Due to the newness of the COVID-19 virus there is a lack of printed material available for libraries to put together information displays for our patrons.
Below is a list of links to scientific organisations around the world that provide trusted medical information that can be used for displays. There is a wealth of information online, many of these have downloadable materials that can be used for educational purposes.
Finding books to read and enjoy with your children is easier
than you think!
I can still remember four years ago when you complained that
children’s books were too boring for you and your then two-year old son and that
you were going to give writing a children’s book as you thought you could do
better.
At the time I am pretty sure I rolled my eyes as I hear many
people declaring that they were going to write a book for children (usually
followed by a “how hard could it be”). I then moved on with my life and did not
give it another thought, until the news broke about your seven book deal with
Hachette (congratulations by the way –
know how hard it can be for many new writers to get a foot in the door)
Your son is now six and I hope that in the past four years
you both have discovered books that were not boring and instead sparked a love
for reading in you both.
I know how difficult it can be to find something to enjoy –
particularly if you have had a bad (or boring) experience with a book or books
it can dent the enthusiasm that a reader may have for trying a new book. Now I
know that you are thinking that I am going to throw a load of titles I think
you should try, and I could but honestly how likely is it that you will be able
to take time out of your busy schedule to try and find them, or even send a
go-fer or lackey to do this task.
Rather I will recommend that you go to your local public
library, I know you split your time between the Kensington in the UK and
Beverley Hills in the US. Both locations have brilliant public libraries. Take
your son with you, he is now six (or almost there if I have done my basic maths
correctly), the best way for a library worker to match a reader with books they
may enjoy is to take the time to speak to them. Heck I am happy to chat to you
both about what you enjoy doing and then making some suggestions on what may
appeal – I have over 20 years of experience as a Librarian for Children and
Young People (and their families) under my belt – and many colleagues have even
more.
Details and how to find the Beverley Hills Public library
can be found here
and the Central Library of the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea can be
found here.
Joining the library is free and you usually only need your ID with proof of address (the requirements of your local library may differ a bit so it is bet to check before going). Be sure to take your son too I am sure he would love a trip to the library with his dad – I know my daughter does!
Who knows they may even offer to host your book launch or even book you for a book talk or storytime.
I look forward to hearing back from you – but even if you do not respond I hope you do give your local library a try – I am sure they would love to help you both!
One dark night , the sound of music and singing wakes a terrible monster from his sleep in a foul swamp …
Warrior after warrior comes to slay the monster, but no one can outwit Grendel. Only the great hero Beowulf stands a chance, but even he is not prepared for the horror that lies in wait.
Brian Patten has revisted his retelling of Beowulf for Barrington Stoke, packaged in their renowned dyslexia friendly style, with illustrations by Chris Riddell making it even more enticing. It is brilliantly done, he has managed to condense it down into readable language while retaining the gore and thrill of the original poem, at one point Grendel “plucked off their arms and legs as if they were petals”.
I was really pleased to be sent a copy of it, and even more pleased to be given the opportunity to ask Brian some questions:
You wrote this retelling quite some time ago, how did it come to be republished by Barrington Stoke?
Barrington Stoke asked me to revisit it for the new edition and I was glad to do so. The Beowulf story dates back over a thousand years and was written by an anonymous poet. It was memorised and retold over and over, spreading from Scandinavia to Britain, where people would gather in the Great Halls where the clans lived to listen to it. You could say it was the very first blockbuster horror story.
I
wrote it because I wanted younger people, not just professors and people
studying at University to read it, and so wrote this version as simply and as
well as I could.
Can you imagine having a mother like Grendel’s?
Was it your idea to have new illustrations from Chris Riddell?
I don’t think we could have used anyone else! Chris has illustrated a number of my books now- three of my poetry collections and The Story Giant- my book about a mysterious figure that lives out on Dartmoor and knows every story in the world- except for one, which a group of children try to help him find one night when they dream themselves into his castle. If they can’t find it, the giant will die.
How difficult was it to distill the poem down without losing the heart of it?
The first draft I wrote was nearly twice as long as the finished draft. Part of being a writer – for a prose writer as well as a poet – is knowing what to leave out. I wanted it to move fast, and the language to be rich, so used images like the monster rising from a nest amongst putrid pools.
When you start a poem, have you already decided if it will be for adults or children or does it come clear as you write?
That’s a great question. I’m really delighted when I’m writing a poem and it suddenly becomes obvious that it is for adults as well as children. A good example is my poem, Geography Lesson. Sometimes there are poems that begin life as adult poems that children seem to find other things in, and they make it their own- a poem like A Small Dragon is a good example. One day it suddenly began to turn up in anthologies for children, while it began life as a love poem. I don’t think poems only have one “meaning.”
