[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":11},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-post-all-hail-the-new-comics-friendly-laureate":3},{"_type":4,"body":5,"bodyHtml":6,"excerpt":5,"featuredImage":5,"publishedAt":7,"slug":8,"tags":9,"title":10},"blogPost",null,"*** \u003Cb>Free poster! See below\u003C/b> ***\\r\n\\r\nHurrah! I can't even tell you how pleased I am that \u003Ca href=\"http://www.malorieblackman.co.uk/\">Malorie Blackman\u003C/a> is our new \u003Ca href=\"http://www.childrenslaureate.org.uk/\">Children's Laureate\u003C/a>! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Ca href=\"http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/10094586/Malorie-Blackman-is-a-great-choice-to-inspire-children.html\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/malorie_telegraph_zps73bb20d6-2937c8166e.jpg\">\u003C/a>\\r\n\\r\nYou can read Martin Chilton's article with its great photo of Malorie by \u003Ca href=\"http://www.camerapress.com/index.php?17004095885844608900.000056687235366249768825052013180030\">Clara Molden\u003C/a>. (They're \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/malorieblackman\">@MalorieBlackman\u003C/a>, \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MartinChilton\">@MartinChilton\u003C/a> & \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/claramolden\">@ClaraMolden\u003C/a> on Twitter.) \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cb>Edit: I've had a couple people ask me if they could print out this image, below, to display in their libraries. So I've uploaded a \u003Cu>\u003Cfont size=\"4\">free, printable poster online\u003C/u>\u003C/font> for you: the \u003Ca href=\"http://pdfcast.org/pdf/malorie-blackman-space-laureate-a4\">A4 file here\u003C/a> (560kb) and the \u003Ca href=\"http://pdfcast.org/pdf/malorie-blackman-space-laureate-a3\">A3 file here\u003C/a> (860kb).\u003C/b> I never know what happens when I post things online, so if you could leave a note in the comments just to say the name of your school or library (and your name) and give me a wave, that would be ace! (Note: it's not a licensed Booktrust poster or anything, it's just my drawing I did for fun.)\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/malorie_blackman_space_laureate_zpsf64cef49-4d1a08f154.gif\">\\r\n\\r\nOne of the things Martin mentions is that Malorie is a huge Trekkie (she even has a \u003Ci>Star Trek\u003C/i> uniform!) so she understands cosplay and dressing up. And the thing that REALLY excites me is that Malorie grew up reading \u003Cb>comics\u003C/b>, loves comics and is having her \u003Ci>Noughts and Crosses\u003C/i> book made into a comic by John Aggs. Malorie \u003Ci>gets\u003C/i> it, she understands the idea of Reading for Pleasure, that kids who love reading will do better academically, even if they're not reading academic books. And she \u003Ci>gets comics\u003C/i>, that kids who read comics - \u003Ci>comics of any genre, since comics are a medium, NOT a genre\u003C/i> - become better reader and learn to love stories. What I find is that kids who read comics also want to MAKE comics in a way I don't see with other kinds of books; readers become authors and take ownership of reading. \\r\n\\r\n...So what I'm saying is, \u003Cb>\u003Cfont size=\"3\">COMICS FRIENDS, WE HAVE AN ALLY.\u003C/font>\u003C/b> Right now comics for kids is a small industry in this country, but there's massive room for growth, and it will totally give our kids one of the boosts they need. Give Malorie lots of support and help because, whew, being a laureate is no small job. Follow her on Twitter, keep an eye on what she says, and spread the word! The media don't give children's books and comics much space in reportage (as the last laureate, Julia Donaldson \u003Ca href=\"http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/10095768/Why-dont-we-take-childrens-books-seriously.html\">said here on her way out\u003C/a>), but journalists almost always look to the laureate when something important needs to be said.\\r\n\\r\nOn another (slightly related note), I just got this awesome link from \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/ianmcque\">Ian McQue\u003C/a> showing \u003Ca href=\"http://imgur.com/a/0RmF7#166\">behind-the-scenes photos from the makings of \u003Ci>Star Wars\u003C/i>\u003C/a>. My favourite is the two actors who play R2D2 and C3PO riding a mini motorbike together. \\r\n\\r\nAnd one more thing, illustrator \u003Ca href=\"http://cathybrett.blogspot.co.uk/\">Cathy Brett\u003C/a> has drawn this great picture of the day we met at Hay Festival! Thanks so much, Cathy, yay!!! She's \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/gingerdoodles\">@gingerdoodles\u003C/a> on Twitter and you can read \u003Ca href=\"http://cathybrett.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/hooray-for-hay-wi-fi.html\">Cathy's write-up from the Hay Festival here\u003C/a> and mine \u003Ca href=\"http://jabberworks.livejournal.com/567259.html\">here\u003C/a>.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/cathy_brett_hay13_illo_zpsa617d76c-76a9037dc8.jpg\">","2013-06-05T15:18:00.000Z","all-hail-the-new-comics-friendly-laureate",[],"all hail the new comics-friendly laureate!",1776628725291]