MCBF Round Robin: Poetry Together

By Martin Kratz

Have you ever wondered what Father Christmas does for the rest of the year? Given that the Manchester Children’s Book Festival is only on for ten days in the summer, you might wonder the same of us. But unlike Raymond Brigg’s Father Christmas, we aren’t on holiday. In fact, this autumn we have been particularly busy with our cross-generational poetry competition Poetry Together. 

Poetry Together is part of our wider campaign to promote children’s poetry, Let in the Stars. It is unique in that the poems you enter need to be written by two people: one of you has to be over 18, and the other has to be under 18.

We had a wonderful launch on November 23rd at Plymouth Grove Primary School in Manchester. The pupils’ stunning performance of their own poetry left me more than a little speechless (not great, given that I had to talk about the competition). Poet Mandy Coe had visited the school previously to work with the children, but even she was amazed at the unexpected directions the children had taken their writing in. It was particularly nice to chat to pupils afterwards and hear their ideas for the competition. They were so ambitious and even included an idea for a bilingual poem between grandmother and grandson taking it in turns to write a verse each. 

Thank you so much to the staff and students at the school for giving us such an energising start. I can’t wait to see all the entries. In the meantime, here are all the photos from that wonderful day. Don't forget, if you have photos of your own to share we would love to see them!

Human Rights (by Harvey Milner)

I’m walking down the street
Children left and right
Some are blind, some are deaf
and some are nearly dead.
When I walk down the street
Children just stare with waterfilled eyes
I can see the sorrow through their pupils
besides my lucky self in the reflection.

I walked down the street children with guns, AK-47’s in two hands
A colt – 45 in a small holster to the side of the leg ready to be drawn any minute.

 I was walking down the street
14 year old girls married and holding hands with middle – aged men.

Darkness (by Caroline L, Birkenhead High School Academy)
Can consume all hope, all light, all we receive
Except a life where wisdom empowers you
To push, to strive to be what you thought you couldn’t be for
Being who you are.

Don’t take yourself to strive towards
A body or darkness.
For to take education for granted
Means that your life will be taken
For granted.

Be what you can, and never stop running, never stop striving
And never stop crawls towards life.
For you never know you’ve wasted it for too long.
Even if you believe life is wasted,
You deserve hope, you deserve dreams.

Education (by Lucy Jackson, Birkenhead High School Academy for Girls)

Education, according to oxford dictionary ‘it is the process of recieiving or giving systematic instruction, especially in a school or university’. According to the human rights act of 1948, it states that every child is entitled to go to school and learn.

On Tuesday 4^th October 2012 Malala Yousafzai was shot on her bus ride to school, both her and her farther would campaign for the right for girls to go to school.

Whilst reading her book I noticed that never once, did her opinion change, she never lost sight of her aim. In her speech she said ‘let us remember: one book, one pen, one child,  and one teacher  can change the world.

During my visit to the human rights workshop my friend sarah said ‘it’s sad that people appreciate a child with a gun, more than a child with a pen.

We are the children of the future, one future is blank with 61 million children still not going to school. All future should be brighter than the starts, as the tarmac on the roads.

 

Schools Workshops: Human Rights

Dear People of the World (By Luke Mason, Year Nine, Bury Church of England High School)

 

Dear people of the world,

I believe that we are all equal as brothers and sisters. However, some of our family are in need of our help. Those unfortunate people do not have the privilege of education or safety like us. We need to give our friends back their basic rights for them to grow tall. From weeds to sunflowers. We need to join together as one community to help those less fortunate than ourselves.

If these people are left to suffer they will never reach their full potential.

We must light the way for the people by providing them with resources to build the future for themselves.

It is not a choice. It is our responsibility.

Dear Brothers and Sisters of the World (By Charlie Bradbury, Year Nine, Bury Church of England High School)

Dear brothers and sisters of the world,

We say every child has a right to an education but we never act on it. Around the world there are millions of children without a basic education. Together we can make a difference, together we can change the world. Let’s make the world a better place, give every child an education.

