Which children’s books sum up the decade they were published?
Brandon Robshaw (AKA the dad in Back in Time for Dinner) picks out the children’s books from the 1950s to the 2000s that seem to sum up each decade
Why is children’s poetry so invisible?
Chrissie Gittins says it’s time to get confident about children’s poetry, children love it – so publishers, bookshops and libraries should stop hiding it and start celebrating
Sample delights from the CLPE poetry award 2015 shortlist
Looking for great children’s poetry? Check out the brilliant collections that have been shortlisted for this year’s Centre for Literacy in Primary Education prize and sample some of the poems – plus find out how to get involved in the poetry award shadowing scheme
Cece Bell: I wanted to show what it felt like to be the only deaf kid at my school
An interview with the author of a remarkable, Newbery honour-winning, graphic novel El Deafo, based on Cece Bell’s own childhood growing up with hearing problems. The Whiteheath Book Ninjas got to find out why she wrote it
Move over, sexy beasts, and make way for the real literary hero, Gilbert Blythe
The Anne of Green Gables male lead is a unique feminist dreamboat whose boots Darcy, Heathcliff and all other rivals in classic novels are unfit to tie
Why writing stories about climate change isn’t fantasy or sci-fi
Piers Torday loved reading end of the world books when he was growing up, and his Last Wild books have been dubbed “cli-fi” but if you think stories showing the effects of climate change are futuristic fantasies, think againRead the first chapter of the final book in the The Last Wild trilogy, The Wild Beyond
What are the best eco books for children and teens?
Authors including David Almond, Frank Cottrell Boyce and Katherine Rundell plus teen site members share the books that made them think more deeply about climate change and environmental themes. Now share yours!
Welcome to our eco-themed week – an overview
All this week we’ll be focusing on one topic - the most important topic in the world: climate change. Find out why, and what’s lined up
Fiction for older children – reviews
Outlandish plots, unlikely friendships and strange conspiracies mark out the best of the current bunch for middle-years youngsters
Growing up I thought Filipinos weren’t allowed to be in books
The western dominated BBC’s greatest children’s books of all time poll for International children’s book day was particularly poignant for author Candy Gourlay, who grew up reading UK/US imports with pink-skinned characters. Now she argues that we’ve all got to get out there and read more diverse books
Which modern day children’s books will become classics?
We’ve had the BBC’s best children’s books of all time and not a single one was published after 1968, so what are the future classics, books written in the last few years that people will still be reading in 50 or even 100 years time? Join in our discussion to predict the future classics!
South African organisation wins Astrid Lindgren award 2015
Newsflash: Project for the Study of Alternative Education in South Africa is crowned this year’s laureate in world’s richest children’s books prize after fending off competition from authors such as David Almond, Neil Gaiman, Morris Gleitzman and others
What are the best cakes based on children’s books?
From The Gruffalo to The Very Hungry Caterpillar, to cakes fit for Katniss Everdeen. The Book Doctor has ideas for edible cakes of favourite books for Easter and beyond!
Rob Biddulph wins Waterstones children’s book prize 2015 with debut Blown Away
The tale of a misplaced penguin scoops the overall prize for new and emerging authors, with Sally Green taking the teen category and Robin Stevens winning the younger fiction award
Which children’s books need to adapted by Studio Ghibli?
The Princess of Kaguya has got us thinking, which children’s and teen books would you most love to see made into gorgeous animations by Studio Ghibli? From Philip Pullman’s Northern Lights to SF Said’s Varjak Paw, to Holly Smale’s Geek Girl, we’ve got suggestions here and want to know which stories would get your vote