so reading helps me do that.
What are you currently reading?
‘Goodbye Sarajevo’ by Atka Reid and Hana Schofield. I travelled to Bosnia and Herzegovina in February earlier this year and learnt all about the Siege of Sarajevo which killed thousands of people. This sparked my interest in the region and the Balkan Wars
How can you support your son's reading at home?
Allocate at least 20 minutes each evening to reading (maybe just before bed) Read aloud with/to your son Listen to audiobooks with
BOOKRECOMMENDATIONS
YEAR7
The Night I met Father Christmas by
Ben Miller
Jackson knows all about the flying reindeer, he knows about the elves and the secret North Pole workshop, he knows about the magic that allows Father Christmas to deliver presents around the world in just one night, but there's one thing he doesn't know how did Father Christmas become Father Christmas?
That all changes when, one Christmas Eve, Jackson meets Father Christmas and hears his incredible story So begins an enchanting fairy-tale into a magical snowy landscape
Secret Santa, Agent of X.M.A.S by Guy Boss
One night a year, Santa J Claus delivers presents to the children of the world but for the rest of the time, he's protecting the world as the top secret agent of the Xtremely Mysterious Agency of Secrets (X M A S ), dishing out his own brand of justice to the world's most dastardly criminals Santa and his Little Helper, newly qualified X M A S agent Jingle Bells, are on the trail of Dr Cumulus Nimbus, who's hell-bent on creating a new ice age and Santa hates snow! Can they stop the evil plot before the world is snowed under?
YEAR8
Murder at Snowfall by Fleur
Hitchcock
When Lucas and Ruby find an abandoned trunk covered in snow, Lucas says there's bound to be a body inside Ruby laughs but what if he's right? Nervously she starts to open it, and immediately wishes she hadn't From that moment on, they're drawn into a thrilling mystery, one that they have to solve before the falling snow smothers all trace of wrongdoing A gripping thriller for readers who like danger and mystery and chills and spills from the comfort of their sofas Unputdownable
YEAR9
Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares
by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
At the urge of her lucky-in-love brother, sixteen-yearold Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on her favourite bookshop shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares Curious, Dash isn’t one to back down from a challenge – and the Book of Dares is the perfect distraction he’s been looking for
As they send each other on a scavenger hunt across Manhattan, a whirlwhind romance ensues on paper But finding out if they share their on-page chemistry in real life could be their biggest dare yet
Shadow and Bone
By Leigh Bardugo
Alina Starkov has never been good at anything But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured Alina reveals a dormant power that saves her life a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling
Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha and the secrets of her heart
Father Christmas’s Fake Beard by Terry Pratchett
Have you ever wanted Christmas to be different?
Turkey and carols presents and crackers - they all start to feel a bit samey
How about a huge exploding mince pie, a pet abominable snowman, or a very helpful partridge in a pear tree?
What if Father Christmas went to work at a zoo, or caused chaos in a toy store or, was even, arrested for burglary!?
Dive into the fantastically funny world of Terry Pratchett, for a festive treat like no other These ten stories will have you laughing, gasping and crying (with laughter)you'll never see Christmas in the same way again
Whiteout by Gabriel Dylan
Charlie hopes that the school ski trip will be the escape from his unhappy home life he so desperately needs But there is something wrong with the remote ski village of Kaldgellan Something is out there, something ancient and evil, among the pines and the deep untracked drifts, watching and waiting And when the storms blow in Charlie and his schoolmates wake to find the resort deserted Cut off from the rest of the world far below, as night falls the few left alive on the snowbound mountain will wish they were somewhere anywhere else Only ski guide Hanna seems to know of Kaldgellan’s long-buried secrets, but whether Charlie can trust her is another question
A Winter’s Promise By Christelle
Dabos
Long ago, following a cataclysm called “The Rupture,” the world was shattered into many floating celestial islands known as arks Ophelia lives on Anima, an ark where objects have souls Beneath her worn scarf and thick glasses, the young girl hides the ability to communicate with the souls of objects, and the power to travel through mirrors Her peaceful existence on the Ark of Anima is disrupted when she is promised in marriage to Thorn, from the powerful Dragon clan Ophelia must leave her family and follow her fiancée to the floating capital on the distant Ark of the Pole There, in the presence of her enigmatic future husband Ophelia slowly realises that she is a pawn in a political game that will have far-reaching ramifications not only for her but for her entire world
Reading supports children to develop better mental wellbeing, social skills and strong relationships.
(Book Trust, 2024)
