On Monday 4th July Joseph Coelho was announced as Britain's new Children's Laureate – on Friday 8th, Valerie Bloom MBE was acclaimed as winner of the 2022 CLiPPA Award (the UK's leading award for published children's poetry, administered by the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education, in partnership with ALCS). Philip Gross, chair of the CLiPPA judges, said "Stars With Flaming Tails" is like a passport to the whole world, and beyond. This is poetry that can go anywhere, from thew personal to the planetary, the surreal to the scientific, with its invitation to us all to look, and to laugh, to listen to our feelings, and to think." Louise Johns-Shepherd, chief executive of CLPE, said, "It deserves to be in every book corner and library in the land."
Janetta Otter-Barry, Publisher at Otter-Barry Books, self-isolating with covid, could not attend the ceremonies, and said, "What a week in which to be stuck at home! I am tremendously proud to publish Joe's and Val's poetry. They are brilliant, dedicated and a joy to work with, and I salute them with all my heart."
Stars With Flaming Tails is illustrated by Ken Wilson-Max