The National Literacy Trust will have a fringe presentation at the political party conferences this autumn.

After a summer of cuts it’s time to ensure that literacy stays firmly on the agenda as a priority for the coalition and all parties.

From work at the local level, with children and families both at school and in communities, reading is not just the way to success but fundamentally has the power to change lives. Children can find another world beyond their own, or read about children with the same issues as themselves. Finding out can be the biggest adventure.

Now that digital access to reading and information is creating a new dimension, what better way to promote reading. True especially for boys, although I think just the same can be said for girls!!

Try the Kindle through Dolphin Booksellers and get started reading, not only is it good value but young people love it!

At Dolphin Booksellers our project, called City Stories brings long term benefit to children and families, more than just a one off event but enabling a sustainable way for young people and organisations to continue the project for themselves.

For more information on the party conferences link to literacy follow the National Literacy Trust Home page.

If you would like to talk about a City Stories Event please contact Dolphin Booksellers . Always on line and ready to help.

Sue Martin

Dolphin Booksellers

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Reading as number one for the autumn…

This is an exhibition about everyone’s childhood reading, whichever generation is yours, you can find books that will take you straight back to your own memories. As we approached Stig of the Dump‘s Cave I touched the Stig type clothes, someone next to me said’
‘I’m not going in there! I always worried about the smoke from Stig’s fire.’

Mr Big is there with his piano and author Ed Vere is delighted to be in the exhibition,
“ It’s a real honour for me to be part of Puffin’s 70th birthday celebrations and this wonderful exhibition.”

A real gem of the exhibition has to be the Kaye Webb Collection . Kaye was the second editor at Puffin and much of her work inspired the addition of so many titles and new authors and illustrators.
Along with her complete archive of children’s books, which was the first major purchase of Seven Stories, there are letters written to authors and friends. Written on the old style type writer and with a soft way of expression, they make enchanting reading, especially when there is the odd correction, crossed out and over written.

There are some very modern ways too of interacting with characters, The Borrowers , by Mary Norton is well worth stopping at, just past the grandfather clock….. thanks to the team at Newcastle University for providing support.

If you are in Newcastle, then do visit the exhibition and Seven Stories, its just up from the Quayside and make sure you get to find the little boat in the Ouseburn…..

And even if you can’t get to Seven Stories in Newcastle on Tyne, you can still take part.

Everyone has a favourite place to read. In a comfy chair, on a bus, up a tree… It could be anywhere! Email Seven Stories a picture of you reading in your favourite spot and you can be on the super screen in the exhibition too!

Sue Martin at Dolphin Booksellers - information and books always on line

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Nuffin Like a Puffin

Her book Welcome Dede! was part of play reading session at Washington Covention Centre , with a number of other well known authors.The session brought the books to life as the play scripts were directly from the books and written by the authors.

This is a great way to bring two huge continents of Africa and America together. There is much we can all learn from different ways of life, not least of which is that families have great similarities. Their values, hopes and dreams for their children are about living a great life with friends, family. Having time to share, to laugh and to love and to make the best of opportunities.

Another of Ifeoma’s books, The Girl Who Married a Ghost, also published by Frances Lincoln has also had a recent great review by Gwen Grant on Armadillo, the on-line magazine. It is a series of tales from Nigeria with amazing titles and fascinating stories and as it says in the review’

“As soon as I began reading the introduction to this book, I was sitting down, crossing my legs and hunching up closer to the story teller for whilst these ten stories in The Girl Who Married a Ghost are spiky, scary and funny, the ghosts are some of the scariest I have ever met. “

Gwen Grant

Dolphin Booksellers has titles from Ifeoma available – information and great books always available on line.

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Smithsonian National Museum of African Art- Washington DC

At the end of June in 2010 Ifeoma is visiting Washington DC.

On 26th June she will be performing at the Washington Convention Center a play reading of one of her best loved books, Welcome Dede, a beautifully illustrated book of the naming of Dede by all the community.

On 27th June she will delivering one of her exciting, interactive workshops at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Arts.

(Image from Playtime at National Museum of African Arts).

A great accolade for a great writer and illustrator.

Ifeoma’s books and gallery are available to view and to buy and there is also a US version of her website, where US visitors to the site can purchase Ifeoma’s books from Amazon.com

This is part of Ifeoma’s programme about portraying Africa as a place full of colour, life and vibrancy and bringing this to America. Breaking down barriers, making bridges, encouraging communication and interest.

There are organisations that are already active in this endeavour, the Africa- America Institute , which has a programme to help in education and training and the site  America .gov which promotes partnership for peace and prosperity.

At Dolphin Booksellers we are delighted to support Ifeoma in her visit to Washington and will update you on this blog just as soon as the photos arrive.

Dolphin Booksellers – great books and information, always on line.

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Ifeoma Onyefulu in Washington USA

On the very top floor in the attic of Seven Stories, a group of people gathered to listen with excitement to the announcement of the Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Book Award. Set within a roof space of sturdy beams, interlocked together from the industrial past of this amazing building beside the canal, the atmosphere was wonderfully friendly with an electric buzz waiting to find out which book and which author had won.

‘ And the winner is….

Tom Avery for Too Much Trouble

A story of two brothers, Emmanuel and Prince. Emmanuel tells his story as he looks back on how events led to him holding a gun to a man’s head. The boys are forced to live on hand outs as their drug dealer uncle says they are too much trouble. They make an art of being unnoticed. But when they are forced to look after themselves they end up in a life of crime from which Emmanuel can see no way out.

