Flour Babies

Story

When the annual school science fair arrives, Mr Cartwright's class don't get to work on the Soap Factory, the Maggot Farm or the Exploding Custard Tins. To their deep horror they get the Flour Babies - sweet little six-pound bags of flour that must be looked after at all times.

Why we chose it

A gentle, thoughtful story, which is both funny and poignant.

Anne Fine has written a number of books for children of all ages and has won many major awards. She was the second Children’s Laureate from 2001-2003 and during her time as laureate campaigned to raise the profile of public libraries.

Where it came from

English writer, Anne Fine (1947-), takes inspiration for many of her books from domestic situations, with a great deal of her work raising quite serious social issues. The idea for Flour Babies is said to have come from a newspaper article that she read, where a class of children were set the task of looking after a bag of flour as if it were a baby.

Where it went next

Anne Fine has written over fifty books for children of all ages and her work has been translated into forty five languages. She has won many awards for Flour Babies, including the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children’s Book of the Year award (1993).

Associated stories

Among her many successful and award winning books are a number set in school, including Goggle-Eyes (1989), Bill’s New Frock (1989), The Tulip Touch (1996) and Ivan the Terrible (2007), all of which take place in a school setting.