This is the inaugural year of our Georgina Hawtrey-Woore Award for Independent Authors. Georgina died, too young, in 2017. As a senior editor at Arrow, Georgina was determined that her authors should fulfil their potential, and, more, she was also a great supporter of WforW. To commemorate her life, we three grannies who run Words for the Wounded determined that Georgina should be honoured. To this end we renamed the competition and re-jigged its structure. So now we have four categories.
This year we are delighted to say that not only are the entry numbers up, so too is the standard. It is heart warming to see so many excellent entries, and a great treat to read them and Georgina would be thrilled. Of course, though, there have to be winners and ultimately the team led by Milly Adams, one of Georgina’s authors, reached unanimous decisions.
We will be featuring more about each of our winners as the days go by, so keep an eye out in Frost Magazine for the reviews, the biographies, and the reason behind the writing of their winning entries.
So, onto the Picture Book for Children Category:
Winner: Who’s Been in our Tree? – Diana Batchelor
This is a vividly illustrated picture book. It concerns a community of tree based animals whose home has been broken into, and how, after the initial panic, fear, unhappiness and confusion, they make a plan to at least make themselves feel better, even if the birds can’t trace their belongings.
The judges adored this vividly illustrated picture book.
Who’s Been in our Tree? by Diana Batchelor has glorious illustrations, the text is helpful and accessible, the pace just right. The assembled grandchildren were the final arbiters, but came to the same conclusion as the judging team. Absolutely brilliant.
It is a careful, entertaining, and helpful picture book and – so say the judges – should be available in all schools and libraries.
Who’s Been in Our Tree? is written with advice from a Clinical Psychologist working with children and young people, and which offers evidence based practical advice that children and families can rely on. A fabulous picture book.
Diana Batchelor tells Frost Magazine that she was supporting a family who had been burgled, and they asked her for a book to read with their young son who was having nightmares. She searched high and low for one, but found nothing. Who’s Been in Our Tree? is a belated answer to their request.
Diana began her career in the criminal justice sector in 2006, and has since worked in the UK, South Africa and Lebanon. Her work has mostly been with victims of crime, especially young victims and families bereaved by murder. She has also worked with victims who choose to meet their offenders as part of what is known as restorative justice. This led to her PhD research about the reasons that victims take part in restorative justice and what difference it makes, which she is currently conducting at the University of Oxford.
Diana goes on to say that Who’s Been in Our Tree? is about four animals — Fox, Badger, Hedgehog and Squirrel. We meet them just after their tree has been burgled. First we see their shock, then some strange things start happening. The ‘strange things’ are in fact common reactions to trauma, so the story reassures children (and grown-ups) that they are not alone. The animals make plans to cope, and find in the end that some of their favourite things (feelings and memories) were not stolen after all.
‘I wrote this book having worked with children who had been burgled, and have since had feedback that it is useful in other circumstances too – e.g. moving schools, parents’ separation, accidents, and even recovering from abuse. I wanted to be honest with children, but also to give them hope. The friendly characters help them to understand their own reactions, learn to let their feelings out, build a support network and identify healthy ways of coping that suit them best.’
Frost Magazine is much looking forward to reading more from Diana when we receive her A Day in the Life.
But in the meanwhile: www.whosbeeninourtree.com
Who’s Been in our Tree by Diana Batchelor, pub by Matador.
Available from: https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Who%27s+been+in+our+tree+Diana+Batchelor