Jhalak Children’s & YA Prize 2022 - winner announced!

This year's Jhalak Children's & YA Prize has been won by Maisie Chan (and illustrated by Anh Cao) for her novel Danny Chan Does Not Do Maths.  The prize is open to 'books for children and  teens and young adults including picture books, chapter books, graphic novels, poetry, non-fiction, and all other genres by writers of colour and aimed at young readers'.

Shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book Awards and Branford Boase Awards 2022 and chosen as part of this year’s Read for Empathy Collection, this heartwarming and funny book is definitely worth a read! 

Last year’s winner, Patrice Lawrence, was on this year’s judging panel.  Her winning novel Eight Pieces of Silva was also part of the Read For Empathy Secondary Collection last year and is well worth a read.  This and other books by Patrice, including her debut award-winning novel, Orangeboy, are available to borrow from the Lower and Upper Libraries.

The Jhalak Prize itself was won by Sabba Khan for her debut graphic novel The Roles We Play.

Keep Calm and Carry on Reading!

The Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations are taking place over the half term holiday, with a special four day weekend.  How ever you are planning to spend your half term, this week is the perfect opportunity to take a break from a screen or revision and relax and enjoy a good book or two!

You can find out more about the Big Jubilee Read Campaign book list here.  Happy Reading!

Celebrating diversity and inclusion in our school libraries

Following on from Mental Health Awareness Week last week, we wanted to highlight the importance of providing equal access and support to all our students in order to make them feel recognised, valued and respected within the whole school community and in particular our school libraries.  We believe that it is crucial that students are able to see themselves represented and reflected within our book collections, displays and activities, as this has an impact on their self worth and in turn their mental health and wellbeing.

By diversity we mean understanding that everyone is unique and recognising and respecting our differences, even when they are hidden or undiagnosed. These differences may include race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, physical abilities, religious beliefs and neurodiversity. 

Below are some examples of how we celebrate and promote the diversity of our school community through reading and activities, to help foster empathy and understanding, with the aim of providing a welcoming, calm and safe space for all our students:

• We mark and celebrate key events across the year through library displays, on the Library blog and through social media posts.  These include: Mental Health Awareness week, Black History Month, Pride Month, Holocaust Memorial Day, Dyslexia Awareness Week, Deaf Awareness Week, World Autism Acceptance Week, Refugee Week, International Women’s Day, Diverse Book Awards, Jhalak Prize and Empathy Day.

• We organise and host a diverse range of author visits. These include visits from award winning YA authors Alex Wheatle MBE, Patrice Lawrence and Marcus Sedgwick.  Previously, we have also facilitated virtual visits from Sally Gardner, dyslexic champion and author, and Robin Stevens, author of the phenomenally successful Murder Most Unladylike, as part of the Authors Aloud World Book Day 2021 celebrations. As well as historian and writer David Olusoga, as part of the Bishop Stortford College Online Festival of Literature.

• We regularly review and add to our collections to ensure that they are diverse and inclusive.  We curate and promote these through reading lists on OLIVER, our Library Management System, on the Library Insta (@ephs_library) and our blog.  For example, our ‘diverse voices’ list and our ‘mental health and wellbeing’ list. 

Our parents and PTA are very supportive of the Libraries and have contributed over 307 books since 2019.  This year we received an additional donation of diverse books from an EPHS parent, Mrs Chinniah, purchased by her from This is Book Love. 

This is Book Love are an independent collective who aim to educate and celebrate multiculturalism and inclusion through the supply of the best diverse books sourced from around the world.  These books are available to borrow from the libraries and have been promoted on social media and the Library blog.

By continuing to make our libraries more diverse, we can ensure that they are a safe space for all.

Mental Health Awareness Week 2022

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week 2022 and the theme is loneliness.

Evidence shows that reading can greatly help to improve your mental health and wellbeing. We have a great selection of well being books for you to borrow.  Check out our recommendations on the OLIVER news page by clicking here.

Don’t forget the fantastic Empathy Book Collection 2022, which contains a fantastic selection of fiction, poetry and non-fiction spanning across genres.  All of these books, which have been chosen to help the reader understand what it's like to be in someone else's situation, are available to borrow from the Library.

Branford Boase Awards 2022 - shortlist

This year’s Branford Boase Award shortlist has recently been announced. The award, set up in memory of award-winning author Henrietta Branford and her editor Wendy Boase, is given to the author and editor of the most outstanding debut novel for children.  The winner will be announced in July 2022.

You will find some of these brilliant books in the EPHS Libraries - the rest are on our wish list!