FCBG Children’s Book Awards 2024

Yesterday, I was delighted to be able to attend the Federation of Children’s Book Groups Children’s Book Awards 2024 Ceremony. This year, it was being held in Birmingham so I was up bright and early for a very exciting day out!

I hadn’t been to Birmingham for years and so was really grateful to one of the members of the Birmingham group who had not only written directions to follow from the station, but had also added in things of interest to look out for along the way! The famous bull, Ozzy, from the Commonwealth Games 2022, the lovely Piccadilly Arcade, the impressive Council House building and the domed Hall of Memory were all features of my mini guided tour as I made my way to the Novotel where the ceremony was being held.

Had the incredible library been open, I might never have made it to the ceremony, but that was a treat I had to save for later. The gilded bronze statue, known as the ‘Golden Boys’ honours Matthew Boulton, James Watt and William Murdoch, shown studying steam engine plans.  Together, these three revolutionised the steam engine. Also on my route was the Black Sabbath bench, a tribute to this Birmingham metal band, located on Broad Street, above the bridge on Canal Street, also named after the band!

At the Novotel, excitement was mounting as the dedicated and hard working team of FCBG members, led by Sarah Stuffins, were putting the finishing touches to preparations for the ceremony. Always a lovely occasion, the Children’s Book Awards ceremony keeps children- the voters- at its heart as members from each of the testing groups are invited to attend the occasion. Each child arrives to find a bag of goodies ready for them-including a Fed Ted- and that they will be sitting at a table with one of the shortlisted authors or illustrators! There are not many events which offer that!

As the guests all started to arrive, there was a wonderful atmosphere as everyone circulated and asked for their books to be signed. There was so much excitement from young (and somewhat older!) readers and so much excited book-ish chat, proving that these awards really do encourage reading for pleasure and that there are plenty of young readers who enjoy a great story.

Once everyone had eaten a delicious lunch, the ceremony was ready to begin and Korky, Winnie the Witch and Wilbur treated us to much wand waving and merriment, including a masterclass in how to draw Winnie. Every child had a numbered ticket in their goodie bag and one won a signed book and another won the picture. Sadly, adults weren’t included!

Each shortlisted author was then presented with a portfolio of work, full of pictures and writing from the children who voted for their books. These are so special and each author was genuinely moved to see the contributions these contain. Sadly, Karen Obuhanych, Philip Reeve, Sarah McIntyre, Michael Rosen and Simon Fox were not able to attend, but they sent messages which were shared at this time.

And then, the winner of each category was announced. Rob Biddulph won the Books for Younger Children’s category with ‘Gigantic’, Thomas Flintham won the Books for Younger Readers’ category with ‘Press Start! Game On, Super Rabbit Boy!’ and the Books for Older Readers’ category was won by ‘The Final Year’, written by Matt Goodfellow and illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton. Although everyone had their favourites that they were rooting for, the results were received with great delight and much cheering.

As with each category, the overall winner was announced by children from one of the FCBG groups- another thing which is special to this award! Overall Winner of the Children’s Book Award 2024 was ‘Press Start! Game On, Super Rabbit Boy! ‘ by Thomas Flintham.

It was a fabulous occasion, greatly enjoyed by everyone! The Federation of Children’s Book Groups Children’s Book Awards is absolutely about children having a voice and genuinely reflects their interests and reading tastes. Huge congratulations to all the shortlisted authors and illustrators - and their publishers- and a huge well done to those involved in the organisation of the event!

This has nothing to do with the awards, but on the way home, I visited the wonderful Birmingham Library and then the ‘Victorian Radicals: From the Pre-Raphaelites to the Arts and Crafts Movement' at The Gas Hall, part of Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery. The perfect way to end the day!

You can read about CBA2023 here and CBA2022 here.

Blog Tour: Winnie the Witch 35th Anniversary

I cannot believe that it is 35 years since the publication of this wonderful book! One of my all-time favourites, I have enjoyed sharing not only this, but many of, the Winnie and Wilbur stories both as a teacher and as a parent and am proud to say that I have quite a collection of their adventures.

