New Volunteer Opportunities!

For the third year running we are offering young people across Sheffield the opportunity to gain valuable work experience, and the chance to gain a nationally-recognised accreditation, through our highly successful Summer Reading Challenge Volunteer Project.

We're looking for enthusiastic young people, aged between 14 and 16, with a love of reading, to work in Central Children's, Walkley, Manor, and Gleadless Libraries, promoting the Summer Reading Challenge to young children. 

Many of you will perhaps remember taking part in The Summer Reading Challenge when you were younger; it's a massive, national project which aims to keep young children reading over the summer holidays and we need your help to get as many kids as possible involved! This year's theme is StoryLab, and the children who sign up for the project will be set the challenge of reading six books over the holidays, receiving rewards along the way.

We are looking for volunteers to help sign kids up for the Challenge, hand out rewards, and encourage kids a long the way - talking to them about the books they've read and helping them to choose more titles - there will also be opportunities to get involved in organising and running craft activities.

All our volunteers will gain a certificate from the Reading Agency, and a reference from the Sheffield Library Service, which can be used in their Record of Achievement. For the most promising applicants there will also be the opportunity to gain an OCN Level 2 accreditation, through the Reading Matters scheme.

If you think you might be interested, just click here to be taken to more information about the volunteer project, including a link to the application form. We need to have your applications in by Friday 8th June, so there's no time to lose! We look forward to hearing form you!

2012 Shortlists Fully Uploaded!

Information on all 18 books chosen for our 2012 shortlists have now been uploaded to the blog, along with details of the six books chosen for this year's special category, 'Quick Reads'. So all you need to do to check out which titles have made the cut, earning themselves a place on this year's Sheffield Children's Book Award shortlists, is to click on the tabs at the top of the page.  

Within the descriptions of the shortlisted books there are also links to authors' and illustrators' websites, so you can find out more about the people behind your favourite titles. Keep your eyes peeled for even more links on our 'Resources' page, which will be coming soon!

If you are taking part in the Book Award through your local library, rather than your school, then you can vote for your favourite book using the link at the bottom of your category page (see the 'Welcome' page for more details). If you'd like to recommend a book for next year's shortlists then you can do so by clicking the link on the top right of the home page and following the instructions.

Over the next few weeks we will also be uploading more titles to our archive pages; so if you are looking for your next good read, you will be able to get all the inspiration you need by checking out the previous winning titles on our blog.

2012 Shortlist Revealed!

The Sheffield library service – along with young readers, parents and teaching staff across the city – have been busy over the past year, reading as many books as possible, in order to make sure this year’s shortlist represents the very best in current children’s literature.

In January we finally whittled down all the hundreds of books competing for a place on the shortlist to the final thirty; with six titles for the Baby Book Award, Picture Book category,Young Adult category, and this year’s Special Category: Quick Reads. There are another three books each in the Shorter Novel and Longer Novel categories; two collections aimed at our junior school readers.

We're confident that we have chosen the very best books on offer, and hope you’ll have a great time reading them and voting for your favourite!

…And now here are all the shortlisted titles…

Baby Book Award

• The Acorn, by Edward Gibbs
• Fluff and Billy do Everything Together by Nicola Killen
• Lulu's Lunch by Camilla Reid and Ailie Busby
• In the Bath by Leslie Patricelli
• My First Words by Roger Priddy
• Little Frog by Katie Saunders

Picture Books

• Anna Hibiscus' Song by Atinuke and Lauren Tobia
• The Great Shepp Shenanigans by Peter Bently and Mei Matsuoka
• A Place to Call Hame by Alexis Deacon and Viviane Schwarz
• The Pirates Next Door by Jonny Duddle
• The Big Snuggle Up by Brian Patten and Nicola Bayley
• Dear Fairy Godmother by Michael Rosen and Nick Sharratt

Shorter Novels

• Earwig and the Witch by Diana Wynne Jones
• Agatha Parrot by Poskitt Kjartan
• Cartoon Kid by Jeremy Strong

Longer Novels

• Muncle Trogg by Janet Foxley
• The Snow Merchant by Sam Gayton
• One Dog and his Boy by Eva Ibbotson

Young Adult

• Flip by Martyn Bedford
• In the Bag by Jim Carrigton
• Heart Burn by Anne Cassidy
• A Year without Autumn by Liz Kessler
• Mister Creecher by Chris Priestley
• Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

Quick Reads

• A Monster Ate My Marmite by Eric Brown
• Bomb by Jim Eldridge
• Street Heores: Run Aways by Joe Layburn
• The Fall by Anthony McGowan
• Scrum by Tom Palmer
• The Gun by Bali Rai

More information about this year's titles will be added to this blog shortly, along with links to resources to get the most out of this year's shortlists - so keep your eyes peeled! We would love for you to get involved and leave your comments on the blog - what you enjoyed (or didn't!) about the titles you'll be reading over the coming months. Good luck with the shortlist and happy reading!!!

Steve Smallman is coming to Sheffield

Children's author Steve Smallman - who picked up the Highly Commended prize for his picture book, Dragon Stew, at this year's cermony - is coming to shefffield again tomorrow (Sat 17th Dec)!

Steve will be popping into 5 local libraries throughout the day to meet young readers and sign copies of his brand new book Santa is coming to Sheffield. The event is completely free and there is no need to get a ticket, just visit any one of the five locations listed below, for the opportunity to meet the award-winning author and have the chance to buy a signed copy of Santa is coming to Sheffield; which, of course, would make a great christmas present!

