Alastair Chisholm

The Double Life of Ted Amos by Simon James Green I Am Reading: The Double Life of Ted Amos by Simon James Green

This week #IAmReading THE DOUBLE LIFE OF TED AMOS by @simonjamesgreen.bsky.social. Can loser Ted reinvent himself as The Cool Kid? Absolutely not… Cringing, heartwarming, but be warned: will make you snort-giggle in public spaces!
@scholasticuk.bsky.social #KidLitUk
alastairc.com/i-am-reading...

Thanks Kirsten! The final book is on its way, and I can't wait to see it out in the world!

What can I say...this is a great follow up to I am Wolf, gutted and a little excited that I need to wait now for I am Dragon.
Brilliant characters and a story with a slight twist too, fabulous! Get it on your to be read piles
@alastairc.com

Thanks so much – glad you enjoyed it! 😊

I remember reading Peepo to my own children when they were small – a lovely story that I (and they) never tired of, full of tiny details and soft words. ❤️

August – Blitzers, Silly Sausage Dogs, and Edinburgh Events! Alastair Chisholm's August round-up: Blitzers from Barrington Stoke, One Silly Sausage Dog from Hachette, plus Edinburgh events.

🚨 NEW BOOKS! EDINBURGH EVENTS! 🚨
August is coming, and there is a TON of stuff going on. Join me at @edbookfest.bsky.social for my new books #Blitzers and #OneSillySausageDog, plus more free August events – read on for more! alastairc.com/blog/2025073...
#KidLitUk @barringtonstoke.bsky.social

A poster advertising the Waterstones 25% OFF deal. Poster shows the cover of ONE SILLY SAUSAGE DOG, a picture book by Alastair Chisholm, illustrated by Alex Willmore. Book cover shows a sausage dog chasing after balls. Poster also shows the message "Pre-order now with code: SUMMER25. 28-31 July. Online Only"

🚨LAST DAY 🚨 to pre-order #OneSillySausageDog online and get 25% off this tale of doggy nonsense from me and the brilliant #AlexWillmore – grab it quick with code SUMMER25!

👉 www.waterstones.com/book/one-sil...

#WPreorder @waterstones.bsky.social #KidLitUk @hachettechildrens.bsky.social

This is absolutely brilliant, thank you so much! And there are a couple of books on there I haven't read myself – they're going on the TBR pile! 📚📚📚
#Blitzers @barringtonstoke.bsky.social @harpercollins.bsky.social #KidLitUk

This is fab, thanks Tom! I'm so glad you liked it 😊

Gone are pogs & tamagotchis - the Blitzers craze is here! Thanks @barringtonstoke.bsky.social - the latest from @alastairc.com poses interesting discussions around technology, corporations & toxic masculinity. Such a thought-provoking, gripping adventure
checkemoutbooks.wordpress.com/2025/07/27/b...

A poster advertising the Waterstones 25% OFF deal. Poster shows the cover of ONE SILLY SAUSAGE DOG, a picture book by Alastair Chisholm, illustrated by Alex Willmore. Book cover shows a sausage dog chasing after balls. Poster also shows the message "Pre-order now with code: SUMMER25. 28-31 July. Online Only"

Lovely news – ONE SILLY SAUSAGE DOG by me and the fab #AlexWillmore is in the @waterstoneskids.bsky.social SUMMER25 promo, yay!

Preorder with code SUMMER25 for 25% off our tale of madcap doggy silliness… 🐾🐾 👉 www.waterstones.com/book/one-sil...

#WPreorder #KidLitUk @hachettechildrens.bsky.social

Thank you! It's a project that makes my geeky heart sing 😊🛰️

Tiny Voyager, Mighty Mission is ready for lift-off! Moon+Bird acquires Alastair Chisholm's non-fiction picture book 'Tiny Voyager, Mighty Mission' about the NASA Voyager 1 Space Probe

It's early days (release is 2027 for Important Reasons, read on to find out why!) but I'm thrilled to be sharing this news…
alastairc.com/blog/2025072...
@moonandbirdbooks.bsky.social #KidLitUk #Voyager #NASA

Tidemagic: The Many Faces of Ista Flit by Clare Harlow I Am Reading: Tidemagic: The Many Faces of Ista Flit by Clare Harlow

This week's #middlegrade is Tidemagic: The Many Faces of Ista Flit by #ClareHarlow. It's a twisty, atmospheric mystery with lots of great imagination and characters, and I really enjoyed it – more here!👇
alastairc.com/i-am-reading...

@penguinukbooks.bsky.social #IAmReading #KidLitUk #Tidemagic

That's so fab, thank you #ChrisBradford! It's a really great selection to be part of 😊

Bitesize Recommends: Five books for reluctant readers - BBC Bitesize BBC Bitesize brings you five great summer reads - recommended by best-selling author Chris Bradford - to help make sure you love what you pick up and read over the holidays.

Thank you #ChrisBradford and #BBCBitesize for including Barrington Stoke reads from @alastairc.com, @philearle.bsky.social and @melindasalisbury.com in this fab round-up!

