I’m not sharing this superb book just because it’s a fascinating and entertaining read about biomimicry, or that it’s been fabulously illustrated and has stunning end papers, I’m sharing it because I can’t believe that it’s the last factual book to ever be a Blue Peter Book Award winner.
I’m so disappointed that after 22 years, the Blue Peter Book Awards have been discontinued – and just one month after the Costa Book Awards ended, too. It was such a popular and influential scheme, highlighting the very best fiction and factual books, authors and illustrators to children right across the UK. At a time when public libraries continue to close, school library budgets are tiny and in many cases non-existent, and book shops struggle to stay open, the Blue Peter scheme played a vital role in promoting such a broad range of children’s literature and I loved the fact that schoolchildren across the country were selected to be part of the judging panel. I do understand that Book Trust – who organised the awards – has limited resources and is focusing in particular on disadvantaged families; however, it’s just a terrible shame that such a fantastic showcase for literary/illustrative talent has had to come to an end ?.
