Book cover for Beegu by Alexis Deacon

Book cover for Invisible by Christina Diaz Gonzalez and Gabriela Epstein

Book cover for Bumble & Snug and the Jealous Giants by Mark Bradley

Book cover for Just Jamie by Terri Libenson

I’m hoping #Bluesky will be in more robust health for this today. 🤞

It’s been a bit of a week, made brighter with pockets of immense kindness.

So for #KidsBooksFriday this week, I thought we could celebrate books that highlight the importance of kindness.

#KidLitUK #UKKidLit #KidLit #Kindness

Book cover for The Lost Robot by Joe Todd-Stanton. Image shows a broken robot standing by a rubbish dump looking into a puddle. In the puddle he sees a happy, colourful version of himself surrounded by a luscious green landscape.

Book cover for AdventureMice: Mermouse Mystery by Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre. Image shows a yellow submarine being driven by a brown mouse with glasses. A white mouse with a brown patch round his eye, wear in a yellow mac, pops his head out of the top. Around them swim mermice (half mermaid, half mice).

Book cover for Crazy About Cats by Owen Davey. Image shows stylised illustrations of various cat species including a striking looking tiger, accompanied by a pair of binoculars and a safari car driving along a road.

Book cover of The Arrival by Shaun Tan. Cover appears in the style of a battered old notebook. Image in sepia tones shows a man in a suit with a hat and a briefcase bending down to speak to an unusual looking creature with a large mouth, pointy ears, a short body and a long tail.

Last week I treated myself to Joe Todd Stanton’s newest picture book which is just gorgeous. 😍

It got me thinking we need a #KidsBooksFriday celebrating illustrators.

Which illustrators do you love? And which of their books show of the best of their style?

#KidLitUK #UKKidLit #KidLit

New class favourite has revived and it has some absolutely stunning edges to go with it.

Not sure why it took me so long to get round to reading book two and it did not disappoint. Superb pacing and some of the most beautiful artwork you’ll see. Guess it’s time to get through the next couple much quicker!

A little slow to start and packed with a lot of dense storytelling, but it all paid off at the end. Suitable for all of KS2, but best served in UKS2 due to its slightly more complex story. One for the fans of Lightfall and amulet.

Lovely little reading delivery today.

Loved this second book in the series and was a great read to start the day. Plenty of thought provoking story telling, but also plenty of turtle bearing people up as well which is always the highlight.

That is a huge fear but imagine if they got it right. It would be the greatest thing ever made!!

Adamant that warrior cats and varjak paw could both make brilliant animated series. Lightfall could be something special on the screen too I’m sure.

Starting the day off with this. Predator Badlands was a blast, so that was the perfect excuse to finally pick this up.

Get 25% off when you pre-order Meet the Invisibles! It's a very cool science book about tiny things! Written by Mike Barfield and illustrated by me!

Perfect time to secure some cracking future reads. That front cover is going to lure in so many readers you can tell.

Plenty of gems here to keep me entertained.

It's Publication Day for Pets Tell Tales: Ancient Rome, baby!

Book cover for Donut Squad: Take Over the World! by Neill Cameron

Book cover for Mr Wolf’s Class by Aron Nels Steinke

Book cover for Jinks and O’Hare, Funfair Repair by Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre

Book cover for Punycorn by Andi Watson

As grown-ups we can often fall into the trap of leaning towards serious or ‘issue heavy’ kid’s books, forgetting that kids also need and deserve books that just bring joy.

So for #KidsBooksFriday this week, what are your top fun / silly / joyful book recommendations?

#KidLitUK #UKKidLit #KidLit

Very exciting news. My class love Kitty Quest, so they’ll be very excited to know you’ve got something new in the works.

Colourful cover for the comic Pets Tell Tales: Ancient Rome featuring various cartoon animals smashing through a line of Roman soldiers. A wolf and a dog growl at each other in the foreground.

Cartoon illustration of a rooster riding on the back of a white goat who is knocking off the head of a large marble statue.

Only TEN more days until "Pets Tell Tales: Ancient Rome" will be on shelves in bookstores! You can also order it now: tinyurl.com/PetsRome

A kids' comic by @rikworth.bsky.social & me that tackles some of the big topics of the ancient world of humans, from the perspective of animals.

Illegal, displacement, they called us enemy and front desk all taught me a lot whilst also being gripping stories. Parachute kids was also a fantastic and enlightening read.

Well worth the wait, but now I have an agonising wait for the final book. Top class storytelling and a series that deserves so much more praise and attention. A great option for year 6.

The theme tune is now stuck in my head! What a classic.

I did basically buy it because of his art and just assumed that I would find enough story to enjoy. It’s got me absolutely hooked and is currently making me ignore all the stuff I’m meant to be doing because I keep reading just one more bit!

Starting the day with this stunner and can see straight away why it came so highly recommended.

Just finished reading the farm trilogy by @lucyknisley.bsky.social which is always a series I recommend in class. Not only was it a beautifully constructed ending, but there was some wonderful advice for aspiring creators at the back, which you just know is going to help so many future creators.

Dream On by Shannon Hale and Marcela Cespedes is one of the best children's graphic novels I've read in a long time. It's warm and funny. It's about friendship and the perils of growing up. It's full of empathy and heart. It's just great.

The novel was a masterpiece, so fascinated to see how this version compares.

Graphic Novels All of these books are suitable and popular for Key Stage 2 classes and above. Find some of the most recent or popular ones here: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/great-graphic-novels-for-kids

Updated both my padlet and my bookshop list for the New Year. Have a look if you want some new reading inspiration.
padlet.com/rruddick9zra...

uk.bookshop.org/shop/gnlist (both primary and secondary)

Samurai robots are the finest way to start any day.

Dream On by @shannonhale.bsky.social is a real must have book for schools. Such a relatable story in so many ways and full of examples that any reader will be able to empathise with. I can’t recommend it enough. @mariannedoherty.bsky.social

I mean this looks like an absolute must have for schools. Kids are desperate to create their own work but often need a little nudge or guidance in the right direction to prevent it being too overwhelming. This is clearly only going to help with that problem!

I had a book voucher and it has been used to bully myself into getting through my backlog! So far it’s worked pretty well.