'Augmented' by Kenechi Udogu is The Times children's book of the week. A fresh take on eco sci-fi for young adults 🪴🌱🌿🌾🌻 (with a bit of gentle romance)... @faberbooks.bsky.social
Lucy Bannerman
@timeslucy.bsky.social
Children's book critic and journalist at The Times. Championing the best in children's literature every week. News | Features | Podcasts | Book prize judge Insta: @lucybannerman_books
Did you know that skatole, the foul-smelling compound that makes poo stink is also used in...perfumes? And as a flavour enhancer in strawberry ice cream? 🤢 I do now thanks to The Times childrens book of the week: 'Elements of the Day' by Samantha Lewis+Hao Hao www.thetimes.com/article/36d3...
How to make chemistry fun for kids
Samantha Lewis’s Elements of the Day makes the periodic table rock
thetimes.com
Shopping trolleys! Folklore! Techno! And a green-skinned heroine in a dress made out of Tesco carriers bags. 'Riverskin' by Mike Edwards is The Times children's book of the week. A bold and atmospheric story for readers 9+. @walkerbooksuk.bsky.social www.thetimes.com/article/3a09...
It’s the Little Mermaid but with discarded shopping trolleys and techno
A folktale resurfaces among the slime and grime of Britain’s rivers in Mike Edwards’s debut, Riverskin
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"Ye're an auld hoor, Morag Coll". Adding the reissued 'From Scenes Like These' by Gordon Williams to the book pile immediately. Sounds tremendous. Great review @robbiemillen.bsky.social www.thetimes.com/article/716e...
Welcome to 1950s Scotland — it’s an awful place
Shortlisted for the first Booker prize, From Scenes Like These by Gordon Williams is a novel brimming with black humour and vivid description. It deserves its modern classic status
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This is a SUPERB novel for readers aged 12+ Although it's set in Blitz-era London, it steers well clear of any 1940s ''Dad's Army' cliche, and delivers a wise and unflinching story that makes you think about Gaza and Ukraine today. Superb. www.thetimes.com/article/4651...
Childhood friendships forged in the flames of the Blitz
In Under a Fire-Red Sky by Geraldine McCaughrean, four runaways live by their wits on the streets of London at war
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Are you an unpublished children's author who wants to win a £10k publishing deal? Send your manuscript to The Times Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition. ✨Only 10 days left to enter.... ✨ urldefense.com/v3/__https:/...
Know anyone about to make that first flight to secondary school? This is a sweet - and ultimately reassuring - read. The First Year by Matt Goodfellow is The Times children's book of the week. @mattgoodfellow.bsky.social @otterbarrybooks.bsky.social www.thetimes.com/article/06d6...
It’s time to go to big school. A story in verse
Nate is leaving his primary behind, but things are complicated at home … in The First Year, Matt Goodfellow explores a time of transition with energy and warmth
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Something so sad about little boys being read to less than little girls. One in five wee boys (aged 0-2years) is rarely or never treated to storytime with an adult, according to new research. @harpercollins.bsky.social @philearle.bsky.social www.thetimes.com/article/b306...
Gen Z wishes goodnight to bedtime stories for children
The youngest generation of parents are the least likely to value reading aloud, research suggests
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Making a good picture book - must surely be up there with giving up smoking and doing the ski-jump as 'things that look easy but are actually very hard.' 'Sleep Tight, Disgusting Blob' by Huw Aaron is The Times children's book of the week. www.thetimes.com/article/5f1b...
Finally, a monstrously funny bedtime story
Sleep Tight, Disgusting Blob by Huw Aaron turns traditional monsters into adorable characters — from Dracula brushing his fangs to Medusa blow-drying her snakes. It’s a hilarious read for ages 3-7
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An evil tech entrepreneur has destroyed civilization. Only a few plucky survivors remain. And Jen's dad is actually...an AI replica. Whose side is he really on? 'After' by Padraig Kenny, a sci-fi thriller for 9+, is The Times Children's book of the week. www.thetimes.com/article/5461...
The robots have risen up against us. What happens next?
In After, Pádraig Kenny’s novel, a daughter and her unusual father must use their wits to survive in a post-apocalyptic world
thetimes.com
The Times children's book of the week is 'What Happens Online' by Nathanael Lessore. A brilliant, big-hearted book about boyhood. (Also contains good jokes about Kanye, Ozempic, bubble tea and Shoe Zone. 💪) @hotkeybooks.bsky.social #childrensbooks www.thetimes.com/article/9dab...
It’s Adrian Mole for the gaming generation
What Happens Online by Nathanael Lessore has a brilliantly relatable teenage protagonist, who provides laughs and positive messages
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Would you let your kids chat with Harry, the AI-generated bot? Is the idea of taking a fictional character from the safety of the page and using AI to develop it on messaging platforms an exciting idea - or a deeply sinister one? #clickarte #bologna #BCBF #kidlit www.thetimes.com/article/1af9...
Why did the tiger come to tea? Kids could soon ask it on WhatsApp
The book world is poring over an AI project that introduces children to characters on the page and encourages them to get to know them better on messaging apps
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Middle-grade mysteries set in London are ten a penny... but this one is outstanding. Deep Dark by Zohra Nabi is The Times children's book of the week. @sschuster.bsky.social www.thetimes.com/article/c339...
Children vanish in an 1830s gothic thriller
In Zohra Nabi’s outstanding novel Deep Dark, a chilling mystery unfolds in the back streets of London
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"I love it when a new picture book lands that is so original, so distinctive, it suddenly makes the competition look bland." Delighted for Mikey Please whose debut, The Cafe at the Edge of the Woods, has won the Waterstones Children's Book Prize. Review here: www.thetimes.com/article/5229...
