Marianne Doherty

A colourful collage of book covers. Dark blue text on a green background says books we love in March.

Books we love in March 💙

Every month, we review dozens of books for children and teenagers.

Here are our top picks this month 👇

https://bit.ly/487zIVT

Helen in Wonderland's London Marathon for BookTrust Help Helen Tamblyn-Saville raise money to support BookTrust

£22.78 to go to hit my fundraising target for BookTrust and a long run to do this morning. Can I get there before I get back? 🤔

www.justgiving.com/page/helen-t...

#kidlituk

Sounds like you have a great week planned! Hope the kids have a great time.

#KidsBooksFriday

We are reading The Final Year at the moment and plan to create something with our Y6 children using Matt’s poetry and Joe’s illustration style. We have Bethan visiting the week after, and the Zeno Sworder book is a recent favourite I’ll be sharing 🙂

#KidsBooksFriday

What books will you add to this list?
#kidsbooksfriday

Oh that’s fab. Hope you have a brilliant day. Bet they’ll love Land of Roar.

@mrskirstbarrett.bsky.social was saying the same. If we can help teachers discover even just one new author this #WorldBookDay it could make such a difference.

#KidsBooksFriday

No class to share with now but my choices would be Danny Champion of the World (the first independent reader I chose when i finished the reading scheme), The Lion the Witch (so readable) and the Wardrobe and The Legend of Podkin One-Ear (fabulous last page) #KidsBooksFriday

Junior Book of the Month: Celtic Folk and Fairy Tales by Lari Don We are a national charity bringing the benefits of reading and writing to everyone in Scotland.

Last chance to win! #Celtic Folk and Fairy Tales is Scottish Book Trust's Book of the Month, and you only have until 11.59pm tomorrow to enter the competition to win a shiny copy full of magic & monsters!
www.scottishbooktrust.com/competitions...
@elisecillustration.com @discoverkelpies.bsky.social

Ooh I haven’t heard of that one. Definitely one to check out. Thanks for sharing.

I have no real idea of how book design works and who is involved in it, but I always massively appreciate the end result. Particularly with non-fiction, great book design can truly elevate a book. And particularly for dyslexic readers it can make all the difference for a readable, accessible book.

#WorldBookDay #KidsBooksFriday
These oldies and not-so-oldies will be on the menu next week

These both look brilliant!

2/2 #KidsBooksFriday #KidLit
Daisy Hirst's There Is Not Usually A Hole is full of drama and humour and courage and loyalty and friendship. Special mention for the worm's library. Magnificent.

1/2 #KidsBooksFriday #KidLit #DiscoverIrishKidsBooks
I will be pressing into all relevant hands two new utterly delightful picture books

First up: Mary Murphy's Oh, Thank You! Joyful rhyming text, perfect for reading aloud, please-&-thankyou, gratitude & appreciation, though beautiful illustrations

I know I’d want to read about an angry feminist mouse with a sword and her gay frog prince best friend. But hey, I’m only the one buying all the books, not commissioning them, so what do I know!

#KidsBooksFriday

Ooh I didn’t realise it’s a series. Have the rest been translated?

I didn’t know this. How sad. So many of the best kids books have animal protagonists. Claude, Mr Penguin, Grimwood, Mr Wolf’s Class, Podkin, Bunny vs Monkey, Adventuremice, Varjak Paw, The Murderer’s Ape, Calvin and Hobbes!

#KidsBooksFriday

I think if there’s one week authors should be shouting about their books it’s next week. And your books, Ice Cream Boy and I Am Wolf are all very much worth shouting about.

Ben's Gargoyle by Keith Gray I Am Reading: Ben's Gargoyle by Keith Gray

This week #IAmReading BEN'S GARGOYLE by #KeithGray, illustrated by @keithrobinson.bsky.social, an awesome gothic tale with great characters and themes, told in an accessible and evocative style. Great stuff!

👉 alastairc.com/i-am-reading...

@barringtonstoke.bsky.social #KidLitUk #BensGargoyle

Cover of the book This Book Will Make You an Artist written by Ruth Millington and illustrated by Ellen Surrey, published by Nosy Crow. It won the ALCS Educational Writers' Award.

Cover of The Adventures of Rap Kid by MC Grammar. The author, aka Jacob Mitchell won the ALCS Ruth Rendell Award for Services to Literacy.

Congratulations to the winners of the @alcs.co.uk
Annual Awards, incl winners of the Educational Writers' Award, in partnership with @societyofauthors.bsky.social, and the Ruth Rendell Award for Services to Literacy, in partnership with @literacy-trust.bsky.social
booksforkeeps.co.uk/2026-alcs-an...

Orange and green cover. Rainforest backdrop with boy and girl. Leopard, cat , monkey and tropical bird.

Mixture of midnight blue and turquoise. Girl, hybrid book cat & gargoyle standing on top of compass, above city facade amidst a starry sky.

Children trying art projects. Pictured artists including Frida Kahlo & Yayoi Kutsama. Spotlight on unusual & classic artists across a range of mediums. Advice to children on how to create similar projects. Predominant colours of green, lilac ,pink and orange.

Blue background. Green plants & orange flowers. Greenery. Hamza pictured with a zebra 🦓, giraffe🦒, elephant 🐘, toucan, ring tailed lemur, monkey, gorilla 🦍, macaw 🦜, snake 🐍 , cheetah🐆 , meerkats & bugs.

From ecotastic reads to magical worlds to practical & engaging interactive art projects across a range of mediums inspired by classic & contemporary artists from around the world to fantastic animal facts #NationalYearofReading2026
#WorldBookDay #KidsBooksFriday #KidLitUK

#KidsBooksFriday

Lucky kids! Hope it all goes well.

I think we could all do with some sunshine. Fingers crossed!

It’s a French murder mystery set in a world where there is an anthropomorphic world of animals living as neighbours to the human world. It’s a lovely, quirky wee tale but with hard hitting messages about the meat industry.