tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13752879474542260202024-03-05T07:13:04.548+00:00Anabel's Children's Literature BlogAnabel Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15643196773717977697noreply@blogger.comBlogger528125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1375287947454226020.post-90433486149114502672016-01-11T11:31:00.000+00:002016-01-11T11:31:39.613+00:00Hello! Is it me you're looking for?This site is no longer in use, but I'm still blogging at <a href="https://anabelsblog.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><em>The Glasgow Gallivanter</em></a> - it would be lovely to see you there!Anabel Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15643196773717977697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1375287947454226020.post-57662146450889957012015-10-07T16:43:00.000+01:002015-10-07T16:43:48.718+01:00Book Week Scotland 2015<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.robmcdougall.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oFju8mCw_hI/VhU6Upw0NkI/AAAAAAAABH4/EbXEQanjbcg/s400/image2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nora and Lisa Patron (4) celebrate the launch of Book Week Scotland 2015<br />
Pictures copyright: <a href="http://www.robmcdougall.com/" target="_blank">Rob McDougall</a></td></tr>
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It's here again! The 2015 Book Week Scotland programme was unveiled yesterday. Thanks to our friends at Scottish Book Trust, people across the country will be invited to celebrate the transformative power of books and reading from 23-29 November. Check out the <a href="http://scottishbooktrust.com/bws-schools" target="_blank">programme for schools and families</a> for some great children's events.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, I want to shout about it too!</td></tr>
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<br />Anabel Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15643196773717977697noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1375287947454226020.post-24284348539278594412015-09-04T10:52:00.002+01:002015-09-04T10:57:39.836+01:00Theresa Breslin's Divided City: Mixing the Colours<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/editions/divided-city/9780552551885" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DDNkI4Lobys/VecGtVe_hpI/AAAAAAAABGc/_S7xPgt-veQ/s200/Divided%2BCity.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
It's over ten years since Theresa Breslin's <a href="http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/editions/divided-city/9780552551885" target="_blank"><em>Divided City</em></a> came out, and I can't believe I haven't read it before now. I borrowed it recently from the <a href="http://womenslibrary.org.uk/discover-our-projects/mixing-the-colours/" target="_blank"><em>Mixing the Colours</em></a> collection (part of a project in which women speak about intra-Christian sectarianism) at Glasgow Women's Library. I meant to review it for their website, but stupidly didn't check if it had been done already. It had, so I'm posting my review here instead.<br />
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<em>Theresa Breslin’s </em>Divided City<em> explodes onto the page. A boy is walking down a street in a part of Glasgow he knows isn’t safe. Footsteps sound behind him – and then there's a stabbing. The boy, Graham, a Rangers supporting football fanatic, stops to help the young man who has been injured - Kyoul, an asylum seeker - and the story takes off from here.</em><br />
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<em>Next we meet Joe. He and Graham have just been at the same football practice and they played really well together. The coach is hoping to set up a team drawn from all Glasgow schools, and these two seem a certainty. But Joe is a Celtic supporter – can he and Graham be friends? It’s not just a matter of football teams, it’s religion too – Joe is from a Catholic family; Graham is a Protestant whose Grandfather is hoping to persuade him to take part in the next Orange Walk.</em><br />
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<em>Breslin draws the relationship between the two boys well, with its contrast of conflict and co-operation. Neither boy can be honest with his family about his new friend, and yet it is Joe whom Graham trusts to help him get a message to Kyoul’s girlfriend. After the exciting beginning I found this part of the plot unconvincing, but I can see that Kyoul was there to show that the boys are not intolerant or fearful of “the other” – apart from the blind spot that growing up with sectarianism has given them. I like that this is not completely resolved by the end of the book – it wouldn’t be in real life – but that we are left with a sense of hope that initiatives such as the all-Glasgow football team will start to build bridges.</em><br />
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Theresa, a former librarian, is a great supporter of libraries and is currently Vice-President of CILIPS (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals). For more about her, there are many interviews and articles out there: the most recent one I've read is from the always entertaining <a href="https://bookwitch.wordpress.com/2015/08/19/the-16-profile-theresa-breslin/" target="_blank">Bookwitch</a>. For more on <em>Divided City, </em>see its section on <a href="http://www.theresabreslin.co.uk/divided.php" target="_blank">Theresa's webpage</a>. <br />
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Other books for young people on the <em>Mixing the Colours</em> list include Malorie Blackman's <em>Noughts and Crosses</em> series, Joan Lingard's <em>Kevin and Sadie</em> books, the <em>Breadwinner</em> trilogy by Deborah Ellis and <em>Tribes</em> by Cathy MacPhail.<br />
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Anabel Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15643196773717977697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1375287947454226020.post-35723520317167270262015-09-02T10:30:00.000+01:002015-09-02T10:30:00.220+01:00Scottish Children's Book Awards: 2016 shortlist<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.robmcdougall.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="263" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NTPP2k9YLFI/VeWd7P0pJXI/AAAAAAAABGM/zBL6b58pWIQ/s400/SBTCBA2015%2B1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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Photo credit: <a href="http://www.robmcdougall.com/" target="_blank">Rob McDougall</a>. </div>
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The shortlist for next year's <a href="http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/learning/teachers/scottish-childrens-book-awards" target="_blank">Scottish Children's Book Awards</a>, managed by Scottish Book Trust in partnership with Creative Scotland, has been announced today. Above, you can see pupils from Royal Mile Nursery, Flora Stevenson Primary and Holyrood High demonstrating their support for the nominees on Edinburgh's Calton Hill.<br />
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Over the next five months, children throughout Scotland will be reading the three shortlisted books in their age category and voting for their favourite. <br />
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<h4>
Bookbug Readers (3-7 years)</h4>
(Every child in Primary 1 will receive a free copy of each Bookbug title during Book Week Scotland in November.)<br />
<ul>
<li>Never Tickle a Tiger by Pamela Butchart and Marc Boutavant (Bloomsbury)</li>
<li>Wanted! Ralfy Rabbit Book Burglar by Emily MacKenzie (Bloomsbury)</li>
<li>Mouse’s First Night at Moonlight School by Simon Puttock and Ali Pye (Nosy Crow)</li>
</ul>
<h4>
Younger Readers (8-11 years)</h4>
<ul>
<li>The Nowhere Emporium by Ross Mackenzie (Floris)</li>
<li>The Mysteries of Ravenstorm Island: The Lost Children by Gillian Philip (Orchard)</li>
<li>The Fastest Boy in the World by Elizabeth Laird (Macmillan)</li>
</ul>
<h4>
Older Readers (12-16 years)</h4>
<ul>
<li>Black Dove White Raven by Elizabeth Wein (Egmont)</li>
<li>The Piper by Danny Weston (the pseudonym of Philip Caveney) (Andersen)</li>
<li>Trouble on Cable Street by Joan Lingard (Catnip)</li>
</ul>
