Jólabókaflóð – the Christmas book flood
This is a fabulous Icelandic Christmas tradition which roughly translates as ‘Christmas book flood’. On Christmas Eve, people exchange gifts of books and then read them straight away, snuggled up in front of the fire, eating chocolate or drinking hot chocolate. What a cosy idea! National Literacy Trust
If you are looking for Christmas gift inspiration, Books for Topics have recently published their primary school gift guides!
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SLA Information Book Awards
The SLA (School Library Association) Announced the Winners of the 2024 Information Book Award on Thursday 28th November. The Awards, now in its 14th year, were introduced to reinforce the importance of non-fiction whilst highlighting the high standard of resources available.
A panel of judges made of experts from the education industry named Alan Bissett’s book Lads – a guide for teenage boys, helping them navigate relationship – as the Judge’s Choice overall winner. Bissett is a novelist, playwright and performer from Renfrewshire in Scotland. His book Lads (subtitled A Guide to Consent and Respect) is his first non-fiction book and was written to help teenage boys navigate relationships, understand boundaries and consent, combat negative online influences and call out bad behaviour when they see it.
Across the three age categories, the Judges’ Choice winners were:
Ages 7 and under:
Darwin’s Super-Pooping Worm Spectacular, written by Polly Owen (The Quarto Group, 2023). A warm and funny account of Charles Darwin’s lifelong love of the humble worm (and its importance in nature).
Ages 8 to 12:
Human 2.0, written by Patrick Kane (Big Picture Press, 2023). A celebration of all that has been achieved so far in human bionics, and provides a look at what might be possible in the near future.
Ages 13 to 16:
Lads, written by Alan Bissett (Hachette Children’s Group: Wren & Rook, 2023). A guide for teenage boys, helping them navigate relationships.
Children from across the country came together and selected their best Information Books for the year too!
The overall Children’s Choice winner was Unspoken, written by Kwame Alexander (Andersen Press, 2023). Born from a fear of teaching the impact and trauma of enslavement, Unspoken is a moving and poetic exploration of the story of slavery.
Across the three age categories, the Children’s Choice winners were:
Ages 7 and under:
Salat in Secret, written by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow (Andersen Press, 2023). The story of seven-year-old Muhammad who, when given his first salat rug to pray with, has to learn to be brave in order to share his prayer with the world.
Ages 8 to 12:
Unspoken, written by Kwame Alexander (Andersen Press, 2023). An exploration of the story of slavery.
Ages 13 to 16:
How to Love: A Guide to Feelings & Relationships for Everyone, written by Alex Norris (Walker Books, 2023). A funny and wise guide to relationships of all shapes and sizes, covering topics from singlehood to jealousy to happily ever after.
Paul Register, Chair of the Trustees for the School Library Association said, “The School Library Association’s Information Book Awards have highlighted, once again, the incredible diversity of book titles available to children of all ages. These books are absolutely vital to our school libraries. The judges have chosen excellent titles that will both educate and encourage children to read for pleasure. It is a joy to see children selecting winners that represent the enquiry and inclusivity we hope to foster in all school libraries. I would like to thank all our judges and our sponsors for their continued support.”
Chair of the judges, Margaret Pemberton, said: “Every year that I’ve been a judge has been a joy. I’ve laughed, I’ve cried, I’ve learned, and I’ve recommended the amazing books I’ve read to others. The two books which were overall winners this year reflect two issues that our society is wrestling with – what it means to be a boy or man, and the continuing influence of slavery in the modern world. Information books help us understand the world, and that’s why they matter so much.”
