Sheffield Children's Book Award Ceremony 2013



What a fantastic day! A great opportunity to promote reading for pleasure with children from all over Sheffield.

We were so pleased that so many fantastic authors, illustrators and representatives from the publishers joined us for our 25th Anniversary celebrations.

 

Group photo of all award winners

 

Nick sharratt showing us his lovely "Socks"

 

Our lovely host BBC Broadcaster  - Trisha Cooper

 

Chae Strathie & Ben Cort accepting their Commended Picture Book prize

 

Nick Sharratt & Elizabeth Lindsay accepting the Highly Commended Picture Book Prize 

 

 Elizabeth Baguley & Mark Chambers accepting the Category Winner Picture Book Prize 

 

Marcus Sedgwick and Pete Williamson accepting the Commended Shorter/Longer Novel Prize 

 

Dave Lowe & Mark Chambers accepting the Highly Commended Shorter/Longer Category Prize

 

2012 Overall winner Kjartan Poskitt kindly joined us to hand over the 2013 prize

 

 

 

 

                                  Guest Speaker performance poet David Harmer

 

Trisha Cooper with the Lord Mayor Vickie Priestley presenting the overall winner prize to Nick Sharratt who acceptted on behlaf of Liz Pichon.

 

Sarah Lean author of A Dog Called Homeless signing books for the children.

 

 

 

And the 2013 Sheffield Children's Book Award winner is....

 

I love it! Love the format, easy to read, good pictures.

Sacred Heart Primary School

 

CATEGORY WINNERS
Picture Book - Pigeon Poo
By Elizabeth Baguley and Mark Chambers

Shorter & Longer Novel  -Tom Gates- Everything Amazing (sort of)
By Liz Pichon

Young Adult Category  - Wonder
By R J Palacio

HIGHLY COMMENDED
Picture Book - Socks
By Elizabeth Lindsay & Nick Sharratt

Shorter & Longer Novel - My Hamster is a Genius
By Dave Lowe, Illustrated by Mark Chambers

Young Adult Category  - Ketchup Clouds
By Annabel Pitcher

COMMENDED
Picture Book  - Jumblebum
By Chae Strathie & Ben Cort

Shorter & Longer Novel - Fright Forest
By Marcus Sedgwick, Illustrated by Pete Williamson

Young Adult Category - Secrets of the Henna Girl
By Sufiya Ahmed

BABY BOOK AWARD WINNER
Icky Sticky Monster
By Jo Lodge

Sufiya Ahmed talks about the forthcoming Book Award ceremony

Here's a lovely quote from a recent interview between Suyiya and Pen Heaven

"Are you looking forward to the Sheffield Children’s Book Awards? How do you feel about the other shortlisted authors?"
I’m really looking forward to the Book Awards and feel very honoured to be on the shortlist with some great authors.

Thanks Sufiya! You can find out more about Sufiya Ahmed and Secrets of the Henna Girl by visiting her blog: sufiyaahmed.blogspot.co.uk.

The full interview with lots of information about Sifiya's inspiration for Secrets of the Henna Girl can be found here;

penheaven.co.uk/blog/interview-sufiya-ahmed/

The Wicked Young Writers Award

The Wicked Young Writers Award 2013/14 has been launched. The award is spearheaded by Michael Morpurgo and aims to recognise excellence in writing, encourage creativity and to help develop writing talent in young people aged five to 25 years.
The 2013/14 Wicked Young Writers' Award is now open for entries and will run until Spring 2014. Writing can include any style from poetry to prose and there are five age categories: 5-7 years, 8-10 years, 11-14 years, 15-17 years and 18-25 years. 
Winners from each of the four categories will be announced and will receive a certificate signed by Michael Morpurgo and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, the Wicked Young Writers' Award Anthology and £50 books/eBooks tokens to spend, as well as £100 worth of books for their school library donated by Hachette Children's Books. Entries can be submitted individually or as part of a school group.

The Award is championed by Patron Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall. Assisting Michael Morpurgo with the judging process will be Michael McCabe, Executive Producer of WICKED, and Jonathan Douglas, the director of the National Literacy Trust, and Dean Atta, acclaimed poet and playwright.

 www.WickedYoungWriters.com

Sheffield Star newspaper highlight Awards project

thestar.co.uk/

Press release from Sheffield Star 5/11/13

Sarah Lean Attending Book Award Ceremony

News Alert!

Sarah Lean author of A dog Called Homeless will be attending the Sheffield Children's Book Award Ceremony. This book was suggested for the 2013 shortlist by a young lady who uses the Central Children's and young Peoples Library. She had borrowed it from the library and loved it so much, she wrote to us and asked if it could be included for the Book Award. We asgree, its a lovely book that we wanted to share with you all.

Looking forward to meeting you Sarah.

Nick Sharratt Attending Book Award Ceremony

Socks  - a matching pair!

