The Children’s Book Award shortlist for 2025 We’re delighted to announce the Children’s Book Award 2025 shortlist today. Children from the 10 FCBG testing groups read over 600 books submitted by the publishers and registered over 55,000 votes, from which the Top 10 has been selected. The full shortlist is as follows: Books for Younger […]
We have a lovely guest blog today from author Kobina Commeh, about his book, Kwesi and Nana Ruby learn to swim. It tells where the idea for the story came from! Kwesi and Nana Ruby Learn to Swim: From Water to Paper by Kobina Commeh My two heroes plopped into the deep end of […]
Phoebe Demeger is the Librarian at the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE) and she’s a judge on this year’s Branford Boase Award, which highlights the year’s outstanding debut novels for children and young people. She has also just joined the judging panel for the Little Rebels Prize and sits on the World Book […]
Calling All Young Writers! Enter the Stories for Change Competition! Guppy Books and the Federation of Children’s Book Groups are thrilled to announce Stories for Change – a short story competition for children aged 7-12, inspired by the themes of National Share a Story Month 2025 and Maggie Blue and the Lost Child by Anna […]
We are delighted to share a blog from Rose Lihou about her new book series, Tiny Dogs. Read on to discover where this all began. Finding Tiny Dogs The idea for the Tiny Dogs series started from a picture I drew during lockdown. I made a sketch of a child low down in the grass discovering some […]
Author, Philippa Leathley, introduces us to her book, Inkbound, and main character, Meticulous Jones. Imagine if a tattoo could predict your future… Inkbound by Philippa Leathley What if a tattoo could predict your future? In the world of Inkbound, every child gets a magical tattoo or “fate” on their tenth birthday that tells them something […]
A timely blog post today by author Thomas Harding about The House on the Canal, the house that hid Anne Frank. The blog post and the book are personal and well worth a read. THE HOUSE ON THE CANAL By Thomas Harding The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam is an incredibly special place. Each […]
We have a brilliant Q&A with author Cynthia So, author of This Feast of a Life. We owe a thank you to Jacqui Sydney for creating the questions sent to Cynthia. When the book opens, Auden has just made the New Year’s resolution to become the person I want to be. What advice would […]
On the blog today, we have a personal piece from author Trisha Tobias about her novel, Honeysuckle and Bone. It is a moving piece about the grief and stories she grew up with. Honeysuckle and Bone follows the story of eighteen year old Carina who escapes her own dark past by nabbing a job in […]
Where does the inspiration for writing a mystery come from? Author Niyla Farook shares her inspiration with us in today’s blog. I read Agatha Christie books and watched Murder, She Wrote when I was much too young. As a child – specifically in the middle grade age range – I was always interested in mysteries […]
