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The Federation of Children’s Book Groups Blog
Oh No, Flo by Catherine Cawthorne
Check out the guest blog today from Catherine Cawthorne about using Oh No, Flo and some other funny picture books with young readers! Can you remember….? Using Oh No, Flo! and other picture books for following and recalling instructions At one point, I had three children under 5 years old. Trying to get them […]
Children’s Book Award Blog Tour Complete Round Up
The Children’s Book Award is the only national award voted for solely by children from start to finish. This year we celebrated the Top Ten Shortlisted titles with a blog tour for each category of book. We invited bloggers to host content from the shortlisted creators in celebration of their title and the award. We […]
Books for Younger Readers Blog Tour Round-Up
The Children’s Book Award blog tour has drawn to a close for 2025 and we are truly grateful to the authors for sharing their words with our fantastic team of bloggers. In case you missed this week’s incredible line up, find the links below to the four pieces for the four shortlisted titles. Grotti, […]
Dadbot by Jack Noel
Check out our guest blog from Jack Noel about Dadbot, his new graphic novel! I love comics! I loved comics when I was a beautiful little boy and I love comics now I am a grisly old dad. I like comics because, well … see how boring these words are? I grew up in the […]
Children’s Book Award Round Up
Welcome to the blog tour round up for the Children’s Book Award 2025. This week we celebrated the titles in the Books for Older Readers Category. We had hoped to have a guest blog from each of our shortlisted authors but unfortunately, Sam Sedgman has been on a book tour and unable to write for […]
Q&A with James Davis, author of Scarlett, Defender of the Universe
Meet Scarlet, Defender of the Universe by James Davis! After reading, we had some interesting questions for the author about this character and the story- check out his answer’s below! Where did the idea for Scarlet and her story come from? It started as an idea about a zoo on a different planet, which […]
Children’s Book Award Round Up- Books for Younger Readers
Every year as part of the Top Ten Announcement for the Children’s Book Award, we ask popular bloggers to host a special blog tour to celebrate the most popular books, as voted on solely by children across the UK. We launched the Top Ten shortlist on 3rd March and have a spectacular line up of […]
Q&A with Steve Tomecek, author of The Greatest Stuff on Earth
We love a Q&A with authors and illustrators- it gives us great insight into where their book began and how it came to be! Check out today’s with Steve Tomecek, author of The Greatest Stuff on Earth. Q&A with Steve Tomecek, author of The Greatest Stuff on Earth The Greatest Stuff on Earth is a […]
Let’s Play Rugby by Paul Howard
Let’s Play Rugby was co-written by Paul Howard and Gordon D’Arcy. In our blog today, Paul shares how co-authoring worked for them. Co-authoring children’s books with Gordon D’Arcy has been one of the happiest twists that my career as a writer has taken. Gordon and I actually knew each other in a previous life, long […]
The Children’s Book Award shortlist for 2025
The Children’s Book Award shortlist for 2025 We’re delighted to announce the Children’s Book Award 2025 shortlist today. Children from the 10 FCBG testing groups read over 600 books submitted by the publishers and registered over 55,000 votes, from which the Top 10 has been selected. The full shortlist is as follows: Books for Younger […]
Kwesi and Nana Ruby Learn to Swim by Kobina Commeh
We have a lovely guest blog today from author Kobina Commeh, about his book, Kwesi and Nana Ruby learn to swim. It tells where the idea for the story came from! Kwesi and Nana Ruby Learn to Swim: From Water to Paper by Kobina Commeh My two heroes plopped into the deep end of […]
A judge’s eye view on the Branford Boase Award
Phoebe Demeger is the Librarian at the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE) and she’s a judge on this year’s Branford Boase Award, which highlights the year’s outstanding debut novels for children and young people. She has also just joined the judging panel for the Little Rebels Prize and sits on the World Book […]
Calling All Young Writers! Enter the Stories for Change Competition!
Calling All Young Writers! Enter the Stories for Change Competition! Guppy Books and the Federation of Children’s Book Groups are thrilled to announce Stories for Change – a short story competition for children aged 7-12, inspired by the themes of National Share a Story Month 2025 and Maggie Blue and the Lost Child by Anna […]
Finding Tiny Dogs by Rose Lihou
We are delighted to share a blog from Rose Lihou about her new book series, Tiny Dogs. Read on to discover where this all began. Finding Tiny Dogs The idea for the Tiny Dogs series started from a picture I drew during lockdown. I made a sketch of a child low down in the grass discovering some […]
Inkbound by Philippa Leathley
Author, Philippa Leathley, introduces us to her book, Inkbound, and main character, Meticulous Jones. Imagine if a tattoo could predict your future… Inkbound by Philippa Leathley What if a tattoo could predict your future? In the world of Inkbound, every child gets a magical tattoo or “fate” on their tenth birthday that tells them something […]
The House on the Canal by Thomas Harding
A timely blog post today by author Thomas Harding about The House on the Canal, the house that hid Anne Frank. The blog post and the book are personal and well worth a read. THE HOUSE ON THE CANAL By Thomas Harding The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam is an incredibly special place. Each […]
This Feast of a Life by Cynthia So
We have a brilliant Q&A with author Cynthia So, author of This Feast of a Life. We owe a thank you to Jacqui Sydney for creating the questions sent to Cynthia. When the book opens, Auden has just made the New Year’s resolution to become the person I want to be. What advice would […]
Honeysuckle and Bone by Trisha Tobias
On the blog today, we have a personal piece from author Trisha Tobias about her novel, Honeysuckle and Bone. It is a moving piece about the grief and stories she grew up with. Honeysuckle and Bone follows the story of eighteen year old Carina who escapes her own dark past by nabbing a job in […]