What kind of events do you most enjoy doing with young readers?
I used to do lots of poetry readings for young readers and still do sometimes.
What I like to do is read my funny ones and drop the serious ones into the mixture now and then. I always think if you can make people laugh, they will allow you to be serious now and then, and continue to listen.
Do you have a favourite of your own books (other than this one, obviously)?
I guess my favourite of my own is my Collected Love Poems. Usually my favourite poem though is the one I’m trying to write.
What are you reading at the moment and who would you recommend it to?
At the moment I’m reading lots of nature books. I woke very early this morning and was reading a book called Extraordinary Insects. I live in the countryside and see badgers and foxes all the time, and there’s a pheasant that pecks on the window for its breakfast and a blackbird that loves grapes. (There was one blackbird that lived in the garden last year that would actually take a grape from between my finger and thumb if I stayed still long enough.) Anyway, I recently decided I’d like to pay some attention to the other world that surrounds us and the almost alien creatures who occupy it and have such weird and wonderful powers. So now I’m halfway through Extraordinary Insects.
What are your plans for 2020?
More
writing and more travel.
Thanks
a lot for taking an interest. I think we all have more than five senses. We
have six. Imagination is the sixth, and the more it is used the more it grows.
Having lived in the US now for 18+ months has given me some distance and useful perspective on the goings on in UK Libraries. What I have seen has disturbed me; from CILIP’s lack of support of library workers striking in Bromley, to their uncritical stance on Dominic Cummings (and related online responses to library workers that protested this) as well as the Memorandum of Agreement with Sharjah Public Libraries in the United Arab Emirates, to mention just a few of the issues that have caused my disquiet. I signed open letters, spoke to colleagues, made my views known online but eventually the issues mounted up and became too much for me
As of today I am no longer a member of CILIP.
Were I still living in the UK I may have made the decision
to remain a member and attempt to effect organizational change (using my white
male privilege & fairly large social media presence to be vocal) from
within.
I will always be grateful to CILIP for the opportunities it afforded me, from working on the London Committee of the Youth Libraries Group (two years as chair) to being a Judge for the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals as well as sitting on the National Committee for the School Libraries Group. Not to mention the training events I attended (& in some cases ran) but I decided that I could no longer in good conscience remain a member. I will not criticize friends and colleagues that retain their membership.
I will continue to support and cheer on CILIP front-line initiatives from the side-lines, including the CKG Medals and #GreatSchoolLibraries and others for I believe now, as I did then, that the best of CILIP is to be found in the work done by the special interest groups (and I belonged to some of the best of those).
Dinosaur Books is an independent publisher that produces books for children aged 5 – 14. They aim to publish stories for young readers that combine exciting, page turning adventure with ideas that encourage readers to think.
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Knights Of publishes commercial children’s fiction – distributed through the UK, Ireland and Europe. We’re all about hiring as widely, and as diversely as possible, to make sure the books we publish give windows into as many worlds as possible – from what’s on the page all the way to sales copy.
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Tamarind Books was founded by Verna Wilkins in 1987 with the mission of redressing the balance of diversity in children’s publishing. Over twenty years later, the world has changed but the problem is still very relevant today. And so, Tamarind still exists to put diversity ‘in the picture’.
HopeRoad Publishing is an exciting, independent publisher, vigorously supporting voices too often neglected by the mainstream. We are promoters of literature with a special focus on Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. At the heart of our publishing is the love of outstanding writing from writers you, the reader, would have otherwise missed.
Our mission is to change the way we all think about African writing. We think that contemporary African prose should be rooted in African experience in all its diversity, whether set in filthy-yet-sexy megacities such as Lagos or Kinshasa, in little-known rural communities, in the recent past or indeed the near future. We also think the time has come to build a new body of African writing that links writers across different times and spaces.
An independent publishing company committed to producing beautiful, original books for children. Established in 2015, our energy and passion stems from our belief that stories act as bridges – providing pathways to new experiences whilst connecting us to here and there. Our stories are visually rich and conceptually meaningful. They give children unique perspectives on universal themes such as love, friendship and freedom and a greater awareness of the diverse and colourful world we live in. We have a range of books from Iranian authors and illustrators including two beautiful tales by Rumi and one from The Book of Kings. We are also developing a programme of intercultural projects, pairing authors and illustrators from around the globe.
Jacaranda Books Art Music Ltd is a fresh and exciting new independent publishing house based in London. We publish adult fiction and non-fiction, including illustrated books, which cross linguistic, racial, gender and cultural boundaries – books in many ways as cosmopolitan as our city.
