INTRODUCING: YA Generation MCR #Takeover

The eagle-eyed among you who have been scouring the Manchester Children's Book Festival 'What's On' guide you may have noticed the enigmatically-named Generation MCR #Takeover event on July 2nd.

Generation MCR #Takeover is a KS3/4 project featuring award-winning author Alex Wheatle and working in collaboration with the Wordsmith Awards.

On Thursday 4th May at Z-Arts at 1pm, we will be launching this project with a fantastic event featuring Alex, though you can simply attend the event without taking up the offer of the extended project if you wish.

Alex's inspirational talk focuses on his own experience of growing up in care and getting into trouble as a teenager, before turning his life around after ending up in prison as a young man. His YA novels (suitable for KS3/4 - and KS3 mature readers) tell the story of youngsters growing up on a fictional inner-city London estate. Alex was one of the most inspirational authors taking part in the 2015 Manchester Children's Book Festival, when he encouraged many young people to focus on finding their talent and pick the right path in a very entertaining, sometimes funny, sometimes touching, way.

Selected school groups attending this event (those who qualify for GM Higher funding), may also be offered a free follow-on workshop led by Wordsmith practitioners, allowing pupils to explore the issues raised by Alex's talk and supporting them in developing their responses as performance poetry. These pupils will be invited to perform alongside Alex and poet Chris Jam at our Generation MCR #Takeover day on July 2nd, joining authors such as Curtis Jobling, Juno Dawson and Non Pratt for our free young adult festival day at Manchester Central Library. This is a free event and anyone can attend.

Those attending the Alex Wheatle event on 4th May can also take advantage of the opportunity to buy heavily subsidised copies of Alex's books, Liccle Bit and Crongton Knights. We want as many young people as possible to read these fantastic books and to join in our celebration of Manchester's young people. 

This is a free event and anyone can attend. Tickets for Alex's event are on sale via the Z-Arts box office here. The event is suitable for pupils from Y6 through to post-16. The books feature 14 year old protagonists and Alex's talk and the books are suitable for all ages. This will really benefit KS3 and 4 pupils (12-16). 

Don't miss our on this fantastic opportunity to take part. Put the date in your diaries and book you tickets now!

Martyn Bedford Inspires Students at Stretford High

By Naeemah Salloo and Iqra Malik, Year 9, Stretford High School

'Have you ever thought that something was straightforward till you met someone and realised it wasn't?'

On Tuesday 15th March, we were lucky enough to have the amazing author, Martyn Bedford visit our school.

The talk, led by the author of multiple adult and teenage fiction books, allowed us to emphasise with a real life author and have an insight into his life. It's one thing to read a book, visualise the words in your head and care about the characters that the storyline revolves around, but it is another extraordinary experience to meet the person who put the words on the pages and created this entire fictional masterpiece.

Every student was silent, hanging onto every word of Martyn Bedford as he narrated his journey on the way to writing and publication all the way from his high school days when he was the same age as us and hadn't even began to imagine life as a writer. It could even make us think - could we be like him in however many years time, standing with several published books and delivering a speech to many young people, inspiring them? The thought was rather interesting.

After a reading of Bedford's new novel, 20 Questions for Gloria, we had a Q&A session, a workshop was then led for selective students. Of course, the exciting workshop was led by none other than the author himself.

Even if you had no dreams of writing and hadn't ever constructed a work of fiction, this workshop allowed you to. Bedford had taught us a key piece of detail from his own writing experience- characters. During the workshop, we all created our own characters using postcards as stimuli which then led on to us beginning to develop our own story. Who knows; perhaps Martyn Bedford has inspired the next generation of eloquent writers?

***

This blog has been written by Naeemah Salloo and Iqra Malik, Year 9 pupils from Stretford High School. Martyn Bedford visited Stretford High School courtesy of Walker Books to talk about his latest book 20 Questions for Gloria. Books were provided by Urmston Bookshop. The Manchester Children’s Book Festival work with a number of authors and publishers to bring authors into schools. If you are interested in hosting an author event in your school please contact mcbf@mmu.ac.uk

L.A. Weatherly Celebrates World Book Day With MCBF

 

 

World Book Day on Thursday 3rd March saw Manchester Children's Book Festival visit local schools with author L.A. Weatherly, to talk about her fantastic YA novel Broken Sky.

