Welcome to a final round up of children’s book news for this academic year. Some special announcements feature including the appointment of the new Children’s Laureate and award winners in different areas of children’s literature. I have also highlighted some resources that may help teachers and school librarians and also parents and families over the summer break. There are book related activities and pastimes and new book suggestions plus events and training to prepare for in the Autumn term. I do hope that the links I’ve included are useful to you.

What I’m reading…

Two newly published books for readers aged about 9+ caught my eye recently and having read them both I think they would be perfect summer holiday reading. The Wanderdays: Journey To Fantome Island by Clare Povey and The Secret of Golden Island by Natasha Farrant are adventures with a classic appeal but imbued with an awareness of the current issues young people face. I enjoyed them very much and loved their hopeful endings.

Jo Bowers at Just Imagine has a knack for selecting books for me to review that always hit the mark for various reasons. The first in a new series, Ellie and the Marriage List is a charming story featuring a 10 year old girl with Down’s Syndrome who fears that she may lose her elder brother for good when he becomes involved with their new neighbour. This is pitched well for its intended audience of newly confident readers of about 7+ and as the first in a series should engage children who will then want to follow Ellie’s further adventures. There are few books for this age group featuring characters with Down’s Syndrome and it is good to see Lantana Publishing filling this gap in such a positive manner and with a story full of empathy. The Magic Callaloo is inspired by the Trish Cooke’s love of childhood favourite Rapunzel and her own African heritage and this twisted fairy tale is a wonderful story of captivity and freedom. This stunning picture book is a visual treat. Sophie Bass uses such a kaleidoscope of colour in her work that each page bursts with energy and this is a book to savour.

In case you missed it last month I hosted a Q&A with award winning illustrator and author Sydney Smith prior to his autumn visit to the UK with The Children’s Bookshow. Sydney’s thoughtful responses to my questions are fascinating and may prompt you to visit some of his wonderful books.

News, articles and resources…

New Children’s Laureate Announced – The appointment of Frank Cottrell Boyce as Children’s Laureate for 2024-2026 is wonderful news. As a multi award winning author and screen writer he has been a champion of children’s books for many years. His support in main stream media of other authors and the importance of reading and access to books for all children is well known and as Children’s Laureate I have no doubt this will have even more impact. Along with many others I am looking forward to following his Reading Rights: Books Build a Brighter Future campaign. Hurray for Frank!

Branford Boase Award Winner Announcement – Nathanael Lessore is the winner of the 2024 Branford Boase Award for outstanding debut novel for young people with Steady For This, his story of 13-year-old would be rapper Shaun, aka MC Growls, as he navigates life, love and dreams of stardom. The Branford Boase Award is unique in honouring editor as well as author and Nathanael shares the win with his editors, Ella Whiddett and Ruth Bennett, of Hot Key Books.

UKLA Book Award Winners Announced – the winners of these unique awards chosen by teachers were announced at the recent UKLA conference. Crossing the Line, by debut author Tia Fisher, which was also shortlisted for the Yoto Carnegie medal for writing and won the Shadower’s Choice Award and has now won the UKLA 11-14+ category. The 3-14+ Information category features another ground-breaking text, The Boy Who Didn’t Want to Die, and also awards the eldest winner on record, Peter Lantos. The 3-6+ category winner, The Hare Shaped Hole by John Dougherty and Thomas Docherty, is a beautiful picture book about coping with loss and grief. Wildsmith: Into the Dark Forest by Liz Flanagan, illustrated throughout by Joe Todd-Stanton winner of the 7-10+ category was described as ‘perfect first chapter book

CLiPPA Award Winner Announced – the winner of the UK’s major award for published poetry for children, the CLiPPA (CLPE Children’s Poetry Award) was announced this afternoon at a ceremony at the National Theatre on London’s Southbank on 12th July. The CLiPPA is awarded to poet Matt Goodfellow for his verse novel The Final Year. This announcement was well received by the audience on the day! A former primary school teacher, Matt Goodfellow is one of the most exciting and popular new voices in children’s poetry and has featured on the CLiPPA shortlist every year since 2021.

The Book Squad – Farshore, HarperCollins Children’s Books, Collins & Barrington Stoke have teamed up to create Book Squad – a new free resource to help primary teachers encourage Reading For Pleasure in schools. The comprehensive range includes research, how-to-guides, reading lists, tips from inspiring educators and authors plus much more. This is well worth bookmarking and investigating ready for the next school year.

