Tuesday 14 October 2014

Diverse voices: 50 of the best Children's books

Taken from Seven Stories. Fruits by Valerie Bloom that I Illustrated is within the 50 :) I've included the top 10..with an attractive you tube clip of my Were Going on a Lionhunt in patwa below

Guardian article

Diverse Voices – 50 of the Best Children’s Books


Diverse Voices – 50 of the Best Children’s Books

Seven Stories, National Centre for Children’s Books is delighted to announce Diverse Voices – 50 of the Best Children’s Books celebrating cultural diversity in the UK.
A distinguished independent panel of experts has come up with a list of 50 books for all children, from birth to teens, living in the UK today. Books published since 1950 to the present day were considered.


Kate Edwards, CEO Seven Stories, National Centre for Children’s Books said:
“Children’s books shape our earliest perceptions of the world and its cultures, building understanding, empathy and tolerance. Despite this there is still a lack of representation of children from different cultural backgrounds – especially as main characters.  By drawing attention to some best loved and well crafted children’s books, our Diverse Voices season will curate an exciting and diverse list of books that will help to inform the choices of librarians, teachers, booksellers and readers when they pick books to recommend, stock, read and enjoy. Britain’s rich and diverse cultural heritage is something to be celebrated and championed.”
Diverse Voices – 50 of the Best Children’s Books includes: much-loved picture books to share, poetry, must-read novels, fascinating biographies, future classics and challenging books that are likely to provoke discussion.
The list has inspired a number of project and partnership work over the summer in conjunction with The Reader Organisation, Discover London, New Writing North and Gem Arts – outcomes of which will be presented in Seven Stories Book Den exhibition space. Seven Stories will also be hosting a celebratory weekend on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 October with storytelling, music and activities inspired by Diverse Voices. 
The Guardian children's booksite is celebrating and discussing Diverse Voices and all kinds of diversity in children's books all this week with features, discussions, author interviews and galleries. See what they are up to and join in the discussion here: www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site
Seven Stories have also specially created learning resources for use in schools, which will be available from Thursday 16 October to encourage the use of books that reflect the diverse world we live in. See www.sevenstories.org.uk/learning for details.
Debbie Beeks, Learning & Participation Manager, Seven Stories: ‘These books offer a rich world to inhabit, enjoy and explore. The responses from children, young people and families demonstrate the power these art forms have to make a group a community, a creative response a moment of realisation, a story a part of a personal journey. I hope that children, carers and educators are inspired to get hold of the books, try some of the ideas in the resources and experience for themselves, the art in this collection of stunning books.’
Seven Stories invited a panel of experts to help draw up the Diverse Voices Book list.  Publishers across the industry were also invited to submit books for consideration.
The panel of experts includes:
  • Julia Eccleshare, Guardian Children's Books Editor and Early Years Diverse Voices Champion
  • Sarah Smith, Libraries Development Manager, Brent Libraries and Young Readers Diverse Voices Champion
  • Katherine Woodfine, Arts Project Manager, Booktrust and Older Readers Diverse Voices Champion
  • Jake Hope, Freelance Children's Book Consultant, Chair, Youth Libraries Group North-West and Teenage Readers Diverse Voices Champion
  • Debbie Beeks, Learning and Participation Manager at Seven Stories, Reading for Pleasure Champion for Diverse Voices
The Diverse Voices Book List and season is supported by Frances Lincoln Children’s Books and has evolved out of the Diverse Voices Book Award, which was founded in memory of Frances Lincoln (1945- 2001) to encourage and promote diversity in children’s literature.

Diverse Voices – 50 of the Best Children’s Books
Early Years (0+)
 “The images and stories that children hear from the very beginning of their lives are instrumental in expanding their view of the world and in shaping their later attitudes. Born without any sense of the artificial divisions between people or hierarchies in their status, which may later be imposed, pre-schoolers are open-minded: they see animals in pictures and have no difficulty in knowing that they represent humans. They jump effortlessly over ‘barriers’ and differences. For that reason, making sure that everyone is represented in pictures and words is vital. Happily, there are some excellent examples of books that do this. But, the campaign to make books for the very young has a long history - forty years and more from the earliest days of The Other Award  - and the growth in the output of these titles has remained stubbornly slow. This selection shows what can be done and why it matters. Let’s hope it encourages writers, illustrators and publishers to add to it.”

Julia Eccleshare, Guardian Children’s Book Editor and Early Years Champion.

Amazing Grace Mary Hoffman  Illustrated by Caroline Binch. Frances Lincoln Children’s Books.
The classic picture book about the little girl who loves stories and shows us that we can be anything we want to be.

Fruits: A Caribbean Counting Poem, Valerie Bloom Illustrated by David Axtell. Macmillan Children’s Books                                                                          
A rhythmic counting poem that describes all manner of delicious Caribbean fruits as a little girl tries to eat as many of these as she can in a single day.



The Goggle-Eyed Goats, Stephen Davies Illustrated by Christopher Corr. Andersen Press                           
A vibrant and colourfully illustrated tale about Old Al Haji Amadu’s five extremely naughty and very hungry goats who gobble and gulp through whatever they find.

Handa's Surprise, Eileen Browne. Walker Books.                                                                             
A mouth-watering story about Ayeko who puts seven fruits into her basket, but one by one these disappear as all manner of creatures snack upon them.

Hue Boy, Rita Phillips Mitchell  Illustrated by Caroline Binch. Frances Lincoln Children’s Books 
As much as Hue Boy longs to be bigger, he discovers size isn’t everything in this uplifting village-based story about a small boy with a very big personality.

Leon and Bob, Simon James. Walker Books.      
A quiet reflective book about the unusual friendship shared by Leon and Bob and the sense of fun and fulfilment others can bring into our lives.               

Not So Fast Songololo, Niki Daly. Frances Lincoln Children’s Books.
An African town is brought to life through sight and sound in this touching story of young and old where Grandmother Gogo and grandson Songololo set out on a stroll together.

Over the Hills and Far Away, Elizabeth Hammill Illustrated by 77 artists. Frances Lincoln Children’s Books           
A stunning collection of 150 rhymes from countries all over the English-speaking world, including Great Britain, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa and the Caribbean compiled by Seven Stories co-founder Elizabeth Hammill.  The collection contains best-loved nursery rhymes, but also new discoveries, and vibrant rhymes from Native American, First Nation, Inuit and Maori cultures.             

Ramadan Moon, Na’ima B. Robert Illustrated by Shirin Adl. Frances Lincoln Children’s Books    
The festival of Ramadan and its celebration across the world is explored in this thoughtful book which looks at the role faith plays in many children’s lives.

Rastamouse and the Crucial Plan, Michael De Souza Illustrated by Genevieve Webster. Little Roots.
A cheeky, cheese-filled tale about super bad thief Bandalulu who has stolen all the cheese from Mouseland.

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