Black literature is taught as sociology, as tolerance, not as a serious, rigorous art form.

Find me here: darrenchetty.com instagram.com/rapclassroom/ substack.com/@darrenchetty?

The Shortlistee Panel is always an Award Ceremony highlight. This is last year’s panel ⬇️, chaired by @darrenchetty.bsky.social who has everyone’s attention here! We’re so looking forward to hearing from our 2025 shortlistees tomorrow. And we’re delighted Dr Chetty will be back chairing! #KidLitUK

Generous overview of characters of colour in comics&graphic novels, from stereotypes to representation. (Via gems like Ed Sec’s K Baker’s book ban) Latest @darrenchetty.bsky.social & @ksandsoconnor.bsky.social column in @booksforkeeps.bsky.social #UKKidsLit booksforkeeps.co.uk/article/beyo...

📚👍 So many good books. #kidlit #kidlitart #picturebooks I'm Going to Make A Friend Darren Chetty & Sandhya Prabhat @darrenchetty.bsky.social Plays on the word "make" in a clever and kid-friendly way. Very cute. I can see this story being useful every year at the start of school. PIck it up!

EMC TWILIGHTS ARE BACK Join us after school on October 23rd for engaging conversation, intellectual stimulation + the leftover refreshments from our 50th birthday celebrations! Refreshments from 4.30pm @darrenchetty.bsky.social @barbarableiman.bsky.social englishandmedia.co.uk/courses/6fae...

BIG NEW for all you big rebels out there: #UKKidLit #KidLitUK ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

'The 25 Greatest Picture Books of the Past 25 Years' slate.com/culture/2025...

With the chance to buy Beyond the Secret Garden, by Darren + @ksandsoconnor.bsky.social minus the cost of p+p + copies of Sita's latest - Phoenix Brothers, a prequel to 'Amir + George', as featured in EMC's Iridescent Adolescent

FREE EMC TWILIGHT We can't wait for this free event at our Webber Street base featuring two of our favourite writers. Book your place on our website while tickets are available @darrenchetty.bsky.social @theclpe.bsky.social @literacy-trust.bsky.social

How many conspiracy theories does someone need to promote before being described as a conspiracy theorist?

Enjoyed putting this list together,

“There’s humour, risk, drama and joy here – just as there is in friendship.” 8 Key Stage 1 books about friendship by @darrenchetty.bsky.social for @booktrust.org.uk www.booktrust.org.uk/book-recomme...

Enjoyed putting this list together,

Looking forward to this! Very interested in how we can find and lose ourselves in books!

More than 500 children's authors, illustrators & educators have signed a statement on Palestine including @frankcottrellboyce.bsky.social, @michaelrosenyes.bsky.social, Sir Michael Morpurgo, Chris Riddell OBE, Lauren Child CBE & @chrishaughton.bsky.social Find out more 👉 statement-on-palestine.org

Wrote about my favourite picture books about friendship for @booktrust.org.uk: www.booktrust.org.uk/book-recomme...

Next they'll be rewriting textbooks to say Japanese American internment camps were delightful summer resorts.

But read, eg, Heather McGhee's book "Sum of Us." You will learn that in post-segregation America, *thousands* of public pools were ripped out, because white people would rather not have pools at all than allow blacks to enjoy them. That's Deal 2! Examples abound.

"Tao is one of the most prominent mathematicians and academics to publicly oppose the administration’s actions, calling them an “existential threat” to his field, and academic science, more broadly. He said public advocacy is a priority over his research, for now." www.nbcnews.com/science/scie...

FREE EVENT - Tomorrow! www.redbridge.gov.uk/discover/eve... (illustration by Sandhya Prabhat)

to say a little more about this: there are some claims that are simply incorrect. but there are also claims that are incorrect in such a way that suggests the absence of an attempt to be correct in the first place.

“The stories that make up this year’s shortlist reminds us that the fight for justice is nothing new.” We were very honoured this year to be joined again by Dr. @darrenchetty.bsky.social at the shortlisting stage. Reflecting on the shortlist, Darren said…⬇️⬇️⬇️ #KidLitUK #UKKidLit

Who has been excluded from the UK canon of ‘classic’ children’s literature? Which author voices are heard? Teachers- A rich resource/book pack for Key Stages 1&2, complete with discussion plans. #KidLitUK

We’re so proud of our 2025 #LittleRebelsAward Shortlist, exploring such a wide range of social justice topics through accessible child-friendly texts, including: ⭐️war & displacement ⭐️lgbtq+ activism ⭐️intergenerational racism ⭐️historical labour conditions ⭐️structural bullying ⭐️hate speech #KidLitUK

One for teachers and school librarians! #Kidlit

So @letterboxlibrary.bsky.social are offering a 'Beyond the Secret Garden' book pack. 1 BTSG book, 24 discounted children's books & some specially written discussion plans and a voucher for training with @ksandsoconnor.bsky.social and me! More here: www.letterboxlibrary.com/product-page...

