Federation of Children’s Book Groups 2017

The FCBG annual conference is organized by local groups and this year it was the turn of Reading to host the event.  The venue was the Oratory School, a rather amazing old boarding school near Reading, set in beautifully manicured grounds.  The downside was that, like most schools, we had to share loos and showers, but the communal areas in each block were great places to sit and chat about books.

We all arrived on Friday afternoon and over tea and cakes we had the opening of the exhibition and then short talks from Claire Barker (author of Knitbone Pepper) and Andrew Beasley, who was introducing  his new series called S.C.R.E.A.M.

 

We were also tempted by the first of the cakes, something that is of vital importance at all book conferences.

As always there was a fantastic turnout by the publishers with lots of goodies to pick up and some really amazing new titles to drool over.  The stands were full of books, posters, cards and Bloomsbury even had mugs for their book “Kid Normal”

 

 

 

 

Pre-dinner drinks were hosted by Bounce Marketing who are celebrating their 15th anniversary this year.  This was held in the school library and I can’t be the only person who wanted to start an audit of the school’s stock; I think it is part of being a librarian.

The highlights of the evening were to follow and we really were spoilt.  The first after dinner speaker was the historian Lucy Worsley who was talking about the two books she has written Eliza Rose” and “I am Victoria”.  She linked these to her job at the Historic Royal Palaces and showed some beautiful slides of the buildings.  She also spoke about how she had been enthused by writers such as Jean Plaidy and hoped that her book would have a similar effect today. Lucy was a charming, articulate and very knowledgeable speaker with a great sense of humour.  The second speaker was the poet A.F.Harrold who had us in stitches with some of his poetry, but also had something to say about children and reading.  His rendition of this poem http://childrenspoetryarchive.org/poem/minister-exams had many of us nodding in agreement with the words that Brian Patten has written.

Saturday was a packed schedule and started with Jon Walter, an author whose work I have not read.  He was an excellent speaker and really engaged with the audience.  He writes for a teen audience and I think I will have to give his work a try.  We then had a panel event with D.J. Brazier (“Alone”)and Caighlan Smith (“Children of Icarus”) in conversation with Daniel Hahn.  They discussed how they had become writers and what the influences were on their stories.  The next session, following a much needed coffee break, was one about books in translation, which again was led by Daniel Hahn.  It was a fascinating insight in to the problems facing publishers and translators and it also highlighted the new guide from the SLA which has been written by Daniel and his co-author Joy Court (also on the panel). The morning’s events were concluded by a session by G.R.Gremin, the author of “Cowgirl” and the lovely “Sweet Pizza”, which reflects his experience of being Welsh with an Italian heritage.

The afternoon started off with a set of workshop sessions.  Unfortunately we were only able to attend one, so I chose the entertaining and knowledgeable Bev Humphries who was discussing “Digital Storytelling”.  As always she challenged us to think in different ways and showed us resources that we had not come across before.  She also very helpfully gave us links to all of her presentation.  We then had a session with the super talented Martin Brown who talked about his work, especially his new book “Lesser Spotted Animals”.  This covered some amazing, but relatively unknown animals and we all fell in love with the ‘black hooded ferret’.  The final session was the wonderful Wendy Cooling in conversation with Kes Gray (“Oi Dog”) and Rachel Bright (“Love Monster”), two of our outstanding crop of picture book writers at the moment.  The evening was outstanding with pre-dinner entertainment from Jo Cotterill (“A library of lemons”); this took the form of a quiz and revolved around the theme of strawberries in reference to her next book “A storm of strawberries”, which comes out at the end of June.  The score was kept by Chris Riddell and the finale was dressing up someone (from each team)as a strawberry, so it was a great fun event.  The after dinner speech was from Chris and he spoke about his time as Laureate and the importance of reading, books, libraries and librarians.

