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On Friday I finally made it up to Newcastle to catch the National Centre for Children’s Books, Seven Stories’ exhibition Painting with Rainbows – A Michael Foreman Exhibition, which closes today (sorry!). The good news is that it will be heading out on tour: so far, it’s … Continue reading ... →

What great news! Today it has been announced that multi-award winning author Michael Morpurgo has donated his entire archive to Seven Stories, the UK’s National Centre for Children’s Books.

The archive contains draft manuscripts, photographs, notebooks and correspondence all the way back from his first publication ‘It Never Rained’ to his 2015 ‘An Eagle in the Snow’ as well as material relating to his his widely known and admired works such as ‘War Horse’ and ‘Private Peaceful’.

To mark this brilliant news I was able to put a few questions to Michael about his archive.

Playing by the book: What’s the oldest item in your archive which you’ve donated to Seven Stories? Perhaps something you wrote as a child? School reports?

Michael Morpurgo: I suppose I would be going back to about 1970, and I’ve been writing since then. They are scribbles, but they are there.

Playing by the book: What do you think people might be surprised by when they look at your archive?

Michael Morpurgo: The mess! I was just looking at notebooks then and thinking what a jostle of impressions and efforts… the little psychological boosts I give myself. For instance at the end of half an hour or a page I count up a word tally and it gives me an absurd sense of satisfaction; to know at the end of the day I’ve done 1,000 or 2,000 words and how encouraging this is for me.

Aside from the mess, how fluent I can be when I’m working well and how tentative and trembly I can be when it’s not moving necessarily the way I want it to move. And there’s the awful moment when you’ve done too much writing the day before and you can tell the writing gets faster and faster and faster towards 4 o’clock and then you stop and look back the next day and think – of course I should have stopped at lunchtime, because the last three hours were rubbish! Then there’s the great lines through it. There are also the moments you re-trace your life and I rather like that.

Playing by the book: What will you do with all the space created by gifting your archive to Seven Stories?

Michael Morpurgo: Fill it up! It’s already filling up with new manuscripts and other things. Don’t you find that at home when you want to clear a room, you just clear it up for it to fill with other stuff? But the great thing about this is that now it will serve a useful purpose. It really will be useful. There will be some people down the line who will want to know how this particular writer worked out why he would write that story and how he set about it. And I love that – I love that people might have an insight into how that happened, especially when you aren’t around to tell them.

My thanks go to Michael for his generosity in answering my questions and also to Damien Wootten for the photographs from Seven Stories today.

Dreams of Freedom: In Words and Pictures
edited by Janetta Otter-Barry, designed by Judith Escreet, with a Foreword by Michael Morpurgo
(Amnesty International/Frances Lincoln, 2015)

All royalties donated to Amnesty … Continue reading ... →

Last weekend saw the first birthday of the book group I run for 8-12 year olds at the local public library. On Saturday we celebrated with lots of games – book spine poetry and book charades (where titles had to be those of books we had read or discussed during the past year in book group) causing the most laughter. There were also lots of bookish treats:

On Monday we had an amazing trip to a local arts festival where we saw Michael Morpurgo retell his book The Mozart Question, accompanied by a fabulous set of musicians who played music matching the storyline. The show was wonderful, powerful and moving and Michael very generously made time for the children in my book group to interview him over a slice or two of birthday cake – what better first birthday present could there be?

Members of the book group presented Michael with a copy of the anthology they’ve written this year, and which they have been selling to family and friends to raise money for Michael’s charity Farms For City Children. They had each practised their “author signature” and signed the anthology. It was a proud moment to see it in Michael’s hands!

Before the fun and games on Saturday we spend some time preparing for our interview with Michael by reading lots of past interviews with him, highlighting things we found interesting and making a note of questions that we couldn’t find answers for. I found this a really effective way of encouraging the group to think of questions more unusual than the ones that so often arise when authors do a Q&A with children, such as “Why did you become a writer?” or “What tips do you have for aspiring authors?”.

Looking back over the year, it’s a delight to see how the book group as grown. Initially it was a determined, constructive response to my eldest being bullied at school for being a bookworm, and out of that stressful situation something lovely has blossomed. I’ve been supported along the way by many people and I’m really grateful to them all, especially the authors and illustrators with whom the book group has tweeted and the library staff who have helped with book reservations.

