Tag: Bookbug

City authors dominate Children’s Book Awards shortlist

FREE TO USE - Scottish Children’s Book Awards shortlist is announced.

Edinburgh-based authors have dominated the shortlist for the 2016 Scottish Children’s Book Awards, with four out of the nine shortlisted authors hailing from the city.

Emily MacKenzie, Elizabeth Laird, Danny Weston and Joan Lingard are all up for the prestigious awards, which celebrate the most popular children’s and young adult books by Scottish authors or illustrators.

Run by Scottish Book Trust with support from Creative Scotland, they are Scotland’s largest book awards with a total prize fund of £12,000 – the nine shortlisted authors and illustrators receive £500 per book, and the three winning books receive £3,000 each.

Emily MacKenzie, who lives in the New Town and studied Graphic Design at Edinburgh College of Art, has been shortlisted in the Bookbug Readers (3-7 yrs) category for her debut picture book Wanted! Ralfy Rabbit Book Burglar, published by Bloomsbury.

She was recently shortlisted for The Independent Bookshop Week Children’s Picture Book Award and her second book, Stanley The Amazing Knitting Cat will be published by Bloomsbury in January 2016.

Commenting on her nomination, Emily said: “I was absolutely over the moon when I found out that Ralfy had been shortlisted for the Scottish Children’s Book Awards!

“The book has had such a warm response from teachers, librarians and the children I’ve read it to so far which has been really lovely, but the idea that a further 64,000 P1 children starting school in Scotland this year will receive a copy of it to enjoy and hopefully help them on to a path of loving reading and books as much as I do, blows my mind. It’s a dream come true and Ralfy and I want to say a big thank you to Scottish Book Trust for all their support!”

A free copy of Emily’s book will be gifted to every Primary 1 child during Book Week Scotland, in the Bookbug P1 Family Bag, along with copies of the two other shortlisted books in the Bookbug category.

This bag was produced by Scottish Book Trust in conjunction with Education Scotland and the Scottish Government as part of Read, Write, Count – a new literacy and numeracy campaign aimed at children in Primary 1 to 3.

Elizabeth Laird, based in the Old Town, has been shortlisted in the Younger Readers (8-11 yrs) category for her book The Fastest Boy in the World, published by Macmillan.

Elizabeth, who has previously appeared on the 2008 and 2010 Scottish Children’s Book Awards shortlists, is an award-winning author of children’s fiction and travel. She has written over 30 books for children and has been shortlisted five times for the CILIP Carnegie Medal, including for The Fastest Boy in the World this year. She has been nominated by UK IBBY for the international Hans Christian Anderson Award, and her new novel, Dindy and the Elephant, was published in June. Elizabeth now lives with her husband, splitting their time between London and Edinburgh.

Elizabeth said: “It’s a thrill and an honour to be shortlisted for the Scottish Children’s Book Award. ‘The Fastest Boy in the World’ is an Ethiopian lad called Solomon, who dreams of joining the ranks of the great African running champions. Now, thanks to this lovely award, he’ll be running all the way round Scotland. Go Solomon!”

Danny Weston, who lives in Tollcross, has been shortlisted in the Older Readers (12-16 yrs) category for his book The Piper, published by Andersen.

He has published three novels (under the name Philip Caveney) with Edinburgh-based publisher Fledgling Press. These are time travel adventures, all set in Edinburgh at different points in its history. The first book Crow Boy is set in Mary Kings Close, Seventeen Coffins is all about the tiny coffins found on Arthur’s Seat in 1836 and the most recent book,One For Sorrow, is all about Robert Louis Stevenson.

In the New Year, Fledgling will be bringing out The Calling – a novel featuring all the statues in Edinburgh. The Piper was also recently shortlisted for the North East Book Award.

Commenting on his nomination, Danny said: “I was surprised and delighted to hear that I had been shortlisted for this prestigious prize. At a time when the importance of literacy seems to be increasingly challenged, prizes like this mean more than ever to authors like me.”

Joan Lingard, who lives in Edinburgh’s New Town, has been shortlisted in the Older Readers (12-16 yrs) category for her novel Trouble on Cable Street, published by Catnip.

Joan has been a published writer for young people and adults for over 40 years and is best known for the Kevin and Sadie books, set in Northern Ireland at the time of the troubles there.

Her popular Elfie and Joe trilogy began when she discovered that her grandfather had run a pub in Stoke Newington in London and she started to research that area around the turn of the 19th Century when he and his wife lived there.

