Today, author and illustrator Jerry Craft joins us in The Reading Realm to talk to Richard Ruddick about his new middle grade graphic novel called New Kid… Without giving too much away, can you describe your new graphic novel New Kid to our readers? Sure, New Kid is loosely based on my life, as well…
Book Reviews
The Dark and Sneaky Side of Fairy Tales: An interview with Bethan Woollvin
Today we welcome author and illustrator Bethan Woollvin into The Reading Realm to talk about her series of subversive, witty, dark picture books which are based on classic fairy tales… Have you always been fascinated by the magical world of fairy tales? Did you have a favourite as a child? Though I would certainly consider…
I Am A Jigsaw: An interview with Roger Stevens
Today, author, poet and musician Roger Stevens joins Ian Eagleton in The Reading Realm to talk about a new anthology of riddles and puzzle poems called I am a Jigsaw and his award-winning website called The Poetry Zone… Without giving too much away can you tell us a bit about your new anthology of poems,…
A Pocketful of Stars: An interview with Aisha Bushby
Today, Aisha Bushby joins Dean Boddington in #TheRealm to talk about her moving, magical debut A Pocketful of Stars… Safiya asks Elle; “Would you rather a chocolate flavoured poo or a poo flavoured chocolate?” Come on then, which would you choose and why? It would have to be poo-flavoured chocolate because I can’t fathom the…
The Emotional Journey of a Picture Book: An interview with Benji Davies
Benji Davies is an illustrator, author and animation director. Today he joins us in The Reading Realm to talk about Grandad’s Island, nature, how technology has changed his creative process and his new book, Tad… I think one of my favourite picture books of all time is Grandad’s Island. Can you tell us a bit…
The Golden Butterfly: An interview with Sharon Gosling
Today, we’re thrilled to have author Sharon Gosling voyage into #TheRealm to talk to Stephanie Elliot about her new magical, thrilling book The Golden Butterfly… The setting for The Golden Butterfly is so brilliantly vivid! As it’s set in historic London, did you have to do a lot of research? I always do quite a…
This Rock That Rock: An interview with Dom Conlon
We’re thrilled to have a friend of The Reading Realm, children’s poet Dom Conlon, rocket and zoom into #TheRealm today to talk about his brand-new anthology of moon poems called This Rock That Rock, which is illustrated by Viviane Schwarz! Without giving too much away, I’ve heard that you have a new poetry anthology for…
She Wolf: An interview with Dan Smith
Author Dan Smith joins Tom Brassington today in #TheRealm to talk about She-Wolf, a thrilling historical adventure full of Vikings, vengeance and wolves! Why did you choose to take the reader back in time so far in She Wolf? So many reasons, but mainly because I wanted to be cruel to my characters! I wanted…
Not My Fault: An interview with Cath Howe
A huge welcome and hello to Cath Howe, author of Ella on the Outside, who joins us in #TheRealm today for a chat about her new book Not My Fault… Without giving too much away, can you tell us a bit about your new book, Not My Fault? Not My Fault is about two sisters,…
We Won an Island: An interview with Charlotte Lo
When Luna’s family win an island, Luna thinks it will solve everything AND she can finally get a donkey! But things don’t go entirely to plan – no one expects Luna’s younger brother to win a Sheep Pageant, for example – and the secret festival they hold soon spirals out of control. But the island…
The Shop on Peculiar Hill: An interview with Grimly Darkwood
We are thrilled to have Grimly Darkwood in The Reading Realm today talking about his entertaining, quirky fantasy adventure The Shop on Peculiar Hill! Without giving too much away, can you tell us about your book The Shop on Peculiar Hill? The book is about a boy called Peter who comes to live with his…
Clouds Cannot Cover Us: An interview with Jay Hulme
Jay Hulme is an award winning transgender performance poet, speaker and educator. In the first part of this interview, he talks about his wonderful, striking new collection of poems, which is aimed at teenagers and young adults, called Clouds Cannot Cover Us… I wondered if you could start by telling us a bit about your…