The illustrator’s wall and contributions by new and amazingly talented illustrators from all over the world was an absolute highlight.
Bologna Children’s Book Fair – a small section of the illustrators wall…
In fact after two days it became increasingly hypnotic with so many beautiful images collected together on the entrance walls.
Sometimes confusing too that cards, postcards, posters and information were scattered across the floor, just waiting to be picked up and gathered into people’s canvas bags.
Have certainly spotted some wonderful talent and a joy for years ahead of book reviews.
The Bologna Children’s Book Fair is immensely large and awe-inspiring. My plans of looking carefully at the guide went out of the window as we walked around stand after stand, finding ones which appealed to the Books Go Walkabout team. We also spent time with colleagues we had planned to visit.
The Sea, illustrated by Jill Calder, on display at the event…
Highlights for BGW were the books for Irelandand also Vietnam, two more places in the vast world to engage with and bring authors and children together from all over the world.
And so we returned late at night via the last flight that day on Ryanair, ready and geared up to bring books, stories and illustrations to children across the planet.
Well done to Bologna Children’s Book Fair!
Sue Martin
Authors & Illustrators around the world
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Books go Walkabout is our international books and literacy project - connecting authors and illustrators with children and young people around the globe.
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Leigh Hobbs came to the UK in October 2018, visiting schools in London and Norfolk, and students of the MA in Children’s Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art.
Books Go Walkabout are really pleased to be working with Leigh to plan and arrange visits in the UK. He is a real inspiration and his characters are incredible.
Mr Chicken, Old Tom, Horrible Harriet – are full of adventure and fun in the midst of the city. Leigh related how the characters were formed, and showed the children just how to create their own characters in their drawings.
Leigh in his studio. See and buy Leigh’s books here…
Books Go Walkabout are now planning ahead for Spring 2019. Leigh loves London, the people, the architecture, the history and best of all plotting adventures for his characters during his visits.
As well as working in schools, Leigh gave the first ‘visiting lecture’ to over two hundred M.A. students of Children’s Illustration, in the Cambridge School of Art, at Anglia Ruskin University . Leigh explained to his audience that all he had ever wanted to be was be an artist and to visit England.
Leigh develops a character – live…
At William Tyndale Primary School in Islington, Leigh worked with classes of years 12,3 & 4. The atmosphere was electric. Mr Chicken was drawn by the children in many varied ways, a different farmyard fowl springing from the mind of each child. They learnt all about creating characters through their drawings.
A great visit and Books Go Walkabout team are delighted to continue working with Leigh on UK visits in 2019.
Sue Martin
Books, writers and illustrators – across the globe…
Bookmonitor is our news source for reviews and project information.
Books go Walkabout is our international books and literacy project - connecting authors and illustrators with children and young people around the globe.
We use Stripe to handle your e-purchase. Buy with confidence from BgW. Customer FAQ's here.
Seven Stories is the National Centre for Children’s Books. Nowhere else in the UK matches the uniqueness of Seven Stories.
There are collections from authors with titles galore and notes of their work as it progressed. There are amazing original pieces of artwork from illustrators, as well as the printed book.
Seven Stories are custodians of the only collection in the world of British authors from 1930’s to present day.
Children’s books change the lives of those who read them, they capture thoughts and feelings, they create adventure and exploration, they help children to face and understand the world.
The centre has many roles and activities, including workshops, events for children of all ages, connections with schools in the North-East. It has a wonderful bookshop and a café for lunches, with a view over the Ouseburn river.
Exhibitions have a big place in Seven Stories. The two exhibitions running now are about Bears and Comics. There are also exhibitions with material from previous exhibitions, archived digitally and accessible as a resource. Once the exhibitions have finished at Seven Stories they often go on tour around the country, such as the recent Michael Morpurgo exhibition, on tour this year.
Always worth a visit to Seven Stories…
The Comics exhibition, is showing until Summer 2018 on the fifth floor and once you enter, you are immersed in the world of comics, old and new.
Comics, illustrations, graphic novels, adventure, showing a whole world of characters and story. One page of a comic would lead you into another world with weekly episodes keeping you on the edge of your seat. There are many favourite characters, heroes and superheroes, good guys and bad guys.