Following a conversation with a friend about the period between the first and second world wars, Joan began to research the impact of the Fascist movement in London in the 1930s, and the parallel conflict in Spain.

Joan said: “I’m delighted that Trouble on Cable Street has been shortlisted for the Scottish Children’s Book Awards. I have been writing for young people for over 40 years and I am always pleased to know that readers are enjoying my books.

“I enjoyed writing this book very much. It is set in a fascinating, unsettled time in Britain’s history – and European history – and the more I read about what happened in the 1930s the more I found parallels with some of the problems we’re facing today, eight decades later.

“In 1936 the communities of the East End of London rallied to stop a march by Oswald Mosley and the British Union of Fascists. They clashed with the police in Cable Street and the march was eventually stopped, but many people were injured in the fighting.

“I always enjoy writing strong characters, and once I’d settled on Isabella and her two brothers their story fell into place against the backdrop of London in those difficult times.”

FREE TO USE - Scottish Children’s Book Awards shortlist is announced.

THE FULL SCOTTISH CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARDS 2016 SHORTLIST: 

Bookbug Readers (3-7 years)

  • Never Tickle a Tiger by Pamela Butchart and Marc Boutavant (Bloomsbury)
  • Wanted! Ralfy Rabbit Book Burglar by Emily MacKenzie (Bloomsbury)
  • Mouse’s First Night at Moonlight School by Simon Puttock and Ali Pye (Nosy Crow).

Younger Readers (8-11 years)

  • The Nowhere Emporium by Ross Mackenzie (Floris)
  • The Mysteries of Ravenstorm Island: The Lost Children by Gillian Philip (Orchard)
  • The Fastest Boy in the World by Elizabeth Laird (Macmillan)

Older Readers (12-16 years)

  • Black Dove White Raven by Elizabeth Wein (Egmont)
  • The Piper by Danny Weston (the pseudonym of Philip Caveney) (Andersen)
  • Trouble on Cable Street by Joan Lingard (Catnip) 

Over the next five months, children the length and breadth of Scotland will be reading the three shortlisted books in their age category and voting for their favourite.

The voting deadline is 5 February 2016. The three winning books will be announced at a special award ceremony on 4 March 2016. 

Jasmine Fassl, Head of Schools at Scottish Book Trust, said: “The Scottish Children’s Book Awards are a perfect way to celebrate Scotland’s talented authors and illustrators, while also helping participating children to develop an independent love of books and reading.

“Hundreds of schools and libraries from literally every corner of Scotland involve tens of thousands of children in reading and reviewing the shortlisted books every year, proof of both the eagerness of Scottish young people to make their voice heard and of the quality of the shortlisted books.”

Leonie Bell, Director of Creative Development at Creative Scotland, added: “The Scottish Children’s Book Awards is a hugely successfully programme that celebrates children’s and young adult literature while also encouraging reading in children across Scotland.

“The fact that the winners are selected exclusively by children makes this an extra special award to win.  By taking an active role in choosing the vote they are taking steps in their journeys as independent readers.

“This is a fantastic shortlist and we encourage young people across Scotland to get involved.  We look forward to finding out who they choose as this year’s winners.”

The Scottish Children’s Book Awards also encourage budding authors or journalists to put pen to paper: the popular Book Review Competition offers pupils the chance to win book tokens, sponsored by Waterstones, and an author visit for their school.

Aspiring film makers can enter the book trailer competition to showcase their digital talents and win book tokens for their school. Scottish Book Trust provides extensive learning resources for teachers on how to create book trailers.

CALL Scotland has again worked with Scottish Book Trust and the publishers to create accessible digital versions of the nine shortlisted books for children and young people with physical, visual and reading or dyslexic difficulties, who can’t read the paper books. The accessible digital versions of the shortlisted books are available free of charge from CALL Scotland.

You can request books by going to http://www.callscotland.org.uk/Home/.

 Pictures: Rob McDougall

Gruffalo enjoys a Big Lunch in Stockbridge!

The Big Lunch launch - Stockbridge LibraryEdinburgh City Libraries and The Big Lunch organised a special Gruffalo-themed storytime event for parents and children in Stockbridge Library yesterday. The event was launched by Councillor Richard Lewis, City of Edinburgh’s Convener for Culture and Sport.

Toddlers were treated to a Gruffalo themed Big Lunch and Bookbug session. Bookbug sessions are regular free events for babies, toddlers, pre-schoolers and their families to enjoy together and meet others in the local area. The children joined in with a reading of the popular story and then enjoyed some songs, rhymes and party treats.

