Children's poetry award announced

Poet Kate Wakeling has won the CLiPPA 2017 poetry award for her first collection for children, Moon Juice, illustrated by Elina Braslina, published by The Emma Press.

Rachel Rooney, poet and chair of the CLiPPA 2017 judges, praised the winning book. She said, "Moon Juice is a book brimming with surprises. Some of the poems are playful, some are more thoughtful but all of them draw the reader into worlds that both delight and convince. "Kate Wakeling tunes us into the musicality of words, the pauses between, and the white space on the page - making the poems equally pleasing to the eye as to the ear. This is a skilled and confident debut collection that demonstrates the power and breadth of poetry for children. Yes, Moon Juice is infused with subtle and unusual tastes and it refreshes - exactly as the title suggests." The annual poetry award is run by the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education and is the only poetry award in the UK to celebrate outstanding poetry published for children. More than 6000 children from 196 schools from across the UK took part in the award's Shadowing Scheme, an increase of more than 160% on schools participating in 2016. The Shadowing Schools submitted 250 films of children performing their favourite poems from the shortlist. The winning performers were invited to the National Theatre to meet the shortlisted poets and take part in specially planned theatre workshops. The winning children then performed on the Olivier stage alongside the shortlisted poets before the winner announcement.