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Recommended reads

Michael Rosen on poetry in primary schools

Gecko Press square image from What Dog Knows, dog reading the paper in an orange armchair

A recommended read for Curiously Good schools and libraries! Michael Rosen’s blog is a great resource, with many marvellous ideas for sparking a love of poetry in children. “Make yourself a finder-out of poems for the class. Tell the children when you’ve discovered a poem. Tell them that you’re excited when they discover a poem… Read more »

The authors who helped us grow up

Gecko Press spot art from When I am Happiest, Dani reads a blue book with a cat and two guinea pigs

Need a book recommendation? The New Yorker children’s literature archive is a wonderful resource. From Where the Wild Things Are to Harry Potter,  with articles from the 1920s to early 2000s, there’s a lot of booky ground covered. We want to hear about your favourite children’s books. Are they the same as when you were a child?… Read more »

Three books for thinking children

I was recently asked about a book for a thinking child: I first chose The Day No one was Angry . It is a book of 12 stories about the 12 different forms of anger – the light blue, transparent colour of melancholy, “like a warm morning in early summer, with not a breath of wind.”  It… Read more »

The Guardian’s best new picture books

Gecko Press spot art from My Pictures After the Storm

My Pictures after the Storm is in good company in this Guardian roundup of the best new picture books and novels for children. Sitting next to a bespectacled mole, a mermaid and a love song to the planet, this book is described as “Clever, playful, with a mordant edge, this is sophisticated silliness in warm shades… Read more »

The Lost Kitten in Huffington Post

The Lost Kitten Komako Sakai illustration

The Lost Kitten, illustrated by by Komako Sakai, is featured in The Huffington Post as one of the best children’s picture books.

Some books Ulf Stark loves

                1. Tove Jansson: Moominpappa at Sea Here we have the sea, a lighthouse, a mother who has abandoned her garden and a father looking for adventure – and the Moomin troll of course! A book for adults and junior readers who want to enjoy the bitter, and the… Read more »

Mrs Tittlemouse and cleaning

I was telling my mother about my lack of cleaning the other day. She said she’d just been doing a bit of dusting herself (dusting! I’m talking vacuuming and mopping!) and she got halfway down the passage and stopped at the bookshelf there to have a little read of The Tale of Mrs  Tittlemouse. “Mrs Tittlemouse was… Read more »