Books for Keeps, the children's books review journal

Thousands of authors publish ‘empty’ book in protest over AI using their work About 10,000 writers including Kazuo Ishiguro, Philippa Gregory and Richard Osman join copyright campaign

We're proud to have asked our members to add their names to this empty book, protesting the use of their works without permission. In our house, copyright still matters!

#DontStealThisBook

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Congratulations to all and especially #BranfordBoaseAward favourites @patricknessbooks.bsky.social @jprosewriter.bsky.social and Katya Balen 🎉

Here they are! The shortlists for the #Carnegies2026 are out!

Congratulations to the authors on the shortlist for the Carnegie Medal for Writing @carnegiemedals.bsky.social 💐 #booksky #KidLitUK

booksforkeeps.co.uk/carnegies-20...

Here they are! The shortlists for the #Carnegies2026 Congratulations to the illustrators on the shortlist for the Carnegie Medal for Illustration @carnegiemedals.bsky.social #booksky #KidLitUK
booksforkeeps.co.uk/carnegies-20...

Last chance to submit your entry for the #KelpiesPrize for Writing and Illustration 2026! You have until midnight tonight - Sunday 8th March - to complete your online form and upload your work. discoverkelpies.co.u... Best of luck to everyone!

Last chance to book for this is first thing tomorrow morning. Last time I did this session it got rave reviews & I’m so looking forward to doing it again. Lots of teachers have already booked for it. Why not join us?

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Dutch printmaker Jan Hamstra from Cluck: The Eggstaordinary Story of Chickens by Evelien De Vlieger, translated by Michele Hutchison. Magic Cat 5 March. One of the spectacular, elegant & decorative prints in this enlightening non-fiction. @magiccatpublishing.bsky.social

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Natalia Shaloshvili, from her picturebook Bear Worries, out in paperback from Pushkin Press on 5 March. A forest scene with softness and texture, birds and trees that intentionally imitate children’s artwork, and a bear that makes you smile.
@pushkinchildrens.bsky.social

ALCS response to Lords Committee report on AI The House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee have published a report on AI, copyright and the creative industries.

The House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee have published a report on AI, copyright and the creative industries, which includes a number of welcome recommendations.

Read about it here 👇

www.alcs.co.uk/news/alcs-re...

“In my experience life is richer &more joyful when we are able to give voice and space to all, whatever their lived experience”

New accessibility hub at this year’s London Book Fair from @alexstrick.bsky.social & Beth Cox (1 of our reviewers!)
#KidLitUK
#LondonBookFair
booksforkeeps.co.uk/59124-2/

A stunning double page spread from Shapes of Nature by Ben Hoare, published by Dorling Kindersley. Small photographs of a huge range of beetles have been composed into the shape of a beetle. Text accompanies the image. The beetles are numbered and their names given at the bottom of the page.

'A book that has been carefully and thoughtfully created to inform, educate and inspire.'

Glowing 5⭐review for our NEW Book of the Week, SHAPES OF NATURE by Ben Hoare @dkbooks.bsky.social #booksky #kidlituk

booksforkeeps.co.uk/review/shape...

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Aysha Tengiz from Big Brilliant World which has spreads about 12 cities around the world: colourful, fact-filled patterns peopled by surreal, anthropomorphised animals as well as humans. With words from local languages. Big Picture Press 5 March. @ayshatengiz.bsky.social

Brian Moses: Writing Ray I Am Ray’s Imaginary Friend concerns a young boy who finds that his family have to leave the village he loves and move to a busy town. Ray has always found changing circumstances difficult to cope …

Brian Moses: Writing Ray childrenspoetrysummit.com/2026/03/05/b...

Discover how the findings of @theclpe.bsky.social ‘s annual #ReflectingRealities survey can inform and enrich your classroom book stock.
18th May
3-3.45pm
For primary staff, esp. English Leaders & Librarians.
@neunion.bsky.social
#KidLitUK

A-Z List of Children’s Poets Working in the UK This is an A-Z list of children’s poets from the UK! US poets tag coming soon. If you are a published children’s poet working in schools and would like to be considered for inclusion, p…

Are you a teacher enjoying a visit from an author on this World Book Day? There are lots of working poets in the UK listed on my website. And if you are a working children's poet with a published book, get in touch if you aren't on the list! poetryroundabout.com/a-z-list-of-...

An open book, showing a page with a couple of lines of text visible at the top, and below an illustration of market stalls, filled with flowers and shoes and loaves of bread. The stalls are brightly coloured – blue, yellow, red – and the whole scene is cheerful. As well as people buying and selling at the stalls, there is a grey-haired woman sitting down telling a tale to a group of children gathered at her feet. The flowers and grass towering over the stalls indicate that the stalls and people are tiny: it’s a piskie market. The text visible at the top reads: “The goods for sale were tiny. The stalls were tiny. The people buying and selling were tiny. Jago was looking at a piskie market. A market for the tiny magical folk who live hidden in the quiet corners of Cornwall.”

