The Guardian view on children’s reading: a gift that should be for all
Editorial: With stressed families less likely to have time and money to spare for books, young readers are losing out. It’s time to boost school libraries
Roald Dahl is the last thing we should worry about on World Book Day
More important than culture-war noise are the multiple threats to British children learning to love books of any kind
‘Why can’t we be the hero?’: George Webster on acting, ambition, romance and big breaks
He is a CBeebies star, a Bafta winner, an author and an ambassador for people with Down’s syndrome. Is there anything George can’t do? Well, there is one thing, says his mother …
Roald Dahl threatened publisher with ‘enormous crocodile’ if they changed his words
Conversation with Francis Bacon emerges amid the row over updating controversial language in the children’s author’s books
Peaches are not the only fruit: five frightful alternatives to Roald Dahl
From mischievous deities to creepy aunties and feral kids, these stories honour the ill-mannered maestro of kids’ fiction
Roald Dahl publisher announces unaltered 16-book ‘classics collection’
Series will be released alongside controversially amended versions to leave readers ‘free to choose which version they prefer’
Return of the Grinch: sequel to Dr Seuss classic will hit shelves before Christmas
How the Grinch Lost Christmas! will take place one year on and see the green grouch try to prove he has grown to love the festive season
Julia Donaldson ends James Patterson’s reign as UK libraries’ most borrowed author
Data shows that Patterson’s 14-year run as readers’ overall favourite has given way to the Gruffalo author
Roald Dahl books rewritten to remove language deemed offensive
Augustus Gloop now ‘enormous’ instead of ‘fat’, Mrs Twit no longer ‘ugly’ and Oompa Loompas are gender neutral
Picture books for children – reviews
Insects and entomologists inspire two creepy-crawly tales, and a polar bear gets lost in the big smoke
‘It’s the opposite of art’: why illustrators are furious about AI
AI art generators may provide five minutes of fun for most users, but the blurring of creative and ethical boundaries is leaving many artists raging against the machine
Axel Scheffler: ‘To work for children, you must have optimism’
The Gruffalo illustrator, 65, on dealing with his natural pessimism, the lifelong joy of drawing and why he always tells people not to give up on their dreams
The Detention Detectives by Lis Jardine review – top-grade misbehaviour
Pupils investigate a murder at school in this entertaining noir lite for young readers
2023 in books: highlights for the year ahead
The best fiction and nonfiction to look forward to in the new year, from Zadie Smith to Simon Schama, Margaret Atwood to Rory Stewart
Children’s and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels
The story of the Earth; an A-Z for language lovers; pop-up Egyptian mummies; an enslaved man’s journey to freedom; and the best YA