Happy May!

-
Hello... just a moment to wish you all a Happy May! There is so much happening now... so much to look forward to.... so many new books!
First of all, I'm very excited about this years Children's Books Ireland conference, happening the 19th and 20th of May. The theme of this years' conference is 'Weaving A Shared Story'... a what a shared story it will be. We have Alexis Deacon, Eilis ni Dhuibhne, Chris Judge, Paula Leyden, Nicola Pierce, Judi Curtin.... and one of the features of the Sunday sessions will be the Emberly family, sharing their enthusiasm, inspiration and knowledge of picture books. Ed Emberly and daughter, Rebecca will be making the trip from the States; while Michael Emberly and his wife, the wonderful Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick will be joining the conference from a little closer to home.
There will be so much going on at the conference. If you love childrens' books... you really should be there, if only for one of the days!
Here's the conference brochure link:
http://www.childrensbooksireland.ie/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Conference-flyer-.pdf

p.s. Speaking of Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick, if you haven't yet read her latest, Dark Warning, it's a brilliant read and I highly recommend it. Set in Dublin in the late 1700s, Taney Tyrell is a young girl gifted with 'the second sight' at a time when such things are dangerous gifts. The sense of time and place are beautifully drawn, the writing itself is lyrical and rich. Dark Warning is an eloquent, vivid read that you won't soon forget.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Rights of the Reader

-
Image
The Rights of the Reader; Daniel Pennac, illustrated by Quentin Blake Summer is here and we do encourage summer reading with numerous incentives and programmes. It is important for children (of all ages) to 'keep their reading up' outside of school time. This is the time when kids develop their own taste in books and can be free to read books of their own choosing. And this is the single most important factor in young people developing a lifelong reading habit. But how do we, as the 'gatekeepers' of kids reading, encourage them properly without running the risk of thrusting pressure and our own ideas on them? Do that and you'll run the risk of pushing them away from reading, and there are already so many distractions for the young reader to contend with that can tempt them elsewhere. Published by Walker Books; 9781406300918 In 1992, French writer Daniel Pennac originally published this little gem of a book; The Rights of the Reader. I highly recommend
Read more

The Summer of Lily and Esme by John Quinn....25 years

-
Image
This year marks the anniversary of the publication of an extraordinary book. In 1991, Poolbeg published The Summer of Lily & Esme by John Quinn and in the 25 years since, it has never been out of print. The Summer of Lily & Esme tells a quiet story, filled with compassion, friendship, memory and heart. It is the story of Alan, an 11-year-old boy who has moved from the city into a house in the countryside; in the middle of nowhere.The house is old and extremely large and immaculate; and there is a locked, boarded over attic room that is said to be haunted by the ghost of a young boy who died tragically. Alan is not too pleased with this move and becomes even less thrilled when he discovers his closest neighbours, in fact his only neighbours, are a pair of elderly sisters, Esme and Lily, who seem to be suffering from dementia.  When Alan falls down a hill of brambles and weeds, the sisters, who believe they themselves to be children, mistake Alan for their
Read more

Joyous Jolabokaflod!!!!

-
Image
For a book lover, Iceland has a very special tradition. Each year, in the few months before Christmas, Icelandic publishers release the majority of their books. This is "Jolabokaflod", or the Christmas Book Flood. Hundreds of books are published each year at this time, revealing just how strong a literary tradition exists in this small Northern island, dating back to medieval times. During World War II, there were strict currency restrictions, which limited the amount of imported giftware Iceland could take in. But paper itself was less restricted than other items, so this really led to books being seen as an ideal gift. Add that to the traditionally strong literary sector in Iceland, and the annual Book Flood really began in earnest. As Christmas nears, sometime around the end of October-beginning of November, a catalog is delivered to every house in Iceland, detailing the books available for that year. Iceland now represents one of the strongest book publishing countri
Read more