I wouldn't normally use this blog to promote a particular retailer, but Waterstones have a great offer at present that seems too good to ignore. They are offering the first book for £1 in each of five different children's series with free delivery (online) or in-store. It's time limited.
For the younger ones there's Horrid Henry (of course) and Cressida Cowell's Hiccup; for readers aged 9-12 there's Skulduggery Pleasant and Artemis Fowl; and teens can get their teeth into Darren Shan's Demonata series.
Waterstones Children's Books for £1 offer
Wednesday, 29 June 2011
Friday, 24 June 2011
Local Bath illustrator Grahame Baker-Smith wins the 2011 CILIP Greenaway Medal for "FArTHER"
Great excitement amongst the staff and children at St Stephen's School in Bath this week when one of the dads, Grahame Baker-Smith, came into school to show everyone his 2011 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal. He'd been awarded it for his picture book “FArTHER” on 23 June at a ceremony at BAFTA in London. The Greenaway Medal is regarded as the UK's most prestigious children's illustration award.
The Chair of the judging panel said: “FArTHER is a beautifully conceived picture book with a dream-like quality that captures the imagination of readers of all ages. Its wealth of detail conveys both dark emotions: the storms of war and weather, and a powerful sense of loss and bereavement; but also a great sense of hope as vested in future generations”.
Grahame Baker-Smith has been working as an illustrator for the past 30 years. His work includes several books as well as an album cover for Robert Plant. His book “Leon and the Place Between” was shortlisted for the 2010 CILIP Greenaway Medal. Grahame’s clever use of photographs, collage and illustration make his style completely original and unique. "FArTHER" is a picture book to treasure.
Patrick Ness wins the 2011 CILIP Carnegie Medal for "Monsters of Men"
The 2011 CILIP Carnegie Medal 2011 has been awarded to Patrick Ness for his novel, Monsters of Men, the third and final instalment in Ness's "Chaos Walking" trilogy which charts the epic power struggles between the inhabitants of a world where all thoughts are audible; and the relationship which develops between Todd and Viola, his young main characters.
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Uniquely, the two other books in his trilogy, The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and the Answer, were each shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal, in 2009 and 2010 respectively.
Ferelith Hordon, chair of the 2011 judging panel commented: "Monsters of Men is an extraordinary achievement. Ness creates a complex other world, giving great scope to consider big questions about life, love and how we communicate, as well as the horrors of war, and the good and evil that mankind is capable of. It's an enthralling read that is well nigh impossible to put down."
Patrick Ness is an American who has lived in the UK since 1999. The Knife of Never Letting Go was his first novel for young people and was written while he was teaching creative writing at Kellogg College, University of Oxford. It won both the Guardian Award and the Booktrust Teenage Book Prize; The Ask and the Answer won the Costa Book Award.
The CILIP Carnegie Medal is the UK's oldest and most prestigious prize for children's writing. Patrick Ness joins a list of distinguished past winners that includes Neil Gaiman, Philip Pullman, Anne Fine, Terry Pratchett, Noel Streatfeild, CS Lewis and Arthur Ransome. There is no cash prize. Librarians across the country nominate titles to be considered for a shortlist of up to eight, from which the winner is then chosen.
The winners were announced at a ceremony at BAFTA, London on Thursday 23 June.
http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/2011awards/
Uniquely, the two other books in his trilogy, The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and the Answer, were each shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal, in 2009 and 2010 respectively.
Ferelith Hordon, chair of the 2011 judging panel commented: "Monsters of Men is an extraordinary achievement. Ness creates a complex other world, giving great scope to consider big questions about life, love and how we communicate, as well as the horrors of war, and the good and evil that mankind is capable of. It's an enthralling read that is well nigh impossible to put down."
Patrick Ness is an American who has lived in the UK since 1999. The Knife of Never Letting Go was his first novel for young people and was written while he was teaching creative writing at Kellogg College, University of Oxford. It won both the Guardian Award and the Booktrust Teenage Book Prize; The Ask and the Answer won the Costa Book Award.
The CILIP Carnegie Medal is the UK's oldest and most prestigious prize for children's writing. Patrick Ness joins a list of distinguished past winners that includes Neil Gaiman, Philip Pullman, Anne Fine, Terry Pratchett, Noel Streatfeild, CS Lewis and Arthur Ransome. There is no cash prize. Librarians across the country nominate titles to be considered for a shortlist of up to eight, from which the winner is then chosen.
The winners were announced at a ceremony at BAFTA, London on Thursday 23 June.
http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/2011awards/
World Book Night 2012
World Book Night 2012 will be held on Monday 23 April, believed to be the date of both William Shakespeare's birth and his death.
If you want to sign up to find out more you can register at World Book Night 2012.
If you want to sign up to find out more you can register at World Book Night 2012.
Saturday, 18 June 2011
Bath Festival of Children's Literature, 23 September to 2 October 2011
The full programme of events at this year's Bath Festival of Children's Literature can be found here:
http://www.bathkidslitfest.org.uk/
http://www.bathkidslitfest.org.uk/
Wednesday, 8 June 2011
June 2011: our first meeting and our first book
Thanks to everyone who came to our first meeting at Bath Library this morning: it was great to meet you all! I loved sharing such vivid memories of the books we all read as children, or that we remembered being read to us, as well as getting some great ideas for new books to try.
