Fallen Star Stories

During the International Literature Festival Dublin, Childrens' Books Ireland held its' ceremony for Childrens Book of the Year Awards 2018 . Each year, the shortlist for this awards presents us with stronger and stronger candidates.This year was no exception. Ten nominees with books for varied ages and genres made the final decision a challenge, I'm sure. In the end, the 28th annual Childrens Book of the Year Award was given to Deirdre Sullivan and illustrator Karen Vaughan for the sumptuous and utterly remarkable Tangleweed and Brine . Re-imagined for a contemporary audience gives a lyrical, enchanting and unsettling view of a collection of traditional fairytales, turning them back on themselves and into the hearts and minds of  familiar characters. We emerge renewed, with a powerful, more enticing view that leads us on to destinies that are more felt than realised. The text is offset with Vaughans stunning black & white illustrations, reminiscent of Rackham or H...

Word is in from Dublin! Childrens' Books Ireland have announced the new  and fifth) Laureate na n'Óg (Childrens Laureate) for 2018-2020... and it's the incredible Sarah Crossan!!! I am so thrilled to hear this news. Sarah is stepping to take over from the outgoing Laureate, PJ Lynch and was presented with this honour by Irelands President, Michael D. Higgins. Her project will be called #WeAreThePoets and I'm certain it will be absolutely brilliant. If you aren't familiar with Sarahs' books, you are in for a real treat. She writes verse novels that are moving and stunningly beautiful. From her first book,  The Weight of Water , Sarah has demonstrated a powerful, yet gentle writing that captures and encourages her audience. Never one to deal with easy subject matter, in her writing she takes incredibly difficult circumstances and makes them accessible and compelling with real passion and genuine voices. The Weight of Water , Apple and Rain, One,   We Come...

The other day at the British Book Awards, Axel Scheffler won the inaugural Illustrator of the Year award. And where would we be without Axel Scheffler; no Room on the Broom, no Smartest Giant in Town, no Zog, no Pip and Posey...no Gruffalo! It is fitting that this honour go to him. Now, I really don't like to be overtly political here, and I hope this doesn't cause ructions, but I feel compelled to post his acceptance speech, copied from Nosy Crow blog, because it speaks of something so pervasive in our world today. Schefflers' concern centres around the Brexit issue, around the drawing of lines and the building of walls. The only thing I really want t o say about this is, have we really thought this through? We could be losing more than we know. "Last night, Pip and Posy illustrator Axel Scheffler received the inaugural Illustrator of the Year Award at the British Book Awards (otherwise known as the Nibbies). Today, with Axel’s permission, we are publishing t...

A quick post about the British Book Awards 2018..... The winners of the British Book Awards 2018 (known as the Nibbies ) were announced yesterday and in the childrens' categories, it was very exciting! First, let me say hats off to Bloomsbury Children's Books for being honoured with the Children's Publisher of the Year. Bloomsbury |(known for being the home of Harry Potter) has brought out some incredible kids books this year, as always. Congratulations! Author of the year went to the incredible Philip Pullman! Not just a children's author, of course, but the release of the first in his prequel series (to His Dark Materials) La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust firmly tipped the hat in his favour. (And it is stunning...so read it NOW if you haven't already.) The Children's Book of the Year had joint winners this year...drumroll please.... and the winners are: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas: a powerful, honest, empathetic look at race relations, viol...

Last week, the Cuirt International Literature Festival was in town bringing a plethora of authors, illustrators and publishers in for one of the best literary events anywhere. With so many events and such a busy buzz about the place, it really can be difficult to catch up with all the people I wanted to see. So I was very, very lucky (and extremely happy) to meet up with the lovely and exceptional Caroline Busher. Caroline is the author of two wonderful novels for young people; The Ghosts of Magnificent Children and the recently published The Girl Who Ate The Stars , both unique historical fiction with intriguing plot twists and featuring some haunting characters pulled through time. (For more on these books, you'll find reviews of both on the Irish Authors... page of this blog.) So while we were chatting and enjoying a lovely lunch, I couldn't resist asking a few related bookish questions. I love historical fiction, and books that can take the past, make it come alive a...