Lee and MCBF Director Kaye Tew visited two Manchester schools, armed with boxes of books supplied by Urmston Bookshop and destined for the school libraries and into the hands of eager readers.

Broken Sky is set in a futuristic world where there is no war. Carefully controlled fighter-plane duels decide disagreements, which means the world can live in relative peace, but all is not well. Though the book is set 2000 years in the future, it has echoes of 1940s America and, like the world of 1940's America, there is a dictator hell-bent on ruling the world.

London-based American author, Lee, talked lucky pupils, first at Whalley Range High School for Girls, and then at the brand new Dean's Trust Academy on Stockport Road, Manchester, through the process that led to Broken Sky being written. She talked about her inspiration for the characters and how they developed and also about the starting point for her idea - WW2 Spitfire planes. Lee knew that she wanted the planes her fighter pilot heroes to fly to be like those flown by pilots in WW2. So her research led flying-phobic Lee to actually go up in the air, not once, but twice, to get a real sense of how it actually feels.

Year 7 pupil Belkise shared a blog post on the event commenting, 'One paragraph from her book changed my world on how I saw writing. I have learnt so much in two hours, it’s like every word from her books started to fly around me and inspired me to write. Thank you Lee!’ You can read Belkise's full blog here.

Pupils from both schools asked fantastic questions. Teacher Laura Mason from Whalley Range High School for Girls said, "Thank you again for the brilliant experience with L.A. Weatherly last week, the girls have all been raving about how much they loved it and so many are reading her books – just the sort of response we wanted!"

 

***

This event was made possible by Usborne Publishing. Manchester Children's Book Festival work closely with publishers to offer author visits to schools. Usually, these are free, with author expenses covered by the publisher. We simply ask that schools provide a good-sized audience and agree to purchase books (either by inviting pupils to buy, or by buying a class set for the school library).

 

We have a number of authors lined up to visit schools in May and June. Please contact mcbf@mmu.ac.uk if you would like to organise a visit to your school.

Young Journalism Prize Winner Announced!

While we were out at Whalley Range High School with author LA Weatherly on World Book Day, we took the opportunity to present a special prize.

Last year, children from all over the North West were invited to write about their favourite books, poems and authors and to submit their work to the Manchester Children's Book Festival Reading and Writing Relay.

Hundreds of fantastic articles came flooding in, with lots of brilliant writers telling us all about their favourite stories and poems and what they love most about the festival. The best of these were published on our blog.

The MCBF team had a very tough job deciding which articles they liked best but we are very pleased to announce the title of 2015 MCBF Young Journalist of the Year has been awarded to… Zainab Imran!

Zainab, who goes to Whalley Range High School in Manchester, really impressed the MCBF team with her enthusiasm, fantastic articles about the festival and her amazing interview with Time Riders author, Alex Scarrow.

Lee Weatherly presented Zainab with £100 of Amazon vouchers. Fellow Whalley Range pupils also attended MCBF events and wrote for the blog. Taha Haque, Areeba Ahmed and Atiya Mahboob were each presented with £20 vouchers by Lee for their joint article about the MCBF Multi-Cultural Day.

Other runners-up for the MCBF Young Journalist of the year and whose work was also published on the blog were:

Joss Abbs-Brown, aged 11

Josh wrote a fantastic review of the festival that he and his family visit every year and also wowed the judges with the wonderful poem he wrote about his experiences called ‘A Writer’s World’.

Jonathan Clarke, aged 11

Jonathan wrote about his love of reading and how much he enjoys visiting his local library.

Thomas Clarke, aged 8

Thomas also wrote some fantastic book reviews for our blog including one of JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit.

All runners-up have received £25 Amazon vouchers.

The work of these fantastic young writers can be seen on the MCBF blog. If you'd like to see your writing published on the MCBF blog send your reviews, opinion pieces or creative work to mcbf@mmu.ac.uk

If you fancy attending any MCBF events, with a view to blogging or vlogging about it, we're very happy to arrange tickets. Talk to your teacher, or email the team.

Check out the Manchester Children's Book Festival 2016 programme for upcoming events. You can watch Zainab interviewing Alex Scarrow - a masterclass in interviewing technique below:

 

Best-Selling Author Visits Whalley Range High School for World Book Day!