Neil Boyle and Kirk Hendry are attached to direct the feature based on the bestselling novel by Michael Morpurgo.

Looking to bring a young reader to a nuanced and thoughtful tale of family, identity, and history? Michael Morpurgo, author of the international bestseller War Horse, has written \"an intricately layered story within a story,\" A Medal for Leroy, published first in Britain and now available in paperback in the U.S.

Michael, growing up biracial in 1940s London, remembers nothing of his father, Roy, an RAF pilot. And no one in the family will talk about him. Then, he receives a parcel after his Auntie Snowdrop has died, and discovers a hidden note that reveals the real story of his father, and intrigues him with his grandfather’s activities during World War I. Determined to find the truth among long-hidden family secrets, Michael learns that his grandfather, Leroy, made three excursions into a battle zone to rescue wounded men. His fellow soldiers insisted he deserved special commendation for his heroic efforts but his actions went unacknowledged because of racial barriers. Michael sets out to change that.

Writing in Newsday, Mary Quattlebaum notes that through his efforts, Michael \"begins to understand the forces that shaped him and his family.\"

Morpurgo’s inspiration for A Medal for Leroy was Lt. Walter Tull, the first black combat officer in the British army whose exceptional bravery during the war was never recognized. In his book, his protagonist Michael rights the family record. And Morpurgo includes a postscript about his discovery of Walter Tull’s tale, information on Tull’s life, and stories of other black soldiers whose bravery has been honored, finally.

February is African American History Month. Sharing these books with young readers comes with the responsibility to discuss ... progress towards equality.

First and foremost, hello.  How are you?  Are you having a nice day?  So nice to see you here, but before we go any further I must tell you that you very much need to leave me.  Just for a little while.  As you may have heard, my book with Jules Danielson and Peter Sieruta, Wild Things: Acts of Mischief in Children’s Literature, is coming out August 5th.  To prepare, Jules and I have created a blog that posts a story a day that got cut from our final book.  Here’s what you may have missed so far:

- A story about the greatest ALA Conference photo of all time.
- A tale of all the various authors and illustrators who have gotten advice from Maurice Sendak over the years.
- Advice on why you should never invite Hans Christian Andersen to stay the night.
- A tribute to everybody’s favorite Wicked Angel.
- Two rough broads / Newbery and Caldecott winners.
- A tribute to the fantastic Nancy Garden.

That said, here’s all the other news what wuz.

• All the world is ah-buzz with the information that J.K. Rowling just released on Pottermore.  Rita Skeeter is still reporting (so no, there is no justice in the universe) and she has the scoop on 34-year-old Harry today, as well as his buddies.  For my part, I’m just socked that I’m only two years older than Harry.  Makes my crush on Snape that much more creepy, I guess.

• One of my favorite blogs, Pop Goes the Page by the Cotsen Children’s Library, is turning one!  Best of all, if you send them your artistic birthday well-wishes, the selected winner will receive a $150 online shopping spree at Discount School Supply.  Not half bad!  Go do that thing.

• Credit Martha Parravano for creating a quite incisive interpretation of the Caldecott winners and near misses of 2013.  Lots to chew on, even if you don’t always agree.

• Now here is what we call guts.  Allan Ahlberg has declined the inaugural Booktrust Best Book Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award because it is sponsored by Amazon.  You, sir, are my hero of the day.  Thanks to Alison Morris for the link.

• There were many reasons to attend this last ALA Conference in Vegas.  But three in particular are standing out for me today.  Reason #1: I could have seen Mo Willems and Daniel Handler sharing a stage at the same time.  THAT would be an event well worth witnessing.  Can I get a witness who was there?.  Reason #2: Starr LaTronica’s Shoes.

Need I say more?

Reason #3: This blog got a little shout out in Brian Floca’s Caldecott speech.  See if you can spot where it is (hint: it’s not by name).

• Anywho, I wasn’t able to attend that conference because of my pregnancy.  I also wasn’t able to attend this conference: The Second Annual 21st Century Nonfiction Conference.  Doggone it.  Held in lovely New Paltz, NY, I was pleased at least to see that my co-worker Amie Wright kicked butt and took names.  You can read a great write-up of the event here.

