The Federation of Children’s Book Groups Blog
Ten Healthy Ways to Reward your Brilliant Brain by Nicola Morgan
Building a brilliant brain is not all hard work, as you’ll learn in Ten Ways to Build a Brilliant Brain. In fact, it’s rarely hard work at all – just a matter of understanding something about what your brain likes and needs and making good choices as often as possible. Your brain is a bit […]
The Last Monster by Dan Walker
The Last Monster is the sequel to The Light Hunters by Dan Walker. Fans of this series will be thrilled to read Dan’s guest blog about where it all began. The idea for The Light Hunters, the first in the Light Hunters children’s fantasy series, came about one day when I was walking down the […]
Greek Heroes, Top Ten Myths and Legends by Marcia Williams
Marcia Williams presents readers with a new perspective on heroes in her guest post for the FCBG today. Greek heroes were generally men fighting legendary monsters and holding God like status. As we look at our world today, the world heroes has new meaning. Read on for Marcia’s eye-opening blog. How can you not love […]
Interview with Ruta Sepetys
When given the opportunity to chat, virtually, to Ruta Sepetys, we jumped with a resounding yes. Her titles are highly recommended and brilliantly written. Readers of her work may not realise just what lengths Ruta goes to for authenticity, historical accuracy and understanding of the emotions involved with the events in her books. With her […]
The Inflatables by Jess Hitchman and Beth Garrod
Jess Hitchman and Beth Garrod tell us about their new graphic novel series, The Inflatables. Check out the Q&A prepared by Scholastic. This is your first graphic novel for the both of you – what was the experience like? Was it like you had expected? We didn’t know what to expect but it has been […]
Librarian List
Each month we ask a librarian for some recommended books around a chosen theme! This month we asked Helen Heaton, a librarian and FCBG member from Mendip Children’s Book Group to create a list of books around the theme, “A book I couldn’t put down”. She went above and beyond and there are some favourites […]
For Newcomers and For Welcomers by Katherine Applegate
We are so pleased to share a blog from well-known author, Katherine Applegate, all about her book Wishtree. This is newly published in the UK and it has a wonderful message in the dedication, which she explains in greater detail. When I learned that my novel, Wishtree, was going to be published in the UK, […]
Magic and Dead Good Detectives by Jenny McLachlan
Jenny McLachlan’s Land of Roar series brought fun, imagination and magic to readers everywhere. Her new book will bring a new sense of mystery and magic. She explains where the initial idea sprang from in her blog below! When I visit schools I hatch a dragon out of an egg. SPOILER ALERT! It’s a puppet. […]
All’s Well That Ends Well by Roy Peachey
A truly thought-provoking blog from author Roy Peachey about endings and beginnings in stories. “Why have you started with the epilogue?” my daughter asked me. She’d picked up Cliffhangers, my latest work in progress, and was looking at it with a bemused expression. It was a good question. As authors and teachers, we tend to […]
How an ‘anti-librarian’ inspired me to write for the anti-reader
We would be incredibly surprised if this blog from author, Jessica Scott-Whyte, didn’t get you to think about your own experiences and to think to a time when books had a profound effect on you. When I was in secondary school, around year 9, a new librarian was hired to replace the school’s previous librarian […]
The Inspiration that Sparked My Own Lightning by Lauren Wolk
We enjoy publishing blogs where the author shares some insight into the inspiration for their books, characters or settings. Lauren Wolk, author of My Own Lightning, her latest book, shares just this and it may just encourage you to read more of her books. When I sat down to write My Own Lightning, I was […]
The Girl Who Noticed Everything
We have an inspirational blog for you from Jane Porter, explaining the inspiration behind her books and her thrill of working with young children. The Inspiration Behind The Girl Who Noticed Everything and Why Stella’s Story Matters by Jane Porter Every week I visit a local nursery and spend a very happy hour making pictures and reading […]
FCBG Asks- Alex Falase-Koya
FCBG Asks is a regular monthly feature where we send an author, illustrator or publisher a set of questions about their work. This month, we are so excited to share our blog with Alex Falase-Koya, creator of Marv, a new young superhero! Where did the idea for Marv come from? I’ve always loved superheroes, it’s […]
Inspiring all kids to love STEM
Non-fiction books can be so inspiring for young readers, offering them the chance to learn more, ask questions and be curious. Saskia Gwinn was inspired to create her book from questions her son asked! Read on for her guest blog! Inspiring all kids to love STEM (from the earliest age) STEM. Four ground-breaking, trendsetting, glorious […]
No Sleep for Bear by Duncan Beedie
Welcome back Bear! This blog from author-illustrator Duncan Beedie gives some insight into revisiting a character! It’s a great blog and a super book. ‘No Sleep For Bear’: Reawakening Bear Back in February 2016, my debut picture book was launched by Templar Publishing. My story about a socially awkward bright orange bear must have struck […]
How vampires give a teen coming-of-age tale added bite
We are pleased to share this guest blog from author Jo Simmons. The Reluctant Vampire Queen is a book for young teens to sink their teeth into! The Reluctant Vampire Queen by Jo Simmons While I was working on The Reluctant Vampire Queen, I nicknamed it my ‘feminist vampire’ story. The feminism comes via […]
Q&A with Teri Terry
As part of the celebration tour for Black Night Falling, we were lucky that Hachette was able to provide this brilliant Q&A with author Teri Terry. Black Night Falling is the third in the trilogy and Teri Terry shares some insights with us in her answers. For anyone who has never read a book in […]
Children’s Book Awards
It is with dismay we have seen the recent closing of the Costa Book Awards with their important Children’s category, quickly followed by the announcement the Blue Peter Awards were closing. This is understandable as organisation’s priorities change but it creates a huge hit to the important field of children’s books. The Lollies have announced […]