By Taha Hague, Year 9, Whalley Range High School

Last Thursday, at Whalley Range High School, we were greeted by an incredible author, L.A. Weatherly! The author of the best-selling Angel series came to stop by, to talk to us about her new book: Broken Sky, to a group of Year 7s and to the Creative Writing Club.

The author began with talking about the plot of the book and what inspired her to write the story. The book is set in the 1940s in America and is a breath taking first book of the trilogy. Central character, Amity, is in a ‘perfect’ world where peace and harmony rule and where war is illegal. Everything is not what it seems and when Amity wants to help people, in keeping name of her father, she discovers that nothing is perfect. In a world so broken, who can Amity trust? Find out by reading Lee’s first book which is available for purchase and be tempted to read all the books in the ‘Broken’ trilogy.

She later explained how the thought came to her about the concept of this fantastic story. She said:

"I was out one night, with my husband, and he was discussing a few things with me. I was completely zoned out and an idea immediately popped into my head! I had to tell someone and because my husband was sitting opposite me, I told him! He’s used to these kind of things, living with an author who constantly blurts out ideas and shares them, he has no problem. So I sat there talking about these brilliant ideas and what I could do with them!”

Later, she read out a snippet from her new book which grabbed the attention of the audience and made us engage immediately. Personally, I thought it was quite depressing but she assured us that throughout the book, it wasn’t entirely miserable and gloomy! She showed us a few impressive front covers of the book and how the front cover is now from what it used to be. Did you know that the original title of Broken Sky was Firegirl?

At the end of the author’s visit, she announced the prize winners for a blog that a few year 9s wrote at last year’s Manchester Children's Book Festival. Zainab Imran, won the overall prize with a massive £100 voucher. Myself, and my two friends (Areeba Ahmed and Atiya Mahboob) won runners up, with a £20 voucher each and we were all welcomed on stage by the author. Can I just say, that I SPOKE to her! She is such a genuinely wonderful person who gave each of us delightful advice that we will all carry with us into the future.

L.A. Weatherly Visits Whalley Range High School

 

By Belkise, Year 7, Whalley Range High School

 

Last Thursday, we walked to the hall with excitement building in our throats and our happiness growing larger and larger with every step.

 

As we got there and sat down, eyes were everywhere, waiting from the author. Silence. There was only one person on the stage: L.A. Weatherly was her name. I took a glance at the book covers and it was the same name! Students went wild as she introduced herself. She has written two new books, Broken Sky and Darkness Follows.

 

As she was talking about how she wrote the book, my interest in writing grew bigger and bigger every second of her speech. She read a paragraph of her books and my excitement grew even bigger too.

 

One paragraph from her book changed my world on how I saw writing. I have learnt so much in two hours, it’s like every word from her books started to fly around me and inspired me to write.

 

Thank you Lee!

 

***

This blog has been written by Belkise, Year 7, from Whalley Range High School. L.A. Weatherly visited Whalley Range High School with publicist Liz Scott to talk about her latest book Broken Sky and Darkness Follows. Books were provided by Urmston Bookshop. The Manchester Children’s Book Festival work with a number of authors and publishers to bring authors into schools. If you are interested in hosting an author event in your school please contact mcbf@mmu.ac.uk

Poetry Together: Behind the Scenes with our Poets - Fiona and Louisa

By Fiona and Louise

Fiona (41) and her daughter Louisa (9) were among the first entrants to the Poetry Together competition. MCBF thought it would be a great idea to ask them to talk about why they entered and to share with other entrants the challenges and rewards of writing a poem together. They also had some questions of their own for the judges.

We decided to write about a subject that is associated with childhood. We went for the broad theme of fairy tales and talked about all the things associated with that and our poem developed from there. So, our poem developed from a conversation. Louisa wanted it to rhyme - because 'poems should be catchy and memorable!'

We shared our writing process - we wrote at the same time and shared ideas, which helped with the structure our poem.

I'm an English and Creative writing teacher at A level so I have done lots of writing in the past - I've recently taken it up again and started to enter a few competitions - I ran the 'Poetry By Heart' recital competition last year and as a result went to Cambridge University and took part in some writing workshops, - it was fabulous and I did some free writing for the first time. I also run creative writing workshops in my local independent bookshop for kids during the school holidays.