Both the author Elizabeth Lindsay and the illustrator Nick Sharratt will be attending the Book Award Ceremony

 

 

 

Mini Gray Attending Award Ceremony

News just in - Mini Gray will be joining us at the Sheffield Children's Book Award ceremony on 28th November. She will be representing her book Toys in Space.

 

 

Jennifer Gray attending Award ceremony

Hot off the press...
Jennifer Gray has confirmed she will be attending the Sheffield Children's Book Award ceremony to represent her book Atticus claw breaks the Law.
we look forward to welcoming Jennifer to sheffield on 28th November!


 

Children's Book Week

Book Trust news

100 best children's books

7  - 13th October 2013

Book Trust celebrate Children's Book Week by announcing thier list of 100 books "every child should read before they're 14."

Drawing from over 90 years' experience of recommending children’s books, experts have put together a list of the 100 best children's books for Children's Book Week 2013. They are now asking everyone to join the debate and vote online for their favourites from the list - with the nation’s top books announced on 25 November.

"The exciting 100 combines an eclectic mix of traditional classics and modern greats that we believe are must-reads to fire children’s imaginations and turn them into life-long readers."

 

http://www.booktrust.org.uk/news-and-blogs/news/222/

Dyslexia Awareness Week 2013

The dates for Dyslexia Awareness Week 2013 are:
Monday 14th October to Sunday 20th October 2013.

The theme for this year’s Dyslexia Awareness Week is Beyond Words.
The aim of the week is to debunk the myth that dyslexia is just a difficulty with reading and spelling.
The British Dyslexia Assocaotion aim to "highlight the other difficulties dyslexic people face such as poor short term memory, maths difficulties, poor organisational skills but also the strengths that it can bring!"

With lots of events happening all over the country, look at the website for full details including;

• Dyslexia Awarness Week Pack full of information on how to be dyslexia friendly and activities to spread awareness for either schools or the workplace
• Dyslexia Awareness Week presentation for assemblies or staff meetings which focuses on debunking the myths around dyslexia
• Posters download and print off our posters to use during Dyslexia Awareness Week.

http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/get-involved-and-fundraising/dyslexia-awareness-week.html

National Poetry Day Today!

The theme of this years National Poetry Day is water -

here are some short poems I like

I started Early – Took my Dog

by Emily Dickinson

I started Early – Took my Dog -
And visited the Sea -
The Mermaids in the Basement
Came out to look at me -

A Book of Water

by Jacob Polley

I bought a book of water,
its covers bound in weed,
its spine of muscled silver,
its words too quick to read.

Splish Splash Splosh!

by James Carter

Babies in the bath do it
Puddles on the path do it
Grannies for a laugh do it
Splish Splash Splosh!

The Red Boat

by Wes Magee

Here goes the sun
Slowly sailing by,
Like a red boat
On the ocean of the sky

Sheffield Children's Book Award Ceremony News Update

The countdown is on.....
67 days until we find out the winners of the Sheffield Children's Book  Award at the 25th Anniversary ceremony at the Sheffield City Hall.
Schools are booking seats, plans are being made and the following authors have confirmed they will be attending.
More names will be added as confirmations come through so keep checking this page.

Elizabeth Bagulay - Pigeon Poo - Picture Book Category

& Mark Chamber (illustrator)

Elizabeth Lindsay - Socks  - Picture Book Category

 

Ben Court (illustrator ) - Jumblebum -  Picture Book Category

 










Dave Lowe - My Hmaster is a Genius - Shorter Novel Category

 

Marcus Sedgewick  - Fright Forest
 
& Peter Williamson (Illustratior)





















Ellie Irving - Billie Templars War - Young Adult Category
 









Dave Shelton - A Boy and a Bear and a Boat - Young Adult Category

You loved doing Creepy House, the Summer Reading Challenge 2013, right?
Well the good news is, the Reading Agency are starting to think about next year’s challenge – and they need your help!
The Summer Reading Challenge for 2014 will be a fabulous fantasy adventure based on myths and legends from around the world.
Tthe detail are still being worked out but as you read your books you will work your way round a maze packed with mythical creatures including a Yeti, the Minotaur, Mermaids – and even the Loch Ness Monster! Hmm, sounds great – but what do we call it?!

 here are three titles for next year’s challenge – but which one is your favourite? Is it:

Mega Myth MazeMythical MazeMega Myth Mash-Up

 

 

Let us know your thoughts as soon as possible.

http://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/news/general/have-your-say

Author Profile Sufiya Ahmed

Author Profile Simon Mayo

Author Profile R J Palacio

Author Profile Ellie irving

Author Profile Dave Shelton

Author Profile Annabel Pitcher

Author Profile Sarah Lean

Author Profile Liz Pichon

Author Profile John Boyne

Feature Author Marcus Sedgewick

Guardian children's fiction prize 2013 longlist

 

Awarded annually to fiction written for children aged eight and above, The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize is the only children's fiction award selected by fellow writers. The judging panel is chaired by our very own expert reviewer, Julia Eccleshare who is also the Children's Books Editor of the Guardian."The eight books on the 2013 Guardian children's fiction prize longlist deal with war, dystopian futures and terminal illness – but their tales of children overcoming adversity are both entertaining and inspiring."

