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Every spring, the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) invites reading groups in libraries, schools, homes…in fact, anywhere there are children and young people and books, to get involved with shadowing.

The young people taking part are known as ‘shadowers’ as they ‘shadow’ the judging process for the Yoto Carnegie Medals; they read, discuss and review the books on each shortlist, engage in reading related activity which they can share online, and vote for their favourites to win the Shadowers’ Choice Awards.

You may have seen the Instagram story on @twggslife in which we gave you a sneak peek of the alternative book cover designs completed by the Carnegie Shadowing Group at TWGGS. Here, Parnika, one of our Year 9 pupils, tells us what it's like to be part of group, followed by a review of the balloon debate that TWGGS pupils participated in, by Charlotte Richards in 8T:

When you are a part of the Carnegie Shadowing book group, you find yourself looking forward to every Tuesday lunchtime. For some this is because of the biscuits, cookies and often ice lollies that meet us every time we go (courtesy of Mrs Dawson), for some it might be picking up that new book that won’t let you put it down till the end but I think for most (like me) it’s for that amazing feeling you get when you simply talk about books to people that love books just as much as you! This is especially the case when the group of books this year were so emotionally empowering and some really hit home by discussing current issues in our society today. Though I don’t think that I will get to attend another Carnegie event, I would definitely recommend our beloved group to anyone who has a passion for reading or even if you have not yet discovered your love for reading as there is something for everyone in our little reading wonderland. 

Parnika Rajput

When we came into school on Monday, books in hand and debate points ready, we were told that we could leave to board the coach. We were sharing a coach with the debaters from Skinners. I already knew a few people, but even if you didn’t it didn’t matter as you would soon get to know people.

On arrival at Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys in Sevenoaks, we entered the hall and were introduced to our teams and our assigned year 12. In my group we assigned sub-groups of three people to work on specific elements of our book. After about an hour of prep we had a break before the presentation and prize-giving. 

Despite our group being cut off as we went over time, it didn’t hinder our debate and we ended up winning, though that is really not what matters. We had an incredible experience meeting new people and debating for a book we loved! 

Charlotte Richards