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Engaging reads for children, from Books go Walkabout

Category: Book events Page 7 of 10

When I Grow Up by Benjamin Zephaniah

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On August 5, 2011

In Book events, Featured authors, Featured children's book, Featured illustrators, New titles, Uncategorized, Dolphinbooksellers

bzWe met at Keat’s House with Benjamin Zephaniah and Prodeepta Das for the launch of their new book, ‘When I Grow Up’.

It’s a book about breaking down stereotypes and about opening up the world of opportunity.

Benjamin Zephaniah  talked about his childhood and the stereotypes which meant he could either have been a gangster or a painter and decorator. But he wanted to be a poet. It was not expected that black people should go to university. After some time in different jobs he decided to follow his dream and has indeed become a famous and brilliant poet.

bz groupThe book shows all kinds of different jobs, from the Sikh lollipop man to the black woman space scientist,the mathematical clown and the forest keeper. The photos are great and the poems fantastic. A real joy to read and a book to keep looking at.

On the journey back from the launch on the tube, other passengers were leaning over to read the poems.

Published by Frances Lincoln  it is part of their programme of books valuing diversity and difference. See more books by Benjamin Zephaniah here.

Dolphin Booksellers – the best in children’s books always on line

Unbound – Books are now in your hands

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On July 18, 2011

In Book events, New titles, Uncategorized

 

unboundBRINGING AUTHORS AND READERS TOGETHER

Ever wondered what happens to all those ideas and books that sit in a computer somewhere or in the shed at the bottom of the garden.

Unbound have a solution! This is what they say…

‘ We think authors and readers should decide which books get published. On the Unbound site, authors pitch their ideas directly to you. If you like what you read, you can pledge your support to help make the book happen.

Everyone who supports an author before they reach 100% of the funding target gets their name printed in every edition of that book. All levels include a digital version and immediate access to the author’s shed while they write the book, and supporters of projects that don’t reach their target receive a full refund.

If you like the sound of that, then sign up and have a look around. We’ve got some great projects and we’d love you to help make them happen.

We’re @unbounders on Twitter by the way. ub

 

Interested, either way as a budding author or keen reader it sounds fun!

 

 

Dolphin Booksellers- the best in children’s books always on line.

Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices
Children’s Book Award 2011

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On June 29, 2011

In Book events, Featured authors, Featured children's book, New titles

Helen Limon has won the 2011 Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Children’s Book Award to Helen Limon for Om Shanti, Babe, a story about growing up, family and friendships that the judges described as ‘…fabulous . . . laugh-out-loud funny’.

dv 2011
The tale of teenage Cassia, who is forced to drop her preconceived ideas when she joins her mother on a business trip to south India, takes in fair trade and environmental issues alongside Cassia’s struggles to accept her mother’s new Indian partner, her spiky tussles with fashion-mad friend-to-be Priyanka and her crushes on pop star Jonny Gold and Dev, a boy she meets on a train.

Pictured: Helen Limon (2011 winner) Tom Avery (2010 winner – Too Much Trouble is published today) and Karon Alderman (2011 runner up)

The Award, was founded jointly by Frances Lincoln Limited and Seven Stories, the national centre for children’s books, in memory of Frances Lincoln (1945-2001) to encourage and promote diversity in children’s fiction.

The prize of £1,500 plus the option for Janetta Otter-Barry at Frances Lincoln Children’s Books to publish the novel is awarded to the best manuscript for eight to 12-year-olds that celebrates diversity in the widest possible sense.

Australian author Michelle Richardson received a Special Mention for Tek, a book about a young girl from the Aboriginal Australian Murrinh-Patha community who can communicate with the
ngepan, the spirits of the dead.

Tom Avery, was the winner of the award in 2010 also celebrated the publication on June 23rd of Too Much Trouble.

Sue Martin: Dolphin Booksellers the best in children’s books always on line.

10 Coolest Libraries

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On June 17, 2011

In Book events, Libraries, Dolphinbooksellers

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Libraries go beyond the possible, heading into the realms of the imagination in developing places for children and young people.

This is what we heard at Dolphin Booksellers from the 10 Coolest Libraries for Kids programme.
Watch a video, listen to a CD, play with a puppet, look at stuff under a microscope, or check out a discovery box!

At The Children’s Library Lab at The Journey Museum at Rapid City, South Dakota, U.S.A.

