TSL Summer 2026 sample

TSL

The School Librarian

The Journal of the School Library Association

Volume 74 Number 2 Summer 2026

Anyone Can Be an Artist

Democratising creativity with

illustrator Ellen Surrey

My Life in Books

with author Donna David

How Fanfiction Fosters a Sense of Belonging

by librarian Claire Thomas

www.sla.org.uk

CONTENTS

LATEST

3

4

FEATURES

8

12

16

18

19

20

22

24

26

28

29

30

32

34

42

44

Meet your new editor!

SLA News

Anyone Can Be an Artist: The Book

that Democratises Creativity

Ellen Surrey

Not Just a Phase: What Does the Best Writing

for Teenagers Have in Common?

Ellen Osborne

Libraries are Stronger Together

Libraries Alliance

Reading Between the Lines

Gareth Conyard

Curiouser and Curiouser

Richard Gerver

Pupil Power: Transforming Cultural Capital

and Confidence Through Reading Clubs

Julie Broadbent

Fanning the Flame: How Fanfiction

Can Instil a Sense of Belonging

Claire Thomas

Dignity in Action

Anna Tylor

Atomic Reading: Exploring Joyful

Connections to Student Reading

Helen Weston

Beating the Summer Slide

A Library for Our Times: Nurturing

Creativity and Media Literacy

Rachael Brennan

Reading for Pleasure: Drawing Together!

Sarah McIntyre

The AI-powered Librarian: Efficiency, Sanity,

and the Human Connection

Jasmine Brown

Read to the Beat! Unleash the Power

of the Summer Reading Challenge

Libraries Unwrapped:An Easy, Eco-Free

Alternative to Plastic Covers

Caterina Balistreri

Media Literacy: Identifying Misinformation

Must Start in the School Library

Stéphane Goldstein

46

48

69

76

TSL

The School Librarian

The Journal of the School Library Association

Volume 74 Number 2 Summer 2026

Inquiry: Fundamentally Creative

and Fundamental to Creativity

Darryl Toerien

Learn More from Your

Library Community

Anna Bray

The Manga Companion:

What’s Between the Covers?

Scott Hulme

My Life in Books: Donna David

DIGITAL

36 Bev’s Helpdesk

37 Future Skills: How Gamified

Learning Can Lead to Better

Understanding of AI

39 STAR SEND Toolkit Review and

Join Our Webinar: Supporting

Pupils with SEND

REGULARS

40 Research highlights

Eleanor Verduyn

41 Read, Watch, Listen, Learn

49 BOOK REVIEWS

50 Behind the Book: It’s a Brave

Young World with Anu Adebogun

53 7 and Under

60 8-12 Fiction

64 8-12 Information

67 13-16 Fiction

70 Graphic Novels

71 17-19 Fiction and Poetry

75 Index

TSL VOLUME 74 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2026 1

DOWNLOAD YOUR

FREE TOOLKIT TODAY

and empower your

pupils to discover

the joy of reading

Editorial

For this issue, we asked all our

contributors to consider the theme of

creativity. We – that is to say, I – often

regard creativity as something like

genius: unpredictable, ungovernable

and otherworldly. But actually,

creativity is something we are all doing, all the time.

One of my supreme bugbears as a parent is that it

takes my children an extraordinarily long time to do

anything. For my older son,

who is nearly eight, this is

usually because he is reading.

In fact, as I write this, he is

hanging upside down from a

swing with his nose in a book.

It is incredibly exasperating

when you’re trying to get him

to put on his shoes and leave

the house, or even just to

answer a question, but I try to

remember that every moment

spent reading furnishes the

imagination – providing the

building blocks for creative

thought and critical thinking.

Reading sometimes seems

like a passive activity – we

are, after all, experiencing

someone else’s art rather

than making our own – but

truthfully, it is an act of bold creation. While we

marvel at the author’s ingenuity, we are building

worlds alongside them. Everyone who reads a

book creates it anew.

Early in my career, I would interview writers and

note that they all had a version of the same thought

– once a book was out in the wild, it no longer

belonged to them. That’s when readers come up

with their own theories, sometimes at odds with the

author’s original intention.

Claire Thomas’ feature on fanfiction (p22), is an

interesting variation on this theme. She explains

how familiar characters and worlds can provide

the basis for fresh new ideas, as

well as offering a haven from

external pressures.

Sarah McIntyre continues her

series of features on reading for

pleasure with an exploration

of draw-alongs (p30). As an

author-illustrator working

with children in schools, she

has observed that making art

together can liberate children

from embarrassment and

unleash their creativity.

Illustrator Ellen Surrey designed

the cover art for this issue, and

I hope you love it much as I do.

You can learn more about Ellen’s

creative process and read more

about her influences from p8.

This is my first issue as editor of The School

Librarian, and I’d like to thank you all for making

me so welcome. I hope you enjoy this issue as much

as I’ve enjoyed putting it together.

Jenny Mark-Bell edits The

School Librarian. A writer

and editor with more than 20

years’ experience in magazine

publishing, she is a lifelong

storyteller with a particular

passion for children’s books.

Photo © Andrew Witman

The School Librarian is published by:

The School Library Association

Fleming Court

Leigh Road

Eastleigh

Southampton

Hampshire

SO50 9PD

Cover artwork

by Ellen Surrey

Production/design by Jo Lewis

Printed by Micropress Printers Ltd

Advertising: Bourne Media

Copyright © 2026 School Library

Association. All rights reserved.

ISSN 0036 6595

The views expressed are those of

the contributors and reviewers and

not necessarily the official views of

the School Library Association.

Registered Charity No. 313660

Contributions

Articles, books or digital media for review are always welcome. We are happy to

receive enquiries from potential contributors and will be pleased to supply further

information. Email: tsl@sla.org.uk

For media rates and advertising enquiries, please contact Bourne Media on

mark@bourne-media.co.uk or 07771 881251. All other communications should

be sent to: info@sla.org.uk We are always keen for feedback.

Subscriptions

The current cost of annual membership of the School Library Association is £120 to

include one copy of each journal, TSL, or £160 to include two copies. The rate for

retired and fulltime student members is £63. Details and membership forms may be

obtained from the SLA website.

Members of the SLA receive this journal free; they may purchase other SLA

publications and training courses at reduced rates; and may use our advisory

service and access members-only resources on the website. Worldwide institutional

subscriptions to the journal only are available from £142.00 for the calendar year 2026.


SLA News

SLA and Charlotte Aitken Trust

announce Reading Reboot

Photo © 2024 Adam Hollingworth Photography. All rights reserved.

Earlier this year, the Charlotte Aitken

Trust committed over £500,000 to the

SLA's Reading Reboot programme. This

high-impact programme aims to address

the ongoing reading crisis by creating

librarian-run social book clubs. Reading

Reboot – a reading programme funded

by the Charlotte Aitken Trust, will build

on the Social Reading Spaces pilot to

transform how the most disadvantaged

and disengaged young people interact

with literature and reading.

Beginning in September 2026, the

Reading Reboot programme will deliver

1,000 social book clubs in more than 100

secondary school libraries in London,

the West Midlands and the north-east of

England. Over three years, the programme

will directly reach more than 6,000 young

people and 100 school librarians and

senior school leaders.

The pioneering programme will focus on

Year 8 pupils, targeting the age at which

reading for pleasure often shows the

steepest decline, and a year group that

will soon be subject to a new mandatory

reading test. Reading Reboot will deliver

ten-week book clubs, run in dedicated

spaces within school libraries, by specially

trained school librarians.

SLA CEO Victoria Dilly says: “The young

people who participate in this programme

will be given the opportunity to rediscover

the joy of reading, on their own terms. We

know increased reading engagement can

The young people who participate in this programme will be given

the opportunity to rediscover the joy of reading, on their own terms

transform a young person’s experience of

education, their creativity, and their future.”

This simple, low-pressure approach to

book clubs has been proven to increase

reading engagement, increase readingage

outcomes, improve the wellbeing of

participating young people and build the

positive, social associations with books

and literature that will change attitudes

to reading – taking it from a subject to be

learnt, to an activity that can bring joy.

The School Library Association believes

that school libraries have the power

to renew children and young people’s

reading engagement. By placing school

librarians at the heart of the delivery,

the Reading Reboot programme will

clearly demonstrate the impact and

value that librarians bring to their school

communities and to the children and

young people they support.

Find out more: sla.org.uk/reading-reboot

4 TSL VOLUME 74 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2026

SLA News

New Advisory Panel

for the SLA

The SLA is fortunate to support

an amazing community of school

librarians who between them hold

a wealth of expertise, passion and

dedication for their work, alongside a

willingness to share best practice and

support their colleagues in the sector.

It was with this in mind that the idea

for an SLA Advisory Panel was born!

Following a call-out for applications,

we are thrilled to have a cohort of

12 school librarians from across the

sector join the panel in its first year.

Covering primary, secondary and

sixth form, state and independent and

from rural to international schools,

our panel members join us from

across the education landscape and

bring with them a wide range of skills

and experience. The first meeting will

take place in June, and subsequently

termly. The panel will share insight,

ideas and information around

core themes including reading,

information literacy and wellbeing in

the school library.

Sue Bastone, a staunch supporter of

the SLA, will chair the panel. Sue says:

“I am delighted to be chairing the SLA

Advisory Panel and look forward to

bringing together fellow librarians

with huge experience and knowledge

on school library matters.” Another

long-term supporter of the SLA will

join Sue on the panel. Lesley Martin,

librarian at St George's The British

International School in Munich, is

looking forward to using her many

years of experience and knowledge to

I am delighted to be

chairing the SLA Advisory

Panel and look forward

to bringing together

fellow librarians with huge

experience and knowledge

on school library matters

Sue Bastone, chair of the SLA Advisory Panel

support the SLA as it advocates for

school librarians. Morwenna Rice,

librarian at Hayle Academy, Cornwall,

will be bringing a rural school’s

perspective and Lauren Thow,

from Stewart’s Melville College in

Edinburgh, has a particular interest in

wellbeing through the school library.

Victoria Dilly, chief executive of the

SLA, says: “We are really pleased to

have such a breadth of experience –

from long-serving school librarians to

those newer to the profession. We’ll

be exploring all the benefits a school

library can bring, from building

reading communities to supporting

wellbeing to helping students develop

media and information literacy skills.

I am excited to see so many brilliant

SLA members keen to share their

knowledge with us as we develop

new projects and programmes and

advocate for school libraries across

the sector.”

The panel is formed of school

librarians from across the country,

representing regions including

Cornwall, Cheshire, Oxfordshire,

London, East Midlands and more.

We'll introduce the full panel in the

next issue of The School Librarian.

Bloomsbury

announces

sponsorship

of Secondary

Librarian of

the Year award

Bloomsbury Publishing – one of the

world’s leading independent publishers –

will sponsor the SLA’s Secondary School

Librarian of the Year Award (SLYA) for the

next three years, beginning with the award’s

milestone 21st anniversary year.

Nigel Newton, founder and chief executive

of Bloomsbury Publishing, says: “School

librarians are essential guides in unlocking

the potential of every child. At Bloomsbury,

we not only publish books for children

and teenagers but also educational and

professional resources for librarians. We’re

delighted to honour their dedication through

our sponsorship of the School Librarian of

the Year Award.”

The award will be presented at The Story

Museum in Oxford in November 2026.

The ceremony will also celebrate the Peter

Usborne Primary School Library of the

Year Award and the SLA’s new Barrington

Stoke Reader of the Year Award – the only

national award celebrating young people

who have overcome challenge to discover a

love of reading.

Find out more about all our awards at

sla.org.uk

Julie Broadbent, winner of the 2025 Secondary

School Librarian of the Year


SLA News

Dame Jacqueline Wilson to address

school librarians at conference

We are thrilled that Puffin will be the

publisher sponsor of our 2026 Annual

Conference, taking place at the University

of Winchester on 5-6 June.

As part of the sponsorship, Puffin authors

will play a central role in the conference

programme. Dame Jacqueline Wilson will

deliver the closing keynote on Saturday

afternoon. This is an opportunity for

delegates to hear from a legendary figure

in children's literature, as she reflects

on a body of work that has spanned

decades and shaped the reading lives

of generations. There will be a chance

to meet Dame Jacqueline in person at a

book signing following the keynote.

Debut Puffin author Iqbal Hussain will

also join SLA CEO Victoria Dilly for an inconversation

event on Friday afternoon.

Equal parts funny, uplifting and heartbreaking,

Iqbal’s middle grade novel The

Night I Borrowed Time follows 11-yearold

Zubair – a seventh son who inherits

the power of time travel and uses it to try

to save his parents' marriage.

Other Puffin authors to join the

conference line-up will include Isaac

Hamilton-McKenzie, who will take part

in a discussion about getting boys into

books and Abigail Balfe, author of This

is NOT the Diary of Izzy Dobson, who

will join a panel discussion focused on

supporting SEND and wellbeing through

the school library.

Amanda Punter, Puffin Publishing

Director says: “Puffin is delighted to be

sponsoring the SLA Annual Conference

2026, particularly in this landmark

National Year of Reading. As a loud and

proud champion of the power of stories

As a loud and proud champion

of the power of stories to spark

imaginations, we believe deeply

in the transformative role

reading plays in a child’s life

to spark imaginations, we believe deeply

in the transformative role reading plays

in a child’s life. Through our library

transformation programme World of

Stories, delivered in partnership with the

National Literacy Trust, we see first-hand

how essential school libraries are to

building a love of reading. The librarians

and educators who run them create

welcoming, inclusive spaces where every

child has the opportunity to find a book

that reflects their interests, broadens their

horizons, and sparks their imagination.

We’re excited to connect Puffin’s

exceptional authors, illustrators and

stories with these incredible champions

of reading for pleasure at this year’s event

and support the SLA in its vital work.”

Book your conference tickets now at

sla.org.uk/SLAConference

Iqbal Hussain

Dame Jacqueline Wilson


SLA News

Diamond days

Cathi Woods, chair of the SLA’s Surrey Branch, shares

her reflections on a milestone anniversary

This year the Surrey Branch of the

School Library Association celebrates

a remarkable milestone: our 60th

anniversary. To mark six decades of

championing literacy and supporting

school library staff, members gathered

at the beautiful St Teresa’s School in

Effingham in March.

The evening was a perfect reflection

of what the branch has always been:

a community of kind, generous, and

creative people. For 60 years, this branch

has been a vital support network, helping

librarians navigate everything from

the arrival of computers to the current

questions surrounding AI. Looking

back at our history, we’ve shared ideas

in school libraries, museums, the RHS

Wisley Library, and even a “haunted

house” – West Horsley Place, the

setting for the BBC TV show Ghosts.

Branch members always recognised

that while technology evolves, the need

for a professional community remains

constant. The spirit of sharing is as strong

as ever: we have three annual in-person

meetings at a variety of venues, which

are always preceded by a pleasurable

committee meeting at the local pub.

The “Open Mic” session was a highlight

of the celebrations, when attendees

shared the innovative ways in which

they are transforming their libraries.

Emlyn Roberts-Harry from Wallington

County Grammar spoke with passion

about the success of bringing Dungeons

and Dragons into his school, showing

how gaming can build an incredibly

strong sense of community. Ali Kennedy

from TASIS, Thorpe, shared how she

transformed her library’s flow and design

to make it more intuitive and modern. Ali

also told us about her book menus, where

boarding students can “order” books

that are then delivered in takeaway bags

together with a sweet treat – a brilliant

way to bridge the gap between boarding

life and the library.

Further inspiration came from Katie

Hill of St Bede’s, who spoke about using

audiobooks as a tool to engage reluctant

or busy readers, and Davida Hall from

Reigate Grammar, who shared a longterm

project reading dyslexia-friendly

Barrington Stoke novels with KS3 to build

confidence and stamina. Ruth Cornish

from Howard of Effingham shared a

moving segment on “Book Tasting” for

primary transition. Inspired by a previous

Surrey SLA meeting at Reigate Grammar,

Ruth worked with three classes from local

schools and her own pupil librarians

to create a welcoming space for Year 5

pupils. By celebrating books in such a

joyful way, she ensured these students felt

a sense of belonging as they prepared for

secondary school.

Following these brilliant contributions, it

was my turn to speak. I talked about how

this branch is a community that shares

ideas and supports each other. We then

enjoyed a special video montage featuring

messages from influential figures across

the profession and the literary world.

It was a joy to hear from Barbara Band,

Sue Bastone, Dr Carol Webb, Nick Poole,

and Louis Coiffait-Gunn. We were also

joined virtually by esteemed authors Ally

Sherrick, Tia Fisher, and Chris Riddell,

whose contributions added a special

touch of magic. The video also featured

Anne Thompson, aka “A Library Lady”,

a former Surrey Branch chair, alongside

Elizabeth Hutchinson and a wonderful

musical interlude from Sarah Pavey, who

led a spirited rendition of Happy Birthday.

The video reinforced that the reach

of this branch is far greater than any

one event. It was the perfect lead-in

to honouring Frances Stanbury, who

has been part of the Surrey Branch for

more than half of its 60-year history.

She has been the heart of the team

through decades of evolution, from

card catalogues to Zoom meetings.

To thank her for her stalwart work,

her incredible organisation, and her

unwavering commitment, we presented

her with flowers and gifts, a small token

of appreciation for the woman who has

kept us all in order for so many years.

As we look toward the next chapter, the

message of the evening was clear: a library

is never just a room, and this branch is

not just a group. We are a community

that supports, inspires, and always laughs.

Here’s to the next 60 years of connection,

biscuits, and brilliant ideas.


Feature

Anyone Can Be an Artist: The Book

that Democratises Creativity

Our cover illustrator Ellen Surrey has won numerous

accolades for her work on Ruth Millington’s This Book Will

Make You an Artist. She answers our questions on her artistic

process and the challenges of depicting famous works of art

Ellen Surrey is an illustrator

from Los Angeles,

California. Blending her

love of mid-century design

and vintage children’s

books, Ellen enjoys finding

beauty in the past and

colourfully sharing it with

a contemporary audience.

She’s illustrated many

books about inspirational

people, including Dolly

Parton! Her work has

appeared in The New York

Times, The New Yorker,

and the Los Angeles Times.

When she isn’t working,

Ellen enjoys watching old

movies and visiting her

favourite thrift stores.

T

ell us about your journey to

becoming an illustrator and

your career to date

I’ve always known I wanted to be

an artist, but it took some time

to figure out I wanted to be an

illustrator. My father was an animator, so when I

was growing up I naturally wanted to be like him. It

wasn’t until I tried animation in middle school that I

realised it wasn’t for me. Animation was too tedious

a process for me, but I still enjoyed telling stories.

When I was in high school, I was introduced to

modern illustration and was immediately drawn to

it, no pun intended. I eventually went to college to

study illustration and have been working full-time

as a freelance illustrator ever since.

Who or what are the major influences in your

artistic work?

Because of my dad, I was exposed to a lot of

animation growing up – both old and new. It has

definitely influenced how I approach characters,

compose scenes and tell stories. But I also love

vintage children's books, and in some cases,

there is crossover with animation. Some of my

favourite illustrators, such as Mary Blair, JP Miller,

and the Provensens, worked in animation at

some point in their careers. I really see myself

following in their footsteps.

Georgia O'Keeffe

Feel The Sunshine

It’s a very accessible book, proving that

regardless of your background or physical

ability, there is a way for you to make art

This Book Will Make You an Artist by Ruth

Millington won lots of children’s book awards,

including The Week Junior Book Award, the

ALCS Educational Writers' Award and of

course, the SLA Information Book Award in

the Under 7 years category. What do you think

captured people’s imaginations?

I’ve been very pleasantly surprised at how well it

has done. Ultimately, I think it comes down to how

the artists and the information are presented. It’s

a very accessible book, proving that regardless of

your background or physical ability, there is a way

for you to make art. Art allows you to tap into a part

of yourself that can be difficult to express in words,

and I love that the book has shown people, young

and old, how that is possible.

Art is a passion for me. I often describe

it as my first love and a compulsion


Anyone Can Be an Artist

The book includes chapters on 25 of the

world’s best-known artists, all with very

distinct styles. Was it a challenge to develop

a cohesive visual style for the book that also

allowed you to capture the distinct look and

feel of each artist’s work?

It was challenging! Incorporating the photograph of the

artist's actual artwork among all the text was especially

tricky. Each spread in the book was like composing a

jigsaw puzzle that I didn’t have the final picture for. But

I had some idea of how to make the book cohesive. I

had illustrated a book some years prior, Mid-Century

Modern Women in the Visual Arts, that included a

piece featuring the artist Georgia O’Keeffe. In this piece,

O’Keeffe is painting one of her poppy paintings in the

desert. The publisher, Nosy Crow, had mentioned this

piece to me when presenting the book, and I knew if I

approached each piece in Artist this way, it would work.

I don’t remember being intimidated to draw any of

the artists in particular. Instead, I was very excited

about some of my favourites making an appearance

and happy to learn about artists that were new to me.

The overriding impression is of someone having

a lot of fun with art and illustration! Do you

think enjoyment is the key to success in the

creative industries?

I think it definitely plays a role. Art is a passion for me.

I often describe it as my first love and a compulsion.

Creating gives me joy and a sense of fulfillment that I

don’t always find in other avenues of my life.


We were very excited to hear about a second

book in the series – This Book Will Make You

A Scientist – published in March. Was there

anything you changed or evolved in your

illustrations for this second title?

There was a good amount of time between the

two books, and as an artist, you’re always evolving.

At first, when working on Scientist, I struggled to

make the work cohesive with Artist. Between the

two books, I had been exploring a slightly different

look for my non-children’s book work, and things

were looking a little more realistic. So in Scientist

I definitely worked on the portraits to make them

look more like the people depicted.

From Albert Einstein to Mae Jemison and

Jane Goodall, this new title includes some

amazing figures from the world of science.

Was there a person who you most enjoyed

capturing on paper?

The first person that came to mind is Katia Krafft.

The designer on Artist and Scientist, Tina Garcia,

had suggested I watch a documentary about the

Kraffts called Fire of Love, and I’m so glad I did. In

the documentary, a lot of the footage shot by the

Kraffts makes an appearance, and upon seeing

it, I knew I needed to capture that energy in my

illustration. My favourite part was figuring out how

to draw the lava so it felt molten and hot.


Making art brings me immense joy,

so I would never give it up

Ellen Surrey

Art allows you to tap into a part

of yourself that can be difficult to

express in words, and I love that the

book has shown people, young and

old, how that is possible

Can you tell us a little bit about the illustration

you've created for the cover of this issue of TSL?

With summer and creativity as the main focus, I

wanted to have fun with this piece. I immediately

thought of swimming and imagined mermaids

engaged in creative activities like making music

and painting. I'm a big fan of Mary Blair, so I

revisited her artwork of the mermaid lagoon from

Peter Pan. This was the overall feeling I aimed to

capture – and I hope I achieved it.

What advice would you give to a young person

who would like to pursue a career in art,

design or illustration?

Pursuing your passion can be challenging, but

if you love creating and can’t imagine living

without it, you should go for it! Create the work

that you want to see in the world and cherish the

life you’ve been given. Like everyone else, I face

difficult times, but making art brings me immense

joy, so I would never give it up. I wouldn’t choose

to do anything else.

Ellen's original design for the summer TSL cover


Feature

Not Just a Phase: What

Does the Best Writing for

Teenagers Have in Common?


Ellen Osborne, whose debut YA novel The Seeker and

the Shade came out this spring, contemplates the

tightrope-walk between familiarity and innovation

Ionce attended a life drawing class where

all the easels were arranged in a circle

around the model. As we picked up our

charcoal and prepared to start sketching,

the instructor stopped us. “Instead of

drawing the view you can actually see, I

want you to imagine the view from three places to

your left and draw that instead.” Suddenly the class

stopped being about our observation skills and

became an exercise in perception.

I often think of this analogy when considering

writing for young people. For me, it’s not just about

crafting great stories – although of course that’s

important, just as observation is important to good

art. But when we’re talking about teenagers, those

stories need to be rooted in their perception of

the world. An act of translation lies at the heart of

all creativity – can I put myself in the mindset of

another person, and how might they interpret this

story differently?

Two principles are at play for a book to capture

the imagination of a teenager. First, it must

be recognisable to them. It must hold enough

familiarity with their own experiences to feel like

it belongs to them. Second – and in enjoyable

tension with that first principle – from that place

of familiarity, the story must take the reader

somewhere new.

Let’s start with familiarity. I’m not saying that

books for young adults should only feature

experiences they’ve had or can imagine –

otherwise I’d be writing off most of children’s

literature! I’m saying that the most impactful

An act of translation lies at the heart of

all creativity – can I put myself in the

mindset of another person, and how

might they interpret this story differently?

stories mirror the fundamental concerns and

priorities of teenage life – analogously or

literally – so that a young person who picks it up

experiences an act of recognition with the text.

“I’ve felt like that.” “I worry about that.” “I’ve often

wanted to do something like that.” “I’ve always

wondered what would happen if…” To meet

younger readers effectively, writers must make

this creative shift.

In recent years, the book industry has been

radically shaped by changing consumption

patterns, fuelled by the tastes and technology

of a new generation, and one result is an

explosion in stories categorised as Young Adult.

Writing for Teenagers

The most impactful stories mirror

the fundamental concerns and

priorities of teenage life

Alongside welcome attention to previously

underrepresented tastes, such as Romantasy,

some confusion has crept in around what’s for

teenage versus adult consumers.

In my experience, the label of Young Adult is

sometimes given to Bildungsroman stories which

are escapist, plot-led and focused on a young

protagonist, but where the story itself is actually

designed to be consumed by adults, whether that’s

due to mature themes, content or ‘spice’ levels. The

label is used to market a type of storytelling rather

than a target readership.

