By Sam, 7 What was the book about? It was about a girl, Amelia, who went to Elfhelm to live with Father Christmas and a woman called Mary. The girl and Mary used to live in a workhouse and their…

As seen on Ten Daily It is widely believed that boys prefer to read about male protagonists. But, before we decry the way that boys are not interested in girls’ stories, it is worth taking a look at the bookshelves.…

It starts out a happy sign of a young learner’s first steps towards independent reading. The parent tucks their child under their arm to listen to them sound out words and occasionally stumble over syllables, filled with a mixture of…

It is not hard to find great books for young children. Libraries and bookshops have considerable areas dedicated to the under-fives, complete with beanbags and colourful posters. From Mem Fox to Alison Lester, The Gruffalo to The Cat in the…

Children can be fickle creatures. One minute they like something, the next minute they push it away in disgust. I’ve seen my kids do it with food, toys and occasionally, one of their relatives. And one foolproof way of ensuring…

Forget Sudoku for toddlers, in utero Mozart concertos and Baby Einstein DVDs, one of the best ways to promote babies’ development is to read to them. And it is never too early for parents to start reading to their babies,…

One farmer is fat, another is boozy and the third is a pot-bellied dwarf. Then there is the grandmother described as ‘an old hag’ and likened to a witch. This vitriol is not spouted by internet trolls or sparring bogans,…

They used to speak of their passion in hushed tones. After all, they thought, what fully-grown adult would freely admit to their love of young adult literature? More recently, the YA section of libraries and bookshops have become a free-for-all,…