The English/French collaborative South Ken Kids Festival 16-22 November is on at the French Institute in South Kensington, London. This unique festival for nursery, primary and secondary age students is a celebration of reading, writing and drawing, and features authors, translators and illustrators from both sides of the Channel, including: Beatrice Alemagna, Sarah Ardizzone, Bernardo Atxaga, Barroux, Alex Barrow & Gabby Dawnay, Stephanie Blake, Françoize Boucher, Joseph Coelho, C.J. Daugherty, Bruno Heitz, Emily Hughes, Magali Le Huche, Marjolaine Leray, Bridget Marzo, Marie-Aude Murail, Delphine Perret, Claude Ponti, Michael Rosen, Carina Rozenfeld, Tony Ross, Axel Scheffler, Sam Usher, Michel Van Zeveren and of course the festival’s beloved patron Quentin Blake!
To celebrate the award-winning author, Elizabeth Laird and Children’s Laureate, Chris Riddell’s nomination for the Hans Christian Andersen Award, IBBY UK is hosting an event at Waterstones 203 Piccadilly in London on Wednesday 4th November. They will be in conversation with Nicolette Jones, Children’s Books Editor of the Sunday Times. Proceedings start at 6.30pm, and drinks and light refreshments will be served. Both authors will be signing copies of their books. Tickets are £6. To reserve your place email Nikki Marsh events@ibby.org.uk or telephone 07808 582285.
A new human rights children’s book award from Amnesty International has been announced in conjunction with the prestigious CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Children’s Book Awards. Beginning with the 2016 medals, a title from each of the prestigious shortlists will receive the Amnesty CILIP Honour, a thumbs up for the books that most distinctively illuminate, uphold or celebrate freedoms. The books receiving the commendation will be able to carry an Amnesty CILIP Honour logo. The 2016 nominated books have also been recently announced – see the Carnegie fiction nominations here and the Kate Greenaway illustrator award nominations here. The nominations will be reduced to a longlist in November and then a shortlist in March for the final awards in June 2016. Schools are invited to shadow the awards following the shortlist announcement in March 2016.
The longlisted books for the UKLA Book Awards 2016 have also been announced. These awards are judged by your fellow teachers and recognise children’s books that enhance all aspects of literacy learning. There are three age categories: Ages 3-6; Ages 7-11; Ages 12-16+. There is also a shadowing scheme for student teachers and a separate award called ‘Our Class Loves This Book: The John Downing Award’ which invites imaginative and creative teacher-led class responses to the previous year’s shortlisted titles (i.e. the 2016 Award will be based on the 2015 shortlist). The 2015 winner was Emma Faulkner and her Y6 class at Stenson Fields Primary Community School, Derby with their response to Blackberry Blue and Other Fairy Tales by Jamila Gavin (Tamarind Books). The judges said of the winning entry:
Members of the panel were captivated by each page of Emma Faulkner’s imaginative and truly innovative submission. Our delight in turning the pages, looking in the envelopes and enjoying the photographs, reflected the children’s immersion in the text. The panel was particularly impressed by the attention to detail evident throughout this project, and its lasting impact on the children and their teacher. We were left in no doubt that children in the class had been inspired by other texts on the UKLA shortlist, as well as Blackberry Blue, and that they will continue to pursue their love of literature throughout their lives. Lucky children! (from the UKLA website)
Michael Rosen’s new exhibition Bear Hunt, Chocolate Cake and Bad Things is a giant interactive exhibition for children and families at the Discover Children’s Story Centre in Stratford, London and runs until April 2016. Have a look at the amazing photos from inside the exhibition from the Guardian Children’s Book website!
