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23-525: In its founding statement, the campaign said: “Children are listening, and take seriously the messages they receive from books, from toys, from marketing and the adults around them. Do we really want them to believe that certain things are off-limits for them because of their gender? They’re not ‘getting it wrong’ if a girl likes robots, or if a boy wants to doodle flowers. [...] It's time that publishers Let Books Be Books and leave children free to choose their interests for themselves”. Prominent authors supporting

46-1057: A fact of life how a very large percentage of people shop when buying for kids, do it by sex. We know for a fact that when they are shopping on Amazon, they quite often type in 'books for boys' and 'books for girls’”. In November 2014, Ladybird Books signed up to the Let Books Be Books campaign and announced that it was "committed" to avoiding gendered titles and would be removing such labelling in reprinted copies. The publisher added: "Out of literally hundreds of titles currently in print, we actually only have six titles with this kind of titling". Its parent company, Penguin Random House Children's division, will also be following suit. Other publishers who have informed Let Books Be Books that they will no longer be publishing gender-specific titles include Dorling Kindersley , Chad Valley and Miles Kelly Publishing . Children%27s Laureate Children's Laureate , now known as

69-532: A few children should make that obvious enough. But no, these idiotic notions are spouted so often they become a self-fulfilling societal straitjacket from which all our children suffer". Also speaking to The Guardian , Pullman, author of the His Dark Materials trilogy, said: "I'm against anything, from age-ranging to pinking and blueing, whose effect is to shut the door in the face of children who might enjoy coming in. No publisher should announce on

92-612: A well-known children's books author as an ambassador for children's literature. Since 2017, this 'Kinderboekenambassadeur' has a seat in his special embassy in the Children's Book Museum in The Hague. The Swedish Arts Council appoints an author as "Ambassador for reading", Läsamabassadör, for a two-year office since 2011. The ambassador is announced at Gothenburg Book Fair by the Swedish Minister of Culture . As part of

115-566: A £30,000 bursary and an inscribed silver medal. The main sponsor of the Waterstones Children's Laureate is Waterstones , with additional funding from Arts Council England and support from children's publishers. A selection panel considers nominations from a range of organisations representing librarians and sellers, including the International Board on Books for Young People . The Waterstones Children's Laureate

138-505: Is managed by BookTrust , who supports the Laureate, organise events and run the official website . The post is currently held by Frank Cottrell-Boyce . Judges chaired by Shami Chakrabarti , director of pressure group Liberty Judges chaired by Andrew Motion , Poet Laureate from 1999 to 2009 In 2008, an Australian Children's Literature Alliance was founded to select and appoints an annual Australian Children's Laureate . In fact,

161-458: The Oath of Allegiance to the new monarchs and he was dismissed from the laureateship—the only holder to have been removed from office. Dryden's successor, Thomas Shadwell , was appointed in 1689 for life. He introduced the custom of producing poems for the new year and the monarch's birthday, which became one of the key duties of the position. After the appointment of William Wordsworth in 1843

184-717: The Waterstones Children's Laureate , is a prestigious position awarded in the United Kingdom once every two years to a "writer or illustrator of children's books to celebrate outstanding achievement in their field." The role promotes the importance of children’s literature, reading, creativity and storytelling while promoting the right of every child to enjoy a lifetime of books and stories. Each Laureate uses their tenure to focus on an aspect of children’s books – these have included poetry, storytelling, readers with disabilities and illustration.   The aim of

207-461: The Let Books Be Books campaign include former children's laureates Anne Fine and Malorie Blackman , the poet laureate Carol-Ann Duffy , and Philip Pullman . Anne Fine told UK newspaper The Guardian : "You'd think this battle would have been won decades ago. But even some seemingly bright and observant adults are buying into it again […] There are girls of all sorts, with all interests, and boys of all sorts with all interests. Just meeting

230-579: The United Kingdom The British Poet Laureate is an honorary position appointed by the monarch of the United Kingdom on the advice of the prime minister . The role does not entail any specific duties, but there is an expectation that the holder will write verse for significant national occasions. The laureateship dates to 1616 when a pension was provided to Ben Jonson , but the first official Laureate

253-578: The Waterstones Children’s Laureateship is to celebrate and promote creativity, storytelling and inspiring all children to read a rich and diverse range of stories. The Laureateship also promotes the importance of children’s books, reading and champions the right of every child to enjoy a life rich in books and stories. The post stemmed from a discussion between the (now deceased) Poet Laureate Ted Hughes and children's writer Michael Morpurgo . The Waterstones Children's Laureate receives

