Very satisfied that I maintain my 'reviewing at least one title per year that nobody else on Goodreads has touched' batting average. (The Children's First English Fairy Book - F.H. Pritchard, 1941) #goodreadsyearinbooks

I do think sometimes that there's more of a discussion needed about how one can 'find' reading rather than being told 'you're not doing it'. Simply accessing stories is not the most straightforward thing for everybody & then, when you couple that with the swathes of closed down / hrs cut libraries!

The answers to the Sixth Ever Quite Niche Children's Literature Christmas Quiz are now available and honestly, you're a book ninja if you get more than one didyoueverstoptothink.com/2025/12/31/t...

The answers to the Sixth Ever Quite Niche Children's Literature Christmas Quiz are now available and honestly, you're a book ninja if you get more than one didyoueverstoptothink.com/2025/12/31/t...

The Answers to The Sixth Ever Quite Niche Children’s Literature Christmas Quiz Answers! Get your answers! (And if you're looking for the original quiz itself, then here you go). Round One: Lucky Thirteen! Room 13 = Robert Swindells The Secret of Platform 13 = Eva Ibbotson The 13 1/2 Lives of…

Good morning! Today's read is Something To Be Proud Of by Anna Zoe Quirke (banging cover design from Lucía Gómez Alcaide @littletigeruk.bsky.social )

The answers are published in two days time, so there's still chance to check out The Sixth Ever Quite Niche Children's Literature Christmas Quiz ... (No Rumer's here, it's all true! (this is a clue to one answer) (and also a very bad wordplay)) didyoueverstoptothink.com/2025/12/24/t...

Good morning! Today's read is 'Always In Vogue' - the memoir of US Vogue Editor Edna Woolman Chase which, rather outstandingly, thanks both her friends and enemies alike in the dedication.

#comics #kidlitart

Paging tall plus size friends who swim; this is the sort of thing I have spent far too long having to research but I can tell you this: the swim tops from Matalan are literally the holy grail, message ends.

🚨 NEXT WEEK🚨 Ready for take-off? 🚀 @midgegillies.bsky.social dives into her book, 'Atlantic Furies,' revealing astonishing stories of women who soared beyond Amelia Earhart's shadow. Buckle up for a conversation that’ll leave you inspired and questioning history’s narrative!

when u r on brand

If you're looking for some distraction over the next few days! (Also, I'll throw in a bonus clue: publishers featured in round five include @nosycrow.bsky.social, @puffinbooksuk.bsky.social and Macmillan...)

The Sixth Ever Quite Niche Children’s Literature Christmas Quiz It's the most wonderful time of the year! Yes, the one where I try to desperately avoid making typos and hope that I've not messed up (apologies in advance if I have....) - it's the Christmas quiz! If you're new here, I've done a…

Final touches done to my Christmas niche literary quiz which will be publishing on the blog tomorrow. (I don't think you've quite lived until you checked a blog post 3769 times at 11 o'clock at night).

Books to look forward to in 2026 I wanted to do a round up of some of the scholarly and non-fiction reads that I'm looking forward to next year. Some of them have been published for a while and some of them are due to be published in 2026; some of them are very much related to my research while…

The Village by Marghanita Laski The Village by Marghanita Laski My rating: 5 of 5 stars There is something beyond delicious about finding a new author whose every word on every page is simply good. The Village by Marghanita Laski was something I picked up almost by accident, attracted more by the…

Rhythm and Rhyme in Madeline (see what I did there?) #picturebooksindepth

Good afternoon! Today's read is the divine The Village by Marghanita Laski (perfect, perfect), and then it might be a bit of the Second Holiday Book by Enid Blyton (full of a very on brand 'have fun or I'll come and glare at you' vibe).

Rare footage of St Paul’s Cathedral testing its giant flamethrower

That was the year that was: a 2025 reading recap Goodreads tells me I've read 114 books this year and so achieved my "target" of 60. Hurrah? I think? Look, I always find the target thing a bit funny with Goodreads and so I always sort of pick something a bit at random. One hundred! Twenty-three!…

That was the year that was: a 2025 reading recap Goodreads tells me I've read 114 books this year and so achieved my "target" of 60. Hurrah? I think? Look, I always find the target thing a bit funny with Goodreads and so I always sort of pick something a bit at random. One hundred! Twenty-three!…

Just announced - a brand new book for Christmas 2026: Sledges to the Rescue by Raymond Briggs. Fully illustrated throughout by Briggs himself, and introduced by international best-selling author Jessie Burton, who grew up in Wimbledon, London, where this children’s book is set!

friendos! If you're after some last minute Christmas book inspiration, I have some lists on @bookshop-org-uk.bsky.social (affiliate links, I'll get a cut if you purchase, fyi and all that). 1. Christmas classics old and new uk.bookshop.org/lists/christ...

