A day of “Reading Well”: A Cross-faculty Conference on Children’s and YA Literature, Illness and Disability Franka Röse In March, Dr Lucy Stone, Assistant Professor in the School of English, organised Reading Well, with help from postdoc, Dr Avril Deegan (School of Psychology), MA students, Franka Röse, …

MA student Franka Röse reflects on her time helping out with Reading Well, a cross-faculty conference @dublincityuni.bsky.social in March, exploring representations of illness and disability in children's and young adult literature and its use in healthcare settings in Ireland. tinyurl.com/3trpe86c

Working with our friends Yorkshire Contemporary, we stopped by Hamara Healthy Living Centre to share another beautiful batch of books and activity packs with local families & children.

Thanks to @booktrust.org.uk & @penguinbooksuk.bsky.social #LitinColour

📸: David Lindsay - Photographer

Queer author from Essex devastated after school removes book The author says her book was an aid to open up the conversation around gender, sexuality and identity.

I wrote Queerly Autistic as the book I desperately wish I'd had as a young queer autistic person.

I know what it was like trying to figure myself out without access to this sort of information, and how vulnerable that made me.

Knowledge is empowerment - and safety.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The Observer Book Club with Margaret Busby YouTube video by The Observer UK

Margaret Busby, here interviewed by @timadamswrites.bsky.social , was one half of the publisher Allison and Busby, who published a lot of impressive fiction, including the work of Tom Mallin, whose novels were a very exciting find for me many years ago.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=17Wh...

“Book banning in schools uses young people as an excuse to silence certain voices&ignore difficult realities while calling it child protection, which is completely reprehensible.”Kelly McCaughrain

@walkerbooksuk.bsky.social & Little, Brown #bookbans
#KidLitUK

www.bookbrunch.co.uk/page/article...

Teachers vow to 'fight censorship' after school book row The UK's largest education union says librarians have reported

The @neunion.bsky.social on recent #Bookbans , referencing school librarians reporting "internal and external censorship".
#KidLitUK

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

An update on the Greater Manchester school library #bookban ⬇️

Stay in touch with the UK ripples arriving from across the pond by following @indexoncensorship.org

-and look to #BannedBooksWeek UK 4-10 October.
#KidLitUK

Children's and Young Adult Literature (CYAL) at UCL.

The next session will discuss 2 books that explore racism and racialisation - 'Tyger' and 'The Doll Test'.

The CYAL book group is open to all students and staff at UCL and to people beyond UCL by invitation (just send me a message).

Suschitzky was of course most famous for his cinematography on Get Carter, but he also was a Socialist with Jewish heritage which meant that he had to leave his native Austria after Nazis gained power. He photographed many global children including refugees and immigrants.

“All alphabet books are political”. What an opener.

The politics of children’s ABC books.

Another on point #BeyondTheSecretGarden column in the latest @booksforkeeps.bsky.social by @ksandsoconnor.bsky.social & @darrenchetty.bsky.social

#KidLitUK
booksforkeeps.co.uk/article/beyo...

We stand together against antisemitism in all its forms whether it appears as violence, vandalism, abuse or rhetoric.

Our thoughts are with the Jewish community following the horrifying arson attack in Golders Green, where emergency vehicles serving the community were deliberately targeted. Such an attack - carried out against those who exist to save lives - is deeply shocking.

Florida Has Deemed All Existing Intro to Sociology Textbooks Illegal and Produced Its Own Board of Governors appointees overseeing the curricula include roofing contractors, insurance execs, and no professors.

Florida Has Deemed All Existing Intro to Sociology Textbooks Illegal truthout.org/articles/flo...

School book banning escalates in the UK as Greater Manchester secondary school censors scores of books - Index on Censorship A school librarian faced a disciplinary hearing and scores of books were removed from her school library after she stocked Laura Bates’ Men Who Hate Women

UK authors - I urge you to read this article about a school in Manchester who removed hundreds of our books from their library they deemed ‘inappropriate’ and share. This is appalling censorship - and it’s coming from the school’s head and SLT themselves. @indexoncensorship.org

Here are my visual notes from Sharna's talk. WHAT a brilliant day at the @literacy-trust.bsky.social conference @martingalway.bsky.social thanks for making it possible! An excellent day all round with teachers, librarians, authors, publishers and more, reminding us that reading is VARIED.

LUCKY 13th!

WIN a signed copy of The Story of Art Without Men Illustrated Edition by Katy Hessel & Ping Zhu.