Locations and times:

Totley Library                         10.00am-10.30am

Upperthorpe Zest                   11.00am-11.30am

Central Children's Library       12noon-12.30pm

Highfield Library                     2.00pm-2.30pm

Broomhill Library                    3.00pm-3.30pm

2011 Winners Announced!

The winners of this year's Sheffield Children's Book Award were announced earlier today, at a fantastic ceremony at the City Hall.

The ceremony was attended by many of the shortlisted authors and illustrators as well as thousands of young readers from across Sheffield, who took part in the project this year.

The winners are chosen exclusively through the votes of these young readers, and those who weren't able to attend the ceremony are no doubt itching to find out which authors walked away with the prizes...so without further delay here are this year's winners:

The Pig's Knickers, by Jonathan Emmett and Vanessa Cabban scooped the top prize.

This hilarious tale of a prancing pig and his polka dot knickers captured the hearts of local children, whose votes ensured it was not only voted the Picture Book Category Winner, but that it was also crowned Overall Winner!

Jonathan Emmett, who attended the ceremony and later provided a workshop for children from Meynell School, was absolutely delighted with the win, and thrilled all attending the ceremony, by taking to the stage for his acceptance speech in his very own pair of polka dot knickers!

The other books scooping prizes for the Picture Book category were: Steve Smallman and Lee Wildish's Dragon Stew, which won the Highly Commended prize, along with Mini Grey's Three by the Sea, which won the Commended prize.

In the Shorter Novel Category David Walliams scooped the top spot, winning the category with his book Billionaire Boy; the heart-warming tale of Joe Spud, the richest twelve-year old in the world, whose only wish is to have a friend.

Jim Eldridge won the Highly Commended prize for his book Disgusting Dave and the Flesh-Eating Maggots. While Katie Davies won the Commended prize for her shorter novel The Great Hamster Massacre.

In the Longer Novel Category, it was Malorie Blackman who was voted the category winner for her dramatic and emotional book, Boys don't Cry, which tells the story of a teenage boy who is just about to embark on adulthood when he discovers he is a father. Malorie attended the ceremony and was greatly in demand afterwards, with so many young readers all desperate for her to sign a copy of the winning book.

Sharon Dogar won the Highly Commended prize for her book Annexed, while Andy Mulligan scooped the Commended prize for his novel Trash.

The winner of the Teachers' Favourite Book was Terry Deary's Put out the Light; a shorter novel which tells the parallel stories of a brother and sister living in Sheffield and two boys growing up in Dachau, Germany, as all four struggle to survive the ravages of the Second World War.

Finally the winner of the Baby Book Award was Noisy Peekaboo! Roar! Roar! by Dorling Kindersley, which adds a new dimension to lift-the-flap books, with its accompanying wild animal noises.

So all that is left to do is say a HUGE thank you to all of you who took part in this year's Sheffield Children's Book Award and Baby Book Award: this year we had a record-breaking 222 schools from across Sheffield taking part in the project!

It was fantastic to see so many of you at the ceremony today. We really hope you enjoyed reading this year's titles, and here's a reminder to keep your eyes peeled for the announcement of our 2012 Book Award shortlist! If you'd like to make your own suggestion for the shortlist, click on the link at the top right of the page and let us know which book you think deserves a place!

Award ceremony only one week away!

In just one week's time, on 29 November, we will be crowning the winners of this year's Sheffield Children's Book Award! The ceremony, which is being held at the City Hall next Tuesday, will be attended by thousands of local school children who have taken part in the project this year.

These young readers have been busy over the past year, reading and voting for the titles on the shortlists, and they will finally find out the winners at next week's ceremony.

Many of the shortlisted authors and illustrators are set to attend the ceremony on tuesday, and will be available after the event to sign copies of their books; with many also staying on to lead workshops for selected schools (see the previous post!).

It's set to be a great day, and for those of you attending, we can't wait to see you there!

Carnegie Longlists Recognise Titles Featured on our own Shortlists

The 2012 longlists for the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Children's Book Awards have been announced and, to our delight, they feature many of the books we chose for this year's Sheffield Children's Book Award shortlists.

Eight out of the eighteen books selected for our shortlists this year have also made it onto the prestigious Carnegie and Greenaway longlists. The eight books that feature on the lists are: Three by the Sea, Ottoline at Sea, Noah Barleywater Runs Away, Put out the Light, My Name is Mina, Annexed, Boys don't Cry, and Trash.

Those of you who have been invited to attend our award ceremony at the City Hall in less than two weeks, on 29 November, will have the chance to meet some of these authors in person! Malorie Blackman, John Boyne and Terry Deary will all be attending the ceremony and will be availabe to sign copies of their books at the end of the ceremony.

Other authors and illustrators attending the ceremony will be: Jonathan Emmett, Caryl Hart and Sarah Horne, David Melling, Steve Smallman, Alex T. Smith, Jim Eldridge, and Kevin Brooks. All these authors will be staying on after the ceremony to sign copies of their books and will also be leading workshops with selected young readers who have taken part in the Book Award.

For those of you attending the ceremony it offers you a great opportunity to meet your favourite authors in person, and perhaps even congratulate them on winning one of the Sheffield Children's Book Award prizes! We're really looking forward to seeing you there on the 29th!