As well as voting, children can also enter book review and book trailer competitions. To find out how to involve your class or book group, keep an eye on the <a href="http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/learning/teachers/scottish-childrens-book-awards" target="_blank">SBT website</a>. Finally, CALL Scotland has again worked with Scottish Book Trust and the publishers to create accessible digital versions of the nine shortlisted books for children and young people with physical, visual and reading or dyslexic difficulties, who can’t read the paper books. These are available free of charge from <a href="http://www.callscotland.org.uk/Home/" target="_blank">CALL Scotland</a>. Anabel Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15643196773717977697noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1375287947454226020.post-91960567155047574952015-04-07T10:41:00.001+01:002015-05-24T08:38:37.831+01:00The A to Z Challenge<p>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LZjoFWJjd4c/VSOjG5oVD_I/AAAAAAAABDo/8po9nx3K0aY/s1600/A2Z-BADGE-000%2B%5B2015%5D%2B-%2BLife%2Bis%2BGood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LZjoFWJjd4c/VSOjG5oVD_I/AAAAAAAABDo/8po9nx3K0aY/s1600/A2Z-BADGE-000%2B%5B2015%5D%2B-%2BLife%2Bis%2BGood.jpg" height="400" width="400"></a></p>
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This month I'm following the <a href="http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/" target="_blank">A to Z Challenge</a> with two of my other blogs, both of which are WordPress. When I'm commenting on Blogger posts I sometimes forget to put in a link to my Challenge blogs, and the automatic link leads to this one. So if you've landed here unexpectedly, you might be looking for the A to Z of <em>Gallus Glasgow</em> on <a href="https://anabelsblog.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Anabel's Travel Blog</a> or the A to Z of <em>What's good about libraries?</em> on <a href="https://anabellibraryworld.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Adventures of a Retired Librarian</a>. I hope to meet you there!Anabel Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15643196773717977697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1375287947454226020.post-91034354780460401802015-03-04T12:30:00.000+00:002015-03-05T10:14:03.271+00:00A win for Alex McCall! Scottish Children's Book Awards 2015The winners of the Scottish Children's Book Awards 2015, run by Scottish Book Trust and funded by Creative Scotland, were announced today. Two of the authors were on their third win - Ross Collins (3-7) and Cathy MacPhail (12-16) - but Alex McCall is a first-timer, and one of Scotland's youngest published authors. He won the 8-11 category with <em>Attack of the Giant Robot Chickens.</em><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.robmcdougall.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sDUS9wWn1Yc/U_76mYxjDKI/AAAAAAAAA4U/w4uIBvzKo_Y/s1600/Alex%2BMcCall.jpg" height="263" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alex McCall. Photo credit: Rob McDougall</td></tr>
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I've written about Alex before: <a href="http://anabelsblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/scottish-childrens-book-awards-2014.html" target="_blank">first</a> when the shortlists for the award were announced when I described how I'd met him (briefly), and <a href="http://anabelsblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/book-swap.html" target="_blank">second</a> when I chose to send <em>Attack of the Giant Robot Chickens </em>to Japan for the International Book Giving Day Swap that I took part in. So I feel a sort of connection with him, and I'm very glad he won. So is Alex! He said:<br />
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“There’s something of a feeling of coming full circle here. This is my first book and it got published through the Kelpies Prize. But the only reason that I found out about the Kelpies Prize is through a previous winning author coming to my school, through the Scottish Book Trust’s Live Literature Fund. So while I’m delighted to win I also feel very lucky that Scottish Book Trust exists in the first place. Being able to go into school and meet the children that you are writing for is fantastic enough as it is. Knowing that those kids have voted for you makes it even better. In general participating in the Awards has been a really good experience. It is just hard to believe that I’ve been lucky enough to actually win.”</blockquote>
Congratulations to Alex and, of course, massive thanks and congratulations to Scottish Book Trust for these fabulous awards. Here's the beautiful trophy Alex won.<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
This is the beautiful <a href="https://twitter.com/justsomeartkid">@justsomeartkid</a>-designed trophy our 2015 Scottish Children's Book Award winners will win... <a href="http://t.co/rhRdeTFvJ4">pic.twitter.com/rhRdeTFvJ4</a><br />
— Scottish Book Trust (@scottishbktrust) <a href="https://twitter.com/scottishbktrust/status/573049998931181568">March 4, 2015</a></blockquote>
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Anabel Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15643196773717977697noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1375287947454226020.post-10381996948723338352015-02-10T16:16:00.000+00:002015-02-10T16:21:37.312+00:00The book swap: books duly swapped!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.discoverkelpies.co.uk/books/attack-of-the-giant-robot-chickens/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIaelT_SZtPiKXixqDaKXQC4AgyAgObFA78O0swpBmTIFwFRvUMoXwC-hH6x2FGUv-DAy7pLNcSQwKcH81KE2uOFK3o_kY7Ug9mi_DV2_GMdj-iRMhTX1Mo9L3JwRF2gtgPI6fUwPAYCs/s1600/Robot+chickens.jpg" /></a></div>
I wrote a couple of weeks ago about getting the details of my partner in Zoe's International Book Giving Day Book Swap. Since then I have picked my book, sent it off and heard that it has arrived in Japan! That's it on the left - I chose it because I wanted to get something Scottish, it's a prizewinning book and I've even met the author, Alex McCall (<a href="http://anabelsblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/scottish-childrens-book-awards-2014.html" target="_blank">here's</a> where I explain about that.)<br />
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What is <em>Attack of the giant robot chickens </em>about? This is what it says on the back of the book:<br />
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"Why did the chicken cross the road? To take over the world! Giant robot chickens are terrorising the city of Aberdeen. Their aim: to peck out all signs of human resistance. The streets are empty, the adults have vanished and those left behind must hide from the powerful poultry or get scrambled! Jesse and his friends hatch a plot to stop the fowl fiends and take back their city - but when a gang of kids takes on an army of angry robot chickens, things don't eggs-actly go to plan."</blockquote>
I'm guessing Alex likes puns a lot! I hope the humour is something that will appeal to the 10-year old bi-lingual boy in Japan who now owns the book.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fjI_gB3e2_s/VNopdH_nvvI/AAAAAAAABCY/FyICMAqTCLc/s1600/IMG_1724.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fjI_gB3e2_s/VNopdH_nvvI/AAAAAAAABCY/FyICMAqTCLc/s1600/IMG_1724.JPG" height="238" width="320" /></a></div>
And what have I received in return? Well, Jo (the recipient's Mum) and I have corresponded by email a few times, and I received a lovely letter and card in the post (see left). Then today, my book arrived from the Book Depository. It's <em>My neighbour Totoro, </em>a novelisation by Tsugiko Kubo of one of Hayoa Miyazaki's films. I confess that I have only seen one of those (<em>Kiki's delivery service) </em>so I'm not very familiar with his work. Time to find out! This is an on-going story...<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/My-Neighbor-Totoro-Original-Hardcover/dp/B00OVLSEI4/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z5bc6jKy4ss/VNospnaMCxI/AAAAAAAABCk/7jo_pTP2Pqw/s1600/Totoro.png" height="200" width="138" /></a></div>
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More information:<br />
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<a href="http://bookgivingday.com/" target="_blank">International Book Giving Day 2015</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.playingbythebook.net/2014/12/11/an-kidsya-bookswap-to-celebrate-international-book-giving-day-2015/" target="_blank">Zoe's Book Swap</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.jojoebi-designs.com/" target="_blank">Jo's blog</a>Anabel Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15643196773717977697noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1375287947454226020.post-52502326363433186602015-02-09T11:49:00.000+00:002015-02-09T11:49:00.084+00:00National Libraries Day in ScotlandIt was National Libraries Day on Saturday, with lots of activities going on for children and adults. Here are some examples.<br />