The world is an oyster waiting to be opened. A hidden gem waiting to be uncovered. All it needs is every child to have an education and the world will be a better place. Together we can help the children and develop our modern world. The children of our world will soon be the adults and will make the life changing decisions, but how will they make the informed choices without an education

Act now. Open the oyster.
 

Human Rights: Education First (By Dylan Birkett, Year Nine, St Bernard's)



School children sitting in the shade of an orchard in Afghanistan

Illiteracy is a problem which factors greatly throughout the world. It leads to poverty, lack of knowledge and, even in some cases, war. If we are taught as a child, we have the knowledge of what the world is like and what other peoples’ viewpoints are in many social issues and how they could be solved.

So if we have a right to education, why can’t those who are hit by wars and poverty have the same right to education?

Well they actually do, but in many countries around the world, this right is abused and mistreated with 61 million out of school and not getting a valuable education. And if 61 million children are not getting an education now, that means there will be 61 million people who will be unemployed or unemployable in the future which is something that no one here wants or desires.

I encourage all witnessing this to help stand up against poverty, injustice, illiteracy and ignorance. Stand up for all those who are not getting a proper education. Because, in all reality, our brain could be the most important weapon we possess when it comes to a war; and education is the only solution to make sure that it is used to the fullest of its potential.

We need to put education first.

The Miracle of Literacy (By George Keevil, Year Eight, Ulverston Victoria High School)

The miracle of literacy is the most important thing on this planet. Without it, the world would be a primate, barren wasteland with no method of communication. There would be no civilisation or order. Mathematics is essential for the technological advancement of the human race. Without it we would all still be living in mud huts fighting each other with spears. Learning about our history is important to our culture and our ancestors. We can look back on previous mistakes and make sure we do not make them.

And where do we acquire these things? Education. Education has made civilisation what it is now. From living in caves to travelling into space. Without any kind of education we would not be able to do anything other than live like wild animals. We must stop the pointless obstacles that block our path to learning and a future.

Is war necessary? If your ideas are so different to someone else’s, just don’t get involved with them. Do not start fighting; because not only will many people be killed, but lives get ruined by conflict.

 

What are we without Education? (Hannah Bethell, Year Eight, Furness Academy)

 

Child Labour in Africa

What are we without education? No work, no money, no life.

We will be trapped in a non-existent world where the number of child marriages rises and the number of educated people decreases.

In our current state, 61 million children are without a school to attend; this figure is growing incredibly fast. They don’t have a voice and therefore don’t have the courage to let their thoughts be herd.

No work, no money, no life.

It is not right and should not be pushed aside lightly.

We can help. We will help now.

No ‘buts’, no ‘ifs’. This is the time to give them your hand. This is the time to lead them through poverty – To lead them to the right place. To show them how amazing life can be.

No poverty, no pain, no pressure.

 

What is the Key to a Happy Life? (Cameron Pollock, Year Seven, St Bernard's)

What is the key to a happy life? Education. So why do so many us not have it? We take school for granted but it is a gift for some people who began without it. Education is a key; a key for a future to live on. So why do too many not have it?

We are forgetting the children of our world, the supports of the world. Do not support them, and eventually we will all crumble into dust.

Imagine what we would be without education. Thoughtless creatures guided by instinct. Where did we get the knowledge to build the skyscrapers, pyramids, the colour run? Education.

The life of all the 61,000,000 uneducated children in the world can be changed by our voices. Only we can change their future.

 

Dreams (Katherine Cummins, Year Seven, Wellington School)

 

People around the world have dreams that they can only achieve through education. But 61,000,000 of children in the world are forced to leave school and work at a young age everyone has to have the right to learn and do whatever they want. No one can stop them. We have the right to learn how to read, write and enjoy life through education. And you are supposed to help us do that, not stop us. We will fight for our education and we won’t give it up. This is the only way we can achieve our dreams. Everyone deserves to go to school. If you were in our position and you have a dream that you really want to achieve, what would you do? Would you fight for your education and achieve that dream? Or will you give it up? We won’t give up our education because it is the most important thing for us. No one can stop us from learning and achieving our dreams.

