Tag / Pamela Butchart

by jo

Blue Peter Book Awards 2016 WINNERS!

It’s World Book Day, and this means just one thing if you’re a book lover who also watches Blue Peter – the Blue Peter Book Awards 2016 winners have just been announced!

Blue Peter Book Awards 2016

Two graphic artists turned authors are Blue Peter Book Awards 2016 winners, chosen by schoolchildren across the UK.

Ross MacKenzie The Nowhere Emporium - Blue Peter Book Awards 2016 Winners

Scottish children’s writer Ross MacKenzie, who is also a graphic designer for a national newspaper, has won Best Story with his latest title, The Nowhere Emporium.

Adam Frost - The Epic Book of Epicness - Blue Peter Book Awards 2016 Winners

Adam Frost from Essex, who creates fantastic, wacky, information graphics which are often found in his books, has won Best Book with Facts with The Epic Book of Epicness.

Both were delighted to be crowned this year’s Blue Peter Book Awards 2016 winners and viewers will be able to see them receive their awards on Blue Peter (5pm) tonight from the Children’s Laureate, Chris Riddell – who will also be sketching live throughout the show.

Best Book with Facts winner, Adam Frost, who believes illustrations in books are just as important as words, said: “I’m absolutely delighted to have won. I tried to fill my book with as many bizarre facts and funny pictures as possible. I loved writing it and am over the moon that kids are enjoying it.”

Best Story winner, Ross MacKenzie, who grew up watching Blue Peter, said: “It’s always a great moment to receive any sort of award, but to win The Blue Peter Book Awards for Best Story is extra special. Firstly, because it’s an award chosen by the readers. It’s fantastic and important that children have a voice, and I’m so glad they liked The Nowhere Emporium enough to give it their vote. And secondly, it’s special because Blue Peter was such a huge part of my childhood. I’m delighted and stunned to become a tiny part of the show’s history and I shall be humming that famous theme tune for the foreseeable future! And of course I always wanted a badge.”

The Epic Book of Epicness, which schoolchildren described as having ‘funny facts that made your head fizzle’, is illustrated with Frost’s infographics, designed by Simon Holland and Peter Clayman (Dutch&Dane), which reveal extraordinary facts from extreme weather to embarrassing toilet trouble, making learning fun for the reader.

The Nowhere Emporium tells the story of orphan Daniel Holmes who stumbles upon a mysterious shop that suddenly arrives in Glasgow. Before long, the ‘shop from nowhere’ and its owner, Mr Silver – draw Daniel into a world of magic and enchantment. When judging the Blue Peter Book Awards 2016 Winners, children described the story as giving them a ‘wonderful feeling’ and the plot was like ‘putting pieces into a jigsaw’.

A panel of judges including TV presenter Angellica Bell, winner of Blue Peter Best Story 2015 Pamela Butchart, National Literacy Programme Manager Jim Sells and Blue Peter editor [non-voting chair] Ewan Vinnicombe selected the shortlist from publishers’ submissions.

These were then read and voted on by more than 200 children from ten schools across the UK who decided the winners in each category. The winners were announced on a special World Book Day morning bulletin of Newsround.

The enormously popular Blue Peter Book Awards are managed by reading charity BookTrust, which works with schools to get more children reading for pleasure. The Awards celebrate the best authors, most creative illustrators and the greatest reads for children.

Ewan Vinnicombe, Editor, Blue Peter said: “It’s fantastic that the Blue Peter Book Awards have given children across the UK the chance to vote for their favourite books. Adam and Ross should be really proud and Blue Peter will continue to promote children’s books and our viewers’ love of reading throughout the year.”

Keep up-to-date with the Awards at www.booktrust.org.uk/bluepeter and on Twitter by following @Booktrust and #BPBA

by jo

Project 366 – Week 5

Sunday 31st January. We were lazy today. Super lazy. To avoid being super lazy two days in a row I insisted we went out for lunch so we headed to a local Farm Shop we hadn’t visited before (who also do PYO when the season is right). They had a cute, very quiet cafe anyway which served generous healthy plates of food.

A photo posted by Jo Brooks (@mumfriendlyjo) on

Monday 1st February. I love this Potato Chart photo I took at the Farm Shop, I’ve never known the correct ones to get!

