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Children's Laureate facts for kids

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For the role in Wales, see Children's Laureate Wales.

The Children's Laureate, now called the Waterstones Children's Laureate, is a special award given in the United Kingdom. It happens every two years. This award celebrates an amazing writer or illustrator of children's books. The person chosen gets to be a champion for children's books, reading, creativity, and storytelling. They also help make sure every child can enjoy books and stories throughout their life. Each Laureate focuses on a different part of children's books, like poetry, storytelling, or helping readers with disabilities.

The main goal of the Waterstones Children's Laureate is to celebrate creativity and storytelling. It also aims to inspire all children to read many different kinds of stories. This important role also highlights how important children's books and reading are. It supports every child's right to have a life full of books and stories. The idea for this role came from a chat between the former Poet Laureate Ted Hughes and children's author Michael Morpurgo. The Waterstones Children's Laureate receives a £30,000 prize and a special silver medal.

Waterstones is the main sponsor of the Waterstones Children's Laureate. Arts Council England also helps with funding. Children's publishers give support too. A special group chooses the Laureate from nominations. These nominations come from groups that represent librarians and booksellers, like the International Board on Books for Young People. BookTrust manages the Waterstones Children's Laureate. They support the Laureate, plan events, and run the official website: https://www.booktrust.org.uk/what-we-do/childrens-laureate/.

The current Children's Laureate is Joseph Coelho.

Meet the UK Children's Laureates

Here are the amazing writers and illustrators who have held the Children's Laureate title in the UK:

Quentin Blake was the very first UK Children's Laureate in 1999. He showed everyone how wonderful illustration can be. He also had the idea for the House of Illustration, which opened in 2014. This place is all about the art of illustration in every form.

Anne Fine worked to show how important reading is for children. She also focused on raising the profile of libraries. During her time, she started the "My Home Library" plan. This encouraged children to create their own book collections at home.

Michael Morpurgo took on the role almost five years after he first thought of the idea! During his time, Michael visited schools to encourage "literature before literacy." He wanted children to find or rediscover the joy of reading and creative writing.

Jacqueline Wilson encouraged children, parents, and carers to read aloud together. She traveled around the UK and Ireland, talking to thousands of children and adults. She also helped create the book "Great Books to Read Aloud."

Michael Rosen focused on children's poetry during his time as Laureate. He created online tools for teachers. These included video tips, book ideas, and advice for making classrooms more poetry-friendly.

Anthony Browne focused on helping children understand pictures and art better. His biggest project was "The Shape Game." For this, 45 writers, artists, and celebrities created artwork to raise money for a children's charity.

During her time, Julia went on a six-week library tour. She visited 38 libraries to celebrate them as important community places. This was at a time when many libraries were at risk. She also focused on celebrating performance and projects for deaf children.

Malorie Blackman's main project was starting the YA Lit Con (YALC). This was the first big public event in the UK just for teen and Young Adult books. It is now an event that happens every year.

Chris Riddell celebrated illustration and doodling. He encouraged children to doodle every day with his "Doodle A Day" book. He also toured the UK, visiting schools, bookshops, and festivals.

Author-illustrator Lauren Child supported children's creativity. She encouraged them to take time to look around and "stare into space." She also made online tools to help creativity grow. These tools encouraged children to start their own creative projects.

Cressida Cowell's two-year term focused on encouraging every child to read just for fun. She created a ten-point plan. This plan listed what she believed every child should have a right to. This included having access to new books in schools, libraries, and shops. It also included owning their own book and being creative for at least 15 minutes a week.

  • 2022–24: Joseph Coelho

Joseph Coelho is the current Children's Laureate.

Similar Roles Around the World

Other countries also have special roles to celebrate children's literature:

Australia

In 2008, the Australian Children's Literature Alliance was started. They choose and appoint an annual Australian Children's Laureate. In the first year, two writers shared the job: Boori Monty Pryor and Alison Lester. They were announced in December 2011.

Ireland

Ireland has a Laureate na nÓg. This is a two-year role that started in May 2010. The Arts Council of Northern Ireland helps support it.

The Netherlands

Since 2013, every two years, the Dutch Reading Foundation chooses a famous children's book author. This author becomes an ambassador for children's literature. Since 2017, this "Kinderboekenambassadeur" (Children's Book Ambassador) has a special office in the Children's Book Museum in The Hague.

Sweden

The Swedish Arts Council chooses an author as an "Ambassador for reading," called Läsamabassadör. This is a two-year role that started in 2011. The ambassador is announced at the Gothenburg Book Fair by the Swedish Minister of Culture. As part of their job, the ambassador helps tell children about books and reading.

United States

In January 2008, the Library of Congress started its National Ambassador for Young People's Literature program. This is like the Children's Laureate in the U.S. The first Ambassador was Jon Scieszka. The Poetry Foundation also gives a similar award every two years called the Young People's Poet Laureate.

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