Eye Benders wins Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize

GrrlScientist: Benders, a children’s book by Clive Gifford & Professor Anil Seth, is filled with optical illusions. The authors explain the science behind how these illusions work and demonstrate the many different ways that they trick your brain.

The rise of the geekettes

Huw Powell wrote his books Spacejackers with his two sons in mind but the positive reaction from girls made him realise with delight that times had changed since he was a lad – here he celebrates gender diversity in sci fi and fantasy fiction – and charts how we got here via Harry Potter, the Hunger Games and through to Rick Yancey’s The 5th Wave

Meg Wolitzer: Why are teenage girls drawn to books about mental instability?

When I was a teenager I was drawn to books about girls with serious emotional problems, like Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, and maybe that’s because girls are always made out to be more vulnerable than boys. Can drama on the inside be a compelling substitute for freedom on the outside, and have reading habits changed since?

Making children’s books more diverse: what you can do

Authors and illustrators Alex Strick, Sean Stockdale and Ros Asquith set a couple of challenges for the next time you go to a library or bookshop – and here’s something you can do to make a difference with the ‘Everybody In’ campaign