It’s easy to see how the vibrancy and immediacy

of Young Adult would attract the market – but

in a crowded landscape with porous labels,

younger teens run the risk of being alienated by

stories that are not designed with them in mind,

or actually written for their point of view. Young

people absolutely need books that tackle difficult,

sophisticated or layered themes at the right level,

in a safe space. Put another way – when a book

for teenagers finds its way into the hands of a

typical 13-year-old, that story should meet them

where they are, not least because their future

appetite for reading will ultimately depend on

that connection.

If familiarity is our anchor to engaging teenagers,

our second principle, which could be characterised

as otherworldliness, is the counterpoint. This is

the sensation we all enjoy when reading – being

taken out of our comfort zone, challenged, placed

somewhere wondrous, thought-provoking or

revelatory. It is the way in which good stories

expand our minds and cultivate new levels

of empathy. It can be escapist or instructive,

depending on your taste and mood.

Famously, teenagers are just beginning to articulate

their sense of self and often their primary route

for doing so is to align rigorously with what they

love. We see that in the massive popularity of

immersive genres, like fantasy and science fiction,

where world-building creates an entire universe for

young people to get lost in, characters to align with

or enjoyably hate, love interests to compare, and

sides to back in war. Writers must create the world

in which their story will fulfil its unique potential,

regardless of genre.

Fantasy is an excellent arena for exploring the

particular tropes that resonate powerfully at this

age, where peer pressure is influential and self feels

malleable; rival groups, polarised ideologies, or

characters reinventing their identity. An imagined

or fantastical story allows our young people to

navigate these big ideas analogously – in fact often,

by rendering these concepts in the safe medium of

story, we enable young people to see them more

clearly, and creatively test what they believe.

My debut, The Seeker and the Shade, is a story

about lanterns, lit by promises, that hold back a

malevolent darkness. But it’s also a story about

how true partnership demands both commitment

and compromise, and how to persevere when

you fail the world’s expectations. My hope is that

a young reader will see many parallels with their

own experiences, and through this particular

fantastical lens, be left better equipped to find

their place within it.

Ellen Osborne grew up in Sheffield on the border of the

Peak District and still misses the moors. As a child, she spent

a lot of time writing long, rambling stories, which somehow

over the years have evolved into proper books. These days

she lives in Bristol with her young family and you can find

her writing around the edges of life. Ellen is the winner of the

Guppy Open Submission Competition and The Seeker and

the Shade is her debut novel.


Writing for Teenagers

My Top Five Young Adult Recommendations

Deeplight

Frances Hardinge

An intriguing fantasy from a

master world-builder, this book

features a sea-based world that

revolves around the detritus of

fallen gods – although it’s really

a story about a toxic friendship

between two teenage boys and

the courage needed to mark

your own path.

On Silver Tides

Sylvia Bishop

Rooted in folklore and set

in Britain’s waterways, this

entrancing fantasy also doubles

as an unflinching examination

of prejudice, ignorance and how

far people will go to protect selfserving

traditions. A masterclass

in handling difficult topics

through a young adult lens.

A Winter’s Promise

Christelle Dabos

This beautifully crafted story

is translated from the French

and features some of the most

innovative fantasy worldbuilding

I’ve ever come across,

plus a slow-burn romance

with Austen vibes. Perfect for

young people who love quirky

escapism and rich prose.

The Novice

Taran Matharu

A fun, pacy, epic fantasy, the first

of a series, providing a gateway

into the genre for the uninitiated

and an accessible entry point

for younger teens. The reader

follows the protagonist as he

trains at an elite battle academy

to change the course of a

brewing war.

Steady For This

Nathanael Lessore

For those who prefer

contemporary, this humorous,

word play-driven novel is set

squarely in the world of teen

politics and follows the course

of an aspiring rapper as he

struggles with girls, going viral

and competing for his dream.

A fun, dynamic read that’s won

deserved acclaim.


Feature


SLA joins sector leaders to

launch Libraries Alliance at

the British Academy

In April, SLA CEO Victoria Dilly was

among the speakers at the launch of the

Libraries Alliance. We were proud to

represent school libraries to celebrate

this new coalition, bringing together

libraries of all kinds to speak with a

single, stronger voice.

The Alliance includes public, school, academic,

health, independent and national libraries, and

has been established to strengthen collaboration

across the sector, improve engagement with

policymakers and highlight the social, cultural

and economic contribution libraries make

throughout people’s lives.

Speakers at the British Academy event showed how

libraries support people at every stage, from early

learning and education, through work and research,

to later life, and why access to a library matters for

community, citizenship and opportunity.

On behalf of the SLA, Victoria Dilly chaired

a discussion between award‐winning school

librarians Julie Broadbent (2025 Secondary

School Librarian of the Year) and Verity Robinson

(2025 Peter Usborne Primary School Library

of the Year-winning librarian), who highlighted

the importance of the school library in fostering

a sense of belonging for the whole school

community, and the opportunities that can be

created for children and young people through

partnership across the library sector.

Photo © Nicola Tree

Verity Robinson, 2025 Primary School Librarian of the Year, who

spoke about the school library as fostering a sense of belonging Lord Blunkett Jeanette Winterson CBE






Speakers at the British Academy

event showed why access to a

library matters for community,

citizenship and opportunity

Above: Victoria Dilly (far right), with award-winning librarians Julie Broadbent (far left) and

Verity Robinson (right), and Sarah Croasdell on Mangotsfield C of E Primary School

The audience included senior library leaders,

parliamentarians, policymakers and partners

from the cultural, education and health sectors.

Speakers included the Minister for Libraries,

Baroness Twycross; former Cabinet Minister Lord

Blunkett; Richard Ovenden OBE, Bodley’s Librarian

at the University of Oxford; Louise Goswami, Chief

Knowledge Officer at NHS England; and writer

Jeanette Winterson CBE.

Jeanette highlighted the vital importance of

school libraries, saying: “If kids get into reading

early, it will stay with them for life and that's why

libraries in schools are so important. Brilliant

librarians can inspire children.


“We know that those of us who have access to the

power of reading – to the safe, secure and liberating

space that libraries offer – can manage different

outcomes, and that's really powerful.”

Read more about the Libraries Alliance at

libariesalliance.org.uk

If kids get into reading early, it will

stay with them for life and that's why

libraries in schools are so important


Feature

Reading Between the Lines

SLA chair Gareth Conyard gives his interpretation of the

latest white paper from the Department for Education –

Every Child Achieving and Thriving

Gareth Conyard is the CEO

of the Teacher Development

Trust, a charity dedicated

to supporting the effective

professional development of

school leaders and teachers.

Prior to joining TDT in

2022, he was a senior civil

servant at the Department

for Education, a 19-year

career that saw him work on

everything from early years

to higher education.


When it comes to choosing

a literary masterpiece to

dive into, I think it safe

to assume that the latest

white paper from the

Department for Education,

Every Child Achieving and Thriving, is unlikely to

be at the top of your list. White papers – which are

really nothing more than a statement of what the

government intends to do – should not be judged

by the quality of their prose but by the policies they

contain. This white paper covers a lot of policies!

The most important elements relate to changes to

the system for supporting children with SEND and

to creating more inclusive school environments for

all children, but there are dozens of other ideas and

proposals being put forward by Bridget Phillipson

and her team that will have an impact on schools

and school libraries.

The most important elements

relate to changes to the system for

supporting children with SEND

Most are not direct. In fact, the word ‘library’ only

appears once in the 120-page document, and

that in relation to the creation of a digital library

of tools to support children with SEND. But the

white paper does confirm the plan to introduce

a new statutory assessment of reading fluency

and comprehension for all pupils in Year 8. The

intention is laudable – to respond to the declining

numbers of children who are reading regularly and

well in secondary schools – but many will question

whether the best way to encourage children to

read is to introduce an exam to judge them and

the school. We hope that secondary schools

work closely with their librarians to ensure that

the test is as positive as it can be and that, most

importantly, the focus is firmly on supporting a

wider love of reading, regardless of exam results.

Perhaps the biggest challenge from the white

paper is the sheer number of initiatives and

The word ‘library’ only appears

once in the 120-page document

ideas it contains, many of which will impose

new requirements on schools, including: to

deliver against a new Enrichment Framework;

to respond to the new Inclusion Framework and

the changes to SEND; to improve engagement

with parents and to monitor the sense of

belonging and engagement by pupils. All these

ideas aim to help with attendance issues. They

will take time and money, but the white paper

gives few details on either, which will create

uncertainty for schools.

On top of that, the government is committing

to review the national funding formula and the

pupil premium formula, both of which will mean

some schools getting more cash, and others

getting less. In other words, a lot of change is

being proposed without clarity on how it will

be delivered or paid for. We all know that heads

and teachers are already struggling to manage

workload and deal with challenging finances, so

the lack of a clear and costed plan from the DfE

is a cause for concern.

Of course, we know that those working in schools

– librarians, support staff, teachers, and school

leaders – will all continue to work hard and

do the very best they can for the children they

support. The hope is that the positive tone in the

white paper translates into clear and practicable

steps that help those at the front line do their

jobs effectively. The job of the SLA and others

working at a system level is to keep pushing the

government for the detail.

The white paper does confirm the

plan to introduce a new statutory

assessment of reading fluency and

comprehension for all pupils in Year 8

Feature

Curiouser and Curiouser

In today’s world, knowledge is power. But it is not knowledge

alone that will secure the future of the next generation, says

Richard Gerver – curiosity is an even greater gift

T

here is a quiet but powerful truth

about the future that we often

overlook: the children who will

shape tomorrow are the ones who

are allowed to imagine it.

In a world increasingly dominated

by algorithms, automation and artificial intelligence,

it is easy to assume that knowledge alone will

secure the future of the next generation. We speak

endlessly about skills, data, technology, and

employability. Yet beneath all of that lies something

far more fundamental – the human capacity to think

creatively, to empathise with others, and to imagine

possibilities that do not yet exist.

This is where books matter more than ever.

A book is far more than a collection of pages. It is

an invitation to explore the inner lives of others,

to travel across time and place, and to encounter

ideas that stretch our thinking. When a child

reads, they are not simply decoding words on a

page. They are building worlds in their mind. They

are learning to interpret emotions, understand

different perspectives, and construct meaning.

In short, they are practising imagination.

This matters enormously for the future. The

challenges that the next generation will face

– from climate change to social inequality to

technological disruption – will not be solved

through routine cognition. They will require

creativity, curiosity, the desire to question and

the courage to think differently.

Books are one of the most powerful engines for

developing these qualities.

When children grow up surrounded by books,

something remarkable happens. They develop

language, certainly, but they also develop empathy.

Stories allow them to experience lives beyond

their own. They begin to understand complexity,

If we are serious about building a

better future, access to books cannot

be seen as a luxury. It is a necessity

The challenges the next generation

face will require creativity, curiosity,

the desire to question and the

courage to think differently

ambiguity, and the reality that the world is rarely

divided neatly into right and wrong.

This is the foundation of thoughtful citizenship and

responsible leadership.

Creativity grows in the same environment. When

children are given access to stories, ideas, and

imagination, they begin to experiment with their

own thinking. They write, they draw, they question,

they invent. Creativity is not a talent reserved for

artists; it is a way of approaching the world. It is the

ability to see connections others might miss and to

imagine solutions others might not yet see.

In the decades ahead, this ability will become

one of the most valuable human capabilities

we possess.

Yet as we know, access to books and creative

opportunities is not evenly distributed. For many

young people, particularly those growing up in

disadvantaged communities, books are scarce and

creative experiences are limited. This is not simply

a cultural loss; it is a loss of potential. Every child

without access to stories is a voice that may never

discover its confidence, an imagination that may

never fully awaken.

If we are serious about building a better future,

then access to books cannot be seen as a luxury.

It is a necessity.

Libraries, schools, community spaces, and

families all play a vital role in ensuring that every

child grows up surrounded by stories, ideas, and

opportunities to create. Because when we give

young people access to books, we give them

something far more valuable than information.

We give them the tools to imagine a different world.

And the future will belong to those who can

imagine it first.

Richard Gerver is president of

the School Library Association,

and a world-renowned

speaker and author. He was

previously a headteacher.


Feature

Pupil Power: Transforming

Cultural Capital and Confidence

Through Reading Clubs

Julie Broadbent, our 2025 Secondary School Librarian of the

Year, describes how creative partnerships helped her set up

the most successful student-led initiative of her career

Julie Broadbent has been

a school librarian for more

than 21 years. She currently

runs two libraries at

Northampton International

Academy, which is one

of the largest all-through

schools in the country.

Since joining my current school three

years ago I have had to be creative in

the way I approach my role. I am a

lone librarian, managing two libraries

across all key stages, in an all-through

school with 2,000 pupils.

Partnerships have become paramount in

amplifying the offer that we give to our students. I

have had to look to the wider school community

for ways in which we can nurture and positively

encourage a love of reading.

Throughout more than 20 years working in school

libraries, one student-led initiative stands out as

the most successful. Reading Pioneers is an afterschool

group that started three years ago with five

members: me, my line manager and three students.

We allowed our students to be creative and decide

which direction the group would take, and it has

grown and flourished beyond anything that I could

ever have imagined. We have around 40 members

and are recognised by our whole school body,

SLT and our school trust as being one of the most

successful committees in the school.

Our current group consists of pupils of mixed ages

and mixed abilities, including EAL pupils and some

SEND pupils, and I have found the group to be very

nurturing and inclusive.

It has taken time to nurture and encourage Reading

Pioneers but together, we have accomplished so

much. We have been involved in some fantastic

projects in school, in the community and across

the country. We have attended the Lit in Colour

conference, attended author and illustrator

workshops, delivered assemblies at our school

Partnerships have become

paramount in amplifying the offer

that we give to our students

and other trust schools about the importance

of reading. We have reviewed books for various

publishers, shadow the Carnegies and we vote in

the Children’s Book Awards. We have also worked

on a very special project with a local charity, The

McCarthy-Dixon Foundation. The Intergenerational

Stories Programme aims to bring generations

together through the power of storytelling, creating

meaningful connections between young people

and older adults in our community.

Our Reading Pioneers are at the forefront of

organising and hosting our end-of-summer-term

‘booknics,’ book sales and book swaps. These are

annual fixtures to encourage reading over the

summer holidays, avoid the ‘summer dip’ and

ensure that children have books to read at home

during the long break. We also invite our local

public library to come into school, host assemblies

for our primary learners and talk to parents about

the Summer Reading Challenge. It’s a great way of

introducing them to the local public library if they

are not already members.

Reading Pioneers has hugely increased our

learners’ cultural capital, their confidence, reading


Reading Clubs

Reading Pioneers has hugely

increased our learners’ cultural

capital, their confidence, reading

ability and literacy skills

ability and literacy skills. They have developed

public speaking and analytical skills. By meeting

and speaking to various organisations, authors,

illustrators and people from the local community,

they have become more engaged with the world

around them, giving them a more empathetic

outlook and building inner confidence to be able

to go out into the wider world. They have also

developed a greater understanding of how the

world works.

I am grateful that I get to work with young people

who are so creative in their approach to getting

books into students’ homes. They are passionate

about spreading the joy and benefits of reading

and happy to allow that passion and enthusiasm

to come through.

Every day, they spur me on to do a better job and

I feel privileged to work with such inspirational

young people.

In their own words...

“Reading Pioneers has allowed me to further

indulge in literature as well as letting me meet

real authors and educate other generations in

reading. It has strengthened my skills in public

speaking and self-confidence… and encouraged

me to pursue poetry and law in my future.”

Eniola, Year 11

“Reading Pioneers has allowed me to open my

mind and learn about new people and their

stories. It’s given me confidence and improved

my reading.” Zoey, Year 8

“Reading Pioneers has allowed me to develop

transferrable skills such as confidence, resilience

How to set up a successful

reading group at your school

• Create a safe, welcoming and inclusive space.

• Offer an incentive at the first meeting – it

could be cake, biscuits or books.

• Get other staff involved – the more the merrier!

• Decide when and where you are meeting –

advertise around school (get students to create

posters to make them feel invested) and put

it on school social media channels/school

newsletter – wherever you can spread the word.

• Talk to students in the library, speak to

your readers, encourage them to join in and

bring a friend.

• Offer craft activities, invite a special guest

speaker – do something that students wouldn’t

normally do within a lesson.

• Mix the reading up with a craft or a quiz. Give

them a special project to work on. Our students

write and create an assembly for World Book

Day and take this to our feeder primary schools’

assemblies – they talk about their passion for

reading and how important it is.

• Get the students invested in the group

– could they run a competition or host

an event for the whole school? Ours

have managed competitions to design a

bookmark and also ran a creative writing

competition. They have a stand at the

school fair, as well as running a booknic and

bookswap in primary school.

• Judge an award – this is extremely helpful

as a way of encouraging pupils to voice their

own opinions. The Information Book Awards,

Carnegie or Children’s Book Awards are just a

few examples.

and communication which will benefit me in the

future. My love of reading has flourished even

more since joining Reading Pioneers as it has

enabled me to discuss my favourite books and

share my love of reading with other students who

are just as passionate.” Olivia, Year 11

“My time at Reading Pioneers has helped over the

course of three years to grow a sense of confidence

and a new sense of perspective of society. Being

able to go to schools and do intergenerational

activities is something I never thought I would

do. To be able to talk to people and express my

passion is a special feeling.” Autumn, Year 11


Feature

Fanning the Flame: How Fanfiction

Fosters a Sense of Belonging

Claire Thomas says engaging with pupils with an

interest in fanfiction has brought huge benefits

to their wellbeing and creativity

Claire Thomas is the

library manager at Tapton

School in Sheffield. She

had a background in

higher education and is a

lifelong fangirl.

I’ve drifted in and out of fandom since

the mid-1990s, reading and – more

recently – writing fanfiction. There have

been gaps, but it has always pulled me

back in, particularly during the most

challenging periods in my life. Fanfiction

is my place of safety, particularly when the effort

required to pick up a book, get

to know new characters and

explore an unfamiliar setting

feels overwhelming. In those

moments, fanfiction has been

there, with familiar characters

and settings and stories to

lose myself in.

So, what is fanfiction? As a

rudimentary definition, “stories

produced by fans based on

plot lines and characters from

either a single source text

or else a ‘canon’ of works”

(Thomas, 2011) sums it up.

Arguably, though, this misses

the point. Yes, it is those things,

but it is also a creative space

to develop writing through

community engagement,

to ‘geek out’ with people as

obsessed with a character

or a story as you are. It is

potentially a place of belonging, and a powerful

tool in protecting mental health.

Many authors familiar to our students started

here. Adam Silvera, Cassandra Clare and Rainbow

Rowell all cut their writing teeth on fanfiction,

and being open with library users about my own

interest in it was a deliberate choice. Not only

are the mental health benefits significant, I feel

strongly that, while a diverse and current library

collection is paramount, informal (and low

stakes) approaches to literacy are equally valid

in ensuring that as many students as possible

can enjoy and develop their reading and writing

during their time in school.

Joining the club

In February 2025 I set up a small fanfiction writing

club in my school library. The inspiration came

from informal conversations with students. We

celebrated our first anniversary this week.

The club meets weekly, after school, for 45

minutes. I have eight students

(Year 9 to Year 11) who dip

in and out, five or six in any

session. They are all avid

readers and above average

attainers. There is evidence

of neurodiversity within the

group and, as is usually the

case with fanfiction, they are

primarily reading/writing/

drawing LGBTQ+ characters.

Some were friends before we

began, but most of them now

regularly hang out together in

the library at social times.

I recently asked them to

complete a qualitative

questionnaire to gauge

the importance of fandom

participation to them, and I

have included some responses

here. Their comments gave me

a real insight into the sense of

belonging they gain from fandom activity and the

value of providing a physical space where they can

share and explore those interests.

I was keen that our meetings were student-led, as

far as possible, as the core purpose was for them

to feel safe enough to share their writing. No one is

Fanfiction gives me a sense of

community and makes me feel

like I can speak my opinion

without being judged


Fanfiction

I’m more confident in what I’ve

written and feel like what I have

written is genuinely good

forced to participate, but everyone does, including

me. We meet in a room adjacent to the library and I

let them loose to chat for the first few minutes while

I busy myself with other things. The students are all

immersed in different fandoms (although there is

some crossover), and having the opportunity to ‘geek

out’ at the beginning of the session really helps their

focus. We then spend 30-40 minutes sharing what we

have written based on the agreed writing prompt for

that week, usually with some fandom background for

context, before agreeing a prompt for the following

week. The prompts have been a mix of dialogue/

narrative prompts and ‘technique’ prompts (eg

writing in the second person, repetition of the first

sentence as the last sentence).

The students’ development as writers was not a key

driver. However, the informal nature of the group,

the control given to the students over what they

are writing and the recognition of the validity of

this informal literacy has, I think, produced this as

a happy side-effect. This is something reflected in

their responses to the questionnaire.

“I’ve learnt more ambitious words and am better

at conveying multiple emotions through

character dialogue.”

“I’m more confident in what I’ve written and feel

like what I have written is genuinely good.”

Potential pitfalls

I wondered about their ability to listen fully to

one another, as they can get caught up in their

excitement but, as a group, they are developing

their skills in peer feedback, for example praise,

picking out words and phrases that they’ve liked.

They often self-correct as they read and will ask the

group for suggestions.

The sharing of fanfiction was an underground and

marginalised activity until the advent of digital

technologies, and what was once subculture is now

more mainstream. However, for many fanfiction

writers it is something very personal, that they may

be reluctant to share face-to-face. We were all a

little nervous initially but, as the group has settled

and grown in confidence in their writing, we are all

quite comfortable.

“Fanfiction gives me a sense of community and

makes me feel like I can speak my opinion without

being judged.”

One of my worries was that one of the group might

share something inappropriate, but this hasn’t

been an issue. As the club was meeting outside the

school day, I drew up a consent form which I used

I love connecting to people with the same

obsessions... it’s a nice reminder that I’m

not alone and that I’m part of a community

to set clear boundaries around appropriate content.

Fanfiction has garnered a reputation for being largely

sexually explicit content written mainly by women –

EL James, the author of Fifty Shades of Grey (which

famously begun life as an erotic Twilight fanfic) has

a lot to answer for! Yet research conducted by AO3

(The Archive of Our Own – the largest and most

comprehensive fanfiction site) estimates that 60-65

per cent of works are rated General or Teenage.

Some students might be reading fanfiction that

they cannot share in the club setting, but they have

all been unfailingly respectful of our established

boundaries regarding sexual content. Their writing

is solidly ‘teen’, and they are excellent at checking

in with each other regarding potentially triggering

content, such as mentions of blood and gore. We

had a frank discussion about swearing and agreed to

replace any swear words with the word 'beep’ which

has been unintentionally hilarious.

Has it been worth it?

If you are interested in fanfiction, I would

recommend engaging with students who share

that interest. It was always intended to be fun, a

wellbeing initiative more than an academic one,

and it has clearly achieved that aim. The fact that

we are still going after a year is, I think, a testament

to its value to this group. The biggest challenge for

me, personally, was ‘outing’ myself to colleagues

as a fanfiction reader and writer. As the unofficial

guardian of quality literature in school, I expected

to be judged. However, most colleagues have simply

seen it as an extension of the library as a safe space,

and of the librarian as a safe person. One of the

students put it far better than I could:

“I love connecting to people with the same

obsessions... it’s a nice reminder that I’m not

alone and that I’m part of a community.”

Recommended Reading

Thomas, B (2011). What

is fanfiction and why

are people saying such

nice things about it??

Storyworlds: A journal of

narrative studies. Vol 3,

pp1-24.

Philpot, C (2014).

Fanfiction takes flight

among teens. School

library journal.

Merrick, A (2023).

Spark: How fanfiction

and fandom can set

your creativity on fire.

Improbable Press.

Coppa, F (2017).

The Fanfiction reader:

Folk tales for the digital

age. University of

Michigan Press.


Feature

Dignity in Action

Championing accessible formats send a powerful

message that everyone is welcome in the library,

says Anna Tylor, chair of the RNIB

Anna Tylor was born

severely sight impaired

and has been a life-long

advocate of disability rights.

Her early career included

working on employment

programmes, and she has

also worked in service

settings delivering training

and development activities.

She was involved in leading

the roll out of equalities

legislation and has worked

on inclusion programmes

– including with the City of

London Police and in the

banking and retail sector.

She is a trained mediator

with a master’s degree in

sociology and social policy.

Anna established the UK

educational collection, now

known as RNIB Bookshare,

to offer blind and partially

sighted people – and other

disabled learners – equal

access to the curriculum.

She became chair of RNIB

in 2020.

The first time I realised something

was fundamentally wrong with

how we deliver books, it wasn’t in

Parliament. It was in a school library.

Imagine standing in front of a shelf

full of books and knowing that most

of them are, quite simply, inaccessible to you.

Not because you can’t read.

Not because you don’t want to.

But because the text is too small, too crowded or in

a format that doesn’t work for

how you process information.

According to a YouGov poll

commissioned by RNIB,

almost one in five (18.5 per

cent) UK parents say their

child has struggled to read

school books because of the

way the text was printed.

One in five.

That figure should stop us in

our tracks.

This isn’t a marginal issue

affecting a handful of

pupils. It is happening in

classrooms and libraries

across the country. And it is

happening quietly.

Access isn’t niche –

it’s mainstream

When we talk about accessible formats, many

people immediately think of children who have

vision impairment. And of course, for the two

in every 1,000 children who live with a vision

impairment, accessible formats are essential.

