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Reading Group Debates Carnegie Shortlist

A team of avid readers from KSA joined forces with five other schools for a Carnegie shadowing event this week.

On the same day that the winner of the top prize for children's literature was announced, schools across the country debated each of the eight shortlisted titles.

 A team of avid readers from KSA joined forces with five other schools for a Carnegie shadowing event this week.

On the same day that the winner of the top prize for children's literature was announced, schools across the country debated each of the eight shortlisted titles.

KSA visited Bishop Stopford School where students were divided up into groups made up of representatives from each school. They spent time discussing the books - the plot, the characters, the style and what they liked and disliked about each one - before voting for a winner. The most popular book proved to be Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick, with Wonder by R. J. Palacio coming a close second.

Students then competed in a Carnegie-themed quiz, which was won by Year 7 student Ezri Mannion.

It wasn't until later that day that they found out which book had been declared the winner by Carnegie judges - Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner.

Mykala Durkan is a member of the Academy's reading club and she took part in the shadowing event. She said: ""I enjoyed Wonder [which is about a boy with a facial disfigurement] because they didn't emphasise the fact that he had something wrong with his face, so it made you think that it didn't really matter."

Tamsyn Henderson added: "It was interesting to hear other people's viewpoints because they pointed out things you might not have thought about."

Leah McAllister said: "I liked Wonder because you're immediately intrigued from the very first pages about who the boy is and what could be wrong with him. Some of the books were a surprise - I didn't think I would like The Weight of Water because it was written in the form of a poem but I really enjoyed it."

Librarian Heidi Economou said the students represented KSA very well and took advantage of the opportunity to really debate the books.

She said: "This group in particular has been really supportive and enthusiastic about the Carnegie shadowing.

"They made me feel proud that they are members of this school because they were impeccably behaved."

KSA's Carnegie shadowing site.