Valerie Bloom’s Stars with Flaming Tails illustrated by Ken Wilson-Max (Otter-Barry Books), has won the CLiPPA, the UK’s leading award for published poetry for children.
Poet Philip Gross, chair of the judges, said: “Stars with Flaming Tails is like a passport to the whole world, and beyond. This is poetry that can go anywhere, from the personal to the planetary, the surreal to the scientific, with its invitation to us all to look, and to laugh, to listen to our feelings, and to think. And meanwhile, almost without noticing it, we’re being handed the keys to the craft of writing for ourselves.”
Louise Johns-Shepherd, CLPE chief executive, said: “Valerie’s inspiring collection invites children to engage with poetry in so many different ways and speaks beautifully to all realms of human experience. It deserves to be in every book corner and library in the land.“
Stars with Flaming Tails was previously selected for EmpathyLab’s Read for Empathy Collection 2022, and featured in the BookTrust Great Books Guide 2021. On publication last year it was a Guardian Book of the Month.
Click here to watch the CLiPPA Poetry Show and award ceremony at the Southbank Centre, with performances from children whose schools took part in the CLPE Shadowing Scheme, as well as performances from event host Michael Rosen and the shortlisted poets Kate Wakeling, Laura Mucha, Matt Goodfellow, Liz Brownlee, Manjeet Mann and Valerie Bloom.
Click here for a teaching resource and for video and audio clips from the Stars with Flaming Tails launch event in 2021, hosted by Manchester Poetry Library.
