Entries by FCBG blog

Jennifer Killick on being a World Book Day author

We are thrilled to welcome Jennifer Killick, Queen of Middle Grade horror to the blog today to chat about having a World Book Day title!   When my editor called to tell me that my story, ‘Creepy Creations’ had been chosen as a World Book Day 2024 title, I honestly couldn’t believe it. I used […]

Fairytale Ninjas by Paula Harrison

Fairytale Ninjas is a series written by Paula Harrison and we were recently given the opportunity to ask her a few questions about this series for younger readers!   Tell us about Fairytale Ninjas. Fairytale Ninjas sees three well-known heroines – Red Riding, Snow White and Goldie Locks – ditch their usual storylines and head […]

Play by Luke Palmer

Happy New Year and welcome to our first blog of 2024, aptly written by Luke Palmer about New Years resolutions.  We have also included the Reading group discussion notes as produced by publisher, Firefly Press. I’ve never held much truck with new year’s resolutions. They seem too complete, too final, a big list of monolithic […]

Congratulations to Libby Allman, Plymouth Group Member

We wanted to end 2023 on a celebratory note with the wonderful news that one of our longest standing members and tireless supporter and promoter of books and reading has been honoured by Plymouth Marjon University. The Federation of Children’s Book Groups would like to congratulate Libby Allman on her award of an honorary Master’s […]

Raise a Reader Report from Oxford University Press

We all know the importance of reading and this report published by Oxford University Press impresses on this point even further.  Their research and partnership with key organisations will help families and schools to address the on-going need to promote reading for pleasure. 4 in 10 Pupils Have Fallen Behind in Vocabulary Development, According to […]

Who Do We Care About by Bali Rai

Bali Rai has written a passionate piece for us today about the the greater need for empathy and representation in books for children and teens.  Aptly titled; Who do we care about?  You may find yourself nodding along to his statements. Who Do We Care About? There are many reasons why representation matters in books […]

Scary Fairies by Anna Kemp

The Hollow Hills is the second book in the Goblyn Wood Adventure series.  We are delighted to welcome author, Anna Kemp to the blog to share her guest post entitled, Scary Fairies!     Scary Fairies I used to think fairies were small, sparkly creatures that lived at the bottom of the garden, or sat […]

My Emotions and Me by Art-Mella

Emotions and mental health in young readers is such an important topic at the moment.  Author and illustrator, Art-Mella has taken some time to answer our questions about her book, My Emotions and Me. 1. What research did you undertake before beginning to write and draft your book? Actually, my research into emotions wasn’t in […]

All That It Ever Meant by Blessing Musariri

We have a heartfelt and lovely guest blog from author Blessing Musariri about her childhood and how it translates into her book, All that it Ever Meant. My dad used to take us on road trips. An older cousin used to take us on excursions and day trips. I had a lot of fun growing […]

Writing Anti-Hero Romance by Alexandra Christo

We are excited to share a brilliant guest blog from romantasy author, Alexandra Christo.  Check out her thoughts on creating her stories and characters!   Writing Anti-Hero Romance by Alexandra Christo When sitting down to write a new fantasy book I always ask myself two questions: 1) what are the main flaws of my heroes? […]