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I think Dundee Library looks like a great place to take kids. They have a squid!<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
Let me introduce our children's library squid. We're looking for a name. Any ideas <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/namethatsquid?src=hash">#namethatsquid</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NLDScot?src=hash">#NLDScot</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NLD15?src=hash">#NLD15</a> <a href="http://t.co/wJfIJZZOMC">pic.twitter.com/wJfIJZZOMC</a><br />
— Dundee Libraries (@dundeelibraries) <a href="https://twitter.com/dundeelibraries/status/564013391799279618">February 7, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>And they were experimenting with Book Faces - this is a fabulous idea to try with the children in your school / library / home. My favourite:<br />
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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bookface?src=hash">#bookface</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NLD15?src=hash">#NLD15</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NationalLibrariesDay?src=hash">#NationalLibrariesDay</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NLDscot?src=hash">#NLDscot</a> <a href="http://t.co/Hzx1BbSnME">pic.twitter.com/Hzx1BbSnME</a><br />
— Dundee Libraries (@dundeelibraries) <a href="https://twitter.com/dundeelibraries/status/564062392934342657">February 7, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Dunbar Library was having a great event with author Debi Gliori.<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
Sewing some wee creatures to help me with storytime in Dunbar Library on <a href="https://twitter.com/NatLibrariesDay">@NatLibrariesDay</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NLD15?src=hash">#NLD15</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AlfieBooks?src=hash">#AlfieBooks</a> <a href="http://t.co/meWnCeP0lj">pic.twitter.com/meWnCeP0lj</a><br />
— Debi Gliori (@DebiGliori) <a href="https://twitter.com/DebiGliori/status/562220180772638723">February 2, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>And Penicuik had Nick Sharratt.<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
On Saturday children's author and illustrator Nick Sharratt will be visiting Penicuik Library 2-3pm <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NLD15?src=hash">#NLD15</a> <a href="http://t.co/qfXCpKVKTF">pic.twitter.com/qfXCpKVKTF</a><br />
— Swoop (@swooplocal) <a href="https://twitter.com/swooplocal/status/562349276278554624">February 2, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Moray Library storytimes are popular.<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
Storytimes are still popular in libraries - check at your local library to discover times. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NLD15?src=hash">#NLD15</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nldscot?src=hash">#nldscot</a> <a href="http://t.co/I0iO40opi3">pic.twitter.com/I0iO40opi3</a><br />
— @librariesmoray (@librariesmoray) <a href="https://twitter.com/librariesmoray/status/562911000400506882">February 4, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Glasgow Libraries had a party with a clown at Langside to celebrate its 100th birthday.<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
Cheeko the clown entertaining children and adults at Langside Library's centenary birthday party! <a href="http://t.co/5qPIKpgE4U">pic.twitter.com/5qPIKpgE4U</a><br />
— Glasgow Libraries (@GlasgowLib) <a href="https://twitter.com/GlasgowLib/status/564050987179311104">February 7, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Strathclyde showed off its Storysacks. Student teachers borrow these to take into the classroom.<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/Storysacks">@Storysacks</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NLD15?src=hash">#NLD15</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NLDscot?src=hash">#NLDscot</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UniStrathLibIT?src=hash">#UniStrathLibIT</a> <a href="http://t.co/ZK076j49kX">pic.twitter.com/ZK076j49kX</a><br />
— Gordana Nesterovic (@SipaNest) <a href="https://twitter.com/SipaNest/status/564094978637709312">February 7, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>It all looks great, doesn't it? But - despite the wonderful things going on in libraries, many of them are under threat. Here are some blog posts from children's authors and publishers reminding you why they are worth saving:<br />
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An Awfully Big Blog Adventure (by Dawn Finch) <a href="http://awfullybigblogadventure.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/happy-national-libraries-day-2015.html" target="_blank">Happy National Libraries Day 2015!</a><br />
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Barrington Stoke National Libraries Day: <a href="http://www.barringtonstoke.co.uk/blog/2015/02/07/national-libraries-day-anthony-mcgowan-teen-narrator-say-better-ever/" target="_blank">Anthony McGowan and his teen narrator say it better than we ever could.</a><br />
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Jackie Morris <a href="http://www.jackiemorris.co.uk/blog/fighting-talk/" target="_blank">Fighting talk.</a><br />
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Nicola Morgan <a href="http://www.nicolamorgan.com/heartsong-blog/celebrating-national-libraries-day/" target="_blank">Celebrating National Libraries Day.</a> <br />
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And to take it back to a happy note before finishing, <a href="http://www.nicolamorgan.com/heartsong-blog/celebrating-national-libraries-day/" target="_blank">Playing by the book</a> (Zoe Toft) describes a great book group she was running for children on Saturday, <a href="http://www.achuka.co.uk/blog/jackie-morris-love-for-libraries-in-pictures/" target="_blank">ACHUKAblog</a> displays some lovely children's library cards designed by Jackie Morris and (not an NLD blog post but too good to miss) <a href="http://www.minervareads.com/libraries-here-today-gone-tomorrow/" target="_blank">MinervaReads</a> celebrates picture books on the theme of libraries.<br />
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Love libraries? Use 'em or lose 'em!Anabel Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15643196773717977697noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1375287947454226020.post-17958770143016078612015-02-02T12:31:00.001+00:002015-02-02T12:31:40.341+00:00National Libraries Day 2015 - a YLG competition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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National Libraries Day is coming up on Saturday, 7th February, and events are taking place throughout this week. Here's a message from the <a href="http://www.cilip.org.uk/about/special-interest-groups/youth-libraries-group" target="_blank">Youth Libraries Group</a> about a great competition they are running:<br />
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"As this day becomes increasingly important as an advocacy tool for libraries, as well as an opportunity to celebrate all that we do, YLG have joined with the publishers to launch an easy to run competition for all libraries, nationally.</blockquote>
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Using Twitter, we are asking all libraries to encourage their customers to take a photo of themselves in their local library on NLD, or during the week running up to NLD. We’d like them to send their photo (they can hold up a book in front of their face if they are shy!) to @Youthlibraries with #NLD15, Age **. </blockquote>
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Our ever generous publisher friends have donated lovely signed copies of some marvellous books, so having the age is very important for us to be able to send the randomly selected Tweeters an appropriate prize. A photo of the books (and a signed Chris Riddell!!!!!!) will be Tweeted by @Youthlibraries to launch the promotion, so be sure to follow us!"</blockquote>
For those tweeting in Scotland about NLD, don't forget to add #nldscot too. Anabel Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15643196773717977697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1375287947454226020.post-30627264266063401442015-01-27T16:02:00.000+00:002015-02-10T16:22:02.467+00:00An exciting book day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9HcqO2twb3w/VMeyGLFuUDI/AAAAAAAABBc/5GVTg8ixVnk/s1600/Penguin%2Bprize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9HcqO2twb3w/VMeyGLFuUDI/AAAAAAAABBc/5GVTg8ixVnk/s1600/Penguin%2Bprize.JPG" height="149" width="200" /></a></div>
