Picture books for children – reviews
This month’s best illustrated stories, including a fiendish feline, a haunted house and a boy who finds a polar bear
The Guardian view on children’s books: take them seriously
Editorial: Good literature is fundamental to young people’s development. We must not devalue it
Bec Hill: the 10 funniest things I have ever seen (on the internet)
In this column we normally ask funny people to list the best things they’ve seen online. This one sends in a letter of complaint instead
Animals have dwindled in novels since 1835. Is fiction undergoing its own extinction event?
A new study argues that a disconnect with nature has led to fewer creatures appearing in fiction. But is that really the case?
Origin story of Dennis the Menace’s jumper to be revealed
To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Beano’s longest-running character, comic strip The Epic Yarn of Awesomeness will tell the garment’s backstory
‘I have these stories to tell’: the authors trying to diversify children’s books
Schemes provide mentors and funding to help aspiring writers on low incomes enter market dominated by white celebrities
Children’s books roundup – the best new picture books and novels
Foxes on the run; a feathered detective; the rescue of the Titanic; plus the best new YA novels
Charlie and Lola author Lauren Child says children’s books should be taken seriously
The former children’s laureate will launch her manifesto this evening, in which she counters the assumption that work created for children is lesser
Young adult books round-up – review
The heart-rending final act of Malorie Blackman’s Noughts & Crosses saga, green-fingered teenagers and the spark for a new Netflix film work their magic
Malorie Blackman: ‘Hope is the spark’
Malorie Blackman, the former children’s laureate, talks to Sian Cain about finishing her Noughts & Crosses series after 20 years, being namechecked by Stormzy and what inspired her to keep going through years of rejection
‘An image came into my head of two little boys sitting on either side of a fence’ – John Boyne on The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
The novelist on how it took him two days, writing through the nights, to complete a first draft of his famous Holocaust novel for younger readers, and how he remains ‘immensely proud’ of it
Chris Riddell: ‘Maurice Sendak taught us playfulness could be profound’
The author-illustrator on being read Tolkien at school, the perfect picture book and struggling to crack The Da Vinci Code
Fiction and nonfiction for older children – reviews
The latest instalment of a dystopian saga thrills and Stormzy’s #Merky imprint champions national and unsung stars
Jill Murphy obituary
Author and illustrator of relatable yet magical children’s books, including The Worst Witch and Whatever Next!
Jill Murphy, children’s author and illustrator, dies aged 72
The writer was best known for the much-loved picture book Peace at Last and the Worst Witch series of novels