Louisa loves writing - she's writing a book(!) and loves writing poems - the latest one was when her sister gave her 5 words that she had to include in a poem and it resulted in a great poem about a fish that wears a tie! 'Poetry Together' is great for me because it stopped me thinking about 'writing a poem' as such and just allowed creativity to rule - the mind of a child is fabulous because it's not constrained by 'the rules of poetry' and as a result I think the ideas generated were original because they weren't hampered by trying to be original - Does that even make sense?

I was surprised at how easy Louisa found it to be creative - she wasn't constantly second guessing and questioning herself - which was a real lesson for me.

I also think as adults we write about sadness and disappointment quite a lot (or maybe that's just me!). I find a cheerful poem a challenge - Louisa doesn't!

We decided to enter after seeing the flyer in The Portico Library and In Louisa's words because "We enjoy Poetry and we love each other!"

We decided on the title after we had completed the poem.

Louisa would like to ask the judges who inspires them and how old they were when they wrote their first poem?

Martin: I think any poem in which a fish wears a tie would inspire me! In terms of who inspires me, I’d have to say that a lot of the time it’s my own daughter. I’m not sure how old I was when I wrote my first poem, but I was definitely at primary school. I’m pretty sure it was after I saw some parakeets settle in a tree in the playground. I can’t remember if I was in a lesson or not. I probably shouldn’t say this, but they would have been much more interesting to me than what the teacher was saying…

If you have any questions for the judges or would like to share how you wrote your poem, get in touch at Poetrytogether@mmu.ac.uk.

MCBF welcome Juno Dawson and Lisa Williamson for LGBT History Month Celebration

Lisa Williamson and Juno Dawson

 

The Manchester Children’s Book Festival were delighted to host authors Juno Dawson and Lisa Williamson for a very special LGBT History Month event to talk about their writing and the importance of diversity in modern culture.

The event held at Manchester Metropolitan University and organised by Silverwood Events, welcomed Juno and Lisa to introduce their books as a starting point to talk about the issues such as gender identity, sexual identity and mental health.

 

Taking the format of a question and answer session, the Young Adult authors discussed their lives, their work, and their relation to it. Juno, author of eight books, discussed her titles including Mind Your Head, Being a Boy, This Book is Gay and All of the Above. Her work, spanning a wealth of topics both fiction and non-fiction, discuss mental health, death, sexuality, popularity. Juno’s career is also very varied in genre – she has written everything from contemporary romance to mystery novels and dark thrillers.
 

Lisa Williamson discussed her equally interesting, although considerably different, career. After making a name for herself as an actor under the name Lisa Cassidy (Lisa Williamson having already been taken), she went on to work as an administrator at the Gender Identity Development Service, and then, in 2015, she released bestselling debut: The Art of Being Normal.

 

Juno and Lisa opened the floor to the audience of young adult community groups, writers, teachers and librarians who asked a wealth of questions. One audience member asked, “Is journalism a good platform for discussing LGBT issues?” to which Juno, also a columnist at Glamour magazine, answered, “It's great to have your voice heard in the community.” She added, “But it needs to be heard outside of the community. I still think there's a place for print media.”

At the end of the event, Juno and Lisa invited to ask the authors further questions, have their books signed and have photographs with Lisa and Juno.

The event was incredibly interesting, with both authors making insightful comments about LGBT history, and the LGBT community's place in the modern world.

Check out the MCBF website for upcoming events: www.mcbf.org.uk/

 



Festival Patron Curtis Jobling Coming to a School Near You in May

Curtis Jobling comes to MCBF

 

Author, artist, animator and all-round nice-guy Curtis Jobling, author of the hugely successful Wereworld series and the fabulous Haunt, is launching his brand new book Max Helsing: Monster Hunter in May - And he’s coming to Manchester Children's Book Festival to launch it!

Veteran of the UK animation industry and incredibly talented author, Curtis’s events are always a huge hit and we are offering a limited number of free visits to schools.

There’s live illustration, animation screening, interactive quizzes and eye-popping PowerPoints, all culminating in a reading from Curtis’s new book Max Helsing.  The event is aimed at years 4, 5, 6 and 7.  Curtis loves performing to large audiences, the bigger the better.

This is no ordinary author visit – this is an author, artist and animator visit.  It’s a three-for-one!

 

Curtis is available to go into schools in the North West from Monday 9^th – Friday 13^th May 2016.

For more information get in touch with the MCBF team via email at mcbf@mmu.ac.uk or telephone 0161 247 2424.
 

Don’t miss out!

 

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.