Short listed for the prize were, Remi Oyedele for Goal Dreams, Sue Stern for Rafi Brown and the Candy Floss Kid and Karon Alderman for Story Thief.

The judges were made up of a panel including the team at Seven Stories and they said that they had some excellent entries in this second year of the award.

The award was announced by John Nichol, Managing Director at Frances Lincoln and Janetta Otter Barry, said that she is looking forward to working with Tom on the future publishing of the book.

Our team from Dolphin Booksellers were delighted to be at the event and look forward to the publication of Too Much Trouble.

Dolphin Booksellers for information and children’s books, always on line.

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Winner of Diverse Voices Book Award

Frances Lincoln Ltd, the award winning publisher, and Seven Stories, the Centre for Children’s Books, set up the award in memory of Frances Lincoln(1945- 2001).
It encourages and promotes diversity in children’s fiction.

From role models to different cultures and groups, it values the need for all children to be able to find themselves in a book and to widen horizons and aspirations.

Last year, 2009, Cristy Burne was the successful winner of the award for Takeshita Demons , a great start and an amazingly brilliant adventure story.

“ The demons are all real: Western cultures have vampires and werewolves and witches, Japanese people have kappa and oni and tengu. “ Says Cristy, who has now had the story published by Frances Lincoln in an amazingly colourful and vibrant book.

We were pleased to be invited to the Diverse Voices Children’s Book Award, watch this space to find out the winner for 2010.

Dolphin Booksellers bringing you the best in children’s books and information. Add this blog to your RSS feeds.

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The Frances Lincoln
Diverse Voices
Children’s Book Award 2010

What I want to be………

The Daycare Trust are asking children and young people of all ages to join them to celebrate National Childcare Week 12th – 16 th July.

The art competition is based on “ What you want to be”. It may be a racing driver, a teacher, a writer, a spaceship astronaut, who knows……

Winners of the competition will be invited to an awards ceremony in Central London where they will receive their prizes and the chance to meet some famous book and tv characters, like Big Chris and Roary the Racing Car and their creator, Keith Chapman. The closing date is 18th June 2010.

All the winning entries will be published on the Daycare Trust website and Flickr.com and other outlets, as well as being included in a booklet to mark the occasion.

SmithMartin Partnership LLP is a supporter and sponsor of the event and are pleased to be part of the Daycare Trust’s continued work, campaigning for accessible and quality childcare.

The research carried out by Daycare Trust continues to be relevant and informative to parents, employers and government initiatives. One of the recent guides produced by Daycare Trust is…

‘A Guide to childcare for disabled children’ which provides lots of details and support contacts .

You can become a member of Daycare Trust and receive much of the information for free. Contact the Trust through their website.

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National Childcare Week 2010

May give-away from Bookstart!

Last chance to enter the competition to receive a free picture book from Bookstart.

This month you can win a wonderful picture book from Max Velthuijs , either  Frog finds a Friend or Frog is Frog.

Great books to have and to share with your children. There is a whole series of Frog books and the illustrations are terrific, simple and appealing in the same way as the Maisy series.

The Frog titles have been translated into over 50 different languages and there stories and simplicity have the same appeal the world over.

‘Frog is worried about his health: His heart is beating too fast. His friend Hare says that he must be in love – but who is he in love with?‘

From Frog in Love 1989

The Bookstart website has a huge range of information and details about future events. The front page is just a delight, watch the bear and his friends come out of the sandcastle armed with books.

The  Booktrust Children’s Books site has even more information about the whole range of children’s books.

But try the May competition, there may just be chance over the holiday weekend and you may be lucky.

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Frog Finds a Friend

The story is about a real big issue…. set in the streets of East London where different communities live and work together. But for one boy, whose father is deeply involved with a fascist group, life is hard. His friends are what really matters to him and yet he can’t seem to change his father’s attitude.

He hears a voice from his friend, Fatima, in his head, helping him, like a voice of reason when life gets tough, and tough it certainly gets. Especially when the street is filled with an intimidating march led by his father to drive non whites from their homes.

Fatima and her friends make a stand to stop the march.
Where will Georgie be? Whose side will he be on?

‘For a second I could hear cries of anger and confusion from some of the Fascists close by him. They were soon drowned out by an enormous cheer from behind me…….. But soon, like a receding tide, they all began trudging back the way they had come.’

Joe Layburn at his best, and with a flair for excellent story writing and dialogue that all children will relate to.

Street Heroes is a new publication from Frances Lincoln. This book deserves to be read by children and adults alike.

Joe had joined us at one of our City Stories events called Leyton Stories – a great success.

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Street Heroes by Joe Layburn

We are very interested in the whole thing, but can never quite see a world without the actual book, the real printed thing, that is!

The implications for learning are phenomenal and two organisations are already on the way for producing some interactive material that will encourage all students of any age and ability.

At the London Book Fair we met with Kiwa Media . The Apps they had already loaded in their iPad were excellent, including many features,such as voicing the actual words, spelling and meanings, a range of languages too.

Handling an iPad was great, it felt like a tool that you could easily work with. The way that the touch screen operates means that it is just as intuitive as an iPhone. Even 2 year olds can work them!

New on the block is also is Nosy Crow , a brand-new independent company, creating children’s books and apps .They have number of authors and illustrators working with them and are keen to find new talent.

When the iPads make it to the market at the end of May it will be the start of the future. We don’t feel that the book will be replaced but its no good being an ostrich.

At Dolphin Booksellers we are looking to buy and finding our way into the future.

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Apps and iPads – The Future will be here very soon.