The Importance of Education (Brandon Stevens, Year Seven, Wellington School)

Education is the most important part of a child’s life. If children don’t have education they might not know what to do in life. Millions of children don’t have an education, they are not going to have a very good future. Everyone has the right to an education. Help children all around the world to have a good education.

61,000,000 children don’t have an education or any human rights. Children are forced into marriage and forced to be soldiers. No child should be forced into anything, they should be able to do what they want when they want like every other human that has the rights to do this.

I think every child in the world should have the exact same education and human rights as me. Every year more and more children will suffer and more and more children will have the same education and human rights as me.

 

All with a Beating Heart (Leah White, Bury Church of England High School)

 

All with a beating heart
A keen mind eager to learn
Not guns, or violence or poverty
It’s education we yearn.
So many young brides
All with a future ahead
Taking their vows, making false promises
None of them ever read.
We’re made to shoot and kill and hurt
No end to the torture in sight
Just wanting to read and learn
Just wanting to write.
You cannot take our freedom
You cannot take our right
We will stand up to you
We will win this fight.

65 Million and Rising (Martha, Year Nine, Furness Academy)

 

61 million and rising. The amount of children in the world who, despite a right to education, are receiving none.

61 million and rising. The amount of children who will not be able to support themselves, let alone a family.

61 million and rising. The amount of children who could find themselves trapped in hell if we do not do something about it.

61 million and rising. The amount of lives that could suffer under the weight of being alone.

We can give them someone.

We can give them a reply to their cry for help.

We can give them the rope to escape this lonely cavern.

So why aren’t we?

It would take almost nothing to give them everything.

There is nothing more important than human rights. Nothing.

So why are we busy gambling and betting and complaining,

When 61 million and rising,

Suffer?

With no voice, how can these children make themselves heard?

 

 

Young Journalists Blog Multi-cultural Manchester

By Taha, Areeba and Atiya from Whalley Range High School

Multiculturalism throughout Manchester has been expressed through the form of written art and has been shown in the Manchester children’s book festival on 30th June. The cultural diversity has been expressed through the city in many different ways and on 30th June, many activities and events took place.

The audience was filled with excitement and chatter as Mandy Coe first took the stage by sharing her experiences, saying that poetry should be for children than for adults and that poetry for children is running out and not expressed as much. She then introduced Poetry By Heart where young poets read out poems by heart. She then welcomed four young poets on the stage. Personally, I think this was the best part, listening to other people in our age group reading out poetry, which potentially could inspire us in the future.

Next was the first female poet Laureate Dame Carol Ann Duffy. She read out inspirational poetry including the poetry that was banned for the use in schools. The poem talks about violence: a teenager killing, however it has nothing negative but we have to interpret in a positive and meaningful kind of way. She read out a poem that involved the audience: Elvis, Shakespeare, Picasso and Virginia Wolf, adding, “Probably one of the highlights of my life as a poet is standing here and watching people scream Virginia Wolf at me.”

Next up was Imtiaz Dharker. Her poems had a very wide span of unique topics, ranging from pomegranates to being ‘Over the Moon’, which kept the audience hooked to them. Some of the poems she read out were quite amusing, such as the ‘Dabba Dialogue’ or, ‘Tiffin-Box Talks’. This poem in particular was written from the point of view of a tiffin-box. Her choice of words make her poems really interesting and fun to listen to. I personally thought it was a really good experience and a very engaging event.

After the poetry event we went over to the other event taking place. There we watched a one-woman play about a girl called Gabrielle, who lived on a small island in the Caribbean. It portrayed how Gabrielle’s life was like in the Caribbean’s, and how drastically it changed after she travelled to England, on a boat ride that took 20 days. Her new life in England was already off to a rocky start, being cramped on a ship for 20 days, so you can imagine how it must have been later on. It showed her struggle to find a proper job and home amongst the racial Britons of that time.