Award-winning David Almond tells a deliciously funny and refreshingly original story of Stanley, a boy who takes off on a journey of enlightenment and discovery after his uncle, whom he lives with, goes distinctly barmy and turns his home upside down by turning it into a canning factory. Stanley’s travels take him to joining a fairground family and taking on some new and surprising challenges which test his courage and resolve. Fast-paced, sometimes magical and always unexpected, this is a brilliant story with stunning illustrations by Oliver Jeffers.


 Award-winning Rebecca Steed tells a wonderfully touching story with great sensitivity within an exciting and dramatic adventure. Georges (his unusual name is part of his problem) has just moved to a new apartment block and he immediately gets caught up in a game with Safer, a boy who lives on another floor. Safer’s spying game seems fun and his family, sister Candy and brother Pigeon provide an interesting and supportive alternative home for Georges while things in his own family are out of kilter. But then Georges begins to have his doubts… Gradually everything he has been protecting himself from spins out of control and the reader discovers the sad truth he has been hiding himself from. A very special story that is not to be missed.

 
Paris where she meets Matteo, living off the local pigeons, washing in rainwater and travelling unseen across the great roofscape of Paris. With Matteo’s help Sophie learns the tricks of roof-top living and also how to break into buildings and bamboozle officials – exactly the trick she needs to find her mother. An exciting, tender and original adventure.

 

 

Winner of the two most prestigious children's book awards - the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2013 and the Children's Costa Award 2012. And Longlisted for the 2013 Guardian Children’s Fiction PrizeSally Gardner tells a story that is rich in drama and ideas as Standish Treadwell, an unlikely hero, takes on the vicious forces of the repressive motherland in a novel set in a bleak world that is redeemed only by the very human qualities of some of the survivors. Standish and his remarkable grandfather keep going, eking out a living after the disappearance of Standish’s parents. Standish struggles at school and is the victim of relentless bullying. But then he finds a friend in the newly arrived Hector. When Hector is taken, the only hope lies in Standish…Luckily, Standish has just the qualities that are needed.

Moving and thought provoking story which will encourage readers to question divisions in society. Joshua lives safely on one side of the Wall. When he finds a tunnel under the Wall he can’t help wanting to explore. Meeting a family on the other side reveals to him what the Wall hides and makes him question all he has previously been told. Joshua learns the enormity of living under repression as well as what kindness, despite its attendant dangers, really means. He also learns how nature can heal other ills as he sets out on his own journey of discovery.




Packed full of passion – both political and of all other kinds – this is a harrowing, thrilling and romantic account of the Spanish Civil War and the lives of three young volunteers who sign up to fight in it. In a chance encounter in Cable Street at the time of anti-fascist demonstrations, Felix, training to be a nurse and desperate to break away from her conventional background, meets Nat, already a young communist ready to fight for the cause. They re-meet in Spain, both fighting against the fascists. Following Felix, George, her conventional suitor, also travels to Spain where he too converts to the cause. The courageous decisions the three have to make; their bravery and their love make a strong thread through the fast paced action.

Deservedly No 1 on the New York Times best seller list, this heart-catching novel is fuelled by the rawest emotions deftly handled but never falsely diluted. The role a book plays in their lives lies at the heart of the burgeoning relationship between Hazel and Augustus, teenagers who meet at a cancer support group. Hazel’s cancer is incurable: she is ‘managing’ her situation; Augustus has already lost a leg to his but he has an 80% chance of survival. But cancer does not rule them; here are two teens being as normal as they can be while carrying the grisly physical side effects of their treatments and in the complicated face of an uncertain future. The result is a touching, questioning, funny and insight novel that can’t be put down.

PrizeAward winning Gillian Cross takes a brilliant ‘what if’ as the premise for this gripping and thought-provoking adventure. The British economy has collapsed. Civil disobedience sets family against family as raids for the scarce food leads to violent attacks. After Matt’s Dad and grandfather are killed, his Mum is determined to keep the family going by growing food and by storing all she can. Soon they are attacked as ‘scadgers’ for hoarding. The only solution is to flee to France where British refugees are allowed to live in camps. Matt and those around him survive in the alien environment of the camp by adopting new behaviours that bring out their best – and worst – characteristics. Gillian Cross creates believable characters who’s choices matter to her readers.

Read the books and tell everyone what you think! You can email your comments to childrens.books@guardian.co.uk.
Best of all, you can write a review for publication on the site and to be entered into the Young Critics competition.
For further information about the Guardian children's fiction prize 2013 visit the website

http://www.theguardian.com/books/gallery/2013/may/25/guardian-childrens-fiction-prize-2013-longlist