Imogen Russell Williams
@ImogenRW
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Kids' book critic @GuardianBooks . Editor for hire. Author, Big Book of the UK, The Women Left Behind, Big Book of Slimy Things, Great Britons. She/her.
Joined May 2010
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EXTREMELY EXCITED that this gold-emblazoned beauty is publishing in a month! So shiny. And so gorgeous, thanks to
@saramulvanny
!
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On a day of general perturbation, I bring you a French bulldog, skateboarding in Clissold Park
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No one conveyed the small heartbreaks and riotous excitement of a toddler’s daily life like Shirley Hughes did - such tenderness, warmth, humour and understanding in every line. Desperately sorry to say goodbye to the creator of Dogger, Alfie, Lucy and Tom and so many more.
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RIP Jan Pieńkowski, my favourite illustrator of all time, and thank you for A Necklace of Raindrops, The Kingdom Under the Sea, Meg and Mog, Haunted House and many, many others. Pictures filled with wild, fearsome energy, crisp precision, transporting colour - utterly inimitable
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Not bad for 96! Happy birthday to my legendary grandma XX
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Daughter and I have made a small rabbit Hamlet (though possibly a bit cheerful for the Dane) for my grandmother who is 95 today and can still recite every line of it
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This is my grandmother, yesterday, on her 94th birthday. That’s what yoga every day - and a small glass of white wine - does for you. She can still recite Hamlet verbatim
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I have dressed up as my book, and I regret nothing
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My 7yo has learned how to make PowerPoints at school and this is the only presentation you’ll ever need to see
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I have some news! My (grownup) poetry collection, illustrated by the incomparable
@chrisriddell50
, is being published on Oct 3rd (National Poetry Day) by
@DandWpublishing
() Excited and terrified!
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Today I am 40! I have marked the moment by causing a noise nuisance (in a tux) in my local park. It seems fitting 🎂 🎉 🎊
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Could we maybe have the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize back…?
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Been on the Very Strong gin, fuelling overshare, but after a truly terrible year - illness, anxiety, depression, bereavement - for my jolly little family, I am just SO HAPPY that we are all feeling a bit better. Also that such things as books, tea, dogs and Being In Flow exist🎉
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I am trying to write a poem, but 9yo, who should be safely ensconced at birthday party, is home with sprained ankle, roaring along to Baby Shark on repeat. Emily Dickinson never had to put up with this shit.
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Failed to take photos, but have given away two huge boxes of books in the time it took to distribute a basket of sweets. Neighbourhood kids now often chat to me about the books they got last Halloween - lovely! 🎃 📚 🍭
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Build storytime into the day. Give children refuge from anxiety and assessment. Let them go wandering in imaginary landscapes. NO BAD CAN COME OF IT
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Hard to imagine a more viscerally satisfying, poetic, intoxicating collaboration than this one, so filled with air, light and freedom
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Reading for pleasure has a quantifiable and significant effect on attainment. So could we please
- Celebrate rather than shame kids’ reading choices
- Ringfence time for teachers to read & broaden their kidlit knowledge
- Build in weekly half an hour for LISTENING to stories, too
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I used to volunteer in my daughter’s school library. It was a place of refuge for kids finding the school day challenging, as well as a feast of knowledge and imagination. It and they deserved a full-time librarian, which they couldn’t afford.
I'm a children's author who's visited hundreds of schools. You can always tell when they have a library & librarian – the reading culture is so rich. That's why I believe EVERY CHILD deserves a
#GreatSchoolLibrary
!
Please RT & share your own stories!
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David McKee’s work, full of bold flat colour and subversive wit, is simply unforgettable - from Not Now, Bernard’s unnerving hilarity to Elmer’s empathetic warmth, his books have enriched small readers for decades. Desperately sad to lose another wonder of the illustration world
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It’s my birthday, and I intend to spend it wisely - in a tux, with glittery nails, on a succession of increasingly intoxicated Zooms (once I’ve crowbarred myself from the horizontal.) Also happy publication day
@Louiestowell
! 🥳🎂💅🏽
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9yo is writing a story and descriptions are 🔥
“I suppose I should describe my mum to you. She has short brown hair, a kind smile, brown eyes, and a nose.
May I add, she has two ears.”
