Guardian feature about Cornelia Funke:
"I ask her how a German author writes without writing about the Holocaust. "I have been waiting for this question," she says slowly. "I am happy I have it finally."
Dina Rabinovitch
Same page includes an appreciation, by John Crace, of Biggles in the Baltic
Letter to The Times about a redisscovered poem by Roald Dahl
Sunday Times Children's Book of the Week
Lion Boy by Zizou Corder:
"The novel is set in the future, although the tone of the book is freshly contemporary — Isabel’s contribution, perhaps. Its weakness is that it really does feel like the first in a trilogy — it ends hopefully, but with no sense of closure." NICOLETTE JONES
Jan Mark reviews The Various by Steve Augarde:
"For all that adults might find to admire in it, it is nevertheless a big, generous children's book. These days, the discovery that a work of fantasy is the first of a trilogy can chill the blood. Not this time." JAN MARK
Man with the golden pen - www.smh.com.au
"[Anthony] Horowitz, best-selling children's author, is on tour. He has just grabbed half an hour in his hotel room to write chapter 12 of his next Alex Rider teen spy thriller, Scorpio, and he has come down to the foyer for the interview carrying the neatly typed manuscript in his hand - but he won't give away his new murder method just yet."
To Stars, Writing Books Looks Like Child's Play
"Once upon a time there was a land in love with fame and brand names. By and by, some famous brand-name people, holed up in their castles, discovered a new trade. They started writing books for children... ..."
Long NYT feature about celeb.s writing children's books.
Telegraph | Arts | 'Oh, perispomenon!'
I've only just come across this review, by Michel Faber, of Alan Garner's Thursbitch:
"in a juvenile publishing scene currently dominated by the comfy nostalgia of Harry Potter, the amiable wisecrackery of Terry Pratchett, and movie tie-ins that might as well be sold in McDonald's, the kind of books that Garner once saw fit to write - disturbing, mind-expanding but still highly readable - are all too rare... "
Objective: Reading teens - marionstar.com
Report of a school visit by Margaret Peterson Haddix, the author of Among The Hidden, Among The Betrayed and Running Out Of Time
BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Arts | Author backs children's theatre
Prize-winning children's author Philip Pullman has said that children are being denied the experience of theatre while at school... ...
See details about forthcoming production of His Dark Materials
The Observer | Review | Picture books: Oct 19
Picture book reviews by Kate Kellaway in The Observer
See also Kate Kellaway's enthusiastic review ("deserves a roar of approval") of Lion Boy by Zizou Corder.
And Kit Spring's Teenage Fiction reviews....
Guardian Unlimited Books | Review | Review: Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo
Michael Morpurgo's Private Peaceful enables Diane Samuels to explore distant memories of the first world war...
Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo
The Fire-Eaters - www.smh.com.au
"This is a wonderful book, offering sustenance for times when the miraculous seems beyond reach. Another Carnegie Medal, perhaps?" asks Australian reviewer
Cape Argus - On my bedside table: Janie Oosthuysen
Janie Oosthuysen is responsible for making Harry Potter accessible to thousands of Afrikaans children, through her translations of the four books in the series. She's also the author of "about 14" children's books.
The children's author, Tessa Krailing, died on Monday October 13th after a long illness. She was the author of many Oxford Reading Tree titles and other early readers.
The 2 Steves (Steve Barlow & Steve Skidmore) are LIVE on THE BIG TOE SHOW on (digital) BBC Radio 7 TODAY Friday 17th Oct between 4 - 6pm.
If you don't have a digital radio, you can still listen in by logging on to:
Hernando: Parent challenges children's library book
"A board member of the National Coalition Against Censorship, Blume expressed dismay with people who would rather take away materials than discuss tough issues with their children.
"You take a book away from a child it's, well, why? You need to explain why," she said. "It isn't a book about masturbation. It's a book about parental expectations. . . . When, when, when are we ever going to be done with this? Never, I guess."... ..."
JS Online: Lemony Snicket's sticking to his story
"although "Basic Eight" was aimed at adults, it was set in a high school.
The manuscript had found its way to editors of children's books, and several asked if Handler was interested in writing a book for that market.
"I thought it was a terrible idea," Handler said. "But this one editor, Susan Rich, persisted, and to get her off my back as much as anything else, I said, 'I do have this idea, but I think you'll hate it. We'll meet in a bar, so once you hate it, we'll just have a drink and you won't have wasted any time talking to me.' "
They met, and he pitched his idea for mock Victorian novels for children. Very bad things would happen to three orphaned children.... ..."
This NYT cartoon imagines J K Rowling deciding to become a pop diva like Madonna.
Tres amusing.
Guardian Unlimited Books | Review | Roaring along
Adele Geras reviews Lion Boy by Zizou Corder
"Corder writes well enough and has enough humour and liveliness to carry the story along at a cracking pace and with several excellent jokes. Easily the funniest are Fred van Deelen's scale-drawings on every map, which made me laugh out loud..."
