Goodbye to our Writer in Residence Rashmi Sirdeshpande and congratulations to her competition winners!

Our outgoing Writer in Residence Rashmi Sirdeshpande says goodbye and announces the winners of her competition 

This is it. My final post as BookTrust Writer in Residence. And what an honour it’s been. I’ve been blown away by the response to the blog posts, book recommendations and interviews with children’s nonfiction authors and illustrators. We’ve all loved seeing the competition entries too. In fact, that feels like a good place to start…  

Announcing the winners!  

Picked at random by BookTrust, the winners are Dylan from Barley Lane Primary School with a fun fact about the Olympics and Josy from Shiphay Learning Academy with her factual poem about cats! I’m looking forward to doing some virtual visits at your schools and some book bundles will be on their way to you too.  

A big thank you to everyone who entered the competition – stars, all of you. You’re so full of fantastic facts, aren’t you? Never stop discovering (and sharing!).  

And now, a goodbye…  

It’s been an absolute joy talking about the wonderful world of factual books and ideas for exploring them together. These are the books that kicked off my love of reading and learning when I was little and they’re books that I love writing and losing myself in as a reader today. I really believe there’s something for everyone out there and I hope you can see that too.  

Factual books can spark curiosity and start conversations. They’re also so important in a world of disinformation, helping us understand what’s happening around us. They show us how to question things and how to think for ourselves. They teach us about other cultures, histories, and perspectives and bring us closer together – something that’s needed now more than ever.  

So when you think about reading (and reading together), think about factual books in all their incredible forms from picture books and comics to poetry. You never know where they might take you.  

RIGHT. Enough from me. This is my stop. But before I go and pass the BookTrust baton on to an amazing new Writer in Residence who you will all LOVE, I’m going to leave you with some quotes from some of my favourite factual book writers and illustrators on why they think these books are so wonderful. If I haven’t already convinced you to pick up a factual book, maybe they can!  

HAPPY READING!  

Love,  

Rashmi  

Why factual books are so important

Hiba Noor Khan, author of How To Spaghettify Your Dog, illustrated by Harry Woodgate:

"I grew up feasting on factual books, and still love the tingles of awe and fascination that come with them. Non-fiction books truly are the most brilliant ways to unearth and nurture interest in our wild, weird, and wondrous world, and I love them!"  

Dom Conlon, author of Shine, Star, Shine!, illustrated by Anastasia Izlesou:

"I love how a single fact can lead to an entire poem or book which in turn reveals new ideas, new possibilities, new worlds."  

Dr Huw Lewis-Jones, author of Do Penguins Like The Cold?, illustrated by Sam Caldwell:

"Even if you live in a city, there are plants and animals to be found right on your doorstop. All of these treasures can be discovered with a little knowledge and that’s where non-fiction comes in. They can reveal for us the wonders of everyday nature and open our eyes to new realms of possibility. But, far from just being filled with cool facts, in great storytelling and exquisite illustrations, non-fiction books nurture our curiosity and our compassion." 

Isabel Thomas, author of The Bedtime Book of Impossible Questions, illustrated by Aaron Cushley:

"Curiosity is only half the story in science and the arts. The urge to share our discoveries is equally important, and books are our most powerful tool for doing this. Great non-fiction invites readers to follow stepping stones through somebody else’s brain, to share for a moment their view of this chaotic, mysterious, beautiful world."  

Rikin Parekh, illustrator of the Totally Chaotic History series, written by Greg Jenner and Dr Campbell Price:

"I love nonfiction books – reading them AND illustrating them – because I get to learn lots of fun and interesting facts!"  

Alom Shaha, author of Mr Shaha's Recipes for Wonder, illustrated by Emily Robertson:

"I'm one of those people who unashamedly loved school and learning. Reading non-fiction is an incredible way to feed that desire to keep learning new things, and to find out more about the things you’re already interested in." 

Dr Joan Haig, author of Talking History, co-written with Joan Lennon and illustrated by André Ducci:

"Who doesn’t love a good FACT? (And to share it!) But guess what? Non-fiction books are not JUST facts. They offer different perspectives, fresh ways of thinking, new angles on old stories. And (fact!) the pages are often stunning to look at.”