Mat Tobin

Round 1 of 4 played. It's actually awesome!!

About to play my 10 year old's boardgame! It's taken him several days to make. Looks awesome! #RainbowFriends

@robcrossley4.bsky.social
@jonnybid.bsky.social

SF, I cried several times throughout from joy and its sheer beauty. I loved every single moment.

"Would their child become a diviner? A healer? A spirit waker?"
In Spirit Warriors, @ashleythorpe.bsky.social conjures a world of ancestral magic, power, and purpose rooted in Jamaican folklore. A cracking opening and concept! Perfect for KS2 readers.
Publishing 14 August #Usborne #SpiritWarriors

That's a lovely play on 'growth', Ursula. I'll absolutely pass this on to the group. We especially enjoyed the illustrated reference list at the back - a lovely touch!

Are we allowed to know if you're working on something new?
I hope you're allowed the time to create and develop as much as you have with the last two graphic novels. It's clear that Botticelli is deep in research but also love too.

You're so talented. Although the art is a delight, I just relished all the research and details. You could tell that every single stroke mattered

@umurrayhusted.bsky.social An absolute, absolute, absolute joy! I've just finished #BotticellisApprentice We read and discussed #ACatStory at our #LetsTalkGraphicNovels group a few years back & you kindly showed up. This is just as wonderful. Congratulations - I wish it every possible success!

Book cover for I Am Raven by Alastair Chisholm

Book cover for North and the Only One by Vashti Hardy

Book cover for Scrap by Guy Bass

Book cover for Mega Robo Bros: Power Up by Neill Cameron

Following on from this week’s sci-fi chat from @jacquisydney.bsky.social and @pgbellwriter.bsky.social, what are your #KidsBooksFriday sci-fi recommendations? We’re lucky to have the phenomenal @alastairc.com leading the charge and I’ve read a few other brilliant examples lately. #KidLitUK #KidLit

Brilliant as always from Megan.

📚 “Somewhere you’ll be safe. Somewhere you’ll get the answers you want so badly. A magical library…”

Sangu Mandanna ’s #VanyaandtheWildHunt is a new fantasy that fuses British folklore with Indian mythology

✨ Out now from
@macmillankidsuk.bsky.social

#childrensbooks

📚✨ From @theemmapress.bsky.social spellbinding poetry

Theis' poems conjure tenderness & tension, & speak to uncertainty, identity & longing. One moment gentle, the next crackling with teeth — perfect for readers on the cusp of everything. Out 18_09 & beautifully illustrated by Kate Lucy Foster.

Absolute YAY to more Andy Stanton!

There are some amazing graphic novels coming out in the next few months, and a lot of them are sequels to very popular texts. Be sure to keep an eye out for these as they're going to be very popular in classes. #kidlit @robcrossley4.bsky.social @mariannedoherty.bsky.social @mattobin.bsky.social

@mattobin.bsky.social
Hi Mat,
We have loved shadowing the Klaus Flugge prize this year! I have emailed you our photos from across the six classes but our winners were: Slug Life (2 classes), The Cafe at the Edge of the Woods (2 classes), The Cat Who Couldn't Be Bothered and The Christmas Mouse.

We loved reading the children's varied responses!
@mattobin.bsky.social

“I wish you were here in this great big meadow, like a sea of lacy clouds…”

A sensory-rich, heart-deep picturebook from Kathy Stinson and Ojibwe artist Maya McKibbin. A gentle exploration of longing, love and the wild around us.

I do love🌿 #GreystoneKids books #IfYouWereHere

Louise Rosenblatt reminded us that reading is a transaction — not a transfer. The text doesn't hand down meaning; it waits. And in the space between reader and page, meaning is made, shaped by the child’s questions, memories, wonderings. We read with the text, not at it (2/2)

What I’ve always loved about reading with children is the way we invite them to step into the story — to safely test their thoughts like stepping-stones, to linger in ambiguity, to imagine boldly. Whether one-to-one or in chorus, that shared wondering is, for me, where the magic begins (1/2)

“Reading a poem for someone else is like eating their dinner and describing the menu.” –Rosenblatt

Many teachers create space for children to experience texts firsthand — to feel, to wonder, to respond.
How can we continue to honour that personal encounter in every classroom?

@cressidacowell.bsky.social does it again!
#DoomoftheDarkwing is bursting with her trademark humour, sketches, scrawls & chaos.
🗺️ A map to pore over
🔥 Typography that's emotionally charged
🐉 Dragons galore!
A brilliant way to hook readers in.

@hodderbooks.bsky.social
@worldbookdayuk.bsky.social

🌱 There’s real poetic joy in I Heard a Bird by @robramsden.bsky.social @scallywagpress.bsky.social

Its calm rhythm and sensory attentiveness model how we might slow down, notice, & connect with nature.
A gentle prompt to listen & appreciate that “This is me” is just the beginning of the story.

A leaf becomes a violin. A garden becomes a stage. In Hannah and the Violin, Satoshi Kitamura reminds us that the natural world is alive with music—if only we listen. A joyful celebration of play, imagination and being outside. Thank you @scallywagpress.bsky.social !”

That's a smashing connection, Bob

Raw and lyrical, #OntheEdge dives into brotherhood, belonging,& a boy’s fight to hold on.
Just read the first chapter, @nmgarrard & was struck by the underlying tension in Rhys future already - a liminal life!
A YA novel coming this August from @oldbarnbooks.bsky.social
#YAlit #OnTheEdge

A little book that asks a big question to young readers. Profound on so many levels.

Lovely idea, Marianne. I'm going to say Natalie Babbitt's 'Tuck Everlasting' (novel) - the first to show me an author who respected the wisdom of a child. I could recommend all day long. I've added a picturebook too - Shirley Hughes 'Alfie' which I adore.

Book cover for Bumble & Snug and the Angry Pirates by Mark Bradley.

I reckon we could use some more kids’ book chat on BlueSky, so I thought I might attempt a #KidsBooksFriday chat. Let’s start with… What is one book you’d love every child to get the chance to read? Mine would be @markbradley.bsky.social’s Bumble & Snug and the Angry Pirates. #KidLitUK #KidLit

Klaus Flugge Prize 2025 2025 Honouring a Visionary, Spotlighting New Voices #KlausFluggeCup Competition closes 27th June #KlausFluggePrize Winner Announced 11th September

Hope this works, Nic! docs.google.com/presentation...