Love My Books July Newsletter – Parents and carers do you want to make sure your children continue to develop as readers during the summer? Have a look at the Love My Books free, book based resources for children 0-11. There are lots of creative ideas for story fun, advice & videos. It is also great to see Sonia Thompson, head teacher and reading advocate announced as a new patron of this charity.

Books for Topics Summer Reading Bingo – this 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 2024 recommended reads are included for those looking for new ideas. The bingo sheets are free to download from the website above.

Summer Literacy Calendar – this helpful resource created by ‘Literacy With Miss P‘ is a special Summer edition focuses on key dates for the Summer holidays and the transition back to school in September. It features a mix of writing and reading competitions, events, and book awards for primary pupils. 

Children’s and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels – Imogen Russell Williams’ regular round up for the Guardian is always a useful way in which to keep up to date with the latest quality books for all ages.

Just Imagine: Recommended Book Lists – To help get your children ready for a summer of reading, Just Imagine have put together lists of recommendations for EYFS to year 6. Many of these books carry reviews from their review panel of teachers and librarians. For leisurely summer reading they have chosen high-interest books covering fiction, nonfiction, picturebooks and graphic novels. These would be useful lists to send out to parents to inspire children to read over the holidays and after.

The Reader Teacher: July 2024 Children’s Books I’m Most Excited About: Coming Soon – another useful resource is Scott Evans’ monthly videos highlighting some of the new books for children being published in the coming month including picture and information books.

Slow Down Drawing: An Interview with Ed Vere – although I shared the latest issue of Books for Keeps in the last Reading Matters round up I wanted to highlight this thoughtful interview by Mat Tobin, Senior Lecturer in Primary English and Children’s Literature in which he talks to Ed Vere about his work and latest book, The Elephant and the Sea.

Jon Biddle’s Reading for Pleasure Padlet – reading teacher and all round reading for pleasure guru Jon Biddle has updated his Padlet and this is a fabulous source of information, ideas and tips.

Lucas Maxwell’s Library Resources Padlet – former School Librarian of the Year, Lucas Maxwell has generously provided a range of resources on his Padlet which will be life saver for many school librarians. It includes book lists, activities, research and tips on book awards and school author visits.

Young Quills winners 2024 – The Young Quills for Historical Fiction are book awards for authors writing historical fiction for young readers between the ages of 5 years through to young adult. I was delighted to see that Where The River Takes Us by Lesley Parr has won the 11-13 age group category. Many congratulations to Lesley and the winners in each of the categories. Full details can be found on the link above.

The Wainwright Prize Longlists – This prize was created in Alfred Wainwright’s name to showcase the growing genre of nature-writing in publishing and to celebrate and encourage exploration of the outdoors to all readers. The Children’s Writing on Nature and Conservation Longlist consists of a wonderful range of titles and you can find out more about them on the website above.

The Little Rebels Award 2024 Shortlist – the Alliance of Radical Booksellers announced the 2024 Little Rebels Award shortlist this week. The eight titles selected explore social justice issues from the politics of Pride to the politics of statues; from Black history to perceptions of disability; and much more.

The National Literacy Trust: Inclusive Libraries Conference in Leeds and London – this is an excellent opportunity for librarians. In collaboration with The British Library and Lit in Colour (Penguin Books) The National Literacy Trust has organised a conference for public and school librarians, and other professionals with a stake in the library sector and provision. This conference responds to a need identified in their own research, to develop a deeper understanding of the following pressing aspects of inclusive provision: anti-racist working; decolonisation; effective ways to amplify, showcase and work with books by writers of colour. This is a fully funded conference taking place at venues in Leeds and London during the first week of September. Full details plus booking info are available on the link above.

‘If there’s nowhere else to go, this is where they come’: how Britain’s libraries provide much more than books – just in case you missed this last month I am sharing it here. A reminder of why libraries matter and the important role they have in our society.

That’s everything for this edition of Reading Matters and for this school year too. I hope these updates have been helpful. Over the last few months personal circumstances have resulted in these round ups not being as regular as normal so thank you for reading and a special thank you to those who have got in touch to comment, encourage or share online. Wishing everyone a happy summer with your families and friends. And fingers crossed that today’s sunshine continues for a while!