Laureate na nÓg Patricia Forde (centre) with Paul Howard, Sadhbh Devlin, Isla McGuckin and fourth-class pupil Shay from Scoil Naomh Mhuire, Malin Head, at the launch of the Whole Wild World bus tour in 2024.
I have been Laureate na nÓg, the ambassador for literature for children and young people on the island of Ireland, since May 2023. This is an honour given to a children’s author or illustrator but, to me, it feels like an honour that’s given to the whole sector.
What I like most about my role is that our country recognises children’s writers and illustrators are important, and that children’s literature is essential. Our love for stories is one that so often starts in childhood and lasts for a lifetime. It has formed our literary legacy and inspired generations of creatives across the island.
People often ask me when I’ll write a proper book. The question comes from the mistaken notion that children’s books are merely a stepping stone to writing ‘real’ books – books for adults. In fact, they are the portal through which children access culture and learn to think about the world.
Books help children to reimagine the world, to see how it could be changed. Think of all the stories for children where the weak and marginalised triumph, where the loudest, strongest voices don’t preva
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