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The Federation of Children’s Book Groups Blog
Fighting Fantasy
/0 Comments/by FCBG blogBy Ian Livingstone Fighting Fantasy gamebooks first appeared in the 1980s with the publication of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, the first branching narrative book with a simple role-playing game system attached – hence the term ‘gamebook’. Usually set in worlds of monsters and magic, Fighting Fantasy gamebooks place the reader at the heart of […]
Benjamin Dean Writes…
/0 Comments/by FCBG blogA moving piece from author Benjamin Dean on his reading history and the reasons he writes today, “for the children of today who don’t have to feel invisible.” Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow is a spectacular and joyful novel, full of heart and humour. It is currently Waterstones Book of the […]
The Song for Everyone
/0 Comments/by FCBG blogGuest Post by author Lucy Morris My name is Lucy Morris and I am the writer and illustrator of The Song for Everyone. Originally I trained as a fine art painter but have always had a love of writing and drawing stories. After the arrival of my children I had the opportunity to revisit all […]
Proud of Me
/0 Comments/by FCBG blogGuest Post by Sarah Haggers Holt, author of Nothing Ever Happens Here (2020), and Proud of Me (2021) The first time I went to an LGBTQ youth group was a couple of years ago – I was 39 years old. Yes, I know, not exactly the target age range. I went because I was invited […]
Space Detectives Are Go- Mark Powers
/0 Comments/by FCBG blogSPACE DETECTIVES ARE GO! Mark Powers is the author of SPACE DETECTIVES, the first in a series of funny and exciting sci-fi mystery adventures for middle grade readers. (“Star Wars meets Sherlock Holmes”). Here, he chats to CHINWAG-500, the world’s most sophisticated robot interviewer, about his new book. *BOOTING UP* *BZZZT* GREETINGS, HUMAN. I AM […]
The Shark Caller by Zillah Bethell
/0 Comments/by FCBG blogZillah Bethell has penned a spell-binding new middle grade novel set against the beautifully-woven backdrop of her childhood home of New Ireland in Papua New Guinea. The Shark Caller is an astonishing story of friendship, forgiveness and bravery which fellow children’s author Sophie Anderson describes as “magnificent and beautiful.” Zillah writes exclusively for the FCBG blog […]
To celebrate the publication of their book, Weird, Wild & Wonderful (Otter-Barry Books) illustrator NEAL LAYTON and poet JAMES CARTER interview each other…
/0 Comments/by FCBG blogHi Neal! It’s been great fun working with you on our book. But as an author and illustrator in your own right, how do you feel about working with other writers and illustrating their words? Hello, James! I love working with writers because reading their words takes my imagination to new places. Like your weird world and […]
Albert Talbot, Master of Disguise
/0 Comments/by FCBG blogWritten by Ben Manley, Illustrated by Aurelie Guillerey, Published by Macmillan Children’s What’s in a Name? You’re probably wondering who I am. Don’t worry, so am I. And, for that matter, who are you? I’m wondering that too. As adults, we wear many hats. We reinvent ourselves in different roles for different people. Some of […]
Empathy Lab 2021
/0 Comments/by FCBG blogHow to Be Our Best Selves The diverse, inclusive 2021 Read For Empathy collection helps raise an empathy-educated generation. “Empathy is learnable – only 10% of our empathic ability is genetic. Scientists say that reading builds empathy, and this collection will play a direct role in helping raise an empathy-educated generation.” Miranda McKearney OBE, EmpathyLab’s […]
Q&A with Sam Copeland
/0 Comments/by FCBG blogUma and the Answer to Absolutely Everything, Illustrated by Sarah Horne, Published 21 January, 2021 by Puffin Books This book had me laughing so much- especially the drone with electric shavers attached and the drunk alpacas. How much fun did you have creating some of the events in this story? I have so much fun […]
Love is for Losers by Wibke Brueggemann
/0 Comments/by FCBG blogWhen I started writing Love is For Losers, my objective was to write a love story. It quickly became apparent to me that if Phoebe was to oh-so reluctantly fall in love, she would fall in love with a girl, and as soon as the character of Emma popped into my head and started to […]
Putting My Cards on the Table by Liz Kessler
/0 Comments/by FCBG blogWhen The World Was Ours by Liz Kessler is out 21st January 2021 (Hardback, Simon & Schuster Childrens Books) For at least the last decade, I’ve had a growing desire to write a book inspired by an event that took place in 1934. A moment on a Danube Steamer in Vienna – where my dad, […]
Q & A with S.A. Patrick
/0 Comments/by FCBG blogS.A. Patrick is the author of the hugely popular A Darkness of Dragons and it’s newly published sequel, A Vanishing of Griffins. Usborne are the lucky publisher to send a twist on the tale of the Pied Piper into the world. With the perfect blend of adventure, myth and magic, these books will delight and […]
My Passion for Point Horror
/0 Comments/by FCBG blogGuest Post by Cynthia Murphy If I could travel back in time and speak to ten-year-old me, I’d tell her about how twenty-six years in the future, our love of Point Horror would kickstart a young adult writing career. She would ask me what took so long. I have a wonderfully clear memory of being […]
Stick Boy – Blog Tour
/0 Comments/by FCBG blogGuest Post by Paul Coomey I’m best at writing in the morning, before my head gets filled with distractions like music and conversations and the internet and reading. I have another job (as an Art Director at Wonderbly, working on picture books) so when I was writing Stick Boy I got up while it was […]
Train to Impossible Places
/0 Comments/by FCBG blogGuest Post by P.G.Bell Parents tend to get a raw deal in children’s literature. At best, they’re hapless stick-in-the-muds who lack the ambition and imagination of our young heroes, and are quickly outgrown. More typically, they’re dead and buried long before the story even starts. There’s a very good reason for this, of course – […]
Ballet Bunnies
/0 Comments/by FCBG blogThis delightful and diverse series of books for younger readers is simply lovely. We loved reading the series and were thrilled to pose a set of questions to both the author, Swapna Reddy and illustrator, Binny Talib. There is so much in the media about the importance of all children being able to see themselves […]
The Snowflake
/0 Comments/by FCBG blogA Special Christmas Guest Post from Benji Davies The holly and the ivy. Mistletoe and Wine. Dasher and Dancer. Like Christmas and books they go together. One of my strongest memories of the festive period and a family tradition in my childhood home was the reading of a special book on Christmas eve. My two […]