Last book in the World's Worst Children series out on 29th May
If you thought it couldn’t get much worse than Gruesome Griselda and Competitive Colin, then brace yourself! David Walliams is unleashing his third and final collection of the World’s Worst Children at the end of the month. Can children get any worse? Grab your copy and find out!
James Patterson + the greatest genius of our time = Max Einstein, Kids’ curiosity Hero
Best-selling author and children’s literacy champion James Patterson has teamed up with the Albert Einstein archives to bring us a series of three stories about a super-clever whizz kid like no other. The first instalment of Max’ adventures is out this October.
The Animal Ark Returns
Fans of the 90’s book series Animal Ark will be delighted to know that there are four all-new stories on the way thanks to children’s book publisher, Orchard Books. Kitten Rescue, Bunny Trouble, Fox Cub Danger and Puppy in Peril are all scheduled for July with a special bumper-book release in October.
Oscar’s Book Prize shortlist announced
Oscar’s Book Prize is an annual prize for the best book for under-fives. It is awarded in memory of avid book-lover Oscar Ashton who sadly died from a heart condition in December 2012 at the age of three. The 5 books on the shortlist are Lucie Goose by Danny Baker and Pippa Curnick; There's a Pig Up My Nose by John Dougherty and Laura Hughes; The Secret of Black Rock by Joe Todd Stanton; Sunk! by Rob Biddulph and That Bear Can't Babysit by Ruth Quayle and Alison Friend.
HRH Princess Beatrice will present the award to the winner on 14th May
The wonder of Winnie the Pooh!
Time to break out the honey and marmalade sandwiches! As well as celebrating Paddington's 60th birthday in June, this August we'll see A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh return to the big screen in the delightful film, Christopher Robin. You can watch the trailer for the film on Youtube https://youtu.be/-pYG1THEnUQ
Children’s summer reading events
Festival season isn’t just for grown-ups anymore and there’s plenty of literary festival fun to be had this spring and summer. Here are a few that are on our radar this month:
Bookfest Shrewsbury – 5th-7th May http://www.shrewsburybookfest.co.uk/
Barnes Children’s Literature Festival – 11th-13th May http://www.barneskidslitfest.org/
Linton Children’s Book Festival – 19th-20th May http://www.lintonbookfest.org/
Hay Festival – 24th May-3rd June http://www.hayfestival.com/wales/haydays/homepage.aspx?
Edinburgh International Children’s Festival – 26th May-3rd June https://www.imaginate.org.uk/festival/
Mind the word gap!
It’s no secret we’re passionate about encouraging children to read more and this news article, commissioned by OUP, shows that pupils are struggling in the classroom because of a limited vocabulary. The bottom line is...keep reading!
Campaign to save school libraries
It's a sad fact that not all schools have a library. There's a new campaign just launched to make having a school library compulsory and to ensure that they get adequate funding to keep stock up-to-date and interesting.
CLiPPA National Poetry shortlist announced
The Centre for Literacy in Primary Poetry Award shortlist has just been announced. This is the only award of its kind and celebrates this important branch of children's literature. You can check out the CLiPPA 2018 shortlist here.
