Join us to hear all about Jasbinder Bilan's new book, Naeli and the Secret Song. Find out where the idea came from and the research she did. 

Here are links to all of Jasbinder's Books

Naeli and the Secret Song

Aarti and the Blue Gods

Tamarind and the Star of Ishta

Asha and the Spirit Bird

India, Incredible India, illustrated by Nina Chakrabarti

Xanthe and the Ruby Crown

Calling the Whales, illustrated by Skylar White

Nush and the Stolen Emerald

Paloma and the Bear, illustrated by Skylar White

Anya's Quest, illustrated by Jane Ray

And links to the book prizes we mentioned;

Jhalak Prize

The Women's Prize

The Week Junior Book Awards

Branford Boase Award

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We are joined by Alison Jewitt a teacher from South London who leads a Carnegie Shadowing Group at her school and Sophia Bower a school librarian from Durham who is a Carnegie judge this year. 

We talk about shadowing groups and then all of the books on the Carnegie Medal for Writing shortlist. Sophia then hides while the rest of us make our predictions about who wins - we were completely wrong last year, can we do better this year?

Carnegie Medal Short Listed Books

All That it Ever Meant, Blessing Musariri

Glasgow Boys, Margaret McDonald

King of Nothing, Nathanael Lessore

Little Bang, Kelly McCaughrain

Play, Luke Palmer

The Final Year, Matt Goodfellow

The Things we Leave Behind, Clare Furniss

Treacle Town, Brian Conaghan

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Join us talking with Cath Howe about the latest book in her Call the Puffins series, Tiny and the Cave Ghost (illustrated by Ella Okstad). We talk about the importance of early reading books and wonder whether there is a big meeting of authors where they decide which animals they are going to write about (you never know...)! We also go down memory lane with the Tufty Club and it all gets a bit silly...

Cath's other books include:

In the Call the Puffins series (all illustrated by Ella Okstad):

Call the Puffins

Tiny's Brave Rescue

Muffin and the Shipwreck

Her middle grade books:

Ella on the Outside

Not My Fault

How to be Me

My Life on Fire

The Insiders

Cath's website is here with resources to go with her books and information about school workshops.

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In this episode we talk with Professor Teresa Cremin, the co-director of the Open University's Literacy and Social Justice Centre, discuss what the research says about children's reading for pleasure and the work the OU is doing to support teachers develop reading for pleasure cultures in their schools.

You can find out more about the OU Reading for Pleasure activities here.

Some recent books by Teresa Cremin include: 

Reading Teachers: Nurturing Reading for Pleasure, ed. Teresa Cremin, Helen Hendry, Lucy Rodriguez Leon and Natalia Kucirkova

Reading for Pleasure: International Perspectives, ed. Teresa Cremin and Sarah McGeown

Teaching English Creatively, by Teresa Cremin

Children Reading for Pleasure in the Digital Age: Mapping Reader Engagement by Natalia Kucirkova and Teresa Cremin

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Listen to Lisa Thompson talk about her new book, The Boy in the Tree (illustrated by Katie Kear), and also her many other books including the forthcoming follow up to The Goldfish Boy - The Skeleton Puzzle  (out in September.)

Information about all Lisa's books and also extra resources can be found at www.lisathompsonauthor.com

Links to the books we talked about

The Goldfish Boy

Owen and the Soldier

The Treasure Hunters

Sidney and Carrie Have a Party

Worry Boots

The Boy in the Tree

The Magpie Riddle

The Skeleton Puzzle

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In this episode we talk with Tom Percival about his book The Wrong Shoes and also about some of his picture books. 

Tom has a website here, but probably the best way to stay up to date with what he is up to is on Instagram @tompercivalbooks or on X @TomPercivalSays

His books can be found here:

The Wrong Shoes (currently in hardback, paperback available 8 May 2025)

Quiet (illustrated by Richard Jones)

The Invisible

Perfectly Norman

The Bridges

Squirrel and Duck - Mission Improbable

Some of the other books mentioned:

The Harder they Fall, Bali Rai

It's a No-Money Day, Kate Milner

The Great (Food) Bank Heist, Onjali Q Rauf

If you are doing something interesting in a school or other setting to support young people's reading for pleasure and would like to come and talk on the podcast, get in touch at [email protected]

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An interview with debut author Brogen Murphy about their book, Wildlands. It’s 2050 and most of northern England and southern Scotland has been turned into a vast rewilding project. An interrupted train journey and series of mishaps leaves two sisters trying to survive in this untouched wilderness... 

Brogen's website is here and they can be found on Instagram @brogen_murphy

We also mention the Carnegie shortlist which can be found here.

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Join us talking with Darrell Wakelam about his book Art Shaped - Sustainable 3D Art Projects to Kickstart Children's Creativity. There are lots of curriculum links and all the projects are made from easily obtained recycled materials - ideal for teachers, librarians and parents.

Darrell's website can be found here

And he can be found on social media here

BlueSky @darrellwakelam.bsky.social

Instagram @darrellwakelam

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In this episode we have an interview with Darren Chetty and Karen Sands O'Connor about their book Beyond the Secret Garden - Racialised Minorities in British Children's Books.

It's published by the English and Media Centre (a great resource too) and is available here.

It is based on Darren and Karen's regular column in Books for Keeps which is also well worth a read.

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In children's mental health week we talk to Rachel Fuller about her picture book Bee which explores how it feels to be misunderstood and celebrates difference. We also talk to Tanya Goodin about The Teenage Guide to Digital Wellbeing which offers lots of useful advice and activities to help achieve a balance between being in the digital world and the real world (something not just teenagers could benefit from!).

Books in this episode:

Bee by Rachel Fuller, illustrated by Emilia Wharfe

More information about Bee the ballet can be found here

The Teenage Guide to Digital Wellbeing by Tanya Goodin

More information about Tanya's work can be found here

The other book mentioned in this episode is People Like Stars by Patrice Lawrence.

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