As part of Scotland’s Year of Young People 2018, Book Festival staff have been working with a group of school pupils aged 8-14 from Craigmillar in Edinburgh to co-curate a strand of events exploring the concept of freedom. The name the young people have chosen for their strand is Codename F. 

The Codename F young programmers have designed 9 events across the Book Festival’s public adult and children’s programmes, and the programme for schools. In a series of posts, the young people (and some of the authors featured) explain the reasoning behind their decisions. 

Islands and Oceans with Julia Green & Elizabeth Laird
Thursday 23 August, 11:45 – 12:45
Baillie Gifford Main Theatre (Charlotte Square Gardens)
Find out how to book for schools events here.

Julia Green’s To the Edge of the World is a beautifully written tale of courage and friendship set on a remote Scottish island. Elizabeth Laird’s Song of the Dolphin Boy is a moving adventure story about the importance of looking after our oceans. Join these two award-winning authors to find out what inspired them to write poignant tales set in the great outdoors. An event for the wild at heart and everyone who cares deeply about the natural world.

Freedom and escape were the initial themes within both Julia and Elizabeth’s books that first caught the attention of Codename F young programmer Unmol Singh. She feels it’s her right as a young person to grow up in a well-kept world but:

…unfortunately rubbish is everywhere and polluting our whole environment.

These two novels reflect the growing concerns amongst the young generations about the state of our environment.

Author Elizabeth Laird believes Codename F is:

…a great idea to get children involved more deeply by taking them out of the classroom and engaging directly with authors, books and difficult questions.

Pupils from across Scotland will get to ask their difficult questions direct to the authors on Thursday 23 August.

This event forms part of the Book Festival’s 2018 Baillie Gifford Schools Programme – our programme for pupils, teachers, librarians and home educators.

About the Year of Young People 2018

In 2018, Scotland puts its young people in the spotlight, celebrating their talents, contributions and creating new opportunities for them to shine. The Year of Young People 2018 is a year-long programme of events and activities that will give young people in Scotland the opportunity to show the world what they are made of.