Mostly Book Talk

For the National Year of Reading, we are sharing a series of short conversations with people who are involved in promoting reading with young people. This could be a programme, resources or a literary event, and we're giving them the opportunity to share what they do and how people can get involved.

In this episode we talk to Lara Marshall, Libraries and Engagement Manager and Tom Norton, Information and Resources Officer at the RNIB.

RNIB, the Royal National Institute of Blind People, is the UK's leading sight loss charity. They offer practical and emotional support to blind and partially sighted people, their families and carers. They raise awareness of the experiences of blind and partially sighted people and campaign for change to make our society more accessible for all. 

They offer a wider range of services to support children and young people's reading. Mentioned in the discussion are the following resources (click through for links).

RNIB Library

RNIB Bookshare

Curriculum Framework for Children and Young People with Vision Impairment (CFVI)

Children's Reading Resources

Volunteering for The Big Help Out and Hi Vis Fortnight

In addition you can contact their helpline on 0303 123 9999
open Monday to Friday, 9am – 6pm. Email the helpline at [email protected] or say: "Alexa, call RNIB Helpline".

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We talked to Jeffrey Boakye and tried very hard to stay on the topic of children's books (and mostly succeeded). We talked about his middle grade series which starts with Kofi and the Rap Battle Summer, his books on music - Musical Truth and Musical World and what he is currently working on.

We detoured into what everyone got up to in the 80s and 90s when there were only four TV channels and no mobile phones and then came back to children's books and why the diversity of both authors and main characters is on the decline again.

You can find more information about Jeffrey here and the books we discussed are as follows:

Kofi and the Rap Battle Summer

Kofi and the Secret Radio Station

Kofi and the Brand New Vibe

Musical Truth, illustrated by Ngadi Smart

Musical World, illustrated by Ngadi Smart

I Heard What You Said

Faith's First Case (out Feb 2027)

And the book Jeffery recommended to us was

Wild East by Ashley Hickson-Lovence

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In this episode we talk with poet Nicola Davies about the Centre for Literacy in Primary Poetry Award (CLiPPA). The CLiPPA is the UK’s leading prize for poetry for children and each year highlights outstanding new collections for the young and very young.

She takes us the through the 2026 Shortlist and we also talk about her her role as the Children's Laureate for Wales and quite a bit about birds too.

The CLiPPA Shortlist is as follows:

• Five Little Friends: A Collection of Finger Rhymes, by Sean Taylor, illustrated by Fiona Woodcock, Walker Books
• A First Book of Bugs, by Simon Mole, illustrated by Adam Ming, Walker Books
• The Poetry World of John Agard, by John Agard, illustrated by Shirley Hottier, Otter-Barry Books
• Press Start to Play, by Sam Gayton, illustrated by Jack Noel, Andersen Press
• This Is Not A Small Voice: Poems by Black Poets, selected by Traci N. Todd, illustrated by Jade Orlando, Nosy Crow

Nicola also mentioned this book about birds:

The Seabird's Cry The Lives and Loves of Puffins, Gannets and Other Ocean Voyagers, by Adam Nicolson, illustrated by Kate Boxer

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For the National Year of Reading, we are sharing a series of short conversations with people who are involved in promoting reading with young people. This could be a programme, resources or a literary event, and we're giving them the opportunity to share what they do and how people can get involved.

In this episode we are joined by Tom Harbour the CEO of Learning with Parents.

Learning with Parents is a charity whose vision is that every child is supported at home to fulfil their potential.  Working with schools, they support  families to have positive learning interactions together. Using a digital platform they motivate and empower families to enjoy learning together at home using child-led videos and hands-on family activities which replace traditional homework. For reading, they offer a digital reading log that replaces traditional paper version and allows families to upload audio clips as well as easily record their child's reading.

They are also focused on learning what works in supporting parental engagement and are working with researchers at UCL to test what works in supporting reading for pleasure at home. They also  lead the Fair Education Alliance’s work on parental engagement and their forum which brings together organisations to network and share best practice around parental engagement.

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For the National Year of Reading, we are sharing a series of short conversations with people who are involved in promoting reading with young people. This could be a programme, resources or a literary event, and we're giving them the opportunity to share what they do and how people can get involved.

In this episode we are joined by Sarah Satha the Chair of Inclusive Books for Children.

Inclusive Books for Children is a charity whose vision is  for every child in the UK to grow up reading inclusive books. They want to nurture the next generation of open-minded and inspired young readers and have created a free website to make it easy for parents, caregivers, librarians and teachers to find and buy diverse titles, confident they have made excellent choices. Updated each month, all the books on their website are rigorously appraised by experts in children’s literature with backgrounds in education, libraries, academia and publishing.

