Joss Abbs Brown shares his thoughts on MCBF 2015

By Joss Abbs Brown

In 2015 Manchester held their yearly celebration of children’s books at Manchester Children's Book Festival (MCBF). Last year in 2014 it was a great two weeks of events but this year they surpassed themselves. It was a brilliant programme of events that I and many other families enjoyed.

There were many inspirational authors such as Alex Wheatle and James Dawson who each rose and battled their own personal obstacles to achieve their dream which shows how we can do or be anything we want to be when we try. Alex Scarrow also had to overcome personal difficulties. At first he had no job or qualifications as he dropped out of school at the age of 16, but finally managed to secure work as a game designer. In a few years he rose and started to preview his own game designs and had to try and persuade his bosses to create his games. However his ideas were all rejected so eventually he gave up his job and began to write. He soon became the great author we now know him as. He used some of his game ideas in his now famous series Time Riders.

There have also been poetry events where poets came to hold open mic events. The floor was open for adults and children to read their favourite poem. I also performed at this reading “I opened a Book” by Julia Donaldson which for me sums up what books and poems are all about, becoming immersed in an imaginary world.

One of the poets, Dominic Berry, believed I did very well which shows how supportive Manchester Children's Book Festival is. I am hoping that next year will be just as brilliant. I really love coming to the varied events and it is very good how it inspires young people to read. I have really enjoyed the Poetry sessions and have written my own poem in which I have tried to sum up some of the great authors I have met and stories and poems I have been introduced to. I would like to thank the organisers, James Draper and Kaye Tew. I hope you like my poem.

A WRITER’S WORLD

(To celebrate the Manchester Children’s Book Festival/MCBF)

A pen, a quill,

A windowsill,

To look upon the world,

A word, a page

A powerful mage,

A new world unfurled.

Travelling through time, travelling through

Wars, opening hidden mysterious doors,

Travelling to a long and distant land.

Saved from hell, saved from death,

Saved from a fatal, chilling breath,

Rescued by a powerful, wizened old hand.



A tear, a laugh,

An uncertain path,

With one desperate choice.

A trapped liccle boy, a monster’s

Toy, with no public voice.



A scared boy, a boy who is gay,

A boy who has something important to say,

A boy who has a deep but forbidden love.

A boy who wants friends, a boy that has hope,

A boy who needs an escape rope,

To fly finally free like the dove.



A Goblin boy, A Goblin Wizard,

Who could conjure up a blizzard,

His powers only work by kindness

To another.

His powers will falter, his powers will fail,

Like a piece of food gone stale,

If he does not show compassion said his Grandmother.



A tale about a strange girl,

Which would make you hurl,

With some strange creatures that lurk,

A figment of imagination, an illusion,

An intrusion, hidden in her mind’s

Darkness and murk.



Poems a song of love, a symphony of words,

A flock of flying, beautiful birds,

Created by a powerful mind.

A land to escape, a place to refresh,

To escape the encumbering mesh,

And to leave worries and problems behind.



Joss Abbs-Brown

Age 11

Young Journalists Blog Multi-cultural Manchester

 

By Taha, Areeba and Atiya from Whalley Range High School
 

Multiculturalism throughout Manchester has been expressed through the form of written art and has been shown in the Manchester children’s book festival on 30^th June. The cultural diversity has been expressed through the city in many different ways and on 30^th June, many activities and events took place.

The audience was filled with excitement and chatter as Mandy Coe first took the stage by sharing her experiences, saying that poetry should be for children than for adults and that poetry for children is running out and not expressed as much. She then introduced Poetry By Heart where young poets read out poems by heart. She then welcomed four young poets on the stage. Personally, I think this was the best part, listening to other people in our age group reading out poetry, which potentially could inspire us in the future.

Next was the first female poet Laureate Dame Carol Ann Duffy. She read out inspirational poetry including the poetry that was banned for the use in schools. The poem talks about violence: a teenager killing, however it has nothing negative but we have to interpret in a positive and meaningful kind of way. She read out a poem that involved the audience: Elvis, Shakespeare, Picasso and Virginia Wolf, adding, “Probably one of the highlights of my life as a poet is standing here and watching people scream Virginia Wolf at me.” 

Next up was Imtiaz Dharker. Her poems had a very wide span of unique topics, ranging from pomegranates to being ‘Over the Moon’, which kept the audience hooked to them. Some of the poems she read out were quite amusing, such as the ‘Dabba Dialogue’ or, ‘Tiffin-Box Talks’. This poem in particular was written from the point of view of a tiffin-box. Her choice of words make her poems really interesting and fun to listen to. I personally thought it was a really good experience and a very engaging event. 

After the poetry event we went over to the other event taking place. There we watched a one-woman play about a girl called Gabrielle, who lived on a small island in the Caribbean. It portrayed how Gabrielle’s life was like in the Caribbean’s, and how drastically it changed after she travelled to England, on a boat ride that took 20 days. Her new life in England was already off to a rocky start, being cramped on a ship for 20 days, so you can imagine how it must have been later on. It showed her struggle to find a proper job and home amongst the racial Britons of that time.

All in all, it was a very inspirational day. I learned new things, and I’m very happy that I had the chance to take part in such an event.

Avani Reads Shark in the Dark

Avani Richardson aged 22 months reads one of her favourite books Shark in the Dark by Nick Sharratt.

  

The MCBF2015 team are looking for your blogs, stories, book reviews, photos, poems - simply anything and everything to do with your favourite children’s books! Email mcbf@mmu.ac.uk to get involved.