

SCHOOL GROUPS
Information for teachers about class visits to our libraries, plus useful resources, activities and event information.
Working with local schools & educational associations we strive to help children develop.

Summer Reading Challenge 2022
This year’s reading challenge is Gadgeteers. Encourage your school class to take part by using the useful guides. We’ve created an assembly pack and wording for your newsletters to help you. Also there is a whole page dedicated to the challenge and find out about all the different activities at the local library too!

Why not join the teachers challenge too?
The Reading Agency has a special teacher’s challenge where they challenge teachers to read 6 books. You can read both adult and children’s books. Why not take part and challenge your class.
You can take part from June 27th and you have until October to complete.
To sign up and find out more go to:
https://teachersreadingchallenge.org.uk/
There’s a children’s book sorter to help you choose your next great children’s book to read or find lots of inspiration for your class reads!

Getting Ready to Visit the Library
Why not get your class ready for their visit? Find out more about the library, how to join, how to find the kind of book you want and how to borrow them in our simple video below. Why not encourage them to visit as a family too? Or try the quiz to see what they remember?

Finding Books in the Children’s Library
Finding a book in the children’s library is really easy. We have categories to help you. You can watch the video from the last section or follow our simple guide below:
- Board books – found in boxes in the children’s area. Great for babies and under 3’s with simple pictures and easy to turn pages.
- Picture Books – Here you will find a wide range of fantastic stories with lots of pictures. Great to snuggle up with and share together – ideal for Nursery visits but KS1 and older children too.
- Beginning to Read – you will find a section of books with a B on their spine – these books are for children starting on their reading journey building from 1 word per page to short sentences and using the key words that children learn throughout KS1.
- Young Readers – these short chapter books are for the more confident reader, but still have plenty of pictures. You will find these on a shelf with a Y on their spine
- Stories – paperbacks and hardbacks suitable for all confident readers. These are arranged in alphabetical order of the author’s surname.
- Information books – these are in Dewey number order – Find out more below.

Theatre in Libraries
In partnership with The Spark Arts for Children and Arts Council funding, we offer a variety of high quality theatre performances for schools throughout the year. These engaging performances are linked to the curriculum with activity resource packs provided.
Click the buttons below for our current offers available online:
The Girl of Ink and Stars – An Audio Drama – a play by Satinder Chohan, based on the book by Kiran Millwood Hargrave. An exciting tale of maps, myth and monsters, complete with extensive resource pack for use in the classroom (available free until November 2021). For age 7+
Talking Rubbish – Finding treasure in what other people throw away! 2 episodes with activities for all ages in the classroom resource pack.
All future performances will be listed here.

Black History
Check out this comprehensive list of 86 brilliant children’s books created by Black authors and illustrators. Produced by the Reading Agency, there is something for all ages from tots to teens with fantastic poetry, graphic novels, fiction and non-fiction titles. Many appear in our Spotlight selection sliders at the bottom of this page.

The Transatlantic Slave Trade
Reading can be a great way to learn about racism and equality.
Below are links to booklists with a selection of titles for adults and secondary pupils to accompany the resources produced by The University of Nottingham for the Nottingham Schools and Transatlantic Slavery Project.
Special collections available at Radford/Lenton and Hyson Green libraries. Titles are also available from other libraries or can be requested through click and collect.