The Federation Of Children’s Book Groups (FCBG) Book Awards is based around the top 12 highest scoring titles that the children in their book groups have read that year. Anybody under the age of 18 can register their vote on the FCBG website HERE. I’m cheerleading for the frightfully funny ‘Mutant Zombies Cursed My School … Continue reading The FCBG Children’s Book Award 2020 – introducing ‘Mutant Zombies Cursed my School Trip!’ by Matt Brown, illustrated by Paco Sordo.
I am a huge advocate of funny books and promoting more diverse humorous titles in school and home libraries. That’s why I was so thrilled to be asked to champion one of the titles for this year’s Lollies (The Laugh Out Loud Book Awards 2020), run by Scholastic with Michael Rosen as head judge. The … Continue reading Introducing the Laugh Out Loud Book Award nominee ‘Planet Stan’ by Elaine Wickson (illustrated by Chris Judge)
I recently had a great time at the Oxford Reading Spree, hosted by Ed Finch at Larkrise Primary School. I had been invited to run a workshop about how and why to introduce ‘classic’ children’s literature in a primary school, based on my own experiences. I chose to share some of the texts and activities … Continue reading Introducing classic texts in a primary school (part 2): ‘Treasure Island’ as seen at the Oxford Reading Spree.
The National Curriculum states that children should be exposed to a wide range of texts, including those from our own cultural heritage. So what exactly does that mean? You may have heard these books referred to as ‘heritage texts’ or ‘classics.’ Either way, we aren’t lucky to have a wealth of classic children’s books to … Continue reading Introducing classic texts across the primary school: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (as seen at Reading Rocks South)
It was chatting to Karim and the team from Tiny Owl at the CLiPPA awards which gave me the inspiration for this blog post. There they were, a small award-winning independent publisher with a fantastic and diverse catalogue of titles, yet they still found it very difficult to get their books into the larger retailers. … Continue reading Support Our Small Independent and BAME Publishers – how you can help!
The summer holidays will hopefully be filled with plenty of sunshine and fun but there may be times when you wish your children were doing something a little more productive with their time. Enter Toppsta with their brilliant Summer Reading Bingo challenge (you can also register with the site to review books and enter giveaways … Continue reading Toppsta Summer Reading Bingo Challenge
In my experience, poetry can be an area often overlooked in schools. But why? Personally, I didn’t feel that I knew enough about composing poetry to teach it properly. But what about sharing poems, performing poems, dipping into a volume and seeing what grabs you? That’s the beauty of a good poetry book and the … Continue reading The CLiPPA Shortlist (premier poetry picks)
Empathy Day (June 11th 2019) is a call to action to explore books which can help develop the skill of empathy. In this current climate of change in the U.K. it is more important than ever that our young people are able to understand situations from different perspectives, not just their own. Its organisers, EmpathyLab, … Continue reading Empathy Day – ‘The difference between hearing and listening,’ by Victoria Williamson.
Anna Fargher’s brilliant middle grade title ‘The Umbrella Mouse’ is currently Waterstones Children’s Book Of The month. It tells a tale based on the true stories of some of the animals caught in the conflict of the Second World War, a tale of courage, friendship and resistance. When the Umbrella shop which is the London … Continue reading The Women Who Helped Make D-Day Possible by author of ‘The Umbrella Mouse,’ Anna Fargher.
Have you ever wondered how on earth you could get to meet some of your favourite children’s authors and illustrators? Are you looking to inspire someone who’s lost their love of reading? Or are you perhaps hunting for some new recommendations? Book Boy and I are doing just that at the weekend and will be … Continue reading The Barnes Children’s Literature Festival & Candy Gourlay/ book bundle Giveaways!
Magazines play a huge role in encouraging reading for pleasure - perfect for dipping in and out of, lots of photos and illustrations, a range of different text types. Perfect! And there is definitely something for nearly every interest. Today, I’m showcasing one of Book Boy’s favourites: Kickaround Magazine. I also have a six issue … Continue reading Kickaround Magazine – Plastic-free and proud.
Today it’s my turn to cheerlead for one of the brilliant nominees for the Federation of Children’s Book Groups (FCBG) Children’s Book Award. The finalists were chosen by the children in the book groups and the overall winners are voted for by their readers. As a fan of funny books, I was asked to represent … Continue reading Vote ‘Funny Kid Stand Up,’ by Matt Stanton for the FCBG Children’s Book Awards!
I have been carefully collecting a fantastic range of science-based books (non-fiction and fiction) to share with you during British Science Week- a ten day celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths. I’m going to start off with the information books as they are Book Boy’s favourites! ‘Science is Magic’ written by Steve Mould (DK … Continue reading British Science Week – Part 1: Science Fact
It’s never too early to start teaching young girls (and boys) that they have the power to do whatever they want to. Luckily, girls are no longer consigned to the role of helpless princess in the books available for them to enjoy. I’m going to share with you some of the celebratory and stereotype-busting titles … Continue reading Here Come the Girls! (International Women’s Day)
Those of you who follow my blog or engage with me on Twitter will know that I am passionate about children’s books, all children’s books, and the power they have to transform a child’s life. There are few more powerful things parents can do for their children as babies which will significantly increase their vocabulary … Continue reading The Funny Thing about Funny Books
This year marks twenty years of the Waterstones Children’s Laureateship, a collection of inspirational individuals committed to promoting a love of reading, books and illustration. To celebrate, Walker Books have compiled this very special anthology which is sure to be treasured by anyone with a love of children’s books. Readers in the U.K. have benefitted … Continue reading ‘Flights Of Fancy – stories, pictures and inspiration from ten Children’s Laureates,’ from Walker Books.
Today I’m helping The Federation Of Children’s Book Groups (FCBG) celebrate National Non-Fiction November (#NNFN) with two fantastic titles from Laurence King Publishing. Both very different, but both will help you travel around the globe without leaving your house! ‘Around the World With the Ingreedies: A Taste Adventure’ by Zoë Bather & Joe Sharpe, illustrated … Continue reading National Non-Fiction November – the FCBG Blog Tour
I am very honoured to be kicking off the blog tour for the Lollies 2018 - a celebration of some of the funniest children’s reads out there! I have always believed in the power of funny books to help transform children into readers and to address tricky issues in an accessible way. Unfortunately, some people … Continue reading Welcome to the Lollies 2018 – being a judge & introducing the short-list.
Perhaps you’re looking for a gift that’s a little bit different. Perhaps you want to introduce your own child to fantastic new books and activities each month. Or perhaps you love children’s books and want to treat yourself. Whatever the case, you could try a fabulous books subscription from The Happy Book Company who provide … Continue reading The Happy Book Club
A child’s first experiences of reading can shape their future view of books, so it’s important to ensure they’re exposed to a range of interesting and attractive texts. This is true both at home and at school, where having to plough through a seemingly never-ending series of books about the same characters can really put … Continue reading Maverick Early Readers
Library Girl and Book Boy 