ACHUKA Children's Books UK

children's & YA recommendations on the go

You are here: Home / Blog

Wendy Cooling Obituaries & Appreciations

By Leave a Comment

wendycooling

Wendy with Helen [Dunning] at the Puffin Summer Party 2007

Here is a selection of obituaries and appreciations of Wendy Cooling, whose death I was shocked to discover on opening the obituaries page in yesterday’s Times. The earlier Guardian obituary had passed me by and somehow or other the vagaries of the Twitter algorithm must have hidden all comment about her passing from my feed. The selection will be added to as and when I become aware of more.

I am very sorry for being so late in posting this news. My reaction was similar to that of Camilla Reid, writing on the Nosy Crow blog (see the link below):

I almost felt that it was impossible for Wendy to actually die. This is bonkers, obviously, but anyone who ever met her cannot have failed to notice in Wendy a vitality, a force of positive energy that is rare to encounter and would fool you into thinking it would go on forever.

She must have been at practically every children’s publishing event I ever attended in London. If she wasn’t, it would mean she was on one of her regular travelling expeditions, and if she was, you could bet that conversation would be as likely to be about her latest adventures in India, as it would about children’s books.

She will be greatly missed.

CLIPPA 2020 In Partnership With The Times & Cheltenham Literature Festival

By Leave a Comment

CLPE (Centre for Literacy in Primary Education) and The Times and The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival have created a new partnership which will see the CLiPPA (CLPE Poetry Award) celebrated in the Festival’s programme for schools and families, and the winner announced in a very special Festival Poetry Show on Friday 9 October.

Established in 2003, the CLiPPA is the UK’s only annual award for published poetry for children. Its Shadowing Scheme allows schools to explore the poetry on the shortlist with their pupils and each year prompts hundreds of poetry performances in classrooms across the UK.

The CLiPPA is normally celebrated with a special event at the National Theatre featuring performances by the shortlisted poets and school children.  Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that was not possible this year and the CLiPPA was postponed. The new partnership between CLPE and The Times and The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival will enable this important celebration of poetry for children to go ahead, and schools across the UK and beyond are invited to watch and take part.

The shortlist for the 2020 CLiPPA will be announced on National Poetry Day, 1 October, the eve of The Times and The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival, which opens on Friday 2 October. Poetry will be celebrated throughout the Festival’s programme of school and family events, with previous CLiPPAwinner Joseph Coelho amongst poets taking part. 

The winner of the CLiPPA will then be revealed at the culmination of the schools’ programme, on Friday 9 October, in a Poetry Show introduced by CLiPPAjudges, poets Valerie Bloom and Steven Camden, and featuring performances by the shortlisted poets.  Schools across the UK and beyond will be able to watch the show for free on The Times and The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival platform and access poetry CPD sessions created by CLPE.

Loraine Evans, Family and Schools Programme Manager for the Literature Festival said, “Poetry has always been an important part of our programme for schools and families, so the partnership with CLPE is a perfect fit. We are delighted to be the home of the 2020 CLiPPA, always one of the highlights of the children’s books calendar, and the Poetry Show will be an unmissable event!”

Louise Johns-Shepherd, Chief Executive of CLPE, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be working with The Times and The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival on this and delighted that with the support of Loraine and the team, the CLiPPA will be celebrated in such style and watched by thousands of teachers and children.  We will launch our shadowing scheme at the Poetry Show so that all the watching schools can join in, get involved and create their own poetry performances.”

Satoshi Kitamura’s key to children’s literature? Making complex ideas simple

By Leave a Comment

Kitamura says, “My books are probably most popular in Latin America, especially in Mexico and Colombia. But I think children’s literature, specifically picture books, is quite universal. I do not adjust my work for a particular audience in terms of countries, languages or cultural backgrounds. I do try to make my books as accessible as possible to younger readers although it does not mean to make them ‘simple.’ You can deliver quite complex ideas or concepts if you depict them correctly in both words and pictures, and that’s the essence of children’s literature.”