Instilling a love of reading at a young age can be an invaluable asset in the life of anyone. It helps them in the success at school and I’m sure there is some research somewhere that shows children who read early have a greater understanding of the world.

The Onlinecollege courses in the US is the place to find the information and we hope to work with them to bring information across the Big Pond.

In Princeton, New Jersey , Jennifer Greenstein Altmann writes about transforming Cotsen Children’s Library into a literary wonderland.

“Princeton New Jersey — Walk through the doors, and you enter a replica of a garden with five-foot animal topiaries made of fiberglass. There are stools shaped like daisies and a table with sunflowers growing out of it, with benches that look like hedges. Beyond the garden is a miniature house with a bookshelf that doubles as a staircase, which children can climb to reach a reading loft.”

lib 2

 

It’s a really interesting article and we were very excited about this as a development. What a place to sit and read? Just think what can happen?

Sue Martin

Dolphin Booksellers the best in children’s books always on line.

 

 

“Laura Bohn ’03, a volunteer at Cotsen Children’s Library, finds a cosy reading nook in the trunk of a 17-foot bonsai tree that soars over the new installation at the Cotsen gallery“.

(Images featured from the Coolest Libraries original article)

London Book Fair 2011

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On April 13, 2011

In Book events, Dolphinbooksellers

lbfMore books than you could ever imagine under one roof! We went along on our annual trip to the bookfair at Earl’s Court in London.

From ebooks to publishers,and with representations from countries across the world we had to start with a coffee before we could even plan a route through the stands of the London Book Fair Lots of information and ways to make books and reading accessible for everyone. We met with Frances Lincoln publishers, who produce some excellent children’s books and are renowned for their leading work in diversity and culturalism.

The producers of ebooks were especially interesting and the team from California were great as they were prepared to help, ” We can do anything”. a great perspective on working life and definitely a way forward.

The stand for Australia was next to Abu Dhabi, quite a contrast, but two countries with diverse ethnic groups and attitudes, side by side. Interesting conversations on the Children’s Book Council in Australia and on the Abu Dhabi Bookfair 2011.What a joy to work with children’s books and to see just how far stories and information can spread. What better way to bring cultures and people together.

Sue Martin, Dolphin Booksellers – Bringing the best in children’s books always on line.

Stories at Bedtime

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On April 9, 2011

In Book events, Dolphinbooksellers

Once upon a time….. there were children who went back to school in their pyjamas just as it was getting dark, for bedtime stories…

Aug 09 018

We are working with a children’s centre in the London Borough of Wandsworth. As part of the work in engaging with literacy and families Stories at Bedtime was born!

The thought of cosy stories, hot chocolate and with the Big Bookmark guiding the way the first event was a huge success. Over 30 children brought their parents and snuggled down for the stories, then went into other parts of the nursery for more stories before bedtime.

James, aged 2 just had to give in to and was fast asleep in his pushchair before the stories finished. But I’m hoping he will come to the next event in the spring.

Try our Big Bookmarks from Dolphin Bookbox to develop and promote your ideas, you may not send everyone to sleep but it will make an impact.

m granardStoriesFront

 

Sue Martin
Dolphin Booksellers – bringing the best in children’s books always on line

World Book Day 3rd March 2011

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On February 18, 2011

In Book events, Dolphinbooksellers

wbd1

The celebration of books and reading worldwide. World Book Day is now marked in over 100 countries across the globe. In the UK and Ireland we will hold World Book Day on Thursday March 3rd. Schools and bookshops are already getting prepared, full of ideas for events with reading, books and stories.

wbdThe World Book Day website has loads of resources and activity suggestions, all free to download. If you register on the on-line portal you will receive information and updates. A great way to access ideas and support to ensure that you have some great activities happening at your centre.

nbtNational Book Tokens and participating booksellers including Dolphin Booksellers enable the £1 token which can be used to purchase one of the £1 books or against another book as available.

Dolphin Booksellers will be keeping you up to date with activities and events as they happen. Keep looking even after March 3rd as other countries go for April 23rd 2011.

Old Possum’s Children’s Poetry Competition

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On December 17, 2010

In Book events, Featured authors, Dolphinbooksellers

opPoetry is back on the agenda!

It certainly was for all those who entered the Old Possum’s Children’s Poetry Competition. On Friday 10th December the winning young poets were presented with their book prizes.

