Roseby Library
Library Letters
a message from our Secondary School Librarian Ms Bronwyn Curtis
Reading for pleasure is excellent for both education and wellbeing. We are glad to be able to lend “real” books via our COVID-safe method. Students visit the catalogue and reserve a book they wish to borrow. Then they email seniorlib@redlands.nsw.edu.au to secure the loan.
We then bring the book/s to the Gerard Street Gate. Just ring 9968 9839 or 9969 9838 to tell us when you are able to engage in a contactless-pick up.
You may be a parent who has students across both campuses. If you are picking up books from the Arnold Library in the Junior School, we are happy to (if given notice) to drop our books over there so you only have one pick up.
Students wishing to borrow from the library have two alternatives: eBooks via SORA or print books. If they wish to borrow “real” books, they can browse our new fiction here.
Got your holiday reading sorted yet?
“Old Worlds” or historical novels are particularly good at providing perspective. There have been many times in history when groups or individuals have faced challenges with courage and resilience. Obviously, we learn a great deal of factual and contextual information from historical fiction.
“But if we want to meet the dead looking alive we turn to art.” (Hilary Mantel)
Historical fiction breathes life into the people of the past. Hilary Mantel’s novels about Thomas Cromwell beginning with Wolf Hall are a great read and an insight into the turbulent times of Henry VIII. Another wonderful novel is Suite Française by Irene Nemirovsky. This novel lay untouched in a suitcase for fifty years. When sorting out her mother’s papers, the author’s older daughter, Denise, decided to read what she thought was her mother’s journal and discovered an unpublished, unfinished manuscript. This novel is at the living, breathing intersection of history and is highly recommended.
Some of our favourite historical novels (from the physical books) cover all eras from
Death Comes as the End (Agatha Christie) a murder mystery set in 2000 BC Ancient Egypt to All our Shimmering Skies (Trent Dalton) set in Darwin during World War II.
Want to use SORA?
- Download the Sora app
- Locate Redlands Library
- Enter ID (Student number
- Enter password (sora)
We are building this collection and very much miss the chats with students that help us to choose books. If your child want us to purchase an item (either as a physical or an eBook) they have only to send us an email to seniorlib@redlands.nsw.edu. The Overdrive platform that hosts the Sora app has many books. For example, I have just finished We are Wolves winner from The CBCA Younger Readers Shortlist.This novel by Katrina Nannestad, is available both as a physical book and on Sora. This plot follows a family of Germans fleeing from the Russian soldiers in the closing days of World War 2. Liesel, Otto and their baby sister Mia display courage and resilience as they struggle to survive and find their parents.
“This powerful and compelling novel is the perfect balance of light and dark: challenges are met with courage, desperation with resourcefulness, cruelty with kindness and the result is both moving and inspiring.” (Frances Watts Author of The Peony Lantern)
Here are some old favourites to recommend to your children available via Sora.
Laurie Hale Anderson Chains
Karen Cushman, Catherine Called Birdy
Annie Goetzinger Girl in Dior
Sonya Hartnett The Midnight Zoo
Suzy Zail The Wrong Boy
Markus Zusak The Book Thief.
Jerry Spinelli Milkweed
So, read to escape – or read to remember how resilient and resourceful human beings are.