Two exciting book related happenings today! The postman called with an enormous parcel - 10 lovely books from Random House Children's Publishers which I won on Twitter. I haven't sorted through them yet to decide which ones to read and review and which libraries to donate them to afterwards - I'm sure there are a few more blog posts in there so I'll keep you posted.<br />
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The second thing was an email from Zoe Toft telling me the name of my partner in her International Book Giving Day swap, which<a href="http://anabelsblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/a-book-swap-for-international-book.html" target="_blank"> I wrote about</a> before Christmas. My partner is in Japan and would like a book suitable for her 10-year old son who is bilingual. She in turn will send me a book (in English) in the 8-13 age range. My plan is to find something Scottish if I can - watch this space!Anabel Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15643196773717977697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1375287947454226020.post-9782318975203605072015-01-22T15:59:00.000+00:002015-01-22T15:59:42.076+00:00Happy 100th Birthday Wallasey Children’s Library!I saw this on Twitter the other day:
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<a href="https://twitter.com/7Stories">@7Stories</a> could you please send a birthday card to a library celebrating its centenary this year? <a href="http://t.co/ia2vpdIpMh">pic.twitter.com/ia2vpdIpMh</a><br />
— Suzanne Fenna (@suzylou1978) <a href="https://twitter.com/suzylou1978/status/557315739519291392">January 19, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>You probably can't read the text, but it says:<br />
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Wallasey Central Children’s Library is celebrating Its 100th Birthday! One of the first separate public libraries for children in the country, the library was opened during WW1, survived being bombed in WW2, has been much loved by generations of Wallasey children and reaches its centenary in 2015. Readers and Staff at Wallasey Library would like to invite anyone who loves libraries to help us celebrate by… Sending us a birthday card! Please send a 100th Birthday card – homemade cards welcome of course – as early in the year as possible to Wallasey Central Children’s Library, Earlston Road, Wallasey, CH45 5DX. Please include a mention of a children’s book you have particularly enjoyed. Wallasey children and their parents and carers are sharing and enjoying books every day. They would love to hear from you. Thank You! From All at Wallasey Central Children’s Library.</blockquote>
Well, I couldn’t turn down a request like that – and, very appropriately, I even found a 100th birthday card illustrated by one of my favourite children’s illustrators, Quentin Blake.<br />
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As asked, I added a note about my favourite children’s book, Anne of Green Gables - which is even older than the library itself as it was first published in 1908. Then I sent my card off – why don’t you do the same? I’m sure the library would be delighted to hear from you.</div>
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Anabel Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15643196773717977697noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1375287947454226020.post-63277023544058623592014-12-31T11:30:00.000+00:002014-12-31T11:30:00.753+00:00Farewell 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've mentioned before that I'm good at winning books through social media or other online draws. Usually, I review the book here then pass it on to a suitable library or charity. This year, I've been quite remiss about that and all the titles below have gone, unread, to their new homes. However, I'd still like to thank the publishers who supplied them, and I'll try to do better next year.<br />
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Picture book </h4>
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Maudie Smith and Antonia Woodward <em>Milly and the mermaids. </em>(Orion)<br />
Milly loves mermaids. She's sure if she just wishes hard enough she'll meet one on her visit to the seaside. Will her dream come true?<br />
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Novels</h4>
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Karen McCombie <em>The girl who wasn't there. </em>(Scholastic)<br />
13 year old Maisie doesn't believe in ghosts - but when she starts at a new school she hears rumours of a long-gone girl who wanders the halls. A ghostly friendship mystery.<br />
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Helen Moss <em>The phoenix code. </em>(Orion)<br />
Two present day teenagers get caught up in an Ancient Egyptian murder mystery.<br />
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Na'ima B. Robert <em>She wore red trainers. </em>(Kube)<br />
When Ali first meets Amirah, he notices everything about her - her hijab, her long eyelashes and her red trainers. They can't stop thinking about each other, but can they ever have a halal "happily ever after"?<br />
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Non-fiction</h4>
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Jacqueline Wilson <em>Daydreams and diaries. </em>(Corgi Yearling)<br />
The popular novelist tells the story of her own childhood and youth.<br />
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So Farewell 2014, I have cleared the decks. All the best to everyone for 2015.Anabel Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15643196773717977697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1375287947454226020.post-33219046645322156122014-12-16T14:15:00.000+00:002015-02-10T16:22:25.893+00:00A book swap for International Book Giving Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://bookgivingday.com/" target="_blank">International Book Giving Day</a> happens every year on 14th February with the aim of getting books into the hands of as many children as possible. The 2015 poster (above) by award winning illustrator Chris Haughton has just been released.<br />
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It might seem early to be thinking about February when we haven't even reached Christmas yet, but that's what I'm doing because Zoe Toft of the wonderful blog <em><a href="http://www.playingbythebook.net/2014/12/11/an-kidsya-bookswap-to-celebrate-international-book-giving-day-2015/" target="_blank">Playing by the book</a> </em>has just announced a fabulous book swap scheme. #GiveABook, #SwapABook is all about sharing, sending and receiving children’s books: you can spread the word about a children’s book you love, and discover another equally amazing book through a gift from someone else. I plan to sign up and send a Scottish book to whoever I am paired with - which one, I haven't yet decided. The book I get in return I will read, review and pass on to a library or charity.<br />
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To join in yourself, click on the link above or the logo at the top of the sidebar. I'll keep you posted on my own progress!Anabel Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15643196773717977697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1375287947454226020.post-61626116189924043992014-11-11T15:33:00.000+00:002014-11-11T15:33:50.839+00:00Jackie Morris: Something about a bear<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.franceslincoln.com/childrens/something-about-a-bear" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rhKXJ6iko_Q/VGIhxB7Z2nI/AAAAAAAAA7g/uWBkIoLp0yY/s320/Something%2Babout%2Ba%2Bbear.jpg" width="236" /></a></div>
Jackie Morris: <em><a href="http://www.franceslincoln.com/childrens/something-about-a-bear" target="_blank">Something about a bear.</a> </em>(Frances Lincoln)<br />
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When I worked in a library, we had loads of Jackie Morris's gorgeously illustrated children's books, so I was really pleased to win this one in a Youth Libraries Group draw. "Let me tell you something about a bear" it begins, before matching beautiful watercolours with poetically written text about eight different types of wild bear. But "of all the bears in the wide wild world, the very best bear of all is..." I'll leave you to guess! It finishes up with a double spread of facts, in much smaller text, about each species, and a list of conservation websites. The book could thus appeal to a range of age-groups: from those who just love the pictures, through those who can read the simpler text, to those who are ready to learn more about bears, maybe for a school project.<br />
