The Lunchtime book club is back!

Nov 5, 2025

Our lunchtime book club has resumed on Wednesdays and we couldn’t “bee” happier to be back! A warm welcome to our new members from Third Class and a cheerful welcome back to our returning book lovers.

In September, we had a fun vote to choose the name for our club this year, and the winning choice was “The Book-Loving Bumble Bees.” To celebrate, we let Chat GPT design our very own bee-themed mascot, and we think it’s absolutely adorable! Now, our hive is all abuzz with excitement for the reading adventures ahead.

🐝 Buzzing Into New Stories

This October, our busy bees dived into Grimwood: Five Freakishly Funny Fables by Nadia Shireen. The story follows fox siblings Ted and Nancy, who flee the city for the woods — only to discover it’s full of weird and wonderful animals. We watched a video of the author and illustrator herself talking about her quirky characters, and even took part in a draw-along of the adorable Ted. It was a hive of creativity and fun!

November’s Nectar of New Reads

For November, we’ve started Mary’s Hair by Eoin Colfer — a short and funny story about a little girl who decides to cut her own hair! After that, we’ll be listening to the audiobook of This Morning I Met a Whale by Michael Morpurgo, a beautiful story about a young boy named Michael who discovers a talking whale in the River Thames. The whale asks Michael to deliver a powerful message to the world about protecting our planet — a theme that’s sure to get us all thinking.

It’s shaping up to be another ‘bee-lightful’ month of reading, friendship, and fun discussions and activities. Just like last year, we’ll also be making some submissions to Moycullen Matters magazine, giving our Book-Loving Bumble Bees their first taste of being published writers — how exciting! Everyone from Third to Sixth Class is welcome to join — just pop into Room 14 and the hive will welcome you! 🐝📚

Happy reading,

Mrs E Walsh

Bookclub Update-March & April

May 15, 2025

It’s been a lively and creative spring for our Book Club!

Our young reviewers were thrilled to see their animal-themed book reviews featured in the spring edition of Moycullen Matters. This term, the club has also been tackling the big question: Which diary series is better –Dork Diaries or Diary of a Wimpy Kid? Reviews have been written, votes have been cast, and the results will appear in the next edition of Moycullen Matters, due out in early June!

Taking advantage of the fine weather, we held several Book Club meetings outdoors in the courtyard. One of the highlights was creating Potato Pals—potato-based versions of beloved book characters!

As part of the KPMG Junior Juries programme, we explored a brilliant selection of books:

Stitch by PĂĄdraig Kenny

Beanie the Bansheenie by Eoin Colfer, illustrated by Steve McCarthy

Na Trí Mhuicín by Áine Ní Ghlinn

Bearradh Gruaige d’Eóinín by Tadhg Mac Dhonnagáin

Fia and the Last Snow Deer by Eilish Fisher

The Dictionary Story by Oliver Jeffers

The Faerie Isle by SĂ­ne Quinn

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Irish Lighthouses by David Hare

We used resources and videos from Children’s Books Ireland and one thing that amazed us was to learn that it took ten years for The dictionary story to be written from start to finish!!

A special highlight was an online zoom ‘visit’ from Eoin Colfer and Steve McCarthy, who spoke to three classes about their book Beanie the Bansheenie. It was a fun and inspiring experience for all!

We’ve now submitted our votes for our favourite titles and eagerly await the announcement of the national winner on May 19th.

Well done to all our enthusiastic readers! 📚✨

Mrs E Walsh

Our library vote which received over 70 signatures!!
Online zoom with author Eoin Colfer and illustrator Steve McCarthy
2025 KPMG Children’s Junior Juries books selection

A Huge Success: Our Book Swap Event!

Mar 5, 2025

Our recent Book Swap was a fantastic success, with over a thousand books finding new homes! From picture books to graphic novels, fact books to joke books, there was something for every reader to enjoy.

A huge thank you to parents Arlene, Kim, and Sinead for their invaluable help in setting up tables and guiding children as they made their choices. A special shoutout to our incredible Student Council for their trojan work—keeping book displays tidy, grouping books by series, choosing background music and showing fantastic leadership and teamwork.