Shiny book on wooden table, black horse leaping across top of cover, seal wearing golden crown at bottom, wave of seawater curving between them. Title in green foil, centred between the horse and the seal: Celtic Folk and Fairy Tales, Magical Stories from Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man and Brittany. Two names in yellow at the bottom of the cover: Lari Don and Elise Carmichael

It’s #WorldBookDay and it’s St Piran’s Day, the patron saint of #Cornwall. So it’s the perfect day to share a page of #Cornish #piskies! Beautifully illustrated by @elisecillustration.com, for a Piskie Market tale in our Celtic Folk and Fairytales.
#StPiransDay #CelticTales #kidilit #kidlitart

Image showing an illustration of a cloud and the words 'connecting poets and teachers'. Text in an orange star reads 'Double Bill! Free for teachers & poet-educators', with two arrows pointing to text in white on a red background, which reads 'Poet and teacher reading group, Monday 16 march, 4.30-5.30, Zoom' and 'Poetry Jam Jar CPD session with poet Rachel Piercey, Tuesday 24 March, 4-5pm, Zoom'. Below a logo for The Poetry Society in white and text in an orange box reading 'Find out more at bit.ly/CloudChamberPoetry'

Teachers/edu poets! Join our online network Cloud Chamber on 16 March for a relaxed reading group discussion. And on 24 March poet Rachel Piercey will deliver a CPD session on the Poetry Jam Jar - a simple tool you can use in the classroom. Both sessions are FREE & on Zoom

bit.ly/CloudChamberPoetry

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Fiona Lumbers from her picturebook Mo’s Stick. Simplified shapes, pure colours and cut-outs tell a story succinctly. A mouse finds inventive things to do with a special stick, including walking a tightrope in the mountains. Little Tiger 5 March @littletigeruk.bsky.social

World Book Day - Poetry Archive This World Book Day, the Poetry Archive invites you to celebrate the magic of reading with a collection of poems that explore its power to transport, transform, and inspire. These poems capture the…

This World Book Day, celebrate the magic of reading with the Poetry Archive 📚✨

Explore now: poetryarchive.org/collections/...

Our Learning & Participation Coordinator Billie wrote the latest blog post on Children's Poetry Summit, reflecting on our annual slam for Tower Hamlets primary schools - an occasion when we get to hear stellar rhymes like 'dinosaurs come at night creeping / they arrive while your nana's sleeping.' 🦖

Wow ! Such a rich, fun and authentic session with Nate Lessore today and 2000 Young people! @kashleyenglish.bsky.social

Homepage of 1001 Stories, The Story Museum's new online collection which is free to explore.

Supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, The Story Museum @thestorymuseum.bsky.social has launched 1001 Stories, a brand new, free to access #story resource for everyone. Check it out! #booksky

bit.ly/47bZasl

Very proud 😊 to have this STEM expert as one of our book reviewers. Here’s @alomshaha.bsky.social doing his 🌈🌈🌈magic⬇️

To meet the rest of the Letterbox Library Review Team: www.letterboxlibrary.com/how-we-selec...
#KidLitUK

Photos of Beth Cox and Alex Strick, of Inclusive Minds, who will be hosting the new Disability Inclusion and Accessibility hub at this year's The London Book Fair.

Visiting the London Book Fair (10-12 Mar)? Don't miss the new Disability Inclusion & Accessibility hub hosted by @alexstrick.bsky.social & Beth Cox. Authors/illustrators, book a consultation offering inclusion/accessibility advice on a published or forthcoming title. #KidLitUK
bit.ly/3Nh0vr9

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Corey Egbert from Mr Norton’s New Truck which has cumulative text by Huw Lewis Jones. This comical image of Horace on his scooter is reminiscent of vintage Little Golden Books, with their flat colour and stylised animals. Little Tiger 5 March. @littletigeruk.bsky.social

Also a good time to mention that many of our #LittleRebelsAward shortlistees/winners are available for school visits.

To see our roll call of authors/illustrators in all of their rad glory: littlerebels.org/previous-sho...
#KidLitUK
#RadicalBooks
#PoliticalBooks

Part 5 - The Reading Crisis - Why children aren't reading and what we can do about it. - Mostly Book Talk In part 5 we continue looking at what works to support reading for pleasure, focusing more this time on opportunities for authors to engage with readers and the importance of wider family and community involvement and spaces to discover and talk a...

🎧 The Reading Crisis: Part 5 is live!

We're exploring how to support reading for pleasure through author engagement, family involvement & community spaces.

Featuring insights from Dapo Adeola, Sita Brahmachari, Louie Stowell & top literacy experts! 📚✨

Listen: https://loom.ly/beVjCIw

There is a bursary up for grabs for the YLG Conference #YLGOxford26 for someone that lives &/or works in London, from @ylglondon.bsky.social (ticket price only). Deadline to apply is 20th March, details in link below www.cilip.org.uk/events/Event...

Oops pub date 23 March.

A woman works at a computer inside a library.

We are very pleased to reveal the shortlists for the Libraries Connected Awards 2026, sponsored by OverDrive.

All nominees stand out for their commitment to going above and beyond their daily roles, delivering exceptional services for communities.

www.librariesconnected.org.uk/news/shortli...