Hello and welcome to this month’s round up of what has been happening in the world of children’s books. With January behind us many are looking forward to discovering what February holds in the way of new books to enjoy. There are many and some of the links below will help you choose titles for the young readers in your life. Next week is Children’s Mental Health Week and I have included some links to resources that may help.

If you have not read my monthly round ups of news before I hope that this newsletter gives you the excuse to sit down with a cuppa, relax and catch up with what you may have missed over the last month.

What I’m reading…

My Name Is Samim, a powerful, at times heartbreaking, debut by Fidan Meikle, an Azerbaijani-British writer, linguist and translator is a remarkable and deeply moving debut. Meikle tells the story of a thirteen year old boy from Afghanistan who is fleeing his home after the death of his parents in the hope of finding safety. This is a a story with a profound impact and definitely one to look out for when it is published in May.

Turning to picture books I have read and reviewed a lovely selection from Scallywag Press, a small independent publisher with a refreshing range of titles in their catalogue. Then as thoughts turn to brighter days in Spring I enjoyed two excellent picture books encouraging young children to explore nature, or more specifically, the plight of bees. Historical fiction is a personal favourite, written for both adults and children, and I particularly enjoyed The Great Theatre Rescue the new book by Judith Eagle published this month. An absolute delight of a story and perfect for fans of Emma Carroll’s books.

The range of illustrated fiction for newly confident readers is a heartening aspect of children’s publishing and I can highly recommend two new books by Lucy Noguera and James Cottell and Nicky Smith-Dale. Last but not least information books are valued by school librarians, teachers and parents for many reasons and All Brains Are Wonderful published by B Small Publishing is an excellent example. This is published next week and the blog tour is taking place at the moment if you would like to find out more.

News, articles and resources…

National Storytelling Week – a reminder that this annual event celebrating the power of sharing stories starts today and ends on Sunday 9th February. The National Literacy Trust have compiled a range of resources celebrating both story telling and story writing suitable for children from Early Years to KS3.

Children’s Mental Health Week – this year the focus of Children’s Mental Health Week, 3-9 February 2025. is on the importance of self-awareness with a theme of Know Yourself, Grow Yourself and the official website linked above provides more information and you can find a range of resources for schools here. Reading Well for children provides quality-assured information, stories and advice to support children’s mental health and wellbeing and they have produced helpful book lists for children and teens.

Books For Keeps: January Issue – highlights of the first Books for Keeps on 2025 include Paul Gravett’s Authorgraph interview with Jamie Smart, Caroline Magerl’s Windows into Illustration, new Beyond the Secret Garden plus interview with its authors, Darren Chetty and Karen Sands-O’Connor as well as a look at the year ahead: what we will be reading, what will be the issues preoccupying the children’s book world. All this, plus reviews of the best new children’s books. Always a must read but this issue is a great introduction to the coming year.

Branford Boase Longlist Announced – The longlist for the 2025 Branford Boase Award was announced on 22nd January. Set up in memory of award-winning author Henrietta Branford and her editor Wendy Boase, the award is given annually to the author and editor of the year’s outstanding debut novel for children. The Branford Boase Award is the only award to honour the editor of the winning book, highlighting the importance of the editor in nurturing new talent. The longlist includes exciting and original new fantasy adventures, some powerful contemporary stories, while apocalypse features in a number of them. A list well worth exploring.

Spark Book Awards Short Lists Announced – Now in its fifth year, the Spark! School Book Awards were set up to introduce young readers to new authors, encourage them to read more widely and help primary and secondary schools create a buzz around reading. There are four age categories covering pupils in KS1 to KS3 and a guest category that changes every year. This year, the guest category is Information Books for 6-12 year-olds. The Literacy Hive article linked above provides full details of the shortlisted titles. You may also like to visit the official website.

Liz Hyder wins 2024 Nero Book Award for Children’s Fiction – The Nero Book Awards has announced its four winners of the 2024 Awards, celebrating the best books and outstanding writing from the UK and Ireland. Liz Hyder is the winner of the children’s category for her supernatural Pembrokeshire-set novel, The Twelve. This Books for Keeps article tells you more about the award and the shortlisted titles plus an interview with Liz Hyder.