Read full piece >>> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2020/04/18/books/satoshi-kitamura-children-literature/#.Xuhs4i2ZNn5

 

The Puffin Festival Of Dreams

By Leave a Comment

A seven-day online festival in partnership with Waterstones from 8 – 14 June for families to celebrate the power of imagination and Puffin’s 80th birthday – watch on Puffin Facebook and YouTube channels.

Join authors, illustrators and real Puffins for a week of events, travelling through Puffin’s 80 year history… Illustrator in Residence Nick Sharratt will be drawing dreams all week. 

Monster Doughnuts Debut With Piccadilly Press

By Leave a Comment

 

Gianna Pollero-Payne, writing under her maiden name of Pollero, will have her first children’s book, Monster Doughnuts, published next summer, with two more to follow, with publishers Piccadilly Press, an imprint of Bonnier Books UK.

Read more >>> https://www.kentonline.co.uk/whats-on/news/monster-book-deal-for-first-time-childrens-author-227725/

Author webiste: https://www.giannapollero.com/

Klaus Flugge Prize Shortlist

By Leave a Comment

The shortlist for the Klaus Flugge Prize was announced this evening (Tuesday 19 May), LIVE on Twitter and on YouTube.

2020 is the fifth year of the prize, which was set up to honour Klaus Flugge, founder of Andersen Press and an extremely influential figure in children’s picture books. It is awarded to the most promising and exciting newcomer to children’s picture book illustration.

From a longlist of sixteen picture books by debut illustrators, the panel of judges comprising award-winning illustrator Mini Grey; Jessica Love, 2019 Klaus Flugge Prize winner; Meera Ghanshamdas, bookseller at Moon Lane Ink; children’s book consultant Jake Hope; and Pam Smy of Anglia Ruskin University, have chosen five titles to shortlist.

KLAUS FLUGGE SHORTLIST

  • When Sadness Comes to Call, Eva Eland, editor Libby Hamilton, designer Rebecca Garrill (Andersen Press)
    What the judges said: ‘beautifully simple and pared back; the page layouts seem sparse and crisp but the work the illustrations are doing is quite extraordinary in terms of the message that sadness is something we might have to live with.’

Eva Eland’s examination of sadness, represented by a misty little monster, simply and unforgettably conveys a sophisticated message in a masterpiece of minimalism.

  • The Star in the Forest, Helen Kellock, editor Anna Ridley, designer Aaron Hayden (Thames & Hudson)
    What the judges said: ‘few books these days use light and tone or traditional watercolour skills to tell stories; it’s worked into something quite magical here.’

Helen Kellock uses light and composition to create an atmospheric starry adventure, that glows with family love.

  • Where is Your Sister?, Puck Koper, editor Suzanne Carnell, designer Jo Spooner (Two Hoots)
    What the judges said: ‘goes at a wonderful pace, with laugh out loud moments. It’s stylish and feels very sophisticated for a first book’.

Using a limited palette, Dutch artist Puck Koper creates a frantic dash through a department store which is both a search and find story, and an accurately observed and very funny family adventure.

  • On the Origin of Species, Sabina Radeva, editor Anna Barnes Robinson, designer Keren Greenfeld (Puffin)
    What the judges said: ‘It’s full of detail and really reflects the beauty of nature. A feat of managing that amount of detail without it feeling cluttered. A wonderful reference book, a real companion for a child.’

A one-time molecular biologist, Sabina Radeva utilises her passion for science to retell Darwin’s famous work, mining the depths of inventiveness to convey information through few words and wonderful pictures.

  • One Fox: A Counting Book Thriller, Kate Read, editor Suzanne Carnell, designer Jo Spooner
    What the judges said: ‘Visually stunning. There’s real drama here and the way the story is told is joyous. She’s done a very clever thing and created a counting book while keeping within the beats of a story.’

Kate Read uses bold colours, composition and collage to tell the story of one famished fox’s encounter with some angry hens, making this counting book a real thriller.