But access goes much wider than that.

Around one in 10 children are estimated to have

dyslexia. Others may have physical disabilities,

sensory differences or processing needs that make

standard print hard to navigate. Some simply find

dense, small-font text overwhelming.

Photo © Richard Bailey

Almost one in five UK parents say their

child has struggled to read school books

because of the way the text was printed

Accessible books – audio, adaptable ePub

files, digital PDFs, electronic braille – are not

specialist extras. They are practical tools that

allow children to access the same curriculum,

the same novels, the same reading-for-pleasure

experiences as their peers.

Reading should be the great

enabler – not the thing that

holds a child back.

If you can’t clearly see or

access the words on the page,

you can’t fully engage in the

learning. And that affects

confidence, participation

and independence.

This is where school

librarians matter enormously.

Architects of inclusion

School librarians are often

the quiet architects of

inclusion. You know your

collections. You know your

pupils. You know who is

racing ahead in fantasy

fiction, who is discovering

poetry for the first time, who

needs a confidence boost.

You also know how challenging it can be to work

with teaching staff to ensure the right texts are

available in the right format at the right time.

RNIB Bookshare exists to make that practical.

Bookshare is a free online service for UK schools,

offering more than 1.2 million textbooks, revision

guides and novels in accessible formats including

ePub, audio, electronic braille and digital PDFs.

From GCSE English set texts and Shakespeare plays

to popular series such as Harry Potter, The Hunger

Games and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, pupils can


Dignity in Action

download books in minutes and read them using

assistive technology that works for them.

Because RNIB Bookshare works directly with

publishers to provide digital files that schools can

adapt, accessible versions can be created quickly.

No waiting weeks for enlarged copies.

No last-minute scanning.

No pupil left behind while everyone else turns

the page.

Independence changes everything

I’ve met teachers who use Bookshare every day in

their classrooms – switching between audio, digital

print and electronic braille depending on the pupil.

I’ve spoken to teaching assistants who describe it as

“opening up a whole new world.”

But what I hear most often is this: independence

is game-changing.

When a pupil can download the same novel

as their classmates instantly and read it in a

way that works for them, something shifts. They

are not waiting. They are not singled out. They

are participating.

In a library context, that independence is even

more profound.

The ability to browse.

To choose.

To discover a new author without asking for help.

That is dignity in action.

School libraries are not peripheral to inclusion –

they are central to it.

Libraries as engines of equity

A school library is more than a room full of books. It

is an engine of equity.

When librarians ensure that accessible formats sit

alongside print – not as an afterthought, but as an

expectation – you send a powerful signal: every

reader belongs here.

You are often the bridge between the SENCO,

the classroom teacher and the pupil. You

understand metadata and licensing. You

understand digital platforms. You understand

how children discover books.

And crucially, you understand that reading for

pleasure is not an optional extra – it is foundational.

For a child with vision impairment, independent

access to fiction can be transformative. It removes

the constant dependence on adults and restores

privacy. It allows them to fall in love with a series at

the same pace as their peers.

That is dignity. That is inclusion in practice.

Photo © Richard Bailey

What school librarians can do now

1. Check your school is registered with

RNIB Bookshare

RNIB Bookshare is free for UK schools. If

you’re not signed up, registering takes minutes

and unlocks 1.2 million accessible titles.

2. Think beyond vision impairment

Remember that nearly one in five parents

report their child struggling with standard

print. Accessible formats can support a wide

range of needs.

3. Plan ahead with colleagues

Work with your SENCO and teaching staff

at the start of term to ensure key curriculum

texts are downloaded in advance.

4. Champion reading for pleasure

Make sure popular series and trending titles

are available in accessible formats.

5. Make digital reading visible and normal

Create a culture where using assistive technology

in the library is routine, not exceptional.

Building readers, not barriers

Inclusion works best when it feels ordinary.

A child walks into the library. They browse. They

download a book. They read it. They talk about it with

friends. There's no workaround, delay, or compromise.

If almost one in five children are struggling to

access printed text as it stands, then accessible

formats are not an optional extra. They are part of

modern school infrastructure.

School librarians have always been champions of

literacy. Now, you are also champions of format equity.

Because when every child can access the words in

front of them, we are not just improving systems.

We are building readers – and futures.


Feature

Atomic Reading: Exploring Joyful

Connections to Student Reading

Helen Weston explains her Atomic Reading initiative –

a gamification programme that aims to instil positive,

lasting habits and promote reading for pleasure

Dr Helen Weston is head of

The Rockhampton Grammar

School Library in QLD

Australia, and convenor

of the Australian Library &

Information Association’s

School Library Special

Interest Group. She also

lectures for the Adelaide

University Information

Management Department.

Globally, primary and secondary

school-aged pupils are reporting

significantly reduced enjoyment of

reading. A 2024 study by Australia

Reads found that 35 per cent of

young people and children did

not read a book in 2024. And the picture in the UK

is even more alarming, with 66 per cent of children

and teenagers saying they don’t read for pleasure.

Girls consistently report higher reading enjoyment

and confidence, but their attitudes are changing

– and the gender gap is narrowing. A survey of

Australian children showed that girls liked reading

10 per cent more and were six per cent more

confident than boys (Hillman et al, 2023). Yet in

2016, the Progress in International Reading Studies

(PIRLS) showed an even larger 16 per cent gap

in enjoyment and a similar five per cent gap in

confidence (Thomson et al, 2017). This means girls’

reading confidence has risen only one per cent

since 2016, while their enjoyment has dropped by

six per cent (Thompson, 2022). As Margaret Merga

noted (Radio New Zealand, 2023), the narrowing

margin reflects girls’ declining performance rather

than improvements among boys. Girls may still

have a higher performance in reading than boys,

but this does not correlate with their enjoyment.

This data was the motivation for the Atomic

Reading initiative which I modelled on James

Clear’s Atomic Habits and empirical research on

the benefits of reading. It is a gamification reading

initiative first introduced at a private all-girls' school

in Brisbane, Australia. The focus is on building the

small, atomic, habits of reading for enjoyment. Aim

for as little as five minutes of reading per day, and

if you forget – no harm done. Just pick up where

you left off. The programme helps pupils develop

an understanding of the benefits of reading for

enjoyment, and the incremental advantages of a

small habit practised every day.

I have continued the initiative at The Rockhampton

Grammar School in a powerful, purposeful

collaboration with the English department. Classes

visit the library for Atomic Reading lessons at the

beginning and end of term. Pupils create teams and

collaboratively compete against one another to gain

a place on the leaderboard.

Online gamification usually includes the winning

of digital badges or points. In Atomic Reading, we

display a leaderboard to keep track of who is winning

the games in real time. The programme assumes an

element of competitiveness, but this is never made

explicit because the aim of the programme is habitbuilding.

Atomic Reading relies on a delicate balance

of extrinsic and intrinsic rewards. The intrinsic fun is

collaborating with teammates throughout the year,

with a small extrinsic reward in acknowledging the

team who takes first place on the leaderboard at the

end of the year.

While there is still limited research on the effects

of gamification on students’ reading habits, Li and

Chu (2021) concluded that integrating gamification

into children’s reading increases interest.

The aim is to generate many different reading

discovery experiences through the games, while

students socialise with their peers in teams.

Research suggests that the lone reader devouring

books with a torch under the blankets at night is a


Atomic Reading

The leaderboard is effective in

gamification because it is an intrinsic

reward which doesn’t tend to wear

off after a short period of time

fading trope. Instead, young people are opting for

a more social experience in their reading practice

(Webber, et al, 2023).

There is a dynamic energy when students

play the games. Atomic Reading is not a quiet,

contained lesson. There are whoops and cheers,

with groups huddling together excitedly trying

to find the answers to quiz questions or game

goals. The leaderboard system works well as

students celebrate their efforts as a team. The

leaderboard is effective in gamification because it

is an intrinsic reward which doesn’t tend to wear

off after a short period of time, like the extrinsic

rewards of stickers, badges or sweets.

A game usually lasts around 25 minutes, giving

plenty of time afterwards for students to choose a

book to read for as little as five minutes each day

through the term or holidays. English teachers

also make time for reading for enjoyment in their

lessons. This is so important for young people

with competing commitments. Games range from

Kahoot!, online and physical scavenger hunts, Book

Blurbs, or games created on Genially or Flippety.

All the games are based on the school library’s

collection, with the intention being that the barriers

to students choosing books, such as having to judge

them based on their covers, is removed and they

are introduced to titles, genres and authors they

may not have known about previously.

Just as reading for enjoyment has been in slow

and significant decline, my experience with gains

in student reading for enjoyment are proving slow

but steady. Atomic Reading at an all-girls' school

enabled the students to get to know the titles of

books, new authors and new genres. This finding

coincided with the research from Australia Reads

which found statistically that more than two in five

girls who say they are not interested in reading

believe they cannot find anything of interest to

read (2023). Many of the pupils revealed that

their motivation to read more did not significantly

change, but attitudes to reading did. Reading

seemed more fun, thus elevating their experience

of reading for enjoyment.

My current school is co-educational, and I am

seeing the same phenomenon occur. When we

play the games, I usually have the books used in

the games with me, should any students want to

explore them as a reading option. I have found

that students quite often choose these books to

borrow at the end of the session. Access to new

titles, authors and genres is provided and physical

and social barriers are removed by having the

books placed on the table in front of them, as well

as having learned about the book through the game.

However positively the Atomic Reading programme

has been received, motivation, access and

awareness of the benefits of reading alone are not

enough. School library staff are motivated to create

reading programmes because we understand the

transformative benefits of reading. This is not

necessarily the case for pupils. Webber et al (2024)

discovered that adolescents felt that “the messages

they receive about the benefits of reading often

felt repetitive and did not align with their own

goals.” As a result, in collaboration with the English

department, we are committed to gathering data to

better understand student attitudes on the benefits

of reading. We hope this will assist in addressing

this issue of misaligned reading goals.

Atomic Reading is an iterative process with many

opportunities to explore joyful connections

to student reading, collect valuable data to

further understand student reading habits and

opportunities to collaborate broadly and creatively

with the school community. Best of all is watching

even the most reluctant reader building the

smallest of habits and becoming someone who

reads for enjoyment.

Atomic Reading is not a quiet, contained lesson.

There are whoops and cheers, with groups

huddling together excitedly trying to find the

answers to quiz questions or game goals

Students at Rockhampton

Grammar School enjoy

‘gamified’ reading with

Helen Weston


Sponsored content

Beating the Summer Slide

As the end of term approaches, we’ve put together some ideas

to keep pupils reading and creating while school is closed

As the end of term approaches,

school librarians face a familiar

challenge: the summer reading

slide. Pupils, particularly those

from low-income households, can

lose a significant portion of their

school-year reading gains during the long break.

Now is the ideal moment to rethink how we support

reading and creativity over the summer. Here are

some practical, library-led ways to keep your pupils

reading, making and imagining while the school

gates are closed.

1. Be brave: #SetTheBooksFree

Traditionally, the end of term means calling all

books back into the library for stocktaking. Yet

those shelves hold thousands of pounds’ worth of

high-quality resources. Why let them sit idle when

they could be in the hands of children with few or

no books at home?

The #SetTheBooksFree approach encourages

librarians to allow pupils to borrow books for the

holidays. Evidence from schools that have tried this

is reassuring: reported loss rates are often less than

one per cent.

To nurture reading and creativity, you could:

• Invite pupils to build their own holiday

collections. How about a mystery bundle, a comics

and graphic novels bundle, or a ‘create something’

bundle with art, craft and cookery books?

• Highlight titles that inspire making and doing,

such as drawing, journalling, baking or building.

Prioritising equity over perfect stock figures helps

every child build a temporary home library and a

bank of ideas for creative projects.

2. Sync up with Read to the Beat!

The Reading Agency’s 2026 Summer Reading

Challenge, Read to the Beat!, created with Universal

Music Group UK, offers an easy hook for reluctant

readers who love music.

Before term ends, make sure pupils know that

they can:

• Visit their local public library or the Summer

Reading Challenge website.

• Use the Book Sorter tool to find peer

recommendations.

• Unlock digital rewards and discover lyrics,

graphic novels, poetry and music-themed stories.

In school, you can echo the theme with ‘soundtrack

to your summer’ displays, simple playlists for

popular books, or activities where pupils design

album covers and write alternative song lyrics

based on a favourite story.

3. Build a digital bridge

Even when your physical library is closed, pupils

can still access it online.

You can use your library management system

(LMS), such as Accessit, to create an interactive

digital dashboard for students and families.

Schools have used this kind of hub to share:

curated reading lists, quizzes, polls; quick creative

challenges, such as ‘design a new cover’ or ‘write

a six-word review’; and links to trusted free

resources and local library services.

Promote accessible tools like the Bookzilla app and

Calibre Audio for pupils who struggle with print, so

that every learner can join in.

You might also invite children to share photos of

reading dens, drawings inspired by books, or short

reviews, and plan to display a selection in September.

4. Make it social, playful and creative

Keep the focus on reading for pleasure, move away

from reading logs and towards experiences that

feel social and fun.

In the final weeks of term, you could:

• Use ‘book menus’ at the circulation desk so

pupils can quickly browse themed selections.

• Create a simple summer reading bingo

challenge with prompts such as ‘read under a

tree,’ ‘turn a chapter into a comic strip’ or ‘read a

poem aloud to someone at home.’

• Share ideas for low-cost family activities, such as

summer ‘booknics,’ book-to-film nights and craft

activities linked to popular titles.

As librarians, you are uniquely placed to turn the

long break into a season of stories and creativity.

By setting the books free, connecting with national

initiatives and building strong digital and community

links, we can help pupils return in September as

confident, enthusiastic readers and creators. Books

change lives – so let’s make the National Year of

Reading a summer to remember.


Feature

A Library for Our Times: Nurturing

Creativity and Media Literacy

Following publication of the Government’s new White Paper calling

for a broader educational experience in schools, Rachael Brennan

shares her experiences of launching pupil podcasts

The Government’s new White Paper,

Every Child Achieving and Thriving

(2026), sets out a ten-year plan

for education reform, calling for a

broader educational experience in

schools. It argues that young people

should develop the confidence to communicate

ideas, think critically about the information they

encounter, and engage with the world around

them. The paper envisions schools as “anchors in

our communities,” helping to develop confident

citizens ready to shape society’s future.

This vision sits within a wider debate about how

young people engage with the digital world. If

schools are to help children question information

readily at their fingertips and find their voice beyond

the classroom, digital environments inevitably

form part of that landscape. Yet participation in

these spaces is not always straightforward.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

General Comment No. 25 (2021) affirms that

young people’s rights to freedom of expression and

access to information apply online as well as offline.

Livingstone and Helsper (2010) describe digital

literacy as the ability to access, analyse, evaluate and

create media, suggesting that as these skills develop,

so too do opportunities for creative expression and

civic participation. Gauntlett (2011) similarly argues

that when young people create media, they share

their ideas and experiences with wider audiences,

giving their work meaning and purpose.

However, discussions about young people’s digital

lives are often seen through a safeguarding lens.

Concerns about misinformation, online harm and

responsible conduct shape how schools respond to

media use. While vitally important, this perspective

can limit opportunities for young people to

participate meaningfully as creators as well as

consumers.

If young people are to develop the civic awareness

envisioned in Every Child Achieving and Thriving,

they need safe spaces where creativity, discussion

and media participation can flourish. School libraries

are well placed to offer such spaces, providing a

bridge between the classroom and the wider world.

This work is not about teaching young people

technology they already know, but about giving them

a space to use those skills creatively and responsibly.

With this in mind, I launched Hear My Voice, a

pupil podcast developed as part of my doctoral

research sponsored by the SLA. The project

invites students to interview people and turn life

stories into podcast episodes, developing skills in

interviewing, recording and editing while reflecting

on audience and responsibility.

The project soon sparked wider creative activity.

Pupils have come forward with their own ideas,

including a current affairs podcast by sixthformers

called Below the Headlines. We also

have a KS3 book club podcast where students

interview authors such as Nathanael Lessore, Kiran

Millwood Hargrave and Steven Camden.

Together, these projects show how a school library

can become a creative hub where young people

develop media literacy, confidence and civic voice.

When it comes to balancing the need to protect

and guide students whilst giving them space for

creativity and dialogue, the library is a natural

place to turn. If schools are to become the

community anchors imagined in Every Child

Achieving and Thriving, the school library is where

many of those voices can begin to be heard.

Rachael Brennan became

college librarian at

Stonyhurst College in 2022

upon completing an MA

in library & information

management at Sheffield

University. Passionate about

creating student-centred

library spaces, Rachael's

journey continues with a

professional doctorate in

creative media education

at Bournemouth University

sponsored by the SLA.


Feature

Reading for Pleasure:

Drawing Together!

SLA patron Sarah McIntyre continues her series of

articles on how different visual elements in books

can be key to inspiring children's love of reading

Parents have often told me that their

children's favourite part of the

Adventuremice books is the drawalong

right at the end. Reading

stories can feel a bit passive to

children; they love taking things

in, but much more than that, they love to do

something! If a series of books regularly provides

a simple, immediate action challenge at the end,

children will be that much more excited to pick up

the latest book.

Drawing a character is perfect for this: something

magic happens when a child puts pencil to paper

and creates a little friend, someone who looks

right back at them from off the paper. It's a little bit

like adopting a pet – and so many children yearn

for a pet! Next they want to give their little friend

a name. Then they need to figure out what it likes

to eat, and decide where it's going to live. Does it

wear clothing? Does it squeak in a tiny voice, or

emit giant roars? All these decisions are the same

kinds of choices writers and illustrators make when

they're developing characters for their books.

But are draw-alongs creative – or is it just copying?

Shouldn't we encourage children to draw their

own pictures? I used to think this, when I first

started leading school assemblies. Some children

loved to get a basic prompt and then draw freely,

particularly those in Reception and Year 1.

But as I led older children in drawing – middle

primary and especially upper primary – the

children didn't appreciate this. They were nervous

about trying out creative things in front of their

peers, and drew either very conventionally or not

at all. Even teachers were nervous about other

people seeing their drawings. But if I led them all,

step-by-step, in drawing a character, they loved

it. Everyone was drawing the same thing, so they

didn't feel embarrassed, and they had unlocked a

new skill. Now they could doodle that character

in their notebooks. And many of the skills were

transferrable: once they could draw a basic mouse’s

head and body, they could adapt it and draw a

simple cat, or a person. Or they could add extra

details to their character: design an outfit, give it

funny hair, have it say something cheeky. If they

wanted, they could use it to create a new story,

maybe in the form of a comic.

You can look out for online drawing videos, such as

the excellent #DrawWithRob series created by Rob

Biddulph. But also look out for drawing tutorials

within books themselves, to encourage children to

crack open those books and get stuck in.

Sarah McIntyre creates

the highly illustrated

Adventuremice books

with her co-author Philip

Reeve. Discover their latest

book, Adventuremice: Of

Mice and Mummies and

explore the free activities at

Adventuremice.com

If a series of books regularly

provides a simple, immediate

action challenge at the end,

children will be that much more

excited to pick up the latest book

Reeve & McIntyre teach children to draw Pedro


Drawing Together!

Characters are even more

fun in a context!

Right: Sneak

preview from the

upcoming ninth

Adventuremice

book!

Something magic happens when a

child puts pencil to paper and creates a

little friend – someone who looks right

back at them from off the paper

Adam Stower's tutorial in Murray the Viking

So inspired by children who give their drawings that extra oomph!


Feature

The AI-powered Librarian:

Efficiency, Sanity, and the

Human Connection

Jasmine Brown makes the case for AI as an everyday tool that

frees up time for the more creative aspects of the librarian’s role

Jasmine Brown is a secondary

and sixth form librarian from

Kent. She reads anything she

can get her hands on, is a

book blogger (The Librarian's

Bookcase), and a Kent SLA

committee member.


For those of us working in

educational settings, artificial

intelligence has transitioned from a

futuristic concept into an everyday

tool that aids in our most vital tasks.

AI is not just a search engine, but

a multifaceted assistant that can streamline our

working day. Speaking from my own experience,

integrating some AI in my working practice has

been pivotal in maintaining my professional

sanity. It serves as a fantastic timesaving resource

that allows me to step away from the more

mechanical aspects of the job to allow more time

on the more human ones.

One of the most immediate ways AI has improved

library services is through its integration into

Library Management Systems (LMS). While we

all cherish the reading advisory part of our roles,

talking with the student and getting to know their

niche interests to recommend their next favourite

read, the reality of a school library often involves

30 students to help within a short period. In my

own library, AI-generated recommendations based

on borrowing history have become a vital last resort

during busy library sessions. When students can

use these generated recommendations too, it can

foster a sense of autonomy and independence. We

should be using all tools at our disposal if it helps

a child begin or develop their journey towards

reading for pleasure. Even though we try to know

our collections intimately, it is not possible to

read every single book in our collection (though

we can try!). AI can aid in these sometimesoverwhelming

reading advisories, helping match

books to students.

AI’s primary strength is its ability to compile

and synthesise research on complex topics in

a matter of seconds. AI search engines can be

incredible time-savers when it comes to research

inquiries. We are quite versatile, but we cannot be

experts in every field. A recent personal example

for me came when a pupil was researching

Developments of Modern Age China and on a

very tight deadline. The use of AI search engines

was instrumental in my finding of sources and

popular texts to suggest, and quickly.

I like to use Semantic Scholar to help with EPQ

projects. You can search the topic/question,

and it provides suggested articles, providing

references within them to see if the article is

worth reading, a number of these being open

access and available to view immediately. I view

this as a friendlier alternative to Google Scholar

which is normally what students tend to use to

find journals for their research. Notebook LM, an

AI-powered research notebook, can summarise

your sources, turn them into podcasts or create

videos to explain complex papers. It is sourcecentric

– you decide the research parameters,

and you choose the research it consults from.

As with all AI applications, they are tools. You

should always use your professional judgement

as a librarian and question the provenance of the

sources or articles that turn up in a search. AI is

not perfect – but it is incredibly useful!

Using AI creatively is a grey area – it is not ethical

to use it to generate art or to write things for you. It

can be used to create with you, especially when you

have creative burnout. I am in my seventh year of

my role, and I officially ran out of ideas for library

displays this year. There are only so many romancethemed

displays one can create for Valentine’s

Day. Using AI to generate fresh display ideas based

on genres, obscure themes, or upcoming national

celebration weeks was a genuine lifesaver. I have

also used the AI tools to identify which books have

been slated for film or television adaptations in

the coming months. This data allows me to predict

Using AI creatively is a grey area – it is

not ethical to use it to generate art or

to write things for you. It can be used

to create with you, especially when

you have creative burnout

The AI-powered Librarian

When we changed our LMS, AI enabled

me to complete the significant task

of fixing long lists of errors in the

metadata of the entire collection

what sort of trends will be popular for the students

so that I can purchase stock wisely and for displays

to have the most impact, and more importantly,

ensure that the library remains relevant to the

students’ external interests.

On the administration side, AI has streamlined the

unseen labour of my role – the cataloguing and data

handling. As much as we would love to have the

time to read every new book that comes into our

library, sometimes this is just not possible. I use AI

search engines to generate descriptive keywords for

cataloguing, often uncovering terms that I hadn’t

previously considered. When we changed our LMS,

AI enabled me to complete the significant task

of fixing long lists of errors in the metadata of the

entire collection. Changing the incorrect or missing

data, mistakes in the keywords – AI tools completed

it in mere moments, saving me months of manual

data entry. When I needed to figure out a complex

function for an Excel sheet for data analysis (or

general assistance with Excel), AI can provide this

to save time. Marketing our library can benefit from

AI assistance as well – Canva can suggest graphic

and layouts based on our input. Thanks to AI

tools, the time I spend on administrative tasks has

reduced significantly.

Personally, I do not use the generative side of AI often.

But it was invaluable in devising a Top Trumps-style

game using our library books. I used Gemini Canvas

and gave specific instructions on what I wanted to

achieve and how I wished the ‘app’ to work. Using

AI as part of the creative process took half the time

and produced better solutions than I had.

So, is there a place for AI in the school library?

I believe so, if it helps us complete mundane,

data-driven tasks and frees up the time to pursue

more creative work such as building positive

experiences with students. AI is not a replacement

for professional judgement, but a tool that clears

our desks of the digital clutter, allowing us the time

and the mental space to increase our impact on the

school community.

Photo by Alexei

Maridashvili on

Unsplash


Feature

Read to the Beat! Unleash the Power

of the Summer Reading Challenge

Reading momentum doesn’t have to wane over the

holidays. This year’s Summer Reading Challenge hits all

the right notes for keeping kids engaged this summer

School librarians and teachers already

know what the data shows. Reading

for pleasure is in decline across all

ages. Just over one in three children

now say they enjoy reading, the lowest

level since 2005. Among five to tenyear-olds,

daily reading has almost halved since

2021. And with 2026 designated the National Year

of Reading, the momentum and mandate to act has

never been stronger.

The good news is that we know what works. Every

summer, The Reading Agency's Summer Reading

Challenge consistently bucks the trend, keeping

well over half-a-million children actively reading

for pleasure across the holidays. Last year, nearly

600,000 children took part across 84 per cent of

UK library authorities, borrowing more than 11.6

million books. Almost four in five of them said they

were reading more after taking part, and 95 per cent

were reading for enjoyment at least once a week.

Three in four reported that their reading enjoyment

had held up or increased.

School librarians are uniquely placed to make those

numbers even bigger, and to ensure that children in

your school are among them.

Last year, nearly 600,000 children

took part across 84 per cent of

UK library authorities

This year's theme: Read to the Beat!