Saturday was also special because it was my 65th birthday.  I don’t usually make a big fuss about birthdays but I must have mentioned it to the wonderful Bev Humphrey in the past.  So at breakfast I was presented with a sash and badge, a lovely “Elder wand” pendant and a tiara (to be worn in the evening).  It was so totally lovely and unexpected and really made my day.  For the rest of the day people kept coming up and wishing me a “Happy Birthday” and in the evening I got a mention from the fabulous Chris Riddell.  All of this made me realize what an amazing community I belong to in the children’s book world. So thank you to all my friends who made it such a memorable day and especially to Bev for all her hard work.

Sunday morning came around too quickly but the standard of session was just as high as on previous days.  We started with a panel event, with publishers from Alanna Books, Book Island and Tiny Owl talking about the difficulties but also the opportunities that they found in setting up a small company.  We then had Emma Shoard talking about the new edition of “The Pavee and the Buffer Girl” by Siobhan Dowd, for which she has provided the stunning illustrations.  Cas Lester then spoke about her books for younger readers (“Nixie, the bad, bad fairy”)and how her previous life as a BBC producer of programmes such as Jackanory had strengthened her conviction on how important storytelling and books are to children.  It was fascinating to hear about the TV life, but also to see how that has been translated into writing her own books.  The final offering was a joint session by Nicola Davies and Petr Horacek speaking about their work “A first book of Animals”. Petr produced some spectacular art work whilst Nicola gave us the expert’s view of the animals.

What an excellent conference and a big thank you has to go to the organizers and also the publishers and other delegates for making this such an enjoyable experience.  It really is perfect for all of us who love children’s books and want to promote them to their intended audience and yes, there was CAKE, in abundance.

A quiet time before Christmas?

2015-10-06 11.06.02

Claire Barker

Whispers in the walls

HarperCollins, 978-0007589203

As I had been through a fairly hectic period in September and October, I thought that the lead up to Christmas would be a lot quieter; how wrong could I be.  During October and November I worked with publishers to organize school visits for two really great new authors.  In October I took the lovely Claire Barker to four schools where she enthralled the year 3 and 4 children with tales of her new book “Knitbone Pepper, ghost dog”.  Then in December I arranged for Sophie Cleverly to go into another four schools to talk about the second in her series about Scarlet and Ivy, this book is called “The Whispers in the Walls”.  This series is aimed for the 8-12 age group and is full of mystery.  The children thoroughly enjoyed both authors and I am sure that the fan base has increased considerably.

2015-11-07 14.42.37

Sharon Tregenza

Early in November I was able to attend the award ceremony for the  ‘North2015-11-07 16.30.18 Somerset Teachers Book Award’ and it was an opportunity to meet friends such as Huw Powell and Sharon Tregenza (a Facebook friend)and also meet  Sam Gayton and Tom Moorhouse, Thank you to all those involved in this award and in particular Sue Wilsher the energetic organizer.

2015-11-27 11.11.38

Sam Hepburn and Barry Cunningham

At the end of November I spent a lovely day over in Cardiff, where Chicken House publishers were holding a Little Breakfast at which we were invited to hear from five of their authors about upcoming books.  There was Sam Hepburn, Emma Shevah, Linda Davies, M G Leonard and Helen Maslin; a positive cornucopia of talent to look forward to.  It was also great to see several old friends and to catch up with what is going on.

The lead up to Christmas was announced in December by the annual Andersen Press Christmas Party.  This is an event that is not to be missed if at all possible.  There were some amazing people there, all of whom are at the top of their professions as writers and illustrators; which only goes to prove that Andersen knows how to chose which books to publish.

Shifty McGifty

Nosy Crow, 978-0857631466

My final book related event was a week before Christmas, when Tracey Corderoy and Steve Lenton were signing books at Waterstones in Weston-super-mare.  Their adventures of “Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam” are becoming very popular and are really good to read to young audiences.  this was also an opportunity for the two of them to receive the award for the ‘North Somerset Teachers Book Award’ which they won this year.

So much for  a quiet month or so to prepare for the festivities.  However I think I prefer the excitement of meeting all of these amazing people and hearing about the wonderful books that have just come out, or will be arriving in the next few months.  I really am looking forward to what the new year will bring.

