Ready for 10YO to become 11YO! #murdermostunladylike @redbreastedbird.bsky.social

Not an expert in the field but I suspect teachers and schools already KNOW which students are struggling with reading. What they need are solutions. Such as funding for libraries with librarians.

School have sent out a message asking people to stop sending tons of sweets in to school for birthdays. Class WhatsApp group is going mad. 'What is the world coming to?', they ask. 'This is really sad'. 'But school will still allow cake sales - how is that fair?'

10YO is learning about WWII this term, so we're reading 'When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit' by Judith Kerr together. Handily, this month's Aquila magazine (which I generally highly recommend) is on WWII, so we knocked up a little diorama at the weekend. #aquilamagazine #TheBlitz #schoolhistory

10YO is in Year 6 now, and finally free of book bands! She was so excited to show me the Year 6 library. Why she hasn't been allowed near it in the previous five years at the school is a mystery to me 🙄

They say never meet your heroes, but 7YO was beside himself to meet Orinoco today #wombles #heightsofabraham

Four months ago, my friend tearfully asked if we'd give one of her cats a home - she'd adopted a pair of kittens who just didn't get on once they'd reached maturity. We'd never had a pet before. We had to learn quickly. Today, we celebrated Cat's 2nd birthday. We're all besotted. #birthdaycat

Happy ‘it’s a bank holiday that’s why they’re not replying to your emails’ Day to all the freelancers! 🥳

Well, I wasn't expecting the latest Grimwood to lead to discussions with 7YO and 10YO about politics, but very glad it did! Another excellent story. We've finally decided we're ready for Roald Dahl's 'The Witches' now. Just read the bit about how to recognise a witch. Both kids absolutely gripped 😊

Friend asked 10YO what type of books she likes best: "Mainly murder books. And books with a map in the front." She's currently reading 'A Boxful of Murders' by Janice Hallett, which I'm definitely going to be reading after her! www.penguin.co.uk/books/455649... #kidlituk #mysterybooks

Children are staying with grandparents, so it's remote bedtime story over video calling this week. Which means Grandma and Grandad are also getting to hear the new Grimwood and ALL the silly voices. 7YO is bringing them up to speed: "And then there's Sharon ..." 😆 #kidlituk #bedtimestory #awooga

SQUEEEE! New Grimwood is out! We're very excited - AWOOOOGA!! #grimwood #tedandnancy @nadiashireen.bsky.social

Last day of infants for 7YO - he's been so discombobulated the last couple of weeks and is definitely ready for some downtime. Funny how in times of transition, he reaches for comfort books. Lots of Wombles and Winnie the Pooh recently #kidlituk #comfortreads

A train trip, a picnic and a 1.9 mile walk around a nature reserve with my Rainbows group today - not a single mention of tired legs! Ice lollies at the end a good incentive to keep moving #girlguidinguk #rainbows #gguk

7YO begged me for book four in Johnny Duddle's 'The Jolley-Rogers' series when he spotted it in WH Smiths yesterday. Had to um and ahh about it, you know, finances being what they are, but I didn't take much convincing! 😆 toppsta.com/books/series...

Devoured 'A Beginner's Guide to Breaking and Entering' by @andrewhunterm.bsky.social in a single sitting - loved it! Next on the TBR pile is a book I found in our community book swap by Marina Hyde - 'What Just Happened?!' Another one I'll be reading with the author's voice in my head 😀

Finally finished 'Americanah', by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Amazing. I'd happily read a book by Adichie twice the length. Now for something completely different - 'A Beginners Guide to Breaking and Entering' by Andrew Hunter Murray. And I'm totally hearing his voice as I read!

The emphasis here on social connections is predictable but great to see it being highlighted. When we talk to people about class – particularly young people - nepotism is always one of the biggest issues. Often THE biggest. www.93percent.club/thebigstates...

Currently working with a school on their Clean Air campaign to reduce air pollution around school. Before I write a story, are there any books out there (KS1/KS2) that cover this topic in a not terrifying, not judging way? #kidlituk #cleanairday2025

I've just finished our space theme at Rainbows with a story about Dr Who, and now they can all do the vworps. #gguk #doctorwho #Rainbows #kidlituk tardis.fandom.com/wiki/The_Run...

Friday treat! #waterstones #Nottingham #limitededition

10YO is currently rattling through everything MG Leonard has ever written, and has also found time to read 'Peanut Jones and the Twelve Portals', by the fab @robbiddulph.bsky.social. Obviously, none of these books 'count' at school, because they are not out of her assigned Reading for Pleasure box 🙄

www.theguardian.com/education/20... Our local Sure Start centre was invaluable when my daughter was tiny - and she really was tiny - and I was a new mum, with no family nearby. As a toddler, she stood outside the closed doors with her first protest placard 🙁

Looking forward to reading this with a cup of coffee: www.booktrust.org.uk/about-us/rea...