The Big Lunch – the UK’s annual get-together for neighbours – is funded by The Big Lottery Fund and partnered by Halifax and ASDA. Now in its seventh year, the simple idea from the Eden Project aims to provide neighbours with an opportunity to get to know one another better. The Big Lunch takes place on the first Sunday in June each year – this year it’s 7 June.

The Gruffalo is The Big Lunch’s animated ambassador this year and The Big Lunch in Scotland has partnered with the Scottish Book Trust and Bookbug to help encourage more Scottish communities to take part.The Big Lunch launch - Stockbridge LibraryCouncillor Richard Lewis said: “We wanted to tie in with The Big Lunch this year as there is a shared community ethos between the campaign and the work we do in our libraries. Libraries are a community hub and an important local resource. We know that Bookbug sessions are popular with young families acoss the city. This is especially important as being a new parent can be an isolating time and having additional support within the community can really help.”

“Initiatives like The Big Lunch are encouraging people to break the ice with their neighbours in a fun and easy way. We’ve loved supporting the campaign and hope to hear of lots of lunching going on in Edinburgh this June on Big Lunch day!”

Edinburgh neighbours are being encouraged to host Big Lunch events to help build community spirit and connect with those they live beside.

Anyone who is interested in getting involved can get started by requesting a free Big Lunch pack from www.thebiglunch.com. Packs contain invitations and posters to adapt for your community, Gruffalo stickers as well as seeds, recipes and activity ideas.

All pack materials are undated so communities can have a Big Lunch when best suits them if they can’t join in on Sunday 7 June. For more information, please contact Emma at The Big Lunch in Scotland on emma.smith@thebiglunch.com or 0141 559 5066.

 

 

 

 

 

Scottish Children’s Book Awards shortlist announced

The Scottish Children’s Book Awards 2015 are on 4 March in Edinburgh. Check out who made this year’s shortlist:

http://bit.ly/SCBA_15.

shortlist-group-shot_1

The shortlisting panel also wanted to recommend the following titles as Highly Commended. When you’ve read the shortlist why not take a look at these too?

Bookbug Readers (3-7 years)

Lollipop and Grandpa’s Dinosaur Hunt by Penelope Harper, illustrated by Cate James

Share by Sally Anne Garland

Younger Readers (8-11 years)

The Day the World Went Loki by Robert J Harris

Winter’s Tales by Lari Don

Circus of Thieves and the Raffle of Doom by William Sutcliffe

Older Readers (12-16 years)

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

Mind Blind by Lari Don

Read all about it: Edinburgh trio shortlisted for children’s book awards

Scottish Book TrustScottish Book Trust is delighted to announce today that Edinburgh-based authors Alexander McCall Smith, Gill Arbuthnot and William Sutcliffe have been shortlisted for this year’s Scottish Children’s Book Awards, celebrating the most popular children’s and young adult books by Scottish authors or illustrators.

Run by Scottish Book Trust with support from Creative Scotland, these are Scotland’s largest book awards, split into three age categories, with a total prize fund of £12,000.

Shortlisted authors and illustrators receive £500 per book, and the three winning books receive £3,000 each. Over the next five months, children across Scotland will be reading the three shortlisted books in their age category and voting for their favourite. The three winning books will be announced at a special award ceremony on 4 March 2015.

alexander

Internationally renowned best-selling novelist Alexander McCall Smith (pictured above) is shortlisted in the Younger Readers (8-11 yrs) category for Precious and the Mystery of the Missing Lion.  Published by Birlinn, this is a delightful tale exploring how the young Precious Ramotswe became the loveable private investigator of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series.

McCall Smith, one of the world’s most popular authors, lives in the Merchiston area of Edinburgh. After the success of No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency he wrote four more series including 44 Scotland Street novels and his most recent Corduroy Mansions series.

In total he has published 74 stories as well as a number of academic texts. Over 40 million copies of his books have been sold and he continues to produce an average of 4 – 5 books every year.  He has received numerous awards for his writing, including the British Book Awards Author of the Year Award in 2004 and CBE for services to literature in 2007.

Commenting on his nomination, Alexander McCall Smith said: “I am delighted that this book has been shortlisted for this award. I very much admire what Scottish Book Trust does to promote reading among children – that is where a lifetime’s involvement with books can start.”

gillGill Arbuthnot (above) is shortlisted in the Older Readers (12-16 yrs) category for her novel Dark Spell. Published by Kelpies and set in St Andrews, the book follows the adventures of teen witch Callie as she tries to come to terms with her powers and battles an unknown force.

