New Books Party: books received this week

GrrlScientist: What good is a weekend without a good book to read? Take a look at these books -- hot off the presses -- that you may enjoy!

Your stories: The Candles by Butterfly Rainbow – poem

Butterfly Rainbow: 'Slowly, the candles went outOne by one'

Reader reviews roundup

YOUR REVIEWS: May the odds be forever in favour of you finding a new book to read as we whip hungrily through this week's reviews, by site members young and old!

Django Wexler’s top 10 animal companions

From Hedwig to Pantalaimon, there is a proud history of animal companions in children's fiction. Django Wexler picks out 10 of the very best

Spook’s: Slither’s Tale by Joseph Delaney – review

felixreads2: 'it can be very scary'

How to Train Your Dragon 2 – a five minute preview!

Here's a real treat for fans of Cressida Cowell's How to Train Your Dragon books. Check out this five minute preview of the thrilling second chapter of the epic How to Train Your Dragon trilogy of films, which brings us back to the fantastical world of Hiccup and Toothless five years after the two have successfully united dragons and vikings on the island of Berk

Celebrate William Shakespeare’s birthday with our quiz

Art thou a Shakespearean genius? It's exactly 450 years since England's most famous poet was born. How well do you know the bard and his plays? Test yourself in our Shakespeare quiz!

Top 10 Shakespeare books for children

Shakespeare Stories author Andrew Matthews fell in love with Shakespeare when he was 11-years-old. Here he picks out his 10 favourite Shakespeare books for children on the eve of the Bard's 450th birthday

Olga da Polga by Michael Bond – review

Jaffa cake 'in three words I would say this book is super, cool and fantastic!'

Betrayal: The Lady Grace Mysteries by Grace Cavendish – review

Zara: 'This book is very mysterious'

Laini Taylor: ‘Karou and Brimstone appeared out of nowhere as though they were just waiting for me to notice them’

Daughter of Smoke and Bone author Laini Taylor is interviewed by site members about the last book in her trilogy: Dreams of Gods and Monsters, what she would do if she could fly and her next writing project