I had the pleasure of seeing debut author Felicity Yeoh (@lemonfizzbooks) do a musical storytelling session about her and Megan Snyder’s brilliantly moving picture book The Kingdom of Tigers at Waterstones Glasgow. It’s among the moving tale about a Tiger family and conservation.

As we come to the end of @frankcottrellboyce.bsky.social's time as Waterstones #ChildrensLaureate, we're giving you the chance to win his powerful new book. A British Childhood draws on Frank's experiences over the past two years and is a stirring call for us all to act 👇 https://bit.ly/44GQwAt

The new Waterstones Children’s Laureate is being announced VERY soon… follow @booktrust.org.uk for updates. And they will be on a special episode of our podcast @islandofbrilliant.bsky.social soon after! Will @frankcottrellboyce.bsky.social give up his crown without a fight?

"I want to champion the power of books to connect us and make us feel like we belong" @lawrencepatrice.bsky.social, our new Waterstones #ChildrensLaureate 2026-28, speaking powerfully about the role of stories to build connection and community - and how this will be the focus of her Laureateship.

SUPER SUPER HAPPY ABOUT THIS! Congrats Patrice Lawrence!!! The new Waterstones Children's Laureate!

BookTrust@booktrust.org.uk · 4w ago

What a fantastic day we've had unveiling @lawrencepatrice.bsky.social as our new Waterstones #ChildrensLaureate! We're so proud to manage the Laureateship, as it aligns perfectly with our mission to give every child the best start in life through shared reading. More 👇 https://bit.ly/44JmbkO

I did a speech this week about books and reading and finished off by saying that your brain 🧠 and the creative process is worse if you use AI. And let’s not get me started on the planet. Then the next author (who had sent in a talk) had a book trailed made using AI…😳

The Home Front Exhibition Appeal. HMS Tern are organising a temporary exhibition focused on the Home Front, featuring documents, clothing, and equipment from #Orkney. If you have any items available for loan, get in touch. hmstern.blog/2026/06/22/t...

The Home Front exhibition appeal - About Tern - the blog for HMS Tern Orkney

At HMS Tern, we are frequently asked about the events around our islands, not just at the airfield, but also on the Home Front. What was life like during that time? We are organising a temporary exhib...

hmstern.blog

More than half way to Net Zero in UK The key fact is that most people believe it is a long way off and hard. Only 8% believe we're halfway there. www.gov.uk/government/n...

UK half way to net zero

Provisional data shows UK territorial greenhouse gas emissions fell further across several key sectors between 2022 and 2023.

gov.uk

I was thrilled to see Beth O’Brien’s fabulous Wolf Siren win at the Carnegies this week. It so cleverly leans into and extends the story of Little Red Riding Hood. What other great children’s books play with well known Folk and Fairtytales, Myths and Legends? #KidsBooksFriday #KidLitUK #KidLit

Someone has given me aticket to Belle and Sebastian tonight so I am binge listening to their Tigermilk album! I know 'The State that I am in' - as a woman I used to work with made me a mix cd back in 2006 and that was on it!

Quite shocked - and a little ticked off - that @theguardian.com with its large book section has had zero coverage of the @carnegiemedals.bsky.social Kids books are a HUGE part of the industry, and the Carnegie is essentially our Booker. What’s up with that, @theguardian.com ?

GLASGOW - Free kids event 2nd August 13.30 - meet Felicity Yeoh and hear her read The Kingdom of Tigers at Waterstones Sauchiehall Street www.waterstones.com/events/kingd...

Hope everyone is keeping cool. 😎

Every time I pass a charity shop that has books I have. A quick peek to see if one of my books is there and yesterday I spotted one! Keep Dancing, Lizzie Chu is facing out at Oxfam Bookshop Byres Road! It’s signed!

Ahhh Jo Lindley and I had the BEST launch at the Paper Cat Bookshop in Herne Hill last week. The weather was lovely, the vibes cute and panda-like. We had a brilliant live draw by Jo, whilst I read out the book and we had Chi Chi biscuits from Vanilla Frost Cakes. Chi Chi the Panda is out now!

