Monthly Archives: July 2020

You are browsing the site archives by month.

The Diverse Book Awards

July 31, 2020 11:27 am ,

This morning the longlists for The Diverse Book Awards were announced, created by The Author School to showcase the talent of marginalised voices, and the books started arriving at my house to read!

I’m really please that two of my fellow judges are actual teenagers, reading the children’s and YA lists, and the awards also teamed up with blogger and photographer Tenelle Ottley-Matthew, to help spread the love, so do keep your eye on her blog, insta and twitter!

The Children’s Longlist:

The YA Longlist:

The Adult Longlist:

To be eligible, the author has to be UK based and the book had to be published in the UK in 2019. I’ve already read all the YA and most of the children’s lists, all brilliant titles that I’m looking forward to rereading with the criteria in mind, to help choose the shortlist and eventual winner! I’ve read one of the grownup books so far…

Posted in: Awards, MG, News, Reflecting Realities, YA

Andersen Press release FREE ‘Summer Staycation Activity Pack’

July 28, 2020 7:31 pm ,

Andersen Press are continuing their commitment to supporting children and families who are at home with a free activity pack featuring their new summer titles. As many families will be taking their holidays at home or in the UK Andersen wants to offer families a cost-effective way to spend an afternoon (sunny or rainy) during the great British Summertime.

The Summer Staycation Activity Pack features free colouring sheets, word searches, spot-the-difference games and more based on a selection of Andersen titles;

Luna Loves Art by Joseph Coelho and Fiona Lumbers

The Mouse’s Apples by Frances Stickley and Kristyna Litten

The Baby Beast by Chris Judge

The Bug Collector by Alex G Griffiths

Don’t Go There by Jeanne Willis and Hrefna Bragadottir

Duck and Penguin Are NOT Friends by Julia Woolf

Bricks by Katie Cotton and Tor Freeman

The Bolds on Holiday by Julian Clary and David Roberts

And Mermaid School by Lucy Courtenay and Sheena Dempsey

Also included is a competition, for one family to win each book featured in the pack.

The pack is free for all, and has been sent to Andersen’s list of bookshops, libraries and contacts for their use too, and compliments the work Andersen Press has been doing to share their books online during the COVID19 pandemic, with free, weekly story times on Seven Stories Facebook page continuing until September, regular storytimes on Panto Dame Mama G’s facebook page, partnerships with Save the Children’s #SaveWithStories (which saw BBC One Normal People’s Paul Mescal read Elmer and Super El, viewed over 500,000 times) and Coram Beanstalk to reach as many families as possible in lockdown.

Sarah Kimmelman, Andersen Press’ Head of Marketing has said of the release, “We know that life for many families out there is nowhere near back-to-normal, and with a lack of events, appearances and festivals it’s also not back to normal for us publishers, so we wanted to offer something accessible to as many people as possible to brighten up a summer at home whilst introducing families to some of our gorgeous new books.”

The Summer Staycation Activity Pack is available to download free here: 

https://www.andersenpress.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Summer-Staycation-Activity-Pack.pdf

Posted in: Uncategorized

When Stars are Scattered

July 15, 2020 9:30 am ,

Omar and his brother Hassan, two Somali boys, have spent most of their lives in Dadaab, a refugee camp in Kenya. Separated from their mother, they are looked after by a friendly stranger. Life in the camp isn’t always easy and the hunger is constant . . . but Omar devotes everything to taking care of his young brother and pursuing his education.

Faber

This is set to be one of my favourite graphic novels of all time. You will laugh, cry, rage, and cheer many times over the course of the book, a study in empathy, as Omar and Hassan experience the ups and downs of life in a refugee camp with the dream of resettling in America hanging over their heads. It is based on Omar Mohamed’s account of real experiences of growing up, so obviously the relationships are real, but they are brought off the page so beautifully and in so few words, through the skillful work of Victoria Jamieson (brilliantly coloured by Iman Geddy).

Narrated by Omar, we see his perspective of the environment and people, and how it changes when he was feeling hopeful or down. Bad things do happen to them, as well as good things, and Omar talks them through and shares his feelings with the reader. One panel that really struck me was after Omar had been talking to a friend who’s family had been chosen to be resettled, he tries so hard to be positive all the time but can’t help but think “It’s not fair”. He tells us:

…Of course, thinking like this doesn’t do you any good. Somalis even have a word for it. BUFIS. It means the intense longing to be resettled. It’s almost like your mind is already living somewhere else, while your body is stuck in a refugee camp…

We first meet Omar and his brother Hassan once they have already been living in the camp for a long time (have a read of the first chapter in the extract) and the way their journey to the camp is told to us, as it recounted in Omar’s UN interview for potential resettlement, is really powerful. We follow them for years, until Omar is 18, and I was particularly moved by the relationship with Fatuma, how they came to be together, and how Omar realised more and more with age how lucky they all were to have one another.

Enjoy this exclusive extract of WHEN THE STARS ARE SCATTERED

It does have a happy and hopeful ending for Omar and Hassan, but doesn’t let you forget the thousands more people still stuck in the limbo of refugee camps. I think this is essential reading for, well, everyone aged 8+ frankly.

Huge thanks to Faber for sending me a copy for review and inviting me to join the blog tour. WHEN STARS ARE SCATTERD is out in the UK now!

Posted in: BAME, comics, Graphic Novels, MG, non-fiction, Recommended by a Librarian, Reflecting Realities, Reviews