The Red House Children's Book Award 2015 shortlist is announced!
Newsflash: Funnyman David Walliams, Children's Laureate Malorie Blackman and awards veteran Sophie McKenzie are just a few authors who make the shortlist. Now YOU get to vote! ...
View ArticleFault in Our Stars author backs literature diversity campaign
‘We need to reflect the reality of our communities,’ says The Fault in Our Stars writer John Green in video backing social media-led We Need Diverse Books campaign ...
View ArticleWhy is today's teen fiction not as diverse as it could be?
Site member Scouting for Books surveys contemporary teen fiction to understand why it is not as diverse as it could – and should – be, and argues that looking to the past may provide an answer ...
View ArticleMalorie Blackman: ‘I love gadgets, but e-reading has to be carefully handled’
Children’s Laureate enthusiastic about children reading digitally but thinks publishers should ‘proceed with caution’ ...
View ArticleProse poem debate continues
The “rules” for the prose poem have been mended and changed throughout the twentieth century by many poets. Many characteristics of the prose poem include lines of uneven length, the occasional true...
View ArticleSix Bad Poets by Christopher Reid – review
‘It’s raining, in steady, London style’: Christopher Reid’s Six Bad Poets homes in on life in the capital. Photograph: Alamy Six Bad Poets is written by one good poet. It is a satirical narrative poem...
View ArticleElizabeth Barrett Browning's five best poems
Google is prompting browsers across the land to discover a brilliant Victorian poet. Here's a very brief primer on a bold and brilliant talent ...
View ArticleWhat are YA books? And who is reading them?
Which books count as Young Adult, and which as teen or New Adult is ambiguous, and their readership is equally hard to define ...
View ArticleHow to teach... students the power of their voice
The Guardian Teacher Network has resources this week for encouraging students to explore protest music through performing poetry and song Egyptian demonstrators sing protest songs in Cairo's Tahrir...
View ArticleChildren’s Laureate to visit Newcastle University (Newcastle University)
(Source: Newcastle University) Award-winning children's author Malorie Blackman OBE is to talk about her work at Newcastle University. The Children's Laureate will be in conversation with fellow author...
View ArticleNoughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman
This is a really good book, and definitely a good read, although through the middle I got a bit bored, and the pace was slow but you have to keep going with it and it does get more exciting. Noughts...
View ArticleWhat are the best books for gamers?
How can I survive the summer without Skyrim and Assassin's Creed? The Book Doctor recommends great fantasy books for the beach to a game obsessed 12-year-old ...
View ArticleSix Poets: Hardy to Larkin review – Alan Bennett’s favourite poets
Sir John Betjeman circa 1965: ‘It is no surprise that Bennett approves of his pitch-perfect How to Get On in Society.' Photograph: Popperfoto In Alan Bennett’s play The History Boys, there is a point...
View ArticleThe Truth Thomas (full text) Speak Water Interview 2012
Advertisement Video Prelude to interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CGIkF2aRB8 Which events paved a path to the writing of Speak Water? Disturbance. Speak Water was born of a disturbance. While I...
View ArticleHooray for Malorie Blackman, an inspiring new children's laureate
Back in the pre-double dip recession mists of time, I worked in bookstore chain Borders. I was lucky to start off in the department of my choice – the children's section – because I had been a bookish...
View ArticleMalorie Blackman named UK Children’s Laureate
LONDON : “Noughts and Crosses” author Malorie Blackman was named Britain’s Children’s Laureate, on Tuesday. The post recognises outstanding achievement and the importance of exceptional authors in...
View ArticleWhere are the normal boys in fiction?
My son is an average nine-year-old. He doesn't think of himself as a wimp, a geek or a superhero but all the books around just now seem to centre on such characters. Why are wimps suddenly so popular?...
View ArticleBlack characters on the cover of books can put parents off buying them
Parents can be put off buying a book if it has a black character on the front cover, the new Children's Laureate has said. Malorie Blackman, the 51-year-old author of dozens of books including the...
View ArticleChildren's Laureate Malorie Blackman targets digital youth
The new Children's Laureate, Malorie Blackman, hopes technology can help get young people to engage with books. Blackman, the bestselling author of the Noughts & Crosses series, was announced as...
View ArticleWhat are the best feminism books for children?
When an 11 year old encounters sexism for the first time, what books should she read to reassure her? While Book Doctor Julia Eccleshare is away, Sian Cain steps in to recommend some books. ...
View ArticleWomen, War, and the Working Class
In the previous installment in the Political Poetry series, Afaa Weaver described his urge, as an African American poet, “to touch the proletarian vernacular at its deepest point.” A few days after the...
View ArticleChildren's Laureate sparks conversation about diversity in books
British author and Children’s Laureate Malorie Blackman took a 24-hour hiatus from Twitter after an interview posted Sunday on Sky News led to a barrage of what she called “racist tweets.” The Sky...
View ArticleDiverse voices: the 50 best culturally diverse children's books
An incredible list of the 50 best children's books published from 1950 to the present day that celebrate cultural and ethnic diversity is released today ...