Most importantly, thank you to all the parents who generously donated books, making this event possible. Your support helped create a wonderful experience for our young readers. We hope everyone enjoys their new books and many happy hours of reading ahead!

Check out the video and pictures below to see the excitement of the day in action!

Mrs E Walsh

Bookclub update-February

Mar 5, 2025

This month, our book club dived into Laura Delaney’s Deadliest Day by Ann Carroll. We followed Laura’s adventure as she wins a school competition and gets to be a teacher for the day—what could possibly go wrong? We had great fun discussing her school antics with her friend Joe and teacher Mrs. Pim, and even created character outlines to bring the story to life.

We also kicked off our Junior Juries with The Dictionary Story by Oliver Jeffers. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be reading and hearing from the authors and illustrators of the shortlisted titles for the KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Awards. Each book will be scored, and our votes will contribute to the final awards in June!

To celebrate spring, some of our members have also written reviews on animal-themed books—keep an eye out for their work in the next issue of Moycullen Matters!
Exciting reading ahead—stay tuned for more updates! 📚✨

Happy reading,

Mrs E Walsh

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The Banana Book Club – December Highlights and Beginning 2025

Jan 15, 2025

Lunchtime Book Club – December Fun!
December was a month full of creativity in our Lunchtime Book Club! The children used Book Creator to make their own digital stories based on two wonderful books: ‘Little robin red vest’ by Jan Fearnley and ‘I follow the fox’ by Rob Biddulph. They added the pictures and recorded themselves reading the pages. Classes were able to watch these stories on the interactive whiteboards, but here are the links for anyone who would like to watch at home:

Little Robin Red Vest Story https://read.bookcreator.com/WkSyey72uEVZ3oUvdM0CCkFVzQb2/sgrG2UbMReuCyt5-BMtsPA


I Follow the Fox Story https://read.bookcreator.com/WkSyey72uEVZ3oUvdM0CCkFVzQb2/Oi-gN3kVROmrLDaKjQdbnQ


The club also created a digital story trail for the Ukrainian folk tale ‘The mitten ’ by Jan Brett. The infant classes had a great time following the story around the school and discovering all the animals that crawled into the mitten. Check out the happy faces above as they discovered each page, scanned the QR code and heard our bookclub members reading to them!

To wrap up the month, the children made special bookmarks for the new books they were hoping to receive for Christmas! It was a wonderful way to finish the year with creativity and fun.

Into 2025 with an audiobook

We’ve started 2025 with something a bit different for January’s Book Club! This month, we’re enjoying Neil Gaiman’s ‘Fortunately, the milk…’ as an audiobook, while also playing games inspired by tall tales and imagination. The children have been sharing their favourite book recommendations with one another, and in our first meeting we had a fun, giant Kahoot quiz on children’s classics. Congratulations to the three sixth-class boys who were the ultimate winners! It’s shaping up to be a fun and book-filled year ahead! Happy Reading, E. Walsh

Nov 28, 2024

Welcome to Scoil Mhuire’s Review Crew book recommendations! Our lunchtime bookclub ‘The banana bookclub’  have written reviews of some of their favourite recent reads to help you pick out the perfect Christmas gifts. We hope these suggestions make it easier to find a great book for family, friends, or yourself. Happy reading agus Nollaig Shona daoibh go lĂŠir!

          

 Book title: Ruby Redfort (look into my eyes)

Author: Lauren Child

 

Reviewed by MĂĄiria Murphy, 9,

Scoil Mhuire, Maigh Cuilinn

 

I chose this book because my cousin gave it to me. She recommended it for my age or older. This story is about a thirteen year old girl who is really smart and an amazing code cracker. She finds out that a secret agency called ‘Spectrum’ needs her help to track down the baddest guys in business. 

My favourite part is when Ruby pops toast out of the toaster and there is writing on it. It gets really interesting from then on…

The book made me gasp at every page. It was so good that I couldn’t put it down. 

