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Joy Court - Editorial Expert
Leading children’s literature expert and former Chair of the CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Medals
Joy Court is co – founder of All Around Reading, having previously managed the Schools Library Service in Coventry, where she established the Coventry Inspiration Book Awards and the Literally Coventry Book Festival, as well as being the Reviews Editor of The School Librarian and Chair of the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals. She now just concentrates on books and libraries as a freelance consultant while continuing to be an activist with the Youth Libraries Group and sits on the National Executive of the Federation of Children’s Book Groups. She has chaired and spoken on panels at festivals and conferences around the UK as well as delivering keynotes and workshops.
She is a Trustee and member of the National Council of the United Kingdom Literacy Association, where she sits on the selection panel for the UKLA Book Awards, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and of The English Association and an Honorary Fellow of CILIP. Author of Read to Succeed: strategies to engage children and young people in reading for pleasure (2011) and Reading by Right: successful strategies to ensure every child can read to succeed (2017) FACET.
With bold, distinctive illustrations and a great graphic layout helping to tell the story, this picturebook is perfect for bedtimes, but also as a class read aloud to share because of its wonderful message about stories.
It is the power of stories that has attracted a visitor to Mama and Papa Bird’s cosy nest. At the end of the story, they discover a fifth chick who tells them “That was a really good story”. They all settle down to sleep, but when it gets really dark ‘PING’ Otto’s eyes open wide. So, ... View Full Review
From the award-winning author of the fabulous Dadaji’s Paintbrush, comes another story which reflects the life of a child of Hindu heritage growing up in Britain, the like of which she didn’t see in books when she was growing up.
It is a joyous and heartwarming introduction to the Diwali festival through the eyes of Jai, a very excited young boy with an extended family who enjoy preparing for a festival which celebrates the values of gratitude and sharing. With the lively cartoon like illustrations bringing a real bounce and enjoyment to the different activities on ... View Full Review
This stunning, dramatically illustrated, narrative nonfiction tells the story of the famous 1970’s discovery of the skeleton of Lucy, our earliest ancestor, and of the Laetoli Footprints by Mary Leakey and her team of palaeontologists, in a really engaging and accessible way.
It starts by showing young readers how very different our world looked three hundred million years ago and the dramatic tectonic forces which shaped the land masses we know as continents today.
Then it imagines Lucy’s world in the Africa of four million years ago and the creatures that roamed there, in the shadow of ... View Full Review
This extraordinary and beautiful book arose from a connection the best-selling author of the Little People, Big Dreams series made at the grassroots organization @coffeesforgaza, which sends funds directly to families in Gaza.
Nour Ferwana and her family live in a tent in the Gaza strip, where life is unsettling and difficult. When Maria Isabel began exchanging messages with Nour, she learned how she kept her daughters' spirits alive at bedtime with the stories she and her husband told them.
Ten of these traditional fables are gathered here. What makes this a completely unique collection is that each story is ... View Full Review
Dr Kanani is a brilliant science communicator, as she has proved in books like Can you Get Music on the Moon? Here she has written a book that, as she hopes in her dedication to teachers everywhere, is ‘The physics textbook you’ve always wanted for your students’.
With some stunning illustrations from Liz Kay and an engaging design and layout, this is indeed a very long way from a boring science textbook. It takes ten core scientific concepts and explains not only why it is important, but gives the origin of the idea or discovery and, ... View Full Review
Stunningly illustrated in the author’s distinctive style and with an inviting premise of being an actual space tour, where we the readers are boarding the spaceship with the most knowledgeable and friendly guide accompanying us, this is a highly appealing book on a very popular topic.
So, the book opens with ‘ This is your Captain speaking..’ and the itinerary (or contents list) is at the bottom of the page telling us what we have ahead of us together with a handy safety guide recommending that we stay in our seat!
Every two-page spread in this beautifully ... View Full Review
If ever a book were to be created to match the epic summer that we have just endured, then this lyrical picture book must be it.
The Green Child is a fairy like embodiment of nature, and she has an urgent message for humanity. We meet her as she wakes from a winter sleep, deep in the forest, which is captured in the most delicate detail by Brita Teckentrup’s stunning illustrations, made with beautifully textured digital collage.
Through the onset of spring and into a glorious summer, the colours and vegetation change, but ‘soon the air is ... View Full Review
This beautifully produced collection was put together as part of a British Council funded wider project, Threads of Tales, with the publisher Bok Bok Books working with the Her Story Foundation in Bangladesh.
It is so much more than a collection of retellings of traditional tales, we learn fascinating detail about the origins of these tales and how they have been passed down from generation to generation and so much about the culture and customs of the region of Bengal, which is now divided between Bangladesh and India.
The wonderfully detailed, vibrant illustrations are inspired by the traditional nakshi kantha ... View Full Review
This extraordinary heartwarming debut, from the winner of David Fickling Books’ Search for a Storyteller competition, is written in a highly accessible and attractive format with a combination of lyrical verse, letters, assorted notes and fact boxes, interspersed with delicate and evocative line drawings by Sophie Burrows, so that each page turn brings something new.
The layout and design are as exemplary as the writing, which allows Pear, a ten-year-old girl who is finding life hard, to tell her story. She struggles with self-esteem, despite her many talents and the support of a loving home. At that age, the ... View Full Review
This latest story featuring the irresistible Adventuremice, will really resonate with exhausted Early Years staff and parents, since it certainly captures the total mayhem that tiny mice or humans can create, as well as totally engaging young audiences.
As with all successful series which bridge the gap between picturebooks and chapter books, this could be children who might be proud of being able to read it for themselves or those relishing the tale being read aloud. The adults will certainly empathise with Mrs Watermouse, the headteacher of the nursery school, who absolutely leaps at the suggestion, impulsively made by Fledermaus ... View Full Review
When you open a new novel from the Costa-winning Frances Hardinge, you know you will be in for a truly original work of the imagination that will transport you entirely. This is a master craftsman of world building and character creation.
Although the initial premise, of a kingdom with castles being abruptly moved like chess pieces by mysterious other worldly players, seems almost too fantastical, she manages to make it seem absolutely real. For me, that is the mark of a good fantasy or dystopia, its internal reality must be cohesive and authentic, and its human characters must act and ... View Full Review
Once again S E Durrant demonstrates her talent for tackling difficult issues without talking down to her young readers and to create memorable and convincing characters.
Luna, our eleven-year-old narrator and maths genius, uses numbers to calm her anxieties. She dreams of being an astronaut and has a close relationship with her Dad who encourages and supports her ambitions. Together they track the International Space Station and each chapter is fronted by a report from Mimi her favourite astronaut.
This is also a brilliant way of reminding the reader of how much time is passing since Luna saw her ... View Full Review
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