View ArticleEdinburgh International Book Festival 2014: what's on for teens?
What a time to be a YA reader and what a year to head to the Edinburgh International Book Festival with Malorie Blackman, Patrick Ness and Marcus Sedgwick making appearances. Teen Patrick Sproull...
View ArticleAlan Gibbons: why YA fiction is crucial for shaping our attitudes to subcultures
Author Alan Gibbons was inspired to write his book Hate after the murder of teenager Sophie Lancaster. Here, Alan shares why he thinks YA books are important for improving our understanding of other...
View ArticleJames Dawson: ‘There are too many white faces’ in kids’ books
Young adult author enters children’s literature debate, saying industry needs ‘books that are diverse’ ...
View ArticleTony Mitton's top 10 poems to remember and recite
Being able to recite a poem by heart is impressive so – as National Poetry Day’s theme this year is “remembering” – Tony Mitton picks out 10 perfect poems to learn, love and recite ...
View ArticleSF Said: Books showed me it was all right to be different
When SF Said was growing up Arabic Muslim boy in 1970s Britain, the only place he really felt at home was in the books he found where difference was celebrated. Now with 13% of the UK population...
View ArticleChildren's books are too white, says Laureate
Books aimed at children and young adults are still too white and should include more characters from ethnic minorities, according to the Children's Laureate. Malorie Blackman said the landscape of...
View ArticleDiversity in UK children's books recognised by charity
Works by Malorie Blackman and Marjane Satrapi are among 50 book recognised by reading charity Seven Stories for their cultural diversity. Also on the Diverse Voices list are Rastamouse creator Michael...
View ArticleMalorie Blackman is the new children's laureate
The author of the Noughts and Crosses series and many other teen novels is the new children's laureate, taking over from Julia Donaldson ...
View ArticleChildren’s laureate Malorie Blackman takes a bite out of ‘snobs’ who dismiss...
Malorie Blackman, named today as the eighth incumbent, pledged to spend her two-year tenure encouraging young people to read as widely as possible. Ms Blackman, author of Pig-Heart Boy which was turned...
View ArticleChildren’s laureate takes a bite out of ‘snobs’ who dismiss Twilight novels
Malorie Blackman, named today as the eighth incumbent, pledged to spend her two-year tenure encouraging young people to read as widely as possible. Ms Blackman, author of Pig-Heart Boy which was turned...
View ArticleWhy poetry belongs to us all
On Poetry Day, Sarah Crossan argues that poetry is everywhere. And it is ours. So sing and share your songs and don’t be afraid to snatch poetry back into your life and use it! ...
View ArticleMalorie Blackman faces racist abuse after call to diversify children's books
Children's laureate vows she will not be silenced by 'hatred, threats and vitriol' after appealing for more representative range of fictional characters ...
View ArticleWelcome to our Amnesty teen takeover week – an overview
For the next week, we are teaming up with Amnesty International to talk about books that explore identity – race, gender, sexuality, religion and everything that makes each of us unique. Here's what we...
View ArticleMalorie Blackman tops list of black influential figures
Children's author Malorie Blackman has been named at the top of a list of the UK's most influential black figures. Blackman, who is the current Children's Laureate, topped publishing company Powerful...
View ArticleBritish children's books don't reflect cultural diversity, Laureate says
LONDON (Reuters) - British children's books still don't reflect the cultural diversity of the country's children and would-be authors, Children's Laureate Malorie Blackman said. Her own best-known...
View ArticleChildren's Laureate Malorie Blackman to appear at ReadingZone Children's...
Newsflash: Authors and illustrators will talk to three-thousand children and teenagers in Surrey schools ...
View ArticleWorld Book Day: The 10 best teen reads
From The Hunger Games to Jane Eyre the World Book Day list of top teen tomes is full of books to inspire teen readers. But what have they missed off? ...
View ArticleChildren's Laureate Malorie Blackman: 'I'm looking forward to redressing the...
The books interview: the author talks comics, cliffhangers and why she's banging the drum for diversity in literature ...
View ArticleWhat are the best books about identity for teenagers?
Authors and teen readers recommend their favourite books dealing with issues around identity, such as racism, gender, sexuality, migration and adolescence, for readers in their formative years ...
View ArticleUK's first black children's laureate: new history curriculum could alienate...
Malorie Blackman says black children may be turned off school and calls for more books on the British minority experience ...
View ArticleMalorie Blackman: "Children's books still have a long way to go before they...
Once told to "go back to where she came from" (she was born in Clapham), children's laureate Malorie Blackman is now famous for her books on race and identity. Here she reveals the books that shaped...
View ArticleWhat are the best diverse books for children and teenagers?
Children’s authors, poets and illustrators, including Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Grace Nicholls and Wendy Meddour, recommend diverse books that inspired them to children and teens today. We want this blog...
View ArticleWhy we're holding a diversity in children's book week
This week is all about celebrating and sharing the diverse books we love and also asking questions about why there aren’t more of them around! Here’s what we’ve got planned ...
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