This month we are reading The Family from One End Street, written and illustrated by Eve Garnett, which tells the story of the Ruggles who live at the heart of the fictional town of Otwell. When first published in 1937 it became only the second ever winner of the Carnegie Medal for Children's Literature, beating J R R Tolkien's The Hobbit to the prize, amongst others. In 2007 it was selected by the Carnegie judges as one of the ten most important children's novels of the past 70 years.
Garnett wrote two sequels: The Further Adventures of the Family from One End Street which was published in 1956, and The Holiday at the Dew Drop Inn, published in 1962.
For anyone interested in pairing books to read for comparisons, Jacqueline Wilson's Bed and Breakfast Star (2006) or Sue Townsend's The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 and Three Quarters (1982) could prove interesting choices.
See you all on Wednesday 6 July!
This month we are reading The Family from One End Street, written and illustrated by Eve Garnett, which tells the story of the Ruggles who live at the heart of the fictional town of Otwell. When first published in 1937 it became only the second ever winner of the Carnegie Medal for Children's Literature, beating J R R Tolkien's The Hobbit to the prize, amongst others. In 2007 it was selected by the Carnegie judges as one of the ten most important children's novels of the past 70 years.
Garnett wrote two sequels: The Further Adventures of the Family from One End Street which was published in 1956, and The Holiday at the Dew Drop Inn, published in 1962.
For anyone interested in pairing books to read for comparisons, Jacqueline Wilson's Bed and Breakfast Star (2006) or Sue Townsend's The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 and Three Quarters (1982) could prove interesting choices.
See you all on Wednesday 6 July!
Tuesday, 7 June 2011
New Children's Laureate: Julia Donaldson of Gruffalo fame
Julia Donaldson, author of The Gruffalo books, has today been announced as the new Children's Laureate for 2011-12. Donaldson, 62, the author of more than 120 books including Room on the Broom, Zog, and teenage novel Running on the Cracks, takes over from outgoing laureate Anthony Browne. Born in London and now living in Glasgow, Donaldson is perhaps best known for The Gruffalo, the story of how a mouse outwits a mythical creature.
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She plans to spend much of her laureateship promoting literature through performance. She wants to encourage "10-year-olds to act out stories for younger children". Her biggest challenge, she says, will be the fight against library cutbacks
She plans to spend much of her laureateship promoting literature through performance. She wants to encourage "10-year-olds to act out stories for younger children". Her biggest challenge, she says, will be the fight against library cutbacks
Previous Children's Laureates
- Anthony Browne (2009-11)
- Michael Rosen (2007-09)
- Jacqueline Wilson (2005-07)
- Michael Morpurgo (2003-05)
- Anne Fine (2001-03)
- Quentin Blake (1999-2001)
Monday, 6 June 2011
Frome Festival 2011: Children's Literature Day, Thursday 14 July and Writers' & Publishers' Day, Sunday 10 July
This year's Frome Festival http://www.fromefestival.co.uk will include its first ever children's literature day. To be held on Thursday 14 July the ABC Day will host sessions with popular West Country children's authors including Peter Bently (The Great Dog Bottom Swap and Vampire School), Emma Craigie (Chocolate Cake with Hitler), Jeremy de Quidt (The Toymaker), Rachel Ward (The Numbers Trilogy) and Brenda Williams (Home for a Tiger, Home for a Bear). Sessions will be available for all ages from 4 to 14+ and will take place throughout the day at Frome Library and Holy Trinity Church Hall. All tickets are £1.
Teatime Treats will be a free event for all festival-goers. If you have an interest in children's books, get along to Frome Library at 4.00pm on 14 July for tea, cake and a chance to meet a wealth of local talent from the world of children's literature. Participating writers and illustrators will include Mike Brownlow, Annabel Claridge, David Gatward, Kate Maryon, Helen Moore, Emma Newman, Jeremy de Quidt and Joffre White ... and maybe others too.
Sunday 10 July sees Frome Library hosting a star-packed Writers and Publishers' Day, including workshops and one-to-one surgeries for aspiring authors with a host of famous literary agents, creative writing tutors and published authors.
Teatime Treats will be a free event for all festival-goers. If you have an interest in children's books, get along to Frome Library at 4.00pm on 14 July for tea, cake and a chance to meet a wealth of local talent from the world of children's literature. Participating writers and illustrators will include Mike Brownlow, Annabel Claridge, David Gatward, Kate Maryon, Helen Moore, Emma Newman, Jeremy de Quidt and Joffre White ... and maybe others too.
Sunday 10 July sees Frome Library hosting a star-packed Writers and Publishers' Day, including workshops and one-to-one surgeries for aspiring authors with a host of famous literary agents, creative writing tutors and published authors.
Our First Book Group Meeting This Week: Bath Library, Wednesday 8 June, 1030 am
It's our first meeting this week! Wednesday 8 June, 1030 am, Bath Central Library, The Podium, Northgate Street, BA1 5AN.
We plan to get to know each other by talking about our own favourite children’s books - what makes them so special to us, and why - and about any books that we’d like the group to consider for our future reading. I am sure it will go well! Everyone seems very enthusiastic. We must have cake ...
Anyone else who may be interested in joining us, please telephone Bath Library on 01225 787422, or come along on the day.
We plan to get to know each other by talking about our own favourite children’s books - what makes them so special to us, and why - and about any books that we’d like the group to consider for our future reading. I am sure it will go well! Everyone seems very enthusiastic. We must have cake ...
Anyone else who may be interested in joining us, please telephone Bath Library on 01225 787422, or come along on the day.
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