The importance of access to books cannot be overstated. From literacytrust.org.uk/research-ser... "1 in 8 (12.4%) [children] who received FSMs did not have a book compared with 1 in 13 (8.0%) of their peers." #libraries #reading #booktrust #nationalliteracytrust

The children and I joined a protest this morning to plead with the council to PLEASE open our local library! It's been five years since it closed with the promise of a lovely new one being built, and all we get are delays and reports of bickering between the developers and the council 😡

We love Sweet Cherry's Easy Classics (and the ethos of the company in general). 10YO is working her way through the Bronte collection, and 7YO is enjoying 'War of the Worlds'. Excellent excuse to introduce him to Jeff Wayne's musical, of course #kidlit #kidlituk #sweetcherry #waroftheworlds

Oooo, no. Just no.

Oooo, I like it here! My feed just introduced me to the podcast Island of Brilliant, with Nadia Shireen and @frankcottrellboyce.bsky.social. M. G. Leonard is a firm favourite of 10YO (reading 'The Ice Children' at the mo), so I think I'll start with that one 😁

We're launching The Bee magazine today because the UK publishing and writing industries have a bit of a class problem.

www.theguardian.com/books/2025/a... This is really sad. I have always loved reading to my children. It's a sacred bonding time for us, and I'll be doing it for as long as they'll listen (and probably beyond that!) I always finish a Rainbows session with a story too, and they love it.

10YO found a graphic novel in our local bookshare with versions of 'Dracula,' 'Frankenstein' and 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' in it. Not something I necessarily would have expected her to gravitate to, but she was hooked! It's so important to give children the freedom to choose what to read #kidlituk

Sitting in the sunshine, reading 'Americanah,' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche. It's been a while since I picked up one of her books - she is a glorious storyteller 😍

Currently reading: 'Primary Reading Simplified,' by Christopher Such; 'The Remains of the Day,' by Kazuo Ishiguro; 'Underpants of Choas,' by Sam Copeland and Jenny Pearson.

The BBC R4 Today Children's Book Club is back, featuring a terrific bunch of recommendations from @frankcottrellboyce.bsky.social & @cressidacowell.bsky.social! We've gathered them all together here - just click on the link below to browse & buy online! #BookSky 💙📚 uk.bookshop.org/lists/bbc-r4...

Lovely endpapers! One of the things I miss about old Twitter was the account that only posted beautiful endpapers from children's books. #kidlituk www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...

7YO has headed off to his grandparent's for a sleepover, clutching all of his Dogman books, because 'Gramps will love them.' 😭

'Mr Penguin and the Fortress of Secrets' by Alex T Smith thoroughly enjoyed by 7, 10, and me! I do sometimes regret the voices I choose when reading aloud though. 'Helga' was quite a strain on the vocal chords! #kidlituk #bookatbedtime

Let two 7YOs and two 10YOs loose in the city library yesterday. Great to see them recommending books to each other! Tinged with sadness that our local library closed with lockdown and has yet to re-open. It costs £8.30 for a family bus ticket to the city library, a barrier to many 😔 #libraries

Took 7YO and 10YO to see 'Dogman' at a local cinema this morning. I was fully planning to nap and/or disassociate through it, but it wasn't bad! The best bit was finding my 7YO and another boy around his age chatting about the books they love when I came out of the loo after the film #kidlit #Dogman

Last Rainbows session before a three week break - we painted rocks, made s'mores, had one girl make her Promise and four older ones say goodbye, and handed out loads of badges! All in all, a pretty great term, and I'm already looking forward to the next one! #girlguiding

Just finished 'Klara and the Sun,' by Kazuo Ishiguro, and it was ... alright. I had a nice time reading it. It didn't have any particular surprises in it. Hmmm.

10YO very excited to receive a copy of 'Smashing It,' by Jodie Ounsley (aka Fury from #gladiators and champion of the Deaf community) and Becky Grey. What a fantastic role model Jodie is 😍

Oh, 'The Bee Sting,' by Paul Murray. Oh. Gosh. Quite sad I've finished it.

Both 7YO and 10YO have thoroughly enjoyed 'Attack of the Robot Librarians' by Sam Copeland and Jenny Pearson. Lots of proper belly laughs, including at my Scottish accent! We didn't realise when we got it from the library that it was book two of a series - we'll definitely be checking out book one.

It's been four days since 7YO realised he can ask Alexa to play songs by The Wombles. Send help.

7YO has been enjoying listening to Richard E Grant's narration of 'The Wombles' on BBC Sounds. Just showed him a video of 'Remember You're A Womble' being performed on Top of the Pops in 1974. He was so confused! 🤣 "And this was actually on the TV, Mum?" "People bought this song?!?"

High praise from 10YO for Alex T Smith's 'Murder by Narwhal.' From what she tells me, it hits all the classic murder mystery tropes, and does it brilliantly! We've also previously enjoyed the Claude and Mr Penguin books by the same author #kidlit #books