My third novel Nate Yu’s Blast From the Past has been out one year now! Thanks to my publishers @piccadilly-press.bsky.social for championing it and giving me my first proper book tour and POS (bookmarks and posters). I don’t know how it’s selling but hope people pick it up!

Are we willing to invest just five cents per person per year to maintain one of the world’s most important climate monitoring systems? That provides crucial information about a potentially existential risk for Europe?

Femke de Jong@fmkdejong.bsky.social · 2mo ago

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... We are raising the alarm because continuing observations of one of our most important components in the climate system are becoming unsustainable.

If you are based in the UK, please do consider writing an email to your local library about how important LGBTQ+ books, and representation is. There are several councils in the UK suggesting that books should be banned and that LGBTQ+ books are harmful. This must be challenged at all costs.

Congrats to the winners of the Jhalak Prize!!!

National Book Tokens@nationalbooktokens.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Your 2026 #JhalakPrize winners are here 🙌🏾✨ Huge congratulations to Maggie Harris, Fidan Meikle and Diana Evans for winning the Poetry, Children's & YA and Prose prizes for their "courageous and defiant" works. Find out more 📚🏆 buff.ly/X9ExSwh

"For far too long... mainstream media in the UK has failed the public. It has downplayed the rise of the far right at home while helping manufacture consent for genocide abroad." I make the case for why we need Zeteo UK, which launched today and which needs your support, as subscribers:

💥 Zeteo UK Is HERE!

Read Mehdi’s announcement, explaining why we're launching a UK-focused Zeteo offshoot, who we’re bringing with us, and how we plan to fix a broken British media.

zeteonews.co.uk

BIG NEWS! We just (soft) launched Zeteo UK, a new standalone publication from Zeteo based in the UK, covering the UK. It's our first international expansion, with big-name contributors and reporters. Subscribe and support here, and check out the trailer from me below: zeteonews.co.uk

Politicians who fanned these flames should hang their heads in shame. Time and again we've seen this story play out. Single incidents used to fuel a far right narrative - and communities across the nation paying the price.

I had a lovely book launch day in Scotland with an event at Day Dreams bookshop and then the annual summer party for our neighbourhood where I took Chi Chi cupcakes. My neighbours made me a Chi Chi cheesecake

Family Station @britishlibrary.bsky.social 26/07/26 11:30/13:30 FREE link in bio! Do you dream of riding a flying horse or secretly yearn for your very own yeti? Explore legendary South Asian mythical creatures with Gita Ralleigh, create your own poems and take part in our relaxed Poetry Slam! 7+

Thanks to all of the families who came to my Chi Chi the Panda book (illustrated by Jo Lindley) launch today at Day Dreams Bookshop in Milngavie! We had a lovely time making panda faces and eating cupcakes! #ChiChithePanda #books #Panda

Join me tomorrow morning for Chi Chi the Panda fun as I launch the book at @daydreamsbookshop in Milngavie (near Glasgow). @hachettechildrens.bsky.social

It’s not long until the Cheshire Reading Champiom Key Stage 2 Book Awards! So great to see Nate Yu’s Blast From the Past among these titles!

I believe in judging a book by its cover. Great cover art draws us in and helps us decide if we might enjoy a book. Sadly cover artists are often overlooked or barely credited. What great cover art has encouraged you or the kids in your life to read a book? #KidsBooksFriday #KidLitUK #KidLit

It's hard to convey just how monstrous the privatisation of children's care homes has become. Highly vulnerable children have been turned into cash machines, with devastating impacts on their wellbeing. Please sit down before reading this week's column. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Horrific, unregulated, and very profitable. The companies making cash from England’s children in care | George Monbiot

Councils are sending vulnerable kids to homes ran by money-grabbing cowboys and private-equity vultures, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

theguardian.com

Hello! Im doing a book launch for Chi Chi the Panda (illustrated by Jo Lindley) at Day Dreams Bookshop in Milngavie on Sunday 7th June 10.30am. We will be doing some crafting and making a panda face and I’ll tell you some brilliant panda facts too! Book via Day Dreams website for