CMIS Evaluation Fiction Focus

Anthony Browne. Here.

Browne’s first move as laureate, he says, will be to attempt to reinvigorate the role of picture books in society, “to encourage everybody to value the act of looking. In recent years, picture books have become the sole province of the very young; children are encouraged to move on to ‘proper’ books earlier and earlier. Looking is just as important as words: if vision is marginalised, we lose our ability to really see.”

A fifteen-minute video interview (viderview?) with the sixth UK Children’s Laureate, Anthony Browne.

Anthony Browne. What fun! Read all about it here and see his work here.

Outgoing Laureate Michael Rosen reflects on the past two years.

Classics, classics, classics. When the past five Children’s Laureates were asked to select their top seven children’s books, titles of times gone by prevailed. Not even a Pullman, let alone a Rowling. But, happy to say, Bob Graham gets a guernsey from Quentin Blake.

Here’s the final 35, thanks to The Guardian.

ADDENDUM: Here

It seems no time at all since Michael Rosen took up the post as fifth UK Children’s Laureate, but his time is nearly up and the next one will be announced on 9 June.

Who will it be? The story so far: Quentin Blake, Anne Fine, Michael Morpurgo, Jacqueline Wilson and Rosen.

Will the BGBGB pattern prevail? If so, Lauren Child and Malorie Blackman are in the mix. If not, Anthony Horowitz is among the touted.

Here’s what the Independent has to say. If we had a fairy godmother, we would wish for the same sort of positive media coverage of children’s literature issues in this country, rather than reactive ’shock horror’ awards outrage.

In the US, the Children’s Poet Laureate, Mary Ann Hoberman, has launched a series of children’s poetry videocasts.

Meanwhile, the Australian Children’s Literature Alliance is beavering away to ensure our own Laureate is appointed sooner rather than later.

The Australian has followed up on the laureate story today with a bit more information. Yea.

Well, we don’t know yet, but the process has begun. Not the Australian Children’s Laureate, sadly, as there is no such beast, but the UK institution that has seen the role shaped by Quentin Blake (1999-2001), Anne Fine (2001-2003), Michael Morpurgo (2003-2005), Jacqueline Wilson (2005-2007) and the current Laureate, Michael Rosen, whose term expires in 2009.

The sixth Laureate’s term will run from 2009-2011, and children (and adults) around Britain are now being asked to submit their nominations. Young people can make a strong case for their choice in 100 words in order to win a place at the announcement ceremony on 9 June. Who might it be? Will the BGBGB pattern of previous Laureates continue?

And, just dreaming, if we were to have an Australian Laureate, what names might emerge?