I would recommend this book to people who like mysteries and secret agent books. 

TIP: I would wait until you are over ten to read it. 

Rating: ***** 5/5 stars

Book title: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s stone

Author:J.K Rowling 

 

Reviewed by MĂĄiria Murphy, 9,

Scoil Mhuire, Maigh Cuilinn

 

I picked this book  because it looked very interesting and is popular. This story is about a boy called Harry who learns he is a wizard and goes to a school called Hogwarts. My favourite part was when Hermione said ‘It’s Leviosa, not ‘leviosaur.’ I thought that was hilarious. My favourite character is Hermione Granger because she was smart and at times a bit silly. The book made me giggle and then really focus again because I didn’t want to miss a word. I’d recommend this book to anyone who likes magic and adventure. 

 

Rating: ***** 5 stars and 10/10

Book title: 

The completely chaotic Christmas of Lottie Brooks

Author:Katie Kirby 

 

Reviewed by MĂĄiria Murphy, 9,

Scoil Mhuire, Maigh Cuilinn

 

I picked this book because the cover was bright and colourful. This story is about a girl called Lottie Brooks who loves Christmas. She’s planning to have a quiet one but things DO turn around! My favourite part is when Antoine from France randomly invites himself to England. I loved the character Jess and how she lightens up the mood. I couldn’t stop laughing when reading this book. It is hilarious and you do not expect what happens next. I would recommend this book to  anyone who likes the ‘Diary of a wimpy kid’ series as they are similar. 

 

Rating: 100 stars!

Book title: 

Star Friends: Hidden Charm

Author:Linda Chapman 

 

Reviewed by Erin O’ Neill, 9,

Scoil Mhuire, Maigh Cuilinn

 

I picked this book because it is full of mysteries and magical friendships. My favourite part was when Mary pretended to be Mystic Maureen. My favourite character was Alfie as he was so silly. The book made me curious and I wanted to read more. I recommend this book for aged 7+ and it is good as a bedtime story. 

 

Rating: 5 stars! *****

Book title: The owl in the office

Author:Lucy Daniels 

 

Reviewed by Dylan Stanley, 12,

Scoil Mhuire, Maigh Cuilinn

 

The reason I chose this book was because I like books about animals and it looked interesting. Mandy and James find an owl out of its nest and bring it to an animal shelter. When they get there they find out that the animal shelter is closing due to a lack of funds so they put on a pet show to raise money. My favourite part was when they had to collect prizes for the show. Mandy really loved animals and it really shows in the story and James helps Mandy along the journey. It was a book that had a twist and you keep wanting to read on. I would recommend it to 9-12 year olds as there was a lot to read. It was a very good book and I would definitely recommend. 

Rating:  8/10

Book title: Esio Trot

Author:Roald Dahl

 

Reviewed by Emily Tierney, 9

Scoil Mhuire, Maigh Cuilinn

 

I chose this book because it looked interesting. I’ve read other books by Roald Dahl  that I also enjoyed reading. The book is about a man called Mr Hoppy who is in love with Mrs Silver, but she had someone else that she loves -her pet tortoise called Alfie. Mr Hoppy comes up with a plan to try and make her fall in love with him. My favourite part was when Mr Hoppy bought 140 tortoises but only ended up using 10 of them for his plan. Mrs Silver was very silly. I found it funny that she actually believed that Mr Hoppy was doing true magic. She was my favourite character. 

I found some parts funny. I was confused why Mr Hoppy still only used ten tortoises. I felt bad that the real Alfie had to go live with someone else. 

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes funny magic tricks and cute tortoises!  Rating:  4.5/5 stars!

Book title: 

Say Hello to the snowy animals!

Author:Ian Whybrow

 

Reviewed by Nicole Faherty, 10

Scoil Mhuire, Maigh Cuilinn

 

I picked this because I love animals and snow! The story is about a husky that says goodnight to every animal in the land of ice and snow. My favourite part was when the husky says ‘What a lovely snowy night!’ The book made me think of Christmas when it is snowing. I’d recommend this book to anyone that likes snow or animals. 

