[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":11},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-post-manchester-childrens-book-festival-2016":3},{"_type":4,"body":5,"bodyHtml":6,"excerpt":5,"featuredImage":5,"publishedAt":7,"slug":8,"tags":9,"title":10},"blogPost",null,"Last weekend Philip Reeve and I got to go to the amazing PUG-THEMED Manchester Children's Book Festival! I'd been excited for MONTHS about seeing my favourite pug, Benny Bean: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcbf16_d2_bennycuddle3_zpseme3efwz-a7e51b186d.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nManchester-based publicist \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/LizScottPR\">Liz Scott\u003C/a> organised a whole tour for us, which started with a visit to Ladybrook Primary School, where Lane End Primary had also come along for the occasion. I'll see if I can get their amazing Pugs video! \\r\n\\r\nHere are a couple of the pugs the kids drew:\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcbf16_d1_bramhall_pugs1_zpsoadv84e5-6809cd4839.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd a handy map to the school they'd made:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcbf16_d1_bramhall_map_zpsxw6q3vbv-9d68088c12.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nThanks to Andrew at local Bramhall indie bookshop Simply Books for hosting the book sales! Simply Books are amazing, they organise so many book-related activities and school visits and are generally an awesome part of their community. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcbf16_d1_simplybooks_andrew_zpsdtlyoccs-a7af4d04a0.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nOur next stop was Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, which we'd visited a couple years ago on our last visit to the festival. They work with an amazing charity called Readathon UK, which brings rolling library shelves of books and comics (including \u003Ca href=\"http://www.moosekidcomics.com/\">Moose Kid Comics\u003C/a>, edited by Jamie Smart!) to sick children in hospital. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcbf16_d1_hospital_booktrolly_zps9qc5ol7y-79bb6b3783.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nWhen we first got there, we were supposed to do a performance in the main atrium, and we did a short version of the Race to the North Pole board game. Here are MCBF festival organisers \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/Kaye_Tew\">Kaye Tew\u003C/a> and \u003Cb>James Draper\u003C/b> with fab festival team members, us and the GIANT KNITTED PUG by \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/allyleeswonder\">Ally's Wonderland\u003C/a>.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcbf16_d1_hospital_team_zps8jhmgbhj-465d40d55f.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003C!--more Click here for more under the cut!-->\\r\nBut the majority of kids that day were ward-bound, so we cut short the atrium show and decided to go around to the wards instead and visit with kids individually. And that was the best part, we had fun drawing stuff together. This girl had already done an amazing pug drawing with the hospital school, so I asked her what else she'd like to draw, and we had fun making unicorns. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcbf16_d1_hospital_draw1_zpsruymsvmt-eff66670ac.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nThis kid wanted to draw A YETI! He really liked the yeti noodle snow from the book. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcbf16_d1_hospital_yetidraw_zpsqbprmz65-dd31e396d1.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nThe hospital is great, they tailor their education to each kid's needs and stay length, and they've really gone all out featuring \u003Ci>Oliver and the Seawigs\u003C/i> and \u003Ci>Pugs of the Frozen North\u003C/i> for class projects. Here are some of the awesome displays they've created:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcbf16_d1_hospital_display3_zpsvncnc0zz-6ecdb53150.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nThese really brighten up the place! I remember as a kid, one of the things I hated most about hospitals were all the beige walls. And I could see the team totally understood that, there was colour everywhere. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcbf16_d1_hospital_display1_zpsn85hmccu-fa10fcc3a8.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nOn our last visit, it was funny to see just HOW useful the cardboard bedpans could be! They make terrific hats... or Seawigs! Here are some of the kids with their Pugs projects:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcbf16_d1_hospital_display2_zpslbahpl7z-7fde1d50a9.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nThe kids had done some great crafts. Check out these yetis!\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcbf16_d1_hospital_yetis_zpsvwd5svhz-97849109e2.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nSome sleds for Shen, Sika and the pug team: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcbf16_d1_hospital_sleds_zpsqwadbfq0-43fab67487.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nSome pug masks and a polar board game:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcbf16_d1_hospital_masks_zpsmuw3tq0s-9d2848242c.