I’m so excited about this! Voyager is so incredible, it just makes my space-loving heart sing. I’ve wanted to tell its very human story for so long. I can’t wait to share it! 🛰️🪐❤️ @moonandbirdbooks.bsky.social #KidLitUk #Voyager

Fantastic, glad you enjoyed it, and thanks to @mariannedoherty.bsky.social for the recommendation! 😊

From cover of Reek by Alastair Chisholm Orange and blue image of a person swinging through the air

Thanks @mariannedoherty.bsky.social for encouraging me to push this up my reading pile Reek by @alastairc.com is another masterpiece set in a future where the air is no longer breathable...people need to pay to be able to breath. A @barringtonstoke.bsky.social gem of a novel

Cover of a children's book, white and green background colours. Foreground shows an illustrated child with long dark braids wearing a grey hoodie, black and white dotted leggings, with wings on her back. In the background is a tall, wobbly, tumbledown building. Title Ellora McGee, Trainee Banshee: The New School appears above her head. Author's name Sinéad O'Hart appears beneath her feet, and beneath that again is the illustrator's name, Úna Woods.

Delighted to share the cover of my new book, Ellora McGee, Trainee Banshee: The New School! Art by @unawoods.bsky.social, pub Gill Books, Sept 4th. Ellora's just started at a new school, and it's hard to keep her budding banshee powers secret. But what if they're about to save the day? 📚🇮🇪💫

Aw, thanks! 😊 We’re lucky in Edinburgh to have so many indie bookshops, and the Topping folk are lovely!

May & June 2025 – Rhyming Review Roundup One of my favourite parts of writing my blog is writing the rhyming reviews for each book. Now don’t get me wrong, there are times when the words (and the rhymes) just aren’t coming and I curse mys…

Here is a round up of my rhyming reviews for May and June. For some awesome Children’s literature and some mediocre poetry: they are a labour of love but my god they are an effort! tomsbookcorner.wordpress.com/2025/07/12/m...

NLF Reading Challenge Author Session Alastair Chisholm will be taking part in an author Q&A session for the Neev Literature Festival Reading Challenge

Hello to everyone taking part in the #NeevLiteratureFestival Reading Challenge! I'll be online for an author session on Thursday 17th July, so join me as I chat about #IAmWolf, reading, writing, and anything else!
Find out more 👉 alastairc.com/events/20250...
#KidLitUk @nosycrow.bsky.social

Libraries are one of the rare places children have CHOICE without gatekeepers saying “aren’t you too old for that”/“how about a PROPER book” etc. Choice drives reading for pleasure. If we truly care about reading for pleasure, we have to protect our libraries.

(I mean they can still nudge towards what they think are proper books but when you can borrow a whole stack, they’ll often let the stuff kids choose slip in too. Or let kids browse through things that pull them in while AT the library.)

Nate Yu's Blast from the Past by Maisie Chan I Am Reading: Nate Yu's Blast from the Past by Maisie Chan

My #middlegrade read this week is #NateYusBlastFromThePast by @maisiechanwrites.bsky.social – a funny, charming ghost story, with a mystery that cleverly sneaks in messages of history, culture and belonging (and ants! 🐜). Loved it!

#PicadillyPress #IAmReading #KidLitUk
alastairc.com/i-am-reading...

George Mackay Brown Peat Cutting And we left our beds in the dark And we drove a cart to the hill And we buried the jar of ale in the bog And our small blades glittered in the dayspring And we tore dark squares, thick pages From the Book of Fire And we spread them wet on the heather And horseflies, poisonous hooks, Stuck in our arms And we laid off our coats And our blades sank deep into water And the lord of the bog, the kestrel Paced round the sun And at noon we leaned on our tuskars – The cold unburied jar Touched, like a girl, a circle of burning mouths And the boy found a wild bees’ comb And his mouth was a sudden brightness And the kestrel fell And a lark flashed a needle across the west And we spread a thousand peats Between one summer star And the black chaos of fire at the earth’s centre.

And we left our beds in the dark
And we drove a cart to the hill
And we buried the jar of ale in the bog
And our small blades glittered in the dayspring
And we tore dark squares, thick pages
From the Book of Fire…

—George Mackay Brown, “Peat Cutting”
published in Selected Poems: 1954–1992
#poetry

Copy of children’s mystery book Friends and Traitors, magnifying glass, pen, London A-Z, torch, coded message.

Last chance to book! ⬇️
Join me at Finchley Church End Library on Sat 12th July at 11am. Writing tips, Q&A, and an interactive WW2 mystery to solve!
Find out the inspiration behind Friends and Traitors and crack an MI5 cold case!
Ages 7 up.
Book tickets at t.co/6Tk6pEryy6

@nosycrow.bsky.social

Readable and dyslexia-friendly books for children Explore some of our favourite readable texts for children, including graphic novels, illustrated non-fiction and dyslexia-friendly printed books.

A list of really readable books for every child 📚✨