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The Federation of Children’s Book Groups Blog
Creating Characters for Mabel and the Big Wide World by Jane Porter
We are delighted to share a blog from illustrator, Jane Porter about her illustrations in Mabel and the Big Wide World, published with Otter Barry Books. Creating characters for Mabel and the Big Wide World, Otter Barry Books When I was invited to illustrate Paul Stewart’s touching and tender text for Mabel and the […]
How Author Events Have Changed by Erika McGann
Many readers will identify with Erika McGann’s thoughts on author visits in schools and bookshops. It’s lovely for everyone to get a glimpse into the experience of the author. How Author Events Have Changed Erika McGann I’ve been doing author events in schools and libraries since my first book was published in 2012. […]
Branford Boase Award Winner- Nathanael Lessore
Last evening, Nathanael Lessore was crowned the winner of the Branford Boase Award on its 25th anniversary. Congratulations Nathaneal! We are honoured he has written a piece for us around his tips for writing! Writing what you know … by Nathanael Lessore The winner of the 2024 Branford Boase Award winning, Steady For This, […]
The Virtue Season by L.M. Nathan
This book has been compared to Bridgerton and The Hunger Games, miles apart in genre! Intrigued? Then read on for our guest blog from author, L.M. Nathan. The Virtue Season has been compared to both Bridgerton and The Hunger Games, which might seem like an odd pairing at first glance, but these two seemingly […]
Bear vs Dragon by Marcela Ferreira
We have an interesting and fascinating blog about language and whether humour is translatable from author, Marcela Ferreira. While the book will make you laugh, this blog will make you think! Bear Vs Dragon is my third picture book, but my first official ‘funny’ book. The story is about conflict, resolution and friendship, with […]
Changing Tides by Julia Moscardo
We welcome Julia Moscardo to the blog today sharing some insights and illustrations from her book, Changing Tides. It is a story of new beginnings, inspired by one image. CHANGING TIDES The idea for Changing Tides started with an illustration. It was an illustration reminiscent of my trips to the sea as a child, with […]
A Feast of Stories Competition Winners
We have a special blog for you today! A special write up from Dudley Children’s Book Group as well as the announcement of the winners of the Design your own potion competition! Congratulations to all 391 entries to this competition. It was both a joy and tricky to shortlist for our guest judge Carrie Sellon! […]
An Ode to Libraries by Daisy May Johnson
Many, if not all, members of the FCBG will resonate with this ode to libraries written especially for us by author Daisy May Johnson! I have always navigated my life by libraries. When I last moved house, I remember asking the estate agent where the nearest library was. It turned out to be in a […]
Marvellous Makers Booklist
We have a brilliant booklist for you to share today with your communities. The Summer Reading Challenge has the theme Marvellous Makers for 2024 and so our booklist has a few extra recommendations suitable for this theme! It can also be downloaded from our website for printing. Booklists
Flame Chasers by Julie Pike
We think today’s blog will resonate with those who love stories and discovering where an author gets their ideas from! Thank you Julie for this lovely guest blog. When I visit schools to chat about being an author, the question I’m most often asked is ‘where do your ideas come from?’ I always say […]
Bertha and Blinkby Nicola Colton
We welcome to the blog, Nicola Colton to share some insights into her new series, Bertha & Blink. Rumble in the Jungle is the first in this highly illustrated and colourful series. When we meet Bertha, she is a super-star inventor. She used to live a glitzy life in the city and was much more […]
Tidemagic, The Many Faces of Ista Flit by Clare Harlow
We have a brilliant blog from author Clare Harlow about the monsters in her book, Tidemagic The Many Faces of Ista Flit. They are called grilks and terrorise throughout the story. Read on to discover more! Bringing Monsters to Life – Clare Harlow ‘But what do the monsters actually look like?’ This is a question […]
Colossal Words by Colette Hiller
You could likely ask anyone if they have a favourite word and get something different everytime. This book will have children learning and loving new words! Colette, you have created an impressive book of tremendous words! How did you choose the words you wanted to use? I wanted to choose useful words that children would […]
Knowing the Score by Ros Roberts
We welcome Ros Roberts to the blog today to share her insights into the inspiration and themes behind her book, Knowing the Score. In this book, it is one girl’s determination to right a wrong that keeps the reader engaged! Inspiration and themes behind Knowing the Score by Ros Roberts Knowing the Score is […]
Skylar and the K-Pop Headteacher by Luan Goldie
We have a fun guest post for you today featuring author Luan Goldie. She shares some fun books that feature body swapping with comedic outcomes! Have you read any of them? Body swap stories in children’s books by Luan Goldie I’ll be the first to say the plot of Skylar and the K-pop Headteacher, in […]
Call the Puffins by Cath Howe
Call the Puffins is a series from Cath Howe and Ella Okstad. We recently asked Cath Howe a few questions about her characters and this series. Check out her answers below! Where did the inspiration for Muffin and Call the Puffins come from? I grew up in Scotland. As a child, I spent many holidays […]
Sar Wylda and the Legendary Goldbreaker by Jake R. Wilson
We welcome Jake R. Wilson to the blog today sharing insight into Sar Wylda and her determination to be a dinobeast rider! High-speed races in a prehistoric world. Sometimes it all starts with a throw-away question. In this case: “Wouldn’t it be cool if you could ride a dinosaur?” I asked it to a friend, […]
Independent Bookshop Week
Independent Bookshops are wondrous places to visit and we hope that over the course of next week that you find your way into one or more to celebrate with them. Independent Bookshop Week, launched in 2006, is a celebration of independent bookshops across the UK and Ireland. It aims to highlight the vital role independent […]