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd lovely sock pugs! :D \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcbf16_d1_hospital_pug2_zpse9x8d3ur-e9e629f93b.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nSCARY PUG!!\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcbf16_d1_hospital_pug1_zpsfbaw3vmn-786797f25e.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nIt was so fun seeing hospital school staff in\u003Ci> Pugs of the Frozen North\u003C/i> costume! Thanks for all the amazing work you do. :)\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcbf16_d1_hospital_costumes2_zpsrv5s6lqk-2b5b89ed61.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nCheck out Helga Hammerfest and the Snow Father!\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcbf16_d1_hospital_costumes1_zpsawlwei16-f43985c185.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nA big thank you to the hospital team, the festival and Readathon for hosting us, and a massive HELLO from Philip and me to any of the kids if they're reading this!\u003Cb> If you're looking for a top-notch charity to support, do consider donating to Readathon or getting your school involved, \u003C/b>\u003Ca href=\"http://www.readathon.org/\">details here\u003C/a>. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcbf16_d1_hospital_giantpug_zps4hebuikj-287a51813b.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nOur next stop was Manchester University, where the big Saturday main festival was held. And the very first person we got to see was... I mean, pug, was... BENNY BEAN! (We met him in London on our Pugwalk and I was totally smitten - \u003Ca href=\"http://jabberworks.livejournal.com/718729.html\">photos from that here\u003C/a>.) Here he is with \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/dottyscotty01\">Sam Scott-Mance\u003C/a>, Trustee of \u003Ca href=\"http://pugwelfare-rescue.org.uk/\">The Pug Dog Welfare & Rescue Association\u003C/a>, who had a booth explaining to people what they do and letting people have a cuddle. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcbf16_d2_bennysam_zpsbgjuhpyb-65fd1d3dfc.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd here's Pickle, who's a bit more shy but had a face-off moment with Philip here:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcbf16_d2_picklecuddle1_zps65ivjcwd-36d2f8f6d1.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nBesides Pugs, the other featured character for the festival was RASTAMOUSE! He's a great mouse, he does tings right. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcbf16_d2_rastamouse_zpsizsmkvq2-97eee4db9c.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd his creator, Michael Da Souza! He was wearing a three-piece suit when we first met him and he lectured Philip for not wearing that sort of suit anymore. 'Embrace the dapper'. (But Michael wore a t-shirt for his event because he gets very hot otherwise.)\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcbf16_d2_micdasousa_zpsdwzopa88-33e3e407e3.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nOne of the awesome parts about going to the festival was getting to go to someone else's event! At a lot of festivals, there's not enough time, but we managed to get in to see The Etherington Brothers' show, which was fabulous! Those two are incredible stand-up comedians and they taught the kids loads about how to put together stories. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcbf16_d2_etheringtons_zpsgkdlgrar-8a8067f6af.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nHey, it's comic artists \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/Lillustrator\">Laura Ellen Anderson\u003C/a> and my studio mate \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/gnorthfield\">Gary Northfield\u003C/a>! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcbf16_d2_lauragary_zpsqq2endca-47c3e010d3.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/Adam_T_Murphy\">Adam Murphy\u003C/a>! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcbf16_d2_adammurphy_zps7iw8jttg-202a5a02d1.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nLook at us being all dramatic... :D\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcbf16_d2_stage_zpsqogddxmp-bb7f54024e.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nLovely tiny knitted pugs, designed by \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/deadlyknitshade\">Lauren O'Farrell\u003C/a> and knitted by \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/allyleeswonder\">Ally's Wonderland\u003C/a>! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcbf16_d2_knittedpugs_zpswqf4m6jy-340b40663a.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd a nice group drink at the station. Whew! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcbf16_d2_pubpanorama_zps905zigew-1fb518686d.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nFinal note: Just like the last time I got to cuddle the Bean, he held on to my arm while I did a big book signing and looked very comfy the whole time. I had a very hard time saying goodbye to him at the end. Benny Bean, you break my heart each time.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcbf16_d2_bennysign_zps2byacpdd-9bc160b353.jpg\">","2016-07-03T20:46:00.000Z","manchester-childrens-book-festival-2016",[],"manchester children's book festival 2016",1776628728530]