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Showing posts from July, 2013

Great Summer Reads... part two

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How about a few more suggestions for some great summer reads? This time, I'm taking a look at the teen/young adult books that are definitely worth getting lost in: IF YOU FIND ME author: Emily Murdoch A tense and moving journey through the lives of Carey and younger sister, Jennessa. They have spent their lives living in the woods, in an old camper van, mostly waiting for their drug-addicted mother to come home. This speaks eloquently of survival, loss and hope. Utterly gripping, it explores who we are as human beings and what to lengths we will go to protect ourselves and those we love. Extraordinary read! THE FAULT IN OUR STARS author: John Green If you haven't read this yet, you simply must. If you have, please read it again! John Green writes with such truth and honesty in the voice of young people. He's got it all exactly right. So, don't stop with this one...also read: Paper Towns, An Abundance of Katherines, Looking for Alaska . Basically, if it

Great Summer Reads

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So... everyone is wondering what to read over the summer; what really good books are out there for the kids? With newspapers, magazines and blogs everywhere making summer reading suggestions, I thought I'd add a few of my own for your consideration. I'll begin with a few for the 7 to 14 reader age range; and I'll add more later one. So here's the start. Some of them are new; some of them are old favourites; all of them are books I love. In no particular order: The Father of Lies Chronicles (Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent; Arthur Quinn and the Fenris Wolf) by Alan Early Right now is the time to pick up the first two in this fantastic series, because the third and final is due out very, very soon. Any fan of Percy Jackson, the Ranger's Apprentice series and, yes, even Harry Potter is absolutely going to love these books! Unsuspecting Arthur Quinn's entire world is thrown into chaos with the re-emergence of Loki, the Father of Lies. And only Arthur can sa

Summer Readathon

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I've always said the biggest joy I have in my job is the kids and their books. At Dubray Books (all the branches), we are hosting a Summer Readathon! I know that summer is well under way... and some of us may even be turning our thoughts towards September and the start of another school year (NNNOOOO!!!!), but it's not too late to join the Readathon. Each week, there are goody bag prizes for the top readers of the week... and in Galway, each week we have a raffle. All the names of that weeks' readers go into a hat and a name is chosen for a free book! So whether or not you've read the most books that week, you could still be a winner. And... here's the best part.... EVERY BOOK COUNTS! That's right.... old favourites you want to read again; picture books you like to read to younger brothers/sisters/cousins/friends/yourself; comic books; graphic novels; big, fat juicy novels; chapter books; factual books; biographies; any books you may be reading in your local

2013 Branford Boase Award

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Congratulations to Dave Shelton. Dave just tonight won the 2013 Branford Boase Award for most outstanding debut children's novel. His book is the wonderful, gentle, quirky and thoughtful A Boy, A Bear and a Boat . David Fickling was also honoured for his editing with this award. The Branford Boase Award is the only award that acknowledges, not only the author for exceptional crafting of a novel, but the all-important role of the editor in nurturing new talent.   http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookprizes/10166339/Dave-Shelton-wins-2013-Branford-Boase-Award.html