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Jackie obviously loves bears, and so do I. After I won the book, we had a short chat on Twitter about it (find her @JackieMorrisArt). Here's a bear that I saw on holiday this year. It's zoomed a bit, but yes, it was that close, grazing behind our accommodation in Shenandoah National Park.<br />
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Jackie also loves cats and I can't remember if I discovered her cat blog first, before her books (<a href="http://www.wethreecats.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">We three, ginger cats tales</a>). She has a different blog now (<a href="http://www.jackiemorris.co.uk/blog/" target="_blank">Jackie Morris Artist</a>), and the ginger cats are no longer with her, but it's still worth taking a look, or see the fabulous gallery in the <em>Guardian, </em><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/gallery/2014/sep/19/jackie-morris-cat-walk-cutest-cats-gallery" target="_blank">Cat walk</a>.<br />
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Thanks to <a href="http://www.cilip.org.uk/about/special-interest-groups/youth-libraries-group" target="_blank">YLG</a> and <a href="http://www.franceslincoln.com/childrens/something-about-a-bear" target="_blank">Frances Lincoln Children's Books</a> for sending me this book - there was no obligation from either to write about it. Now I've enjoyed it, I'll be donating it to Glasgow Women's Library, where I'm sure the resident Brownie Pack will love learning about bears.<br />
Anabel Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15643196773717977697noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1375287947454226020.post-81017667198293529442014-10-08T17:14:00.000+01:002014-10-08T17:14:37.770+01:00Book Week Scotland 2014Well-loved literary characters don their boxing gloves and get ready for the fight of their lives, as Scottish Book Trust launches the full Book Week Scotland 2014 programme (24-30 November). It includes a national vote for the favourite character from a Scottish book. Place your vote (I've already done mine) and find out about all the other exciting events and activities on the <a href="http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/book-week-scotland" target="_blank">SBT website</a>.<br />
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The launch looks like a lot of fun! All photographs by <a href="http://www.robmcdougall.com/" target="_blank">Rob McDougall</a>.<br />
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Anabel Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15643196773717977697noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1375287947454226020.post-5531020958593928862014-08-28T11:16:00.000+01:002014-08-28T15:52:31.494+01:00Scottish Children's Book Awards 2015 - shortlist announced<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The nominees. Photo credit: Rob McDougall</td></tr>
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The shortlist for the Scottish Children's Book Awards 2015 was announced today. These are Scotland’s largest book awards, with a total prize fund of £12,000, and celebrate the most popular children’s and young adult books by Scottish authors or illustrators. For a full list of nominees in all three categories (3-7, 8-11 and 12-16) see the <a href="http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/learning/teachers/scottish-childrens-book-awards?utm_source=Press%20Lists&utm_campaign=b22dc25b35-SCBA2015_Press_Release_28_Aug&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0432bb1812-b22dc25b35-81067465" target="_blank">Scottish Book Trust</a> website - they are running the awards, with support from Creative Scotland, for the eighth time.<br />
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The 8-11 list includes a debut book from one of the youngest published authors in Scotland (Alex McCall), and a children’s book from one of the best known authors in the world (Alexander McCall Smith) - and they have very similar names which means voters (Scotland's children) will have to be very careful with their choice!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alex McCall. Photo credit: Rob McDougall</td></tr>
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Claim to fame - I have actually met Alex McCall, even if only for five minutes. He was with his Mum as she arrived at an event which I'd helped Glasgow Women's Library to organise, and they recognised my name because I'd voted in a Twitter poll on whether the cover of Alex's book, <em>Attack of the Giant Robot Chickens</em>, should have a blue or orange background. Alex is only 20, and currently splits his time between promoting his book and studying Filmmaking and Screenwriting at the University of the West of Scotland in Ayr. He has already won the 2013 Kelpies Prize, and must have his fingers crossed for the double. He says “I'm overjoyed to be shortlisted for this Scottish Children's Book Award. It's fantastic to think that my first published novel could get a response like this.”<br />
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<em>Robot Chickens </em>is published by Kelpies, an imprint of Floris Books - it's a good year all round for them, as they have two more books shortlisted. <em>Pyrate's Boy </em>(E.B. Colin) is in the same category as Alex and KelpiesTeen <em>Dark spell </em>by Gill Arbuthnott is nominated for 12-16s.<br />
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Congratulations to Alex, Floris Books and everyone else nominated. The winners will be announced on 4th March 2015.Anabel Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15643196773717977697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1375287947454226020.post-42489909618779666982014-06-24T12:53:00.000+01:002014-06-24T12:53:37.001+01:00DA Nelson: DarkIsle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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DA Nelson <a href="http://www.stridentpublishing.co.uk/books-2/darkisle-darkisle-trilogy-book-1-d-a-nelson/" target="_blank"><em>DarkIsle</em></a><em> </em>(Strident).<br />
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My good luck in winning books through social media seems to be holding up! Many thanks to DA Nelson (Dawn) for all three books in her DarkIsle series which I won through her blog.<br />
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I've just finished the first book, which was awarded the Scottish Children's Book Award in 2008. I can see why - it's an engaging fantasy which starts in a real world which will be recognisable to many Scottish children. The main character is Morag, a young girl living with cruel foster parents who lock her in the cellar for some imagined misdemeanour. When she first hears voices, she is terrified - until she finds they belong to Bertie and Aldiss, a dodo and a rat! Against their better judgement, these two are persuaded to take Morag along with them in their quest - and what that is becomes clearer as the story progresses.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6c7SRHbZBVc/U6lgzf0J8cI/AAAAAAAAA0w/kig7bpAkTAw/s1600/Shona.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6c7SRHbZBVc/U6lgzf0J8cI/AAAAAAAAA0w/kig7bpAkTAw/s1600/Shona.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></div>
Their first task is to free Shona, a dragon who has been turned to stone by the evil Devlish - and Shona actually exists! Well, in stone form anyway. She's a sculpture by artist Roy Fitzsimmons and that's her on the left on Irvine Beach (© Copyright <a href="http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/2223" target="_blank">paul c</a> and licensed for reuse under this <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/" target="_blank">Creative Commons Licence</a>). The four friends then set off for the DarkIsle where they must rescue the Eye of Lornish. Do they achieve this? Well, that would be telling, but you'll have great fun finding out as you meet more lovely characters along the way, such as Henry the talking medallion, as well as some frightening and distinctly unpleasant ones, Tanktop the Klapp Demon being a case in point.<br />
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You'll also spot a few clues about what might have happened to Morag's parents, but I'm guessing the full answer to that won't be revealed until the second or third book.