 

Rating:  5 STARS

Book title: 

The summer I robbed a bank

Author:David O’Doherty

 

Reviewed by Caoimhe Feeney, 10

Scoil Mhuire, Maigh Cuilinn

 

I picked this book because it looked cool and it was our bookclub book. Rex and his uncle Derm robbed a bank in Achill. My favourite part was when they stole the bank van. The characters are all really funny but Kitty is my favourite. The book made me feel weird and it made me laugh. I would recommend this book. 

 

Rating:  10/10

Book title: No ballet shoes in Syria

Author: Catherine Bruton

 

Reviewed by Cara Hegarty, 10,

Scoil Mhuire, Maigh Cuilinn

 

I chose this book because we were reading it in book club and because I wanted to learn more about refugees. Aya arrived in the UK with her brother and Mum after leaving their home in Syria. She starts a ballet class and is soon offered a chance for a place at a ballet school but Aya worries about friends, family and her home. My favourite part is when Aya dances her dance with her bits from her journey. My favourite characters were Aya and Ciara. Aya is strong, brave and keeps going all through the story. Ciara is mean to Aya at first but then she admits her problems. This book made me feel happy and sad at the same time but at the end of the book I felt I knew more about refugees. I recommend this book to anybody who wants to learn more about refugees and anybody who likes dancing.

 

Rating:  100%

Book title: The girl who speaks Bear

Author: Sophie Anderson

 

Reviewed by Lua Collins, 9,

Scoil Mhuire, Maigh Cuilinn

 

I chose this book because it looked really exciting and interesting. This book is about a big, tall girl called Yanka and she goes on an adventure to find her backstory. My favourite part was when Yanka goes to the ‘House of Chicken legs’ and finds out a lot about her past. I loved the storyteller Anatoly because he always told loads of stories that were mysterious and half true. This book made me feel like I was on an adventure with Yanka. I’d recommend this book if you like adventures and old fairy tales. 

 

Rating:  5 stars *****

Book title: Explorer

Author: Katherine Rundell

 

Reviewed by Aoibhí Ní Fhåtharta , 8, 

Scoil Mhuire, Maigh Cuilinn

 

I picked this book because it looked really good and the name looked interesting. The story is about a bunch of kids who get stranded in the Amazon. My favourite part is when they climb up a tree for honey but come down with a sloth! My favourite character is Lila because she is kind and adventurous. The book made me fell excited, adventurous and made me think what happens next. I recommend this book for kids aged 9 upwards. If you like Enid Blyton books, you’ll like this!

 

Rating:  5 stars *****

Book title: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s stone

Author:J.K Rowling 

 

Reviewed by Leila Smith, 9,

Scoil Mhuire, Maigh Cuilinn

 

I picked this book because my mum read it and said it was great. The book is about a wizard named Harry Potter who has to stay with his aunt and uncle and then finds out he is a wizard. My favourite part was when Harry, Ron and Hermione became friends. I loved Ron the most because he was funny and good at chess. I kept trying to guess what would happen next. It also made me feel happy, sad and even scared at times. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes fun adventures. If you like Enid Blyton, you’ll love this. There is also a movie but I recommend you read the book first. 

 

Rating: 10/10

Book title: No ballet shoes in Syria 

Author: Catherine Bruton

 

Reviewed by Sienna Curtin, 9

Scoil Mhuire, Maigh Cuilinn

 

I picked this book because I joined the book club ad I joined the bookclub because the book looked interesting. Aya escapes Syria which is in war and moves to Manchester signing all the forms and translating for her mum because she doesn’t speak English. Aya and her mum and brother are trying to find a home. My favourite part is when Aya starts ballet and I also like when Aya first meets Dotty. Dotty, like her name, is dotty and crazy but can be great at listening if her friends need her to. The book made me feel happy and sad at the same time. I would definitely recommend this book if you like books about wars that are not fact books. 

 

Rating 5 stars *****