The 2026 theme is all about harnessing the

universal appeal of music to inspire a new

generation of readers. Read to the Beat! is created

in partnership with Universal Music Group UK.

The accompanying official book collection spans

fiction, non-fiction, poetry and graphic novels –

broad enough to reach your most reluctant readers

as well as your keenest. Use it. Talk it up in lessons,

in displays, in end-of-term assemblies. The theme

gives you a natural, exciting conversation starter

with pupils who might not otherwise think the

Summer Reading Challenge is for them.

How can school libraries get children excited

during the summer term?

• In the weeks leading up to the summer holiday,

you can promote the challenge directly to

pupils – particularly those in Years 3 to 6, where

reading engagement drops most steeply.

• Partner with your local public library: many are

keen to come into schools to sign children up

before term ends, or to arrange visits for classes.

Make sure every child leaves with the name of

their nearest branch.


Read to the Beat!

Photo © Carsten Windhorst

• Send information home to parents and

carers. For many families, especially those

without a library habit, a nudge from school

can be the difference between signing up

and not. The Reading Agency provides free

resources including assembly presentations,

parent communication templates and

pupil activity sheets, via the School Zone at

summerreadingchallenge.org.uk

And don't forget younger siblings either. The

Summer Reading Mini Challenge, designed for

children aged three and under, uses the same

sticker and collector card format to bring families

with pre-schoolers into the library fold – building

the reading habit from the very beginning.

Expand your own book knowledge

The Teachers' Reading Challenge runs alongside the

Summer Reading Challenge, supporting educators

to deepen their knowledge of children's literature

For many families, especially those

without a library habit, a nudge

from school can be the difference

between signing up and not

and model reading for pleasure to their pupils. As the

reading champion in your school, signing up sends a

powerful message and gives you a brilliant new shelf

of recommendations for September.

The summer break doesn't have to be the time

reading momentum wanes. With the right push

from you, it could be where it begins!

summerreadingchallenge.org.uk


Digital

Bev’s Helpdesk

Bev Humphrey compares two stock image

libraries with content that is free to use

When I was a school librarian, I enjoyed

using my creativity to design eyecatching

resources. I remember

struggling to find quality images that wouldn’t eat

into my meagre budget and I think that is still a

priority for many of us.

There are, of course, multitudes of AI creation

tools available for making new images, but many

people have valid reasons for avoiding the use

of AI, so I've decided to focus on non-AI image

banks this time. For the purposes of this column,

I imagined that I wanted to create a simple poster

and need some gorgeous pictures of fiction books

to use without worrying about their origins.

I started with Unsplash (unsplash.com)

and the homepage looks clean and easy to

navigate. The platform explicitly forbids

AI-generated photos, illustrations, and 3D

renders. The first thing I would do is go to

the person icon on the left hand side of the

page and create a new free account. When

you are signed in, this enables you to create

a collection and bookmark images as well as

being able to view your previous downloads if

you should ever need to find them again.

Bev Humphrey is a

literacy and digital media

consultant with specialisms

in the use of digital media,

reading promotion, and

event organisation.


I typed ‘fiction books’ into the search bar, which

brought up a page of attractive images, including

557 illustrations. Not all images are free to

download however, so you need to click on the

filters at the right-hand side of the page and

toggle the license type to Free. This brought my

results down to 652 images and 13 illustrations.

Downloading is easy – you just need to click on

the image and choose the size of your download. I

like the fact that a box then appears giving you the

contributor’s attribution details.

Pexels (pexels.com) also excludes content

produced with generative AI from their library.

I remember struggling to find quality

images that wouldn’t eat into my

meagre budget and I think that is still

a priority for many of us

An image I found by searching ‘Creativity.’

Photo by ameenfahmy on Unsplash

Pexels is owned by Canva which does allow some

pretty slick crossovers if you want to edit the

images. I opened a free account, but you don’t

need to, and I very much liked the fact that I could

search for both images and videos. Repeating

my search for ‘fiction books’ gave me a possible

59,500 images and 16,200 videos to trawl through!

All of them are free to download, placing the

cursor on the image/video brings up a download

button and the download starts as soon as you

click on it. The site gently suggests making a small

donation to the creator for using the media but

there is no obligation to do so.

Each site offered up a plethora of great images,

but for ease of use I would probably choose

Pexels. You may think differently, however –

happy hunting!

Digital

Future Skills: How Gamified

Learning Can Lead to Better

Understanding of AI

Sally Perry reviews AI Quests – two gamified learning

experiences designed to help young people develop AI literacy

A

collaboration between Google Research

and Stanford Accelerator for Learning can

save us from being cast as the killjoy when

teaching children good practice in using technology.

AI Quests are free, web-based video games which

cast KS3 pupils as effective, responsible AI creators.

Two (of the planned three) quests are available:

Market Marshes and Dusky Dunes.

In Market Marshes the quest is to build AI to yield

accurate early predictions of flood patterns so a

riverside market can be set up without costly loss

of produce. In Dusky Dunes the quest is to build

AI to triage patients at an eye clinic. In both cases,

the mission is to create solutions to life-changing

problems – threats to livelihood and health. The

quests are set on another planet but in post-game

interviews, AI designers explain that they simulate

genuine AI applications being used in our world.

Smooth animation, ambient music, familiar

landscapes and a blending of natural and tech

sounds aid immersion. Speech is well-paced

and often subtitled (a voice overlay is possible

via Google Chrome if your device has the right

specifications). Text is pitched at the right level

with good font size. Players have adequate control

over the pace of the games. The only keyboard

skills needed are click, scroll and drag. Characters

are varieties of cute extra-terrestrials likely to foster

empathy and motivation to help.

Much is conveyed about AI without mentioning

the word ‘algorithm’. The stages of building AI are

presented as fairly simple in theory. Professor

Skye, the (inexplicably white-coated) AI expert,

guides players through tasks on data protection,

collection, selection and cleansing, and model

training and testing cycles, while explaining

their rationale. Reiterated throughout is the fact

that AI can only learn from prior and agreed

judgements of human experts. This is a welcome

lesson to younger generations amidst the furore

of an imagined AI takeover.

I can imagine some pupils wanting to replay the

games after class. Replays reward users with

variety: data errors are not always duplicated,

playing around with different combinations of

data yields different results and, in Dusky Dunes,

it’s possible to visit up to nine different habitats to

meet different kinds of extraterrestrial as part of

The quests are set on another planet but

in post-game interviews, AI designers

explain that they simulate genuine AI

applications being used in our world

your AI’s diversity training. Replaying reinforces

learning, as do the post-game reports (the task of

correctly ordering the stages of building the AI).

The spirit of Turing’s insight that error is built into

intelligence hovers throughout the games; human

players and the AI they are training learn as much

through mistakes as successes.

I have a couple of reservations. In Dusky Dunes,

before players scan the retinas of volunteers,

a brief task for getting informed consent could

have been included, ideally with Arlo the

indigenous medic given a significant role. In

Market Marshes, after finding the handwritten

note pinned to a tree (identified as ‘town gossip’)

players could have been given a task on the

importance of local knowledge, ideally guided by

Luna the local market manager. I mention these

omissions only because they render the resource

a little out of step with teaching about consent

and efforts to decolonise library collections and

the curriculum. Reservations notwithstanding,

I would recommend AI Quests for STEM,

geography and social science lessons.

Sally Perry has worked in

young people's libraries for over

25 years and is currently the

librarian at Queen's College,

London and Queen's College

Prep School. She has a PhD in

philosophy and an academic

interest in philosophy of mind

and language.


Digital

STAR SEND Toolkit Review

Lisa Daisy

The STAR SEND Toolkit is an online safety

teaching resource for teachers and support staff

working with secondary students aged 11 to 16

with special educational needs and disabilities

(SEND). Some material is noted to suit pupils

slightly younger or older, which provides flexibility.

Content is organised under the STAR headings:

Safety, Trust, Action and Respect.

The issues explored demonstrate a clear

understanding of the challenges educators and

SEND students face in real online settings. Topics

include sharing information, understanding the

impact of social media posts, and online bullying

– only a small sample of the subjects included in

this comprehensive resource, designed to support

SEND students using a multifaceted approach.

Advice, vocabulary, activities, key focus ideas and

extended resources are all included. Subjects are

presented clearly, with the language carefully

tailored to suit both educators and students, to be

used as part of group or individual work.

Activities work well on their own and prompted

ideas for follow-up activities for use in lessons and

discussions. Multiple-choice quizzes are included

to review learning.

The structure offers a progressive sequence of

sections that can be used as lesson plans, or used

in standalone sessions, such as interventions.

STAR SEND is useful for staff both new and

experienced in SEND teaching. There are also

documents designed for sharing with other

stakeholders in the student’s education, including

parents or external professionals, which is a

valuable time-saver.

I would also recommend this toolkit for librarians

who do not teach SEND but are involved in the

conversations brought into the library by students.

Lisa Daisy is the school

librarian at The North School

in Kent and previously

worked in public and further

education libraries.

Join Our Webinar:

Supporting Pupils with SEND

Our fourth partnership webinar with Accessit will explore

practical approaches to supporting pupils with SEND and

building reading environments where every child can thrive.

We’ll be joined by a panel of expert voices bringing a variety

of research, lived experience, and professional practice to

the conversation: Jessie Ricketts, Professor of Psychology

and director of the Language and Reading Acquisition

(LARA) lab, will share key insights from her research into

language development and SEND.

Library assistant April Ingram will share her own work

supporting dyslexic and disengaged readers, including a

successful outreach project that has transformed access to

inclusive, high-interest books in primary schools.

Award-wining author Eve Ainsworth will reflect on her

dyslexia-friendly novel about emotionally based school

avoidance, Jellybean, and discuss the ways accessible fiction

can create meaningful connection for many children with

SEND. With current experience working in a SEND school,

she brings valuable, real-world insight into supporting

pupils with additional needs.

Together, our speakers will offer insights and practical ideas

that you can implement in your own setting, from improving

book access and choice to fostering a whole-school reading

culture that supports every learner.

16 June, 3.30pm-4.30pm.

Book now to secure your place at sla.org.uk/events

Eve Ainsworth

Photo Linda Woodard


Research highlights

Eleanor Verduyn provides an overview of the latest

research on reading for pleasure, cultivating reader

engagement, and promoting literacy at home

Eleanor Verduyn is a graduate

trainee librarian at Ibstock

Place School. She graduated

from UCL in 2023 with a

First in Linguistics, and has a

Masters with Distinction in the

Psychology of Language from

Edinburgh University.


Reading for fun, parents’ views

This study by Parentkind evaluated 2,000 parents’

perceptions of reading for fun amongst children

aged four to 18. They found that only 20 per cent

of children read for fun daily, and 71 per cent

weekly. Encouragingly, 77 per cent of children

enjoy reading, with the most popular genre being

modern children's fiction (preferred by 49 per

cent of children), followed by manga (37 per cent),

although reading enjoyment declines with age.

Happily, the vast majority (98 per cent) of parents

believe reading is important or very important,

and just over three quarters of them read with

their children regularly. The average parent who

reads with their child does so for 26 minutes per

day, and 65 per cent of parents would like to spend

more time reading with their child. The biggest

barrier to this, unsurprisingly, is screen time, with

children being more than twice as likely to watch

videos on social media than to read each day. Cost

is also a barrier, and children in higher income

areas are better supported with reading at school.

Age is also a factor; only 61 per cent of secondary

age children read for fun weekly compared to 87

per cent of primary age children, and are less likely

to use their school library weekly (29 per cent

versus 51 per cent).

parentkind.org.uk

Cultivating the engaged reader in books

and libraries

This paper by Gullola Nuriddinova of Kokand State

University provides strategies to engage readers

in any library context. While much of it will feel

familiar, it is useful to read through as a reminder

of the value of a range of different approaches to

getting potential readers back on track in a digital

era. The strategies discussed include the careful

curation of displays to appeal to a diverse audience,

so that all patrons feel seen and validated, and the

power of a librarian as a matchmaker to guide the

reader to their book. Holding events such as author

talks can help to foster engagement by making texts

more accessible. The library space should be varied,

with quiet solo seating, group areas for book clubs,

and ideally maker-spaces too, although admittedly

budgets may get in the way. Finally, all reading

should be positioned positively in libraries, be it

digital or physical, to include all types of readers.

claritaslumen.org


Since 2019, the number of parents

chatting with their children daily

has declined by 20 per cent to 70

per cent of parents

Parents’ support for young children’s

literacy at home

This report from the National Literacy Trust paints

an alarming picture of the downward trend in home

learning activities amongst children aged five and

under. Due to barriers such as lack of time due to

work (45 per cent of parents), associated costs (30.5

per cent), and lack of availability of local activities

(22 per cent), there have been massive declines

in many activities supporting literacy. Since 2019,

the number of parents chatting with their children

daily has declined by 20 per cent to 70 per cent of

parents, the numbers of families playing together

daily is down by 25 per cent to 51 per cent, and

reading daily is down by 20% to 46 per cent. Only

46 per cent of parents report singing daily, and

painting or drawing daily has declined by 11 per

cent to 28 per cent of parents. Although most

parents report feeling knowledgeable and confident

about the importance of these activities for early

language development, their engagement in these

activities is concerningly low.

literacytrust.org.uk

Read, Watch, Listen, Learn

Creative arts

Primary

Secondary

Museum in a Book

Hervé Tullet

9781797226415, 2024,

70 pages, £16.48

This book is an interactive

masterpiece from the celebrated

author of Press Here. With pull-outs,

flaps and worksheets, this engaging

book provides accessible, simple ways for children to explore

art and creativity. The vibrant patterns and clear instructions

will have children creating their own exhibitions in no time.

You are an Artist

Aurélia Durand

9780241645925, 2023, 128 pages, £7.39

A must-have for growing artists seeking

to develop their skills and creativity.

Durand is the successful young author

of This Book is Anti-Racist and is

sharing her experiences to empower

the next generation of creatives. The chapters in this book

demonstrate how to build your skills, create a portfolio, use

social media to build your brand and turn your art into a

sustainable business.

Ted-Ed – The Artist's Palette

A YouTube channel packed with

short videos with engaging

animation that will answer all the

possible questions that pop up in

young minds. Topics are endless,

but particularly useful for creative

arts is The Artist’s Palette Playlist,

which gives short, well-animated

and informative videos about the lives of great artists.

Search for Ted-Ed The Artist's Palette on youtube.com

The Northern School of

Contemporary Dance

This channel is perfect for young

people who are passionate about

dance and want to pursue it further.

The student solos, studio rehearsals,

and interviews with dancers will

inspire their own practice. There are

also informative videos about the

different qualifications available and student life.

youtube.com/@NorthernSchool

Outside the Lines Podcast – Kinderling and

QAGOMA productions

This is a joyful listen for both children and adults. Curious

kids interview some of Australia’s best artists with all their

questions. With short episodes that are ideal for younger

listeners, this podcast is a charming insight into art and

how children interpret art.

Search for Outside the Lines Podcast on spotify.com

The Young Film Academy Podcast

A must-listen for all teenagers with a budding interest in

film and television who want to learn more about where

their interest could take them. This podcast regularly

features interviews with established industry professionals,

giving insight into the range of careers available, not just

the ones in the spotlight.

Search The Young Film Academy Podcast wherever you get

your podcasts

tate.org.uk/kids

This website is a go-to resource for engaging children

with art online. With games, quizzes, videos and a range of

workshops on how to get creative, kids can be entertained

for hours, picking up information and inspiration as they go.

tate.org.uk/kids

Google Arts and Culture App

Jam-packed with apps and games that span a range of

creative industries including music, dance and painting.

Users can challenge their friends to K-Pop dance battles, take

quizzes identifying AI art, and learn as they play a range of

well-designed (and slightly addictive) games!

artsandculture.google.com


Feature

Libraries Unwrapped:

An Easy, Eco-Free Alternative

to Plastic Covers

Inspired by Finnish libraries’ move away from plastic book

protection and her own pupils’ passion for environmentalism,

Caterina Balistreri set out to eliminate plastic book covers

from the library at Matthew Arnold School, Oxford

Caterina Balistreri became a

school librarian after gaining a

PhD in Russian Studies, with a

focus on Children's Literature

of the post-Perestroika period,

in 2013. She is passionate

about sustainable practices

and creative health projects

in libraries.

L

ibraries promote many crucial

values, including civic awareness,

sustainability and community. We

often have comprehensive book

collections about topics such as

climate change. And yet those same

books are often covered with plastic.

This discrepancy between proclaimed values and

practices is partly due to a lack of alternatives in

the UK market. Pelloplast, the Finnish company

that provides City of Helsinki libraries with covers

made from plant-based film, is not an affordable

option for many.

In 2022, CILIP, through the Green Library Network,

launched a campaign for plastic-free book covers. It

encouraged librarians to meet “suppliers and other

industry experts, understand exactly what barriers

are preventing a shift from plastic to biodegradable

covers, and continue to research international

examples of alternatives being successful.”

Determined to adopt sustainable practices, some

libraries, such as the Western Isles Libraries

(Scotland), have stopped protecting books

altogether. However, if your school, like the ones I

have worked for, encourages its students to always

have a book with them to read at the beginning

of each lesson, the library books will be carried in

school bags, and it is in bags that disaster can occur

anytime. Water bottles leak. Food crumbles. Muddy

trainers leave stains.

As well as contributing to an environmental

disaster, plastic covers and lining are not

necessarily effective against the above-mentioned

perils because they leave the text block exposed.

Also, they get easily damaged, and after a while

they make a book unattractive.

With the aim of moving away from plastic, we

have decided to use fabric book sleeves made

by an intergenerational group of volunteers. We

exclusively use recycled fabrics or remnants, and

the sleeves can easily be washed or mended. No

more library budget spent on covers, no more time

spent lining books. No more plastic.

It is important that the students understand the

importance of this project and how to use the sleeves

correctly. An explanation of the initiative forms

part of the library induction for all Year 7 pupils in

September, and we return to the subject throughout

the year during library lessons with all year groups.

Library books are carried in school

bags, and it is in bags that disaster can

occur anytime. Water bottles leak. Food

crumbles. Muddy trainers leave stains


Libraries Unwrapped

We are demonstrating that

sustainability can be affordable,

and even profitable: we are saving

£250 a year by not buying covers

This project conveys a powerful message about the

urgency of reducing our consumption of plastic.

Going green is often perceived as a luxury, but

we are demonstrating that sustainability can be

affordable, and even profitable: we are saving £250

a year by not buying covers. This money is now

being used to expand the library collections – and

also to buy books for some students to keep.

What is more, this project combines library-led

community climate action with a flourish of

creativity. Many students personalise their own

book sleeves or request one in their favourite

colour. I feel that I know more about students’

identities and interests as a result. In this way,

the book sleeves play an important role in the

library’s strategy for the promotion of reading. The

project has emphasised the power of reading to

develop and channel connections, strengthening

the capacity of the library to promote social

participation, belonging and trust.

How to get started

1. The template. Find a very simple sewing

template that suits your needs. You can find

a tutorial on my school’s website:

maschool.org.uk/learning/library

Prepare a number of cardboard templates – ask

your DT department to help you! – measuring

24cmx29cm (9.5inx11.5in). The exact number

depends on the size of your school, but I would

make 30. These will be distributed to your

volunteers and will make the whole sleevemaking

process much easier.

2. Source your fabrics. Upholstery and curtain

shops, dressmakers and local families may be

happy to donate unwanted pieces of fabrics

and even clothes. We are grateful to Kids Just

Recycle, Bespoke Gowns and Monsoon for

the fabrics they have donated for our project.

We have never run of out of fabrics, and the

great variety in textures and colours allows our

student to choose the book sleeves that best

match their tastes and personalities. If you have

library helpers, ask them to cut out the fabrics

using the template as a measuring tool (eg in

multiples of six). This will help you further

minimise any waste of fabrics.

3. Recruit some volunteers. Send a letter to your

pupils’ parents and carers asking them to

take part in the project. I think it is important

to mention the reasons why you are going

plastic-free and the advantages of this project

for the library and the students. Once you have

a group of people who have expressed their

interest, contact them with more detailed info

and questions (eg how many sleeves is each

of them willing to make?) as well as a link to a

tutorial. At Matthew Arnold, we have more than

30 volunteers including parents, grandparents,

students, ex-students and other members of the

local community.

4. Prepare the kits, remembering to include

the cardboard template. The kits can be

collected by a student (if the volunteer is a

relative) or by the volunteers themselves from

the school reception.

5. Distributing the sleeves. At Matthew Arnold

School, library club members receive a book

sleeve to keep. Some students who are not

members of a library club but are very active

library users, or are involved in specific

reading interventions, can keep their book

sleeve too. The rest of the students borrow a

sleeve and return it with their library books.

The digital library system helps keep track of

the borrowed book sleeves.


Feature

Media Literacy: Identifying

Misinformation Must Start

in the School Library

Stéphane Goldstein explores the increasing importance of

media literacy and awareness in the curriculum, and makes

the case that school librarians are best placed to teach it

Stéphane Goldstein

is executive director of

InformALL, a research

consultancy which he

founded in 2016, specialising

in information literacy.

He is the Advocacy and

outreach officer for the

CILIP Information Literacy

Group and coordinates the

new Media and Information

Literacy Alliance (MILA).

Last November, the Curriculum and

Assessment Review (CAR) for schools

in England produced its report, the

result of over a year of consultations

and deliberations. As expected,

the CAR did not propose any

revolutionary changes to educational philosophy

and practices, but one notable feature was the

recognition of the importance of media literacy.

The CAR report defines media literacy as

“understanding and engaging critically with the

messages conveyed through different media

channels, including AI. This includes understanding

how to identify and protect against misinformation

and disinformation by questioning and applying

critical enquiry to information and information

sources.” This is pretty similar to definitions of

information literacy, a concept that may be more

readily recognised by librarians. Information literacy

and media literacy overlap considerably, but it’s the

latter term that is most prevalent in UK public policy

and educational discourse.

The CAR seeks to boost media literacy largely because

of the urgency of tackling misinformation and

disinformation. In itself, that is an important factor,

although media literacy is about more than just a

protective reaction to different forms of online harm;

it should also be seen as a positive, empowering

concept that enables individuals and communities to

play an active role as citizens. The CAR recommended

that the role of media literacy should be strengthened

particularly in the English and citizenship curriculum;

and crucially, that citizenship (including media

literacy) should in future be taught to primary

schoolchildren at Key Stages 1 and 2.

The Government has broadly endorsed these

proposals. In its response to the CAR, the

Department for Education (DfE) stated that it

“agree[s] with the Review that building media

literacy and the skills for young people to critically

engage with and assess information from a range

of sources is increasingly important.” But although


Teachers lack the skills and

confidence to deliver media literacy

education in a way that is relevant to

their students’ experience of media

this represents a positive step forward, the

approach is cautious, perhaps because DfE does

not wish to impose what might be perceived as

heavy additional burdens for teachers.

Following the publication of the CAR review, a group

of 30 organisations – including the SLA and CILIP –

issued a joint statement in December 2025 setting out

a collective view for how media literacy should feature

in the future curriculum. The statement, coordinated

by the Media and Information Literacy Alliance

(MILA), notably argued that media literacy education

should be embedded consistently, coherently and

prominently across the whole curriculum; that is,

within most if not all subjects. However, it is not yet

clear how or even whether it will be rolled out beyond

English and citizenship. The CAR report makes brief

references to media literacy in the context of history

and science, but it does not elaborate on this, and

DfE’s response mentions media literacy solely as

part of English and citizenship. DfE also proposes


Media Literacy

to associate AI literacy with digital literacy as part of

the computing curriculum – but the joint statement

was sceptical about whether computing is the best

place to learn about how to engage critically with

the rapidly evolving nature of AI. And it remains to

be seen too if the curriculum will comply with the

PISA 2029 Media and Artificial Intelligence Literacy

(MAIL) Assessment Framework, whose initial draft

was published in February, and which recognises that

MAIL is inherent to all subjects across the curriculum.

The joint statement set out a series of

recommendations, including the need to support

and fund the media literacy training of teachers.

This is vital, given that teachers lack the skills and

confidence to deliver media literacy education in

a way that is relevant to their students’ experience

of media, as argued in a comprehensive report on

media literacy produced last year by the House of

Lords' Communications and Digital Committee.

Another recommendation in the joint statement

relates specifically to school libraries. The

statement recommends that “the DfE clarify longterm

plans for enabling all school libraries to be

staffed with professionally qualified librarians.

Consideration should be given not just to the space

but also to how the library will be used, factoring in

such skills as media and information literacy, given

that school librarians are well placed to support

approaches to media and information literacy.”

It was particularly important for the statement to

stress this, given that, frustratingly, the CAR report

singularly failed to mention school libraries at all.

This is in spite of an earlier joint submission to the

Media literacy should be seen as a positive,

empowering concept that enables individuals

and communities to play an active role as citizens

review which argued, following the CAR’s interim

report in June 2025, that school librarians bring

unique professional expertise to media literacy

education. But perhaps more encouragingly, there

are signs that, since the end of last year, DfE officials

are starting to recognise that school librarians are

necessarily part of the solution.

In the wake of the CAR report, DfE commissioned

the drawing up of detailed draft proposals for each

of the 13 curriculum subject areas. This work was

undertaken from January by the various subject

associations; for instance, the Association for

Citizenship Teaching compiled the draft for the

citizenship curriculum. By the time this issue of

The School Librarian goes to press, it is expected

that the 13 drafts will have been submitted to the

Secretary of State for Education. At time of writing,

what happens next remains vague: we know that

the Government has committed to a consultation,

over the summer, on the different subject proposals.