Those are <em>DarkIsle: Resurrection</em> and <em>DarkIsle: The Final Battle. </em>I'll be reading them next. Once I've finished, they'll be added to the children's collection at Glasgow Women's Library. Dawn actually works near there, so she came into the library to give me the books - you can see a picture of us together on <a href="http://darkislethebooks.wordpress.com/2014/06/20/annabel-not-writing-and-walking-in-the-city/" target="_blank">Darkislethebook's Blog</a>. Thanks again, Dawn, for your generosity.Anabel Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15643196773717977697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1375287947454226020.post-72219288458439537042014-05-30T18:41:00.000+01:002014-05-30T18:41:26.565+01:00On feet and two wings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Two-Feet-Wings-Abbas-Kazerooni/dp/1743361351/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1401361533&sr=1-1&keywords=on+feet+and+two+wings" target="_blank">Abbas Kazerooni </a><em><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Two-Feet-Wings-Abbas-Kazerooni/dp/1743361351/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1401361533&sr=1-1&keywords=on+feet+and+two+wings" target="_blank">On two feet and wings</a> </em>(Allen & Unwin).<br />
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Set during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, <em>On feet and two wings </em>tells the story of an Iranian boy, Abbas, who is soon to be 10 and therefore, unbelievably, eligible for call up to the army. Abbas' parents decide that he and his mother will try to escape via Istanbul to England, but at the last minute his mother is not allowed to board the plane and Abbas travels to Turkey on his own. Remember, as you read on, this is not fiction, this is a memoir. Kazerooni says:<br />
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"The book is based on real events that happened to me a long time ago when I was a child. To write it for you I have simplified some events and changed some details."</blockquote>
Abbas arrives in Istanbul, where he doesn't speak the language or understand the system, and has to fend for himself for 12 weeks while he tries to get a visa for the UK. I'm not sure I would like to do that now, never mind as a nine year old. Obviously Abbas has a lot to learn, not least how to judge character and who to trust. In general, the kindness of strangers is greater than that of the few contacts his father has managed to make for him. For example, the man who was to meet him at the airport and help him abandons him almost immediately. Fortunately, he finds a taxi driver with more integrity who helps him to find a cheap hotel where Persian is spoken.<br />
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Abbas manages to find his way around the city, change money on the black market (his father has given him a supply of dollars), persuade someone to translate for him at the British Consulate - and also make a living! His best friend is Murat, the hotel owner, whom he talks into giving him work serving drinks and shining shoes. Murat also teaches him backgammon, at which he proves to be a natural, and they make a lot of money taking bets on his performance. Not all is plain sailing though. A less attractive job is delivering packages for the jeweller who changes his money - what is in them is never disclosed, but the job earns him his first beating - and, at heart, Abbas remains a small boy who cries himself to sleep because he misses his mother.<br />
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There are traumatic scenes in the book, but it's not unhappy overall. The story zips along, and you really root for the resourceful Abbas who is far more cheerful than many would be in his situation. Also, because we know the adult Abbas is writing the story in real life, we don't need to worry about him surviving. However, as well as being a good story, I think the book would help a lot of children to understand issues of immigration, asylum and persecution. Unaccompanied child refugees still arrive in this country today, so anything that encourages empathy and challenges the dangerous rhetoric preached by such as the Daily Mail and Ukip is to be welcomed.<br />
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Thank you to Allen & Unwin for sending me this book, which I won in a draw. I will now be donating it to the University of Strathclyde for its Teaching Practice collection and, I hope, addition to its <a href="http://www.strath.ac.uk/library/eresources/subjecthelp/childliteratureresources/childrensbookliststhemes/refugees/" target="_blank">Refugees</a> booklist.<br />
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Anabel Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15643196773717977697noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1375287947454226020.post-70744606200507708972014-03-27T14:04:00.000+00:002014-03-27T14:04:08.031+00:00Picture book round-upThanks to the good folk at Templar and Hachette for sending me the following:<br />
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<a href="http://www.templarco.co.uk/picture_books/thomas_docherty/thomas_docherty.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VkWbiYsuyic/UzQZwCfK0JI/AAAAAAAAAuA/AaUx7nKY2FM/s1600/driftwood_ball.jpg" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.templarco.co.uk/picture_books/thomas_docherty/thomas_docherty.html" target="_blank">Thomas Docherty <em>The Driftwood Ball</em></a> (Templar).<br />
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Every year the badgers and the otters hold a Driftwood Ball, but they never mix. Then, one year, otter Celia and badger George meet and fall in love - can the star-crossed dancers overcome the prejudices of their families? This is a lovely tale about differences and the silly reasons we find not to like other people - they're too loud, or they eat the wrong kind of food. At the end, Celia and George are still dancing "but always to their own tune."<br />
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<a href="http://www.templarco.co.uk/picture_books/jonny_duddle/jonny_duddle.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v6rQ1O39YFs/UzQcNEkj6UI/AAAAAAAAAuM/WUwGsbFbrgU/s1600/gigantosaurus.jpg" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.templarco.co.uk/picture_books/jonny_duddle/jonny_duddle.html" target="_blank">Jonny Duddle <em>Gigantosaurus</em></a> (Templar).<br />
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Many children love books on dinosaurs. Here is a glossy addition to the canon. It's in the form of a story and the Gigantosaurus is made up, but all the other dinosaurs are real and there is an information section on them at the end. Add to this fold out pages and a poster jacket with a timeline on the other side and you have a sure-fire hit.<br />
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<a href="http://www.templarco.co.uk/picture_books/craig_shuttlewood/craig_shuttlewood.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0AE9sgJ94Pw/UzQeI-f6eiI/AAAAAAAAAuY/bxq_s2mpbVQ/s1600/whos_in_the_tree.jpg" height="200" width="173" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.templarco.co.uk/picture_books/craig_shuttlewood/craig_shuttlewood.html" target="_blank">Craig Shuttlewood <em>Who's in the tree that shouldn't be?</em></a> (Templar).<br />
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More paper engineering - this time lots of flaps to lift. Who's in the tree that shouldn't be? Who in the snow just does not go? The rhyme romps along and children will enjoy guessing which "wrong" animal is behind the flap and where that animal should rightly be. I'd rather they had all ended up in their natural habitats at the end though, rather than in the zoo.<br />
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<a href="https://www.hachettechildrens.co.uk/books/detail.page?isbn=9780734410672" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Pya7slornF4/UzQqWiJE5sI/AAAAAAAAAuo/B14tHib3t9Y/s1600/Rules+of+summer.jpg" height="192" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.hachettechildrens.co.uk/books/detail.page?isbn=9780734410672" target="_blank">Shaun Tan </a><em><a href="https://www.hachettechildrens.co.uk/books/detail.page?isbn=9780734410672" target="_blank">Rules of summer</a> </em>(Hachette).<br />
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Shaun Tan's picture books are generally for an older audience than the titles above. This is a dark and surreal tale of two boys and what they learned last summer. Some commandments are quite sensible (never give your keys to a stranger), while others are bizarre (never leave a red sock on the clothesline). All have terrifying consequences - the red sock, for instance, conjures up a horrifically red-eyed giant rabbit. Towards the end, the smaller boy is padlocked into a runaway steam engine and the older boy runs across a dystopian landscape to rescue him with bolt-cutters. If this sounds sinister, it is! Be careful which child you give it to.<br />
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As always, I'll be donating these review copies to a local library.<br />
Anabel Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15643196773717977697noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1375287947454226020.post-34392759386445503842014-03-21T12:22:00.000+00:002014-03-21T12:22:59.597+00:00Daughters of Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.templarco.co.uk/fiction/mary_hoffman.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-assMrLiXzOg/Uywh1FlCb9I/AAAAAAAAAtc/tjXemqmoDrU/s1600/daughters_of_time.jpg" /></a></div>