Each year, they donate 1000s of high-quality, engaging inclusive books to nurseries, schools and libraries with the greatest need via our IBC Book Box gifting scheme.

They also run the IBC Book Awards which celebrate outstanding new inclusive children’s books and their talented creators. Their Children’s Choice Awards shadowing scheme runs in tandem with the main IBC Awards. The scheme gives children the opportunity to engage in the awards process as mini-judges, reading the shortlist and voting on their favourites. 

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We talk to author Molly Harris about her new picture book Whirby, illustrated by Jacob Souva. Whirby is a robot and his favourite activity at school is bot battles, but in his excitement about getting ready he forgets to get any rest and recharge his batteries and when it comes to his turn in the competition he has no energy left. Can he recover and do what he really enjoys?

A great book for bedtimes with lots to look at in the pictures.

You can find out more about Molly Harris here and read Jacob's substack here.

Molly's other books are:

The Big Squeeze, illustrated by Alison Hawkins

I Need Space, illustrated by Jon Corby (out Dec 2026)

And the book Molly recommended was

Benita and the Night Creatures, by Mariana Llanos, illustrated by Cocoretto

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For the National Year of Reading, we are sharing a series of short conversations with people who are involved in promoting reading with young people. This could be a programme, resources or a literary event, and we're giving them the opportunity to share what they do and how people can get involved.

In this episode we are joined by Louisa Farrow from The Federation of Children's Book Groups.

The Federation is a national voluntary self-funded organisation whose aim is to promote enjoyment and interest in children’s books and reading and to encourage the availability of books for children of all ages, from first picture books to young adult. They have groups around the country, whose members include parents and carers, teachers, and librarians, along with individual and professional members, who all want to nurture a love of reading through the sharing of books with children. They have strong national links with children’s publishers, authors, illustrators, and all organisations who support their aim of encouraging children to enjoy, read and share books and stories. 

The FCBG's National Share a Story Month is running throughout May and is an annual event designed to celebrate the fabulous world of children’s fiction and to inspire a love of reading by sharing stories. This year it has been chosen as a featured event for the National Year of Reading

In 2026, the theme of National Share a Story Month is Once Upon a Storytime  and will shine a spotlight on the joy of reading aloud and the power of stories to bring people together. This nationwide celebration invites children, families, schools, and communities to connect through books, storytelling, and the spoken word. More information and resources can be found here and there recommended read aloud books can be found here.

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In this episode we are joined by author Rashmi Sirdeshpande about her new books - Hari Kumar Ultimate Superstar (illustrated by Mamta Singh) which is a diary style middle grade and Super Uma (illustrated by Nakul P.) which is picture book with lots of sparkle and the all important unicorn.

Rashmi is as ever super busy with a number of new books coming up (details of the books mentioned below). She is also out and about doing festivals and events. The event she mentioned at the London Schools Literature Festival can be found here. She is also at the Brighton Festival on 17 May. There is a free online Super Uma event on 8th May with Puffin Schools and she is doing a free online event for the British Library about guidebooks, and discovering fascinating and delightful ways to explore place.

Books mentioned

Hari Kumar Ultimate Superstar (illustrated by Mamta Singh)

Hari Kumar Ultimate Superstar: Going for Gold (illustrated by Mamta Singh) out 13 August

Super Uma (illustrated by Nakul P.)

Amazing Asia (illustrated by Jason Lyon)

This is who I am (illustrated by Ruchi Mhasane) out in paperback 7 May

Never Show a T-Rex a Book (illustrated by Diane Ewen)

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For the National Year of Reading, we are sharing a series of short conversations with people who are involved in promoting reading with young people. This could be a programme, resources or a literary event, and we're giving them the opportunity to share what they do and how people can get involved.

In this episode we are joined by Imogen Bond from EmpathyLab

EmpathyLab develops, activates, and celebrates the power of stories to increase real-life empathy. Through reading, they help children and young people understand others, grow emotionally, and thrive. Through free events and resources to school programmes and learning webinars, EmpathyLab offers the tools to turn empathy into action. Look out for their Empathy Day Festival running 4-11 June 2026. 

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For the National Year of Reading, we are sharing a series of short conversations with people who are involved in promoting reading with young people. This could be a programme, resources or a literary event, and we're giving them the opportunity to share what they do and how people can get involved.

In this episode we are joined by Emma Bell, CEO of Chapter One.

Through their volunteer reading partners, Chapter One provide one-to-one reading support to nearly 3,500 children in Birmingham, Bradford, Doncaster, East Sussex, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Leeds, Peterborough, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Warrington and West Cumbria.

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