LoveReading4Kids Says
Heartfelt stories of home by top authors
Home – it’s a powerful concept, never more so than at Christmas. In association with homeless charity Crisis - £1 from every copy sold goes to them – publisher Stripes commissioned short stories on this theme from some of the most popular UK YA authors. They have risen to the challenge.
The collection opens with a moving poem by Benjamin Zephaniah on a lost home, and includes more stories of hardship, including Lisa Williamson’s, inspired by real-life experiences described to her by young people at a Crisis Centre, or Sita Brahmachari’s story of a refugee making a home in a new country. There are heart-warming stories too, like Kevin Brooks’s The Associates, about a friendship between two homeless men. It deserves its place on bookshelves, but why not buy two copies? One to keep, one to give away.
Amnesty have also published an excellent collection of short stories, Here I Stand, while David Almond shows himself a master of the genre in Counting Stars.
A message from Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive, Crisis “It is nothing short of a tragedy that anyone should experience homelessness in 21st century Britain. We are determined that no one should face the devastation and isolation of homelessness and the next generation, including the readers of this new book, will play a crucial role in our efforts to end homelessness for good.”
Reviewed by Andrea ReeceAndrea Reece has spent almost her entire working life in children’s books, first as publisher, latterly as consultant, project manager and critic.
More reviews by Andrea Reece About I'll be Home for Christmas
The UK's top Young Adult authors join together in this collection of new stories and poems on the theme of home.
Read the full description
Find This Book In
| Suitable For: |
|
| Other Genres: |
|
| Recommendations: |
|
I'll be Home for Christmas Synopsis
The UK's top Young Adult authors join together in this collection of new stories and poems on the theme of home.
Contributors include: Tom Becker, Holly Bourne, Sita Brahmachari, Kevin Brooks, Melvin Burgess, Katy Cannon , Cat Clarke, Juno Dawson, Julie Mayhew, Non Pratt, Marcus Sedgwick, Lisa Williamson and Benjamin Zephaniah.
Sales of the book will benefit Crisis with at least £1 from the sale of each book to be donated to the homelessness charity’s Crisis at Christmas appeal. Stripes has committed to giving at least £10,000 through the initiative. To find out more about Crisis, see www.crisis.org.uk
I’ll Be Home for Christmas is also a celebration of the UKYA community, bringing together some of the most critically acclaimed, award-winning, bestselling authors writing for young adults in the UK. One brand new author was added to the line-up as a result of a competition in partnership with The Bookseller magazine’s YA Book Prize.
Stripes Publisher Jane Harris said: “The quality and quantity of books being published specifically for teenagers and young adults is currently at an all-time high in the UK. There is a thriving community which can be found both online via social media and blogs, and at real world events like the Young Adult Literature Convention (YALC), The YA Salon and countless bookshop events up and down the country, meaning authors are more connected to and in-tune with their readers than ever before.
We are thrilled to bring together such an exceptionally talented range of authors in one volume. Each of our writers shows care and respect in their handling of their readers' experiences and needs, writing books which are often urgent and always vital to dealing with the business of growing up.”
About This Edition
About Benjamin Zephaniah, Non Pratt, Marcus Sedgwick, Cat Clarke & others
A fantastic collection of UKYA authors including Benjamin Zephaniah, Non Pratt, Marcus Sedgwick, Cat Clarke, Kevin Brooks, Holly Bourne, Juno Dawson, Sita Brahmachari, Tracy Darnton, Tom Becker, Katy Cannon, Melvin Burgess, Julie Mayhew and Lisa Williamson.
Melvin Burgess started writing in his twenties, and wrote on and off for fifteen years before having his first book, The Cry of the Wolf, published in 1990. In 1997 his controversial bestseller Junk won the Guardian Children's Fiction Award and the Carnegie Medal. It was also shortlisted for the 1998 Whitbread Children's Book of the Year. Four of his novels have been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. Melvin lives in West Yorkshire.
Katy Cannon is the author of Love, Lies and Lemon Pies and Secrets, Schemes and Sewing Machines for teenagers. She has also written the Pooch Parlour series for younger readers. Katy lives in Hertfordshire.
Cat Clarke worked as an editor and in-house writer before publishing her first novel Entangled in 2011 to critical acclaim. She is now a full-time author of gritty, gripping YA novels including: Torn, Undone, A Kiss In The Dark and The Lost and The Found. Cat lives in Edinburgh.
Tracy Darnton is the winning author of our Stripes/The Bookseller YA Book Prize competition. She recently graduated with distinction from the Bath Spa MA Writing for Young People and is working on her debut novel. Tracy lives in Bath.
Juno Dawson – formerly known as James – is the multi award-winning author of dark teen thrillers Hollow Pike, Cruel Summer, Say Her Name and Under My Skin. In 2015, she released her first contemporary romance, All Of The Above. In 2016, she authored one of the World Book Day titles: Spot The Difference. Juno lives in Brighton.
Julie Mayhew was shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award in 2014 for her debut novel, Red Ink. Her second novel, the critically acclaimed The Big Lie, was nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal, and shortlisted for Peters Book of the Year and Shropshire Teenage Book of the Year. Julie is also an actress and writes plays for radio. Julie lives in Hertfordshire.
Non Pratt is the author of the Trouble, which was shortlisted for The Bookseller YA Book Prize, and Remix. After graduating from Trinity College Cambridge, she became a book editor at Usborne, working on the bestselling Sticker Dolly Dressing and Things to Make and Do series. Following the success of her first novel, she became a full-time writer. Non lives in London.
Marcus Sedgwick won the Branford Boase Award in 2001 with his debut novel, Floodland. In 2007 My Swordhand Is Singing won the Booktrust Teenage Prize, and in 2011 Lunatics And Luck won a Blue Peter Book Award. Marcus has been shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal six times. Marcus lives in Taninges, France.
Lisa Williamson won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize in 2016 with her debut novel, The Art Of Being Normal. The book is also shortlisted for The Bookseller YA Book Prize and the Branford Boase Award and was the bestselling YA hardback debut of 2015. Lisa lives in London.
Benjamin Zephaniah is an internationally renowned performance poet and acclaimed author of bestselling YA novels: Face, Gangsta Rap, Teacher’s Dead, Refugee Boy and Terror Kid. Benjamin lives in Lincolnshire.
More About Benjamin Zephaniah, Non Pratt, Marcus Sedgwick, Cat Clarke & others
