Philippa Pearce Memorial Lecture

The 2011 Philippa Pearce Memorial Lecture was given by Philip Pullman on the 8th September to a full house at Homerton College, Cambridge. A video version of the lecture will be available on www.pearcelecture.com by the end of the month.

PHILIPPA PEARCE died in 2006, but respect and affection for her writing is as strong as ever. In her memory, a series of lectures is now underway, each intended to celebrate excellence in writing for children. Previous speakers have included Michael Morpurgo and Michael Rosen.

Malorie Blackman will give the 2012 lecture - for more details see http://www.pearcelecture.com/


Read Adele Geras’s report on the evening posted on 11 September on gblogadventure.blogspot.com/

PHOTOGRAPH credit Jill Paton Walsh
Outside Homerton College, Cambridge after the 2011 Philippa Pearce Memorial Lecture, given by Philip Pullman
From left to right
Sally Christie (Philippa’s daughter)/Nat Norland (Sally’s son and Philippa’s grandson)/Philip Pullman and Morag Styles (Chair of Steering Committee)

The 2011 Roald Dahl Funny Prize shortlists

The Funniest Book for Children Aged Six and Under
· Bedtime for Monsters by Ed Vere (Puffin)
· Cats Ahoy! by Peter Bently, illustrated by Jim Field (Macmillan Children’s Books)
· First Week at Cow School by Andy Cutbill, illustrated by Russell Ayto (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
· Limelight Larry by Leigh Hodgkinson (Orchard)
· Marshall Armstrong is New to Our School by David Mackintosh (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
· A Place to Call Home by Alexis Deacon, illustrated by Viviane Schwarz (Walker)

The Funniest Book for Children Aged Seven to Fourteen
· Animal Tales by Terry Jones, illustrated by Michael Foreman (Pavilion Children's Books)
· The Brilliant World of Tom Gates by Liz Pichon (Scholastic)
· The Get Rich Quick Club by Rose Impey (Orchard)
· Letters from an Alien Schoolboy by Ros Asquith (Piccadilly Press)
· Penny Dreadful is a Magnet for Disaster by Joanna Nadin, illustrated by Jess Mikhail (Usborne)
· The Wrong Pong by Steven Butler, illustrated by Chris Fisher (Puffin)

The judging panel comprised: author and Twitter queen Grace Dent; author, Chair of Judges and founder of the Prize Michael Rosen; Horrid Henry illustrator and author duo Tony Ross and Francesca Simon; and Yes Man author and journalist Danny Wallace.

School Librarian of the Year

“Being in a post where I meet a wide range of school librarians, I had thought I had a good grasp of the highs and lows of school librarianship. However, my horizons have been stretched further this year by the amazing dedication of the school librarians who have reached this year's Honour List of the SLA School Librarian of the Year Award. However much we all know, we can all learn from these exceptional school librarians. It was a pleasure to see them in action as they all represent the exciting work school librarians do every day.”

The School Library Association created this Award in 2004 in response to the need forrecognition of the excellent work that is carried out in school libraries every day, and to highlight best practice through celebrating those whose work is outstanding. Nominees do not need to be members of the SLA, and may be from any phase of education.

This year there are three exceptional school librarians on the SLA School Librarian of the Year Honour List.
Helen Emery, LRC Manager, King Edward VI School, Lichfield, Staffs
Wendy Roberts, LRC Manager, Ardingly College, West Sussex
Carol Webb, Librarian, Forest Hill School, London

John Burningham Exhibition

You can see a exhibition of his work at The Fleming Collection, 13 Berkeley Street, London W1 from now until 22 December and also the posters he designed for London Transport at the London Transport museum, Covent Garden Piazza, London WC2 from now until the 2 December. A book is accompanies the exhibitions: John Burning an Illustrated Journey published by Fleming-Wyfold Art Foundation £19.95.

2011 SCOTTISH CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARDS SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED

The shortlist for this year’s Scottish Children’s Book Awards has been announced today, Tuesday 6th September.

As Scotland’s largest children’s book awards, they recognise excellence in Scottish writing and illustration for children across three age categories: Bookbug Readers (0-7 years), Younger Readers (8-11 years) and Older Readers (12-16 years), with the winners decided by Scottish children themselves, who will be reading and voting for their favourite books of the year. The winners will be announced at a special awards ceremony on 23rd February 2012 at Edinburgh’s Lyceum Theatre.

So far, over 5,000 children in 81 Scottish schools and libraries have already registered to vote. In 2010, 16,000 children took part, and with registration open until 27th January 2012, this year’s awards are likely to be the biggest ever in terms of children participating!

THE 2011 SHORTLIST CONSISTS OF:

Bookbug Readers (0-7 years)
- DEAR VAMPA by Ross Collins (Hodder)
- THE LOON ON THE MOON by Chae Strathie and Emily Golden (Scholastic)
- APPLE PIE ABC by Alison Murray (Orchard)

Younger Readers (8-11 years)
- ZAC AND THE DREAM PIRATES by Ross MacKenzie (Chicken House)
- THERE’S A HAMSTER IN MY POCKET! by Franzeska G Ewart (Frances Lincoln)
- THE CASE OF THE LONDON DRAGONFISH by Joan Lennon (Catnip)

Older Readers (12-16 years)
- WASTED by Nicola Morgan (Walker)
- THE BLACKHOPE ENIGMA by Teresa Flavin (Templar)
- THE PRISONER OF THE INQUISITION by Theresa Breslin (Corgi – RHCB)