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Today is my first day off in ages and I am indulging in the 1980s film of The Worst Witch and I know every line and it is blissful
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My love song to children's books, featuring
@kdbrundell
,
@sanchezvegara
and gazillions more Excited about the cover!
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To mark
@NosyCrowBooks
’ publication of GREAT ELIZABETHANS, crammed with 25 Great Britons from Elizabeth II’s reign, I have 2 copies to give away (but not the biscuits 👀) To enter, just reply to this tweet and name your favourite Great Briton! Winners picked a week today 🇬🇧 👑 🇬🇧
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So many glorious children’s books published in 2021 - everything I’ve reviewed (and many I haven’t had space for) is a BOTY as far as I’m concerned. But here are some more beautiful
@GuardianBooks
Bests (they just keep coming), from
@malorieblackman
,
@SitaBrahmachari
, and others
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It’s true, it’s true - it DOES contain a guide to the nation’s cheese! THANK YOU
@fionanoblebooks
for making this the single greatest Friday since Fridays began! ❤️🧀
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Jan Pieńkowski has won the
@Booktrust
Lifetime Award! LOOK at this flower-garlanded Necklace of Raindrops ❤️
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My August
@GuardianBooks
kids/YA roundup: super stuff from
@MoragHood
@bnmnly
@_JimField
@bookhorse
@ClaraVulliamy
@sophyhenn
@redbreastedbird
@catwrote
@patrickneate
@TheGeorgeLester
@jifueko
and
@LawrencePatrice
📚🎉
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Thanks again
@TheTLS
for giving me space to (double-page) spread out in talking about children’s literature - this time, how authors address climate change and conservation, with fine work from
@nickysingerwrit
,
@sam_gayton
,
@ArtichokeKid
,
@fionalumbers
,
@LaytonNeal
and many more
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A very personal poem (there is a horrible word in it, sorry.)
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It’s
@PoetryDayUK
! And it’s PUBLICATION DAY for The Women Left Behind! Here’s sweary Mary, wife of Gulliver, who raised kids while Lemuel explored. Thank you again to
@chrisriddell50
for the glorious illustrations (and to everyone for enduring poetry spam all month!) 🎉 📖 🎤
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Delighted to be returning as a judge for The British Book Awards 2024 - link here for the full list of (much snazzier) judges!
Can’t wait to dive into the joys of the Children’s Illustrated category…
#BritishBookAwards
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9yo, annoyed with pal: “Right, that’s it! Pistols for two! And shortly thereafter, champagne for one!” I have been coaching her in this for a very long time and I can safely say it was worth every minute
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My August
@GuardianBooks
kids’/YA roundup - muscular magic from
@aishabushby
,
@JasonReynolds83
,
@IsabelOtter
,
@AnaSender
,
@chrishaughton
,
@KitdeWaal
,
@DeanAtta
,
@louisareid
,
@bethanyrutter
and many more. (Seriously - what a month!)
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I realise everyone has adopted “gift” as a verb now, but I never, never shall. It makes me do cats-bum mouth every time *settles pince-nez more firmly*
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Always a bit worried about mental health overshare, but esp in case it’s helpful to anyone else: Been struggling with bipolar for months, now back on lithium. Feel obscurely that this is failure and that I’m flawed/tainted by it, while at the same time knowing that is BOLLOCKS.
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Thank you everybody for your glorious birthday wishes! I can heartily recommend dogwalking Dressed To The Nines x
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I’ve been a
#BookBuddy
to local primary & secondary schools for couple of years now and see firsthand a) kids’ overwhelming joy at new books, b) crying need for them. Government should make school libraries statutory AND FUND THEM
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Bloody struggling today. I hope other people have parented as poorly as I have while signally failing to get any work done. Not. A. Sausage.
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My
@GuardianBooks
June kids/YA round-up: lovely📚from
@Bridgeanne
@robynwilsonowen
@eoinmclaughlin
@PollyDunbar
@ClareHelenWelsh
@AsaGilland
@iamjohnbond
@mmaggieli
@dom_conlon
@vivschwarz
@jenrosebell
@BooksandChokers
@kacencallender
@sam_aye_ahm
@CiaraNicG
@whimsicallyours
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Hen-racing, egg-throwing, secret caves of cheese, the NHS, fire festivals, the polar bear in the Tower of London, very silly laws and insanely delicious sweets...All illustrated by
@printedpeanut
, published by
@ladybirdbooks
in August, and written by ME!
