Welcome to this week’s catch up with what has been happening in the world of children’s books. It been a busy few days and I may have missed some news but hope that this week’s selection provides a helpful taste of what’s going on. I’m delighted to share some exciting news (perfectly timed to link with the Lionesses friendly match today!) from Tom Palmer about his new series of football books out in September, see the news section below.

What I’m reading…

The highlight of my week was attending the launch of Jenny Pearson’s brilliant new book, The Boy Who Made Monsters on Tuesday evening. It was such a happy event to be part of as the children’s department of Waterstones Trafalgar Square was full of laughter and celebration. The children’s book world is made up of people from different backgrounds including publishing, education, libraries, book bloggers and reviewers plus of course the authors and illustrators themselves but there is a strong sense of community spirit and that was definitely apparent on Tuesday. Thank you very much to Jenny and Fritha Lindqvist from Usborne Books for making it possible.

Over the last week or so I’ve been reading my latest batch of books to review for Just Imagine all of which I would recommend. Firstly, two picturebooks, My Brother George an uplifting story about sharing to be different but finding our place as part of loving families and Grandpa and the Kingfisher is a gentle story depicting the close relationship between a grandparent and child linking it to the life cycle, the seasons and the natural world.

I enjoyed Jacko by Jeanne Willis very much, based on the true story of a jackdaw rescued by a young boy in the 1950s it combines animal story, friendship, an interesting look at post war life and an exploration of dealing with loss in different forms.

News, articles and resources…

New Series from Tom Palmer – With the Women’s World Cup beginning this month and set to take the summer by storm, Rebellion Publishing has announced the publication of THE SOCCER DIARIES, a brand new series of books for children aged 7-12 years old starring young female footballer Rocky Race. Starting in September 2023 with Rocky Takes L.A. the story will balance football action with social problems and trials that children and young adults will be familiar with. Tom Palmer says, “I’m beyond thrilled that Rocky now gets her own series. Of all the characters I write I love writing Rocky the most. She’s such a fun character to write. I often have a plan of how the story will go, but once I put her into a scene it’s almost like Rocky takes it in a whole new direction! It’s such a joy to write Rocky stories, especially after co-creating the character, and I’m thrilled to be bringing The Soccer Diaries to the world that stars such a wonderful, inspiring, and special female lead for young readers to look up to.” You can find out more and follow Rocky’s updates on Tom’s website and you can preorder a copy of the first book here.

Books for Topics: Summer Reading Bingo – this new-look summer reading bingo challenge is designed to keep children motivated to read over the summer holidays. It is an activity that keeps the focus on reading for pleasure experiences rather than specific texts, with activities like make a den and read inside, read in the dark using a torch and read to a pet or a soft toy. Children can choose what they read for the challenges, although some Summer 2023 recommended reads are included for those looking for new ideas. Full details and downloadable bingo cards can be found via the link above.

Reading for pleasure early in childhood linked to better cognitive performance and mental wellbeing in adolescence – In a study of more than 10,000 young adolescents in the US published this week in Psychological Medicine, researchers in the UK and China found that 12 hours a week was the optimal amount of reading, and that this was linked to improved brain structure, which may help explain the findings.

Summer reading: 50 brilliant books to discover – some suggestions well worth earmarking for your summer break, from family sagas to political memoirs, the best recent books to accompany your summer break, plus page-turning paperbacks and children’s and YA books.

Streaming: Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical and the best adaptations of classic children’s books – prompted by the arrival of Matilda the Musical on Netflix Guy Lodge looks at the array of children’s book that have been transferred to the big screen in his article for the Guardian.

Brilliant Children’s Books to Read this Summer – if you are planning your summer reading or looking for books to tempt the children in your life this helpful article on the LoveReading4Kids website is a good place to start planning.

Ways to help children become readers – Book Trust Writer-in-Residence, SF Said, has spoken to some inspirational librarians to find out what really works to help children discover reading for pleasure. This is a must read and definitely worth saving and referring to as it’s full of great advice.

New projects remember Bookstart founder Wendy Cooling MBE – Wendy Cooling was a pioneer and the founder of Bookstart,the BookTrust programme which gets books into the hands of millions of babies and toddlers each year in the UK and which inspired equivalent programmes around the world. The three new projects were officially announced at the Yoto Carnegies award ceremony and you can find out more about them above.

Winners of Poetry By Heart 2023 Announced – the Grand Finale of Poetry By Heart, the national poetry speaking competition for schools, took place at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre on Monday 26 June. It is ten years since then Poet Laureate Andrew Motion set up Poetry By Heart with Dr Julie Blake and it has become hugely popular in schools. The competition invites young people to choose a poem, learn it by heart and perform it aloud. This year saw the biggest ever response: 2,000 video entries of poetry performances; 90,000 young people involved; a staggering 39,000 poems learned by heart. You can find out more about the competition via the link above. The 2024 Poetry By Heart competition will launch on this year’s National Poetry Day, 5 October 2023 with another poetry extravaganza at The Globe.

The Mo Siewcharran Prize 2023 Longlist Announced – Hachette UK’s The Future Bookshelf is running the Mo Siewcharran Prize for its fourth year to help discover unpublished fiction writers from Black, Asian, mixed heritage and minority ethnic backgrounds. For 2023, the prize is hosted by Hachette Children’s Group who are looking for fiction writing in the picture book genre. The books on the longlist can be viewed on the website above. The shortlist announcement will take place on 11th September 2023, and the winner will be announced at the prize ceremony on 28th September 2023.

Jericho Prize 2022/23 awards ceremony – The full awards ceremony for the Jericho Prize 2022/23, held on Tuesday 27 June. Presented by Jericho Prize founder Fabia Turner, this event includes interviews with the five nominated writers plus readings from all the shortlisted scripts and a few extra surprises along the way. If like me you missed this event live on Tuesday it’s now available on YouTube linked above. The Jericho Prize supports unpublished and self-published Black-British children’s writers. Find out more about their work (and the winner if you don’t have time to watch the video!) at www.jerichoprize.com.

Author Michael Rosen wins 2023 PEN Pinter prize for ‘fearless’ body of work – Established in memory of English playwright Harold Pinter, the award honours a writer based in the UK, Ireland or the Commonwealth who – in the words of Pinter’s 2005 Nobel prize acceptance speech – shows a “fierce intellectual determination” to “define the real truth of our lives and our societies.” Michael Rosen will receive the prize during a ceremony at the British Library in October.

It takes a village: the need for a whole school approach to encourage reading for pleasure – a guest blog from Kate Atkinson, English leader at St Mary’s Junior in Baldock, on the HFL Education website describing how she galvanised her school community to take pleasure in reading. Full of tips and advice.

The Reader Teacher June 2023 Monthly Must Reads – Scott Evans has selected five of his favourite books published during the month of June and has shared reviews and a poster which is free to download.

Finally, some book reviews that caught my eye this week…

Shiver Point: It Came From The Woods by Gabriel Dylan – teacher and blogger Tom Griffiths says this is “perfect for Crater Lake, Sticky Pines, Dread Wood & Goosebumps fans” so it should definitely be in school librarians’ shopping lists! Read Tom’s review to find out more about this new book published in September.

Stolen History by Sathnam Sanghera – an excellent review by Sue Magee of the Bookbag of this new non-fiction title. “A superb introduction for the preteen to the British Empire and how we should approach its history in the 21st century. Highly recommended.”

That’s everything for this week and I hope you have found something here that’s helpful to you. Happy weekend and I hope you find time for some reading.