This informative and accessible publication allows children aged 8+ to discover a new way of looking at art

Members, RT to be in with a chance of winning a copy!

Yes, and more to come—watch this space! And if anyone reading this wants to read more about EVES library, let me know and I’ll send you the newsletter.

Aha! The #EveryVoiceEveryStory library is on tour! 🚌🚌🚌
#KidLitUK

It was
It was my first time using the Every Voice Every Story resource library with young people and it was very fun!

Spent World Book Day working with some wonderful young people at Lyng Hall school discussing archives—thanks to Devika Mehra for inviting me!

Part 5 - The Reading Crisis - Why children aren't reading and what we can do about it. - Mostly Book Talk In part 5 we continue looking at what works to support reading for pleasure, focusing more this time on opportunities for authors to engage with readers and the importance of wider family and community involvement and spaces to discover and talk a...

🎧 The Reading Crisis: Part 5 is live!

We're exploring how to support reading for pleasure through author engagement, family involvement & community spaces.

Featuring insights from Dapo Adeola, Sita Brahmachari, Louie Stowell & top literacy experts! 📚✨

Listen: https://loom.ly/beVjCIw

Pets & Tigers! Nikhil and Jay are back!

Lovely. @otterbarrybooks.bsky.social have signed two more in Chitra Soundar’s Nikhil and Jay early reader series. Illustrated by @soofiya.bsky.social

#KidLitUK
www.bookbrunch.co.uk/page/article...

The Librarians and the Censorship of the Black Child While Black librarians weren’t present in this movie, it’s important to know this fight isn’t as exclusive as it was portrayed.

So, what about the movie, The Librarians? It falls short in its lack of inclusion.

pearlsandrubys.slj.com/2026/02/20/t...

Help us support Girlguiding and the Women’s Institute to remain inclusive | Good Law Project We’re offering to defend the Women’s Institute and Girlguiding against trans exclusion

Girlduiding and Women's Institute say the law forces them to exclude trans women. But that's not true.

We are offering to indemnify them against legal risk if they change course.

If they remain trans exclusive, their members can know it's management's ideological choice.

BREAKING: The Department of Education has ended its directive that attempted to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in schools nationwide.

This is a victory for academic freedom and education equity.

Join us on 19 Feb as we explore the archives and examine the Black Radical Press in 1970s Britain. Hear Leila Hassan Howe (Race Today), Nigel De Noronha (CoDE) and Sophia Siddiqui (Institute of Race Relations) with GPI's Sarah Garrod. Chair Arielle Lawson. Free! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/archival-w...

Very pleased to see that my 2 nominations have been longlisted 🥳 A couple of disappointing omissions & a couple that I wouldn't have longlisted (in fact 1 that I absolutely *loathed*), but I've read 3/4 of them already & there are definitely some absolute gems on both #Carnegies2026 lists! #KidLitUK

A bookshop sign with an owl and 'Owl Bookshop' written at the top. Below reads, 'BOOK LAUNCH'. Below that is the book cover for The Big Green. Shows two children of colour wearing sun hats, stood in a desert and against a bright blue sky, using a watering can to water some new plants/seedlings.

Author Ken Wilson-Max, a man of colour with a beard, in a bookshop setting. He reads from his book, The Big Green. His head is lowered towards the open book and he raises his right hand (captured as blurred motion).

Last week saw the launch of The Big Green by Ken Wilson-Max, published @otterbarrybooks.bsky.social

A wonderful evening for a special book. See how we captured the evening on our Insta reel. AND read our review (& support a not-for-profit!) here: www.letterboxlibrary.com/product-page...
#KidLitUK

Little Rebels Award paused due to lack of funding

The Little Rebels Award for Radical Children’s Fiction has been paused for 2026 due to a lack of funding.

Read more 👇

Black Poets/BtSG column in @booksforkeeps.bsky.social

Inspired by a new poetry collection @darrenchetty.bsky.social & @ksandsoconnor.bsky.social look back at previous anthology iterations&publication challenges faced-incl. the diminishing of dialect:
#KidLitUK
booksforkeeps.co.uk/article/beyo...

Cover of The Big Green picture book by Ken Wilson-Max.

Photograph of author, illustrator and publisher Ken Wilson-Max.

Congratulations to Ken Wilson-Max on last night's very enjoyable (and tuneful!) launch of The Big Green @otterbarrybooks.bsky.social

Find out more about the books and Ken's approach in our interview booksforkeeps.co.uk/article/an-i...