The exhibition is set out to show the different aspects of comics; story, character, setting, props and power, and style. As you journey through the exhibition there is a really good sense of the components of creating a comic adventure, with characters and plots larger than life! The quality of the illustrations and huge amount of time involved in creating a page with many panels of sketches is enormous.
Ahoy there?
A story for a comic is generally made in a series of panels, with each panel including some words in speech bubbles or a displayed text, but often there are no words at all!
Characters can be anyone really, monsters, jokers, friends, people you know or even yourself. The exhibition shows how you can define your character in clothes, height, features and special powers.
Other areas are Props and Power; an amazing collection held in some drawers of destiny and a wardrobe full of ideas or possible impossibilities!
Alongside the comics with superheroes and other characters were also some well-known novels, made into comic or graphic style. My favourite was Tom’s Midnight Garden, which looked amazing and also Moomin on the Riviera, The Snowman, Guardians of the Galaxy and Asterix.
Would you enter the wardrobe?
This is a fantastic exhibition and we could well have spent a whole day there.
The team at Seven Stories, who collate and present the exhibitions, have real professionalism and flair in the creation of this amazing space, especially the interactivity of many of the displayed artefacts.
Maybe one day soon, I will go back and wander into the Wardrobe of Impossible Possibilities. If you visit the exhibition and find the wardrobe you may discover new solar systems, characters and stories within.
A visit to Seven Stories and the Comics Exhibition is a must for the school holidays or at any time.
Great archive and news stories on a theme, featured links at the exhibition.
Image Credits: With thanks to Seven Stories for the images of the 'front door' and the magical wardrobe...
Bookmonitor is our news source for reviews and project information.
Books go Walkabout is our international books and literacy project - connecting authors and illustrators with children and young people around the globe.
We use Stripe to handle your e-purchase. Buy with confidence from BgW. Customer FAQ's here.
First impressions on arriving at Bologna Children’s Bookfair in April are of a truly global event.
If this is the world of children’s books then there is a huge potential for working together, for creativity, sharing stories, making connections, discovering new places, new authors and new illustrators.
Much of the fair is given to the mechanics of creating books, the publishers, the printers, the translators, the agents, the IT and digital media, the new way of creating apps and stories and much more.
Bursting out of this were displays of creative illustrators, authors, story tellers, and these show just a tiny glimpse of the work and inspiration that enable stories, ideas, art and technology to be shared across the world.
After looking at the map and guide for the Bookfair we became completely immersed in the Illustrators’ Wall, which became a focal point for our team. It was full of cards, illustrations, concepts; and behind the wall were more displays and galleries.
It became a meeting point for the team as we wandered through the halls and were diverted through stands, work, coffee points and people. It became a resting place too, just to take a glance at the other Bookfair people, wandering, gazing and finding their way.
Books Go Walkabout is rather like the glue between the book spine and the pages. We hold stories together and send them out across the world.
We didn’t need a stand to meet people, to share thoughts or ideas and to find ways of working together. Our style of working is to be adaptive and free from the ‘inside of the box’ approach. And the people we met seemed to share that vision and keen to be involved.
Some of the highlights for us are below, although there were many more thoughts and contacts, which will support our work in the next year.
Discover more here…
IbBy – International Board on Books for Young People
‘The International Board on Books for Young People is a unique international alliance of everyone interested in children’s literature: academics, librarians, writers, illustrators, publishers, teachers, literacy workers, booksellers, parents and others.
IbBy UK is just one of IBBY’s 70+ national sections in countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe‘.
The Hong Kong Printers Association had a wonderful display of books published within the HK Printers eco-system. A feast to the eye…
Discover more here…
Lithuanian Publishing Company – tikra knyga
• Lithuanian authors design the books – the original text and illustrations.
• Coloring, mandalas, study books that are not only fun, but help develop the reader.
• Interesting hero adventure series of books telling, “growing” with the child.
• Positive, educational books that help a child to get to know the world around, conveying values.
”Catalonia and the Balearic Islands were exhibiting in Bologna with the theme Sharing a Future: Books in Catalan, in a clear reference to the importance of children and young people for the future of literature, with a programme that includes over forty activities with more than sixty participants for the fair and around the city”.
‘Allen & Unwin is Australia’s leading independent publisher and has been voted “Publisher of the Year” thirteen times including the inaugural award in 1992 and eleven times since 2000.
