How Roland Rolls, a new children’s book from Jim Carrey.
The book, aimed at ages 4-8, tells the story of a wave named Roland who’s afraid his life will be over on the day he hits the beach.
Ringo Starr song Octopus’s Garden to be turned into children’s book
Forty-five years after it was written, Ringo Starr’s song about wanting to "be under the sea / In an octopus’s garden in the shade" is to be turned into a children’s book.
Starr has given permission for his Beatles song Octopus’s Garden, which describes his wish to "ask my friends to come and see / An octopus’s garden with me", to be published as a picture book by Simon & Schuster.
via Ringo Starr song Octopus's Garden to be turned into children's book | Books | guardian.co.uk.
Introducing: The Children’s Book Blog | Rebecca Davies | Independent Arts Blogs
The Independent Launches A Children’s Books Blog
Rebecca Davies has announced that she will be posting items regularly to a children’s books blog on The Independent. Her announcement includes a call for review suggestions…
Welcome to the Independent’s brand new children’s book blog! If you’re 16 or under and love a good story, then you’ve come to the right place. If you’re a parent, teacher or anyone else with an interest in children’s reading, this is for you too. And if you’re an aspiring children’s writer or illustrator, there’ll be plenty for you as well – including the chance to see your work reviewed in this blog.
If you’re looking for a good children’s book to get stuck into, check back once a week for my ‘recommended reads’. I’ll be covering new releases and old favourites, including picture books, adventure stories, teen fiction and much, much more. I might even go all modern and review the odd storytelling app.
Once a month I’ll reserve my recommendation slot for a brilliant children’s book that I feel hasn’t been getting the attention it deserves.
via Introducing: The Children’s Book Blog | Rebecca Davies | Independent Arts Blogs.
Black characters put parents off books, new Children’s Laureate says
The 51-year-old author of the Noughts & Crosses teenage book series vowed to use her two-year tenure to “bang the drum” for diversity, saying it was vital for young people to learn about different cultures.
“Children will go with any story as long as its good but white adults sometimes think that if a black child’s on the cover it is perhaps not for them,” she said.
“Books teach children to see the world through the eyes of others and empathise with others. It’s about the story.”
Blackman, a London-born author whose parents came to Britain from Barbados, said there was a distinct lack of black and Asian children in picture books.
She said that when she was younger, she never once read a book that featured a black child, which left her feeling “totally invisible”.
via Black characters put parents off books, new Children’s Laureate says – Telegraph.
The future of children’s books – a Highland and Islands event
WRITERS in the Highlands and Islands have a unique opportunity to gain vital insights and information on the latest trends in children’s publishing and what publishers are currently looking for, at two events in Inverness hosted by two of the industry’s leading figures.
Kate Wilson, managing director of highly innovative and original children’s publisher Nosy Crow, and Kathryn Ross of Scotland’s leading literary agency for children’s authors Fraser Ross Associates, will lead the sessions on Wednesday 5th June at the Mercure Hotel, Inverness.
Guardian Review
Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell, reviewed by Simon Mason
Simon Mason quite likes this ‘dotty’ novel. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it when I read it, and felt it somehow missed being a great read. I shall be interested to see what children make of it…
Katherine Rundell’s charmingly lyrical style is dotty in the way Charles is dotty. In the London section she seems interested mainly in conversations, which have a high quota of witticism (wearing a skirt, Sophie looks as if she’s "mugged a librarian") and aphorisms (lawyers have all "the decency and courage of lavatory paper"). In general, her metaphors are determinedly original. Such verbal showiness, though entertaining, has the disadvantage of showing up the misses as well as the successes, and in the early stages the story has the contrived manner, but not the solidly exciting matter, of a fairytale.
This changes the moment Sophie climbs up through the skylight in her Parisian hotel bedroom to the rooftop above. All her life she has been a keen tree-climber, drawn to heights. Now, standing above the city, she is liberated – and the story is liberated with her. Almost immediately she realises she’s not alone up there. A feral boy called Matteo lives on the roof of the law courts, and the drama of his encounter with Sophie and their subsequent partnership is thrilling. The roof-top world is grittily real, the stuff of broken toes and roasted rat and howling gales. Breaking away from Charles’s protection, Sophie finally expresses the Pippi Longstocking-like wilfulness only coyly hinted at before. Even the showy metaphors thin out. There’s a gripping journey of exploration, an extraordinary feast and a tremendous fight between Sophie, Matteo and their tree-dwelling friends and a wolf-like pack of boys from the station area.
via Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell – review | Books | The Guardian.
Orion Children’s buys middle-grade debut
Orion deal:
Orion Children’s Books has acquired a debut novel described as "a fresh and exciting new voice for middle grade readers" by Irish author Nigel Quinlan.
Editorial director Amber Caraveo bought world rights excluding US in the fantasy adventure title, Nothing to Do With Leaves, from Jenny Savill at Andrew Nurnberg Associates. The book will be published in hardback and e-book in spring 2015, and by Roaring Brook Press in the US.
via Orion Children's buys middle-grade debut | The Bookseller.
Husband-wife team launch Zoobean to make searching for kids books smarter
Zoobean launched [yesterday] to make it easier for parents to find books that are the most relevant for their children.
Zoobean is a curated catalog of children’s books. Every book on the site is recommended by parents and categorized using “common sense” tags. Parents can search for books that explore specific themes, like bullying, the death of a pet, or magic as well as browse by age group, character background, or genre.
Zoobean was founded by a husband-and-wife duo who both built a carer in education. Felix Brandon Lloyd was named a Washington, D.C., Teacher of the Year for 2000-2001. He went on to build and sell a platform called Skill-Life that taught children about financial literary through online games. Jordan Lloyd Bookey is a former teacher who also directed a DC-based nonprofit supporting literacy efforts in low-income neighborhoods and is the outgoing head of Google’s K-12 Education Outreach.
via Husband-wife team launch Zoobean to make searching for kids books smarter | VentureBeat.
Walliams book adapted for TV show
David Walliams’s best-selling childrens book Gangsta Granny is to be brought to life as a Christmas family drama for the BBC. The tale follows last year’s seasonal special when another of his novels, Mr Stink, was adapted starring Hugh Bonneville as a kindly tramp. Walliams will work on the script along with Kevin Cecil and Andy Riley who have previously worked on Gnomeo and Juliet and Robbie The Reindeer. The hour-long BBC1 film, which has yet to be cast, revolves around schoolboy Ben who is bored at his grandmother’s house until he learns she was formerly an international jewel thief and has been plotting to steal the crown jewels.The story was first published in 2011…
via Walliams book adapted for TV show – BelfastTelegraph.co.uk.
Cressida Cowell: My favourite children’s books – Telegraph
Cressida Cowell: My favourite children’s books
Cressida Cowell on books to make children laugh out loud, cry on the pages and want to be a hero.
via Cressida Cowell: My favourite children's books – Telegraph.
Cressida Cowell’s latest book is How to Seize a Dragon’s Jewel. She is appearing at the Telegraph Hay Festival on May 23 (hayfestival.org)