All in all, it was a very inspirational day. I learned new things, and I’m very happy that I had the chance to take part in such an event.

Sam and Mark launch The Adventures of Long Arm at Stanley Grove Primary Academy

Sam and Mark

TV presenting duo Sam and Mark visited Stanley Grove Primary Academy today to launch their new children's book, The Adventures of Long Arm. The visit gave pupils the chance to meet Sam and Mark and have copies of the book signed a day ahead of its release date tomorrow!

Principal, Phil Mellen, introduced Sam and Mark to the excited pupils, saying, "We have some very special guests today - I'm sure you're all going to have a lot of fun!"

Sam and Mark entered and immediately had the children in stitches showing them pictures from their childhood and talking about their friendship. The pair have been firm friends for 12 years! They also showed the children a special video showing how The Adventures of Long Arm was made, and passed around a very early copy of the book for everyone to see. To everyone's delight, Sam and Mark then gave us a special reading from the first chapter of the book!

Pupils were given the chance to win signed copies and illustrations by playing a game of "Call yourself a friend?!" Two pairs of best friends were quizzed about each other's favourite crisp flavour, school subject and TV show. The winning pair took home an illustration of Sam and Mark, by the book's illustrator, as well as signed copies of The Adventures of Long Arm. The runner-ups received signed copies of the book, too!

In a lively (and giggly!) Q&A with the pupils, Sam and Mark were challenged to moonwalk and revealed they were already working on a sequel to their first book. The Adventures of Long Arm was available for early purchase at the school, so children were able to get copies signed - so everyone at Stanley Grove Primary Academy was a winner!

Our exclusive interview with Sam and Mark will be online soon, so keep your eyes peeled! In the meantime, check out our fantastic events programme to find out what else the Manchester Children's Book Festival has in store! 

SCBWI Presents an Afternoon of Silliness with Oliver Fibbs Author Steve Hartley

At the Manchester Children's Book Festival Family Fun Day, author Steve Hartley entertained an audience of parents and children, bringing on fits of giggles all round! He shared his stories and gave us tips on how to write our own. This event was brought to the Manchester Children's Book Festival by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, an organisation that supports the authors and illustrators of literature for young people.

"Nothing I say today will be a fib," Steve began, before continuing to describe his home - a golden palace on top of a dormant volcano in Lancashire. "You didn't know about the dormant volcano on the Pennines did you?!"

He then proceeded to tell the story of how he had made it to today's event after falling through the sky with a pair of gigantic alien knickers acting as his parachute. To prove he was no fibber, he produced the underwear and invited his audience to try them on!

Steve assured the children they were in safe hands, declaring, "I am a DOPE! Defender of the earth!"

The audience were treated to a lively reading from his novel Oliver Fibbs and the Clash of the Mega-Robots, the latest in the Oliver Fibbs series, which features a young boy who tells extravagant lies to make his life seem more exciting. Steve Hartley said that he and Oliver are alike because he also enjoys telling fibs.

"I get to tell fibs and get paid for it. That's what stories are, just fibs."

The children then played games to spark their own imaginations and set them on the path of story writing. Steve challenged them to think 'what if?' by taking something ordinary and changing it into something extraordinary! Ideas were popping up all over the room from excited minds as children asked, "What if there were ghost velociraptors here today?" and "What if the MCBF helpers were all robots?"

Steve then presented his steps to storytelling using this 'what if?' method as a starting point.

1. Idea: Change something ordinary.
2. Start with a problem, "Always get your stories off to a cracking start!"
3. Make the problem worse.
4. End: Solve it!

This was followed by a game of 'Fib or Fact' where Steve read off the wall statements to see if the children could work out whether or not they were true or a fib.