Portable Magic Dispenser – this regular newsletter created by school librarian Lucas Maxwell is full of tips and ideas for use in the school library but are useful for the classroom too. This latest edition includes an article on encouraging boys to read.

UKLA/OU Reading for Pleasure Quality Mark Launch – If your school (primary or secondary) is already offering impactful Reading for Pleasure provision then you may be interested in joining the launch meeting for the RfP QM on 25th March to find out more. Each year, the RfP QM has an introductory launch event, where schools can find out more about what the QM entails and receive guidance on whether it is something that they should be part of. The link above provides more information and a link to book tickets for the event.

Waterstones Children’s Book Festival –  the first ever Waterstones Children’s Book Festival, taking place in Lincoln from Friday 14 – Sunday 16 February. The events feature bestselling children’s authors, including  A.F. Steadman, Alice Oseman,  Jamie Smart and Jacqueline Wilson, plus the festival is hosting a variety of events and activities to suit all ages.

Children facing a ‘happiness recession’ says laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce – on 22nd January our Children’s Laureate Frank Cottrell Boyce led a summit in Liverpool called The Reading Rights Summit. No doubt you will have seen video clips of him speaking eloquently on the subject: “This isn’t something that’s just nice or lovely. It’s something fundamental to becoming a human being.” The article linked above tells you a little more about the day. You can also find out about the Reading Rights campaign on the Book Trust website. A report summarising key learnings and policy recommendations from ‘The Reading Rights Summit’ will be published by BookTrust in spring 2025.

Reading Rights Summit: ‘Shared reading is a public health intervention that should be available to all children’ – an excellent and positive article on the Book Trust website summarising the Reading Rights Summit and outlining what should happen next and how we can help. As Frank Cottrell-Boyce stated in his final speech at the summit: “Today has to be the beginning. It means nothing if we don’t change something.”

Oxford Children’s Word of the Year – the Children’s Word of the Year 2024 is kindness. For over a decade lexicographers, publishers and editors from Oxford University Press have been tracking changes in children’s language, vocabulary and self-expression and providing insights into children’s evolving use of language. Previous choices have included, anxiety, Trump and Brexit so personally I am taking heart from the positivity of 2024’s word!

Children’s and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels – another great selection of new titles reviewed by Imogen Russell Williams. They include animal magic, little dinosaurs, dangerous strangers, death-flies and zombies, four lost girls who live wild in the woods and more.

Inclusive Books For Children: Awards 2025 Shortlist Announced – in January Inclusive Books for Children revealed the 12 shortlisted titles for its 2025 book awards. The IBC Awards recognise the best new inclusive children’s books published in the UK across three categories: books for babies and toddlers (aged 1 to 3), picture books (for ages 3 to 7) and children’s fiction (for ages 5 to 9). In the light of the findings of the most recent CLPE Reflecting Realities Report this selection is well worth exploring. Inclusive Books for Children is also partnering with Hay Festival to bring the award-winning books and their authors and illustrators to a wider audience. Starting this year, IBC award-winners will participate in an exclusive Hay x IBC interactive family storytelling event with a book signing at the Hay Festival bookshop. 

Celebrate Libraries & Stories with Mr. Dilly and Fantastic Authors – On Thursday 13th February 10.00am – 11.00am join Mr Dilly for an early celebration of Library Lovers’ Day – the perfect occasion to honour libraries, books, and the joy of reading. This free, fun-filled online event is ideal for children aged 7+ and primary schools features Philip Reeve & Sarah McIntyre, Nicky Smith Dale and Jennifer Bell sharing interactive draw-alongs and inspiring stories to ignite young imaginations and foster a love of books. More information and booking details via the link above.e

Waterstones Virtual School Visit with M G Leonard – on Wednesday 12th February at 12.30 schools are invited to join this free online virtual event with M.G. Leonard, the bestselling and award-winning children’s author of Beetle Boy, Twitch, Adventures on Trains, and The Ice Children as she presents her epic blockbusting adventure meets the mystery of time travel in Hunt for the Golden Scarab, the first title of the Time Keys series. (See review by Tom Slattery below). Recommended age: year groups 3-6

Coram Beanstalk Resources for Schools: Assembly – the charity Coram Beanstalk have put together a whole school assembly and lesson plans – all centred around their wonderful ‘Life changes when you choose reading’ film. This would be perfect for World Book Day but would be useful for a book themed assembly or presentation at any time of year.

