Picture books for children – reviews
A joyful introduction to the power of art, plus doggy-popping delights and a Julia Donaldson jaunt
Gareth Floyd obituary
Other lives: Book illustrator whose drawings were used in more than 150 episodes of the BBC’s Jackanory series
What we’re reading: writers and readers on the books they enjoyed in June
Authors, critics and Guardian readers discuss the titles they have read over the last month. Join the conversation in the comments
Summer reading: 50 brilliant books to discover
From family sagas to political memoirs, the best recent books to accompany your summer break, plus page-turning paperbacks and children’s and YA books
Carnegie medal for children’s books goes to a translation for the first time
Manon Steffan Ros’s young adult novel The Blue Book of Nebo, set in a post-apocalyptic Wales, was praised by judges as ‘expertly realised’ and heartbreaking
Children’s and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels
Dreams of Bollywood; awkward questions about the British Empire; a haunted school trip; and a riotous YA horror-comedy
Children’s enjoyment of writing has fallen to ‘crisis point’, research finds
Only one in three UK children now enjoy writing in their free time – including text messages – with those on free school meals most likely to do so
Librarians sue Arkansas state over law banning them from giving ‘obscene’ books to children
Move comes as rightwing groups increase pressure to remove books, most written by or about members of the LGBTQ+ community and people of colour
Children’s and teens roundup – the best new chapter books
A tale of folklore and magic from Angie Thomas, a hidden land of nature’s wonders and a town full of werewolf children are among the highlights this month
Children’s and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels
A concrete garden; a funny, uncompromising portrait of disability; an epic of ancient Greece; and the pick of new YA fiction
Travis Alabanza and Danielle Jawando win 2023 Jhalak prizes for writers of colour
Judges described None of the Above, Alabanza’s memoir about being genderqueer, as ‘desperately important’, and said every teenager should read Jawando’s young adult novel When Our Worlds Collided
Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit story originated in African folktales, expert argues
The unacknowledged debt Potter owed to the Brer Rabbit stories told by enslaved Africans deserves to be recognised, says scholar
Illustrated children’s biography of King Charles hits No 1 on UK book chart
Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara’s book, illustrated by Matt Hunt, is the first of the Little People, Big Dreams series to top the standings
Children’s and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels
A war between fruit and veg; a colourful study of germs; the world’s most badly behaved fairy; a masterful ghost story from the late Marcus Sedgwick; and more
Children read almost 25% more books last year, UK and Ireland study finds
What Kids Are Reading report found communities on sites such as TikTok helped stimulate interest in reading