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The Federation of Children’s Book Groups Blog
Re-wilding your family and your phone by Nicola Davies
We have a very relevant and thoughtful blog from author Nicola Davies today. We are constantly competing with smart phones and technology but Nicola offers some ideas for balancing nature with technology. RE-WILDING YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR PHONE When I was bringing up my kids there were no smart phones and the only computer in […]
Poetry Booklists
The FCBG have always produced up to date and reliable book lists for different genres and styles of text. This month we are thrilled to share our recently updated poetry book lists. Ideal for teachers, librarians and parents to see what poetry books are highly recommended. Let’s start with Poetry Books for Younger Readers Please […]
Bite Risk by S.J. Wills
A compelling blog today from author S.J. Wills about reading stories with the element of danger and fear and why they are so popular. I remember having two main comfort reads as a child: Winnie the Pooh, and Something Wicked This Way Comes. It’s easy to see why I might have kept returning to A.A. […]
Izzy the Inventor by Zanna Davidson
Izzy the Inventor is a new series aimed at younger readers written by Zanna Davidson and illustrated by Elissa Elwick. Zanna Davidson has written a brilliant blog for us today about being an editor and an author for Usborne publishing. When I took a job as an editor at Usborne Publishing, I hadn’t really […]
Listen up all Bookworms by Andy Shepherd
Author Andy Shepherd has written a wonderful blog for us today about being a bookworm, loving audiobooks and not giving up on children who seem to be “non-readers”. We also have a fantastic giveaway of all the books in her series for one lucky winner! Listen up all Bookworms – Andy Shepherd author of ‘The […]
Engaging Parents with Reading for Pleasure by Rachael Rogan
Rachael Rogan is the Founder of the BookTastic Book Festival and she has written an informative blog for us all about engaging families with Reading for Pleasure. Why it’s essential to engage parents in the importance of reading for pleasure Rachael Rogan, Founder, BookTastic Book Festival The world is awash with reports on reading […]
Finding your Flicker of Courage by Lu Fraser
Mavis the Bravest is a chicken with plenty of fears and she teaches young readers that it is ok to be worried and scared for that is where bravery comes from. Check out the blog today from author, Lu Fraser, about where the idea for Mavis came from! Finding your Flicker of Courage Lu […]
Windrush and the Windies by Cheryl Diane Parkinson
Today marks the 75th Anniversary of the arrival of the ship, HMT Empire Windrush into the UK. With nearly 500 passengers aboard, these people would become known as the Windrush generation. We have a fascinating blog from author, Cheryl Diane Parkinson about the Windrush arrival and her book, Last Girl In. Windrush and the Windies […]
Greenwild Q&A with Pari Thompson
Q & A’s allow us the opportunity to “meet” an author or illustrator and hear the background to their work, the inspirations and sometimes the challenges. It also allows us to hear their hopes for their books. Recently, we asked debut author, Pari Thomson about her book, Greenwild. Tell us about Greenwild! Greenwild is the […]
Debut Feature- Introducing Karin Akesson
Welcome to our inaugural Debut Feature! The world of children’s literature is a welcoming and bustling community of talented authors and illustrators. Being a new author or illustrator in this community is something special and we want to highlight new voices each month! This month, we welcome Karin Akesson, author and illustrator of The Rainbow […]
The Winners of the Children’s Book Award 2023
Today is an exciting day for the Federation of Children’s Book Groups! The winners of the Children’s Book Award have been announced today in a special and exciting event held at the CLPE Library in London. The live-streamed event can be watched back via the link. https://www.youtube.com/@federationofchildrensbookg8427 The Children’s Book Award is the only national […]
Away with Words by Sophie Cameron
Away with Words by Sophie Cameron is one girl’s story of moving to a country where the language is new and unfamiliar. Sophie Cameron shares her own experiences of learning a new language and culture in her guest blog for the FCBG today. Catalan culture recommendations Away With Words is about an 11-year-old […]
The Kingdom Over the Sea by Zohra Nabi
Published in May, The Kingdom over the Sea, was Waterstones Children’s Book of the Month. We are excited to share a guest blog from author, Zohra Nabi about her debut book. I love reading authors’ first books. There’s something electric about a debut novel, not written to a deadline, or with a clear idea of […]
Reading is Magic Festival 2023
Back for 2023, the Reading is Magic Festival was announced today! We are thrilled to share exciting details about this brilliant festival, set to take place 2nd-6th of October 2023. The Reading is Magic Festival, inspired by Cressida Cowell’s Waterstones Children’s Laureate Charter and programmed by Bath Children’s Literature Festival, returns for a 4th year […]
Where the Light Goes by Sara Barnard
A weekend treat for you in the form of a wonderful blog from author Sara Barnard. Her book deals with suicide and she is often asked about her fear in writing about this topic. There’s this question that I keep getting asked about writing Where the Light Goes: Weren’t you scared? Weren’t you scared about […]
Q&A with Dean Lomax
An opportunity to chat to a palaeontologist and author was too good to pass up! We asked Dean Lomax a few questions about his job and his books! Dinosaurs are forever a favourite subject area for young readers- was that where your interest began as well? When did you decide this could be a career […]
Non-Fiction Booklist
The Federation of Children’s Book Groups has always spent time creating and curating booklists. We are now in the process of updating these and ensuring we have the classics represented as well as the brilliant new books that have been published in the past few years. As we update them, we will be adding them […]
Call the Puffins by Cath Howe
Today marks the end of a brilliant month long celebration of stories based around our theme of Sail Away in a Story! We end with a cracking blog and book from Cath Howe! I’m so pleased to be asked to share a story for National Share a Story Month. My book “Call the Puffins!” is […]