The Café at the Edge of the Woods by Mikey Please review — a sublime shot of flavour
This debut from a Bafta-winning director about an ogre who likes nothing on the menu is subversive and original
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This is a scandal that doesn't get enough attention. Single parent families are owed almost £700million in unpaid child support. The penalty for ex-partners who refuse to pay up? ONE person went to prison last quarter of 2024. ZERO passports confiscated. www.thetimes.com/article/4f5a...
Single-parent families owed £690m in unpaid child maintenance
Homes ‘repossessed’ after uncollected payments to Child Maintainance Service. Yet agency is not using all powers at its disposal to pursue evading parents
thetimes.com
Lyrical, gritty, surreal. This is a pony story with a difference. 'Ride North' by Maria De Jongh is The Times children's book of the week. @andersenpress.bsky.social www.thetimes.com/article/89cc...
Giddy up! This horseback adventure should be made into a movie
Ride North by Maria de Jong is a quirky and gripping tale of survival with a real sense of jeopardy
thetimes.com
The Times children's book of the week is...Hidden Treasure by Jessie Burton. Contains mudlarking, mystery and a touch of magic. ☀️🌕☀️🌕☀️🌕☀️🌕☀️ @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social www.thetimes.com/article/b41a...
A mudlarking dilemma — The Miniaturist author’s first children’s book
Two jewels buried in the Thames mud will unlock a magical wish for their finder in Jessie Burton’s Great War-era tale Hidden Treasure
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Also, I don't care what anyone says, this was the best movie of the 1980s. Once seen, never forgotten... #ReturntoOz
It's a little bit X-Files, a wee bit Stephen King-lite and a lot of frightening fun... The Times children's book of the week is The Deadsoul Project by Dan Smith, the first in the new Night Files series. Illustrations by Luke Brookes. @dansmithauthor.bsky.social www.thetimes.com/article/3410...
This book is Stephen King for children
Dan Smith’s horror-mystery, The Night House Files — The Deadsoul Project, has the perfect balance of thrills and chills
thetimes.com
Why are some of the best dogs - Airedale terriers! Old English Sheepdogs! Irish terriers! - on this list of vulnerable breeds? There's no justice. I blame the cavapoos. @crufts.bsky.social @kennelclub.bsky.social @dogstrust.bsky.social
They were once among the UK's favourite dogs. Their admirers included Dorothy Parker, Rudyard Kipling, Beatrix Potter, Julie Andrews and Humphrey Bogart - all owners of a 'Scottie'. But now the popularity of the Scottish Terrier has hit a record low. 😢 🏴 www.thetimes.com/article/ce81...
Save our Scotties: popularity of Scottish terriers hits record low
The breed, once a favourite of royalty and presidents, is at risk of disappearing. The Kennel Club says the Old English sheepdog and Irish wolfhound are also declining
thetimes.com
Etymology of the day: ‘book’ comes from an ancient root shared by ‘beech’, a wood that people used for engraving inscriptions. ‘Paper’ comes from ‘papyrus’, and ‘volume’ is from the Latin for a ‘roll’ of parchment. Happy World Book Day.
How do you pick the world's best picturebook? Are UK publishers too "safe"? Are British customers missing out on all the weird+wonderful storybooks from around the world? I went behind the scenes at #BolognaRagazzi awards to find out... #WorldBookDay #Bologna www.thetimes.com/article/6e69...
These are the best picture books in the world (and no Gruffalo in sight)
The BolognaRagazzi awards are the most prestigious in global children’s publishing — but on World Book Day, it seems the UK is lagging behind
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The Times children's book of the week is... 'We Are Definitely Human' by X.Fang @pushkinchildrens.bsky.social www.thetimes.com/article/c4fc...
Hooray for weirdos!
We Are Definitely Human by X Fang is a celebration of how weird can be wonderful too
thetimes.com
The Times children's book of the week is...Diary of a Future Billionaire by Pamela Butchart. Funny, big-hearted storytelling that - finally! - gives children's literature a decent scene in a kebab shop. #scholastic #dundee www.thetimes.com/article/f81b...
Diary of a Future Billionaire by Pamela Butchart — a get-rich quick tale for young deal-makers
When Dad blows the family savings on a scam mongoose farm, his son Ben steps up with his big ideas to make the family a fortune …
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'Speedwheels 3000' by Jenny Pearson & Katie Kear isThe Times children's book of the week www.thetimes.com/article/d03b...
Speedwheels 3000 by Jenny Pearson review — a ride worth buckling up for
A father-daughter bonding trip turns into a time-sensitive whodunnit — or Evie’s petrolhead dad will be off to jail for a crime he didn’t commit
thetimes.com
✨📚✨I'm in picture-book heaven. ✨📚✨ This weekend I'm being a fly on the wall as the judges pick the winners of the BolognaRagazzi Awards. They have two days to decide the winners from 4000 books from 80+ countries. It's like the kids' book Olympics. 🎖️🏅🥈🥉
"We do hope to take it on tour" Waterstones is considering plans to reproduce its new children's book festival around the UK. The first one is happening in Lincoln this weekend. #kidlit @frankcottrellboyce.bsky.social @jamiesmart.bsky.social www.thetimes.com/article/a0ba...
Waterstones banks on graphic novel boom for children’s festival
As other arts festivals are being forced to close, the bookseller is launching a new event that includes stars of comic-strip fiction
thetimes.com
If you know young people who like #Writing, tell them about the Henrietta Branford Writing Competition. Open now to all 8 - 18 yr olds. The judges are looking for stories, poems, lyrics that will make them laugh. They want young writers to have fun! branfordboaseaward.org.uk/2025-competi...
