National Library Day: a year on
Campaigners have saved some libraries from closure, and an inquiry begins next week – but councils are now under greater financial pressure than ever to cut servicesIn the 12 months since a surge of public protest against proposed library closures wa...
First ever crime writing MA launched
London's City University says creation of course is in response to student demandAs the underworld steadily increases its grip on literary culture, City University in London is turning to crime, with the launch of an MA devoted to teaching crime fictio...
Ian Simpson obituary
Painter and educator who democratised and demystified the world of art"Anyone can learn to draw, just as anyone can learn to speak or write. Drawing is a perfectly ordinary way of communicating information." These words, from Drawing: Seeing and Observ...
Planned copyright changes could stop authors writing for schools
Hundreds of authors including Philip Pullman and Anne Fine say government plans would drastically reduce writers' incomesHundreds of writers including children's laureate and Gruffalo author Julia Donaldson, Philip Pullman and Anne Fine are protesting ...
Anyone for Quidditch? Harry Potter game kicks off at Oxford
The game that enthralled students at Hogwarts is starting to stir an interest at Oxford UniversityHuddled together in the chill January wind, the players listened as a PPE fresher in a black cape read the rules of the game: a Quaffle through a hoop wou...
Oxford University students play Quidditch – in pictures
Quidditch, the fictional activity played by witches and wizards in the air, has been adapted for Muggles as a fast-paced team sport played firmly on the ground
French children: enfants, but not terrible | Agnès Poirier
French parenting, praised in Pamela Druckerman's new book, is easily mocked – but strict rules create rebellious mindThere is nothing like seeing yourself through the eyes of a foreigner. Cross-cultural literature, at its best, offers a mirror to pee...
Apps Rush: iTunes U, Elmore Leonard, Playful Minds, Pet Town and more
What's new on the app stores on Friday 20 January 2012iTunes UiBooks 2 and the iBooks Author tool may have hogged the headlines from Apple's education launch, but its iTunes U service also has a brand new iOS app. It provides access to a host of free e...
Apple: iBooks 2 will ‘reinvent textbooks’
Although price is likely to be a barrier, the software will let students watch videos and take notes inside the virtual booksApple has unveiled a glimpse of the classroom of the future, launching a new version of its iBooks software that will allow pub...
David Cameron’s reading to children speech: between the lines
The PM has revived this old chestnut to avoid addressing real questions, such as 'How can we redistribute wealth?'I bristle whenever a politician makes a prescription for better, more hands-on parenting. At 7.30 on any given evening, am I in the Common...
Arizona’s ‘banned’ Mexican American books | Roberto Cintli Rodriguez
First, the Tucson school district came for the Mexican American studies program. Now, it's come for its booksIn the aftermath of the suspension of the Tucson Unified School District's Mexican American studies department, TUSD has confiscated and contin...
Whitewashing Black History Month | Gary Younge