• I know you have a lot going on today, but if you enjoyed watching Faerie Tale Theater with Shelley Duvall back in the day then maybe you’ll appreciate this catchy little ditty made out of all the times the charming host said, “Hello, I’m Shelley Duvall.”  I don’t do ringtones but if I had to choose one . . .

• I can still remember it like it was yesterday.  Way back in 1992 I listened to a librarian read Sukey and the Mermaid by Robert D. San Souci (illustrated by Brian Pinkney) to a group of kids.  It was remarkable at the time, not just because it featured a black mermaid, but because it featured a mermaid at all.  I don’t know if you read my recent review of The Mermaid and the Shoe, but mermaid picture books aren’t exactly prevalent.  Well over at Latin@s in Kid Lit, Cindy L. Rodriguez has written the post Diversity Needed Under the Sea: Not All Mermaids Have Blond Hair and Blue Eyes.  Their focus is mostly YA, but it’s interesting to note that aside from Sukey, picture book mermaids of color are few and far between.  Fairies of color have it even worse.

• Sadness.

• More sadness (those folks were good to me too).

• Alternate title for this Guardian article: Has the Carnegie medal lost its way?  Some folks will get the reference.

• Get out your fightin’ gloves.  SLJ has just launched the Up for Debate series.  Them’s fighting words (literally).

• Daily Image:

Trying to figure out how we could pull this off in the States.  Over in Britain the Story Museum hired a photographer for its 26 Characters exhibition.  His mission?  To photograph famous authors as their favorite literary characters.  The image of Neil Gaiman as Badger from Wind in the Willows circulated a couple months ago.  Now more pics have been revealed and they are lovely.  Here are two . .

Philip Pullman as Long John Silver

Michael Morpurgo as Magwitch from Great Expectations

Naturally I’m trying to figure out how we could do this here.  The Eric Carle Museum could host the images (we’d have a brief debate over whether or not photography is technically “illustration” and then decide ultimately that it was).  Or maybe the Rich Michelson Gallery could do it.  Then it’s a question of finding a photographer and picking the authors.  As for the costumes and make-up, Britain utilized The Royal Shakespeare Company.  Can’t really top that but it would be nice to get professionals involved. Pondering, pondering, pondering . . .

Red Squirrel, a new imprint from Barrington Stoke, is dedicated to creating exciting picture books.

Fair Enough.

But what makes them sit especially tall on the bookshelf is that as well as superb storytelling and inventive illustrations, these picture books contain lots of dyslexia friendly features so that grown-ups with dyslexia can also experience the joy of reading aloud to the kids in their lives.

One of their first offerings, All I said Was, written by former children’s laureate, Michael Morpurgo and illustrated by Ross Collins is a cautionary tale about the dangers of wish fulfilment.

Have you ever been reading a book and then fallen into a reverie imagining yourself as the character you’re reading about?

This is exactly what happens in All I said Was, and as a consequence – with the help of just a little magic, a boy and a bird swap places.

The boy-turned-bird is delighted. “This flying lark is amazing. I wan to to be a bird all my life.”

The bird-turned-boy is also pleased as punch: He discovers the joy of being able to read.

But is bird-life really all it’s cracked up to be? And can the magic ever be undone?

A quietly funny celebration of the power of a good book to transport us anywhere – safely – this is lovely story, told clearly and concisely. Its theme makes it particulars appropriate for opening a new venture which will hopefully enable more families to enjoy more stories.

Collins’ characterization and visual humour are especially strong (I particularly like his farmer and pigs). The illustrator also has the final say with a brilliant twist in the tale once Morpurgo’s words are complete. It’s a brilliantly satisfying, slightly naughty and rather funny end to a super book.

This is a book that could be enjoyed for so may different reasons – whether you’re looking for a prime example of illustrations doing so much to enrich a written text, a book celebrating how books can bring our imagination to life, or simply a funny story to share at bedtime – whether or not you yourself sometimes struggle with the written word.

All I can say is: Hurrah for Red Squirrel and their broadening of what it means for picture books to be inclusive.

