Children’s Book Award Younger Readers Blog Tour Round-up

by Kate Poels, CBA Co-ordinator

Over the past couple of weeks we have been lucky enough to have enlisted the help of three fantastic children’s book bloggers to help us celebrate the books in our Younger Readers category.

If you missed any of them never fear!  Here is a roundup of some of the things we’ve been treated to.

We kicked off this section of the tour with a post from Book Lover Jo who told us all about book number 1:

Mr Penguin and the Fortress of Secrets
Written and illustrated by Alex T Smith
Published by Hodder

Jo told us why she likes this book so much:

“I loved this snowy and thrilling adventure which features Alex T. Smith’s trademark brilliant humour and unique style. He has a knack for creating the most eccentric and marvellous characters who he brings to life with his intricate and hilarious illustrations.”

She also had the chance to ask Alex how he felt about the award:

“I am thrilled to be shortlisted in the Children’s Book Award. It’s always lovely to be shortlisted for an award but this is especially brilliant as the award is voted for by the cleverest, most discerning readers out there: kids!  I had so much fun creating Mr Penguin so I am delighted that my readers are enjoying his adventures as much as I did writing them.”

You can find the complete blog post here.

The next stop on the blog tour was posted by Rachel from Get Kids Into Books and was all about book number 2:

The Dog Who Lost His Bark
Written by Eoin Colfer
Illustrated by P.J Lynch
Published by Walker

Rachel gave us an insight into the book and told us why she loved it:

“I really enjoyed this tender story about the bond between a boy and his dog. The Dog Who Lost His Bark is a beautiful story of friendship and healing. It handles difficult issues with sensitivity. It’s a celebration of friendship, music and family. I loved it!”

We were also treated to brilliant interviews with both the author and the illustrator.  Here are just a couple of the highlights:

Get Kids into Books: Congratulations on your nomination in the younger readers category of the 2019 Children’s Book Award. What would it mean to you to win?

Eoin: I would be wonderful to know that our little puppy was connecting with young readers around the world. It always warms my heart to imagine a family reading our book together. On a selfish note, winning the award might convince PJ to do another book with me.

P.J. Thank you so much! It’s always thrilling to be shortlisted for a major award, but the FCBG award is really special because it is judged by young readers’  votes from start to finish. It would mean the world to Eoin and me if we were fortunate enough to win.

To read the full blog click here.

The last post of this leg of the blog tour was hosted by Library Girl and Book Boy.

Funny Kid – Stand Up
Written by Matt Stanton
Published by Harper Collins

First we get a little glimpse at the story:

Max has spent his time in school honing his comic timing and carving his niche as ‘the funny kid’ in class, so when the Redhill Talent Quest visits town he naturally presumes that the title is his. However, when he gets to the auditions a newcomer seems determined to destroy him.

We also hear why Library Girl and Book Boy think this book should win:

I can see why this book was voted as a finalist by its readers – packed full of (terrible) jokes, a scattering of sarcasm, loads of illustrations and some brilliant comic strip inserts. All this makes for a laugh-filled read with mystery, self-doubt and hi-jinx.

To read the full blog post click here.

Thank you to all three of our star bloggers and to the authors, illustrators and publishers for their support and assistance in supplying books, quotes, interviews and resources for the posts.

Look out next week when we kick off the next round of blog posts to celebrate the Books For Older Readers from our final three fabulous bloggers:

www.goldenbooksgirl.wordpress.com

www.minervareads.com

www.thebookactivist.com

You can keep up to date with all things Children’s Book Award by following us on Twitter @CBAcoordinator or check the website www.childrensbookaward.org.uk