The Federation of Children’s Book Groups Blog
Ballet Besties by Chitra Soundar
Ballet Besties is a new series for younger readers, co written by Chitra Soundar and principal ballerina Yasmine Naghdi. We have a lovely blog about the series from Chitra! Ballet Besties Bringing out the best amongst friends Ballet Besties is a new series for 7+ readers about Yara and her new friends at a […]
Books for Younger Readers Round-Up
We are in the second phase of our blog tour celebrating the Top Ten for the Children’s Book Award. This week was a celebration of Books for Younger Readers with three bloggers hosting some guest blogs from the shortlisted authors and illustrators. Kicking off this phase was Erin Hamilton from My Shelves Are Full, hosting […]
SuperQuesters by Dr Thomas Bernard and Lisa Moss
Dr Thomas Bernard and Lisa Moss co- authors of the SuperQuesters series discuss why they created their publishing company QuestFriendz and the importance of getting young children engaged and learning about the climate crisis without it appearing overwhelming. When our twin daughters were younger, Thomas and I were looking for books and toys that would […]
CBA Books for Younger Children Round Up
Welcome to our first round up for this year’s Children’s Book Award! These give us a chance to celebrate the titles in the categories as well as offer a huge thank you to the authors, illustrators, publishers and bloggers for creating and hosting content for us! We have four books in this category with content […]
Lie or Die by A.J. Clack
A.J. Clack offers some insight into our relationship with reality TV and how it inspired her novel, Lie or Die. Is it time to face reality? Reality television is the tv genre that many love to hate. Ask most people and they will screw up their face and shake their heads, vehemently denying committing any […]
Pirate Academy by Justin Somper
We are delighted to welcome Justin Somper to the blog today! He has kindly taken the time to answer our questions around his new series, Pirate Academy. Can you tell us a bit about Pirate Academy. It’s the year 2507. Ocean levels have risen and there’s a new golden age of piracy. The oceans are […]
Children’s Book Award Announcement!
We are delighted to announce The Children’s Book Award 2024 shortlist! Children from nine FCBG testing groups read almost 700 books submitted by publishers and registered over 47,000 votes, from which the Top Ten has been selected. The full shortlist is as follows: Books for Younger Children Gigantic – written and illustrated by Rob […]
The Globe Defenders by Jonny Daymond
The Globe Defenders Rainforest Rescue by Jonny Daymond As a child I soaked up adventure stories. Many of them old books like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World and H. Rider Haggard’s King Soloman’s Mines. Of course, some of these stories hark back to a dark imperial age. But the adventure within them […]
Hide and Seek by Rhian Tracey
We have a fascinating glimpse into Rhian Tracey’s quest for telling historical stories, especially ones close to her home and heart. Lesser known histories and mysteries are my favourite subjects to read, research and write about. I am by nature a curious (even nosy, some might say!) person and find creative pleasure in exploring unanswered […]
Finding Hope by Nicola Baker
We have a lovely guest blog from author, Nicola Baker, about her new series, Whistledown Farm and the first book, Finding Hope. Growing up I loved books about witches and magic – but I also loved books about animals and the countryside. I would get lost in these stories for hours and was never […]
Sammy and the Extra-Hot Chilli Powder by Charlie P Brooks
We have a brilliant guest blog from Charlie P. Brooks about his new book, Sammy and the Extra-Hot Chilli Powder! His funny blog will have you itching to pick up this book! How does a Dad that doesn’t have an office to go to everyday convince his daughter that he isn’t a moron. I […]
Seven Days by Rebeka Shaid
We have a special guest blog from author, Rebeka Shaid, around her favourite classic children’s books from her childhood. It is always fascinating to see what classics were read by popular authors! The children’s classics I loved growing up by Rebeka Shaid I grew up in a home full of books. History books. […]
Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr by Sara Khan
We have a delightful blog from author Sara Khan about the inspirations for her book, Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr. These books are vital for sharing insights into celebrations from cultures and religions around the UK! I am delighted to share with you the inspiration behind my latest children’s book, ‘Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr.’ As […]
National Non-Fiction November Competition Winners!
With last year’s NNFN theme of ‘Wonderful Water’, ‘Sea Change: Save the Ocean’, edited by Tobias Hickey of the International Centre for the Picture Book in Society at Worcester University, made the perfect book to use as the focus for our competition. Published by Otter-Barry Books, this is a collection of original postcards and messages […]
Flying High by Cao Wenxuan
We welcome Jake Hope, one of the translators of Flying High by Cao Wenxuan, to the blog today to share insights into this picture book! ‘In China, kites are more than just traditional toys; they are symbols of culture. During traditional Chinese festivals, such as Qingming and Mid-Autumn Festival, kite flying is an important activity. […]
Time Travellers by Sufiya Ahmed
Sufiya Ahmed is no stranger to our blog and we are really pleased to welcome her back with this guest post about her new series, Time Travellers! It’s publication week as I write this, and I am a little nervous about the reception from young readers for my new book Time Travellers: Adventure Calling. […]
Launch of 2024 Read for Empathy Book Collection
Empathy Lab launched their new book collection for 2024 on social media last week! It caused quite a stir as educators, parents, authors, illustrators and librarians joined in to celebrate this new collection. Please read below for all the details! Launch of 2024 Read for Empathy book collection sees major authors & illustrators help […]
How to find a rainbow by Alom Shaha
Rainbows are something that all ages look at with awe and wonder. In this blog by author, Alom Shaha, we can “unweave” rainbows for greater understanding. It’s a lovely blog post. I recently rescued an old overhead projector from a store cupboard full of disused equipment at the school where I work. OHPs used to […]