Young and Fun books

I thought it was time for another round up of some beautiful and fun picture books that I have received over the last few months. The first of these is

Specs for Rex by Yasmeen Ismail

2014-08-27 14.49.31

Bloomsbury, 9781408836972

A really great story for all children, but especially for those who have something that makes them different from those around them.  This is the story of Rex, who needs glasses but hates to wear them as it makes him different.  He tries all sorts of ways to hide his specs, but then they help him find something that his teacher is lost and he is made to feel good.  The illustrations are vivid and full of energy; they use watercolours and have that naivety which we associate with the work of young people, but of course there is an underlying skill and complexity which really brings the illustrations alive.  This is one of those special books that hopefully will become a classic for the future.

The Dawn Chorus by  Suzanne Baron

2014-08-27 14.49.54

Bloomsbury
9781408839218

I really loved this charming story about a young bird called Peep.  One day he wakes to hear other birds singing and he is invited to join them in the Dawn Chorus, but no matter how hard he tries, he cannot wake up in time.  It is only when he meets another bird like himself that all is explained – he is a Nightingale and they are meant to sing in the evening.  Beautiful illustrations make this great for telling to young children and the message about having individual gifts and skills is subtly woven into the story.

 

Smelly Louie by Catherine Rayner

2014-08-27 14.49.16

Macmillan
9780230742505

This is the latest from the award winning illustrator Catherine Rayner.  It is the story of Louie and his endeavours to rid himself of the smell of roses and apple blossom, after his owner has given him a bath.  As always this is produced in the author’s distinctive style, which fits so well with the plot of the book.  It reminds me of earlier favourites on a similar theme, including the What-a-Mess  stories of Frank Muir and the tales of  Harry the dirty dog by Gene Zion.  I particularly love the touches of gold on the cover of the book, very luxurious.

 

 

 

The Flying Bath by Julia Donaldson and David Roberts

2014-07-19 11.48.01

Macmillan
9780230742604

It is always great to have a new book from the prolific and very popular Julia Donaldson, but when the illustrations are by the lovely David Roberts then you know you are in for a treat.  This is the tale of how the bath toys spend their day, travelling around the world in a magical flying bath tub and saving a variety of creatures.  The book is full of colour and action, and I love the multicoloured wings of the bath tub; is this a slight ‘homage’ to Elmer perhaps?

 

 

 

Snow by Walter de la Mare, illustrated by Carolina Rabei

This really is a beautiful evocation of a winter that we all hold in our imaginations, even though the reality is so different for many of us.  The poem is by one of the best known children’s poets of the early 20th century, and his stories for children won the Carnegie medal in 1947.  The illustrator has taken a very short work and really added to it with her simple colour palette and a quite retro 1950s feel to the background.  I can never have enough books about winter and Christmas and this is one to keep and read again every year as part of the build up to Christmas, just like the Muppet Christmas carol on DVD.

Faber and faber, 9780571312191

Faber and faber,
9780571312191

Frances Lincoln, 9781847804327

Frances Lincoln,
9781847804327

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How the Library (NOT the Prince) saved Rapunzel by Wendy Meddour and Rebecca Ashdown

For those of us who have been involved with libraries for most of their working lives it is wonderful to see the support that we are getting in this time of hardship and with this book Wendy really sings the praises of the library and what it can do to to widen our horizons.  This is a picture book, so it is aimed at young readers in a way that they can appreciate; the text is in rhyme and the illustrations are bright and vibrant .  It is full of energy and the humour that I have come to expect from Wendy’s work, having read some of the Wendy Quill books in the past.

Made by Raffi,   by  Craig Pomranz and Margaret Chamberlaimn

there seems to have been an increase in the number of books showing ‘diversity’ in its many forms and I have noted several about sewing and knitting particularly with boys as the main characters.  For older children there is Boys don’t knit by T.S  Easton and for younger readers we have this book .  It is about a young boy, Raffi, who enjoys sewing and knitting, but feels he has to keep it secret in order to avoid the teasing and bullying which could ensue from such un-boyish hobbies.  it is a bright cheerful affirmation of wanting to be yourself and not just following the crowd.

