Teenage Prize Reading Guide - Jenny Valentine
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The Reading Agency Reading Guide to: The Ant Colony by Jenny Valentine This great guide will help you present a title to a reading group. There are ideas to trigger in-depth discussion and information about some exciting online resources. There are six guides in total, one for each of the 2009 shortlisted titles.
Title: The Ant Colony Format [eg: pb/hb]: pb Pgs: 215 Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Books Price: £6.99 ISBN: 978-0007283590
About the author: Jenny Valentine lives in Hay on Wye. She is married to a singer/songwriter and has two children. Jenny moved house every two years when she was growing up. She worked in a wholefood shop in Primrose Hill for fifteen years where she met many extraordinary people – including the inspiration for character Violet Park – and sold more organic loaves than there are words in her first novel. She has also worked as a teaching assistant and a jewellery maker. She studied English Literature at Goldsmith’s College, which almost put her off reading but not quite.
Obscure fact: Jenny runs a wholefood shop in Hay on Wye, hoping to find more inspiration for future novels.
What’s it about?: Number 33 Georgiana Street houses many people and yet seems home to none. To runaway Sam it is a place to disappear. To Bohemia, it’s just another blip between crises, as her mum ricochets off the latest boyfriend. Old Isobel acts like she owns the place, even though it actually belongs to Steve in the basement, who is always looking to squeeze in yet another tenant. Life there is a kind of ordered chaos. Like ants, they scurry about their business, crossing paths, following their own tracks, no questions asked. But it doesn’t take much to upset the balance. Dig deep enough and you’ll find that everyone has something to hide!
Talk about: 1. “Ultra-original and brilliantly written, this will have you laughing and crying too.” Mizz Magazine. What do you think makes this novel so original? You might like to think about the style and tone of voice as well as the characterisation. 2. Sam tries to run away from his problems in the novel. It is only when Bohemia runs away from him that he truly understands the consequences of his own actions. Discuss the effect the characters in the book have on one another. How do our friendships and our associations with others affect us? 3. The characters in the novel are very lonely people, many with secrets to hide, yet they manage to reach out and create relationships beyond their own, often shocking, circumstances. What do you think this says about the nature of human beings? 4. Why do you think Jenny Valentine chose the title, The Ant Colony?
Read more: • Broken Soup, Jenny Valentine, HarperCollins Children’s Books
• Finding Violet Park, Jenny Valentine, • HarperCollins Children’s Books
• Iggy and Me, Jenny Valentine, HarperCollins Children’s Books
• Me, the Missing and the Dead, • Jenny Valentine, • Harper Teen
Online: To find out more about the Booktrust Teenage Prize, why not visit www.bookheads.org.uk. If you’d like your reading group to be featured on the Bookheads blog please email [email protected] www.groupthing.org is an online community around words and creativity. Young people can set up their own groups and start taking part for free. www.groupthing.org will be running features and competitions on this year’s prize. Why not get the young people in your library or school to join a group, or start their own!
More links: • Jenny Valentine on Bebo: www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=8697270444 • www.harpercollins.co.uk/Authors/7187/jenny-valentine
Contacts: Booktrust is an independent charity dedicated to encouraging people of all ages and cultures to engage with books and the written word. Contact: Claire Shanahan Tel: 020 8516 2977 Email: [email protected] www.booktrust.org.uk The Reading Agency is an independent charity which inspires more people to read more. Contact: Kathleen Keaney Tel: 020 7324 2549 Email: [email protected] www.readingagency.org.uk
Title: The Ant Colony Format [eg: pb/hb]: pb Pgs: 215 Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Books Price: £6.99 ISBN: 978-0007283590
About the author: Jenny Valentine lives in Hay on Wye. She is married to a singer/songwriter and has two children. Jenny moved house every two years when she was growing up. She worked in a wholefood shop in Primrose Hill for fifteen years where she met many extraordinary people – including the inspiration for character Violet Park – and sold more organic loaves than there are words in her first novel. She has also worked as a teaching assistant and a jewellery maker. She studied English Literature at Goldsmith’s College, which almost put her off reading but not quite.
Obscure fact: Jenny runs a wholefood shop in Hay on Wye, hoping to find more inspiration for future novels.
What’s it about?: Number 33 Georgiana Street houses many people and yet seems home to none. To runaway Sam it is a place to disappear. To Bohemia, it’s just another blip between crises, as her mum ricochets off the latest boyfriend. Old Isobel acts like she owns the place, even though it actually belongs to Steve in the basement, who is always looking to squeeze in yet another tenant. Life there is a kind of ordered chaos. Like ants, they scurry about their business, crossing paths, following their own tracks, no questions asked. But it doesn’t take much to upset the balance. Dig deep enough and you’ll find that everyone has something to hide!
Talk about: 1. “Ultra-original and brilliantly written, this will have you laughing and crying too.” Mizz Magazine. What do you think makes this novel so original? You might like to think about the style and tone of voice as well as the characterisation. 2. Sam tries to run away from his problems in the novel. It is only when Bohemia runs away from him that he truly understands the consequences of his own actions. Discuss the effect the characters in the book have on one another. How do our friendships and our associations with others affect us? 3. The characters in the novel are very lonely people, many with secrets to hide, yet they manage to reach out and create relationships beyond their own, often shocking, circumstances. What do you think this says about the nature of human beings? 4. Why do you think Jenny Valentine chose the title, The Ant Colony?
Read more: • Broken Soup, Jenny Valentine, HarperCollins Children’s Books
• Finding Violet Park, Jenny Valentine, • HarperCollins Children’s Books
• Iggy and Me, Jenny Valentine, HarperCollins Children’s Books
• Me, the Missing and the Dead, • Jenny Valentine, • Harper Teen
Online: To find out more about the Booktrust Teenage Prize, why not visit www.bookheads.org.uk. If you’d like your reading group to be featured on the Bookheads blog please email [email protected] www.groupthing.org is an online community around words and creativity. Young people can set up their own groups and start taking part for free. www.groupthing.org will be running features and competitions on this year’s prize. Why not get the young people in your library or school to join a group, or start their own!
More links: • Jenny Valentine on Bebo: www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=8697270444 • www.harpercollins.co.uk/Authors/7187/jenny-valentine
Contacts: Booktrust is an independent charity dedicated to encouraging people of all ages and cultures to engage with books and the written word. Contact: Claire Shanahan Tel: 020 8516 2977 Email: [email protected] www.booktrust.org.uk The Reading Agency is an independent charity which inspires more people to read more. Contact: Kathleen Keaney Tel: 020 7324 2549 Email: [email protected] www.readingagency.org.uk
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