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Children’s book author and illustrator Brian Wildsmith is being celebrated through two new exhibitions in his home town of Barnsley at The Cooper Gallery and Experience Barnsley Museum. Displays are awash with the vibrant palette and limitless imagination which were so recognisable in Brian’s beloved books, including his ABC, The Owl and the Woodpecker, Jungle […]
Jennifer Bell interviewed by Joy Court Having had a very enjoyable Zoom conversation with best-selling author Jennifer Bell just before I attended the latest Insights briefing from Farshore about their Reading for Pleasure research, I was really struck by how much Jennifer herself embodies the importance of developing reading for pleasure in schools. She confessed […]
Rebecca Cobb’s illustrations with their distinctively childlike style are immediately recognisable in books from The Paper Dolls to Missing Mummy. As she explains in this Windows into Illustration feature, she found much to suit her illustration style in Mariesa Dulak’s text for There’s a Tiger On The Train. I hadn’t realised how much time I […]
In the first of a new Books for Keeps series, Nicolette Jones puts three picture book illustrations in the spotlight. A piece in the trade magazine The Bookseller (Zoe Knowles, 22 April) recently drew attention to the UK’s top-earning illustrators, and also to the fact that bestseller lists do not identify artists, so research had […]
In the latest in our long-running Beyond the Secret Garden series, Darren Chetty and Karen Sands-O’Connor take a trip to Africa in children’s books. In 2005, Binyavanga Wainaiana produced a satirical manual on ‘How to Write About Africa’ for the magazine Granta. Many of the stereotypes of Africa and Africans that he describes came out […]
Joseph Coelho took on the mantle of Waterstones Children’s Laureate two years ago and talked to Books for Keeps then about his ambitions for the role. His last engagement as Laureate will be at the Poetry By Heart Grand Finale on 1 July. His successor takes over the following day. Joseph shares his reflections on […]
Tom Percival is well known for his Big Bright Feelings picture books, which gently but effectively expand children’s understanding of the world and counter their anxieties. He’s also responsible for the sparky Little Legends series, which cleverly creates new adventures for favourite fairy-tale characters. His new novel is quite different. Heartfelt, authentic, The Wrong Shoes […]
Rose Roberto argues that AI has been a feature of YA fiction for some time and looks at some notable examples. Artificial Intelligence or AI seems to have emerged as the big topic in 2023. Hollywood writers have gone on strike over it, and in secondary schools and universities throughout the UK, teachers, lecturers and […]
Louise Forshaw on a book that caught her imagination as a child and that still inspires her. This is a tough question, since there are so many brilliant books! If I have to choose just one, it would be a book that I associate with my childhood: The Three Little Pigs retold by Vera Southgate […]
Like most siblings, the boy narrator of this story and his elder sister’s relationship has its ups and downs, often about sharing things. From little brother’s point of view, big sister is pretty cool but it’s often she who causes the two to fall out and physical fights then result. In order to release the […]
Suzy’s auntie and her sleek white cat live a life of quiet contentment – delicious meals, peaceful silence, basking in the sun’s warmth and unrestricted freedom. That is until Auntie’s little niece, Suzy comes to call. A whirlwind of boundless energy, Suzy adores Cat and wants to play with and cuddle him all the time. […]
‘Where will you explore?’ the reader is asked at the end, and this book is sure to empower the child whose world encompasses what they see at their feet or at their fingertips. This book is a joy from start to finish. Busy fingers will delight in exploring the holes that lead from one (sturdy) […]
Stevie, aka the World’s grumpiest slug is sent to self-esteem classes to find out why he should be proud to be a slug. In a first-person narrative we follow his experiences as he learns amazing facts about slugs. Stevie learns about the incredible range of slugs in the world including the spectacular blue dragon and […]
This cheerfully iconoclastic puts into welcome reverse some of the lazy stereotypes that have gathered around the topic of King Arthur and Camelot. In this tale, once revered knights come over as brainless thugs and bullies. Never happier than when inflicting pain or death on others of lower social rank, they spend most of their […]
The stories Oscar Wilde wrote for children are, like those of Hans Christian Andersen, literary fairytales and have become part of the canon of folk and fairytales. The Selfish Giant is one, as is The Happy Prince. First published in 1888 Wilde’s stories reflect their time in their sentiments, language and references. Here Harry Woodgate […]
Alina and her granny live in a lighthouse and every evening as Granny sips her tea, she would share magical tales of mermaids with the little girl. Now though, these stories have faded away and become almost completely erased from her grandmother’s memory. Devastated at the pain this causes her gran, Alina yearns to bring […]
Harris, along with recent winner of the Klaus Flugge Prize Winner for best newcomer to picture book, Ilustrajo, collaborate in this celebration of storytelling and the boundless power of imagination. With effervescent rhyming text and vibrant illustrations, this is a playful call to arms against boredom, illustrating how the creative arts can inspire and delight. […]
A little boy watches the child next door and wonders why he is poking his tongue out. [He is] ‘licking the wind’ says his mother and invites the little boy to join them on a trip to the seaside where all the best winds are. The boy next door flaps and rocks and doesn’t talk. […]
Launched in 1980, we’ve reviewed hundreds of new children’s books each year and published articles on every aspect of writing for children.
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