A photo posted by Jo Brooks (@mumfriendlyjo) on

Tuesday 2nd February. We love our Toughees shoes H wears every day, but the velcro came away from the strap, so I had to get them repaired. Her regular trainers weren’t really going to be any good for school so we went to Clarks and bought these. Size 13.5 now… no longer able to wear shoes with sparkly things on the sole (which she has never had, so she got upset I said she had big feet. But it’s true!).

A photo posted by Jo Brooks (@mumfriendlyjo) on

Wednesday 3rd February. Too old now to “drive the bus” – I’m not sure what I think about this growing up thing.

A photo posted by Jo Brooks (@mumfriendlyjo) on

Thursday 4th February. My impatient face. Got H to take a photo of me in my new Sport Relief Orla Kiely apron, because I love it. In my head I look like a domestic goddess. In reality I just look like me in a nice pinny.

A photo posted by Jo Brooks (@mumfriendlyjo) on

Friday 5th February. Every morning I do Peak Brain Training. Language is my strongest thing, and the rest are catching up. I’ve been doing it since around November time, just the free app. There are some games I hate, and some I love. This stops me from reading books on the train, so I need to find a balance, but it takes most of my journey before I hit my daily target now they’re moving it higher…!

A photo posted by Jo Brooks (@mumfriendlyjo) on

Saturday 6th February. H was so happy as we got our preorder of the brand new Pamela Butchart Book ‘Attack of the Demon Dinner Ladies’ of which she is already on her second read.

A photo posted by Jo Brooks (@mumfriendlyjo) on

TheBoyandMe's 366 Linky

by jo

Pamela Butchart Joins Blue Peter Book Awards 2016 Panel

A school teacher, Pamela Butchart who won last year’s Blue Peter Best Story Award will join a brilliant panel of judges for the Blue Peter Book Awards 2016.

The Spy Who Loved School Dinners collage

Pamela Butchart, who teaches philosophy at secondary school, and last year won Blue Peter Best Story with her book ‘The Spy Who Loved School Dinners’ (H’s favourite from the shortlisted books), will join television and radio presenter Angellica Bell, National Literacy Trust’s programme manager Jim Sells and Blue Peter editor Ewan Vinnicombe.

The enormously popular Blue Peter Book Awards, which are managed by the reading charity Book Trust, celebrate the best authors, the most creative illustrators and the greatest reads for children.

Former winner Pamela Butchart, who spent much of her wedding day last year at a book signing, said: ‘I’m thrilled to have been asked to judge this year’s Blue Peter Book Awards. It really is an awesome honour – thank you. It was a dream come true to win the award in 2015 (I rarely take my badge off!) I can’t wait to help find this year’s winning books.
‘As a teacher, author and lover of children’s books I’ll be on the lookout for fantastic books that encourage reading for pleasure.’

Blue Peter editor, Ewan Vinnicombe said: ‘This year we’ve got a fantastic panel to judge our Book Awards and I’m looking forward to seeing which titles they shortlist, in what looks like an impressive year for children’s literature.’

The Blue Peter Awards 2016 will celebrate children’s books published in the last year in two categories: Best Story and Best Book with Facts. There will be three shortlisted books for each award chosen by the panel of judges and announced on Blue Peter on 3 December 2015.

At least 200 children from ten schools across the UK will then read the shortlisted books and vote for their favourites in each category. The two winning books will be announced on the Blue Peter programme scheduled for World Book Day on 3 March 2016.

The judges for this year’s awards are:

• Angellica Bell – TV presenter, mum and blogger
• Ewan Vinnicombe – (non-voting chair) Editor, Blue Peter
• Jim Sells – National Literacy Trust Programme Manager
• Pamela Butchart – winner of the Blue Peter Story Book 2015

Blue Peter Book Awards Judges 2015

The Blue Peter Book Awards have been celebrating children’s literature since 2000. The reading charity Book Trust has managed the Blue Peter Book Awards since 2008. The 2015 winners were Pamela Butchart who won Best Story with ‘The Spy Who Loved School Dinners’, illustrations by Thomas Flintham; and Andy Seed, a former primary teacher and deputy head for 17 years, who won Best Book with Facts with ‘The Silly Book of Side-Splitting Stuff’, illustrated by Scott Garrett.

