Children's literature

Poet, playwright and author Joseph Coelho has been named the new Waterstones children's laureate, and will look to celebrate the power of poetry during his two-year tenure.  Read more

Eric Carle, the US author of best-selling children's book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, has died aged 91.

He died last Sunday, his family said.

"In the light of the moon, holding on to a good star, a painter of rainbows is now travelling across the night sky," a family statement said.  Read more

Two years after the stark revelation that only 1% of British children's books featured a main character who was black, Asian or minority ethnic, the proportion has increased to 5%, according to new analysis. But a child from an ethnic minority background is far more likely to encounter an animal protagonist when reading a book than a main character sharing their ethnicity.

A few years ago, I was surprised to open a newspaper and read that the head teacher of a London public school had decided to ban my books from his library. He described the adventures of Alex Rider, which have sold around 20  million- copies worldwide, in terms so derogatory that I have no mind to repeat them. Suffice it to say that the article quite put me off my cornflakes.  Read more

As a child, I cavorted in Oxford colleges, rode atop armoured bears and swanned off to Svalbard to witness the majesty of the northern lights - all while remaining within the walls of an Edwardian terrace in Cardiff.  Read more