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7yo told me this morning that she could make up story on the spot, about anything. OK, I said - a bird and a sweetshop. Keen on the result:
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.
@ShirleyHughes_
has signed my ancient copy of DOGGER AND drawn Dogger in it AND DOGGER IS AT HER PARTY *commence hyperventilation*
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First
@GuardianBooks
kids’ round-up of 2020! Lovely stuff from
@AnnaHoghton
,
@RoopaFarooki
,
@lthompsonwrites
,
@SarahHaggerHolt
,
@onichum_
,
@LeilaR
,
@IbtihajMuhammad
,
@SajidahWrites
,
@metahatem
,
@mpowelltuck
,
@karlj_mountford
,
@Katyemdavies
and more
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August kids/YA 📚 🌟:
@TinyFlood
,
@LuciaGaggiotti
,
@JosephACoelho
,
@LawrencePatrice
,
@Nettdesigns
,
@bethg
,
@jesshitch
,
@seantstories
,
@morss_alex
,
@kwebberwrites
,
@kevtsang
,
@camillacauthor
,
@afharrold
,
@chrisvickwrites
,
@McLeod_Mouth
,
@FrancesHardinge
12
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A pure joy and a pleasure to celebrate the launch of this OUTRAGEOUSLY funny book with
@Louiestowell
and an actual roomful of lovely people! Loki himself would be (temporarily) devoid of snark at the joy of it all
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Daughter utterly ruthless in purging book collection - “YOU’RE the one who likes that, Mum, not me”. Me (sinks down, surrounds self in picture-book fortification):
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My March
@GuardianBooks
kids/YA roundup: loveliness from
@tanya_rosie
,
@ChuckGroenink
,
@HWIllustrator
,
@wafatarnowska
,
@neillcameron
,
@RealAlexWoolf
,
@JenniferKillick
,
@KatiaCotton
,
@leewhowrites
,
@NotAgainBen
,
@kwebberwrites
,
@doyle_cat
,
@mariekeyn
& more
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My
@GuardianBooks
kids’/YA roundup (so much fabulous stuff this month!)
@elnorry_writer
@jennycarney
@peachjamcloset
@hughshampoo
@NadiaShireen
@jesswade
@mv_castrillon
@saramegan
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My
@GuardianBooks
October kids/YA roundup: 🌟 📚 from
@holly_sterling
,
@alan_durant
,
@marjanvafaeian_
,
@jasinbath
,
@andysmithdraws
,
@tombabylon
,
@lucyhope_author
,
@nicolapenfold
,
@EarlyTrain
,
@jprosewriter
,
@louisareid
,
@AshiLockie
and more. Enjoy!
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9yo on school laptop, to me: “I’m going to be not on mute for a bit, OK? So don’t swear.” 😳😳😳😳😳
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I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy!
Then yesterday evening, perfectly on
#NationalPoetryDay
we launched the fabulous, fierce, loud (in the best way), inspiring, clever and feminist first collection of poetry from
@ImogenRW
, beautifully fully illustrated by
@chrisriddell50
@Ink84Books
@DandWpublishing
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Really been struggling to read, especially for pleasure (small problem in view of my job). If Atuan won’t do it, I’m not sure what will...What’s everyone reading now for comfort/remembered delight?
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I don’t tweet all that often about bipolar disorder, but today was one of those days when having a shower and going outside was medal-worthy. Much sympathy to anyone whose mental health flies south for the winter…
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What a triumph the Lockwood adaption is
@JonathanAStroud
! I was all braced and suspicious at first, being such a demented and protective fan of the books! but it’s proved entirely addictive for both me and insanely picky 12yo. Can we have Bartimaeus and Outlaws next?
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Picking him up tomorrow morning. Now my tummy feels like Christmas Eve
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My August kids & YA round-up
@GuardianBooks
: glorious stories from
@jasinbath
,
@DarrenSimpson44
,
@lemonysnicket
,
@suecheungstory
,
@Pollylwh
,
@ClaraVulliamy
,
@JosephACoelho
,
@JonLander13
,
@mossmontmomery
,
@SarahWarbie
,
@vivschwarz
,
@FemiFadugba
and others
7
39
101
Me (casual): What books have you enjoyed most this year?
