MFB goes to Bath Kids Lit 2011

Mark and I are so excited about visiting Bath Kids Festival for the first time this year. We were heading that way as fans and readers, but got a fantastic surprise when we were approached by the organisors asking us if we would like to attend in our capacity as bloggers. We would be able to meet various authors and get the occasional one to one interview...

Wow! We could not say no. We considered which days to go down and booked our accommodation and we carefully, painstakingly and with various coloured markers, went over the schedule and chose which talks to attend.

And now we are set. I may not sleep until then.

In the meantime, the Festival organisors have come up with a fantastic way for us to keep busy. A group of bloggers, illustrators and authors are all taking part in creating an on-going story.

This is the press release:


The Bath Festival of Children’s Literature is launching a unique collaborative storytelling event on Thursday 8 September featuring well known authors and bloggers. There are 20 collaborators in the project including authors Marcus Sedgewick, John Boyne and Annabel Pitcher who will be appearing in the Bath Festival of Children’s Literature Festival, 23 September- 2 October. The story will be written in real-time with readers following the trail as it moves from blog to blog, with an addition to the story being posted at each stop.

The story will run from 8 September – 16 October with the first installment being posted on the Bath Festival of Children’s Literature blog http://bathkidslitfest.wordpress.com/ where readers can click through to the next installment. Every other day a new piece of the story will be posted and as it is being written in real-time it has the potential to touch on any genre imaginable.

Artistic Director John McLay said “We are hoping to highlight the creativity and dedication of both book blogs and author blogs, through which potential readers are enthused and entertained. There is an amazing amount of support for the book industry via blogging and this is a great way for Bath to capture that and do something fun and unique”.

Big Blog Story Schedule

8 September Bath Festival of Children’s Literature
10 September Robin Etherington
12 September Annabel Pitcher
14 September Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell
16 September Hannah Shaw
18 September Writing From the Tub
20 September Lauren Kate
22 September Marcus Sedgewick
24 September Alan Gibbons
26 September John Boyne
28 September Catherine Bruton
30 September Achuka
2 October Samantha Mackintosh
4 October An Awfully Big Blog Adventure
6 October Kate Maryon
8 October Barry Hutchinson
10 October My Favourite Books
12 October Joanna Nadin
14 October LA Weatherly
16 October Bath Festival of Children’s Literature

The Bath Festival of Children’s Literature runs for 10 days between 23 September- 2 October and will be packed full of events for all the family – highlights include the amazing Cressida Cowell, this year’s brochure cover illustrator David McKee, funny-man Andy Stanton and Pirates of the Caribbean actor Mackenzie Crook to name but a few.

Tickets can be booked by telephone 01225 463362, online at www.bathkidslitfest.org.uk or in person at Bath Box Office, 2 Church Street, Abbey Green, Bath BA1 1NL.

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We will be blogging and tweeting from the event, so do make sure to follow us on Twitter - @LizUK and @Gergaroth. We will be there the first weekend of 24th and 25th September.

Events / talks we will definitely be attending:

Simon Scarrow talking about Gladiator

Cressida Cowell

Eoin Colfer

Ally Carter

Philip Reeve & Moira Young

Celia Rees and Mary Hooper

Tony DiTerlizzi

Fever Crumb by Philip Reeve

Synopsis


FEVER CRUMB is set many generations before the events of Mortal Engines, in whose dazzling world huge, predatory cities chase and devour each other. Now, London is a riot-torn, ruinous town, clinging to a devastated landscape and hiding an explosive secret. Is Fever, adopted daughter of Dr Crumb, the strange key that will unlock its dangerous mysteries?

So far I've only read the first in the Mortal Engines series but was drawn to this as, although in the same fantasy world, has a whole new set of characters. Fever, found in a basket as a baby, has lived her whole life in the head of a statue. This head houses the engineers of which her adoptive father is one so naturally Fever followed in his teachings. She has shunned hair (irrelevant) and emotions (ridiculous) and is content in a world of logic. However, an eccentric and minor archaeologist called Kit Solent asks the engineers for Fever to help him in his work. Fever's emergence into London society sets off a chain of events which develop at an alarming speed.

Initially I must admit that Fever reminded me a little of Spock with her belief in all things rational but as soon as she meets Kit and his two children her struggle with the logic and emotions becomes endearing. She begins to remember things that she can't possibly know: rooms she's never seen and people she's never met. Unbeknownst to Fever and Kit, she has been noticed and Londoners believe her to be Scriven; a race that controlled London and were eventually overthrown. Any Scriven that appear in London are to be hunted and killed by the Skinners or rather the last remaining Skinner, Bagman Creech. Due to his age he now requires a boy to help him which is where the loyal and endearing Charley Shallow comes in. He shadows Bagman and takes his position of Skinner's apprentice very seriously.

It becomes apparent that Kit has a hidden agenda that Fever struggles to comprehend. The answers that she seeks take her all over London and beyond and all the while Bagman and Charley keep her in their sights. There are so many wonderful things about Fever Crumb that I haven't the space to mention them all. The place names are pure genius: Ox-fart Circus, Chel's See and Pimlicker to name a few. Other parts of our life have survived into the era of Fever Crumb in a slightly twisted way such as the religious procession made up of people wearing, "Robes and pointed hats ... chanting the name of some old-world prophet, 'Hari, Hari! Hari Potter!' "

Although the story is full of fast-paced action it also has a thread of touching humanity running through it. I really felt Fever's confusion as she struggles with her identity. Kit, a wonderful father, is shown grieving for his dead wife. Dr. Crumb's story is also explored and it was a joy to see him change as the book progresses. Shrike makes his first appearance too and his story (before being turned into a Stalker) is both enlightening and desperately sad.

I'm always wittering on about covers but I must mention the limited edition hard cover which is gorgeous for those who like the illustrations of the Mortal Engines reprints.

This is the perfect introduction to the amazing world that Philip Reeve has created. Don't worry if you've never read any of his work before as Fever Crumb is a wonderful, action packed and touching story that can serve as a way in or as a new addition to those who have already read the Mortal Engines series.