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I currently work as a school librarian at a school in Welwyn Garden City in Herts. I am also the Chair of the Federation of Children's Book Groups a National Reading and Literacy Charity as well as being founder of National Non-Fiction Day. I also work as an indepedent consultant to publishers, schools and librarans

Tuesday 9 June 2009

Anthony Browne


It was a great priveledge to be at the announcement today for the new Children's Laureate. Michael Rosen has done such a great job over the last two years that for anyone its going to be a hard task to follow but the laureateship gives the author/illustrator a chance to champion their corner of children's fiction as well as the bigger picture. With Michael poetry played a vital part of his campaign and rightly so. Poetry is such an amazing medium yet something in schools that it so prescibed it becomes tedious, boring and uninspiring - something that Michael Rosen has spent time trying to cure. He has also looked at, like I said the bigger picture. How writing and reading is seen in schools and how 'whole reading cultures' within schools is more the exception than the rule.

The new Children's Laureate - Anthony Browne - will bring his corner of the writing world - picture books - to the forefront. I imagine we will see Anthony showing the world just how amaxing they are and that the links between pictures and words are so close that picture books are for everyone to enjoy and not just those under a certain age. In my opinion the appointment of an author/illustrator is brilliant. In my work I know the importance of picture books and how great they are to share stories (something Jacqueline Wilson championed in her stint). They are also full of so many over types of writing and like poetry in a picture book each word is chosen on its merit to reflect the story and work in cohesion with the pictures on the page.

I can see in the next two years us getting back to the importance of picture books with Anthony Browne spearheading a new revolution. So all hail Anthony Browne - new Children's Laureate 2009-2011!!

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