Frances Lincoln, 9781847804334

Frances Lincoln,
9781847804334

Bath Kids Lit Festival

I know autumn has arrived when children’s authors and illustrators of all kinds descend on the city of Bath.  This year sees the 7th Children’s Literature Festival and the first to have David Almond as the artistic director.

 

As someone who has been lucky enough to have been involved in the festival since its very inception I have seen it grow into one of the pre-eminent literary festivals in this country.  The passion and commitment that John and Gill McLay brought to  making their creation such a success has laid the foundations for something that will enthuse and bring enjoyment to children for many years to come.

Friday was the start of the proceedings.  I was lucky enough to be able to take Cressida Cowell out to one of the local schools, where she spoke to about 200 students about her books on “How to train your Dragon”  This was then followed by a panel discussion in the evening; this had David Almond talking to Cressida, Julia Green and Gill Trueman (school Librarian) about the importance of books for children and how they see their role in the whole process.  The evening was then completed by a reception for those who are involved in supporting the festival in a multitude of ways, but especially the volunteer stewards who work so hard every year ( a bit of self praise here!!)

The coming week will see the announcement of the “Information Book awards”, by the School Library Association, a full day conference on “Children as readers” on Tuesday and lots of further events for schools and families.  Then we have the grand finale next week end with brilliant authors, including Patrick Ness, taking part.

I think it is wonderful that children have the opportunity to listen and meet so many of the people  who write the books they love to read.  They really enjoy being able to talk about the stories, which characters they like and what story lines they would like to see.  Jim Smith, the author of the “Barry Loser” series of books had a really enthusiastic queue of boys wanting to have books signed and to talk about the series; who says boys don’t read.  There are many who do and others who just need someone knowledgeable and enthusiastic to find the right book for them.

 

David Almond                                                                                                                                                 Cressida Cowell

2013-09-27 15.12.19

2013-09-27 21.11.21

Librarycamp SW

 Camps and unconferences seem to be a vibrant new way for people connect,  to think about common interests.  Librarians in particular have taken the concept to their heart and on Saturday  27th July quite a group attended an exciting day in Bristol.  There were lots of school and public librarians, but also others from a wide range of backgrounds. many from a higher academic background.  There was a lot of fun, exchange of ideas and cake recipes!!  Definitely something that works for those that attended.  If you find one of these taking place in your area then do try and attend.  It really is great, especially if you are a lone library worker in your workplace.

The topics discussed were varied, but there was a lot of interest in social media, research skills and where the profession was going.  It was great to see old friends, people I have only met on forums and new friends I met on the day.

Bounce and Rhyme for non-children's librarians

New year reads

 December and January turned out to be good months for reading, despite the preparations for the holidays.  The towers of mince pies and sausage rolls are but a memory in the mouth, even if they still remain on the hips, oh well, I am sure it was worth it.

At the end of November 2012 we invited Simon Mayo to Bristol Central library to talk about his books.  There was an audience from 9 local schools and they had a really great time, especially with the experiments.  I have been lucky enough to see the new book “Itch rocks” and it is well worth a read, although it’s best to read the original title first.  My interest in chemistry has been rekindled and the Royal Institution lectures over the Christmas break went a long way to explaining about elements and their relationship with us.

I finally got around to reading “Four Children and it” by Jacqueline Wilson and it fired the intention to re-read the original by E. Nesbit.  A good fun read.  Terry Pratchett has also hit the spot with his new book “Dodger”.  Aimed at the teen market, but it will be a hit with younger readers as well.  It is a cross between a social history and a slightly distorted Dickens novel.  The inclusion of Dickens and Henry Mayhew adds that element of realism and there is plenty to shock and excite the reader.  This may well become my favourite Pratchett so far, and I love his other books.

 Spring is also the time when we focus on book awards, with two local ones as well as the carnegie shortlist and the Red House Book Awards.  We have just celebrated the Concorde book award in South Gloucestershire, with Alexander Gordon Smith winning.  The ceremony was also attended by Mark Robson (a shortlisted author) and Joffre White who was the speaker for the afternoon.