Who do you think should be the next Children's Laureate?

Children under 14 are invited to enter this online competition: authors of the four best entries, one each from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, will be invited to the announcement event at BAFTA in London, with a parent or carer, on 9 June 2009. Visit www.childrenslaureate.org.uk for more information.

Black celebrities stand up as reading role models

Tim Campbell, winner of 2005's The Apprentice, award winning British rapper Kano, and writer, director, and star of Adulthood Noel Clarke are among the famous names taking part in the Star Reads campaign, which is run by RED Culture and supported by the National Literacy Trust. The celebrities appear on a set of posters that aim to encourage young people to read for pleasure. Also available are book bundles, a ‘5 decades of black history’ poster and free recommended reading lists for key stages 1 to 4.

Star Reads is aimed at promoting reading for pleasure among young people, particularly those from black and ethnic minority backgrounds. Find out more about Star Reads and the posters

National Year of Reading autumn challenge to schools

Primary and secondary schools, are you ready to take the 2008 National Year of Reading (NYR) autumn challenge? Make the most of the cooler months of 2008 and develop reading for pleasure in your school by taking on our challenge and you could be in with a chance of winning £2,000 worth of Oxford University Press reading materials for your school. There will also be a spot prize of £500 for one primary and one secondary school picked at random from all entries that fulfil our entry requirements.

The autumn schools challenge is to run reading for pleasure actitivies or events around the NYR monthly themes in your school - so it's perfect for Reading Connects schools! It is being run by the 2008 National Year of Reading and supported by the National Literacy Trust. All prizes have been kindly donated by Oxford University Press.

For more information, including lots of ideas for inspiration from Reading Connects, visit www.yearofreading.org.uk/autumnchallenge

Download free downloadable Reading Connects resources for schools related to the monthly themes

August 2008

Michael Rosen Words are ours poem for the National Year of Reading

The Children's Laureate Michael Rosen has written a new poem especially for the National Year of Reading (NYR). It celebrates the many different types of texts, and their locations, that you can enjoy and encourages childen and young people to add their own. You can download a free pdf poster of the poem, or a plain text version from www.yearofreading.org.uk/wordsareours

Download free resources for schools for the NYR monthly themes for autumn from Reeading Connects

July 2008

Make your own NYR bookmarks
The National Year of Reading (NYR) have a new online tool to allow users to create or customise their own NYR '2008' logo. There are tools to let you scribble, rotate, colour in and change size. You can then make these into bookmarks and print them off. A great end of term activity! To get creative visit www.yearofreading.org.uk/index.php?id=289

School of the year winners announced
We are delighted to announce the Reading Connects school of the year winners for 2007/08.
Mile Oak Primary School, Brighton
Ellis Guilford School and Sports College, Nottingham

Congratulations to both winners. Read the school of the year winners' case studies

Create a reading garden or space at your school
A reading garden is a great way to escape the classroom and let your imagination flourish. To celebrate summer the National Year of Reading has produced a guide to creating your own outdoor reading space. Read more on creating your own reading garden

CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medal 2008
This year's CILIP medals have been awarded. The CILIP Carnegie Medal was won by Philip Reeve for Here Lies Arthur. The CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal was won by Emily Gravett for Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears. For more information, visit www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/2008awards/

June 2008

Manga Jiman 150 competition
The Embassy of Japan is running a manga-writing competition for UK residents aged 14 and over. There are some great prizes, with first place winning two return tickets to Japan. More

Roald Dahl Day 2008
13 September, which was Roald Dahl's birthday, is the third annual Roald Dahl Day - a celebration of the author's life, work and legacy. Events are taking place across the country to mark the day or you can find out how to set up your own event. New Roald Dahl Day events and activities are being added online all the time. Keep checking in with www.roalddahlday.info and www.roalddahl.com or contact Justin Somper
020 8341 6523 or justso@globalnet.co.uk

May 2008

How to motivate reluctant readers - Teachers TV
Teachers TV has a new video online as part of its Action! series. This series enables teachers to make videos of their work, for broadcast on TTV and discussion by a panel of experts.Teacher video: foundation reading: Heather Ravenhall presents her inspiring film, How to Motivate Reluctant Readers.

Featuring action research carried out at Greet Primary School in Birmingham, the film explores the different methods and strategies used to encourage young children to read and enjoy books.

To access this film visit www.teachers.tv/video/4897

New reading website for teens
To engage with the national conversation about reading for the 2008 National Year of Reading, Piczo.com has set up dedicated webpages for teenagers to discuss books, reading and words. Visit www.readup.piczo.com/?cr=5

Although this site is uncensored, a record of individual computers used to contribute is monitored and Piczo take online security extremely seriously. So much so that they have advised Government on best practice relating to online security around children. The NLT is not responsible for the content of external websites.