Diversity in kids’ books is not a ‘woke agenda’. And there certainly isn’t too much of it

An Australian bookseller has said there aren’t enough books about white kids – but diverse creators like Alice Pung are fighting for even tiny moments of representation

Children’s and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels

A snail in space, dinosaurs on the beach, a fresh take on Jane Eyre, and a kebab-eating incarnation of Otis Redding

What Enid Blyton and Brambly Hedge don’t tell you about being Black in the British countryside

Growing up in suburban London with Jamaican heritage, novelist Fiona Williams was enchanted by the bucolic visions of our classic children’s literature. But moving to the country as an adult raised complex feelings about belonging

Today’s lesson: The Boy at the Back of the Class now learns from To Kill a Mockingbird

Adapting Onjali Q Raúf’s novel for the stage proved a challenge but her refugee story, which has a new nod to Harper Lee, is both urgent and unforgettable

KM Peyton obituary

Author whose Flambards books drew on her love of horses and captured the changes brought by the first world war

Children’s and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels

A determined rodent’s search for nuts, a guide to Terry Pratchett’s witches and moving stories by adoptee authors

Alison Lester: ‘This is what I want to do. I want to be in charge of the whole thing’

The prolific children’s book author walks along her magic beach and reflects on the moment she had her life’s calling

The best Australian children’s books of 2023: Alice Pung, Davina Bell, Sean Avery and more

From picture books to young adult novels and nonfiction, one teacher-librarian picks her favourite reads

The best children’s and YA books of 2023

From a bear who stockpiles dreams to a sisterhood of knights via a tiger sea captain, our critics pick their favourite titles for children and young adults

Michael Rosen: ‘My daughter once called me an “optimistic nihilist”’

The former children’s laureate who has enjoyed a red letter year on striving for happiness, the secret to writing for kids, and which book he wants for Christmas

Five of the best young adult books of 2023

Tales of homecoming, forbidden love, dangerous adventures on an island of ghosts and more

Best children’s books of 2023

Dream-seeking bears, a pancake-making lion, an ingenious guide to rewilding and more

Children’s books show rise in racially minoritised characters, survey finds

Centre for Literacy in Primary Education records a 26% increase since its first report in 2017, but stresses continuing inequities in representation

Malorie Blackman’s career honoured in British Library exhibition

Show dedicated to the prolific children’s and young adult novelist includes 82 rejection letters alongside her children’s laureate medal

Children’s and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels

A poetic Advent calendar, warming words from Neil Gaiman, a magnificent menagerie and a sinister secret Santa