ACHUKAblog
Dress to impress on Elmer Day! These colourful dresses are part of the new range from TU at Sainsbury’s.
We’ve got 5 dresses to give away. To enter just reply telling us the size you would like to win (0-3m, 3-6m, 6-9m, 9-12m, 12-18m). UK only, ends 5pm 16th April. pic.twitter.com/jlFGhqEiOo
— Andersen Press (@AndersenPress) April 15, 2019
Applications are open for Puffin World of Stories 2019.
Puffin launched World of Stories last year, in partnership with the National Literacy Trust and 50 primary schools. Each of the 50 participating schools received boxes of brand new books to reinvigorate their reading corner or library, and teachers and librarians attended specialist training, filled with ideas to make reading for pleasure part of their school culture and bring stories to life.
Now the scheme is open to 80 new schools in Essex, South London, Middlesbrough or Tyne and Wear.
It’s completely free to take part and participating schools will receive:
To apply you need to meet the following criteria:
Penguin Random House Children’s has created a new role of Brand Director and appointed Alex Moyet, whose background is in videogame branding.
The Bookseller reports, “In the newly created role Moyet will lead the children’s consumer and digital marketing and publicity teams, and focus on the development of the Ladybird and Puffin brands.”
Moyet herself says, “There are so many parallels with the video games industry, particularly around franchise building and the battle for mindshare. PRH has some of the best children’s brands and a hugely talented publicity and marketing team so I’m really excited about the opportunity to work with them to find new and dynamic ways to reach and engage young readers.”
STORYMIX is a children’s fiction development company, founded by Jasmine Richards (formerly of OUP), with a focus on inclusive representation
The company will primarily work with emerging and established writers and illustrators from BAME backgrounds.
Anne Sarrag, who launched the Summer Reading Challenge in 1999 to encourage children to read and use their local libraries over the summer holidays, has announced that she will leave her post in September to pursue a freelance career.
The aim of the challenge is to encourage children aged 4 to 11 to borrow and read six library books during the long school holidays when children’s reading skill and confidence can dip. There is a different theme each year and children can read whatever they like. They receive incentives for each library book they finish, and those who read at least six get a certificate or medal.
This week has seen the launch – with a bus tour – of Versify, Kwame Alexander’s new imprint with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in the US.
“I get asked what will make Versify different from other imprints,” says Kwame Alexander. “The truth is we are not reinventing publishing. It’s the same ingredients in our kitchen as everyone else’s: we want to publish books for children that are smart and fun, that inform and inspire, that help children imagine a better world. My goal is just to make sure there are more chefs in the kitchen, more voices in the room, that create unique and intelligent entertainment that electrifies and edifies young people. So yes, I too am looking for the next Mo Willems and Jacqueline Woodson. It’s just that I plan to look far and wide in places unseen to most. As Langston Hughes said, ‘Life is a big sea full of many fish. I let down my nets and pull.'”
The inaugural list [shown above] includes This Undefeated, a picture book that pays tribute to the sacrifices and triumphs of African-Americans, written by Kwame Alexander and illustrated by acclaimed artist Kadir Nelson; The Last Last-Day-of-Summer, a middle-grade modern day Phantom Tollbooth, written by founding member of We Need Diverse Books, Lamar Giles; ¡Vamos! /Let’s Go! the first in a new bilingual picture book series by Pura Belpre award-winning illustrator Raúl the Third; and White Rose, a young adult novel in verse that tells the true story of Nazi resistance leader Sophie Scholl, by YARN Poetry Editor Kip Wilson.
Last year’s winner, Angie Thomas, seen here in the video thumbnail, spoke on video link about the impact winning this important UK prize has had on her sales. Children’s laureate, Lauren Child, presenting the award to the outright winner, spoke of the importance of being recognised early on in a creative career.
The winning author, in true Academy style, thanked her mother.
Tomi Adeyemi… well, watch the footage.
The two winners of the illustrated category received whoops of support.
And Florentyna, Waterstones Children’s Buyer, spun a clever speech threading together the titles of past winners, only a snippet of which is caught here. She also, for the record, kept referring to James Daunt as a pirate.
The original entry about the Prize results has now had this video added.
The author based this book on her 15 years experience as a Senior Textile Conservation Display Specialist at the V&A.
Kit’s father is away AGAIN, and although she’s supposed to be staying with her brother and sister, Kit steals away to visit her grandfather at Moonstone Manor. The costume museum once filled with extravagant wonders, is now an aging house with creaking floorboards and damp walls. The decadent fashion designs seem dull and lifeless. The fabrics worn and dusty. But there is still magic within Moonstone’s walls, and Kit will soon discover that the old costumes hold their own secret splendour . . . because on the stroke of midnight, the costumes come to life. And they’ve got a lot to say.
The illustrator’s website: https://www.trishakrauss.com
A taste of the Bologna Book Fair for those of us stuck in chilly England.
Bart Moeyaert was born in 1964 and lives in Antwerp, Belgium. He made his debut at age 19 with the award-winning novel Duet met valse noten (1983). His large and diverse body of work includes more than 50 titles, ranging from picture books and YA novels to poetry. His critically acclaimed books have been translated in more than 20 countries. He also writes television screenplays and stage plays, has translated a number of novels, and teaches creative writing.
The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (Swedish: Litteraturpriset till Astrid Lindgrens minne) is an international children’s literary award established by the Swedish government in 2002 to honour the Swedish children’s author Astrid Lindgren (1907–2002). The prize of five million SEK, makes it the most financially advantageous award in children’s literature and the one of the richest literary prizes in the world.
The award is administered by the Swedish Arts Council funded solely by the central government