6yo (alert): You’re going to put them in the paper, aren’t you? What will you pay me?
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My
@GuardianBooks
May kids/YA roundup:
@SwapnaHaddow
,
@DapsDraws
,
@harryewoodgate
,
@MadgieFox
,
@YasmeenMay
,
@NadimPoetry
,
@MaryAliceEvans
,
@Chris_Jev
,
@priscilla_mante
,
@KirstyApplebaum
,
@hilary_mckay
,
@CockcroftJason
,
@Czaroline
,
@holly_bourneYA
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Here is a poem by my daughter for
#WorldPoetryDay
, written when she was 5:
Rock, you are grey.
You do not like to play.
You cannot talk -
You are my favourite anyway.
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October
@GuardianBooks
kids'/YA roundup - lovely stuff from
@nicolakidsbooks
,
@SmritiPH
,
@dc_litchfield
,
@IsabelleFollath
,
@isabelwriting
,
@DanielEgneus
,
@SwapnaHaddow
,
@binnytalib
,
@theLucyStrange
,
@kereengetten
,
@a_reflective
&
@brixtonbard
5
43
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Presented without comment, just found in 9yo’s school bag
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Sept kids/YA round-up 📚✨ - lovely books from
@kenwilsonmax
@TimothyKnapman
@_JoeBerger
@emmac2603
@CressidaCowell
@DapsDraws
@LawrencePatrice
@redbreastedbird
@LouFinchWrites
@TheKateDylan
and oodles more
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27
96
Easter feasts - my
@GuardianBooks
kids’/YA April round-up, crammed with slimy superheroes, eldritch creatures and kid detectives aplenty. Lovely work from
@brixtonbard
,
@padraig_kenny
,
@Zendibble
,
@flaviasorr
,
@jeffzentner
and many others!
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29
94
Early! Sept kids/YA
@GuardianBooks
roundup:🌟📚
@malorieblackman
,
@DapsDraws
,
@bnmnly
,
@emmachichesterc
,
@eoinmclaughlin
,
@NadiaShireen
,
@mollyoldfield
,
@FloraDelargy
,
@fowler_aisling
,
@Kiran_MH
,
@emmac2603
,
@EverydaySexism
,
@megcathwrites
,
@LawrencePatrice
7
31
94
Glum day saved by the spectacular proof of UNRAVELLER,
@FrancesHardinge
’s latest (out in Sept). Extravagant complexity, both imaginative and emotional, extraordinarily lightly worn. I don’t know how this kind of writing is even possible, but I’m grateful for it, especially today!
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This minute gentleman is coming to live with us from next weekend. Visitors welcome by appointment (send in your card on a silver salver)
16
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Psst! A naughty sneak share of my TLS kids’ comics piece, with wise words from
@Louiestowell
and gorgeous work from
@goraina
,
@AliceOseman
,
@markbradleyart
,
@jamiesmart
,
@neillcameron
,
@josephobrady
,
@PatriceAggs
and
@thatlukeperson
. Enjoy!
12
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“She makes my characters better”, more subtle, more lifelike; “Danny Chung was a labour of love, but I couldn’t have done it without Georgia”, says
@MaisieWrites
of editor
@MurrayGeorgiaM
, winners of the 2022
@BranfordBoase
Award
15
12
91
Good morning! My
@GuardianBooks
Feb kids/YA roundup: 🌟 📚 from
@Deenface
,
@SophiaP_author
,
@sandhyaprabhat
,
@opifan64
,
@thomasflintham
,
@HollyKateWebb
,
@AbigailHookham
,
@MrEagletonIan
,
@lisette_auton
,
@DeeBensonauthor
,
@ayaan_moham
&
@aconnors_writes
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37
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Am a great balloon of excitement - if I don’t go off pop beforehand, I will be joining
@rickoshea
as a
@CostaBookAwards
children’s judge!
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1
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At Mum’s, about to go proper terrier-down-a-rabbit-hole in stored book boxes. Finger-tingle!