I started teaching many years ago before things like SATs and Ofsted existed. Teaching was mainly through topics which embraced everything except English and Maths and there was an expectation that each class would ‘put on’ an assembly for parents which reflected the work their children had been doing. When I realised that my topic was ‘Colour’, I knew that I would be using ‘Winnie the Witch’ as inspiration for my Year 3 class. Lots of science, art and storytelling was involved- and everyone had great fun! I am delighted to be taking part in the Blog Tour for ‘Winnie the Witch’ and wish Winnie and Wilbur a very happy birthday with many more to come!

Thirty-five years on, this story has truly stood the test of time with Korky Paul’s amazing illustrations bringing as much joy to children now as they did when it was first published. Full of details and humour, they help to tell this tale of a witch who lived in a black house with a black cat, the trouble this caused and how the situation was happily resolved. This anniversary edition opens with a note each from Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul, the creators of Winnie and Wilbur. At the end, there are magical memories from both Winnie and Wilbur, captioned pictures showing their many adventures together as well as a glimpse behind the scenes at how Winnie and Wilbur are brought to life! This is the perfect (or purr-fect!) present for any fan of these stories, old or young, sure to continue bringing pleasure for many years to come.

With Hallowe’en just around the corner, this book makes a brilliant theme for a party or for a book event at school or for a party simply to celebrate the 35th birthday of this fabulous book. Here are a few ideas for some possible activities to enjoy!

A beautiful black cat with bright green eyes, Wilbur makes a purr-fect pompom pet! Using a medium sized pompom maker (or homemade ones from circles of card), firmly wrap black wool around each section. Do this as evenly and as fully as possible to make the best pompom. Tightly tie the pompom off around the middle leaving two reasonably long tails of wool and then tie another strand of wool around the middle of the pompom so that there are three longish strands altogether. Plait these pieces of wool to create Wilbur’s tail, cutting and tying it off to the required length. Next, cut two eyes from green felt and use a black marker pen to add the pupils. Take a black pipe cleaner and bend one end into a ‘v’ shape which gives Wilbur the size of ears you feel he should have and cut this off. Cut a second matching ear from the rest of the pipe cleaner. In pink felt, cut a nose shape and use more lengths of pipe cleaner to create whiskers. Glue all the pieces in place to make your own Wilbur!

Colour changing potion can be created using read cabbage water! We did this as part of our assembly and had great fun with it! Chop some read cabbage into small pieces. Put these into a saucepan and cover with water. Boil for about 15 minutes, leave to cool and then carefully strain the water off into a jar or bowl. (The cabbage can be eaten!)

The red cabbage water will act as an indicator, changing colour as other substances are added depending on whether these are acid or alkaline. Divide the red cabbage water between some see through containers and then try adding different amounts of bicarbonate of soda or vinegar to each. Acids like vinegar will make the cabbage water turn pink whilst the alkaline bicarbonate of soda will make it turn bluey-green. Adding more or less of the substance will affect how deep the colour is. You could try also soap, lemon juice, washing up liquid…any other (safe!) substances which are acidic or alkaline.

Use colour filters to change Wilbur’s colour. For this, you will need an anglepoise lamp and some colour filters- pieces of cellophane or plastic wallets work well. You can also use torches.

Draw Wilbur on a piece of white paper (I know my picture is awful- I am no artist!!) Shine the lamp onto the picture and then hold one the colour filters in in front of the light changing Wilbur’s colour. Play around with combining the filters and seeing how Wilbur’s colour changes. There is plenty of scientific theory to discuss here- but it’s not necessary to understand this to have fun with it. Children could make Winnie and Wilbur puppets and act out the story using the lighting to help tell the story- or create their own!

It goes without saying that adults should be on hand to guide and support for any of these activities!

There are so many ways to celebrate this delightful story, starting (of course!) with sharing it. Huge congratulations to Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul for the success of their creations - and all best wishes for another 35 years of Winnie and Wilbur!

Many thanks to the lovely people at OUP for inviting me to take part in this tour.

Winnie the Witch 35th Anniversary Edition

Valerie Thomas, illustrated by Korky Paul

OUP ISBN: 978-0192784728