It’s real! We won! You just have to look really closely…
You’re So Amazing by Lucy & James Catchpole – winner at the inaugural IBC awards, with Zanib Mian, Sumana Seeboruth & illustrator Karen George
The trouble with transparent trophies 
We won an award – we really did! Look closely… Winning anything is wonderful, isn’t it? This one is particularly lovely.
Inclusive Books for Children is a new organisation, and quite apart from their clearly excellent taste in books… IBC pay for own voice reviews. This is unusual. It makes their website uniquely valuable for anyone looking for UK children’s books with a genuinely diverse range of characters – and reviews by those best placed to judge them.
Winning any award for your book is a very big deal. This is not a common occurrence. And an award from an organisation we so sincerely respect… it’s a dream come true, really. Frustratingly, it was also a smidge overshadowed by a domestic comedy of errors. (Which is why this post is so outrageously late.)
Literally the night before the awards, I fractured my toe falling off my wheelchair (it’s now months later, and honestly it’s still not super). As an added extra, Mainie – our nine year old – had a throat infection. And our five year old is five. So with one working leg between us at the best of times, domestic logistics were interesting. But somehow James (accompanied by a hoarse Mainie) made it to London to accept the award even if I couldn’t. Illustrator Karen George was there to accept hers too. And the whole thing was streamed live – at least I could watch from home.
James made a lovely speech – which you can watch on YouTube. And whatever else – we won! For the book we actually wrote together, too. A book about not being amazing.
You’re So Amazing might be a kids’ picture book, but it can be challenging for non-disabled readers. There are difficult questions – about how they might respond to real life disabled people, the way we make them feel.
James talks more about the thinking behind the book, and how disabled characters are usually represented in his interview with IBC.
Ultimately, disability is normal. This shouldn’t be a revolutionary message, but it is. In this context, winning feels particularly meaningful.
Thank you to everyone who’s supported us – who’s bought our books, shared them on social media, taught them in schools. Thank you.
The event
One of the nice things about an event like this is the chance to meet other people invested in inclusive children’s books – usually scattered about the country on our respective laptops. Mainie got to meet Zanib Mian – author of her absolute favourite Planet Omar books – who very deservedly won her category. She was a little star-struck.
They also met @jessicaoutofthecloset – Jessica Kellgren-Fozard, who was one of the judges. I’ve been a fan since about 1684 – and was not jealous at all, as you can imagine…
Since the awards, I’ve been following up – looking up books by some of the authors James and Mainie met.
Teacher and author Jeffrey Boakye presented the awards, with enviable energy and charisma. I’ve been enjoying his non-fiction book I Heard What You Said: A Black Teacher, A White System.
The perspective of a Black teacher working in the UK education system isn’t one I’ve come across often, and the book is full of insights. I particularly recommend the audiobook. Authors narrating their own audiobooks is becoming more and more common – especially with non-fiction. It’s always a nice bonus when they turn out to be extremely good at it.
Jeffrey Boakye 
Aoife Dooley’s Frankie’s World 
Planet Omar!
Comedian, designer and author Aoife Dooley was one of the award judges. Her graphic novel Frankie’s World is a book Mainie positively inhaled, finishing it in one sitting before re-emerging blinking into the light. It’s an #ownvoices book by an autistic author-illustrator, and very worth seeking out.
I hope you get a chance to look at the IBC website, and track down some of the books by these authors. Disability is our area – it’s what we know and can speak authoritatively on. And we’re so pleased disability is being included more and more under the umbrella of “inclusive books”. But inclusive books across the board matter, and these authors and this organisation are amongst those leading the charge.
— Lucy Catchpole
If you’d like to find out more about the books we’ve written, and maybe even order one, do have a look at our new page books by Lucy and James. I took far too long putting it together, so every click vindicates me.
The Catchpoles 