What we’re reading: George Saunders, Erin Somers and Guardian readers on the books they enjoyed in January
Writers and Guardian readers discuss the titles they have read over the last month. Join the conversation in the comments
‘I was so, so stupid’: how Animalia and The Eleventh Hour made Graeme Base an unlikely bestseller
Base had no idea what he was doing when he published his wonderfully weird and fiendishly difficult picture books. They became global hits anyway
I’ve read this picture book so many times – but only 25 years later do I really understand it
Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge was a favourite when my son was small. Now my father’s in a nursing home – and Mem Fox’s book has new significance
With The Rainbow Serpent, Dick Roughsey shared the spirit of our country. His work is a gift to us all
Miles Franklin-winner Alexis Wright pays tribute to the first book that visualised this powerful ancestral being from an Indigenous imagination
Australia’s best picture book: voting now open in Guardian Australia poll
It’s time to get voting for your favourite Australian picture book. Here’s how the Guardian’s poll works
Parents, please don’t stop reading to your children – a great picture book could change their life
Picture books help children develop their imaginations, find empathy for others and take pride in what makes them unique – all of which make for good adults
Children and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels
Caring canines; daring donuts; a golden monkey; a boy from another planet; a dark take on Little Women and more
‘It’s about making reading as natural as breathing’: Malorie Blackman backs the National Year of Reading
The Noughts & Crosses author is among the starry ambassadors for the campaign – one of the initiatives aimed at addressing the reading crisis
Charlie Mackesy’s Always Remember is Christmas No 1 in the UK’s bestsellers chart
The writer and illustrator’s follow-up to The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse sold roughly one copy every 14 seconds last week
‘This extraordinary story never goes out of fashion’: 30 authors on the books they give to everyone
Colm Tóibín, Robert Macfarlane, Elif Shafak, Michael Rosen and more share the novels, poetry and memoirs that make the perfect gift
How to buy a book for a child who is a non-reader? The trick is to meet them where they are
If you want kids to open the pages, not just the present, choose a book that feels like a treat – and show young Australians that reading matters
From the Gruffalo to Dog Man: how to put children’s classics on the stage
With Dog Man making his London theatre debut next summer, theatre makers explain how to make a successful jump from page to stage
Alice: Return to Wonderland review – a wonderfully eccentric new rabbit hole to go down
Alice is a boring grownup at the start of this intelligent and catchy Christmas musical – then she’s whisked off to Wonderland again
Mr Men and Little Miss feature film in the works from Paddington producers
David Heyman has joined the French media company StudioCanal with plans to bring one of the bestselling children’s book series of all time to the screen
Dog Man: The Musical, based on Dav Pilkey’s bestsellers, to be staged in London
Inspired by the series of irreverent comic books by the Captain Underpants creator, the show will run at the Southbank Centre in 2026