BBC - Radio 4 - Arts and Drama - Front Row - Children's Book Week
"To mark children's books week Front Row looks at new trends in publishing for young people. David Almond, Caroline Royds and Michael Rosen gave their recommendations to Francine Stock..."
Telegraph | News | Forget the namby-pamby girly stuff, here are ripping yarns for real chaps
plus a bbc.co.uk page
News of a new boys-only imprint, Young Spitfire:
"...Our criteria is that we want bloody good reads." Of Harry Potter, Elliott said: "It's typical of modern children's books in which there is a boy and a girl and the girl is as good as the boy. Just William [which features the unattractive Violet Elizabeth Bott as the only girl of substance] is a much better read for boys.
"Violet Elizabeth Bott was a whingeing, snivelling sneak who was always frightened. That is how I would like the girls to be."
The 2003 Eleanor Farjeon Award winner is:
Miriam Hodgson
Overlooked last Saturday, this joint review by Amanda Craig of The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud and Lionboy by Zizou Corder, both books expensively acquired and heavily marketed.
"Stroud?s sinister world is imagined in baroque and energetic detail, Corder?s in brighter, simpler colours. Though Rowling need not lose any sleep over either, both deserve their good fortune."
Lionboy has its formal launch at the Puffin offices this evening.
Guardian Unlimited | World Latest | List of 2003 MacArthur Foundation Fellows
The list of 24 fellows announced by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, each of whom will receive $500,000 over five years, includes a children's author (Angela Johonson) and an author/illustrator (Peter Sis):
Sunday Times Children's Book of the Week:
Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo
theBookseller.com - Arts Council builds children's b
"The Arts Council is to develop a new children's literature strategy encompassing all areas of children's books, from bookselling and publishing to teacher training and book promotion. A consultation paper was launched by the Arts Council this week. The consultation period will last to 14th November [see below], and the final recommendations will be announced on 4th December..."
The Arts Council Press Release
Download the consultation paper, From looking glass to spyglass...
Conspicuously missing from this consultation paper is any mention of the role of websites in the promotion of children's books and reading. You can be sure that ACHUKA will make this a central theme of our response to the paper. Page 7 observes generally: "Children?s literature promotion is a vast and active field in which valuable work often takes place in a rather fragmented and piecemeal way." No more so than online!
CNN.com - 'Shrek' author dead at 95 - Oct. 4, 2003
"William Steig, a prolific illustrator for The New Yorker known as the "King of Cartoons" for his award-winning, best-selling children's books including "Shrek," has died. He was 95..."
Guardian Unlimited Books | By genre | Amazing stories
GUARDIAN CHILDREN'S LITERATURE SPECIAL
Includes comment from Michael Morpurgo on the Guardian Fiction Award shortlist: "The shortlist we had arrived at was strong. All were for older readers. Sadly there was in this instance a lack of fine novels for younger children. However, I do feel strongly that novels for younger children should appear more often in our shortlists. It would be a great shame if the children's book world were to neglect the best in younger novels in the same way the adult book world has neglected the best of children's fiction."
And enough review coverage to fill your weekend.
Guardian Unlimited Books | Review | Plots, puzzles and a punctured poodle
The winner of this year's Guardian award is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Claire Armitstead talks to the author, Mark Haddon
All during October 2003, the Young Adult Reading Group on www.readerville.com, will be hosting a discussion of Malorie Blackman?s NOUGHTS AND CROSSES, a tale of two young people whose friendship reaches across a perilous racial divide. Malorie Blackman will be dropping by to respond to participants? questions and comments, so it should be a particularly exciting discussion for fans of her work.
For anyone who?s interested, the discussion starts at this URL [you will need to register]:
http://www.readerville.com/WebX?14@@.f210b27/0
Malorie Blackman was one of the judges for the Guardian Children's Fiction Award...
Guardian
Winner
Mark Haddon has won the Guardian Children's Fiction Award, judged this year by Michael Morpurgo, Malorie Blackman and Philip Ardagh, and chaired by Julia Eccleshare. The prize was announced at an Award Party held in The Newsroom, Thursday October 2nd. Accepting the prize (to accompany the cheque Claire Armitstead, Guardian literary editor, presented Haddon with a red toy car with a prime number for its registration plate), Haddon paid moving tribute to his wife, recently injured in a cycling accident while 28 weeks pregnant.
 | The Curous Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon |
CBBC Newsround | UK | Kids' author makes millions from latest book
"A children's author has made millions from his latest book, The Amulet of Samarkand, and it's not even in the shops yet."
Short feature about Jonathan Stroud, whose book is launched today at a jacket-and-tie event at the Carlton Club.
Robert Munsch Appointed Honorary Chair of Family Literacy Day 2004
ABC CANADA Literacy Foundation has announced
that Robert Munsch, one of Canada's best-selling children's authorhs, has been re-appointed
Honorary Chair for Family Literacy Day in 2004.
