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
Making children’s books more diverse: what you can do
Authors and illustrators Alex Strick, Sean Stockdale and Ros Asquith set a couple of challenges for the next time you go to a library or bookshop – and here’s something you can do to make a difference with the ‘Everybody In’ campaign
Diverse characters: Corinne Duyvis on the decline of “issue” books
Incidental diversity – where a character’s difference is mentioned but not highlighted – is on the rise. But disability and difference informs a huge chunk of people’s lives, whether good or bad, and it’s not shameful to acknowledge that. Corinne Duyvis, author of YA sci-fi/fantasy Otherbound, wonders, are diverse characters only OK as long as they’re not too diverse?
Kim Hood’s top ten characters with a disability
Kim Hood, whose debut novel Finding a Voice is about the friendship between a lonely girl and a disabled boy, recommends her top ten interesting characters who just happen to have a disability…
Where are all the disabled characters in children’s books?
Megan Quibell TheBookAddictedGirl has never read a book with a physically disabled character as a lead – and nearly felt obliged to go to YALC as Professor Xavier from X Men. And that sucks, doesn’t it?
Children’s illustrators’ doodles: watch them in action!
Want to experience the magic of illustration in motion? Then watch these six-second videos of top children’s illustrators drawing. From Axel Scheffler to Debi Gliori, watch the finest British illustrators doodling beautifully for us
The Maze Runner’s James Dashner: Movies are my first love. And that’s how I write
How does it feel to have your best selling novel turned into a Hollywood movie? Site member Patrick Sproull gets to ask James Dashner, as movie version of his book The Maze Runner hits the screens across the UK
John Dougherty’s top 10 fictional badgers
Badgers in stories are usually wise and kindly animals – which may have little to do with real life but does anybody really care? Here John Dougherty picks the best badgers in children’s books
Marcus Sedgwick: where I write
Come with Marcus Sedgwick as he takes us on a dizzying photographic blog tour of where and how he wrote his new book The Ghosts of Heaven. It all starts in his shed…