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3
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My grandmother, just short of her 92nd birthday (this is a scarily recent photo), on discovering she’d lost her reading glasses: “What the bloody hell am I going to do now? Cut down on reading, I suppose.” Brief pause. “And then I’ll DIE.”
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1
87
THAT’S NOT MY BREXIT IT IS TOO SOFT *squawk of glee*
As
@BoChildrensBook
2019 kicks off, children’s publishers are preparing for a bus load of Brexit-inspired characters to hit bookshelves — though publication dates are proving tricky:
0
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25
6
4
88
Stayed up FAR too late reading this gripping story of 2 brothers evacuated to a Welsh pit village. When Jimmy finds a skull, terror slowly gives way to the need to solve its mystery...Small, resonant details, long shadows of old griefs & divisions, pitch-perfect child narrator ❤️
16
12
89
Last
@GuardianBooks
kids/YA roundup of 2022. Merry Christmas - fab last-minute presents! 🎁🎄📚
@suma_v_s
@sandhyaprabhat
@samwinston_
@fivekingdoms
@oharasisters
@moiraworld
@fromtheitalian
@catwrote
@bethg
@JosephACoelho
@ABagForKatie
@BeashelWrites
10
35
86
Late July kids’/YA
@GuardianBooks
round-up - summer loveliness from
@MoragHood
,
@rebecca_cobb
,
@NadiaShireen
, Judith Kerr,
@EastyNick
,
@riewriting
,
@flaviasorr
,
@SitaBrahmachari
,
@farmgirlwriter
,
@MsWinterTweets
,
@moirawithatrema
,
@YasminwithanE
,
@randyribay
&
@HoJay92
9
37
85
I’ve adored Daisy and Hazel since I first met them six years ago - and WHAT an end to their story! Atmospheric, thrilling and full of brilliant characterisation - a book to be read perched on the edge of your seat, with a helpless grin plastered across your face. Pure pleasure 🔍
11
13
83
My
@GuardianBooks
September kids/YA roundup: treasures from
@ChimamandaReal
@joelle_avelino
@HibaNoorKhan1
@harryewoodgate
@mattbrownauthor
@flaviasorr
@HayleyThough
@laurenstjohn
@propermiss
@aleemawrites
@Sally_Nicholls
@holly_bourneYA
and many more 📚
5
33
84
Last night I read three glorious picture-books with my littlun, all of which she immediately demanded again, and which were only improved by rereading:
4
21
82
Huge congratulations to the extraordinary David McKee on his
@Booktrust
#LifetimeAchievementAward
. Elmer! Bernard! King Rollo! Mr Benn! He'll be on
@BBCFrontRow
later, and a fixture on all the very best bookshelves forever
0
16
85
Ran out of books before I ran out of sweets - Halloween success! 🎃 📚 🍬
5
1
84
March kids’/YA📚roundup:
@BooksandChokers
,
@kereengetten
,
@RachelDelahaye
,
@georgermos
,
@dom_conlon
,
@izlesou
,
@vashti_hardy
,
@seantstories
,
@SarahEdmondsArt
,
@RachelCIp
,
@Laura_A_Hughes
,
@SmritiPH
,
@RosBeardshaw
,
@FineAngeline
,
@absolutelywrite
,
@okayjane
9
28
85
My
@GuardianBooks
Feb kids/YA 📚 -
@lemnsissay
,
@StobbsGreg
,
@RaymondAntrobus
,
@PollyDunbar
,
@ElysDolan
,
@opifan64
,
@LeahMo_Author
,
@Loretta_Schauer
,
@followtheyellow
,
@rebecca_cobb
,
@HelenRutterUK
,
@Louiestowell
,
@BooksandChokers
,
@brixtonbard
,
@snsknene
5
38
84
Dear Lord, I’M in the
@MetroUKNews
today - alongside some absolute greats! Absolutely love the idea of being a smart (blue?) stocking-filler. Thank you!
3
5
82
Happy weekend! My Nov kids/YA
@GuardianBooks
roundup: bookish delights from
@harryewoodgate
,
@MrSteveAntony
,
@Stricolo
,
@SmritiPH
,
@MichaelRosenYes
,
@emmachichesterc
,
@theLucyStrange
,
@mikebmann
,
@mossmontmomery
,
@nicolakidsbooks
,
@skinofthesea
and others
7
30
81