Learning in the Library

On Friday 3 March, Year 9 students took the opportunity to shape the Library Fiction collection by selecting books to be purchased. Students listened to a presentation from Paul Macdonald from the Children’s Bookshop to learn about current trends and top reads. This was a great opportunity for students to challenge and expand their thinking about their reading. 

Mr Macdonald talked about contemporary themes of diversity, wellbeing and sustainability currently trending in YA literature. Making the important connection between reading and writing, Paul challenged the students that the average person will write around 45 million words in their lifetime and that reading a wide range of texts can help develop more sophisticated writing skills. 

Students were encouraged to read for pleasure from texts encompassing a range of voices and narrative structures. Whilst romance has remained strong, dystopian texts and stories drawing on experiences from the pandemic are on the rise. The pandemic also saw many people return to the classics as they read texts available in many homes.

Students were then given the opportunity to decide which books were purchased for the library collection by placing post-it notes and voting for their favourites. We look forward to Year 9 students borrowing these new books.  

This visit also coincided with the announcement of the 2023 CBCA Notables Older and Young Readers list celebrating high quality Australian literature. Paul left us with this quote from Neil Gaiman:

Susan Lombardo
Head of Library 5-12