The Federation of Children’s Book Groups Blog
Dangerous Remedy
by Kat Dunn The first time I came out, I turned to a friend and said ‘I think I’m kinda gay.’This is an exact quote from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, when Willow realises her feelings for fellow witch Tara. It was the only language I had for saying this thing. This unsure, fledgeling thing I […]
Eight Pieces of Silva – Blog Tour
Patrice Lawrence is known for her incredibly popular, brilliantly written YA titles such as her debut Orangeboy, Indigo donut, Rose Interrupted, and publishing on 6th August is Eight Pieces of Silva. Winning both the Waterstones Book Prize for Older Readers and the YA Book Prize (2017) for Orangeboy, Patrice has continued to win recognition for […]
Umbrella Mouse to the Rescue Blog Tour – Q&A with Author Anna Fargher
It is incredibly exciting to be able to interview Anna Fargher, author of Umbrella Mouse to the Rescue, for the FCBG’s stop on the blog tour. This stop on the book blog tour sees me ask Anna a series of questions that benefit those that have either yet to familiarise themselves with the book as […]
The Lost Soul Atlas
Zana Fraillon’s The Lost Soul Atlas is a magnificent tale of Twig and his quest to find his father in the Afterlife. A harrowing journey of memories, a life in tatters and a mysterious atlas guiding him. Full of rich language and vivid imagery. Twig becomes homeless and is adopted by a group of children […]
The Boy Who Loved Everyone
by Jane Porter When I wrote ‘The Boy Who Loved Everyone’, I couldn’t possibly have imagined that it would end up in hot demand from schools welcoming children back to a strange new post-Covid socially-distanced reality. It’s sad to think that the exuberant piles of children in Maisie Paradise Shearring’s wonderful illustrations are now a […]
A Numbers of Numbers
By Allan Sanders A Number of Numbers is the second book I’ve worked on with Amanda Wood and Mike Jolley. Previously we worked together on The Alphabets of Alphabets – a collection of 26 illustrated alphabets which featured an alphabet of Birds, an alphabet of Creepy Crawlies, alphabets of Dinosaurs, Inventions, the Museum, People, Vehicles, […]
Stranger than fiction – Publishing The Rules, a book about preparing for disaster, in the middle of a pandemic – Tracy Darnton (Blog Tour)
The Rules has just been published by Stripes. It’s a YA thriller about Amber who’s on the run from her dad, a prepper. Her whole childhood has been spent preparing for disaster and having to live by her dad’s rules which he scrawls on the walls. When I was writing The Rules in 2019, I […]
Adventures in Fiction – Sky Pirates
by Alex English As a child I always longed for adventure, but growing up in suburban Hampshire meant that excitement wasn’t always around the corner. In fact, not much happened at all. Instead, I looked to books to provide me with escape and I think that’s where my love for adventurous fiction started. The sort […]
The Wild Way Home – Author Q & A
Written by Erin Hamilton The Wild Way Home by Sophie Kirtley is a stunning middle grade book set in the Stone Age. There is so much positivity surrounding this debut author and her wonderful book. I had the honour of putting together some questions for Sophie to answer- ones that I was curious about as […]
Tales of a Toothbrush
by M G Leonard In 2010 I read an article about how the ocean as we imagine it doesn’t exist any longer because of the amount of rubbish we’ve thrown into it. It upset me, and I have been noodling with story ideas on the subject for years. In that time the problem has grown […]
Jack’s Secret Summer – Author Q&A
by Erin Hamilton Jack’s Secret Summer is all about an incredible mystery surrounding an empty house, a young girl searching for her father and a group of boys forging new friendships. Jack hasn’t many friends until neighbours Bruno and Rocco invite him to hang out with them. Their daring escapades lead them to the empty […]
Roxy and Jones – Author Q&A
by Erin Hamilton Roxy and Jones, The Great Fairytale Cover-Up by Angela Woolfe is a fun new twist on fairytales and favourite characters. Cinderalla Jones, a rebel with a cause meets Roxy Humperdinck, sister to Gretal. On the hunt for lost relics, they make an unusual pair. I adore twisted tales, and re-imaginings of traditional […]
Voyage of the Sparrowhawk
Q&A with Natasha Farrant, curated by Erin Hamilton. The Voyage of the Sparrowhawk is a search for loved ones and a place to call home in the aftermath of WWI. A completely compelling story of love, friendship and unexpected surprises. I was glued to this book and was so excited to put forth some questions […]
The Vanishing Trick
Guest Post by Jenni Spangler I grew up in Manchester, and moved to Stoke on Trent about eight years ago. Neither are places that immediately jump to mind when you think of literature and writing. As an aspiring author, living outside of London often felt like missing out on a party, and I didn’t know […]
The Boy In and Out of the Bubble: How Connecting to Oneself is Part of Connecting to the World – NSSM2020
Guest Post by M.Evan Wolkenstein When I was sixteen, I joined my school’s environmental club. We were trying to save a “green space” (really a vacant lot) downtown. It was home to monarch butterflies in migration, and the club urged local residents to take action to protect the habitat. My parents were shocked: until this […]
Planet Power – NSSM2020
Guest Post by Robin Jacobs I have always been enthralled by the power of nature. When I was little, my favourite thing was to go outside during a storm. Ideally barefoot. My mum was mostly tolerant unless it was particularly cold or muddy outside. I recently discovered my 6-year-old nephew has the same predilection. He […]
Telling Stories about the Planet We Share – NSSM2020
Guest Post by Isabel Thomas Once upon a time, there was a planet that was not too hot, not too cold, but just right… The science behind climate change is vital. Vast amounts of data cataloguing millions of years of Earth’s history allow us to fully understand what is happening to the planet we share. […]
The story of plastic – NSSM2020
Guest Post by Katie Daynes Have you had a plastic ‘penny drop’ moment? A moment when you realised how totally bonkers it is to take something that will last for hundreds of years, use it only once, then throw it away? Perhaps you’ve had a plastic OUTRAGE moment when you’ve seen an image of an […]