We have yet to find out what form the consultation

will take, and we can only hope that it will provide

a genuine opportunity to comment. We hope

too that the questions and issues raised in the

joint statement, including on the place of school

libraries, will be addressed.

Watch this space.


Feature

Inquiry: Fundamentally Creative

and Fundamental to Creativity

Darryl Toerien considers the relationship between curiosity and

creativity, and the librarian’s part in fostering a spirit of inquiry

It is difficult to believe that the "storm of

hype and fright" (Beckett, 2023) ushered

in by ChatGPT still rages, and shows no

sign of abating. I mention this because

no topic of discussion – including, and

perhaps especially, one on creativity –

can ignore AI. By AI, I mean generative AI in the

form we are most likely to encounter it in at school,

namely, Microsoft's Copilot, Google's Gemini,

and/or OpenAI's ChatGPT. And while I have

grave concerns about AI on a number of levels, I

have, largely, focused on the practical difficulty

(impossibility?) of actually teaching the use of AI

for actual learning, and this from within an inquiry

stance and process – see Toerien (2025) and

Hutchinson & Toerien (no date). Having said this, I

am going to ignore AI in this discussion of inquiry

and creativity, at least initially.

Darryl Toerien is head of

inquiry-based learning at

Blanchelande College,

Guernsey. He is the originator

of FOSIL, the FOSIL Group,

and the Institute for the

Advancement of Inquiry (IAI).

He serves on the Editorial

Board of San José State

University’s Learning Hub

journal, and is a member

of the UK School Library

Association (SLA), the

International Association

of School Librarianship

(IASL), and the School

Libraries Section (SLS) of

the International Federation

of Library Associations and

Institutions (IFLA). He coauthored

Teaching Inquiry

as Conversation: Bringing

Wonder to Life with Barbara

Stripling, which will be

published by Bloomsbury

in June to coincide with the

150th anniversary celebration

of the American Library

Association (ALA) in Chicago.


Creativity, according to the broadly accepted

standard definition, "requires both originality

and effectiveness" (Runco & Jaeger, 2012). The

requirement for originality is unsurprising.

However, originality, while necessary for creativity,

is not sufficient, and a degree of effectiveness, or

usefulness, is also required. A creative idea, then, is

an idea that is both original and effects its intended

outcome. Furthermore, a creative idea presupposes

a creative person, and a creative process from

which a creative idea might emerge, and then

through which it might become a creative entity.

This recalls Matthew Syed's (2015) observation

that insight is the endpoint of long-term iterative

process, which is important because creativity, like

inquiry, is a stance and a process, which further

means that creativity can be fostered. Understood

in this way, inquiry is fundamentally creative, and

fundamental to creativity.

Inquiry is personal, in that it is centred on students

as persons, and, as Jacques Maritain (1943)

asserts, guiding the dynamic process through

which a person forms themself as a person is the

chief task of education. This dynamic process of

becoming yourself – the fulfilment of the deepest

potentialities of your being human in the world

(1962) – is the epitome of creativity in terms of

originality, for there is literally no one like you.

Moreover, inquiry has this as its end and is the

means to this end. The reason for this is that inquiry

is a stance of wonder and puzzlement that gives

rise to the dynamic process of coming to know and

understand the world and ourselves in it – reality

– and, as Dallas Willard (1999) asserts, dealing

with reality is ultimately the only true measure of

success. This dynamic process of coming to know

and understand reality – from direct experience,

but mostly from the record of human knowledge –

is the epitome of creativity in terms of effectiveness,

for, as Balzac is said to declare, "the world belongs

to me because I understand it" (Bloom, 1987).

So, how does this relate to the school library

and librarian? Douglas Knight (1968) identifies

two major and unique functions of a library,

regardless of type:

• It is space for the meeting of the minds of our

students and the ideas held in our collections,

both non-fiction and fiction.

• It is space for the creative extension, or

development, of those ideas in the minds of

our students.

The librarian, Knight continues, is, then, a teacher

of this process of learning, which is an inquiry

process. This, in turn, requires close collaboration

The Spirit of Inquiry

between those in the classroom who first teach the

mind to inquire, and those in the "creative centre"

that is the library who teach the mind how to

inquire, which makes the librarian integral to the

educational process.

Maritain (1952) powerfully describes this most

important and urgent work of ours:

“Nothing is more important than the events

which occur within that invisible universe which

is the mind of [a person]. And the light of that

universe is knowledge. If we are concerned with

the future of civilisation we must be concerned

primarily with a genuine understanding of what

knowledge is, its value, its degrees, and how it can

foster the inner unity of the human being.”

This moment of enlightenment, which is the point

at which we become ever more truly and fully

ourselves, is symbolised in the Express stage of the

FOSIL-based Heroic Inquiry Cycle; however, as we

have noted, this moment of enlightenment is the

outcome of an iterative inquiry process that hinges

on the movement from Investigate to Construct

(Figure 1).

Figure 1: The inquiry process of becoming

more truly and fully ourselves

The work of Investigate is to make sense of

relevant information, characterised increasingly in

a digital environment by information overload and

information disorder:

• Information overload, which is a question of the

quantity of information, is exacerbated by the

World Wide Web, and is symbolised by the spider.

• Information disorder, which is a question

of the quality of information – mis-, dis-, and

mal-information – is exacerbated by AI, and is

symbolised by the serpent.

Making sense of what others are saying – rather

than merely copying-and-pasting what others are

saying, or merely copying-and-pasting what AI tells

me others are saying – is difficult work. However, it

is also essential work if I am to acquire knowledge,

which is necessary for authentic learning.

The work of Construct, then, is to find meaning

in pertinent information, which is personal – what

I think and feel about what I now know – and

which is, by its very nature, original. Deciding what

I think and feel based on the knowledge that I

have acquired is difficult work. However, it is also

essential work if I am to gain understanding, or

insight, which, too, is necessary for actual learning.

Moreover, it is this understanding gained from

knowledge – insight – that enlightens me, enabling

me to be more effective in dealing with reality. The

struggle symbolised in Construct is, therefore,

both internal and external – a heroic struggle to

become more originally and effectively myself

against internal and external forces opposed to that.

Sometimes, these forces combine, as in the case of

AI, where the temptation to outsource the difficult

work that is essential for learning is incentivised by

"people who do not love us but want our money"

(David Foster Wallace interviewed in Lipsky, 2010).

I end, therefore with Paulo Freire (1970/2005),

which is also a beginning:

“For apart from inquiry, apart from the praxis,

individuals cannot be truly human. Knowledge

emerges only through invention and reinvention,

through the restless, impatient, continuing,

hopeful inquiry human beings pursue in the

world, with the world, and with each other.”

The revolution, and indeed the resistance, will not

be televised.

If you’d like to read more about this

subject, you can find Darryl’s sources

and bibliography in the online version

of this article at sla.org.uk


SLA Training and Events

Learn More from Your

Library Community

Anna Bray, our training and events manager,

introduces a packed programme that will support

professional development and share best practice

A

s training and events manager at

the School Library Association, I’m

lucky to spend my time working

alongside incredibly talented

and brilliant librarians, authors,

illustrators and the wider school

community. We create events that support learning

while strengthening the role of the school library.

At the heart of everything we do is a simple aim:

to support school librarians in their vital role, and

to champion the potential of every pupil through

the library. Our events are about professional

development, but also crucially creating space

for conversation and reflection

to do the best job possible for

the children our community

supports every day.

Here are just a few of the

events we have planned for

the coming months:

National Year of Reading

webinars

Our National Year of Reading

webinar series is here to help you

make the most of this landmark

year. The sessions bring together

a mix of perspectives on key

themes affecting young readers

today. We’re particularly keen to

ensure each webinar feels rounded and grounded

in real experience, so we bring in academic

research, author voices, and, crucially, the voices

of school librarians themselves. Our upcoming

session on wellbeing is a good example of this,

exploring how the library can support mental

health in many ways – whether by helping children

understand big emotions in the books they read, or

using the library to create a safe place for pupils.

Annual conference

Our annual conference is another key moment in

the year. This year we’re delighted to be welcoming

speakers including Jacqueline Wilson, Bobby

Joseph, Iqbal Hussain, Patrice Lawrence and Jamie

Smart, among others. Bringing together such a

wide range of voices from across children’s books

creates a space full of brilliant ideas.

But just as important as the speakers is the

opportunity for librarians to come together. Many

are working under increasing pressure: managing

tight budgets, advocating for their role, and

supporting whole-school priorities. Having the

chance to connect with others who understand

those challenges can make a real difference. Our

conference – like all our events – is really about

building that sense of community.

Live lessons

Looking ahead, one of the areas I’m most excited

about is the growth of our live lessons programme.

These sessions bring authors and illustrators virtually

into school libraries, connecting them with pupils in

real time. They’re still relatively new

for us, but they’ve already shown just

how important those moments of

connection can be.

These live lessons mark an exciting

step forward in our work. While we

have always focused on supporting

librarians, we are now expanding

that connection to reach children

more directly, bringing them into

our events and creating resources

librarians can use to engage readers

with exciting author content. We

want to strengthen the link between

libraries, literacy and children’s

direct experiences. We’re doing

this because the research shows

that the more we can do to support

children’s love of reading from a young age, the better

their confidence, wellbeing and learning will be.

Alongside these larger events, we continue to offer

a wide range of training and webinars designed to

support day-to-day practice. From practical skills

workshops with quick tips you can implement

straight away (see our Manga skills workshop) and

publisher roadshows (showcasing new titles in the

children’s publishing world) to training webinars

on reading for pleasure, demonstrating impact and

strengthening advocacy, everything we deliver is

shaped by what we hear from librarians.

For me, the most rewarding part of this role is

seeing the impact of this work and how a single

idea can make its way into the library, and from

there into a child’s life.

For details of all upcoming training and events,

visit the Events section of our website at

sla.org.uk


REVIEWS

Your essential guide to the best new children’s book releases

Photo © Paula Deegan Photography

Maxwell, Lucas

A Million Tiny

Missiles All At Once

Chicken House, 2026, 240pp,

£8.99, 9781917171397

For a novel set during a

particularly harsh Nova

Scotia winter, A Million

Tiny Missiles All At Once

is characterised by the warmth of Lucas Maxwell's

storytelling. Fourteen-year-old Elias' family is at

breaking point: his older brother Bo has become

tangled up with dangerous characters, and his parents

are drifting apart under the pressure of holding

an already difficult life together. Elias becomes

determined to win the school talent contest, believing

it is the way to solve all his family’s problems.

The grand prize of a family meal at the new pizza

restaurant in town takes on mythic proportions for

this young man who is more sensitive and childlike

than many of his peers. No one who has ever felt

cold, lonely, confused or on the margins can fail to

connect with Elias as he looks through the glowing

window of Pizza Hut at the seemingly happy families

inside. All of us have, at one point or another, been

this young man with his face quite literally pressed

up against the window of life. Some young people

experience this sense of otherness more regularly

than others, though, and this remarkable novel offers

a powerful insight into what it can be like to grow up

with neurodiversity. There is a quality to reading this

book that will feel familiar to anyone who loved The

Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. I wish

it similar success; it certainly deserves it.

Recommended for 13+ readers. The story contains

allusions to drug use, frequent violence and mild

bad language.

Saira Aspinall


Feature

Behind the Book: It’s a Brave

Young World with Anu Adebogun

Anu Adebogun’s book, It’s a Brave Young World,

is a comprehensive guide to growing up which is

shortlisted for this year’s Information Book Awards.

Here, Anu answers our questions about her work

Reading It’s a Brave Young World

took me back to the "growing

up" books of my 1980s/1990s

childhood, but this is so much

more inclusive and respectful

of its readers than anything we

had then! Were you motivated or inspired by

the idea of updating that genre for today’s

young people?

It’s been incredibly affirming to

see It’s a Brave Young World

resonate with young people,

caregivers and professionals.

Being shortlisted for the 2026

SLA Information Book Awards

means a great deal, it signals that

these conversations are not only

needed, but valued. The ‘growing

up’ books many of us read seemed

ground-breaking for their time, but

they were limited. Representation was narrow.

Disability and mental health were rarely discussed.

Adolescent experiences were heavily gendered,

and conversations about consent, power and safety

were largely absent.

Growing up today is vastly different from what

many adults realise. After more than a decade

working in the youth and community sector, I

could see the need for something honest, inclusive

and grounded in their reality. I wanted to create

the book I wish I’d had, but more importantly, the

book young people deserve now.

Blending memoir, research and evidencebased

activities, It’s A Brave Young World is

not a sanitised puberty guide. It’s a practical,

When young people are trusted with

truth and practical tools, they rise. This

book is my contribution to that trust

compassionate toolkit designed to help young

people feel seen, respected and equipped.

You have worked with thousands of young

people on issues like safety, wellbeing and

access to education. How did that work

influence your writing?

As an author, youth practitioner and

PhD researcher exploring gender,

youth justice and crime, I want to

create a world where young people

can fulfil their potential with their

safety and dignity secured. Over

the past decade, I have worked with

national organisations across the

youth and community sector to

deliver campaigns and workshops

promoting safety and widening

access to education.

A constant stream through all the

expressions of my work is that young people

are not problems to be fixed, but individuals to

be championed. At its core, It’s a Brave Young

World reflects these values and is an ode to the

wonderfully complex lives young people lead. It

weaves research, real-life stories and reflective

exercises to help young people understand

the systems around them, recognise unsafe

dynamics, and advocate for themselves and

others. When young people are trusted with truth

and practical tools, they rise. This book is my

contribution to that trust.

Some of the most powerful moments in the

book are when you share your own experiences.

Was it important to you to connect with your

readers on that personal level?

Absolutely – stories are how we make sense of the

world. Adolescence can feel isolating, and sharing

my own awkward, confusing and frightening

experiences was intentional. Non-fiction can

sometimes speak at young readers, and I knew

that if It’s a Brave Young World was going to


Behind the Book

When young people understand

their values and recognise their

inherent worth, everything shifts.

Self-doubt loosens its grip

resonate, it couldn’t simply inform young people;

it had to sit beside them. I shared personal stories

of what it was like being the eldest daughter

of working-class Nigerian immigrants and the

challenge of growing up navigating layered

identities as caretaker and child, insider and

outsider. Growing up on a Clapton council estate

in the early 2000s, during a time of postcode wars,

meant that there were times I felt unsafe.

By sharing my story, I hope to model something

powerful. Adults were once young too – we have

felt unsure. We have wrestled with identity. We

have experienced fear and doubt. Bravery is not

the absence of those feelings – it is the courage

to acknowledge them and keep going. If my

vulnerability helps even one young person feel

seen, supported and better equipped to navigate

their world, then including it was essential.

As the blurb says: “No subject is off limits…

from crushes and consent to mental health,

family dynamics and online addiction”. Is

there a topic that is particularly important to

you, or one message that you hope all readers

will take away from the book?

The book explores a breadth of topics and that

flexibility is deliberate as it is designed to meet

young people where they are. Growing up

isn’t linear. Some seasons call for reflection on

friendships, others on identity, confidence, or

coping with difficult emotions. But one central

theme through all the chapters is that the most

important relationship you will ever have is the

one you have with yourself. If there is one message

I hope they carry, it is this: know who you are, and

move through the world from that place.

When young people understand their values and

recognise their inherent worth, everything shifts.

Self-doubt loosens its grip. Confidence stops being

performative and becomes grounded. Unsafe

situations become easier to name. Boundaries

become clearer. Relationships become healthier. I

want young people to do more than survive growing

up. They can step into their power, take up space and

light up the world in ways that are authentic to them.

Do you think there is a more urgent need for this

type of book today, compared with say 10 or 20

years ago? Do you think young people now are

facing a more volatile, less nurturing world?

Every generation of young people wrestles with

its own unique challenges, but today’s context is

undeniably more complex. The world they are

navigating is more interconnected, more visible,

and in many ways more volatile. Social media has

transformed the landscape of adolescence. Young

people are not just managing playground politics


Behind the Book

The comic-style illustrations, inspired

by the 'story times' in the manuscript,

create accessible entry points into

important conversations

and practical tools to show them how to navigate

physical and online spaces with critical awareness.

but are navigating 'virtual street corners' where

comparison is constant, mistakes can be permanent,

and curated perfection can intensify feelings of

inadequacy, loneliness and isolation. Young people

are absorbing global crises in real time, and the

cumulative effect can heighten anxiety and isolation.

Young people are remarkably perceptive and

socially aware, but they need tools. Rather than

centring fear, the book centres empowerment.

It equips readers with language to name what

is safe or harmful, understanding of their rights,

What was it like working with Soofiya and

Lila Cruz as illustrators? How much did you

collaborate on making sure the look and feel

matched the content?

Working with Soofiya and Lila Cruz was an absolute

joy! Their artistry has brought vibrancy and warmth

to the book. From the outset, it was important

that the design matched the spirit of the content.

Some of the topics are serious, but the book should

never feel heavy. The comic-style illustrations,

inspired by the “story times” in the manuscript,

create accessible entry points into important

conversations. Soofiya and Lila’s illustrations don’t

simply complement the text, they deepen it. Seeing

the words and artwork come together has been one

of the most rewarding parts of the journey.


Anu Adebogun is a British-Nigerian author, scholar and

award-winning youth practitioner. With ten years' experience

across the youth and community sector, Anu has partnered

with leading national organisations to promote the safety

and wellbeing of young people and improve their access

to education. She authored the bestselling book Black and

Brave History: 30 Sheroes Who Shook Britain to celebrate

the revolutionary impact of Black female presence through

colourful, inspiring biography. Anu holds a first-class Law

degree and completed an MSc in Criminology and Criminal

Justice at the University of Oxford. Presently, she continues

her PhD studies at Oxford where she explores parent-child

relationships and safety at home.

Books: 7 & Under

Beer, Amy-Jane

Illustrated by

Manon, Elin

A River Running

Through You

Magic Cat Publishing, 2026,

32pp, £12.99, 9781917366304

Rivers. Natural World. History

As the author is a previous Wainwright prizewinner,

it is unsurprising that her children's picture

book should encourage the exploration and

understanding of nature. Here it is the flowing water

of a river, its never-ending journey through time

and space. Where does it come from? Where is it

going? From underground pools to swamps and

marshes teeming with life, it moves on to the vast

ocean. Rivers have sustained farming, provided

transport and acted as borders between hostile

countries. Our common ancestors began life in

water; it is part of who we are and informs how we

live today. This is a beautiful book, with stunning

illustrations. I like the way details from the past are

faint, ghost-like superimpositions on the main colour

scenes, emphasising their integral part. The author

cleverly uses two font styles to distinguish between

storylines, questions and more factual information. A

thought-provoking book, affirming the preciousness

of rivers as they are constantly moving, changing

and connecting our lives and the natural world.

Lee Giddings

Bowles, Paula

Big Like You

Mama Makes Books, 2026,

14pp, £7.99, 9781916780125

Dinosaurs. Healthy Eating.

Pop-ups

A delightful board book in which young dinosaur

Rex asks all of his friends how to grow big, strong,

fast and smart like them. They respond in verse,

and Rex is excited to try the new foods they

recommend. Finally his grandpa, Big T, notices

that Rex has grown and promises that he will

indeed become ”Totally magnificent – just like

me!” Bowles's illustrations are colourful and

inviting, accompanied by text in two font sizes

with plenty of rhyme and repetition. We enjoyed

the unexpected extras – there is a surprise flap, a

winking eye on a dozing grandpa and an enormous

fold-out on the final page, while on every doublepage

spread the reader can search for Rocky, Rex’s

pet rock. Subtitled A dinosaur’s guide to healthy

eating this is a charming story, which will facilitate

conversations between adults and young children

about how Rex enjoyed tasting new green veg,

berries, beans and fish. Perhaps they might like to

sample new foods too?

Hilary Kemp

Campbell, Iona

The Dreamies


32pp, £7.99, 9781915569806

Dreams. Nightmares. Sleep

The Dreamies live in the walls

of your home, coming out at night to paint dazzling

dreams in vibrant colours, helping you live out

adventures and excitement. But what happens

when they are distracted, and dreams grow into

nightmares? The Dreamies come to the rescue,

using your imagination to bring big scary things

back down to size with silliness – what if the tiger

were hanging out the washing? Or eating spaghetti?

This gently reassuring picture book encourages

young readers to take control of their fears and

reclaim their dreams. Written with the advice of a

child sleep specialist (Gemma Coe), The Dreamies

also has a useful end note explaining how carers

can help to dispel night fears. Campbell uses soft

blues to evoke cosy nights, with vibrant colours

and swooshing lines for lively dreams. Perfect for

sharing one-on-one or discussing with a class.

Helen Thompson

Carter, James

Illustrated by

Layton, Neal

Boing! A Bouncy

Book Of Bugs

Otter-Barry Books, 2026,

32pp, £8.99, 9781915659767

Bugs. Minibeasts. Poetry

Ants, butterflies, bees, mosquitos and even

tardigrades all feature in this amazing book of

poems and facts all about bugs and minibeasts.

Inside the book you’ll find 24 brilliant poems, most

including a fact or two which will grab young

people’s attention. There’s also a definition of bugs

and minibeasts. Young people of all ages will enjoy

exploring this book with its vibrant and buzzing

illustrations by Neal Layton which really enhance

the poems. The poems themselves use a variety of

poetic forms, including acrostic, shape, free verse

and rhyming. This also makes the book a great

resource for introducing young people to poetry

– combining minibeasts, bugs and poetry is surely

a winning combination! This would make a great

book to read to a class as well as for those who

are independent readers. It is definitely one for the

school or classroom library.

Stephen Leitch

Damali, Enomwoyi

Illustrated by

Burton, Ruthine

Amber Class:

Making Friends


80pp, £8.99, 9781915659699

Friendship. School. Short stories

In the first of three stories the class learn from Mrs

Adisa that they will have a supply teacher for two

days a week, while she cares for her grandson. They

discuss their feelings before making gifts for the

baby. The activity at the end of the chapter is to sing

a reassuring clapping song. In chapter two, the class

are going to visit a local care home. Before going,

they discuss who they might know in a care home.

This leads to a conversation around memory loss.

The children create a plan for their visit and take

the elements with them when they go. The activity

is making people happy! In the final story, after

coming up with a recipe for friendship, the children

try it out on a new student who seems lonely. They

succeed and a new friendship is made. The activity

is a poem for children to read aloud together. Gently

reassuring and with lots to discuss and explore.

Helen Thompson

Davies, Nicola

Illustrated by

Shtonda, Olga

The Map of Me

Templar Books, 2026,

32pp, £7.99, 9781835871782

Maps. Connections.

Mental Health

A story which introduces maps in an engaging and

beautiful way to young readers. The main character

has moved house and everything feels very

unfamiliar. Her mum helps her make connections

and makes her feel better by helping her to draw a

map of her new surroundings. The map becomes

a real project, growing every day, as the girl adds

special things that are important to her. There is no

doubt that this book will inspire children to draw

their own personal maps. Beautiful pictures and

thoughtful text make this book perfect for the PSHE

shelf in any library.

Becky Taylor


Books: 7 & Under

Eland, Eva

Different

Andersen Press, 2026,

32pp, £12.99, 9781783449996

Neurodiversity. Self-esteem.

Feelings

Klaus Flugge Prize winner Eland, is renowned for

her illustrations' unusual colour palettes and for

her sensitive evocation of children’s feelings. Here

she employs an eye-popping neon pink for Mia,

who gradually becomes aware of her difference.

She feels different but finds it difficult to explain

why. But she grows increasingly sad – no matter

what she does, she doesn’t fit in. But one day

another childs notices she is different and exclaims

“I am different too!” They find comfort in each

other’s difference and share the things they love.

Eventually Mia accepts that she is loved and that

being different is an essential part of her. This is a

lovely, gentle message that makes its point without

labelling and is all the better for that. The striking

and engaging artwork will ensure it is picked up

and its positive message of self-affirmation will be

well received.

Joy Court

Emenanjo, Bunmi

Illustrated by

Ejaita, Diana

Nigeria

Barefoot Books, 2025,

20pp, £7.99, 9781646866311

Nigeria. Daily life. Multilingualism

Welcome to a day in Nigeria. Waking up to the

sound of the cockerel, eating creamy porridge

for breakfast and getting ready for school. The

children play with their friends, visit the market

then help cook dinner before settling in to bed.

Multilingual life in Nigeria is positively portrayed.

The story is seamlessly told with the addition of

key words in Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa with a handy

pronunciation guide on each page. The book ends

with a useful guide to a day in Nigeria. This board

book is brightly illustrated with vibrant colours and

fun-filled characters enjoying their day. This book

is part of Barefoot Books’ Our World series and

would be interesting and informative for a parent to

share with a child or a teacher to share with a class.

Some children will see their culture affirmed and

valued, and some will be richly introduced to a new

country, languages and customs.

Carolyn Boyd

Evans, Harriet

Illustrated by

Prabhat, Chaaya

The Vikings

Little Tiger, 2025, 12pp,

£18.99, 9781838916640

Non-Fiction. History. Vikings

Hide-and-Seek History: The Vikings is an interactive

educational book for older readers. It is highly

illustrated and consists of more than 80 flaps over

six double-page spreads, with details under the flaps

extending information already given in the pictures.

Each spread contains a topic including: Trading and

Raiding; Norse Gods; Religion and the Afterlife; War

and Combat; and Daily Life. For example, did you

know that the Vikings reached as far as Baghdad

and Russia? They also had a complicated and

creative theory of the universe that contained the

realms of elves, dwarves and giants. A very engaging

book that uses stories and facts to immerse the

young reader in the world of the Vikings. It presents

information accessibly and the flaps are a fun way to

make new discoveries about Viking life.