Keep up-to-date with the Awards at www.booktrust.org.uk/bluepeter and on Twitter by following @Booktrust and #BPBA

by jo

Blue Peter Book Awards 2015 Winners!

Today is a very exciting day for Blue Peter fans – the Blue Peter Book Awards 2015 winners have just been announced in a special Newsround early morning bulletin!

Blue Peter Book Awards

The Blue Peter Book Awards 2015 Winners are presented with their badges tonight on CBBC at 5.20pm – and H is extremely excited! She got ‘The Spy Who Loved School Dinners’ for Christmas after it grabbing her attention by being nominated late last year. In fact, she didn’t stop asking for it – the storyline appealed to her sense of humour.

Think of the Blue Peter Book Awards as being like the Richard and Judy Book Club – but for under tens with the much-sought after Blue Peter badge as a prize. A whole new world of reading opened up to H when she heard about the books, and the last few weeks on Blue Peter have led up to the big day- the results! So who has won?

Well we’re super excited, here’s the official press release with the winners announcement.

Two teachers, who have written funny and silly books, are top of their class as they win Best Book with Facts and Best Story in the Blue Peter Book Awards 2015, voted for by hundreds of schoolchildren.

The Spy Who Loved School Dinners collage

Pamela Butchart, who teaches philosophy at secondary school, won Best Story with her latest title The Spy Who Loved School Dinners, which was illustrated by Thomas Flintham. (hurrah!!!)

Andy Seed, a former primary teacher and deputy head for 17 years, won Best Book with Facts with The Silly Book of Side-Splitting Stuff, illustrated by Scott Garrett.

Both were delighted to be crowned this year’s winners and viewers will be able to see them
receive their awards on Blue Peter tonight from Waterstones Children’s Laureate 2013-2015 Malorie Blackman, as the show celebrates its 15th anniversary of the prize.

Pamela, who did a book-signing for The Spy Who Loved School Dinners on her wedding day, exclaimed: ‘WOW! Is this real-life?! I’m shocked and utterly over-the-moon about winning this fantastic award! It means the world to me that children voted for my book! Thank you.’

Silly Book Collage

Andy, who grew up watching Blue Peter, said: ‘To win a Blue Peter Book Award is a proper thrill not just because it revives all those happy childhood memories but because the show
today does a truly significant job in raising the profile of books and reading at a time when
this is needed more than ever. To win any award is a delight but to win the Blue Peter Book
Award sets my spine tingling like nothing else.’

The illustrators of the books also expressed their excitement about winning the prize. Thomas Flintham said: ‘Hooray! What fantastic news! It was exciting enough just to be nominated but to have won has forced me to do a little dance!’

Scott Garrett said: ‘I was so excited to hear that we’d won the Blue Peter Book Award! Blue
Peter was a big part of my early years. We’ve all grown up with it and to be part of it AND get an award is something very special to me – I can’t wait to get my badge! Illustrators don’t get inundated with awards, so I’m over the moon to have been awarded this one. Here’s to books!’

A panel of judges including Tom Gates author Liz Pichon, Rastamouse creator Michael de
Souza, The Bookseller journalist Anna James, and non-voting chair of judges, Blue Peter
editor Ewan Vinnicombe, selected the shortlist from publishers’ submissions.

These were then read and voted on by more than 200 children from ten schools across the UK to decide the winners in each category. The winners were announced on a special World Book Day morning bulletin of Newsround.

Pupils at Perry Wood Nursery and Primary School in Worcester said it was an ‘honour’ and
‘exciting as only ten schools in the whole of England can choose the winners of the Blue Peter Book Awards.’

The enormously popular Blue Peter Book Awards are managed by reading charity Booktrust, which works with schools to get more children reading for pleasure. The Awards celebrate the best authors, most creative illustrators and the greatest reads for children.

Ewan Vinnicombe, Editor, Blue Peter said: ‘It’s fantastic that in our 15th year of the Blue Peter Book Awards we have given 200 children across the UK the chance to vote for their favourite books. Pamela and Thomas, Andy and Scott should be really proud and Blue Peter will continue to promote children’s books and our viewers’ love of reading.’

So I had a little chat with H – and you can watch it too!