• Try our book of the month

    Posted Tuesday June 30th 2009 by Natasha Worswick

    We like to keep ourselves busy finding new ways for you to enjoy reading together, and hunting down new and exciting books for you to discover. And, alongside our book gift packs that are delivered later in the year, and Booktrust's recommended books, Booktime also choose a book of the month for you to try.

    This month it's Something Else by Kathryn Cave. It's new to me, but it sounds like a treat.

    Something Else is actually the name of the main character, someone who spends a lot of time by himself because he's so different. That is, until someone equally unusual comes along.

    Why not give it a try and let me know how you get on? And don't forget to keep a look out for Booktime's book of the month for July, coming soon.

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  • Mr Big activities

    Posted Friday June 26th 2009 by Natasha Worswick

    Last year, as with every year, you gave us some brilliant feedback for the activities and resources that we send out to teachers and librarians to accompany the children’s Booktime book packs. And, based on what you had to say, we have made a few changes.

    A few of you mentioned that it would be great to have access to the activities much earlier in the year, so you can make the most of planning them into your lessons for the winter term. It’s with this in mind, and hopefully in plenty of time for your planning, we have made sure that they are up on the website for you to look at, explore and download.

    You can either download the sheets individually or all as one PDF – whichever suits you. There are plenty of fun activities to choose from, including Beginning Sounds, and session ideas to help you plan more around the gift book.

    Booktime has also always tried to be as inclusive as possible of all children, because we believe that everyone can enjoy reading together. So this year, for the first time, there’s also an activity sheet with loads of ideas for children with…

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  • The Gruffalo jumps off the page and onto the screen

    Posted Friday June 26th 2009 by Natasha Worswick

    You may remember that I recently blogged about the 10-year anniversary of Julia Donaldson's lovely Gruffalo character.

    Hot on the heels of that comes the news that there will be an animated version on TV this Christmas! I can't wait already, and there's six months to go!

    Hopefully hundreds of thousands of children and their parents will get to see it - so that those who have read it already can enjoy it all over again, and so that those who haven't discovered the Gruffalo might be inspired to visit their bookshop or library to savour his rhyming delights on the page.

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  • There are cats in this book in this video

    Posted Tuesday June 16th 2009 by Natasha Worswick

    I recently discovered this lovely video of children’s author, Viviane Schwarz, reading her picture book There are Cats in this Book.

     

    As an adult, it brings to life for me all the joys of reading a children’s book – whether with my son, or with a nice cup of tea by myself! I know lots of you will get a kick out of this, and what a wonderful way of using video to perhaps inspire a child to try reading a book with their mum or dad too.

    Don’t think there’s any need to say any more than I’ve said already – just watch it if you have a spare five minutes!

    Read a review of There are Cats in this Book

     

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  • ‘I divorced her. She talked too much.’

    Posted Friday June 12th 2009 by Natasha Worswick

    This article in The Telegraph tickled me this week. It’s all about how imaginary friends are good for a child’s development because they help teach you about communicating and understanding the world.

    There are some lovely, lovely stories in there – my favourite being the boy who had even had an imaginary divorce. When asked why he replied, ‘I divorced her. She talked too much.’

    I felt inspired by this and went off around the internet looking for more on imaginary friends. I found this on the Museum of Childhood’s site. But interestingly, I couldn’t think of many books to do with relationships with imaginary friends. Just Elephant by Petr Horacek and Gorilla by (new Children's Laureate!) Anthony Browne .

    How about your child? Does he or she have an imaginary friend? Or do they have a book about the subject?

    Gorilla cover

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  • Revealed: the new Children's Laureate!

    Posted Tuesday June 9th 2009 by Natasha Worswick

    The news is out! Earlier today, Booktrust announced the identity of the new Children's Laureate, whose job it is to champion children's love of language, reading and especially a lifelong love of books. And I'm delighted to see who has been chosen as the sixth person to hold the post – Anthony Browne!

    If you don't already know, Anthony Browne is the author of Gorilla, Willy the Wimp and Silly Billy among many other illustrated books for children.

    An enormous amount of work goes into choosing who should be the Children's Laureate every two years, with organisations that represent critics, librarians, booksellers, and writers themselves all having a say, alongside children themselves of course. And I don't think they could have made a better choice.

    Anthony Browne inherits the role from Michael Rosen, who has done a tremendous amount for children's books and literacy, working especially hard to support poetry in schools and in children's lives generally.

     

    Read an interview with Anthony Browne on the Booktrust children's site, where you'll also find reviews of many of his titles.

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  • The biggest book giveaway in the UK

    Posted Monday June 8th 2009 by Natasha Worswick

    Did you know? Through Booktime and Booked Up, Booktrust will deliver more than two million free books this year. That’s a gift of a book to every child in reception and Year 7, all to help encourage reading for pleasure!

    Children in reception will receive not one but two books – Puffin’s Mr Big by Ed Vere and The Booktime Book of Fantastic First Poems edited by June Crebbin. Those in Year 7, meanwhile, will have a choice of not one but 12 books!

    We’re really proud of this, and thankful to all the teachers, librarians and parents who support us each year. Here’s what Viv, chief executive of Booktrust said today, at the official launch of the 2009 Booktime and Booked Up programmes:

    ‘Starting primary or secondary school can be an intimidating experience for many children. At Booktrust, we are immensely proud that the Booktime and Booked Up programmes with their gift of a free book introduce children not only to their new school but act as a reminder of the joys and simple pleasures of reading. We know that Booktime and Booked Up can help develop a real love of reading, as the books on the list…

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  • Julia Donaldson video from Hay Festival

    Posted Tuesday June 2nd 2009 by Natasha Worswick

    We thought we’d share this lovely video interview with Julia Donaldson that we came across from the Guardian website. The author of The Gruffalo, Tyrannosaurus Drip and many others, talking at the Hay Literary Festival. If you have a 4-5 year old this is the perfect age for you to start reading some of Julia’s stories together.

    NW Julia Donaldson

    Doesn’t it look lovely and sunny at Hay? Perfect weather to get outside on a big picnic blanket and relax into a read. What’s more, the Gruffalo, her most celebrated character is ten years old this year – you can even see Julia singing a special birthday song for him about halfway through the video.

    So why not see if one of Julia’s books takes your fancy, based on our reviews?

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