Andrea Rayner

Foreman, Michael

Grandad's World

Scholastic, 2026, 32pp,

£12.99, 9780702323119

Family. Make-Believe. Nature

Jack lives in a city flat tower-block with his parents,

while his grandfather lives in the countryside

on a smallholding, with his cat, Sausage. It’s the

beginning of the school holidays – time for staying

with Grandad, feeding the hens and the ducks,

making a bird box for hanging on Jack's balcony

and sleeping out in the open just like the badgers.

Jack listens to Grandad's stories of his life as a

merchant sailor, tales of whales and dolphins,

icebergs and islands, even mermaids. It's the

middle of the night when Jack and grandad hear

flytippers dumping rubbish in the local stream, a

conservation area. They chase them off and spend

the rest of the day clearing up the mess, with

the help of the neighbours, and celebrating their

efforts with a party. As ever with a Foreman book, a

relatively simple story is accompanied by attractive

illustrations, providing lots of talking points and a

suitable moral mixed in.

Peter Andrews

Gray, Kes

Illustrated by Aye, Nila

Thoughts From a

Quiet Bench

Hodder Children's Books, 2026,

32pp, £7.99, 9781444972030

Playground. Thoughts. Friendship

In a school playground is the Quiet Bench, and the

text of this charming picture book comprises the

reflective thoughts of a small child as she uses it.

She considers diverse ideas from the immediate

(an ant walking in the bench, or a lost sock), to

existential questions about thoughts. The content is

gentle and thought-provoking and highly accessible

for individual reading or small groups. The

illustrations are a delight and beautifully arranged,

with the text placed in and around them. The blurb

describes the book as “about finding joy in the

everyday,” which is exactly right, and the book itself

is a source of such joy. It would be a very valuable

addition to the Early Years and KS1 library shelf and

would provide rich language and literacy material,

as well as for PHSE.

Stephanie Barclay

Grover, Rose

A Great Day at

the Beach


32pp, £7.99, 9781917044707

Seaside. Holidays. Families

This wonderful debut picturebook absolutely

epitomises the Great British Summer and the lively

and characterful ink and watercolour illustrations

bring this typical family to vivid life. They make

their plans and pack EVERYTHING, they have so

many exciting things they can do. They could go

swimming, but the wind makes it too rough, so they

fly kites – but then they get tangled. They build a

magnificent sandcastle only for an over-friendly

dog to knock it down. But it’s still a good day at the

beach – there is the picnic to look forward to… until

a greedy seagull steals a cake! They remain cheerful

even when it rains and they all have to shelter under

the umbrella. This really is the Dunkirk spirit! Their

positive outlook will teach a very valuable lesson

about making the best of things and no doubt get

young children sharing their own tales of days out

at the beach.

Joy Court


Books: 7 & Under

Harlow, Fran

Illustrated by

McKenna, Ellie

Stay!

Graffeg, 2026, 36pp,

£8.99, 9781805951308

Emotional. Loyalty. Pets

Deefer is a loyal and cute dog – when his owner

tells him to stay, he does. He stays in the heat, he

stays when he is hungry and he even stays when

other dogs try to tempt him away. What Deefer

doesn’t know, until the end, is that his owner isn’t

coming back because he can no longer look after

the dog. There are clues that could be explored as

you read. Thankfully there is a happy ending and

the fact that it is based on a true story adds to the

sweetness. The illustrations are full of energy and

life, particularly with Deefer – you can really see his

personality shining through. The words are also full

of detail and energy and help to show the busyness

and bustle of where Deefer has been left. This would

be a lovely story to share and would prompt lots of

conversation around loyalty and the importance of

caring for pets. A lovely charming read.

Katie Lane

Litten, Kristyna

Ivy and Bearlock

Holmes: The Mystery

of the Dinosaur Fossil


80pp, £7.99, 9781917044936

Puzzles. Crime. Dinosaurs

This is the second book in Litten’s crime chapterbook

series, featuring detective Ivy and her

grandpa Bearlock Holmes solving the mysterious

theft of a unique fossil. This delightfully illustrated

book is written in a loose cartoon strip form, with

accompanying narrative text, information pages and

intriguing puzzles (to help readers solve the crime),

woven in effortlessly throughout. Information about

fossils, evolution and conservation stimulates and

encourages further reading. This is a great book for

new independent readers to explore their interest in

dinosaurs and beyond, while practising their reading

skills, comprehension and information-finding.

They will enjoy the very attractive format, with

likeable and engaging characters. The language

is accessible but there are challenging vocabulary

choices too; there is much to explore in class

for KS1 and early 2 literacy. This would be a very

valuable addition to class reading shelves.

Stephanie Barclay

Liu, Elyon

A Drop in the Ocean

Post Wave Children's Books,

2026, 24pp, £9.99,

9781836270454

Ecosystem.

Interconnectedness. Love

From the author of A Seed in the Universe, this is a

book about the interconnectedness of the ecosystem.

The story takes readers on a journey from the ocean

to the sky, to a river and the earth before circling back

again to the ocean. Water appears not just as a drop,

but as a mass in the ocean, the clouds, and the rain.

Animals such as turtles, geese, elephants, and even

insects are featured on almost every page. Readers

see how these creatures rely on the water for life and

how humans depend on other living things. Along

the way, there are abundant simple shapes to point

out, items to count, and small creatures to notice. The

drop shape from the beginning reappears in the form

of a mother’s loving tear. Toddlers will enjoy looking

through the die-cut pages to peek at the next page

and the bold, dark outlines in the illustrations.

Elizabeth Lutz

Manning, Charlotte

The Brave Little Whale


32pp, £12.99, 9781915659828

Whales. Families. Sealife

This emotional tale, inspired by the real lives

of humpback whales, is gorgeously illustrated

and touches on themes of family, courage and

environmental conservation. Uki is a young

humpback whale who follows his grandpa every

year as the pod leaves their wintering grounds in the

warm tropical seas. From there, they will navigate

their way to their summer feeding grounds, far

away in the Arctic. But Grandpa is getting older

and one day he tells Uki that he won’t be travelling

with them. Instead, cousin Amka will lead the pod.

The journey north is fraught with danger and filled

with adventure. Can Uki remember the song of

peace that Grandpa taught him to get him through

difficult times? Sprinkled throughout with key facts

about humpback whales, this beautiful picture book

seamlessly blends information with a grippingly told

story. The rich illustrations, in a distinctive colour

pallet, vividly depict the underwater world and

draw the reader into the lives of these magnificent

creatures. A beautiful book for young readers,

especially whale fans.

Janet Ling

Mannion, Elena

Illustrated by

Brown, Erin

Nico the Donkey’s

New Home

Pikku Publishing, 2026,

24pp, £7.99, 9781738485970

Animals. Donkeys. Friendships

A warm and gentle story about the friendship

between an elderly lady and the rescued donkey

she gave a home to. Nico is beautifully rendered

by illustrator Brown, as is the countryside setting.

Nico has been enjoying his retirement from donkey

rides at the beach and been loved by children and

grandchildren, but when Mrs Anderson has a fall

and Nico is showing his age, family and the local vet

try to persuade her that Nico might be better off in

a nearby sanctuary. Mrs Anderson can only agree

to this after carefully checking out the possible

new home and working out how she can still see

Nico and give him his apple treats. A sweet story

about the bonds between animals and humans and

the importance of recognising what is in the best

interests of the animal.

Joy Court

Marshall, Yolanda T.

Illustrated by

Ferrer, Marianne

Brown Girl in the Snow

Greystone Kids, 2025,

40pp, £12.99, 9781771649261

Gardening. Friendship.

Adapting to change

There is quite a Canadian bias to this story which

some UK children might struggle with. Most of us

don't experience snow for months on end and we

don't have "recess" at school, for instance. Children

struggling with a change of location might take

hope from Amina’s experiences in this cheerfully

bright picturebook. For Amina, the contrast between

Guyana, where she grew up, and Toronto where she

will now live is immense and it is difficult to settle and

make friends. Particularly upsetting for the little girl

is the cold climate, with four months of snow. She

very much misses her verdant garden back home and

sings sadly about the plants she can no longer grow.

A library book about gardens proves to be the catalyst

for inspiration and change. A school field trip to a

large greenhouse leads Amina and her classmates to

discover that exotic foods can grow in a cold climate

if given some extra help. The children’s friendship

flourishes as they nurture their favourite plants

together and enjoy playing in the snow.

Hilary Kemp


Books: 7 & Under

Menon, Uma

Illustrated by

Bell, Rahele Jomepour

My Mother's Tongues

Walker Books, 2024,

32pp, £12.99, 9781529517880

Language. Family. Heritage

A little girl delights in the fact that her mother has

two tongues, speaking two languages, Malayalam

and English. They seem woven together like fine

cloth – sometimes one blends into the other, while

on other occasions, she uses just one. Moving away

from her country of birth, it was important to retain

that connection, as well as learn the new language.

She has ensured her daughter can speak Malayalam,

so that she can understand her grandmother at

home, and other relatives when they visit Kerala.

Inspired by the example of her aunt, who has four

tongues, the girl is determined to learn as many

as possible, so that “having a tapestry of tongues”

will be her superpower. Glowing colours illustrate

this warmly observed celebration of family and

the power of languages, inviting discussion and

exploration of everyone’s mother tongues.

Jayne Gould

Mills, Andrea

Illustrated by

Vaisberg, Diego

Time to Explore

Big Machines

DK Children's, 2026, 32pp,

£10.99, 9780241772577

Building. Machines. Technology

A colourful and tactile cover and an A4 format

creates a visually appealing, picture-led, information

text for early years. Working through the demolition

of a house and reconstruction of a newbuild

right up to moving-in day, the technical language

introduces machinery and the whole topic of

building within a logical framework showing the

machines in action. Captions add detail; diversity

is evident throughout. Text of variable size enables

differentiation and the illustrations alone offer

conversation opportunities between carer and child.

A fold-out of the finished building is a fun finale. No

index or glossary, but all the machines mentioned

throughout the book are listed and described on

the last page for reference. This is a great title for

early years classrooms and, I would suggest, equally

useful as a picture book for three-plus. A cheeky,

naughty squirrel hiding amongst the rubble can be

sought as the pictures are discussed.

Janet Sims

Mills, Andrea

Illustrated by

Garcia, Tania

Time to Explore

Dinosaurs

DK Children's, 2026,

32pp, £10.99, 9780241770863

Non-fiction. Dinosaurs. Interactive

What class of children has no children who are

interested in dinosaurs? After an introductory

double-page spread featuring information about

the book's inhabitants (or “remarkable reptiles”), we

leap into a series of spreads giving details of many

of the different types of dinosaur. Each dinosaur

has a snappy two-word phrase to describe it, with

essential information presented in bite-sized chunks

for readers to digest with enjoyment – names,

features, behaviour and so on. Mills' information

is carefully researched and well presented and

Garcia's illustrations complement the text perfectly,

giving readers a most realistic picture of whichever

dinosaur is under discussion. A range of different

sizes and types of dinosaurs are presented in the

run-up to the final dinosaur, the Argentinosaurus.

The final two pages of the book summarise

everything under the heading “Dinosaur Data'.” Well

worth adding to the library at school or at home.

Rudolf Loewenstein

Mühle, Jörg

Translated by

Shaw, Melody

Tomorrow I'm in

Charge!

Gecko Press, 2026, 32pp,

£12.99, 9798765670538

Friendship. Arguments. Compromise

This story, with its witty animal exchanges, is about

something most children will relate to – friendship

problems. Weasel thinks he has a monopoly on

friendship with Badger. Weasel is most affronted

when he comes home to find Bear playing with his

best friend. He is even more put out when bossy

Bear expects him to get them something to eat

while they carry on playing! Badger the peacemaker

wants them all to play together, but it is a

battle of wills between Weasel and Bear. They can't

even agree on a game. Weasel never follows the

rules. Bear always wants to be in charge. Eventually,

tired of the bickering, Badger leaves and announces

that he will play with Fox the following day. Animal

character is shown in the humorous illustrations

(watercolour and coloured pencil), and animals

are depicted against the delightful setting of their

woodland home. Fun and thought-provoking,

this story encourages valuable discussions on

friendship –sharing, decision-making, turn-taking

and exclusivity: what makes a true friend?

Lee Giddings

Sue Gransby


Oldfield, Matt

Illustrated by

Duncan, Daniel

Unbelievable Football

Short Colour Stories:

World Football Winners

Hachette, 2026, 80pp,

£7.99, 9781526367617

Football. Advocacy. Inspiration

From the first Women’s World Cup to fun football

facts and Maradona, this book is full of footballing

achievements. Matt Oldfield shines a spotlight on

women’s football and the achievements of Michelle

Akers, promotes positive sporting behaviour,

and highlights the fight for equality. There is a

fascinating chapter on Street Child World Cup,

a charity that advocates for children’s rights and

builds futures by providing opportunities through

sport. Divided into sections like a football match, it

is ideal for those beginning to read chapter books.

For the more reluctant reader, the text is presented

in bite-sized chunks, with keywords highlighted,

so it’s perfect to dip into. The engaging illustrations

are full of personality and action and immediately

engage the reader. A profile of Maradona explores

his more controversial side, as well as showcasing

his abilities and success. Pacy, entertaining, and

informative, this book is sure to inspire a new

generation of footballers and fans.

Ordinola, Fátima

Our Dreams


2026, 36pp, £12.99,

9781836270393

Night-time. Animals. Dreams

This book, with its attractive

muted purple backgrounds, makes for a calming

bedtime read. Children will love the varied cuddly

snoozing parent/cub animals on each page, from

non-scary tigers to woolly sheep, bats hanging

upside-down on a branch and monkeys. The

animals are sketchy in accurate detail, all the

different species share the same tree for example,

but that suits the parent/child sleep and positive

dreamtime message. There is added interest from

the unspoken story on most pages of a brightgreen

caterpillar becoming a vibrant moth and

flying off into the night. I liked the simple text and

the beautiful watercolour illustrations. There is

plenty of detail to examine and an unusual palette

of soft reds, browns, yellows and purples, with

bright yellow spots indicating fireflies and stars.

Recommended to share in an Early Years setting

and/or at bedtime.

Lucy Chambers

Books: 7 & Under

Ordinola, Fátima

Our Love


2026, 36pp, £7.99,

9781836270409

Family. Love. Togetherness.

What a wonderfully warm cuddle in the guise

of a picture book. We are treated to a range of

images and descriptions showing the multitude

of ways in which animal parents and children are

able to describe their love for each other. This also

translates into the way that human parents and

carers relate to each other. So, whether it is linked to

being in the cold, stretching over long distances or

being calmed, love is vital to us all. The last section

is particularly relevant as it describes love as being

kind and patient as well as helping us through

dark times and being all around us. This is a simple

but very profound book, with limited text that still

manages to pack a punch. It is also beautifully

illustrated in what appears to be watercolour, so that

we have a blending of the images and a softening

of the overall pictures. A delightful book for the very

young to share.

Margaret Pemberton

Pinson, Pauline

Translated by

Tim Smith-Laing

Illustrated by

Le Huche, Magali

Bum Fish

Pushkin Children's Books,

2026, 32pp, £8.99,

9781782695684

Fish. Friendship. Differences

Bum Fish has a face like a bum. Well, that’s what

everyone tells him. Fed up, he decides to head to

the depths of the ocean to explore what’s there

and hopefully find a friend as strange as he is.

There he meets Steve, a cheese fish, and so ensues

an adventure of friendship, fun and learning to

embrace your differences – and a few cheese

jokes along the way! Bum Fish is a joy to read,

accompanied by vibrant illustrations. It’s got lots

of humour and heart in it, but also many poignant

moments which kids may relate to and could make

good discussion points. I like especially how Bum

Fish decides to do something positive about the

situation be finds himself in, and ends up finding

a great friend as different as he is. A fine book to

share with a class or one-to-one with a child who is

struggling to fit in.

Stephen Leitch

Senior, Suzy

Illustrated by

De Pieri, Eleonora

Brave Bears Don't

Get Scared


£7.99, 9781801045872

Rhyming. Managing fear. Bravery

A rhyming story to read aloud, this is about facing

your fears. Bear is surely not frightened of “critters”

but scorpion is scared of rainbows. Yeti nearly “peed

his pants” when a kitten go too close and porcupine

is scared of bear – who, in a neat circle, is afraid

of porcupine. A “tiny chat” can sort it all out for

everyone, as facing your fears is “the bravest thing

of all.” This ticks all the boxes, is nicely illustrated and

laid out and the rhymes work. Personally I disliked

the Americanisms, but many wouldn't notice. It

could also be used to trigger a conversation about

coping with fears with a child or group.

Rachel Nelson

Sheehy, Kate

Fraidy Dog

The O'Brien Press, 2025,

32pp, £9.99, 9781788495035

Fears. Friendship. Bravery

Fraidy dog is afraid of, well,

pretty much everything. Cupboards, sofa, vacuum

cleaners… It’s not much fun when life is so

frightening. That is, until Fraidy meets a new friend

who shows him that even though he’s braver than

he thinks, it’s still okay to be afraid sometimes.

Fraidy Dog is a bright, bold story that would make a

great talking point to chat about feelings and fears

with any Early Years class. Easy to read aloud, this

picture book would be the perfect springboard to

discuss different perspectives, as well as how to

be a supportive, caring friend. The illustrations are

fun and engaging. As Fraidy Dog continues to see

danger everywhere, Sheehy ingeniously transforms

everyday objects into traps, tricks and monsters that

will surprise and amuse young readers. A quick, but

enjoyable read.

Becca Watts

Sheldrake, Cosmo

Illustrated by Liniers

Come Along

Magic Cat Publishing,

2026, 32pp, £12.99,

9781917366298

Nonsense. Nature. Freedom

Cosmo Sheldrake’s playful song Come Along is

illustrated by Liniers in a beautifully produced

picture book. Images reminiscent of 1950s comics

bring to life the nonsense words of Carroll, Lear, and

Milne in an ode to reclaiming wonder and play in a

humdrum world full of anger, greed and boredom.

Young children will enjoy the riot of playful images

and nonsense, with lots to explore and discuss

on every page. Older readers will recognise

snippets from stories and rhymes and enjoy seeing

them reimagined on the pages of this delightful

celebration of nature and freedom. All readers will

benefit from listening to the song and perhaps

following along as they read the book! Characters

occasionally break the fourth wall and look directly

at the reader – a challenge or an invitation? Like the

best nonsense, it is all open to interpretation, with

no wrong answers. I can see this being used in a

classroom to inspire stories, poems and artwork – a

rich vein to be mined.

Helen Thompson

Stansbie, Stephanie

Illustrated by

Warren, Wendy J

The Bear Who

Wanted to Dance


£12.99, 9781838918675

Ballet. Confidence. Self-belief

A short but wonderful story about Rita the bear,

who wants to be a ballet dancer. Rita loves to dance

and practises as much as she can. She is determined

to be chosen as prima ballerina – the best dancer.

Before the audition Rita felt motivated and ready

but then fear soon begins to creep in as Rita realises

that, as a bear, she looks nothing like the other

ballerinas. She is a different shape to them. Rita gets

herself worked up, her legs start shaking and she

topples to the floor feeling ashamed. However, the

encouragement and support of her dance teacher

and friends soon help Rita get back on her feet, with

confidence and faith rising in her as she begins to

dance again. A strong message about body image

and having self-belief. “It is not how you fall that

matters, it is how you rise again.” Quite an important

book for a young audience.

Angela March


Books: 7 & Under

Strasser, Susanne

Translated by

Shaw, Melody

Stop the Ball!

Gecko Press, 2026, 24pp,

£8.99, 9798765689158

Football. Chase. Animals

Translated from the original German, this is a

delightful board book with many positive features.

The story follows Duck as he initially takes aim at

the goal but misses! Owl, Spider and Dog follow

him and the ball which results in lots of repetition,

rhythm and sounds. The tale ends with a child

taking part in the action and a goal is scored. Young

children will love the way in which excitement

builds in this story and the adult or carer sharing

this can also dramatically make the sound effects

which occur on every spread. I am sure youngsters

will enjoy joining in with these, making the book

very interactive. The vocabulary used works well for

this age group. The illustrations are energetic and

convey the sense of a chase and movement of the

ball. This is an ideal book to be shared at home, in

the classroom or at the library for ages one to four.

Janet Syme

Tengiz, Aysha

Big Brilliant World

Big Picture Press, 2026,

32pp, £12.99, 9781800789975

Geography. Diversity.

Exploration

Big Brilliant World is truly a big,

brilliant book. Journey to 12 iconic cities throughout

the world, visiting a floating flower market in

Amsterdam and buying a carpet in Istanbul. An

illustrated map places each city in its wider world

context and shows that this book is an adventure

in learning about our diverse world, where each

place is unique. Explore and discover a large twopage

spread for each city that is jam-packed full of

fun facts, different languages and pictures. Each

city is populated by funny little characters – both

human and animal – wearing quirky little costumes.

Children will enjoy examining all the detail of each

city and they will recognise some places they have

been or dream about where they would like to go.

It is a riot of colour and there is so much to spot –

children will discover something new each time.

Perfect for curious minds with guaranteed hours of

fun for ages four and above.

Susan Mullen

Thompson, Ruby Amy

Rock and Roll


£7.99, 9781838919900

Identity. Differences. Friends

This appealing picture book

for ages three and above celebrates individuality

and difference. The two characters in the story,

Rock and Roll, couldn’t be more different: Rock

is strong, while Roll is soft, and they come from

entirely different worlds. Despite this, they share

surprising similarities– both love to dress up. Rock

is colourfully painted, while Roll is topped with icing

and sprinkles. The characters each appear on their

own page, visually reinforcing the idea that they

exist on completely different “pages” before coming

together at the end. This thoughtful structure offers

great potential for discussion about difference,

similarity and belonging.

Susan Mullen

Waissbluth, Denyse

Illustrated by

O'Byrne, Chelsea

Soup's On Around

the World

Greystone Kids, 2025,

40pp, £12.99, 9781778401671

Cooking. Traditions. World food

Each page has a large print, rhyming line for

the very young and a paragraph of text below

with a lot more information, which could only

be read by an adult. It has the name of the soup

in the Roman alphabet, its name in its original

script and then a description. This can include

the ingredients, traditional cooking methods and

customs associated with it. There are some soups

that are sweet! I like the world view approach to an

everyday product. Frustratingly there are only two

recipes at the very back, which begs the question

“who is this for?” The recipes use American

measures and “cream-style” corn, an ingredient I

haven't seen in the UK.

Rachel Nelson

Yockteng, Rafael

Translated by

Amado, Elisa

Victor and the Giant

Greystone Kids, 2025, 56pp,

£12.99, 9781778400841

Giant. Alternative fairy story.

Picture book

The story of a boy and a hungry giant. The giant

eats the city and its inhabitants, including Victor’s

mother, then falls asleep. Victor tries to explain why

the giant should not eat a whole city and devises a

plan to get them back. The story is sweet, but the

illustrations are lovely and make this book as fine as

it is. The large double-spread land and city-scape

illustrations lend themselves to children pointing

out the things they spot. Children will laugh at the

hairy giant with clouds protecting his modesty, and

then again when his nose hairs are pulled. It can

be read to the whole class, and one-to-one with a

child. A book that could be compared to traditional

fairy stories. This story would be great for pupils to

act out the actions. It would, therefore, also help

with sequencing and retelling. A lovely book perfect

for Reception and KS1.

Alix Beech

Zephaniah, Benjamin

Illustrated by

Castrillon, Melissa

Leave the Trees,

Please


32pp, £7.99, 9781917366823

Sustainability. Care of the planet. Trees

Who could resist such a book? Fitting in with the

need for sustainability and love of our planet, this

is a simple but eloquent plea to take more care

of our trees. Told in poetic form with a recurring

chorus of “leave the trees please,” children will

want to continue turning the page to find out more

and more reasons why we should take care of

one of our most important resources. Castrillon's

illustrations of trees are interwoven with the text

in such a way that words and pictures reinforce

each other throughout. People in the pictures fit in

perfectly too, which is surely how they were created

to co-exist. Class, school and home libraries will

be so much the better for possessing this book!

Adults who enjoy this book along with their children

may also be inspired to check out other poems

by Zephaniah, which is yet another reason for

purchasing this book. Highly recommended.

Rudolf Loewenstein


Books: 8 – 12 | Fiction and Poetry

Chudleigh, Gary

Illustrated by

Howell, Laura

Secret Agent Nessie

Kelpies, 2026, 48pp, £7.99,

9781782509875

Comic book. Adventure.

Heroics

This colourful graphic novel re-imagines Nessie,

the Loch Ness Monster, as a Secret Agent that keeps

the Loch and surrounding area safe! Nessie and the

agents of WET (Water Espionage Team) – genius

inventor Bea the Beaver and impulsive Jelly the

Jellyfish – take on a gang of militant seagulls that

are raiding the residents of Loch Ness. But is there

more to their chaotic crimes than meets the eye?

This full-colour comic book adventure should

delight primary school fans of The Beano and The

Phoenix with this simple fun adventure, suitable

for ages six-plus. Writer Chudleigh provides an

entertaining story, full of comedic scenes and

outlandish characters ripe for future series that

should capture the attention of reluctant and

confident readers alike. Also included is a glossary

of Scottish words used in the story and a drawing

tutorial from the illustrator, Howell.

Adam Rodgers

Frost, Maddie

Really Rubie: A Diary

Walker Books, 2026, 240pp,

£7.99, 9781529534061

Humour. Coming-of-age.