They publish around 250 new titles each year including literary and commercial fiction, a broad range of general non fiction, academic and professional titles and books for children and young adults. Their imprints include Allen & Unwin, Arena, Crows Nest, House of Books, Inspired Living (MBS), Murdoch Books and Pier 9′. Read more about this dynamic publisher here…
Leigh in session at Bologna
Australian Children’s Laureate Leigh Hobbs
‘Leigh Hobbs grew up in the Australian country town of Bairnsdale.
From childhood he had two burning ambitions, to be an artist and to go to England…’ He achieved them.
‘…they have a unique view of the picture book industry, seen from many angles – librarian, bookseller, gallery director, writer and illustrator. Books Illustrated is a centre celebrating Australian children’s literature, in particular picture books and their creators. It has an interesting history that has culminated in a program of exhibitions promoting the work of Australian book illustrators throughout Australia and in international venues’. Discover them on-line here…
Global children’s literature on-line…
Tiny Owl – publishers and translators of stories from Iran
‘Tiny Owl is an independent publishing company committed to producing beautiful, original books for children.
Established in 2015, our energy and passion stems from our belief that stories act as bridges – providing pathways to new experiences whilst connecting us to here and there. Our stories are visually rich and conceptually meaningful. They give children unique perspectives on universal themes such as love, friendship and freedom and a greater awareness of the diverse and colourful world we live in’.
‘Ever since QED’s inception in 2003, each book has been specifically designed to make learning exciting, stimulating and fun for children. Our diverse range of titles covers everything from entertaining, innovative facts for the classroom to beautifully illustrated fiction that kids will want to take home. Get inspired and get learning – the fun starts here!’
Unesco – education, science, culture and communication
Unesco – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
… is responsible for coordinating international cooperation in education, science, culture and communication. It strengthens the ties between nations and societies, and mobilises the wider public…
Books Go Walkabout team have written more about the event in Bologna, Books and Bigliette at Conversations East. Another insight and a focus on the art and illustration of good books.
Bologna Children’s Bookfair 2017, was a great event for Books Go Walkabout and a wonderful occasion which demonstrates the importance of children’s books, which is not diminishing, and is more than a commercial value.
There is real benefit for children and our shared world in the power of children’s stories and ideas across the world.
Sue Martin
Bookmonitor is our news source for reviews and project information.
Books go Walkabout is our international books and literacy project - connecting authors and illustrators with children and young people around the globe.
We use Stripe to handle your e-purchase. Buy with confidence from BgW. Customer FAQ's here.
‘The SLA School Librarian of the Year Award is the School Library Association’s prestigious honour to recognize the excellent work that is carried out in school libraries every day, highlighting the best practice of those whose work is outstanding.
This year Amy McKay at Corby Business Academy (www.corbybusinessacademy.org) has been awarded the honour of the School Librarian of the Year 2016′.
We were delighted to attend the award ceremony at The Judges Court, St. Martins Lane, Covent Garden, London on the 3rd October, 2016.
Award winning author Kim Slater was on hand to present Amy with her prize. The range of library activities, reader support and wider engagement with the library and literacy sector that Amy has achieved in her career so far made her a very deserving winner in 2016.
Previous Winners of the SLA School Librarian of the Year Award
2015: Annie Brady – St Paul’s CBS Secondary School, Dublin, Republic of Ireland
2014: Liz Millett – Weatherfield Academy, Dunstable
2013: Hilary Cantwell – St Paul’s Community College, Waterford, Republic of Ireland
2013: John Iona – Oasis Academy, Enfield, Middlesex
2012: Adam Lancaster – Monk’s Walk School, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire
2011: Carol Webb – Forest Hill School, London
2010: Duncan Wright – Stewart’s Melville College, Edinburgh
2010: Kevin Sheehan – Offerton School, Stockport
2009: Lucy Bakewell – Hill West Primary School, Sutton Coldfield
2008: Nikki Heath – Werneth School, Stockport
2007: Ingrid Hopson – George Abbot School, Guildford
2006: Anne-Marie Tarter – Ripon Grammar School, North Yorkshire
2005: Anne Robinson – Nicholas Chamberlaine Technology College, Bedworth
Bookmonitor is our news source for reviews and project information.
Books go Walkabout is our international books and literacy project - connecting authors and illustrators with children and young people around the globe.
We use Stripe to handle your e-purchase. Buy with confidence from BgW. Customer FAQ's here.