At the end of questions were he referred to The Twits as his favourite book for its silliness. Steve described why he enjoys taking part in events like Manchester Children's Book Festival.

"I love meeting my readers. It keeps my ideas funny and at the right level for the age group that I write at. And it inspires kids to read hopefully. If you can bring books to life, which is what I try and do, hopefully they'll go away reading more."

Would you like to share a story - or fib?! Take part in our International Reading and Writing Relay. You could write your own short story or tell us about your favourite book and why you love reading.

- GS

Jack Andraka Visits Reddish Vale High School

Jack Andraka with Theo Hudson, a student from Reddish Vale High School.

Year 6 pupils from Abingdon Primary celebrating British Science Week, joined pupils from Reddish Vale for a visit from very special guest, the inspirational Jack Andraka.

18 year-old Jack was touring to promote his book, Breakthrough, which tells the story behind his revolutionary discovery. Jack started investigating new, cheap tests for early detection of certain cancers when he was just 13, the same age as many of the pupils in the room.

Henry, a student from Abingdon Primary, said, “It was very inspiring to meet someone who has had so much success.” Elizabeth Teague, a pupil from Reddish Vale, added, “It was amazing to meet such a talented and inspiring person. It’s made me want to be like him.”

Jack demonstrated an experiment from his book, which had everyone enthralled. He answered questions from the audience about his work and his life at school. Manchester Children's Book Festival Director Kaye Tew said,

“The pupils were so attentive throughout Jack’s talk and I was amazed at the detailed questions the pupils asked Jack at the end. Some of the questions were very scientific, delving into the detail of some of the processes he had described. Other students asked ethical questions, about how Jack would ensure that large corporations didn’t make money out of his work when his intention is to create cheap and simple tests that will benefit everyone. Others took us into the realm of science fiction, with what-if scenarios about the Nano-Bots that Jack had described."

Jack told the audience about some of the problems he had growing up, “Being a bit of a geek and then realising I was gay didn’t exactly mean I got an easy ride in school.” He immersed himself his work and now is a bit of an urban legend in his school. Theo Hudson, a student from Reddish Vale, commented, “Jack is very inspiring and it is nice to see that he faced the same problems in school as we do."

Lisa Carter, an English teacher at Reddish Vale, said, "We chose to use the event as a reward for those pupils who’ve shown great achievement or effort in science. Jack Andraka was a brilliant role model for them, and he clearly fired their imagination and engaged them in his talk.

"The best aspect, in my opinion, was the amount of time Jack spent on their questions, and in talking to students afterwards. The pupils were fascinated by his experiences and I think they enjoyed the challenge of the content – and not being patronized. 

"The primary pupils probably understood less of the science, but were awed by the event and the quality of our pupils’ questions – making it an aspirational event for all the children. All the adults involved were also very positive and want to know when the next one is!"

Compton Valance conducting Experiment #7

Compton Valance took some time out of his Manchester Children's Book Festival duties and tried out Jack's Experiment #7 The Sucking Glass. Try it yourself and send us a picture to be published on the International Reading and Writing Relay.

Compton Visits Z-Arts

PuppetCraft: Presents MONKEY! at Z-Arts

When our very own cheeky monkey, Compton, heard that Manchester Children's Book Festival was teaming up with the fantastic Z-Arts to bring you 'PuppetCraft: Presents MONKEY!' he just couldn't wait to find out more. Check out Compton's Z-Arts adventure in the video below.

Written specially for PuppetCraft by the wonderful poet, Michael Rosen, 'PuppetCraft: Presents MONKEY!' is a puppet show for the whole family featuring the comic adventures of a fantastical superhero, inspired by the classic Chinese epic story. 

Stunning string puppets, antique shadow puppets and live music tell the story of the birth and comic escapades of MONKEY … the trickster who … hatched from an egg … can fly on a cloud … and can transform into anything…!

