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CALL Scotland meets Bookbug Prize Authors

Posted by Gillian McNeill on the 17th January, 2017

It’s not every day we get the chance to get up close and personal with the authors of picture books that our children love to read, but this great opportunity fell to me last week at the Bookbug Picture Book Prize Reception. This event was hosted in Edinburgh by the Scottish Book Trust (SBT) who CALL Scotland have a well-established collaboration with, through our work to make accessible books and resources for the Scottish Children’s Book Awards.

At the reception Paul Kane, Early Years Trainer and Bookbug Specialist with SBT welcomed around 40 invited guests and supporters, which even included an appearance by the popular Bookbug mascot, resulting in cheers from the crowd!

Paul then introduced the three Bookbug picture book prize nominees -

Alison Murray
Nick Sharratt
Ross Collins

who were joined also by Mark McDonald MSP, Minister for Childcare and Early Years and then announced that Nick Sharratt’s book, Shark in the Park, was the winner and favourite of all the children who had voted.

When chatting with the authors at the reception, all were pleased that the team at CALL were continuing support for the book awards, allowing children with a range of abilities and special needs to access their books and participate in shared reading, as well as the voting process. All three kindly agreed to pose for a photograph and to sign our books with great style!

The three books are still available to download in digital format for pupils with a print disability, as are many other Bookbug books from past awards. Free shared reading and symbolised resources for these books including those in the Explorer Pack for 3 year olds, are also available to download from the Books for All website.