Why the Moomins are fiction’s perfect family
Tove Jansson’s Finnish troll creations have beguiling adventures with a host of strange characters. But, at heart, their strength comes from being a loving family, writes Stuart Kelly
Top 10 fictional feasts in children’s books
From Harry Potter’s first meal at Hogwarts to the picnics of the Famous Five, Christopher William Hill slavers over fictional food in literature
Meet the children’s books site members: 8-12 years, G-L
This site belongs to kids who love reading. Find out more about the people who contribute to it here
What are the best children’s books of 2014?
The Guardian children’s books team and site members young and old(er) share their favourite books from the past year – is your top read up there?
What are the best children’s books on the nativity?
From Nicholas Allan’s Jesus’ Christmas Party to Jan Pienkowski’s The First Christmas, the Book Doctor seeks out the books which most beautifully tell the Christmas story
The best picture books for children this Christmas
Snow, sisters and a delinquent dragon star in the best tales for tots this winter, writes Kate Kellaway
The best fiction for older children this Christmas
A teenage boy enjoys an incident-packed train ride, parents are chosen in a parallel universe and Michael Morpurgo is on thrilling form, writes Kitty Empire
Cressida Cowell launches Christmas reading challenge for young readers
Newsflash: The Christmas Mini-Challenge, a festive version of the massively popular Summer Reading Challenge, is back for a second year! Find out how to join in here
My inspiration: Sarwat Chadda on Indian hero, Rama
Rama, hero of the Hindu epic the Ramayana, showed the author of the Ash Mistry trilogy what true heroism is: swords and magic armour aside, it means self-sacrifice, humility and defending the weak
My inspiration: Satoshi Kitamura on why he loves Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy and manga
When Satoshi Kitamura came to the UK he was shocked to find reading comics was looked down on, things were very different when he was growing up in Japan...
Snow by Walter de la Mare – video
Happy December everyone! Now we are officially allowed to think about Christmas and wintery things – so let’s get in the mood with a very beautiful animation
What to read if you don’t like dystopia?
The Hunger Games dominates bookshelves of teens and tweens but what if you’re not a fan of fantasy and are craving more realistic fiction? The Book Doctor has advice for those who dare to be different
Eye Benders wins Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize
GrrlScientist: Benders, a children’s book by Clive Gifford & Professor Anil Seth, is filled with optical illusions. The authors explain the science behind how these illusions work and demonstrate the many different ways that they trick your brain.
The rise of the geekettes
Huw Powell wrote his books Spacejackers with his two sons in mind but the positive reaction from girls made him realise with delight that times had changed since he was a lad – here he celebrates gender diversity in sci fi and fantasy fiction – and charts how we got here via Harry Potter, the Hunger Games and through to Rick Yancey’s The 5th Wave
Flat Stanley review – classic kids’ book becomes wonderfully wonky musical
This show based on Jeff Brown’s offbeat novel is loud, colourful and cleverly designed – and it will strike a chord for younger siblings, writes Chris Wiegand