Hello! If you're looking for a last minute Christmas book for your young, old, or cake orientated bookish friends, then may I suggest these? They feature best friends forever, afternoon tea, found family, delightful chaos, footnotes, covert ninja skills, and more... ❤️ #booksky #books #childrensbooks

Hello! If you're looking for a last minute Christmas book for your young, old, or cake orientated bookish friends, then may I suggest these? They feature best friends forever, afternoon tea, found family, delightful chaos, footnotes, covert ninja skills, and more... ❤️ #booksky #books #childrensbooks

Saying No - new post up now on my Publishing Peptalk substack...

Good morning! Today's read is The Village by Marghanita Laski which I don't know much about but caught my eye because it was a Persephone edition and they are always interesting things. I'm also having a look through The Bad Child's Pop Up Book of Beasts by Hilaire Belloc & Wallace Tripp. #booksky

Good morning! Today's read is the last bit of Stranger At Follyfoot by Monica Dickens and then some zines I picked up on Saturday courtesy of a local zine fair.

So I picked up one of Enid Blyton's Holiday books over the weekend, primarily because they make me laugh - they're always very "YOU WILL HAVE A GOOD TIME OR ELSE" which all feels terrifically on brand.

Day #13: 31 Days, 31 Lists - 2025 Translated Children's Books. So many incredible books hit our shores in a given year, that it only makes sense to write an entire post about them today. #31Days31Lists #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2025/12/13/3...

📣Calling writers: Gladstone’s Library is offering one funded place on The Six-Month Writing Course with @kitdewaal.com. For writers who would benefit from the course but may otherwise be unable to access it. We especially welcome those who feel marginalised within the industry. 1/3

It's beginning to look a lot like a very niche literary Christmas quiz! (Previous quizzes are available here - didyoueverstoptothink.com/tag/christma...)

Good morning! Today's read is Follyfoot by Monica Dickens (perfect, perfect book is perfect).

If anybody's after a reading copy of Eustacia, let me know? I have a hb (no dustwrapper, a bit bashed up externally but v solid internal) looking for a home and I'll do a nice £ on it (I want her to have a good home!!). Send me a message if you want pics, thank youuu.

"The boy stood on the burning deck His lips were all a-quiver He gave a cough His leg fell off And floated down the river"

I was v moved to see How To Be Brave in a second hand bkshp today. I've so much time for these spaces and how they bring books to new audiences, how they support third sector & how they support vulnerable ppl. I am grateful to those of you who put my books into these conversations, thank you.

On mess I have finished a big project recently (or at least, I say finished in the way that certain things are never finished: they are simply done to that point, enough, for now) and I find myself thinking about mess. Mess is good, when it comes to creativity, I think, for without it, there…

ah, the absence of the children's fiction category in Goodreads' 2025 awards, my yearly irk, you have returned.

Good morning! Each year I do a Christmas Quiz of a deeply niche literary variety on my blog and while I think about the format for this yr, please enjoy the archive: didyoueverstoptothink.com/tag/christma... (A personal favourite: 2024 with its 'am I a vegetable or am I an EJO character' round...).

Day 4 #NewIllustrationoftheDay #adventcalendar. Two children's book characters beginning with D. Both loved, though one of them is inanimate. Your task today: name the two connected ILLUSTRATORS. Enjoy the pictures.

We are into the last 5 days of the #Creatives4Sudan auction. There are some INCREDIBLE lots on there. Please consider a cheeky little bid. EG on creative mentoring from @rashmiwriting.bsky.social #KeepEyesOnSudan app.galabid.com/creatives4su...

Good morning! Today's read is Operation Mincemeat by Ben Macintyre

It's been far too long since i made a new notebook so here's this weekend's effort (and I still can't do covers).

Spent by Alison Bechdel Spent: A Comic Novel by Alison Bechdel My rating: 5 of 5 stars I just loved this. It's been a while since I've read Bechdel's work and I was delighted to come across this in the library and that feeling did not diminish one iota upon reading. Bechdel is wrestling with the…

I went to a LOVELY talk about this so this is delightful to see!

💙💙 #skybrarians

Applications are now open for fully funded Live Literature events taking place around World Book Day in Spring 2026, thanks to generous support from Taylor Wimpey! Visit our website to check eligibility and apply 👇 Deadline: 28 November www.scottishbooktrust.com/writing-and-...

Good morning. Today's read is Spent by Alison Bechdel.

I really, really love this bit