Alice in Wonderland 150 years on

This year is the 150th anniversary of the publication Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Siobhan organised some questions for us based on this today.

Lewis Carroll is a pseudonym - what does this mean?

a fictitious (made up - not real) name, especially one used by an author, sometimes called a pen name.

What is Lewis Carroll's real name?

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson better known by his pen name, Lewis Carroll was an English writer, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer.

How did Alice get to Wonderland?

She fell down a hole while chasing the white rabbit.

What was unusual about the Queen's game of croquet?

She used flamingoes for croquet clubs and a hedgehog for a ball.

What is the sequel to Alice in Wonderland?

Alice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass

Study these questions - there will be a fun quiz at Lit Club next week just on Alice in Wonderland!

Alice in Wonderland Characters 

	Mad Hatter A small impolite man who lies in a perpetual tea time. The character enjoys frustrating Alice.
	Alice The seven year old who believes the world is orderly and stable, and she has an insatiable curiosity about her surroundings. Wonderland challenges and frustrates her perceptions of the world.

George's Secret Key to the Universe

We also introduced a series of books written by Lucy and Stephen Hawking. These books are a great mix of fiction and non-fiction - you can learn about the universe while enjoying a fun story about George and his friends and family.

Looking back on Valentines Day

Saturday was Valentines Day which prompted us to look at books about love. Book written about love come under the Romance category.

Often books about love will have hardship as part of their plot. A recent example of this was A Fault in Our Stars written by John Green. "Love against all odds."

Summary

The Fault In Our Stars is a fabulous book about a young teenage girl who has been diagnosed with lung cancer and attends a cancer support group.

Hazel is 16 and is reluctant to go to the support group, but she soon realises that it was a good idea. Hazel meets a young boy named Augustus Waters. He is charming and witty. Augustus has had osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, but has recently had the all clear.

Hazel and Augustus embark on a roller coaster ride of emotions, including love, sadness and romance, while searching for the author of their favourite book. They travel to Amsterdam in search of Peter Van Houten the author of An Imperial Affliction. While on their trip Augustus breaks some heartbreaking news to Hazel and both of their worlds fall apart around them.

Another example of a love story (classic this time) is Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare.

My Dog Doesn't like me - Elizabeth Fensham

Today we introduced a different type of love story - a story about a boy and his love for his dog.

Eric is very disappointed in the dog he got for his eighth birthday.  He thought the dog, named Ugly (because he is just that), was going to be his 'best friend'.  But Ugly doesn't even consider Eric his first-or second-best friend.  Ugly loves Eric's mum, Granddad, dad, and his horrible sister Gretchen, even more than him.

Desperate to make Ugly love him the most, Eric puts some crazy plans into action to win over his pooch.

Will Eric uncover the secret to Ugly's heart, or will he forever have to watch his dog dote on every other family member except him?

Friday Barnes - the second book is out!

Who knew boarding school could be this perilous! 

When Friday Barnes cracked the case of Highcrest Academy's mysterious swamp-yeti, the last thing she expected was to be placed under arrest. Now with the law on her back and Ian Wainscott in her face, Friday is not so sure boarding school was the smartest choice. From a missing or not-so-missing calculator to the appearance of strange holes in the school field, she is up to her pork-pie hat in crimes – and she swears not all of them are hers. There's also new boy Christopher, who has taken quite a shine to Friday, to contend with.

Can Friday navigate the dangerous grounds of Highcrest Academy and decipher a decades-old mystery without getting caught in an unexpected love triangle? 

We started a scavenger hunt that we will complete next week because we just tried to fit too much in today!

Straight after lunch the whole school joined together to DEAR - Drop everything and read! What a fantastic way to finish Lit Club for the week!

Lit Club 2015

Lit Club started last Monday. We were really excited to welcome a number of new members (Year 5 students). 

Each week we will be presenting new books, introducing new authors and participating in fun activities that are centred around books.

We will also be entering the National Year 7/8 Lit Quiz which this year will be held in late March this year.

During the year the students all get the chance to earn badges. The criteria for earning the badges will be posted on this blog and will be discussed in the next Lit Club session.

One of the requirements for all of the badges is to keep a journal of what you read. One way of doing this is on Goodreads - this is a website or can be downloaded as an app.

We will be going over how ot set up an account on Goodreads in tomorrows session. Children will need permission to set these up.

Lit Club Delegates

Each week we will choose 3 students to be Lit Club Delegates. These students make up questions for each team and stand up in front of assembly asking questions and giving out prizes - it's always lots of fun. This week was time for our new Year 5 students. Bridie, Keeley and Olivia did a great job.