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Be inspired with Swanshurst School's Carnegie and Kate Greenaway shadowing group

April 20th 2017

After the announcement of the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway (CKG) shortlists, many readers and schools across the country were abuzz with excitement. One way of becoming more involved in the awards is by taking part in the CKG shadowing scheme, where students are asked to read and review all of the shortlisted titles. One school in particular has proved the scheme to be a success, and that's Swanshurst School in Birmingham. Angela Yates and Emma Hopkins, librarians at Swanshurst School, gave us an insight into how their shadowing groups are getting on so far. Here's what they had to say!

'The 2017 Swanshurst School Carnegie and Greenaway shadowing groups have over 70 students from Years 7-10, in four groups, volunteering their lunchtimes to read and review the shortlisted titles. Initial meetings have seen much excitement over both shortlists. The Greenaway shadowers were impressed with Jim Kay’s illustrations for ‘Harry Potter’. However, it was ‘The Marvels’ that drew gasps of awe with the beauty of its gold-leafed pages. The school's Carnegie shadowers have been drawn to ‘The Stars at Oktober Bend’ and ‘The Bone Sparrow’, with students who had already read these titles singing their praises at the first meeting. Now their dedicated band of readers have embarked on their reading journey and the process of reviewing has begun. New friendships are already being formed over a shared love of certain books, and one student has her Lithuanian mother reading ‘Salt to the Sea’! Overall, it is wonderful to see the CKG shadowing scheme work its magic on Swanshurst's students yet again, sparking discussion, imagination and creativity.'

If this has inspired you to get your readers involved with this shadowing scheme, here are some helpful tips to get you started:

• Review the first chapter and cover of the books - it's a great way of introducing a variety of books to new readers.
• Read aloud - a fab way of doing this is by asking your secondary students to read stories to primary school pupils.
• Run competitions for the best reviews, best cover redesigns or games and puzzles.
• Introduce 'star review', where the best review of the week is highlighted and awarded a prize.
• Get your students to write a joint blog, where they make note of their CKG shadowing journey.

For more tips, activities and ideas, check out the CKG site to learn more about the shadowing scheme and to learn how you can get involved. Plus, if you want to purchase the shortlisted books, save 35% and get free jacketing, simply click here and fill out our order form.