Chair of the judges Julia Eccleshare said: “Our shortlist demonstrates the vibrancy of contemporary illustration for children. Here are five very different books – the illustrators have different styles, use different techniques and have different intentions, but each achieves exactly what they set out to do with pictures that perfectly tell their stories. The Klaus Flugge Prize has already highlighted many talented illustrators and in the fifth year of this important award, we’re delighted to have another extremely strong and eye-catching shortlist.”

The shortlist was due to be announced at a live event at Foyles Charing Cross Road on Tuesday 19th May. Instead, judge and 2019 winner Jessica Love announced the shortlist live via Twitter and Youtube.

The final winner will be revealed on Wednesday 16th September 2020 and will receive a cheque for £5,000.

Indie Book Awards 2020 Shortlists

By Leave a Comment

 

CHILDREN’S FICTION SHORTLIST
– Toffee by Sarah Crossan (Bloomsbury)
– Deeplight by Frances Hardinge (Macmillan Children’s Books)
– Chinglish: An Almost Entirely True Story by Sue Cheung (Andersen Press)
– The Star Outside my Window by Onjali Q. Rauf (Orion Children’s Books)
– The Somerset Tsunami by Emma Carroll (Faber & Faber)
– The Girl Who Speaks Bear by Sophie Anderson (Usborne)

PICTURE BOOK SHORTLIST
– Animalphabet by Julia Donaldson & Sharon King-Chai (Two Hoots)
– Greta and the Giants by Zoe Tucker & Zoe Persico (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books)
– Don’t Worry Little Crab by Chris Haughton (Walker Books)
– Alfie on Holiday by Shirley Hughes (Puffin Books)
– I’m Sticking With You by Smriti Halls and Steve Small (Simon & Schuster)
– Franklin and Luna Go To The Moon by Jen Campbell, illustrated by Katie Harnett (Thames & Hudson)

 

Previous winners:

Children’s category:
2019: The Storm Keeper’s Island by Catherine Doyle
2018: Where the World Ends by Geraldine McCaughrean 
2017: A Poem for Every Night of the Year by Allie Esiri
2016: Pugs of the Frozen North by Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre
2015: An Island of Our Own by Sally Nicholls 
2014: Flora & Ulysses by Kate Di Camillo, illustrated by K.G. Campbell
2013: Wonder by RJ Palacio
2012: One Dog and His Boy by Eva Ibbotson
2011: Artemis Fowl and the Atlantis Complex by Eoin Colfer
2010: Running Wild by Michael Morpurgo
2009: Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer
2008: The Sleepwalker by Robert Muchamore
2007: Alone on a Wide, Wide Sea by Michael Morpurgo

Picture Book category:
2019: If All the World Were … by Joseph Coelho and illustrated by Allison Colpoys
2018:  Lots: The Diversity of Life on Earth by Nicola Davies and illustrator, Emily Sutton
2017: Tidy by Emily Gravett
2016: Stanley the Amazing Knitting Cat by Emily MacKenzie
2015: A Walk in Paris by Salvatore Rubbino
2014: A First Book of Nature by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Mark Hearld

The Queen’s Knickers Award Shortlist

By Leave a Comment

The Queen’s Knickers Award (inaugural year)

The shortlist for this new annual prize, founded by Nicholas Allan, author of The Queen’s Knickers (to be awarded for an outstanding children’s original illustrated book for ages 0-7) has just been announced.

The prize will recognise books that strike a quirky, new note and grab the attention of a child, whether this be in the form of curiosity, amusement, horror or excitement.

This year’s award is judged by Alexis Deacon, Emily Gravett and Korky Paul.

  • Umbrella written and illustrated by Elena Arevalo Melville
  • Mr Tiger, Betsy and the Sea Dragon written by Sally Gardner, illustrated by Nick Maland
  • How to Light Your Dragon written by Didier Lévy, illustrated by Fred Benaglia
  • One Fox written and illustrated by Kate Read
  • Child of St Kilda written and illustrated by Beth Waters