Friendship

A major middle grade launch

from Walker Books, the first in this new diary series

follows firmly in the footsteps of Dork Diaries and

Lottie Brooks. Rubie (not "R-u-b-y") Fox is a likeable

narrator, with plenty of self-awareness about

her own quirks and anxieties, and a tendency to

compare herself to best friend Riley who is more

traditionally “popular”. When an accident prevents

Riley from joining her at summer camp, Rubie must

navigate a whole raft of new experiences without

the friend who she usually relies on to smooth

her way through the world. Inevitably, she rises to

the challenge. The story moves along quickly and

is genuinely funny in parts, while also addressing

more complex emotions, and the push and pull

of friendship, with authenticity. At times, the diary

format feels like a concession to market forces,

which might not make the most of Frost’s capacity

for empathetic storytelling but overall this is a warm

and accessible gem of a book, which shares a

positive message about staying true to yourself and

stepping out of your comfort zone.

Saira Aspinall

Gatehouse, Victoria

Illustrated by

Foster, Kate Lucy

Aardvark Day

The Emma Press, 2026,

80pp, £9.99, 9781915628572

Humour. Poetry. Nature

A collection of funny and whimsical poems about

the fabulous flora and fauna to be found on our

planet. It is peppered with charming illustrations

and interesting facts about the natural world. Did

you know that there’s a colour that only bees can

see? These quirky and unique poems capture the

imagination and encourage us to look at the natural

world from new perspectives, such as imagining

how a sloth might perform on sports day, or who

might conduct an interview with a leaf sheep sea

slug. Charming.

Hannah Clover

Lauren, Ruth

Illustrated by

Frenna, Federica

Murder at Hotel

Marvelo

Piccadilly Press, 2026, 272pp,

£7.99, 9781835870440

Mystery. Neurodiversity. Blended family

Disaster strikes at Hotel Marvelo when the

mysterious murder of the wizard Henry Gravelaxe

results in Caspian and Ida Marvelo, parents of

Finnian, Juniper and Teddy Marvelo, being blamed

for the crime and banished. Convinced of their

parents’ innocence, the three siblings from the

blended family set out on a quest to prove their

parents have been framed and to find the murderer.

Despite the story centring around a murder, no gore

is mentioned. Instead, the reader is swept along by

the exciting plot twists, interesting characters and

detailed full-page illustrations peppered throughout

the pages, bringing the Marvelo world to life. A

riveting read for confident young readers with

plucky children leading the storyline and proving

that children, no matter who they are and how

they communicate (the youngest sibling, Teddy,

being non-verbal in her communication) make

an enormous difference. In this case, defeating

villainous adults.

Lizzie Mackenzie

McLaughlin, Tom

Alan, King of the

Universe: Today I Will

Rule All (Book 2)

Hodder Children's Books,

2026, 160pp, £12.99,

9781444976878

Adventures. Humour.

Graphic novel

Alan is a zany orange feline confident that his

brilliant plans for world domination will one day be

successful. With Fido his loyal canine sidekick by

his side, Alan is always brimming with schemes and

ambitious ideas for how to fulfil his own destiny.

These include a plan to shrink the universe –

squashing enemies with a squish-a-lator tank and

replacing the king with Alan – which dramatically

backfires. All of which manages to happen without

their owner noticing. Along the way there are many

funny moments and one of the joys of these stories

is the non-stop hilarious dialogue between the

cat and the dog. Second in the Alan, King of the

Universe two-colour graphic novel series, this book

tells the duo’s adventures in five short chapters.

Each could be enjoyed individually and would

appeal to readers who enjoy fast-paced, laugh-outloud

stories and engaging with reading in a graphic

novel format.

Sue Polchow

Miller, Anne

Illustrated by

Caldwell, Sam

Monster Diaries:

The Cyclops and the

Worst Party Ever

HarperCollins Children's Books,

2026, 156pp, £7.99, 9780008733018

Mythology. Humour. Read aloud

This is a wonderful book for younger children with

fantastic illustrations. It's written with great humour

and I could imagine reading it aloud to a class –

you'd get some giggles, that's for sure! It touches on

overcoming your fears, family pressures, friendships

and some gruesome bits, like the monster eating

the humans and getting his eye poked with a hot

stake! Based on Greek myths so students could

explore more about the real stories as I'm sure

it would pique their interest. I know a few Year 7

and 8 students who read with their parents and I'll

definitely be recommending this to them. Overall,

definitely a book for a library along with the other

books in the series. Librarians could recommend

other books to follow on from this, such as Loki and

Who Let the Gods Out.

Paula Jenkinson


Books: 8 – 12

Mole, Simon

Illustrated by

McLaughlin, Tom

Poetry Pizza


96pp, £8.99, 9781915659866

Poetry. Rap. Verse

Simon Mole is a performance poet and YouTuber

who works in primary schools and has been poet

in residence for the National Literacy Trust. This

collection is full of fun and entertaining poems.

Many are short and punchy in rap style, such as

the linked thread of “tall story” poems scattered

throughout, titled “Yo! Yo! Yo!” Other poems are

longer free verse works that tell a story. These too

have a linking thread through the book, about

made-up words and how language began. Some

poems deal with feelings, some with family and

friends, and some with football: “A Spell for Infinite

Football Skills” includes: “Messi’s shoelaces, tied in

a knot/A bath full of bright green dragon snot.” The

fun greyscale illustrations by McLaughlin, found

on almost every page, are a good match for the

mood of the poems. The book would be suitable for

children in KS2 and also lower KS3.

Anna Quick

Pennypacker, Sara

Illustrated by

Klassen, Jon

The Lions' Run


2026, 288pp, £14.99,

9781444978780

Bravery. Resistance. War

Young orphan Lucas is tired of being called a

coward. Taunted by the other boys, he spends

much of his time alone, wandering the land near the

orphanage. One day, he spots these boys intending

to drown some newborn kittens and Lucas chooses

to save them from their fate. Little does he realise

that this small act of defiance will set off a series

of events that sees him prove that, even in Nazioccupied

France, even the smallest of beings can

perform the biggest feats of bravery. Pennypacker

returns with another gorgeously written adventure,

exploring friendships between humans and animals,

resistance and courage. This is a well-researched

book, steeped in historical detail which provides

an interesting perspective likely to broaden young

readers’ view of who was involved during the war

and how.

Becca Watts

Povey, Clare

The Midnight

Sweet Factory

Usborne, 2025, 320pp,

£7.99, 9781803708096

Adventure. Fantasy. Friendship

This engaging middle-grade

adventure will appeal strongly to pupils who crave

mystery, danger and fast-paced storytelling, while

offering enough depth to justify a place on the

school shelves for KS2. It balances excitement with

thoughtful themes. This is the second in the series

and I felt like I was missing a bit of detail having not

read the first book. The story follows siblings Flo

and Joseph Wanderday and their friends Isaac and

Funmi, who discover a plea for help hidden inside

a sweet bought from a new shop, Midnight Treats.

Their curiosity leads them into the Midnight Forest

and towards a sinister factory where workers’

minds appear to be controlled. The unfolding

mystery sustains tension well and provides plenty

of discussion points. The perserverance of the

children is one of the book’s strengths. Each child

brings different qualities to the group, and Joseph’s

OCD is handled with sensitivity, opening up

valuable conversations about capability, protection

and independence.

Laura DeVouge-Bernards

Solomons, David

Illustrated by

Díaz Rivas, Miguel

Spyglass: Mastermind

of Mayhem

Nosy Crow, 2026, 240pp,

£7.99, 9781805132363

Adventure. Gadgets. Villains

The story opens in the first week of the school

summer holidays. A flying-bike video upload goes

viral, leading to chaos. Three friends tackle a super

villain, Dr Toe, assisted by animals, a drone and MI6

gadget-maker, Professor Goodspeed. The acronyms

and character names are amusing. Be prepared to

laugh out loud! The chapter cliffhangers make this

suitable for reading aloud. The story ends with a

poem. The cover is attractive and the illustrations

enhance the text. This is reminiscent of an Alex

Rider/Famous Five/Scooby-Doo! adventure, which

could easily be transformed into a companion

cartoon series. I am looking forward to reading the

next instalment in the series and seeing where it

takes the characters. It would be interesting to see

more interaction with the mysterious agent, Aston

Drake, and maybe a bit of code-breaking. This is fun

– it deserves a place in the school library!

Adele England

Sparkes, Amy

The Unchosen One

Walker Books, 2026,

240pp, £7.99, 9781529525700

Humour. Fantasy. Magic

Tassie doesn’t want to be the

Chosen One. In fact, she’s got

a strong feeling she’s not the chosen one. Aside

from her birthday, she doesn’t really match the

description of the child foretold in the prophecy.

She certainly isn’t calm or meek. But a darkness is

threatening her home, and no one else is putting

themselves forward. Well, except for her friend,

Spin, a griffin who is terrified of what could go

wrong, but still determined to help. Readers may

already be familiar with Sparkes from her popular

series The House at the Edge of Magic. Children

will be giggling at every chapter of this fast-paced

fantasy adventure that’s perfect for fans of How to

Train Your Dragon and Terry Pratchett.

Hannah Clover

St John, Lauren

The Lion Cub's Secret

Orion Children's Books,

2025 192pp, £8.99,

9781510113848

Animals. Adventure.

Conservation

A missed turning, an encounter with a magnificent

lion, and a crashed Jeep result in Martine and her

grandmother making an unintended visit to a village

market. While there, Martine discovers a young lion

cub being used being used by a photographer to

make money. She rescues Tau, and persuades her

grandmother to take the cub back home, where

she dreams of keeping him. But he’s been snatched

from one of South Africa’s most famous game

reserves and must be returned. Martine and friend

Ben are invited to accompany Tau back. While they

are there, they uncover mysteries and secrets, with

people willing to stop at nothing to ensure they

stay hidden. An undercurrent of mysticism, imbued

with a true understanding of South Africa, combine

in a gripping, heartwarming addition to the White

Giraffe sequence of novels. Ideal for young animal

lovers in KS2.

Gould, Jayne



Thompson, Lisa

The Skeleton Puzzle


£7.99, 9780702322655

Mystery. Friendship. Secrets

Jake’s Mum is ill. He doesn’t

have anyone he trusts enough

to talk to them about it, and worries he could be

taken away from her if does. She isn't going to

work, getting out of bed, or going to the doctors.

Jake helps Old Nina, his neighbour, in her garden

regularly to earn money to buy food. One day

while they are working in her garden, they find a

long-buried skeleton! Jake and his friends decide to

find out who it is, how it got there and who might

be responsible. Then Nina's long-lost son turns

up, with his kid. But are the pair really who they are

claiming to be – or are they imposters? As Jake and

his friends investigate, they dig up some astonishing

secrets and uncover a plot to stash some priceless

jewels! Thompson has crafted a brilliant, fast-paced

mystery suitable for middle-grade readers. Dealing

with the plight of young carers, and a parent with

depression, this is a story with many facets.

Adam Rodgers

Torday, Piers

Illustrated by

Wilson, Matthew Taylor

Tree Thing

Hachette, 2026, 192pp, £14.99,

9781786541482

Nature. Family. Fable

Torday brings us a hopeful fable inspired, in part,

by the illegal felling of the Sycamore Gap tree in

2023. A mysterious Tree Thing – "neither tree nor

human" – flourishes before being cut down at the

behest of an equally mysterious Rider, but a single

glowing acorn survives to be planted and cared

for by a young boy, Marlo. When the Rider returns,

seeking the destruction of the new Tree Thing,

Marlo is forced to defend it, and by extension his

village. But is he brave enough to go to the lengths

the Rider demands to save them? The author brings

all of his considerable storytelling abilities to bear

in an eloquent argument for Man to work with,

not against, Nature, while the illustrations bring an

extra edge of creepiness. A perfect book for upper

KS2, particularly if part of a wider topic on the

natural world.

Rob Ensor

Various

Courage in a Poem


£8.99, 9781838919597

Courage. Identity.

Empowerment

Courage in a Poem is an

inspiring anthology of contemporary poetry that

celebrates strength, self-belief and empowerment

for young readers. Featuring a diverse range

of voices – from acclaimed poets such as Matt

Goodfellow, Jason Reynolds, Elizabeth Acevedo

and Naomi Shihab Nye and others – the collection

explores themes including facing fear, identity, body

positivity, heritage and individuality. Many poems

speak directly to the reader, using rhythm, imagery

and voice to evoke confidence and self-reflection,

making it accessible and engaging for children and

adults alike. The vibrant, full-colour illustrations

by multiple artists enhance each poem, adding

visual energy that reflects the emotional tone of

the words. This beautifully produced book not

only encourages a love of poetry but also provides

thoughtful material for discussion about courage in

everyday life. It is a lovely resource for classrooms

and families alike, offering moments of comfort,

inspiration and joyful reading.

Sarah-Jane Ryan

Webb, Holly

A Girls’ Guide to Spying

Rock the Boat, 2026,

304pp, £7.99, 9781836431213

History. Adventure. Spying

Drawing on the real life

contribution Girl Guides made

to the First World War, this is a gripping mystery

story. When Phyl is reluctantly persuaded to

join their local Girl Guide troop by younger sister

Annie, she finds herself enjoying the activities

and camaraderie. Due to the connections of Miss

Lynley, the Guide captain, some of the older girls

are given the opportunity to work at MI5, part of

the War Office, as messengers. Phyl is thrilled to be

working with spies and helping the war effort, but

not everyone is happy to have the Guides there.

When grumpy Major Warren disappears, the girls

of the Rose Patrol suspect foul play and set out to

investigate. An engrossing historical adventure,

featuring quotes from publications of the time,

which will appeal to readers from Year 5 onwards.

Jayne Gould

Weze, Clare

Up Above the City

Knights Of, 2025, 304pp,

£7.99, 9781915820082

Friendship. Family separation.

Refugees

At times books can take a few

pages to get started. This is certainly not the case

for Clare Weze’s thrilling, page-turning adventure,

grabbing the attention of middle grade audiences

and hooking them in with an opening sentence

that compels the reader to keep reading. Jake’s

thrown out of his school’s holiday club and is forced

to spend his days in the staffroom of his mum’s

work – a London bank. Here a friendship unfolds

with Laine, an Estonian refugee, forced to live in

secret in the attic of the bank after fleeing her home

country with her father, a scientist on the run after

creating medication for Laine’s dying mother, with

invisibility being the side effect. A unique adventure

story expertly woven with the themes of family

separation, endings, friendship, homelessness and

the refugee crisis. Big themes, yet perfectly pitched

for children to explore and discuss.

Lizzie Mackenzie

Zepf, Máire

Illustrated by

Whitson, Andrew

The Cloud Kingdom

Little Island Books, 2025,

80pp, £16.99, 9781915071859

Magic. Folklore. Storytelling

This is a genuinely lovely book. It feels like the

perfect bedtime or story time read that would carry

the tale over several days. The main story thread

sees Nancy – a young reader – making a deal with

the faery folk who have stolen her cat. She must

bargain for its return by telling stories. Nancy tells

several, magical and wondrous tales and entrances

her audience (both faery and human), so it can be

seen how this could work as a longer class read

or as a good recommendation to parents. Perfect

for ages seven and above, but the illustrations are

captivating and so older children will be just as

enchanted. For fans of faeries and folklore, this is a

great choice.

Marianne De Giovanni


Books: 8 – 12 | Information

Brown, Al

Illustrated by

McConnell, Hope

Hooked:

Learning to Fish

Allen & Unwin, 2026, 144pp,

£14.99, 9781991142160

Fishing. Hobbies. Maori

Al Brown, chef and angler, shares his love of fishing

in a clear and accessible way. We learn about the

language of fishing and the kit, with introductions

to a range of fishing hats, knots, sustainability,

different kinds of fishing and safety. I particularly

enjoyed the section detailing how to prepare and

cook our catch, as Brown includes some of his

favourite mouthwatering recipes. What I love most

about this book is the author’s passion. He describes

exciting moments and the constant challenge that

fishing provides. Even though he is an expert, he

never stops learning. He appreciates the benefits to

his mental health and finds the experience almost

spiritual. There is a clear contents page and a

comprehensive index. The overall tone of the book

is fun. There is plenty of humour and McConnell’s

illustrations add to the book’s appeal. Readers of

eight and above will be hooked!

Brenda Marshall

Bruzzone, Catherine

Illustrated by

McLellan, Stu

My First Picture Atlas

b small publishing, 2025,

36pp, £12.99, 9781916851559

Geography. Maps. Atlases

This picture atlas is attractive and interactive, with

details to discover in each of the maps. There are

questions throughout the book with answers at the

end, lending it well to reading in pairs or using the

book for at-home reading between parents and

children. A glossary of terminology is included;

however, there is no index. This atlas appears to

be aimed more at reading for leisure rather than

imparting curriculum-related information. The

Arctic Ocean is missing from the list of oceans on

the key skills page, which may confuse children.

And there are some idiosyncrasies that children

might not understand. For example, within the

'List of Countries' sections, there are bullet points

for islands, states, and regions – which are not

countries – such as Hawaii, Tahiti and Corsica. If you

want a picture atlas book for fun, this book will suit

that need. But if you want to teach children about

atlases, other books will be a better choice.

Bridget Hamlet

Cross, Paul Ian

Illustrated by

Kear, Katie &

Zamazing, Cherie

SuperQuesters:

Mission: River Crest

Rescue

QuestFriends, 2025, 128pp, £6.99,

9789083294384

STEM. Puzzles. Adventure

It’s a familiar trope – three friends are mysteriously

transported (via an enchanted board game, no less)

to a magical land where they must complete an

action-packed quest. But SuperQuesters brings the

genre bang up to date with a fun STEM twist. Bea,

Leo and Lilli use their science and maths skills to

crack puzzles as they race to save River Crest from

the scheming Mortifer. New friends help them on

their way through the challenges, but the trio must

use their problem-solving skills to work through

each problem logically, testing their theories and

not being afraid to try again. I especially liked the

elements of programming and computing, which

were made extra fun in the context of the story. Fun

facts, hands-on activities and a handy glossary make

great additions. The SuperQuesters show us that

STEM isn’t about knowing the right answers – it’s

about asking the right questions.

Becky West

Davies, Nicola

Blue Heart

Graffeg, 2024, 56pp,

£14.99, 9781802587500

Oceans. Whales. Poetry

Another stunningly illustrated and lyrically written

information book by Nicola Davies. Readers will

learn in meticulous detail everything they never

knew they wanted to know about whales, and be

mesmerised by the watercolour illustrations in

conjunction with thought-provoking poems. The

appearance and size of this book might indicate that

it’s intended for younger readers in KS1, but the text

level is ambitious and more suited to upper KS2 or

even KS3, as there are very specific geographic and

anatomic terms such as “bonsai” and “callosities,”

not to mention the academic-style language with

complex sentence structures and high-level Tier

2 vocabulary such as “transcendently.” This makes

it an ideal book for classroom use and teacherled

engagement, especially in relation to climate

change discussions. Such a creative and highquality

approach to science-related content is a

dream for teachers. This book would also make a

wonderful gift for animal-lovers!

Bridget Hamlet

Hoare, Ben

Shapes of Nature:

A Kaleidoscope of

the Natural World


£20, 9780241772256

Nature. Photography. Wonder

From shimmering butterfly wings to spiral seashells

and fabulous feathers, Shapes of Nature, by awardwinning

wildlife journalist Hoare, celebrates the

infinite variety and wonder of our world. Packed full

of mind-blowing facts, this beautiful book highlights

the importance of appreciating and protecting

the natural world. Showcasing 22 natural objects,

this large-format book is structured as a series

of two-page spectaculars; the first a fascinating

mosaic of shapes, colours, patterns and textures,

the second a montage of close-up photographs

and more detailed explanatory information. The

result is an extraordinary reimagining of the dazzling

displays and cabinets of the world’s greatest natural

history museums in book form. Perfect for piquing

curiosity, sparking conversations and spreading

reading across subject areas, this book is an exciting

addition to primary classrooms and secondary

libraries. It will appeal to nature-lovers, science

enthusiasts and photography fans alike. Invest in

several copies!

Eileen Armstrong

Hutchinson, Sam

Illustrated by

Barker, Vicky

How to Speak and

be Heard


40pp, £8.99, 9781916851917

Oracy. Debates. Communication

This is a very useful book for children, examining

oracy and how to speak with confidence. It is one

of a series of books on essential learning skills

such as critical thinking and scientific literacy. Each

spread covers a different aspect, including how

to communicate, how to listen, different kinds of

discussions, planning a talk, body language, formal

and informal language, and more. Each concept

is explained clearly through jaunty colourful

illustrations, short paragraphs and useful words and

what they mean. There are useful tips on how to

control nervousness and how to time your talk, as

well as games to practise listening skills. The book

is inclusive: it mentions Makaton and using pictures

to communicate. I liked the point that oracy skills

are useful in daily life and general interactions, not

just for taking part in debates. This is a valuable

and well-written introduction to an essential skill.

Recommended for KS2 and KS3.

Lucy Chambers


Books: 8 – 12

Jacoby, Jenny

Illustrated by

Barker, Vicky

The STEM

Encyclopedia of

Wildlife Words


112pp, £12.99, 9781916851689

Informative. Colourful. Beautiful

This is a beautiful paperback book with bright

illustrations throughout. Subtitled An Illustrated A

to Z of 100 Animal Terms for Kids to Know – it does

what it says on the tin! Moving from amphibian to

zoosemiotics, via echinoderm, nudibranch and

viviparity, the child-friendly style does not mean that

this book is dumbed down. Each of the 100 words

gets a full page with four or five short paragraphs

of text arranged around clear illustrations (not

photographs), making it visually appealing and

accessible for those with shorter attention spans. As

a scientific book, this is full of important terminology

over and above the different words picked for each

page. A good many of these terms are highlighted

in bold and briefly explained in the index but there

are others too that are not explained, providing

challenge and new vocabulary for more advanced

readers/inquisitive pupils who could study further.

Chromatophore, vomeronasal and trogloxene were

all new to me! A great choice for Upper KS2/KS3.

Rachel Goodhart

Kanani, Dr Sheila

Illustrated by

Surrey, Ellen

This Book Will Make

You a Scientist

Nosy Crow, 2026, 64pp,

£14.99, 9781805132547

Science. History. Endeavour

This vivid and inspiring book follows the awardwinning

This Book Will Make You an Artist. With

beautiful illustrations from Ellen Surrey, who

designed the cover for this issue of TSL, it is an

inviting introduction to a world of experimentation.

As stated in the introduction, this book teaches

science through doing. The author – a planetary

physicist, science presenter and school science

teacher – introduces the work of 25 well-known

scientists including Nikola Tesla, Charles Darwin and

Mary Anning, then presents ideas for experiments

illustrating their findings. The experiments are fun

and accessible – the reader is invited to calculate

the speed of light using a bar of chocolate, a

microwave, a ruler and a calculator, for example –

and cover a wide range of disciplines. This book is

highly recommended for children eight and above,

although younger children would enjoy tackling

some of the experiments too. An excellent addition

to the STEM section.

Jenny Mark-Bell

Martineau, Susan

Illustrated by

Barker, Vicky

How to Question

Everything! A Kids’

Toolkit for Critical

Thinking


40pp, £8.99, 9781916851962

Analysing. Understanding. Enquiry

These days, children are bombarded with

information both on and offline, so it’s vital that

they have opportunities to develop a critical eye

for the information they’re consuming. This book is

perfectly pitched for upper KS2 and KS3, making it a

great addition to any library or classroom. Fourteen

areas where children come into contact with

information are tackled, such as online advertising,

spotting misinformation and fake news, finding out

facts, understanding news stories, the power of stats

and infographics, and online behaviour. Each topic

is presented as a double-page spread, brimming

with eye-catching and appealing illustrations with

text expertly laid out to make it easy for children to

take in each nugget of information. Every topic has

a small activity suggestion making this a fantastic

book to dip in and out of, as well as to spark

discussion and as a springboard for deeper enquiry.

Lizzie Mackenzie

Parr, Kevin

Illustrated by

Sušanj, Anja

Woodlore: Discover

the seasons and

stories of the forest


48pp, £14.99, 9781917044684

Tress. Nature. Forests

This is a vibrant celebration of trees through a

woodland year. Focusing on the oak, varietals

of which are found across the world, the reader

is invited to take a walk through the seasons

as nature’s cycles unfold. A single oak tree can

support more than 2,000 other species, including

birds, mammals, insects and fungi which make

their homes in and around it. The author explores

natural changes from the spring equinox to the

winter solstice, along with woodland-linked beliefs,

folklore and traditional celebrations from around

the world. Intricately decorated in glowing colours,

the book includes a wealth of information. There is

much to discover, whether you’re casually dipping

in or using the contents page to navigate the book,

and using the glossary to aid understanding. A good

addition to the KS2 bookshelves.

Jayne Gould

Prentice, Andy

Illustrated by

Gomez, David

24 Hours on the

Moon


£8.99, 9781805079651

Space. Science. Future

This is an interesting take on living on the moon

in the year 2065. Presented as a graphic novel, it

looks at exploration, how people might be living

and what would be needed for humans to exist

there. I can see this appealing to lots of young

scientists as well as those who just want to read

an exciting story. The scientific topics are also

backed up with Usborne Quicklinks on the internet

allowing further exploration. I wonder how much

of this will turn out to be true?

Tricia Adams

The Washington Post

What on Earth!

America As It

Happened

What on Earth!, 2026,

192pp, £25, 9781804661673

History. America. Journalism

America: As It Happened is a newspaper-style

round up of US history, from prehistory to the

present day. Covering colonisation, enslavement,

Civil War, the World Wars and the present day

political landscape, this is a comprehensive

resource for students to immerse themselves in or

dip into for research. The publisher’s collaboration

with The Washington Post has produced an

interactive resource for students, with QR codes

linking to podcasts and interviews with reporters.

