News
Don't miss out on the very latest news and announcements from BookTrust, the largest children's reading charity in the UK.
Read our latest news
"Creativity has never been more important": Waterstones Children's Laureate Cressida Cowell launches creative summer camp with all star line-up
Waterstones Children’s Laureate Cressida Cowell and the best-selling author illustrator of the How to Train Your Dragon and Wizards of Once series, has today announced a week of ‘Summer Camp’ activity celebrating children’s innate creativity and showcasing the enormous wealth of talent across the UK.
Bookstart founder and children's books pioneer Wendy Cooling dies
BookTrust remembers Wendy Cooling, a children's book pioneer who founded the flagship programme Bookstart.
Minister confirms funding for BookTrust’s Bookstart programme in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Education Minister Peter Weir has announced that an initiative to encourage parents to read with their babies and young children is to be part-funded by the Department of Education.
BookTrust selects The Runaway Pea for 2020 Time to Read campaign
Over 750,000 copies of Kjartan Poskitt and Alex Willmore's hilarious picture book will be given out to reception children during the Autumn term
BookTrust gives away over 50,000 copies of picture book My Pet Star to help families during lockdown
BookTrust is giving away free copies of the charming children’s book My Pet Star by Corrinne Averiss and Rosalind Beardshaw to libraries, foodbanks, children’s centres and refuge centres as part of its Pyjamarama campaign.
BookTrust Storytime Prize Shortlist Unveiled
The shortlist for the annual BookTrust Storytime Prize is here. Now in its second year and managed in association with the CILIP Youth Libraries Group, the prize celebrates and promotes the best books for sharing with children.
Reading and traditional children’s activities surge in lockdown – but significant minority are at risk of falling behind
New research suggests that whilst many families are dealing with lockdown by taking part in new activities, a significant minority of families are struggling to engage with education and reading.
Children's Laureate Cressida Cowell's tenure extended until 2022
Today, we're excited to announce the extension of Cressida Cowell’s tenure as Waterstones Children’s Laureate by an additional 12 months. The bestselling author and illustrator of the How to Train Your Dragon and The Wizards of Once series will continue in the role until June 2022.
#UnitedByBooks: Leading children’s reading organisations, authors and illustrators come together to support families at home
Children’s reading organisations including BookTrust, Scottish BookTrust, Coram Beanstalk and Authorfy join forces to support families at home.
Waterstones Children's Laureate Cressida Cowell launches new BookTrust Home Time hub for families
Waterstones Children's Laureate Cressida Cowell launches BookTrust Home Time, a new hub of resources and activities for families while children are home from school.
Shortlists for 2020 CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals announced
Today the eight-strong shortlists for the prestigious CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals, the UK’s oldest book awards for children and young people, are revealed.
Sharna Jackson inspires the next generation of authors in Bristol
Author Sharna Jackson visited pupils at two schools in Bristol as part of BookTrust Represents, talking about her debut novel High-Rise Mystery, the inspiration behind the characters and where she gets her ideas for stories from.
Our Pori Drwy Stori Celebration Winners!
On Friday February 28th the Pori Drwy Stori explorers went on an adventure to Newport to meet the amazing rhymers at St Andrews Primary School. Dewr Dafis and Aled Antur sang, rhymed and shared a story with the Reception children and their teachers to reward them for the creative work they’ve been doing with the Pori Drwy Stori Reception programme this year.
Author Dan Freedman talks knife crime, gang culture and sibling rivalry as part of his Northern Ireland school tour
This week Dan Freedman, football journalist and creator of the Jamie Johnson books (now television series), visited schools around Northern Ireland to get more children reading and writing.
