How and Why to Read and Create Children’s Digital Books wins UKLA Academic Book Award 2021
Posted on June 15, 2021
by Alison Fox
We are delighted to announce that is delighted to announce that How and Why to Read and Create Children’s Digital Books: A Guide for Primary Practitioners by Natalia Kucirkova has won the prestigious UKLA Academic Book Award 2021.
From the press release:
"Smiles broke out on the judging panel’s faces, as person after person gave positive reasons for why they valued Kucirkova’s book. First of all, they found it to be a timely, informative, innovative, practical, well signposted and up-to-date book effectively grounded in the author’s experiences as both practitioner and researcher. The book divides neatly into chapters which in the first half consider how to read, evaluate and use commercially produced digital books to support children’s language and literacies, and in the second half consider the creation of digital books by children with adults. The latter promote the value of storytelling by children and story-making for parents, emphasising process as well as product and offering children, teachers and parents agency and empowerment. In addition, its well organised format and recommendations for further reading were valued, while the way it explains the technology was considered most helpful. Several members of the panel felt it was well suited to all key stages, possibly even a global audience, despite its subtitle limiting it to primary practitioners. Everyone liked the fact that it could reach a wide audience as it is free for online readers. The qualities of Kucirkova’s book cover many of the criteria for this award, especially being based on sound, diverse and inclusive research, making a distinctive contribution to literacy education and encouraging teachers to be reflective, innovative and creative. A clearly, deserving winner."