The rabbit language of Watership Down helped me make the leap into English
As a German-speaking teenager, reading Richard Adams’ book gave me confidence – and I learned about how language works
Patrick Ness: ‘Books are such a private experience and you bring your life to it’ – video
Site member AfflictedByBooks gets to interview Patrick Ness about his new book The Rest of Us Just Live Here which asks: what if you weren’t the chosen one?
Prince Cinders, the spotty hero who made me hang up my tiara
Babette Cole’s deliciously irreverent tale subverted the Cinderella story – and set me on the path to feminism
Let yourself cry: Jennifer Niven’s inspirational top writing tips
The author of All The Bright Places put together this writing advice with her mum, who always wrote even in the saddest times, to offer inspiration for every occasion and so here presents… A Niven guide to writing
Robin Stevens’s top 10 crime capers
The author of the Murder Most Unladylike series picks her favourite sleuthing stories, from Sherlock Holmes to Sally Lockhart
Elton John joins protests at Venice’s ban on gay children’s books
Singer condemns ‘boorishly bigoted’ city mayor Luigi Brugnaro for removing picture books about same-sex families from schools
The Rabbit Who Wants to Fall Asleep is surely the stuff of nightmares
Carl-Johan Forssén Ehrlin’s self-published book claims to cure young insomniacs, but should bedtime stories be about tricking children to conk out?
Love, Rosie: Where Rainbows End by Cecelia Ahern – review
Nava4: ‘This is a clever novel with bright, entertaining characters and is perfect for any older readers looking for a bittersweet love story’
Why do books still exist, asks a teenager
When you think about it’s kind of weird that we still have books in our technologically advanced society. But they’re here to stay, argues teen site member Orli
Why YA fiction needs to embrace disability
Exposure to differences, to diversity, is where our best education happens. But, argues site member writer-on-wheels, who has cerebral palsy, there was never something out there that could show me that I wasn’t alone, to teach me that my disability wasn’t something to be ashamed of – that’s where teen fiction needs to get real
The books I loved as a child have lasted – but the world has changed
Rereading favourite books from childhood with my son brought us closer, but underlined how much life has moved on
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas – review
HannahLoveBook: ‘A Court of Thorns and Roses is just as beautiful as the title suggests’
Top 10 modern classics to read before you’re 10
Author Mary Sebag Montefiore got everyone going when she shared her favourite classic books - so we’ve come up with our own list of fantastic modern classics that we think will be read for centuries to come
The transgender teddy bear teaching children about friendship and identity
Prompted by her father’s own decision to transition, Jessica Walton is crowdfunding her children’s book which tells the story of a teddy bear who identifies as female
Enid Blyton: Five favourites, famous and otherwise
For her 118th anniversary, I’ve picked a handful of stories that mean a lot to me, but given that there are more than 750 others to choose between, presumably you can add more we should remember