There were twelve prize winners and a further eight received commendations. They were all between the ages of 7 and eleven. One of the poems is featured below.

Home

Hearing my dad on the computer.
Hearing the quiet buzz of the heater.
Hearing the cars rushing past.
I know I am home.

Smelling paint as I walk past the wall.
Smelling the food being cooked.
I know I am home.

Touching the peach wall when I walk in.
Touching my toys and start playing with them.
I know I am home.

Setting the food on the table ready to eat.
Seeing the furry stairs in the corridor.
I know I am home.

By Michael Hills, aged 8, from Yateley Manor, Hampshire

All winning entries are on Children’s Poetry bookshelf . The judges of the Old Possum’s Children’s Poetry Competition, led by Chair Roger McGough, selected twelve children as winners of the Competition, with a further eight receiving high commendations. The judges awarded 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes to children in two age groups (7-8 and 9-11).

winners

This international Poetry Competition, now in its fifth year, is run by the Children’s Poetry Bookshelf, a poetry book club for young people run by the Poetry Book Society. To link with National Poetry Day on Thursday 7 October, children aged 7-11 were invited to submit poems on the theme of ‘Home’.

The partnership with the British Council boosted entries to the ‘International Learners’ category for children based outside the UK who are learning English as a foreign or second language. In total, well over 3,000 entries were received from schools and individual children worldwide, nearly a quarter of which were from 31 countries other than the UK.

Roger McGough said:

“’Home’ proved to be a fruitful subject for this year’s crop of young poets and the judges relished those poems in which the child’s imagination was let loose. More than attention to domestic detail, the sounds and smells, the furnishings, the judges relished those poems in which the child’s imagination was let loose. Above all, it was a delight to witness very young writers discovering the power and the joy of language.”

Sue Martin

Dolphin Booksellers, the best in children’s books, always on line

The Children’s Bookshow

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On November 21, 2010

In Book events, Featured authors, Featured children's book, Featured illustrators, Dolphinbooksellers

cbThe Children’s Book Show 2010 came to a triumphant end last night (17 November, 2010) with a sell out event at L’Institut Français, London. The popular event was also part of the Youth Festival.

Quentin Blake, the inaugural Children’s Laureate who has also been referred to as a ‘national institution’ and one of France’s most highly acclaimed illustrators illustrator Francois Place (best known in the UK for his illustrations for Michael Morpurgo’s War Horse) talked about their work, showing exquisite examples, and then treated an enthusiastic audience to an amazing drawing duel.

A wonderful evening watching and listening to two people who are good friends but also expert in their fields. They so much enjoyed their work and seemed unruffled by their fame. But then an audience of children are always good at asking the questions that you hadn’t thought about and didn’t really want to share on a wide scale. But Quentin and Francois just answered away.

Seeing a book in pictures first, meant that for Francois, he “ …wondered where the words would go?” and Quentin liked to tell the story in pictures and leave the words to children’s minds.

The artists took it in turns to transform each other’s drawings, keeping the audience guessing what would happen next. Much laughter later a splendid wordless story had been created on one sheet of paper. At the end of the show there was a round of applause when one young person asked the artists to do another drawing. The artists took up the challenge and picked up their pins, giving the audience another chance to see two masters of their craft at work.

A finale to a national programme that has seen children across the country involved with authors and illustrators, a great way to explore children’s books and we look forward to 2011 in even more places.

Sue Martin, Dolphin Booksellers – the best in children’s books always on line

Working with young people and digital technology

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On November 10, 2010

In Book events

slaThe London branch of the School Library Association met at Highgate School on the evening of November 9th. The meeting was held in the oak panelled hall and was a contrast to the new age title of the talk , ‘ Engaging with children in a digital way’, which was presented by Ruth Harrison from The Reading Agency.

readLots of different projects that the Reading Agency are involved in show that this is a really exciting time for the development of communication and access to written texts. Young people have a myriad of ways that they are already accessing written material digitally. For libraries and schools there are lots of benefits and also some concerns, especially around the uploading of material written onto a school website, for example, by young people.

This would seem to be a very valid point but maybe there are other ways that we can encourage young people to write and express their thoughts.

As part of our work with children and literacy we are always interested in new ways of engaging with children and young people. Very keen to be part of the developing ‘apps’ movement.  Just the start of a new way of working and so much scope for broadening horizons.

Sue Martin at DolphinBooksellers – always the best in children’s books on line

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