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276-636: The appointment of Duffy the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) undertook a consultation of academics and literary organisations to draw up a short list of recommendations which they presented to the prime minister. He, in conjunction with the Cabinet Office , then submitted the name to the Queen for approval. Dryden's salary for the laureateship was £200 per year. In 1630 Charles I added an annual " butt of Canary wine ", although this

299-490: The cover of any book the sort of readers the book would prefer. Let the readers decide for themselves". In the week following the campaign's launch, Parragon Books responded on Twitter , tweeting: "Feedback on gender-specific titles is important to us. We have no plans to create new titles referring to boy/girl in the UK". In the same week, publisher Usborne announced that a plan to "discontinue publication of titles such as these

322-572: The duties settled into an expectation, not requirement, for major court and national occasions. Alfred, Lord Tennyson held the post between November 1850 and October 1892. According to Andrew Motion and Hilary Laurie, Tennyson "gave the poet laureateship new status and significance" with works such as "Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington" and " The Charge of the Light Brigade ". On his death

345-702: The first year saw two writers sharing the role. Boori Monty Pryor and Alison Lester were announced in Adelaide in December 2011, with Noni Hazlehurst as patron. Ireland has a Laureate na nÓg , a two-year office inaugurated by the Arts Council of Ireland in May 2010. The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is one supporter. From 2013, every two years, the Dutch Reading Foundation appoints

368-500: The laureateship. Historically appointed for an unfixed term and typically held for life, since 1999 the term has been ten years. The holder of the position as at 2024 is Simon Armitage who succeeded Carol Ann Duffy in May 2019 after 10 years in office. The origins of the British poet laureateship date back to 1616 when James I of England granted a pension to the writer Ben Jonson . Although there were subsequent court poets it

391-522: The newspaper and this website will not be reviewing any book which is explicitly aimed at just girls, or just boys. Nor will The Independent’ s books section. And nor will the children’s books blog at independent.co.uk”. However, Michael O'Mara, owner of Buster Books defended his company's gender-specific titles, such as The Beautiful Girls' Colouring Book and The Brilliant Boys' Colouring Book , to The Independent on Sunday in March 2014, saying: ”It's

414-457: The post was left vacant as a mark of respect; a new laureate was not appointed until four years later, with the appointment of Alfred Austin in January 1896. As at 2015 the position is an honorary one, and the office holder is left to decide on which occasions they will produce poetry. Following Dryden's dismissal from the post, the laureateship was held for life by all successors until Motion

437-613: The tenure, the ambassador help communicate to children about books and reading. In January 2008, the Library of Congress inaugurated its National Ambassador for Young People's Literature scheme, as the U.S. equivalent of the Children's Laureate. The inaugural Ambassador was Jon Scieszka . A similar honour is awarded bi-annually by the Poetry Foundation for the Young People's Poet Laureate . Poet Laureate of

460-519: Was John Dryden , appointed in 1668 by Charles II . On the death of Alfred, Lord Tennyson , who held the post between November 1850 and October 1892, there was a break of four years as a mark of respect; Tennyson's laureate poems "Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington" and " The Charge of the Light Brigade " were particularly cherished by the Victorian public. Four poets, Thomas Gray , Samuel Rogers , Walter Scott and Philip Larkin turned down

483-504: Was appointed in 1999 for a fixed term of ten years; his successor, Carol Ann Duffy , was also appointed on the same fixed term. Duffy was the first female poet to hold the role, and the first Scot. After Shadwell's selection the laureate was appointed by the Lord Chamberlain , on the monarch's instructions. Since the appointment of Henry James Pye in 1790, the prime minister has recommended which candidate to appoint. For

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506-458: Was decided some time ago”, adding that the company took "feedback on gender-specific titles very seriously” and that it had "no plans to produce any titles labelled 'for girls' or 'for boys' in the future". On Sunday 16 March, the literary editor of the UK newspaper the Independent on Sunday , Katy Guest, announced: ”Gender-specific books demean all our children. […] So I promise now that

529-485: Was not until 1668, and the appointment of John Dryden by Charles II , that the post was made an established royal office within the royal household . Dryden, who had been appointed following the success of his 1667 poem Annus Mirabilis , was dismissed from office in 1689 following the accession of the Protestant William III and Mary II to the throne. Dryden, a Catholic convert, refused to take

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