This brings the book to life and allows students

to further research the topics they are interested

in, as well as providing a more dynamic way to

engage with a non-fiction book. The use of colour

pictures and bold graphics throughout means that

reading newspaper-style articles from the 1800s is

still visually engaging. This will be a great resource

for secondary school libraries, complementing the

GCSE History curriculum and helping to answer

students’ questions about the current political

climate in the USA.

Lucy Davies



Ennis, Ruth

Shorelines

Little Island, 2026, 304pp,

£8.99, 9781915071989

Body shaming.

Ocean exploitation. Verse novel

This evocative debut verse novel

treads familiar Hans Christian Andersen territory

in that the central character is a mermaid who

ventures onto land, but the story develops in a very

interesting way. The author paints an evocative

picture of the underwater culture of the merfolk

and how their lives are impacted by climate change.

We learn that industrial fishing caused the death

of Muireann’s twin sister. When she rescues a

handsome prince from drowning, she believes she

can persuade him to change human behaviour and

save her people from starvation. But on land, she

becomes exposed to human beauty standards and

the large body that keeps her warm beneath the

waves is subject to ridicule and cruel torture by the

ruthless prince. Her resilience and determination

to return to the sea is incredibly moving. Dark and

unsettling, this beautifully written, haunting and

emotional verse novel will linger long after you

finish reading.

Joy Court

Hogan, Bex

Owl King

Zephyr, 2025, 272pp,

£14.99, 9781035912681

Magical. Heartfelt. Adventure

Owl King is a captivating

fantasy that pulls you in from

the very first pages and keeps its grip all the way

through. The faery world Bex Hogan creates,

Never Moon, is rich, mysterious, and beautifully

described, with each kingdom feeling distinct

and full of its own atmosphere. The stories woven

into the narrative give the whole world a sense of

ancient magic and folklore that makes it incredibly

immersive. I loved the relationship between the

protagonists, sisters Ilsette and Lyla. Each one

has her own quest and watching them grow

and change in different ways is one of the most

rewarding parts of the book. Their bond brings

real emotion to the story and makes the stakes

feel personal. The pacing is gripping, and I found

myself racing through it, finishing far too quickly

and feeling genuinely sad when it ended. I hope

to revisit the faery realms again soon, because this

world is one I wasn’t ready to leave.

Gemma Paine

Loxton, Marilize

A Wish So Deadly


£9.99, 9780702341182

Fantasy. Slow-burn.

Tournaments.

The opening of this YA fantasy

adventure novel is reminiscent of Lockwood & Co

as protagonist Talia is hired to rid a house of its

malevolent spirits. Her powers as an emo mean that

she can sense, harness and if necessary weaponise

negative energy, but this leads to disastrous

consequences as she stumbles across some relics

and takes them to sell on the black market. Her

rash act puts her on the wrong side of the villain of

the book, a Soulreaper called Madame Vera. Talia

meets Taron (a little bit too long into the story, in my

opinion), and the pair are sent by Madame Vera to

compete in The Reckoning, a Hunger Games-style

contest in which the prize is the fulfilment of a wish.

This is where the book really turns into a thrilling

page-turner, as the plotting, pace and relationships

are skilfully written.

Gillian McGrandles

McCaughrain, Kelly

Just Another Dead Boy

Walker Books, 2026, 352pp

£8.99, 9781529523041

Romance. Dystopia.

Romeo and Juliet

This YA novel, set in a world

where everyone knows the

date of their own death, is a powerful reminder to

live with enthusiasm. It explores the inevitability

of death, offset by the choices we make to lead

a fulfilling life. Through digestible yet poetic

language, McCaughrain blends both personal

reflection and motivation, encouraging a break

away from routine and an exhortation to not only

live, but thrive. I love the echoes of Romeo and

Juliet. The narrative brings together two teens, set

on very different paths, bringing them together

to love deeply and take life moment by moment

rather than just survive. I think it is an interesting

way to use a beloved classic to reach the modern

teenager, inviting readers to look deeper than

existence and find meaning in every connection

they make. Although there is some use of strong

language, I would wholeheartedly recommend this

book to young people looking to live a full life with

intention and purpose.

Evie Crowhurst

Simpson, Darren

Thirst

Pushkin Press, 2025, 288pp,

£9.99, 9781782695721

Horror. Dystopia. Adventure

A richly woven tale of humans

enslaved to human sacrifice –

Simpson is a master horror writer. You really do feel

the tension, terror and desperation, scene after

scene. To describe this page-turner as compelling

would be an understatement. There’s nothing

overly visceral that would make it too gory for

a 12-year-old, but they probably would need to

enjoy the horror in this dystopian fantasy as it goes

beyond mild peril. The characters are well fleshed

out, from runaway Faye to the lovely Gorse, who

helps her despite knowing it will destroy him and his

village. The cast of baddies are legion – not least the

monstrous river itself, spewing out sacrifices that

are not to its taste and making entrapment servants

of the ones that are. Inhabitants of the village

of Maimsbury pander to the river, in thrall to its

legends. A great adventure begins when one brave

boy decides he has had enough of this nonsense.

An excellent work of fiction.

Danuta Zalega

Yun, Jihyun

And the River

Drags Her Down

Rock the Boat, 2025,

400pp, £9.99, 9781836430520

Grief. Necromancy.

Gothic Horror.

This is an incredible debut novel from prize-winning

Korean American poet Yun. The cover and prologue

signpost YA horror, but as you read, you realise

this book is so much more. Soojin and Mirae have

inherited a gift from their maternal line – the ability

to bring the dead back to life. Because carrying

this out takes a terrible toll on their health, they

limit their powers to resurrecting their mother’s

much-loved pet rat. When Mirae dies, this second

loss compounds their mother’s death years prior

and the resulting vacuum drives a desperate Soojin

to misuse her necromancy. So far, so Stephen King.

Into this storyline, Yun expertly weaves Korean

folklore, notably depicting Mirae as a mul gwisin

(water ghost). Teenage life in a small town is given

as much weight as the sisters' story, and Soojin’s

grief is almost a character in its own right. Due

to body horror and grisly moments, this book is

recommended for Year 10 and up.

Gillian McGrandles


Feature

The Manga Companion:

What’s Between the Covers?

Manga art is beautiful, says Scott Hulme, but book covers

don’t always tell the full story about what’s inside

Perhaps unsurprisingly for a

bookseller, I spend a lot of time in

bookshops. When I’m exploring

the shelves, I love looking at book

covers and thinking about what

they tell me – the impression

they make with colours and fonts, illustrations or

photography. How do they capture the essence of

the story and persuade me to pick up the book?

Of course, some books are inextricably linked with

their cover art – think of The Gruffalo, Where the

Wild Things Are or Watership Down. And many

fetch huge sums at auction. You may remember

how the original cover art for Charlotte’s Web sold

in New York for £100,000 in 2010. Recently, a

near-mint copy of the magazine Shonen Jump #51,

featuring the first instalment of Dragon Ball, went

for more than £15,000 at auction in Japan.

As a Manga reader and bookseller, I have my

favourites: Bleach for its singular image of the

character (a different one for each volume), like

a studio portrait; or the way Luffy bursts out of

the cover of One Piece Volume 1, capturing the

adventures and friendships within. One of my

all-time favourites is the beautiful but mystical

cover of Frieren Volume 1 – the characters’

positioning begs questions about who they are

and why they’re together.

How do they capture the essence

of the story and persuade me to

pick up the book?

The issue may stem from Manga’s distinctive

illustrative style, which can feel youthful even

when the content is aimed at older readers. And

it's compounded by the fact that the artwork is

typically not adapted for country of sale in the

way book covers are in other genres.

I've seen what happens as a result. I often visit

major bookshops where Manga is still usually

shelved together in alphabetical order, rather

It means readers could be missing

out on wonderful stories that do

match their age and interests

than being separated into children’s, teen and YA

categories. I've seen children and their families

drawn to books that have instant cover appeal,

but which don’t provide a clear window to what’s

inside. Older teen books can be easily mistaken

for stories for under-tens.

This risks putting the wrong stories into young

hands, while parents and carers may be put off

Manga altogether when they get the book home. At

the same time, it means readers could be missing

out on wonderful stories that do match their age

and interests, and which have the potential to

inspire a lifelong love of reading.

I love working with libraries to curate

collections of Manga and graphic novels to suit

age groups and interests – from non-fiction to

fantasy or adventure, sport to Shakespeare. And

it's good, too, to help young readers recognise

the age guidance on books, even if it is buried

in that cover art. Encourage them to check the

small, branded circle on the back – all ages,

younger teen, teen plus/older teen – and to

believe what it is telling them, whatever the

cover might suggest.

If you have a Manga club at your school,

discussing cover art can be great fun. Students

could discuss how images shape expectations

and celebrate the series and characters they

love. There are some excellent ‘how-to-draw-

Manga' guides, and you could invite students to

design their own alternative cover which might

‘sell’ it to others in the club.

You could invite students to design

their own alternative cover which

might ‘sell’ it to others in the club

Scott Hulme’s bookshop

helps schools discover the

Manga that's right for their

students and offers resources

to support Manga Clubs.

He's a proud winner of the

New Futures in Bookselling

led by Bookshop.org and

Booksellers Association.

For Manga resources

contact Otaku Books at

scottchulme@gmail.com


Graphic Novels

Barnett, Mac

Illustrated by

Harris, Shawn

The First Cat in Space

and the Baby Pirate’s

Revenge

Harper360/HarperCollins,

2025, 272pp, £12.99, 9780063415508

Younger. Surreal. Adventure

AGE 8-12

My first impressions were that this book was going

to be fun, easy to follow, and just a bit silly. Happily,

I was right – and what we have here is a comic book

story that delivers just the right amount of quirky

fun in an easy to follow and accessible story for

younger or reluctant readers. It will appeal more

to students who like their humour on the surreal

side, but it is warm and engaging. A pirates/space

adventure mash-up combines two of the best in

adventure stories so how can it lose?

Julie Baugh

Henn, Sophy

Cheesy Bob Strikes

Simon & Schuster, 2026,

160pp, £9.99, 9781398546776

Comedy. Magic. Drawing

AGE 5-59

This latest addition to Henn's

Happy Hills series combines

comic book escapades, magic tricks, some great

vocabulary and a drawing guide. The cartoon

characters are an endearing bunch; a unicorn, a

bunny, a dragon, a mushroom, a duck, a cat, a

mouse, a frog and a panda. They are very funny,

with some great one-liners coming from the

flowers that act rather like a Greek chorus. As the

monkey conjuror Cheesy Bob arrives with his magic

show, we learn that his treatment by his audience

– and his subsequent revenge – had him thrown

out of town. Is he returning to exact more revenge?

Will he return the missing hills from Happy Hills with

his magic? Read it and find out. The combination of

comic humour and drawing guide is a treat indeed

and this book will delight all eight-year-olds, as well

as many younger and older children. Appealing

and downright hilarious, it's a happy addition to the

series and to any library.

Danuta Zalega

Noel, Jack

Dadbot: Rise of the

Badbots

Piccadilly Press, 2026, 176pp,

£8.99, 9781800788299

Comedy. Robots. Technology

AGE 6-10

The second DADBOT book,

Rise of the Badbots does not disappoint. Clever,

witty and appealing to all ages, it has a lot to say

about technology taking the place of humans in

relationships and connections. It points out how

lost we'd be if we lost electricity for a while and

how difficult real situations might be without our

much-used tech. Much as we say there's no such

thing as bad technology, just a bad programmer,

Noel suggests that robots need love to reach their

potential too. An interesting, thought-provoking

and thoroughly entertaining read. Can robots be as

easily fooled as humans? Read it and see. A great

adventure for Dadbot, AI assistant Honey, and their

human family, this is an excellent graphic novel with

the bonus of a drawing lesson at the end.

Danuta Zalega

Prentice, Andy

Illustrated by Knight, Tom

Storm Quest


£7.99, 9781835407042

Choose your adventure

AGE 9+

The students who read this

alongside me really enjoyed the choose your

own adventure format as it was new to them.

They were excited to reread the book and explore

different outcomes. We all enjoyed playing

around with different choices, which made for

great post-reading discussions. Some readers

were hesitant to fully digest the instructions at the

start of the book and wanted to get stuck into the

adventure straight away. Many commented that

it felt like playing a video game and are enquiring

already about the next book in the series. An

exciting read, which will appeal to more reluctant

readers as the text is presented in small chunks

and is therefore less intimidating to them. I will be

buying more for the library.

Louise Mulligan

Smart, Jamie

Megalomaniacs:

The Invasion Begins

DFB Phoenix, 2026,

208pp, £9.99, 9781788453844

Alien Invasion. Humour.

Cute characters

AGE 7+

Can anyone between the ages of two and 102 resist

Smart’s particular brand of chaos? The superstar

comic creator’s latest title, Megalomaniacs,

introduces a new set of characters who have

jumped from the pages of The Phoenix into book

form. With each of 24 Megalomaniacs introduced

in individual comic strips, this is a particularly

accessible title, being very easy to dip into. As with

many of Smart’s storylines, there is a preoccupation

with world invasion but though fierce, the

Megalomaniacs are tiny and find themselves

no match for Earth’s gigantic humans. The

juxtaposition of the aliens’ size vs ferocity delivers

repeated laughs and even a moment of wistfulness

– for a world where brightly coloured, powercrazed

egomaniacs can be stepped on. Guaranteed

to bring laughter and to inspire children to pick up

a pencil themselves, using the brilliant draw-along

instructions at the back of the book.

Saira Aspinall

Turner, Tracey

Illustrated by Reid, Gillian

The Fact-Finder’s

Rainforest


£7.99, 9780241721643

Rainforest. Conservation. Nature

AGE 6-9

The Dorling Kindersley Fact-Finders series of four

books for six to nine-year-olds includes Planet

Earth, Ocean and Universe and now Rainforest.

Fact-checked by experts, this is a great addition to

the collection which turns subject matter a child

may consider dry into an exciting adventure. It

is a wonderfully clear and engaging fact-based

book laid out like a graphic novel – the cartoons

come alive like animations. Readers are guided

through by narrators Lily and Mango the toucan,

and the book is humorous and informative in

equal measure. Complete with glossary and index,

it is unusually comprehensive in scope, covering

global locations and providing information on

the creatures, fauna and flora of the rainforest.

The author also explains some of the science

behind these extraordinary ecosystems, as well as

providing potted biographies of famous rainforest

scientists. This would make an excellent gift for a

curious child, and a colourful, valuable addition to

the library.

Danuta Zalega


Books: 17 – 19

Doyle, Catherine

The Rebel and

the Rose

Simon & Schuster, 2025,

512pp, £16.99, 9781398528642

Rebellion. Magic. Love

The second instalment in the

City of Fantome romantasy series. Seraphine

and Ransom both belong to the fantasy city of

Fantome, but are members of rival guilds. Their

leaders are bitter enemies – each with a quest for

unquestionable power. As the narrative unfolds,

it describes the price of death extracted by turf

wars and literal brute force dominance. This is an

enemies-to-lovers tale, and the forbidden love

between the Rebel and the Rose described with

vivid intensity. There are themes of jealousy, anger,

violence and betrayal, all interwoven in a way that

makes it enthralling to read. From start to finish,

the literary style and world-building are stunning

and this is an addictive read. Suitable for Sixth Form

readers and above, due to frequent swearing,

violence and a fairly lengthy sex scene.

Jacqueline Blair

Galvin, Cathy

Ethnology: a love

song for Connemara

Bloodaxe Books, 2026,

112pp, £12.99, 9781780377728

Poetry. Grief. Place

Author Galvin explores the land

of Connemara and uses place to explore themes

such as language, belonging and grief. Throughout,

there are beautiful references to the landscape and

explorations of feeling and emotion. Galvin explores

the difference between those with a connection

to the land and those who come to observe, seen

in the contrast between the language used in the

poems and that used in the extracts from outsiders

who come to observe the land and the people. As

the collection progresses, grief is explored: grief for

the land, for those who came before her and then

finally grief for her son. It feels like the act of writing

and the landscape is allowing the poet to explore

these complex feelings, giving the reader space to

explore them alongside her. This book would suit a

senior school poetry collection and could be used

by those who wish to study the power of language

to reflect and highlight complex themes.

Katie Lane

Roscoe, PC

How the Other Half Kill


2026, 336pp, £9.99,

9781444934588

Winter sports. Secrecy. Revenge.

Roscoe’s mystery thriller is a

sequel to her earlier YA debut, How the Other

Half Die, but can be read quite comfortably as a

standalone novel. Falling in love was not what Reilly

expected while secretly plotting revenge alongside

her winter job as a chalet host in luxury Swiss

Alps skiing resort. Reilly seeks out the young, rich

socialite who she deems responsible for causing the

suicide of her best friend, to confront her, force a

confession and bring her to justice. Through a fastpaced

narrative told from multiple perspectives,

Reilly’s plan begins to unravel as her attention is

stolen by Jacob, a resort guest quite unlike the other

self-absorbed, high-flying elites who visit the slopes

every winter. A high-stakes plot filled with drama,

romance and tension, culminating in a dizzying

finale of revelations and survival. Triggers include

suicide references, addiction and social media

trolling. There is some casual use of swearing and

minor sexual references, making this novel more

suited to mid- to late-teen readers.

Katie Moorby



In the next issue of TSL…

As we look beyond the National Year of Reading,

we’ll be exploring the theme of continuity.

Your essential reading for the autumn term includes:

• Libraries without borders: making room for books in Malawi

• Beating bias and analysing perspectives: how to make your

library the school’s centre of critical thinking

• Harnessing AI for the transition from school to higher education

• Interviews with some of your favourite authors and illustrators

• Approximately 180 book reviews for all age groups, including

graphic novels, non-fiction and professional texts

As well as all this, you’ll find opinion pieces, sector news, and

fellow professionals sharing best practice.

Every page is written by experts and includes ideas to design,

build and maintain a vibrant and effective school library.

You’ll find inspiration to help pupils explore their own opinions,

develop critical thinking skills and discover a love of reading

that will last a lifetime.



Books: Review Index

B

Barnett, Mac – The First Cat in Space and the Baby Pirate’s Revenge 70

Beer, Amy-Jane – A River Running Through You 53

Bowles, Paula – Big Like You 53

Brown, Al – Hooked: Learning to Fish 64

Bruzzone, Catherine – My First Picture Atlas 64

C

Campbell, Iona – The Dreamies 53

Carter, James – Boing! A Bouncy Book Of Bugs 53

Chudleigh, Gary – Secret Agent Nessie 60

Cross, Paul Ian – SuperQuesters: Mission: River Crest Rescue 64

D

Damali, Enomwoyi – Amber Class: Making Friends 53

Davies, Nicola – Blue Heart 64

Davies, Nicola – The Map of Me 53

Doyle, Catherine – The Rebel and the Rose 71

E

Eland, Eva – Different 54

Emenanjo, Bunmi – Nigeria 54

Ennis, Ruth – Shorelines 67

Evans, Harriet – The Vikings 54

F

Foreman, Michael – Grandad's World 54

Frost, Maddie – Really Rubie: A Diary 60

G

Galvin, Cathy – Ethnology: a love song for Connemara 71

Gatehouse, Victoria – Aardvark Day 60

Gray, Kes – Thoughts From a Quiet Bench 54

Grover, Rose – A Great Day at the Beach 54

H

Harlow, Fran – Stay! 55

Henn, Sophy – Cheesy Bob Strikes 70

Hoare, Ben – Shapes of Nature: A Kaleidoscope of the Natural World 64

Hogan, Bex – Owl King 67

Hutchinson, Sam – How to Speak and be Heard 64

J

Jacoby, Jenny – The STEM Encyclopedia of Wildlife Words 65

K

Kanani, Dr Sheila – This Book Will Make You a Scientist 65

L

Lauren, Ruth – Murder at Hotel Marvelo 60

Litten, Kristyna – Ivy and Bearlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Dinosaur Fossil 55

Liu, Elyon – A Drop in the Ocean 55

Loxton, Marilize – A Wish So Deadly 67

M

Manning, Charlotte – The Brave Little Whale 55

Mannion, Elena – Nico the Donkey’s New Home 55

Marshall, Yolanda T. – Brown Girl in the Snow 55

Martineau, Susan – How to Question Everything!

A Kids’ Toolkit for Critical Thinking 65

Maxwell, Lucas – A Million Tiny Missiles All At Once 49

McCaughrain, Kelly – Just Another Dead Boy 67

McLaughlin, Tom – Alan, King of the Universe: Today I Will Rule All (Book 2) 60

Menon, Uma – My Mother's Tongues 56

Miller, Anne – Monster Diaries: The Cyclops and the Worst Party Ever 60

Mills, Andrea – Time to Explore Big Machines 56

Mills, Andrea – Time to Explore Dinosaurs 56

Mole, Simon – Poetry Pizza 61

Mühle, Jörg – Tomorrow I'm in Charge! 56

N

Noel, Jack – Dadbot: Rise of the Badbots 70

O

Oldfield, Matt – Unbelievable Football Short Colour Stories:

World Football Winners 56

Ordinola, Fátima – Our Dreams 56

Ordinola, Fátima – Our Love 57

P

Parr, Kevin – Woodlore: Discover the seasons and stories of the forest 65

Pennypacker, Sara – The Lions' Run 61

Pinson, Pauline – Bum Fish 57

Povey, Clare – The Midnight Sweet Factory 61

Prentice, Andy – 24 Hours on the Moon 65

Prentice, Andy – Storm Quest 70

R

Roscoe, P – How the Other Half Kill 71

S

Senior, Suzy – Brave Bears Don't Get Scared 57

Sheehy, Kate – Fraidy Dog 57

Sheldrake, Cosmo – Come Along 57

Simpson, Darren – Thirst 67

Smart, Jamie – Megalomaniacs: The Invasion Begins 70

Solomons, David – Spyglass: Mastermind of Mayhem 61

Sparkes, Amy – The Unchosen One 61

Stansbie, Stephanie – The Bear Who Wanted to Dance 57

Strasser, Susanne – Stop the Ball! 58

St John, Lauren – The Lion Cub's Secret 61

T

Tengiz, Aysha – Big Brilliant World 58

The Washington Post – What on Earth! America As It Happened 65

Thompson, Lisa – The Skeleton Puzzle 62

Thompson, Ruby Amy – Rock and Roll 58

Torday, Piers – Tree Thing 62

Turner, Tracey – The Fact-Finder’s Rainforest 70

V

Various – Courage in a Poem 62

W

Waissbluth, Denyse – Soup's On Around the World 58

Webb, Holly – A Girls’ Guide to Spying 62

Weze, Clare – Up Above the City 62

Y

Yockteng, Rafael – Victor and the Giant 58

Yun, Jihyun – And the River Drags Her Down 67

Z

Zepf, Máire – The Cloud Kingdom 62

Zephaniah, Benjamin – Leave the Trees, Please 58


Feature

My Life in Books: Donna David

The Awesomely Adventurous Librarians author shares the

books that have shaped her life and character – from a

children’s classic to a YA title set in a Texan correctional facility

Donna David grew up in the

West Midlands in a house full

of noisy siblings, fun parents,

mad aunties, and maggots

(her dad is a fisherman). She’d

often be found reading by

torchlight way after bedtime

and this love of reading has

never left her. Donna has

a degree in English from

Loughborough University,

and she currently delivers

exciting and engaging writing

workshops all over the UK.

The Awesomely Adventurous

Librarians by Donna David,

illustrated by Victoria Stebleva

is published by Oxford

Children’s, £7.99.

W


hat’s the first book you

remember reading?

The first book that I

remember reading for

pleasure was Stig of the

Dump by Clive King.

We shared it in my primary school and I was

enthralled! The thrill of travelling back in time

to Stig’s origins had me hooked. I haven’t read it

since I was a child and I don’t think I will... I love

my memories of it, and I don’t want to taint those

memories by rereading through an adult’s eyes.

What book changed your life?

The book that changed my life is one I discovered

very recently. It is called Words Can Fly by Donna

Ashworth. Her poetry is heartfelt and thoughtprovoking,

but it is her approach to poetry that

has changed my life. When I read interviews with

her, she said that I could write poetry just for

myself. What I write doesn’t need to be ‘worthy’ or

‘intellectual’ or even very good. It is still poetry and

I am still a poet. If my poetry moves someone (even

if that someone is me) then it is always worthy of

being written.

What book made you a better person?

The book that I hope made me a better person

is Holes by Louis Sachar. It’s such a brilliantly

written book about being human, connections,

relationships, love and trauma. The boys in the

camp made me realise how far the smallest

kindness can reach. I aspire to be a bit more like

Stanley Yelnats everyday (just without the digging!)

What book do you wish everyone would read?

As humans, we are all varied and unique and, as

such, there is not one book that would touch you

in the same way that it has touched me. My perfect

read is not yours. The book that moves me to tears

The book that made me a better person

is Holes – a brilliantly written novel

about being human, connections,

relationships, love and trauma

may bore you to death. The

book that takes you on an

incredible and exhilarating

adventure may seem

unrealistic and far-fetched

to me. So, my bookish wish

is for everyone to find their

perfectly perfect read.

For me, those books are

The Hate U Give by Angie

Thomas, Don't Trust Fish

by Neil Sharpson, The

Runaway Pea by Kjartan Poskitt, Once by Morris

Gleitzman and Trash by Andy Mulligan. But they

won’t be your books. Find your own life-affirming

books and keep them close.

TSL Summer 2026 sample

Transform your PDFs into Flipbooks and boost your revenue!

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