We have three different reviewers this month sharing their children’s book recommendations. We welcome guest reviews, so get in touch if you want to write about a recent favourite read. The Last Bear by Hannah Gold, suitable for ages 8+ Review by Max Abbott, age......
You’re spoilt for choice over the next few months as several fabulous literary events for young people are taking place. These sessions are either part of general book festivals or are children’s literary festivals in their own right. Here’s our round-up of what’s coming up.......
By Tia Fisher, author Engaging teen readers can be challenging. Too many distractions, re-wired attention spans, competing interests and the conviction that reading’s not for them. But verse novels offer a breath of fresh air in the school library, taking the power of poetry and......
Three great books, reviewed by our Director, Alison Palmer. What have you enjoyed reading recently? Kofi and the Rap Battle Summer by Jeffrey Boakye, suitable for ages 9+ Kofi is often in trouble; if only he would apply himself to school work rather than the......
Ben, a school librarian, shared how our book clubs help pupils in his school: “Book clubbers have demonstrated higher levels of engagement with the school library and more positive attitudes to reading… The programme has also helped a number of our students to come out......
Our latest reviews have something for all ages. We hope you enjoy them as much as we did! What are your reading recommendations? Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy by Angie Thomas, suitable for ages 9+ Review by Ali Palmer of BCiS I......
Thanks to funding from the People’s Postcode Lottery, we created a pilot project to run book clubs with an animation project in two Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) in 2020/21. We began the project in Francis Barber PRU in Wandsworth and the Manchester PRU in January......
We are very excited to announce that Summer Book Club is back for 2023! In 2022, over 120 schools signed up to the project, and we are aiming to get more involved this year. Summer Book Club has run successfully for two years, with well-received......
Our What To Read Now blog has had a bit of a break, but it’s back with a bang with three storming reads for young people. Do let us know what you’ve been reading recently. We might even feature your review here! Tyger – SF......
This year’s Dyslexia Awareness Week falls from 3 to 9 October. So, for our What To Read Now we’re revisiting some brilliant Barrington Stoke books. We’re huge fans of Barrington Stoke, who for 20 years have been publishing super-readable, accessible books that are ideal for......
We were all on the edge of our seats, soaking up every word from Jason and Alex that afternoon in Brixton Library. If you couldn’t make it, read on: school librarian, Alison Muirhead has written a brilliant blog for us about the event. Midweek, mid-August,......
Monsters Born and Made by Tanvi Berwah Alison Palmer reviews the South Asian inspired debut fantasy, suitable for 13+ The book starts with an intriguing sentence: ‘We hunt when the world sleeps’. The action begins with a dive into the watery world of the hunters......
This month we’re reviewing Tom Palmer’s much-anticipated new novel Resist, due out on 4 August; Into the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner, the author of the Serpent King; and Skin of the Sea, one of Ali Palmer’s favourite reads of 2021, which has made the......
It’s a bumper edition of What To Read Now this month. We have five books to recommend for ages between 8 and 16+ – so many great books are out right now and we hope you love them as much as we do. What have......
Kings College School in Wimbledon hosted our first in-person event post-Covid for Merton Abbey Primary School and Southmead Primary School. Around 100 children from years 4 and 6 came along and were thrilled to hear Sita share how she became an author. Through a mix of......
We have a selection of special books this month. Keep an eye out for Phil Earle’s latest belter due out on 2 June. Lola, our 13-year-old reviewer, found Instructions for a Teenage Armageddon by Rosie Day both helpful and laugh-out-loud funny. We also feature school......
Ava has been reviewing books for us recently. We’ve loved reading and sharing her reviews. Read what Ava says about writing reviews and what she thinks of Michelle Paver’s Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series. I’m 13 (in year 9) and started working on my Bronze......
Thank you to everyone who contributed to this month’s What To Read Now: Max, Ava and Alexia. We love to share different voices on our website. Would you, or a young person you know, like to review books for us? Get in touch. The Graveyard......
The books in this month’s What To Read Now all highlight the changes you go through as you grow up. A massive thank you to our guest book reviewers. We’re always keen to include different voices on our website, please get in touch if you’d......
What we’ve been reading and enjoying recently. A huge thank you to guest reviewer, Ava, age 13 from London. Freeze, written and illustrated by Chris Priestley (suggestion for ages (+9), reviewed by Ava. Maya’s regular English teacher is absent today, and supply Mr Kumar is......
Why We Fly by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal It is senior year and the friendship between Eleanor and Chanel is changing. They have always been inseparable with a clear plan for their futures, but outside factors are changing their view of each other. Cheerleading......
Empress & Aniya by Candice Carty-Williams Alison Palmer reviews the first YA novel from the bestselling author of Queenie. What if there were people who actually looked out for you and cared enough to find out why you might be cross and angry about stuff?......
Mini Book Club – Year 7 Transition has been a resounding success. We teamed up with Hachette and Speakers for Schools to offer this free exciting activity for children as they move to secondary school. We wanted to provide a club to help build their confidence as readers and......
National Teen Book Club delivers book clubs to young people from all over the UK, and so far, over 1,000 young people have taken part. We partner with Speakers for Schools to run the clubs, and we launched the first club together in June 2020. ......
We are extremely proud to support the work of The Diverse Book Awards by being the headline sponsor of the YA category. And what a collection of cracking reads to make the longlist. Follow the awards ceremony on the 21 October. to find out the......