An interview with Elle McNicoll about her new book Keedie, her CBBC adaptation of A Kind of Spark, her forthcoming YA book and diversity in children's books (as well as how she manages to do so much...)

Books mentioned in the interview with Elle McNicol

A Kind of Spark

Keedie

Show Us Who You Are

Like a Charm

Like a Curse

Some Like it Cold

Matilda by Roald Dahl

Charm School by Anne Fine

Lots by Jacqueline Willson

Elle can be found on social media at

X/Twitter: @booksandchokers

Instagram: @ellemcnicollofficial

TikTok: @ellemcnicoll

and her on her website

Link to the Scholastic Graphic Novel Prize here

Books we discussed:

Black Hole Cinema Club by Christopher Edge

Away with Words by Sophie Cameron

Safiyyah’s War by Hiba Noor Khan

Steady for This by Nathanael Lessor

The Boy Lost in the Maze by Joseph Coelho

If You’ll Have Me by Eunnie

Vern Custodian of the Universe by Tyrell Waiters

The City of Secret Rivers by Jacob Sager Weinstein

The Chestnut Roaster by Eve McDonnell

The Great Fox Illusion by Justyn Edwards

The Secrets of the Snakestone by Piu DasGupta

Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovich

Mostly Book Talk - Episode 4

We talked to Lucas Maxwell, the librarian at Glenthorne High School about Dungeons and Dragons and how it really draws pupils into the library and also about graphic novels. We then have an interview with Sarwat Chadda about his new middle grade fantasy series, The Spirit Stone Saga.

It's a long one, but these two interviews with Dungeons and Dragons enthusiasts just belong together!

Books mentioned in the interview with Lucas Maxwell

Let's Roll: A Guide to Setting up Tabletop Role-Playing Games in your School or Public Library by Lucas Maxwell (also available here)

Links to Lucas’s social media and articles can be found here

The Girl From The Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag

Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn - graphic novel adapted by Scott Peterson, Meredith Laxton and Russ Badget

When Stars are Scattered by Victoria Williamson and Omar Mohamed

Bunny versus Monkey by Jamie Smart

Unicorn Boy by Dave Roman

Amulet Books by Kazu Kibuishi

New Kid by Jerry Craft

Awkward by Svetlana,Chmakova - doesn’t seem to be in print?

Measuring Up by Lily LaMotte and Ann Xu

Go With The Flow by Karen Schneeman and Lily Williams

Anna West Philly by Ivy N Weir and Myisha Hayne

Places to find out about Graphic Novels

Page 45 - https://www.page45.com/index.html

YALSA US website - https://www.ala.org/yalsa/

Dan Santat - https://www.instagram.com/dsantat/?hl=en

Interview with Sarwat Chadda talking about his new series

The Spirit Stone Saga - Tariq and the Drowning City - Book 1

Books we discussed:

The Angel of Grasmere by Tom Palmer

Friendship Never Ends by Alexandra Sheppard

Alyssa and the Spell Garden by Alexandra Sheppard

Safiyyah’s War by Hiba Noor Khan

Dark Matter - A Ghost Story by Michelle Paver

An interview with Abiola Bello, author and also founder of Hashtag Press and The Diverse Book Awards and a chat with Sarah Stuffins from The Federation of Children’s Book Groups about their Children's Book Award.

Abiola’s Middle Grade Books

Emily Knight I am…
Emily Knight I am... Awakened
Emily Knight I am... Becoming
The Very Merry Murder Club
The Very Sunny Murder Club

Abiola’s YA Books

Love in a Winter Wonderland
Only for the Holidays
The Love Dare

The FCBG Children’s Book Award Shortlist 2024

Books for Younger Children
Gigantic, Rob Biddulph
The Big Dreaming, Michael Rosen and Daniel Egneus
The Fastest Tortoise in Town, Howard Calvert and Karen Obuhanych
The Princess and the (Greedy) Pea, Leigh Hodgkinson

Books for Younger Readers
Adventure Mice: Otter Chaos, Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre
Marv and the Killer Plants, Alex Falase-Koya and Paula Bowles
Press Start! Game On, Super Rabbit Boy!, Thomas Flintham

Books for Older Readers
Code Name Kingfisher, Liz Kessler
Deadlock, Simon Fox
The Final Year, Matt Goodfellow and Joe Todd-Stanton

Books we have been reading
The Eyes and the Impossible, Dave Eggers
Keedie, Elle McNicoll
When I Feel Red,Lily Bailey
The Song Walker, Zilla Bethel
Secrets of the Snake Stone,Piu DasGupta
Tariq and the Drowning City, Sarwat Chadda

Death Under a Little Sky and Death in a Lonely Place, Stig Abell
Sufferah, Alex Wheatle