“Youthquake” by Tom Adams and Sarah Walsh is a book that I first came across when it was nominated for the Information Book Award. It is aimed a Middle grade readers, as well as those in KS3 and focuses on 50 young people throughout history who have had a lasting impact on the world that we live in. This is a book that is divided into themes, so that creative arts are under the heading “Create and Dream”, while sport is called “Lead and Triumph”. It is a book to dip into, as well as to learn more about specific people. Many of the names are now well known, but there are also many who are just receiving their first acknowledgements. It shows how people an overcome multiple challenges if they are determined to achieve.
“Just like Me” by Louise Golding, Melissa Iwai and Caterina
Delli Carri is a collective biography of a range of individuals who are neurologically and physically diverse. It is aimed at the Middle Grade age range, even down to age 7 years according to the publishers. It is great to see a title that allows young children to understand that we are a world of wonderfully diverse people.
“I am not a label” by Cerrie Burnell and Lauren Baldo is another collection of biographies from the past and present. All of the people represented are disabled in some way and this book focuses on their achievements, rather than on the disability. There are quite a few names that I am not familiar with, so it is wonderful to see people from across the world who have overcome many obstacles to achieving their ambitions.
“We are the Beatles” by Zoe Tucker and Mark Wang AND “We are the Supremes” by Zoe Tucker and Salina Perera. 
These two titles are the first in a new series from ‘Wide Eyed Editions’ and aimed at KS1 readers. The author is beginning to make a name for herself with the range of biographies for young people that she has written, so it is great to think that we have another talent to depend on for many years hopefully. The stories are told very simply and have underlying themes of friendship, equality and teamwork. There are some exciting titles in the pipeline and I am really looking forward to the books on NASA Scientists and also the Apollo 11 crew, which are due out this autumn.
“Fearless” by Gattaldo tells the story of a Maltese journalist, Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was 
well known for her expose of injustices in her country. I first heard about her a couple of years ago when there was a TV documentary about her life and an investigation into the bomb attack that killed her. This book is aimed at younger readers and emphasizes her belief in freedom of speech and civil rights, it does not cover the horror of her death. It is supported by Amnesty International and shines a light on the fact that all countries seem to have dark areas in the way they are run and in the way that people are able to live their lives.
“The Fog of War” by Michelle Jabes Corpora and Amerigo Pinelli, AND “Queen of Freedom” by Catherine Johnson and
Amerigo Pinelli are both titles in the best selling series “True Adventures” from Pushkin Children’s books. The range of subjects is extremely broad. The former title is about Martha Gellhorn an American journalist who managed to be part of the D-Day landings, something that her then husband, Ernest Hemingway, did not manage. The latter title is about the Jamaican freedom fighter Queen Nanny who led the revolt of the Maroon people against the British colonial authorities and slave owners in the late 18th century. All of the books in this series tell us about people that struggled against oppression, stereotypes and colonialism among other issues. They bring all of this home to the reader in a straightforward and understandable way.
“Little people: BIG DREAMS” is a wide ranging series of biographical books aimed at very 
young readers. Written by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara they have a range of illustrators , however they do follow a ‘house style’ that most people will recognize. This links in to the small format of the books and also the age range that they are aimed at, which is in the 5-8 years range. the characters portrayed range from people such as Alan Turing and Martin Luther King, to Captain Tom Moore and Marcus Rashford. there are also multiple books about famous women, from Mary Anning to Frida Kahlo and Coco Chanel. One of the latest that I came across is about the iconic
figure of Iris Apfel, who at the age of 100 is still a major figure in the fashion world and an example to us all. Hopefully some of these titles can be found in every school and library.
This definitely seems to be my year for having new book related experiences and yesterday I 
finally attended the Young Adult Literature Convention (YALC) which is now in its 5th year. It is part of the London Film and Comic Con, so there were a lot of people walking around wearing the most amazing and often weird costumes. We had Star Wars, Star Trek, Dr Who, Steam Punk, as well as others that I cannot guess at. However, it was brilliant to see so many enthusiastic and committed fans, all of whom seemed keen to let the world share in their passion. YALC had its own area on the 2nd floor, so that it was a self contained unit. Lots of out favourite YA publishers were there and there were plenty of freebies (in the guise of bookmarks, postcards and even book chapters), some proofs (all gone by the time I arrived) and books at generously reduced prices.
The whole set up was very well organized with a ‘room’ for workshops, a large ‘room’ for talks/panels and masses of space for author signing sessions. It is difficult to describe the 
‘buzz’ that was going on all day, but it was fantastic to see so many young (and not so young) people who obviously love reading these books. Having said all of this I did not feel that the hall was crowded; after seeing tweets from the following two days I am convinced that they were the busiest days. On the plus side it meant that the queues were not too long and people were able to talk to their favourite authors as they enjoyed the activities.
was a discussion about Historical Fiction, something that has been seen as “rather boring” by many in the YA world and yet the panel were totally convinced of the opposite. The chair of the panel was Katherine Woodfine and the members were Juno Dawson, Catherine Johnson and Elizabeth Wein, all of them at the forefront of YA writing today. Their motivation for writing about the past differed, with Elizabeth being inspired to write about young women pilots after she gained her own Private Pilot’s Licence, Catherine wanted to read about people like herself (people of colour) and Juno wanted to look at the lives of LGBT young people in the past. The panel spoke about how they went about the process of writing and specifically about the type of research they undertook. I was particularly impressed by Elizabeth Wein who went “Wing Walking” as part of her research! the panel also discussed what we learn from history and how we need to be skeptical about what we read as history is often ‘whitewashed’. they all have their favourite suggestions for getting the ‘feel’ of the book correct; this includes reading period books to get the language right, Pathe newsreels to hear the voices and see the clothes and early films. Just as with Sci-Fi and Fantasy it is vital that the world building is accurate and feels right to the reader.
panel was a large and well respected one including Sophie McKenzie, Teri Terry, Matthew Crow, Karen M McManus and Emily Barr. there was a long discussion about what people used as their main focus; for some it was about the place and going somewhere very different, whilst others tended to use locations that they were very familiar with and which the readers learn to relate to. Everyone agreed about the vital importance of characterization with “People in conflict with others and themselves”. The readers are often in the 12-14 age group and they are also going through great changes in their lives. Overall this was a very stimulating session which I thoroughly enjoyed.
trailers for, it was called “We love Buffy” and was for real aficionados of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I was totally amazed by the knowledge that these people had about the show. They knew the names of the episodes, the characters, the songs; it was incredible. The panel consisted of Katherine Woodfine, Laure Eve, Alison Goodman, Non Pratt, Harriet Reuter Hapgood and Stefan Mohammed and their experience of the series was quite wide ranging, in line with the variations in their ages. Some had watched as children and teens, whilst others had been adults. This meant that their understanding and fear levels were very variable, but they had all been totally sucked into the series and till had that enthusiasm that denotes a true fan. Everyone had their favourite characters, although whenever someone else was mentioned you could hear the mental re-assessment ; however they did agree that “Giles is the world’s coolest librarian” and who am I to disagree with that.
