The Abingdonian 2019

54 The Abingdonian Shadowing the Carnegie The 2018-19 school year saw a record number of students take part in the annual Abingdon Carnegie Shadowing Scheme, now in its nineteenth consecutive year. 14 Lower School boys joined forces with students from seven other schools across Abingdon to debate and ultimately decide the best book for young people published this year. The Carnegie Medal, awarded annually for the year’s most outstanding book for young people, was first awarded in 1936; the winner then was Pigeon Post by Arthur Ransome (part of his Swallows and Amazons series). Since then, notable winners have included Northern Lights by Oxford author Philip Pullman and A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. While the national winner is decided by a panel of national judges, the Shadowing Scheme enables young people to choose their own favourite. This year, more than 3,000 schools across the UK took part in Shadowing. Abingdon schools were the first to instigate a Carnegie Shadowing partnership, a model which is now common across the UK. Carnegie Shadowing helps participants hone their critical skills, expand their idea of what makes a ‘good read’, and strengthen their ability to debate and collaborate. At the Carnegie Tea in March, Abingdon students discovered which eight books were shortlisted for the Carnegie medal and voted for their favourite. Over the next three months, they read, discussed and reviewed the titles, meeting with other schools in May for a quiz that tested their knowledge of what they’d read and submitting book reviews for the programme finale. The three strongest reviews are published below. The finale came in the form of the Carnegie Forum in June, with more than 100 students coming together at Christ Church Barns in North Abingdon. After a welcome from Abingdon School Headmaster Michael Windsor, Lower School boys worked in groups with students from other schools to devise and perform three- minute dramas to promote their favourite book from the Carnegie shortlist. While the devising process and the performances promoted cooperation and collaboration, it also encouraged inter-group competition and individual achievement, with prizes on offer for best performance and best contributor in each group. Performances were judged by figures from the local literary community, including acclaimed author Nicki Thornton. While the judges weighed up the performances, participants enjoyed socialising and, all-importantly, demolishing substantial quantities of cake. The Mayor of Abingdon gave out prizes. Sam Siriwardene received an award for best individual contributor to a group, while Harry Vinall was highly commended for his review of A Skinful of Shadows by Francis Hardinge. As ever, all of the Lower School boys were whole-heartedly enthusiastic about their involvement in Carnegie Shadowing, with first years looking forward to taking part next year and second years regretting that moving up to Middle School would make them ineligible. Graham Gardner Review of The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson This book was folk tale and fairy tale all rolled into one. It was amazing. The House with Chicken Legs follows the story of 12 year old Marinka, who feels like she does not belong in her grandmother’s world, or in the world of Benji or Nina. At its heart, this is a book of self discovery that leaves Marinka firmly knowing where she belongs. Baba Yaga lives in a magic house with a life of its own. The house, at first glance, looks relatively normal. But a close inspection reveals what lies beneath it; chicken legs that enable the house to move about in accordance with Baba Yaga’s wishes. The house moves to uninhabited places away from the living. The book twists and turns like a dark road, it is unexpected and I was always trying to anticipate what Marinka would do next. I would say that my favourite character was Jack, the jackdaw, because of how his name is amusing and he likes to hide things in people’s ears, just like my cousin. Jack also helped Marinka because he gave her the sense of security she needed; I can tell this because when Jack was away for a few days, Marinka started to worry. However, Jack is not really a character, so I would have to say Marinka because of her inquisitive personality, a bit like mine! I think that all the characters felt as real to me as my favourite type of sweet, because I loved them and I knew they were real, but I felt that they were so real, they were unreal. My favourite part of the book was when the house suddenly moved to the ocean and Marinka played with the ghost in the water. Marinka realises she is a ghost too, then everything starts a steep downhill descent from there: Baba Yaga disappears, Marinka’s friend disappears, the house gains a few cracks and Marinka is forced to stay near by the house forever.