There are so many excellent initiatives, awards, events and research projects taking place all the time in the children's book world, as well as insightful discussions around the vital roles that libraries and librarians play in developing children and young people's educational and emotional wellbeing. Welcome to our weekly round-up of the news that you don't want to miss!
BookTrust and Frank Cottrell-Boyce launched their Reading Rights Report this week. The impressive report calls on national and local leaders in early years, health, education and culture to come together to make reading a part of daily life for every child in their first seven years. We shared some thoughts about how the primary school library should be the natural continuation of early years provision that organisations like BookTrust work tirelessly to provide for children at the beginning of their lives.
If you're interested in building your primary library provision, on Tuesday 24th June we will be hosting the second webinar in a series focusing on Developing a Primary School Library. Find out more and book.
The Children's Bookshow has launched its annual programme of live theatre events for primary schools. Inspiring author stories, exhilarating poetry performances, epic fantasy, compelling history, new books to discover, and spell-binding illustrations drawn live on stage: The Children’s Bookshow autumn tour delivers an awesome range of literary experiences designed to encourage creativity and promote the joy of reading, writing and drawing. SLA Patron and Waterstone's Children’s Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce will join the programme this year, in a line-up that also includes Michael Rosen, bestselling author Katherine Rundell and critically-acclaimed poet, Matt Goodfellow.
The live events will reach primary school children at theatre venues in cities across England, including lots of SLA branch network areas. Find out more or book now. Every child who attends a performance goes home with a free book!
The Good Childhood Report is The Children's Society's annual report on the wellbeing of children and young people in the UK. Last year’s report found that 15-year-olds in the UK had the lowest average life satisfaction in Europe. To help better understand this striking trend, The Children's Society are collecting the views and perspectives of people who work with children and young people. Complete and share the survey by Saturday 31st May, and put your knowledge and experience towards helping to overturn the worrying decline in children's wellbeing.
The shortlist for the Klaus Flugge Prize was announced on Thursday 15 May. This is the tenth year of the award which was established in 2016 to honour Klaus Flugge, founder of Andersen Press and a leading light in the world of children’s publishing and illustration. The £5,000 prize is awarded to the most promising and exciting newcomer to children’s picture book illustration. It is the only prize specifically to recognise a published picture book by a debut illustrator. From a longlist of 15 books the judges, headed by award-winning author illustrators Yasmeen Ismail and Bruce Ingman, have chosen three to shortlist:
My Hair is as Long as a River illustrated by Emma Farrarons, written by Charlie Castle (Macmillan)
The Café at the Edge of the Woods by Mikey Please (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
Grandad’s Star illustrated by Rhian Stone, written by Frances Tosdevin (Rocket Bird Books)
Find out more about the prize and all three shortlisted titles. The winner will be announced at a ceremony in London on Thursday 11 September 2025.
Amanda Moorghen, Head of Learning, Impact and Policy at Voice21 shared her insights into oracy in the interim report from the Curriculum and Assessment Review in the Summer issue of Headteacher Update. Despite the term "oracy" being missing from the interim report, Amanda is buoyed by schools' increasing recognition of the importance of high-quality oracy education. Amanda will be delivering a keynote address at our upcoming annual conference, exploring the unique opportunity for talk offered by school libraries and librarians - and breaking the boundary of silence in the library! Read Amanda's article on Page 36 of Headteacher Update.
Walker Books are celebrating the 25th anniversary since the first Alex Rider book was published! Alex Rider has become a much-loved character in schools and libraries throughout the world. With over 21 million copies sold worldwide, the series has had a huge impact on the reading habits of young people. Do you remember when it first came out?!