Julia Donaldson, UK's New Children's Laureate, Vows to Campaign for Libraries
RSSBy Lauren Barack
Popular children's author Julia Donaldson, best known for her award-winning fantasy tale, The Gruffalo (Macmillan, 1999), is the U.K.'s new Children's Laureate. "Do everything you can to support libraries-God knows, they need every bit of help they can get nowadays," he wrote. Libraries across the UK continue to close as economic support for them waivers in both schools and councils. Donaldson is known in literary circles as being an ardent supporter of libraries, and in her first blog post as children's laureate, she promised to actively support the need for libraries particularly for children, among her other duties. "I will also be vociferous in the campaign to promote libraries and halt the cuts and closures which as I see as so damaging to our children and their future," Donaldson wrote. "I'm proud to be the first laureate based in Scotland, and am kicking off with a visit to Whithorn Library which is celebrating its hundredth anniversary but is under the axe." Donaldson was selected from nominations stemming from groups representing librarians, critics, writers and booksellers among others. Children's authors across the UK voiced their support of Donaldson, including poet Michael Rosen, children's laureate from 2007 to 2009, and writer Alan Gibbons, who continues to organize protests against the closure of libraries across the region. "Not only has she written one of the iconic children's picture books in The Gruffalo, but she was also a prominent supporter of the Save Our Libraries Day I initiated on Feb 5th," wrote Gibbons in an email. "In Scotland Julia and Theresa Breslin were two of the authors who led the protests." A prolific author of more than 120 books as well as plays, Donaldson will also focus her attention on the role of children's literature in the performance arts, including drama and music, to help encourage young people to read. And as a "someone with minor hearing difficulties," Donaldson wrote in a statement, she also plans to encourage more signed stories for deaf children and carry on the important work of her predecessors. "The six previous laureates have done so many good things, and I want to make sure that I keep these alive," she wrote. I wanna say something,especially if I read a post that really grabs my attention. However, I won’t do it for the sake of doing it.<a href="http://www.soccerjerseysmall.com/team-soccer-jerseys/barcelona-jersey.html">barcelona jersey</a>I just think that I really like in your article point of view. Congratulations Julia!
For more information about the Scottish Author Library Protest you can
see Theresa Breslin's facebook page:
www.facebook.com/theresabreslinauthor * = Required information
In her two-year role, Donaldson will act as a voice for children's literature much like her predecessor, Anthony Browne, who in his outgoing letter published in The Independent, wrote passionately of the lack of support for public and school libraries in his home country-and encouraged his replacement to take up the mantle.
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