Both M and J said they too would love to experience flying like a bird. The nearest I could offer them was the joy of flying…. a kite, made to look like a bird. Ah well, us parents, we can only try our best

We cut out very rough bird shapes from old plastic bags which we decorated with permanent pens. Once the feathers, beaks and eyes were in place we attached thin doweling to our birds. I used this commercial product as a starting point, cross referencing it with these instructions for making a diamond kite to come up with All-I-Said-Was-Kites Mark 1.

We each made one kite and then imagined us swapping places with the birds as we flew them.

Additional activities which could work well alongside reading All I said Was include:

Chasing pigeons. I don’t know a child who doesn’t love chasing pigeons!

Photo: Owen Jell

Music that goes well with All I said Was and the playing it induced in us includes:

If you could swap places with a character in a children’s book, which character would you swap places with (bearing in mind whoever you swapped with would take your place in your family/classroom/library….)?

Disclosure: I received a free review copy of All I said Was from the publisher.

I’m still gathering my thoughts from the wonderful experience that was the IBBY Congress in London Thursday to Sunday 23-26 August.  Four days of inspirational speakers and meeting kindred spirits from all over the world.  I’ve now added a selection of photographs to our Flickr – you can see them here.  I haven’t quite finished tagging and describing yet, but I’m getting there… and here is a smaller selection for you to enjoy on the blog – again, I’ve numbered them so that I can come back and label them!

A London children’s theatre company Theatre Peckham helped the Opening Ceremony go with a swing with their delightful performance of an extract from the theatre adaptation of Kate DiCamillo’s The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.  Then fuelled with a piece of Wally’s delicious 25th birthday cake (but where was he?  Answer: everywhere, in the guise of the very game Imperial College staff!), we headed back to the auditorium for our first plenary session – and what a line up!  Three UK Children’s Laureates – the current reigning Julia Donaldson and two of her predeceesors, Michael Morpurgo and Anthony Browne.

Each spoke about what particular passions they had brought to their role as laureate: Michael  described how he and poet Ted Hughes had first come up with the idea, and how Hughes had been instrumental in making it all happen; Anthony played the ‘shape game’ and showed how it appears everywhere in his work and outside it; and Julia talked of the three areas close to her heart: enhancing children’s experience of reading through drama; keeping libraries open (a big issue in the UK); and promoting stories for and about deaf children.

Julia and her husband Malcolm, on guitar, then showcased some examples of what theatre can do to enhance literacy, from the chorus of a very fast Italian pasta song written while on holiday in Siena, Italy, to a virtuoso performance of The Gruffalo in French, German and (its most recent language) Scots.  In between, we were treated to the song that inspired Julia’s book A Squash and a Squeeze with audience participation… and I say treated, well, it was a real treat for me as I got to be the hen!  Thanks to Australian author Susanne Gervay (yes, that was one of my top thrills of IBBY, meeting Susanne in person…), you will shortly be able to see it on Flickr too – don’t laugh too much!!

Well, that was just the first few hours of the Congress – I will certainly be writing more about it over the coming weeks.  In the meantime, hello to all those PaperTigers friends I got to meet for the first time in real life – Shirin Adl, Candy Gourlay, Dashdondog Jamba; and to old friends and new.  I’ll now be dreaming of IBBY Mexico 2014…  In the meantime, head on over to Flickr and enjoy my photos – and much better ones on the official IBBY Congress 2012′s photostream.

By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: April 2, 2012

Here’s the scoop on the most popular destinations on The Children’s Book Review site, the most coveted new releases and bestsellers.

Giveaway: Win the New iPad

Award-Winning Illustrator Marla Frazee & the Best Interview Ever

Author Interview: Gary Paulsen

How Picture Books Play a Role in a Child’s Development

Where to Find Free eBooks for Children Online

THE NEW RELEASES

The most coveted books that release this month:

The Art of Miss Chew

by Patricia Polacco

(Ages 5-8)

The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict

by Trenton Lee Stewart

(Ages 10-13)

Goddess Girls #8: Medusa the Mean

by Joan Holub and Suzanne Willams

(Ages 8-12)

Grave Mercy: His Fair Assassin (His Fair Assassin Trilogy #1)

by Robin LaFevers

(Ages 14-17)

The False Prince (Ascendance Trilogy)

by Jennifer A. Nielsen

(Ages 10-14)

THE BEST SELLERS

T