Parents' blog
What do Bookstart parents have to say? Find out more and add your comments.
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Booktrust Early Years Awards shortlists
Posted Monday August 17th 2009
by Rebecca Wilkie
The shortlists for this year’s Booktrust Early Years Awards have just been announced and I think it’s the strongest in recent years. Animals of all shapes and sizes appear in books across the categories, from Ed Vere’s colourful, pop-up Chick to Emma Dodd’s Miaow Said the Cow, which features a farmyard full of mice mooing, hens oinking and, yes, a cow miaowing!
All the books, selected by a panel of judges including Bookstart founder Wendy Cooling and Radio 1 DJ (and new mother), Edith Bowman, are perfect for sharing.
There is a great mixture of authors and illustrators both emerging and established to choose from, including Babette Cole, who many readers will recognise from the now classic Princess Smarty Pants and Mummy Laid an Egg, who appears in the Pre-School category illustrating Richard Hamilton’s funny tale of a father and daughter swapping lives, If I Were You. Kate Greenaway Medal winner and Big Picture Best New Illustrator, Catherine Rayner is also nominated in this category with Sylvia and Bird; Mara Bergman and Nick Maland with their third rhyming story about Oliver Donnington Rimington-Sneep: Oliver Who Travelled Far and Wide, make the list too.
The shortlists for the other categories are…
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Every Book Can Be a Conversation
Posted Monday July 13th 2009
by Natasha Worswick
If you are particularly eagle-eyed or especially news-hungry, you may have spotted this story last week about some research on ways of improving little ones’ language skills.
The point, says Dr Frederick Zimmerman from the UCLA School of Public Health in California, is that encouraging your child to speak is the best way to promote their language development.
For us at Booktrust, it’s not, as some news headlines suggests, about choosing a bedtime chat over a bedtime read. We believe that the best way to enjoy a book at a very young age is to approach it as a conversation.
A book is something you can actively share and enjoy together. You could recite the words together, talk about what you see or how the story makes you feel, for example. And I won’t bore you with it here, but there’s research to back it up, too.
Dr Zimmerman calls the advice to read to your child “sound”, but wants to place “more emphasis on the importance of getting children to speak”. As books can make use of little ones’ emotions, imaginations and their relationship with you, they are the ideal way to do just that.
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A Really Nice Interview with the Children's Laureate
Posted Friday July 10th 2009
by Natasha Worswick
We mentioned about a month ago that Anthony Browne, author of Gorilla and some other very beautiful picture books, has been chosen as the new Children’s Laureate.
I found this really nice interview with him the other day. It points out something really interesting – that only one previous Laureate, Quentin Blake, has been an illustrator. And whilst many of the others who have held the post have also had established public profiles, Anthony spends most of his time 'sitting in a room on my own, painting pictures.'
It’s a really interesting read, in which Anthony talks about his intention of making the picture book take a stronger place in society. I won’t say much more, because it really is worth a read with a cup of tea when you get a minute.
But I’ll leave the final word to him: 'Force me to choose my best book, and I always come back to Gorilla. It was the first time I felt I understood what picture books could do.' -
Family Fun Times with Bookstart
Posted Tuesday June 30th 2009
by Natasha Worswick
Summer is here, and it's getting really hot! And whether you're planning to take a holiday somewhere or are simply on the lookout for some easy ways to fill the time, Bookstart's family activities are just the ticket.
If you have a special event, like a children's birthday party coming up, why not invite your guests using our exclusive e-cards? There are three designs, all by children's illustrators, for you to choose from, so there's bound to be something that fits the bill. Gather round the screen with your little one and get choosing.
Or if you're feeling playful, try your hand at one of our games. There are colouring in and word-based games to carry on the children's book theme. They have been specially designed as an activity to share and are sure to get you talking.
Being a (not so) secretly competitive person, I'm quite partial to the racing game! Good thing Milo isn't old enough to try beating my high score...
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More libraries discover Twitter
Posted Tuesday June 23rd 2009
by Natasha Worswick
It may be the website du jour for lots of newspapers, whether they love it or hate it. But there's no denying that more and more of us are discovering Twitter as a way of reaching out to people. Booktrust has been tweeting away for a while, but the Bookseller reported last week that more and more libraries are seeing the value of connecting to each other, and to readers, authors and publishers.
I think this is a great idea. As the article points out, libraries and individual librarians can now let lots of people know very quickly about the special events they are putting on, as well as promoting the many other services they provide.
Anything that helps to get more little ones, and their mums, dads and carers, into the library to enjoy a world of free books, has to be a very good thing.
