The Unforgotten Coat by Frank Cottrell Boyce – Review
"I would recommend this book to anyone aged between eight and twelve who likes to find out about other children's lives. It is so beautifully written and easy to read"Julie is like any other year six schoolgirl thinking about clothes, boys and best fri...
Tim and Charlotte by Edward Ardizzone – review
'Tim and Ginger are in a lot of books by Edward Ardizzone and I love all of them'This book is about a little girl called Charlotte. It is also about two boys called Tim and Ginger. Tim and Ginger are in a lot of books by Edward Ardizzone and I love a...
Library Poem by Julia Donaldson
Libraries are being closed all over the country, so children's laureate Julia Donaldson has written this poem specially for National Libraries DayEveryone is welcome to walk through the door.It really doesn't matter if you're rich or poor.There are boo...
Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine
Asperger's syndrome is dealt with sensitively in a 10-year-old's storyTen-year-old Caitlin Smith is doubly bereaved. Two years ago her mother died of cancer; now her beloved older brother Devon has been randomly murdered in a shooting at their American...
James Patterson dominates library lending, with 2.3m loans in 2011
Author takes five places on PLR's top 10 most-borrowed books, with remainder also thrillers and mysteriesWith book lovers up and down the country branding library closures criminal, perhaps the stranglehold crime fiction continues to hold on borrowers'...
Sky Hawk by Gill Lewis – review
'The story is well written and very descriptive, especially the scenery of Scotland'This is a book by Gill Lewis, it is about a boy and a girl called Callum and Iona and an osprey named Iris. It is a nature adventure set on a farm in Scotland in the pr...
One False Note by Gordan Korman – review
'There is so much suspense and danger in this book'The train is moving slowly. 11-year-old Dan and 14-year-old Amy are studying the currently meaningless clue that they have acquired in the catacombs of Paris. Little do they know that the Holts are hot...
James Dawson’s top 10 books to get you through high school
The teen thriller writer picks his favourite school survival stories, from Matilda to MachiavelliJames Dawson grew up in West Yorkshire, writing imaginary episodes of Doctor Who. He became a journalist and then a teacher. He now writes full time and hi...
Wolves in fiction – quiz
As Nadia Shireen shows you how to draw the perfect wolf, here's 10 wily questions to test your knowledge of those cunning creatures
Five Children and It made over
Wilson's coming 21st century reworking may be brilliant, but the original hasn't stopped speaking to today's childrenI'm deeply torn by the news that Jacqueline Wilson has written an updated "echo" of Edith Nesbit's Five Children and It, to be publishe...
Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo – review
'I think that this is one of the best books I have read. The characters are all powerful and realistic, and they make the story interesting'This is another touching and exciting story by the master of them all, Michael Morpurgo. It tells of Michael, a ...
The-Pencil-Allan Ahlberg-review
'This is one of the best picture books ever! If you like ityou could read some more books by Allan Ahlberg'This is book is very good because it is funny, surprising and interesting.In the story, a pencil draws a boy, a dog, a cat, a paintbrush (to colo...
