The bizarre imaginative world of our new Children’s Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce is explored through his latest novel and an exclusive interview.
Frank Cottrell-Boyce is one of the best-known names in the world of popular children’s fiction. His most recent accolade is to have been appointed Children’s Laureate, to the delight of his many fans and friends. (See also my blog post on previous Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho.)
Children’s Laureate 2024–2026
In response to my questions about what the appointment means to him, Frank says:
‘I’m painfully aware of the debt I owe to books and reading, not so much for my educational attainment as for my ability to be happy. A recent report said that children in this country – post-pandemic, post austerity – are facing a “happiness recession”. I don’t think books are the answer but I do think that encountering books early in life, through the attention of someone who loves you, makes a huge difference. It bestows on you a massive invisible privilege.
I want to do what I can to make sure as many children as possible are blessed with that chance. I’ll be focusing on early years and less on the usual places – schools and libraries – and more on nurseries and community centres. I want to praise and share the amazing work that’s already being done by health visitors and nursery workers etc.’
His acceptance speech can be read on the BookTrust website.
About Frank Cottrell-Boyce
Frank Cottrell-Boyce began his career as an award-winning screenwriter for film and television. His first book for children, Millions, (also a filmscript) won the 2004 Carnegie Medal, and since then he has written over a dozen books for children as well as many screenplays, including Kensuke’s Kingdom. He is passionate about making books available to all children, and about reading aloud.
Childhood
Frank and I have in common the fact that we were both born in Liverpool and both brought up as Catholics. I asked him about his childhood memories and influences:
‘My two biggest influences were the Church and cinema. These happily came together in a town centre cinema which has now vanished. I think it was called the Jacey. They showed cartoons and Laurel and Hardy films on a Saturday morning but then they closed down and the building became “the Shrine” – a church that had a rolling programme of mass and confusion.
It still had cinema seating and – please don’t correct me if I’m wrong – the screen behind the altar. A perfect fusion. I still to this day occasionally unthinkingly genuflect in the cinema and definitely still find myself distractedly looking up at the altar in my parish church waiting for the Pearl and Dean theme to kick in.
The importance of the library
Frank:
‘The third pillar of childhood was the library. We lived in a little flat. I shared one room with my brother and Mum and Dad, while my grandma had the other. There was a library just across the road. We spent a LOT of time in the library. I later realised this was because Mum was seeking respite from a cramped and no doubt tense situation, but because that respite was the library – warm, safe, glamorous and bursting with stories – this was a really happy time for my brother and I.’
Millions
Frank’s first book, Millions (20O4), was an adaptation of his film script, and was immediately hugely successful. It won him the Carnegie Medal. The film was released later. It’s a funny, exciting and charming story about two boys who find a suitcase crammed with money. The currency is about to change to euros, so they have to spend it as quickly as they can. But how? The dilemma of the two boys is beautifully portrayed.
I particularly enjoyed the older boy’s encyclopaedic knowledge of the saints, and asked Frank whether this was a reflection of his own childhood.
‘The obsession with saints came from my brilliant primary teacher Sister Paul. She undertook to tell us all the stories of the saints, day by day. Poor woman didn’t know what she let herself in for. We were all ghoulishly fascinated by the various forms of torture these people endured and were desperate to know what exactly a virgin martyr was. Those stories certainly made me think a career in cinema would be more comfortable than sainthood.’
Magic and The Wonder Brothers
Published by: Macmillan, 2024. Available from Amazon.
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Frank Cottrell-Boyce’s most recent book is The Wonder Brothers, featuring a passion for conjuring tricks. Has magic and the fascinating art of the showman played an important part in his life?
‘My father had dementia for many years. He was bedridden for the last five. Mum was his main carer. I had him a couple of days a week. She was full of love and energy but it really took its toll. We planned all kinds of trips for when it would be over. This was all during Covid.
For her birthday we put a tent up in the garden and I hired a magician to entertain the kids. But Mum was utterly transfixed by his tricks. I saw all the pain and weariness vanish. Wonder made her a child again. Just a few days later it became obvious that Dad was about to die. Grandchildren came home to see him off. And quite suddenly Mum started to complain of back pain. I took her in for blood tests. She was kept in hospital.
Two days later, Dad died. When I told Mum she gave me a thumbs up and next day, died herself. It was absolutely unexpected and unbelievably beautiful to find yourself a moment in such an amazing love story. They had a joint funeral – something that only normally happens as the result of a tragedy. I was euphoric for a while, but later really crashed. Over the last five or six years caring for dad we’d been closer than ever since childhood. So it was a huge, unnoticed loss. I lost my mojo. I wondered where to get the magic back.
Then I thought about that birthday party and – well, the place to find magic is … magic. “If you’re sad,” said TH White, “learn something new”. So I learned some magic. I’m now pretty handy with a deck of cards and thumb tips! But more to the point: magic taught me a LOT about the power of storytelling. I hope all that is in Wonder Brothers.’
Children’s book expert Catriona Nicholson reviews Framed
A major aspect of Frank’s novel-writing is his meticulous use of research, as for example in his exploration of the world of cars and art in Framed. I asked a children’s book specialist, Catriona Nicholson, to review the novel.
Catriona is a former trustee of Seven Stories: The Centre for Children’s Books.
Catriona Nicholson on Framed
Dylan Hughes is the only boy left in the town of Manod in North Wales, where his father has a struggling garage and petrol pump business. One day during his humdrum existence, Dylan and his two sisters become aware of a convoy of lorries heading for the disused mines. Before long he is drawn into ‘the crime of the century’.
As cars arrive at the garage each day Dylan documents these details in his logbook, which doubles as a diary of events for the reader. Dylan also keeps chickens, bought at a car boot sale, and names them after characters that feature in his favourite TV series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. These names are crucial to the mayhem and misunderstandings that unfold as this exciting, modern, art robbery story gets underway.
I loved reading this book when it was published and have recently enjoyed it once again, nearly twenty years later, in its audio format. The telling is vivid and compelling with Jason Hughes’ narrating voice perfectly pitched and tuned for representing the quirky cast of characters. It’s a funny, touching, absorbing few hours of pure delight. I don’t often laugh aloud when reading a book but I found myself doing just that during this enjoyable transfer from page to voice.
Congratulations to the new Children’s Laureate
I’m looking forward to many more books from this entertaining author, and I’m very much anticipating a major impact on the world of children’s books from our new Laureate. Congratulations Frank Cottrell-Boyce!
My own books
My first novel for adults, Requiem, was also, like Millions, inspired by memories of a Catholic schooling, as was my first children’s book, How Green You Are!
I also won the Carnegie medal (twice!). See Children of Winter and Granny was a Buffer Girl.
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