How Julia Donaldson conquered the world, one rhyme at a time

The long read: She published her first book in her 40s, and became the biggest selling author of the past decade in any genre – The Gruffalo alone has sold 13m copies. How did this former busker make it so big?

Reading my son bedtime stories has become a real page-turner

The boy has learned to love the rhythm and pace of a book like The Gruffalo. By Séamas O’Reilly

Crime-fighting Australian pigeons take flight to Hollywood with help from James Corden

Comedian to produce film and TV series based on Andrew McDonald and Ben Wood’s Real Pigeons children’s books

Are We There Yet? Alison Lester, beloved author, is here to answer your child’s questions

Her books, including My Farm, Imagine, and Magic Beach, are adored by younger readers. Now she’s answering their questions

Mem Fox on fear, creativity and Covid-19: ‘What if I die with the story unfinished?’

After a dangerous illness the children’s author is high-risk for coronavirus, but she insists there’s a positive side to lockdown

Oh No, George! review – playful pooch’s tail-wagging caper

No pot plant or bin is safe in Can’t Sit Still’s pleasingly physical adaptation of Chris Haughton’s picturebook

Picture books for children – reviews

A dazzling plant compendium, Axel Scheffler’s crucial guide to coronavirus and a bear in Bermuda shorts lift the spirits in lockdown

Annalena McAfee: ‘I enjoyed writing this really rather unpleasant character’

A controlling female artist is at the heart of the author’s new novel. She talks about cruel egos in the art world and the logistics of writing alongside her husband, Ian McEwan

How I managed to raise a little bookworm in the age of smartphones and tablets

Most children now prefer screens to books but it is possible to nurture a passion for print

Quentin Blake: ‘Spend time with children? Good God, no’

The writer and illustrator talks about bringing some of the most cherished children’s characters to life, his work with Roald Dahl and Michael Rosen – and the tiny weed that inspired his latest book

Picture books for children – reviews

Flora and fauna loom large as authors incorporate issues around the climate crisis

Me … review – Emma Dodd’s plucky penguin waddles into the big world

A chick finds its feet in this gentle puppet adaptation of the popular book, aimed at children aged two to five

‘He’s the Roger Moore of tigers!’ – how The Tiger Who Came to Tea came to TV

The children’s classic has been turned into a flagship Christmas animation for Channel 4. Our writer takes his two-year-old behind the scenes at the studio seeking to capture its furry magic

Me, Mum and Dogger: the return of a children’s classic

At 92, Shirley Hughes has written a Christmas sequel to her enduring tale of a lost toy. Her son, who is the real Dogger’s owner, tells all…

Giraffes Can’t Dance review – swing of the jungle

An adaptation of Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees’s bestseller loses some of the grace of the picturebook despite a moonlit acrobatic ending