Drop Everything And Read
We LOVE reading at Plymstock and it is so important to carry on, our fantastic reading culture...
Drop Everything And Read is a much loved and valued part of our school day here at Plymstock. Now that school is returning to a 'new normal' we will keep this page up to date with the latest DEAR time news in school and at home :)
You will find lots of ideas and inspiration throughout this site to help you source reading materials from home (if you are unable to actually read a physical book or prefer to read online).
New Arrivals in the library September 2021..
Keep up to date with our brilliant new arrivals, that will be listed on this D.E.A.R page every two weeks...
REMEMBER TO CHECK OUT OUR What Shall I read Next? PAGE - to inspire your next read :)
'Felix Ever After'
by Kacen Callender
'We Hunt the Flame'
by Hafsah Faizal
'Worst. Holiday. Ever.'
by Charlie Higson
'Night Bus Hero'
by Onjali Q. Rauf
'MEGA MONSTER'
by David Walliams
'First Day of My Life'
by Lisa Williamson
'You Are a Champion'
by Marcus Rashford
'Arctic Star'
by Tom Palmer
'Toffee'
by Sarah Crossan
'Concrete Rose'
by Angie Thomas
COMING SOON...
OCTOBER 2021
'Good Girl, Bad Blood'
by Holly Jackson
Archives
DEDICATION
Hannah, Teodora, Lexie, Amber and Mrs Elliott
"Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration."
Thomas Edison
MASSIVE SHOUT OUT TO MRS ELLIOTT'S YEAR 11 BOOK GROUP!
This amazing group of students have been in Mrs Elliott's book group since Year 7 AND have continued to meet every Wednesday lunchtime during both Lockdowns!
Mrs Elliott is so proud...
😊 These girls have been amazing!
" We carried on with our Year 11 book group again through this (hopefully) last Lockdown, meeting every Wednesday lunch time on Teams.
I have thoroughly enjoyed discussing the books and listening to these enthusiastic and intelligent young ladies talk.
We laughed a lot and I can't wait to see them in 'real life' again next week.
We are currently reading 'Cinderella is Dead' by Kaylynn Bayron."
If you do not have access to books or would like to try something new, there are plenty of online resources that can support your reading whilst you are at home. I have made some suggestions below and will keep this updated each week.
Free Virtual School Library!
The National Literacy Trust and Oak National Academy have created a free 'Virtual School Library' where they are offering free reading and writing activities from children's authors...every week popular authors will be providing free reading books, videos and activities during Lockdown.
This week's author is Jacqueline Wilson...go to
...to read 'The Story of Tracy Beaker' for free and to check out the 'Virtual School Library'.
Listen to celebrities reading James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJOUv79StzGyp1j5FMS1fB4TpUZ2iFmA7
For remaining chapters go to;
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tom+palmer+d-dog+chapters
PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THE VIDEOS ARE OUT OF SEQUENCE - SO MAKE SURE YOU CLICK ON THE CORRECT ONE!
Listen to author Tom Palmer reading his book 'D-Day Dog' book (he reads a chapter a day over 30 days)- tune in during your half an hour reading!
Go to, for more information...
https://tompalmer.co.uk/dday-dog/
Run out of books to read? No books at home? You're struggling to find a good book? Check out these websites, they are full of free online book resources and activities to keep you going during lockdown!
Scholastic children's books are offering free online samples (chapter one) of some of their most popular children's books to support you whilst reading at home.
https://bookfairs.scholastic.co.uk/chapter-one
(scroll down the page - once you've clicked on link - to see books for older students)
Chicken House children's books have a page 'coopedupkids' dedicated to reading resources (including videos of author's reading extracts from their books) to support students during Lockdown.
https://www.chickenhousebooks.com/schools/coopedupkids/
The official World Book Day site has many fantastic reading resources - including activities to download and a variety of first chapters of some amazing books...
https://www.worldbookday.com/resources/secondary/
Once again, this incredible author is offering a plethora of reading related activities and continues to read from his brilliant books online.
Go to https://tompalmer.co.uk/free-reads/
The British Council are offering support to any EAL students and their families by providing activities and advice for English learning at home.
http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/covid-19-support-for-parents
Bibliomania is a free online resource that allows you to read classic stories on your computer.
Devon and Torbay Libraries have free online services. For more information go to...
Libby is a FREE app that allows you to borrow ebooks from your local library straight on to your device! For more information go to...
Audible are still offering free children/teenage books during school closures (however, their choices are a lot more limited than last time - I'll keep you informed of any updates!)
Manybooks.net have 1,000's of free ebooks - mostly classics that can be downloaded immediately.
Remember to check with an adult that the book choices you are making are suitable.
The British Council have got some great resources on their website, for reading and listening skills. Some really interesting articles for all different levels of reading and an audio book that you can listen to and then test your learning with a multiply choice quiz!
https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/reading
Chris Bradford reads from his 'The Way of Fire' sampler...for more chapters, go to
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3rXOZhakjWj4la8I2vReHQ
New Arrivals in the library this month...
'Peril en Pointe'
by Helen Lipscombe
'Keeper of the Lost Cities'
by Shannon Messenger
'Robin Hood'
by Robert Muchamore
'The Danger Gang'
By Tom Fletcher
'Mic Drop'
by Sharna Jackson
'Breathless'
by Jennifer Niven
(Year 9 and above)
'The Inheritance Games'
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
(Year 9 and above)
'A Deadly Education'
by Naomi Novik
(Year 9 and above)
'Life and Death'
by Stephanie Meyer
'A Snowfall of Silver'
by Jennifer Niven
'Wonderscape'
by Jennifer Bell
'Orphans of the Tide'
by Struan Murray
Daniel Radcliffe reads chapter one of the greatest story ever told (in my opinion :))
This incredible opportunity to hear the story of 'the boy who lived' is also available on Spotify and Spotify kids!
It is never too late to experience the magic...
Book One, 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' by J K Rowling is now available from audible to download for FREE (during school closure)
Unfortunately, the Harry Potter readings are no longer available...(they were live up until 31st December :().
However, I will keep the links on here for now and keep you updated, just in case they allow access again, due to the second lockdown.
Andy Serkis (the Gollum actor from 'Lord of the Rings') is going to be reading the entire 'The Hobbit' book at 10:00am on Friday 8th June.
SORRY THIS IS NO LONGER AVAILALBE
Author and comedian, David Walliams is downloading free audio books onto his website for the next 30 days!
THIS IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE
Children's author and illustrator Cressida Cowell, reads from her famous 'How to Train Your Dragon' series.
THIS IS STILL AVAILABLE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWhNzQUfmSE
Author R J Palacio was reading 'Wonder' LIVE on her twitter page - unfortunately, it has finished now, but you are still able to watch the recordings on her twitter page.
THIS IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE