Picture books for children – reviews
Letters between Van Gogh and his brother Theo inspire a delightful biography. Plus, new releases from big-hitters Oliver Jeffers and David Litchfield
Jeremy Strong obituary
Author who won the Children’s Book award in 1997 and whose bestselling series made adults laugh too
Children’s and teens roundup – the best new chapter books
A hair-raising gameworld adventure, a dystopian thriller set in Edinburgh and a magical tale involving book jumping are among this month’s highlights
Mr Fib and Little Miss Surprise join ranks of the Mr Men and Little Misses
Top-hatted liar and pink-haired character who never knows what the day will bring are added to classic series of children’s books
Geri Halliwell-Horner reveals writing advice she was given by top authors
Ex-Spice Girl tells Hay festival about tips from William Boyd and Jacqueline Wilson for children’s book
Children’s and teens roundup – the best new chapter books
Lauren Child brings a light touch to big issues, Elle McNicoll explores autism – and a secret society is at work in Paris’s sewers
Children’s and teens roundup – the best new chapter books
Time travel lessons, secret underwater schools and careers in demon hunting feature among this month’s selection
Today’s lesson: The Boy at the Back of the Class now learns from To Kill a Mockingbird
Adapting Onjali Q Raúf’s novel for the stage proved a challenge but her refugee story, which has a new nod to Harper Lee, is both urgent and unforgettable
The best children’s and YA books of 2023
From a bear who stockpiles dreams to a sisterhood of knights via a tiger sea captain, our critics pick their favourite titles for children and young adults
Children’s and teens roundup – the best new chapter books
Michael Rosen returns with an adventurous French hound, while BBC sport presenter Damian Johnson offers inspiring football stories. Plus, a lion comes to tea and stays
‘I wanted to be No 1. But a certain JK Rowling came along’: Jacqueline Wilson on rivalry, censorship – and love
Raised by a ‘scary’ father and a ‘terrible snob’ of a mother, the Tracy Beaker author has always understood the loneliness that marks so many young lives. But at 77, she’s never been happier
‘Mozart didn’t have explosions’: Simon Mayo on how his book Itch became an opera
With an aria to the periodic table and a hero dying of radiation sickness, the broadcaster’s YA novel has been transformed into an exposive operatic thriller
Christine Baker obituary
Editor with the Paris-based publisher Gallimard Jeunesse who was determined to give British children’s books a presence in France
Beth Mead: ‘I told Saka just to curtsy when he sees me!’
The Arsenal and England footballer on her MBE, her terrible singing voice – and the best and worst year of her life
Dogger to the rescue: how my mother’s books brought joy to the children of Ukraine
After the death last year of children’s author Shirley Hughes, her son took hundreds of her books, including the award-winning Dogger, to libraries in Ukraine