A real honour to write the introduction to The Poetry World of John Agard from @otterbarrybooks.bsky.social I shared John’s poetry with many of the classes I taught over the years. The book is a beautiful collection of greatest hits, edited by @charliehacking.bsky.social

… explore time travelling via Patience Agabi, tech hazards & scientific ethics via @malorieblackman.bsky.social & @heychante.bsky.social , Zanib Mian’s friendly aliens- & surgical augmentations from Kenechi Udogu 🔭🔬⚗️🧬🧪🥼🧫🕵🏿‍♀️ #KidsLit #KidsLitUK

MORNING COFFE ALERT☕️🥐 “Darren Chetty & Karen Sands-O’Connor seek out universal access in science-fiction writing for children” It’s the latest Beyond the Secret Garden column: @ksandsoconnor.bsky.social & @darrenchetty.bsky.social in @booksforkeeps.bsky.social booksforkeeps.co.uk/article/beyo...

📢Literacy in primary classrooms conference 📅⌚ 9.30am, Saturday, 13 September. Discover practical and inspiring ideas to enhance your classroom. Join our workshops on inclusion, reading for pleasure, and much more. ✏️ Book your place now 👉 bit.ly/4kPJ8IT

I'm old enough to remember when the prevailing argument against affirmative action was that it failed to consider the "real" form of unfairness, which was income disparity

Darren’s debut picture book, I’m Going to Make a Friend came out in May. He & @ksandsoconnor.bsky.social co-author the #BeyondTheSecretGarden columns for @booksforkeeps.bsky.social Some were published by @engmediacentre.bsky.social this year. How lucky we are! Thank you @darrenchetty.bsky.social

We were very honoured this year to be joined again by Dr Darren Chetty at the shortlisting stage. Darren is a former #LittleRebelsAward Judge. He is a lecturer, author & specialist in philosophical inquiry with children & anti-racism. @darrenchetty.bsky.social

Do you read rebelliously? How many of the #LittleRebels shortlist have you read? @letterboxlibrary.bsky.social @housmansbookshop.bsky.social

To find out more about the award, visit littlerebels.org We’re also on Instagram at www.instagram.com/littlerebels... We look forward to celebrating the fabulous world of rabble-rousing, social-justice-focused, children’s books with you 🤓

Wonderful to see you here! The #LittleRebelsAward is an award for UK radical children’s fiction, run by @letterboxlibrary.bsky.social & @housmansbookshop.bsky.social on behalf of the Alliance of Radical Booksellers. And we’ve just announced our: 2025 Little Rebels Award Shortlist!

We are very proud to have a very fine panel of #LittleRebelsAward judges: Chris Haughton, Author & Illustrator @chrishaughton.bsky.social Alom Shaha, Teacher&Author @alomshaha.bsky.social Phoebe Demeger, Librarian at @theclpe.bsky.social Soofiya, Illustrator&Designer& Lecturer @soofiya.bsky.social

“My inescapable conclusion has become that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people,” writes Omer Bartov, a professor of Holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University. “I have been teaching classes on genocide for a quarter of a century. I can recognize one when I see one.”

Looking for a last minute summer read? There's still time to treat yourself to a copy of Beyond the Secret Garden by @darrenchetty.bsky.social + @ksandsoconnor.bsky.social. As recommended by @michaelrosenyes.bsky.social in @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...

I'm so excited about this conference! Conferences are one of the things I miss about working in publishing! (Yes I am a nerd) So here we go! Book conference time! And the theme is perfect for the world right now. @walkerbooksuk.bsky.social Loki loves a bit of resistance.

Your first look at the lineup for the Children’s Books Ireland International Conference 2025 🤩 Tickets available here 🎟️: www.eventbrite.ie/e/childrens-... Be sure to let us know who you’re looking forward to seeing below!

The IBBY UK Conference Saturday 8th November 2025 Open Ealing Arts Centre, School Lane, Dickens Yard, London W5 2TD The theme is Whose History? Challenging historical narratives through writing for children and young people. For further details please contact [email protected]

A racist who played no part in the game celebrating a Chelsea trophy win? Well, that’s never happened before, surely.

Humor through metalinguistic commentary from a political campaign 😍

Lovely couple of days in Cardiff, talking with @ksandsoconnor.bsky.social about Beyond the Secret Garden for the National Literacy Trust, and then at the Senedd talking to the @bameednetwork.bsky.social Wales group.

Primary Teachers! We will be providing some teaching resources which I hope you’ll find really useful, with ideas for activities to accompany “About Time”. The book comes out in August - preview it here. Let me know if you want to preorder a copy signed and dedicated by both authors

Dotson's testimonial smothering (from: www.jstor.org/stable/23016...) is my favourite idea from the epistemic injustice lit. because it assumes we're strategic agents who anticipate the kinda stuff the rest of the epistemic injustice literature talks about and adjust our own behaviour to preempt it.

Reading is transformative so I’m 100% behind a National Year of Reading but instead of shaming parents/carers (“put our phones down and pick up a book”) let’s focus on access and choice for children. That includes reversing library closures and funding cuts. #readingforpleasure

how the "internal matter" of X's "MechaHitler" AI is going