ACHUKA: November 2006 Archives

Allan Ahlberg and Sheffield School Children in first ever performance of the ‘Please Mrs Butler Songbook’, Monday 4 December, Chesterfield

Allan Ahlberg is currently rehearsing with 45 children from Nethergreen Junior School, Sheffield for a first ever performance of his ‘Please Mrs Butler Songbook’ (Puffin). The performance, to be held at the Pomegranate Theatre, Chesterfield on Monday 4 December is the final date in the Children’s Bookshow: Poetry Matters – an annual tour of children’s poets and authors. The ‘Please Mrs Butler Songbook’ is based on Allan’s poetry collection ‘Please Mrs Butler’ and was set to music by British composer Colin Matthews.

Event Details:

The Children's Bookshow: Poetry Matters
Allan Ahlberg and the children of Nethergreen Junior School, Sheffield Monday 4 December 13:00 Pomegranate Theatre Corporation Street Chesterfield Derbyshire
S41 7TX
children: £3
teachers: free
Box Office: 01246 345222
Email: pomegranate.theatre@chesterfield.gov.uk

Me And My Big Mouth :: The Burden Of Proofs

Scott Pack has a 'rant about proofs'.

I updated the front page with a new ACHUKA Choice (the fantastic information book PICK ME UP from Dorling Kindersley) and a new Site of the Week (a newly designed website from Malcolm Rose) just beofre I left for Sweden, but to my horror I've just seen that I must have forgotten to ftp the new file before leaving for Sweden. Nothing I can do now except apologise.

Anyone interested in finding out what I'm doing in Sweden can check here!

Although the visit is not related to children's books directly, I'm hoping to pick up some ideas and insight into the way schools and children use computers and websites which will help me finetune some plans I have for ACHUKA development in 2007, the year in which we celebrate our tenth birthday.

See who is described as having geeky hotness in this blogged report of the recent IBBY conference by Lady Schrapnell:

http://lady-schrapnell.livejournal.com/59942.html

Malcolm Rose

Malcolm Rose has a newly designed website. It's our current Site of the Week.

Apologies for lack of eLetter update. I'm off to Sweden for a week, so there won't be another update until my return. I hope to be able blog essential news while I'm away.

Cultural Expression And Children's Publishing

By 2010, one in five school children in the UK will be from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) backgrounds, a reality not reflected in the books currently produced. Publishing is a notoriously white, middle class profession, which inevitably affects the acquisition and editorial process for stories written by authors from outside of the dominant culture. In this talk, Laura Atkins reflected on her experiences editing multicultural picture books, and discussed her research on how the publication process has affected children’s books written by non-white authors in the UK.

Link to mp3 audiofile of Laura Atkins' talk av

First UK children’s event for Belgian poet and author Carl Norac

Belgian poet and author Carl Norac will be in London on Wednesday 15 November to perform alongside one of the Michael Rosen. Quentin Blake will chair the event, which is part of The Children’s Bookshow: Poetry Matters. Carl Norac, whose most recent work for children published in the UK includes ‘My Daddy is a Giant’ and ‘Mummy is Magic’ (Macmillan) has never before performed at a children’s event in the UK.

To accompany the Bookshow, Barn Owl Books will publish a comprehensive and exciting new guide to children’s poetry. Universal Verse: Poetry for Children brings together over 200 lively reviews reflecting the best work of individual poets and anthology collections currently available in print within the UK. The book is edited by Deborah Hallford and Edgardo Zaghini who produced the highly acclaimed Outside In: Children's Books in Translation (Milet) which accompanied the Bookshow tour of children's writers from abroad in 2005.

Universal Verse: Poetry for Children
Deborah Hallford, Edgardo Zaghini (Eds) Foreword by Michael Rosen Barn Owl Books

Event Details:

The Children's Bookshow: Poetry Matters
Carl Norac and Michael Rosen chaired by Quentin Blake Wednesday 15 November 18:30 L'Institut Français, 17 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2DT
0207 073 1350

Picture Books Really Do Teach Toddlers, Study Shows Kids 18 to 30 Months Old Learn New Things From Picture Books - CBS News

Reading picture books to 18- to 30-month-old toddlers helps them learn things about the real world, psychologists find [in a study published in Developmental Psychology].

Just One More Book!! ? Interview with Ian Whybrow

Interview with Ian Whybrow
Monday, October 9, 2006. Mark speaks with author Ian Whybrow about writing children’s books that adults will enjoy reading (over and over) and gives us some background on the creation of our favourite Little Wolf.

This podcast first appeared on justonemorebook.com nearly a month ago, but we've only just become aware of the site, which contains lots of other podcasts to listen to as well as profiles on dozens of authors and much else.
Very much worht bookmarking!

Publishing News - News Page

from Publishing News:

...some 15 years after his death, Roald Dahl is to be the subject of a biography. Donald Sturrock... has been chosen by the Dahl family to write an authorized life for publication in 2009.

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Quatermass creator dies, aged 84

Pioneering screenwriter Nigel Kneale, best known for the Quatermass TV serials and films that began in the 1950s, has died at the age of 84.

... ...

His wife Judith Kerr is the creator of the Mog children's books.
The couple had two children: Matthew Kneale, who won the Whitbread Book of the Year award for his novel English Passengers, and Tacy Kneale, a special effects designer who has worked on the Harry Potter films.