For more info visit:

www.z-arts.org/events/monkey

MCBF Young Journalism Prize

Young Journalists tweeting from the 2014 Manchester Children's Book Festival

Do you love reading? Do you have a passion for writing? Would you like to see your work published on the official Manchester Children’s Book Festival blog and be in with the chance of winning a £100 Amazon voucher?

The first Manchester Children’s Book Festival’s Young Journalism Prize invites young people attending our fantastic MCBF events – at MMU, at partner venues across Manchester, or in your school or local library – to write about them for our Reading and Writing Relay. If you can’t make it to Manchester for our events, don’t worry - you can write book reviews of your favourite children’s books or even send us an opinion piece (for example, what do you think about libraries, or your favourite authors?).

Send your blog to mcbf@mmu.ac.uk. The best pieces, received before the end of August 2015, will be published on the MCBF Reading and Writing Relay, with extracts from the best appearing in our MCBF Festival News, a printed brochure that will showcase what went on at the 2015 Festival. The overall winner, our MCBF 2015 Young Journalist of the Year, will be presented with an Amazon voucher worth £100, and four runners up will each receive £25 vouchers.

The competition is open to young writers of any age but you must be no older than 16 at the end of August 2015 to qualify. Winners will be announced in September 2015, at the start of the new school year.

See the Reading and Writing Relay for example posts and more information.

This competition has been kindly funded by Mr Mohammad Habeebullah OBE.

MCBF and the Mysterious Mouldy Sandwich

Compton Valance's Time Travelling Mouldy Sandwich.

Those with an eye on social media may well have been picking up strange murmurings about mouldy sandwiches and time travel on Twitter. You might also have heard rumours about the Manchester Children's Book Festival becoming an annual event. It is all true.

After the huge success of last year's Manchester Children's Book Festival, which started in 2010 with a four-day pilot and then ran again in 2012 and, by 2014 involved most of the city's major museums, galleries, libraries and theatres, was a fixture in the diaries of many of the regions schools and families, the team at Manchester Metropolitan University decided that, instead of waiting until 2016 for the next one, they'd make MCBF an annual event.

The main festival programme will run from 25th June to 5th July, with events and activities as broad ranging as the launch of a brand new Illustrated Dictionary of Shakespeare, two days of events celebrating multi-cultural Manchester for schools and a debate about LGBT and children's fiction. The two weekends of activities for families also include a two-day celebration of children's poetry and the hugely popular Saturday Family Fun Day at MMU, which will feature Usborne author Matt Brown, with his third book in the Compton Valance series.

This is where the surreal link to mouldy sandwiches and time-travel comes in. Matt Brown's character, Compton Valance, time travels as the result of taking a bite from a sandwich that has been left in his lunchbox for 13 weeks. Microbiology and Food Technology academics at MMU, in devising activities for the Family Fun Day, decided to test Matt's theory and, last week put two sandwiches into incubation in an experiment that will look at the development of microbes. Joanna Verran said, "We are incubating a cheese and pickled egg sandwich, as well as a non-potential time travelling ordinary cheese sandwich, for 13 weeks, under similar conditions to Compton – although we aren’t going to taste them at the end! The sandwiches are being kept in sandwich boxes in our microbiology lab, and we are watching and photographing them to see what happen. We are expecting quite a lot of mould to grow in that time!"

Festival Director Kaye Tew said, "Though this may all seem like a bit of fun, and it is, there is a serious purpose to what we're doing. When my fellow directors, Carol Ann and James Draper, from the Manchester Writing School at MMU and I put together the MCBF programme, we agreed that it should be as accessible as possible. We offer a great deal for family audiences but, by scheduling the festival during the school term and by offering innovative - sometimes quite disgusting - ways to get children to engage with stories and books, we hope to engender an interest in reading for pleasure."

The grand unveiling of the mouldy sandwich will happen at the Family Fun Day on Saturday 27th June at MMU, where families can come along to view the time-lapse film, make their own 'mouldy' sandwiches and get involved in all sorts of activities not normally associated with reading. Oh and you'll be able to buy books and meet authors there, too.