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One of my favourite blogs is <em><a href="http://the-history-girls.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">The History Girls</a></em>, a collaboration by a group of female historical fiction writers who cover different periods and different age-ranges, but are always interesting. I make a point of checking it every day, and never fail to learn something new. Now, some of the writers for younger readers have published a book, <em><a href="http://www.templarco.co.uk/fiction/mary_hoffman.html" target="_blank">Daughters of Time</a> </em>(Templar),<em> </em>in which each imagines a story about a famous woman from the past. The author also explains why she chose to write about that particular woman, and gives some factual information so that the tale is put into context. Then, if you like her work, there's a section at the back telling you what else she has written. The book's editor is Mary Hoffman, whose <em>Stravaganza </em>series I loved, and she says:<br />
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<em>History is about chaps </em>is still all too true a saying. So it's up to the fabulous History Girls to balance this approach with stories of impressive and inspiring women and girls - we were spoilt for choice.</blockquote>
They certainly were. The book ranges in time from Katherine Roberts' <em>Tasca's Secret </em>about a daughter of Queen Boudica (c.30-c.60 AD) to Leslie Wilson's 1980s tale of Greenham Common, which was one of my favourites because I've actually been there (though only for a day, not to stay at the camp). Some of the stories are not for the faint-hearted - the Boudica story and the next one, <em>The Lady of the Mercians </em>by Sue Purkiss, are quite bloodthirsty! But life in those times was like that: nasty, brutal and short for many people.<br />
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The book really appealed to me because of the work I do with the Glasgow Women's Library's <em><a href="http://womenslibrary.org.uk/whats-on/women-make-history/" target="_blank">Women Make History Group</a></em>, which has a similar aim, so I was delighted when Templar agreed to send me a review copy. It will now find a home in GWL's new children's collection. However, I'm wondering how many of the women Scottish girls will actually connect with, as the list is very England-centric. The Greenham story will have universal appeal and there's a lot of interest in the Suffragettes, so Celia Rees on Emily Davison (<em>Return to Victoria) </em>will be popular <em>- </em>I think that was my overall favourite - but some of the others never figure on the Scottish curriculum. This is by no means a criticism of the book, which I really enjoyed, it just made me wonder if someone could write a Scottish equivalent. Any takers? And who would you put in it? Other than Mary, Queen of Scots who's a tad overdone!<br />
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<strong>Full list of subjects:</strong> Queen Boudicca, Aethelfled, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Julian of Norwich, Lady Jane Grey, Elizabeth Stuart, Aphra Behn, Mary Wollestonecraft, Mary Anning, Mary Seacole, Emily Davison, Amy Johnson and the Greenham Common women. <br />
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<strong>Full list of authors:</strong> Penny Dolan, Adele Geras, Mary Hoffman, Dianne Hofmeyr, Marie-Louise Jensen, Catherine Johnson, Katherine Langrish, Joan Lennon, Sue Purkiss, Celia Rees, Katherine Roberts, Anne Rooney and Leslie WilsonAnabel Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15643196773717977697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1375287947454226020.post-90033117139923431332014-03-05T15:05:00.000+00:002014-03-05T15:56:34.582+00:00Scottish Children's Book Awards 2013 announced todayChae Strathie, Janis MacKay and Claire McFall have been named as the winners of the 2013 <a href="http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/learning/teachers/scottish-childrens-book-awards" target="_blank">Scottish Children's Book Awards</a>. The announcement was made this afternoon at Glasgow's Mitchell Library with 800 young people from all over Scotland in the audience. The award is voted for exclusively by children and there were record numbers voting this year - over 38000, up 20% on last year. So what were the winning books?<br />
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Bookbug Readers (3-7)</h3>
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Chae Strathie: <em>Jumblebum, </em>illustrated by Ben Cort. (Scholastic).<br />
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Johnny thinks that his room has its own special style, but Mum just sees a mess. Johnny doesn't care though - until the chaos attracts the terrible Jumblebum Beast. Will Johnny end up in Jumblebum's tum, or can he save the day with his secret plan?<br />
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Read what children themselves think about the book in the many <a href="http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/books/jumblebum" target="_blank">reviews</a> on the Scottish Book Trust site or watch a <a href="http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/video/jumlebum-book-trailer-from-bell-baxter-high-school" target="_blank">book trailer</a> made by Bell Baxter High School. SBT also has more information about Chae Strathie on its <a href="http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/profile-author/33198" target="_blank">author pages</a>. The other shortlisted titles were: <br />
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Julia Donaldson: <em>Paper dolls, </em>illustrated by Rebecca Cobb. (Macmillan).<br />
Debi Gliori:<em> What's the time, Mr Wolf? </em>(Bloomsbury).<br />
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Younger Readers (8-11)</h3>
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Janis Mackay: <em>The accidental time traveller. </em>Kelpies.<br />
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Saul is on his way to the corner shop when he sees a girl appear in front of him in the middle of the road. She doesn't understand traffic or shops and she's wearing a long dress with ruffled sleeves. Her name is Agatha Black - and she's from the year 1812! Saul and his mates, Will and Robbie, try to figure out time travel so that they can help her to get home.<br />
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Again, there are lots of <a href="http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/books/the-accidental-time-traveller" target="_blank">reviews</a> and a <a href="http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/video/the-accidental-time-traveller-book-trailer-from-oban-high-school" target="_blank">book trailer</a>, this time from Oban High School. Also check out Janis Mackay's <a href="http://www.janismackay.com/" target="_blank">website</a>. The other shortlisted titles were:<br />
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Caroline Clough: <em>Black tide. </em>(Floris).<br />
Daniela Sacerdoti: <em>Really Weird Removals.com. </em>(Floris).<br />
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<h3>
Older Readers (12-16)</h3>
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Claire McFall: <em>Ferryman. </em>Templar.<br />
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When Dylan emerges from the wreckage of a train crash onto a bleak Scottish hillside she meets a strange boy who seems to be waiting for her. However, Tristan is no ordinary teenage boy and their journey across the desolate, wraith-infested wasteland together is no ordinary journey. This is a truly original love story from a debut author.<br />
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Read the <a href="http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/books/ferryman" target="_blank">reviews</a>, watch the <a href="http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/video/ferryman-book-trailer-from-craigmount-high-school" target="_blank">book trailer</a> (from Craigmount High School) and find out more about Claire on her <a href="http://www.clairemcfall.co.uk/" target="_blank">website</a>. The other shortlisted titles were: <br />
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Diana Hendry: <em>The seeing. </em>(Bodley Head).<br />
Barry Hutchison: <em>The book of doom. </em>(Harper Collins).<br />
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Congratulations to all nine authors. And - just in! Some photographs of the winners and some excited children. All pictures by Alan Peebles.<br />
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Anabel Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15643196773717977697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1375287947454226020.post-37137475748756897732014-02-28T11:20:00.000+00:002014-02-28T11:20:14.326+00:00Carmen Reid: Cross my heart<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Carmen Reid: <em><a href="http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/editions/cross-my-heart/9780552567015" target="_blank">Cross my heart</a></em><br />
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The usual follow up to "Cross my heart" is "and hope to die". Here, it is "and hope to live" - for someone who has very little chance of that. Nicole is 15 and a resident of Nazi-occupied Brussels. She joins the Belgian Resistance and is transformed into Coco of Group K. La Belle, one of her fellow agents, reveals that she thinks she'll be lucky to be alive in 6 months time, and Coco too is soon risking her life for her beliefs.<br />
