| Abstract: | The following paper, a Sidney Robbins Memorial Lecture, was read at the Federation of Children's Book Groups' celebration of their eighteenth birthday in April, 1986, at Durham, England. The Federation is a parent-based organization which works to bring children and books together both locally and throughout the U.K. In 1965 Anne Wood sowed the seeds of the Federation when she launched her magazineBooks For Your Children, and the first group was started. By 1968 the movement had grown, and The Federation of Children's Book Groups was officially formed. There are now seventy-five member groups, each organizing book-related events for children and adults, author visits and book fairs. In the U.K., the Federation speaks with an increasingly powerful voice on issues affecting the world of children's books. It organizes the Children's Book Award, an annual award for which children choose the winning book, and it promotes National Tell a Story Week.Robert Leeson's twenty-five children's books since 1973 includeThird Class Genie, It's My Life, Silver's Revenge, Candy for King, and five  Grange Hill books. He received the 1985 Eleanor Farjeon Award for services to children and literature. His latest nonfiction work,Reading and Righting (Collins, 1985), assesses the past, present, and future of fiction for the young. |
