London book fair roundup: Idris Elba’s thriller deal, the rise of romcom, and fights against censorship
The actor led the starry book deals, while publishers assessed whether US-style bans are spreading to the UK
The Guardian view on 25 years of Malorie Blackman’s Noughts & Crosses: a love story that changed an industry
Editorial: Publishing has failed to deliver on its promises after Black Lives Matter. True diversity requires a lasting shift
Extra stress or a bit of fun? Teachers and parents discuss World Book Day
As children dress up in UK and Ireland on Thursday, not everyone is on the same page over event’s pros and cons
Why are today’s children’s books and films often so much better than adult ones?
It’s not simply that kids’ culture has improved since I was young. Across stage, screen and cinema, grownup offerings pale in comparison to those aimed at my son, writes Catherine Shoard
Children and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels
A mission to grow plants in the desert; a potato’s adventures; a film-maker’s dreams; wartime bravery; a feminist fantasy and more
Meredith Hooper obituary
Author and historian whose studies of Antarctica provided an account of the human endeavour behind climate science
Where Is the Green Sheep? The 190-word picture book that sold millions – and inspired a whole live show
Written by Mem Fox with illustrations by Judy Horacek, Green Sheep was recently voted third-best Australian picture book of all time by Guardian readers
Andy Griffiths: ‘Life is a joyously unhinged, absurd wonderland of possibility’
Named as Australia’s children’s laureate for 2026-27, the beloved author opens up about the best thing a fan has ever sent him – and his first tattoo
Magic Beach by Alison Lester named Australia’s best children’s picture book
Lester’s 1990 classic about the wonders of nature wins Guardian Australia poll ahead of Possum Magic in second place
‘I also like that the dad cries’: children on their favourite Australian picture book of all time
From Jetty Jumping to green sheep, children tell us why they love the books they ask for night after night
Inside the idyllic studio of Alison Lester: ‘Everything I do looks a bit like a stuffed toy’
The doyenne of Australian picture books talks about her creative process, the ‘wild and woolly’ place that inspired Magic Beach – and how a favourite idea was sketched on an aeroplane sick bag
‘People were starving for it’: Mem Fox on the incredible, surprising success of Possum Magic
After being rejected by nine publishers, the author’s first book went on to sell 5m copies, with readers immediately connecting to its depiction of Australian foods, animals and place names
‘Her name was Mothball and she changed my life’: the true story behind Diary of a Wombat
Jackie French was used to the quirks of wild animal behaviour – and then she met a carrot-mad wombat with an appetite for destruction. A bestseller was born
What we’re reading: George Saunders, Erin Somers and Guardian readers on the books they enjoyed in January
Writers and Guardian readers discuss the titles they have read over the last month. Join the conversation in the comments
‘I was so, so stupid’: how Animalia and The Eleventh Hour made Graeme Base an unlikely bestseller
Base had no idea what he was doing when he published his wonderfully weird and fiendishly difficult picture books. They became global hits anyway