Edinburgh born and bred, Gill Arbuthnot attended James Gillespie’s High School before leaving the city for St Andrews University. Here she studied Zoology and then completed teacher training. Despite having a career in science Arbuthnott never gave up her intention of writing, and when she witnessed the millennium clock in the museum of Scotland she was inspired to write The Chaos Clock for children. Now with a large back catalogue of published work including, Beneath, The Keepers Daughter and most recently Winterbringers, she lives in Edinburgh again, working as a writer and teacher.

Commenting on her nomination, Gill said: “I am thrilled to be shortlisted for the Scottish Children’s Book Awards. It’s a particular pleasure to be in the running for an award which is going to be decided by the children and young people at whom the books are aimed, and a great honour to have made it onto the shortlist, especially looking at the range of tremendous books which have won in previous years.”

william
William Sutcliffe is shortlisted in the Older Readers (12-16 yrs) for his novel The Wall. Published by Bloomsbury, it powerfully depicts the realities of life on the West Bank through the emotive coming-of-age story of thirteen-year-old Joshua.

London-born William Sutcliffe attended private boy’s school Haberdashers’ Aske’s in Hertfordshire. After leaving school he went on to study at Emmanuel College, Cambridge where he met his wife, novelist Maggie O’Farrell. He currently lives in Edinburgh.

William has published five novels prior to The Wall, including Are You Experienced?, New Boy, The Love Hexagon, Bad Influence and Whatever Makes You Happy. The Wall is his first children’s novel and has already received high acclaim, being longlisted for the Guardian Fiction Prize and shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. William’s work has been translated into 20 different languages.

Commenting on his nomination, William said: “I am delighted to be shortlisted for the Scottish Children’s Book Awards. It is an exciting prospect to know that my book will be read widely in schools across Scotland, and discussed, and voted on. It is vital that children read, and talk to each other about what they read. It’s fantastic to have your work embraced into that process.”

THE  SCOTTISH CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARDS SHORTLIST:

Bookbug Readers (3-7 years)

Younger Readers (8-11 years)

Older Readers (12-16 years)

Jasmine Fassl, Head of Schools at Scottish Book Trust said: “The Scottish Children’s Book Awards are much more than a celebration of Scottish literature – they are about expanding children’s horizons far beyond their physical boundaries and barriers.

“By simply reading just one of the shortlisted novels in their category, a 5 year old can imagine what it’s like to have rampaging robots as babysitters, a 10 year old can hop aboard a pirate ship, and a 15 year old can be transported into the mind of a teenager in a war zone.

“We hope that children, teachers, parents and librarians across Scotland will take this journey with us and get lost in these nine wonderful stories.”

Jenny Niven, Portfolio Manager for Literature at Creative Scotland, commented: “Literacy, and access to books for Scotland’s children and families is absolutely critical for our capacity to learn, to develop and to imagine. The work of Scottish Book Trust is fundamental in this.

“The next step beyond access is to provide the means for children and young people to develop an independent love of books and reading, and the Scottish Children’s Book Awards play an enormous role in making this possible.

“By voting for their own reading choices they are taking steps in their journeys as independent readers – steps which will have an impact on their education, their wellbeing and their imaginations far into the future. Creative Scotland is delighted to support this work, and is encouraged to see such a strong shortlist of Scottish books for our voters to choose from.”

The Scottish Children’s Book Awards also encourage budding authors or journalists to put pen to paper: the popular Book Review Competition offers pupils the chance to win book tokens for themselves and an author visit for their school.

Budding film makers can enter the book trailer competition to entice their peers to read the books too and win book tokens for their school. Scottish Book Trust provides extensive learning resources for teachers on how to create book trailers.

The Bookbug Primary 1 Family Pack is part of Bookbug, Scotland’s national book gifting programme, funded by the Scottish Government and run by Scottish Book Trust.

CALL Scotland has again worked with Scottish Book Trust and the authors and publishers to create accessible digital versions of the nine shortlisted books for children and young people with physical, visual and reading or dyslexic difficulties, who can’t read the paper books. The accessible digital versions of the shortlisted books are available free of charge from CALL Scotland. You can request books by going to http://www.callscotland.org.uk/Home/.

Pictures: Rob McDougall