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The gruelling subject matter is leavened both by the romance between Nicole / Coco and fellow agent Anton / The Poet and the author's fluid writing. I whizzed through it. When I first started reading, I was sceptical that 15 year olds would have been involved in the Resistance to this extent. Nor was I convinced that Coco could have escaped some of the situations she faced in quite the way described. However, Carmen Reid's afterword makes it clear that, although fictional, her story is based on considerable research which is detailed on <a href="http://www.carmenreid.com/" target="_blank">her website</a>. The afterword is also worth reading for Carmen's story of her own family - she is half British, half German, and her grandparents were on different sides of the Second World War. <em>Cross my heart</em> is, touchingly, dedicated to them.<br />
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I won this book in a competition on <a href="http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/" target="_blank">Scottish Book Trust's website</a>. I'm grateful, as always, to them for everything they do. I'm now going to donate it to <a href="http://womenslibrary.org.uk/" target="_blank">Glasgow Women's Library's</a> collection for younger women. As Carmen says "Soon all the grandparents who fought in this momentous war will be dead. We need to preserve their stories and experiences. Teenagers need to remember there was a time when turning eighteen didn't mean being able to drink and go to uni; it meant you were old enough to fight, kill people and die for your country." Her book is testament to that.<br />
<em></em><br />Anabel Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15643196773717977697noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1375287947454226020.post-29405779002099059472014-01-30T14:29:00.000+00:002014-02-12T15:43:15.615+00:00Books for Brownies - International Book Giving Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://bookgivingday.com/" target="_blank">International Book Giving Day</a> is dedicated to getting new, used and borrowed books into the hands of as many children as possible - check the site for ideas of how to take part. I'm going to be helping my friends at <a href="http://womenslibrary.org.uk/2014/01/29/show-you-love-us-on-international-book-giving-day/" target="_blank">Glasgow Women's Library</a> who have been collecting books for younger women for some time. Now that they have moved to new premises, they are home to a Brownie Pack whose members are wondering why there are no books for them. Also, children's books are always useful to keep the young ones occupied while their mothers are in the library choosing books or attending an event. I've been collecting books for GWL for a couple of weeks now, and here's the result so far:<br />
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Oxfam</h4>
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It's great to get second-hand books in good condition - and if it helps another charity too, so much the better. A search of my local Oxfam shop yielded Emily Gravett's picture book <em>Wolves, </em>a signed copy of <em>The mountain's blood </em>by Lari Don and Gene Kemp's classic <em>Turbulent term of Tyke Tyler. </em>The latter has a great twist in the tail, but I wonder if it would be as surprising today as when it was written in the 1970s? For teenagers, I got Theresa Breslin's <em>Remembrance, </em>which is about the First World War and therefore very topical in this centenary year, and <em>Solace of the road </em>by the late Siobhan Dowd.<br />
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Publishers</h4>
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Sometimes publishers send me books to review, and sometimes I'm lucky enough to win them in draws by email or social media. I have three to add at the moment, so thanks to <a href="http://www.templarco.co.uk/" target="_blank">Templar</a> for sending me <em>Firebird</em> by Saviour Pirotta and Catherine Hyde, a retelling of the Russian folktale which inspired Stravinsky's ballet, and Yokococo's <em>Hans and Matilda Show </em>about a school talent competition. From <a href="https://www.obrien.ie/" target="_blank">O'Brien</a> I received <em>Eva and the hidden diary, </em>one of a series by author Judi Curtin. In this story, Eva and her friend Kate find an old diary and try to put right mistakes that were made long ago.<br />
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Book shops</h4>
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Of course, you can just go into a regular book shop and buy something! I chose these two - one a classic, Astrid Lindgren's <em>Pippi Longstocking, </em>and one more modern, <em>Clarice Bean utterly me</em> by Lauren Child. Can you spot the link? Lauren Child illustrated them both in her highly distinctive style. Both books feature enormously engaging heroines.<br />
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How can you help?</h4>
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As I said at the beginning, there are plenty of ideas on the IGBD website, where you'll also find posters, book marks and book plates to go with your gifts. However, should anyone who happens to read this live in Glasgow and just happen to have some spare books suitable for girls of all ages (though I'm particularly keen to help out the Brownies who are around 7-11 years old) - let me know! Maybe you have daughters or nieces who have outgrown some of their books? Leave a comment and I'll get back to you.<br />
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Update 12/2/14</h4>
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I catalogued all the above books at GWL this morning - ready to be borrowed on IGBD!<br />
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Anabel Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15643196773717977697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1375287947454226020.post-46602611142773084982014-01-17T16:17:00.000+00:002014-01-17T16:17:11.458+00:00National Libraries Day is coming - 8th February<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/NdMcjhM3IvM" width="480"></iframe><br />
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If you look at the sidebar, you'll see that I've sprouted two new badges. They're for <a href="http://www.nationallibrariesday.org.uk/" target="_blank">National Libraries Day</a> and <a href="http://bookgivingday.com/" target="_blank">International Book Giving Day</a>. Each is important for children's literature and I have plans for both - however, I'll leave IGBD for later and concentrate on <a href="http://bookgivingday.com/" target="_blank">NLD</a> for now.<br />
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A couple of posts ago I mentioned that One Man and His Beard was collecting photos of people holding up their library cards to illustrate the video for his song <em>We need libraries. </em>Well, it's here! You can see my picture at approximately 3.15 and my Mum and Dad are also there at 1.47. A banner runs underneath the photos listing the reasons we need libraries, many of which involve children's reading. If you love libraries too, please share the video widely.<br />
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In Scotland, we're also hoping to collect reasons to love libraries with The Big Question: "What did you do in your library today?" Read more via <a href="http://www.cilips.org.uk/national-libraries-day-2014/" target="_blank">CILIPS</a> (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland) and take part if you can. And keep using your library!Anabel Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15643196773717977697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1375287947454226020.post-64909726785347649292014-01-07T10:31:00.002+00:002014-01-07T10:31:20.023+00:00Natasha Mac a'Bhaird: Missing Ellen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.obrien.ie/natasha-mac-abhaird" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rsJHnv0OzHE/UsrumTGSplI/AAAAAAAAAmI/lEZ-tKRqQEE/s1600/Missing+Ellen.jpg" /></a></div>
Natasha Mac a'Bhaird: <em><a href="http://www.obrien.ie/natasha-mac-abhaird" target="_blank">Missing Ellen</a> </em><br />
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Teenagers Maggie and Ellen have been best friends since they were five. Ellen is lively, outgoing and impetuous while Maggie is quieter and more sensible. The story starts with a new school year. Ellen is missing, though we don't yet know why, and Maggie is missing her dreadfully - this dual meaning of "missing" is reflected in the story's two voices. Both are Maggie's - one a narrative from the point where she thinks Ellen's problem started until the time she disappeared, and the other a set of letters to her friend in which she tells her what her life is like now.<br />
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It's not difficult to guess where Ellen's story is going as she gets involved with a different crowd and makes choices that Maggie doesn't agree with. She's an attractive character on the surface, but thoughtless and reckless, and I much prefer Maggie who is left bereft at Ellen's disappearance and tortured by "what ifs", wondering if she could have changed the outcome by behaving differently herself. Her family and other school friends don't know how to help her and she has to find her own way through the grief and guilt.<br />
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It's hard to say much more without giving away the plot, so I'll leave it at that. I thought the story was very well told and the breakdown, in different ways, of both girls sensitively handled. It's not all gloom though - there's a glimmer of hope for Maggie at the end when she finally realises that she has to let Ellen go, and there's also a hint of romance ahead.<br />
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Thanks to O'Brien Press for sending me this book, which I won in a draw. I will now be donating it to Glasgow Women's Library for their younger women's collection.Anabel Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15643196773717977697noreply@blogger.com0