What To Read After… Diary of a Wimpy Kid – five years after Book Trust first suggested titles that Greg and Rowley fans would enjoy Diary of a Wimpy Kid is still popular. Therefore Book Trust have updated their list which includes other books with a diary format, graphic novels and stories featuring friendship. This is a really useful article to help you find books to encourage the children in your life to read for pleasure.

Empathy Lab Training – this year’s Read for Empathy Collection will be revealed on 13th February. You can learn how to use the new 2025 Read for Empathy collection to its full potential by booking onto the online training session at 4pm on 13th Feb. Find out how to use the collection and optimise its use in your setting. The course will also cover: How can we use empathy-rich texts to our advantage in education; Explore what it can tell us about the world. Find out more and book your place via the link above.

Barnes Children’s Literature Festival: Schools Programme – as part of this annual festival of children’s literature in June the festival team provide their primary Schools Programme FREE to every state maintained school in London. The Programme brings pupils together with their favourite authors to explore a variety of topics linked to the National Curriculum and guaranteed to inspire our next generation of readers and writers. This year there are more than 21,000 free places for primary schools at venues around London. Bookings are open on Monday 10 February and places are allocated on a first come, first served basis. Full information of venues and contact details are on the website above.

Scholastic Schools Live: World Book Day – as the next Reading Matters will be published close to World Book Day on Thursday 6th March I am flagging up this week long online celebration now. There will be an array of wonderful authors and illustrators hosting 30-minute events, including draw-a-longs and writing workshops. Among the book creators included are: Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, Patrice Lawrence, Pamela Butchart and Jim Smith.

Finally, some book reviews that caught my eye recently…

Gathering the Glimmers by Ffion Jones – this lovely review by Jacqui Sydney highlighting the positive way in which this picture book can help support those dealing with anxiety is perfectly timed for Children’s Mental Health Week. Jacqui says that this book and the helpful list included at the end could be used “as a prompt for some really useful PSHE work.” 

The Bold Kitten by Holly Webb, illustrated by Sophy Williams – Holly Webb’s animal tales are immensely popular with young children. The stories are full of kindness and the sympathetic illustrations Sophy Williams in this latest title add to the appeal. Veronica Price sums it up well in her review, “I love the way that this story uses the concept of taking care of a cat and her kittens to help young children understand the plight of refugees trying to find a new home, and the importance of treating the most vulnerable in society with kindness.“

Hunt for the Golden Scarab by M.G. Leonard – I have always found the concept of time travel intriguing, both in fiction and film. Tom Slattery’s review of this new book by M G Leonard has whetted my appetite to read it. “What I am mostly excited about is the world of possibilities that this new series will bring. What era will they travel to next? What mysteries or artefacts will require them to travel to where and when?” Definitely on my wish list now.

Shiver Point: Beneath the Ghostly Graves – Gabriel Dylan – as I am a total wuss regarding scary stories I rely on the reviews of others for books that may appeal to braver souls than me. Even Tom Griffiths’ review made me shiver but if you are looking for some tween horror this sounds like it would fit the bill! As Tom says, “You’ll find no spoilers here but keep the light on whilst reading and I’m sure you’ll be avoiding graveyards after reading!”

That’s everything for this month and I do hope that something included in this round up of news is useful to you. There has been quite a lot to read this month! This weekend I am going to start reading My Dog a debut by Olivia Wakeford which I will be reviewing for Just Imagine. The cover by David Lichfield and the blurb are irresistible. Wishing everyone a happy February.