Head stuck in a book? It's trendy
Children were whipped into a state of frenzy not for a boy band or a guitar god but for books. Education reporter Siôn Donovan reports on the passion and appeal of the Portsmouth Book Awards
It was 11am on a sunny morning when joyful screams and boisterous cheers could be heard in Albert Road.
The noise outside the Kings Theatre in Southsea was loud – inside it was deafening.
Shoppers and passers-by must have thought it was a concert.
But the 1,200-plus audience of 10-year-olds were there yesterday for the Portsmouth Book Awards.
Children from 28 primary and junior schools in the city packed into the theatre for the eight annual awards so they could find out the winner of the shorter novel category – one of three categories in the awards, see panel.
For the past few months, 1,513 pupils have been reading and voting for all five books on the category shortlist including tales of bears and balloons, calamities in the classroom and galloping ghosts.
In total that's 7,565 books read. If all of those books were put in a line they would stretch from the Kings Theatre to the Central Library in Guildhall Square.
As the winner's envelope was brought to the stage, a booming drum roll effect was created by 1,200 children stamping their feet and banging their hands on the balconies.
And a loud cheer was heard when Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear by Andy Stanton was announced as the winner.
The 35-year-old then thrilled the crowd on stage with his thank-yous, complete with funny voices, a beatboxing rap and the story of how having no Christmas present for his young cousins inspired him to write his first book.
Mr Stanton is no stranger to picking up awards, as the fifth book in the Mr Gum series won the first Roald Dahl Funny Prize and the Most Funny Book With Pictures category in the Blue Peter Book Awards 2009.
But he admitted the Portsmouth Book Awards was something else.
The former stand-up said: 'I've never heard or seen anything like it. It was a bit like Beatlemania. They were going nuts. I felt like I was a rock star. It was a very surreal experience. Five years ago I was a medical secretary for the NHS and no one was cheering me while I was photocopying and writing a lot of letters.
'The Portsmouth Book Awards is a fantastic achievement. By introducing a little competition into it they've added even more fun into reading. Children here today will associate books with enjoyment.'
Lindy Elliott, head of Portsmouth Libraries, said: 'What a superstar he is. He is a fantastic winner. It's great for the children to see the Andy Stanton they read on the page is the same slightly mad Andy in real life.
These awards are the culmination of a lot of hard work and an awful lot of enjoyable reading. Andy was the runaway winner but it was wonderful for children to read books of different styles and genres.'
As well as being part of a noisy audience, some of the children took to the stage.
Children from Cottage Grove Primary School in Southsea sang a song about Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear while Year 5 pupils from Flying Bull Primary School in Buckland performed a drama based on the book complete with characters Mr Gum, Polly, Jonathan Ripples and Padlock the bear.
Mr Stanton said: 'It was a fantastic drama. It was so funny to see my story and my world brought to life in a play. And I think the girl who played Polly has a real future.'
The four other shortlisted books for the shorter novel category were My Dad's a Birdman by David Almond, Ivan the Terrible by Anne Fine, The Mozart Question by Michael Morpurgo, and The Galloping Ghost by Hilda Offen.
Reader of the Yar award
Eager readers were also recognised at the book awards yesterday when one girl and one boy were revealed as the Readers of the Year.
A shortlist of 19 young book-lovers were shown on the big screen before Chloe Johnson and Lenny Whelan were announced as the winners, receiving a certificate and goodie bag from author Andy Stanton.
Lenny, 10, from Northern Parade Junior School in Hilsea, reads every day and visits Baffins library once a month to take out a whole host of books.
The Year 5 pupil said: 'I didn't think I was going to win. It was great. I like all sorts of books apart from scary ones. I prefer happier books. I think some books are like TV. They're so entertaining and they keep you busy.'
Chloe, 10, became quite emotional when her name was read out as a Reader of the Year. The Year 5 pupil, from Westfield Junior School in Paulsgrove, said: 'I was just shocked and surprised. It was such a nice feeling. I read every night, sometimes until 7pm, but other times until 10pm when it's past my bedtime. My favourite books are the Shapeshifter and Harry Potter series.'
Her mum Louise Johnson, 33, of Carlton Road, Paulsgrove, said: 'I'm very emotional and very proud of her.
'She's always been such a keen reader and it's great that children get rewarded for something so important as reading.'
The other shortlisted children were:
Georgia Youseman, Arundel Court Junior School; Esmai Knipe, Charles Dickens Junior School; Jade Burnett, Corpus Christi Primary School; Louise Snook, Cottage Grove Primary School; Sophie Osborne, Court Lane Junior School; Chloe Sansbury, Craneswater Junior School; Alexander Hughes, Highbury Primary School; Leilah Abdul, Isambard Brunel Junior School; Ashley Diggins, Langstone Junior School; Elizabeth Davis, Medina Primary School; Matthew Austin, Newbridge Junior School; Tye Chappell, Paulsgrove Primary School; Archie Richardson, Solent Junior School; Melissa Treacher, St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School; Travis Bunn, St Paul's Catholic Primary School; Lois Harvey-Pescott, St Swithun's Catholic Primary School; Jasmine Smith, Wimborne Junior School.
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Weather for Portsmouth
Friday 25 May 2012
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