ALT Image of an event flyer.
Text reads:
“THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS
€ ANTIRACIST EDUCATION
Wednesday, Jan 28th | 5-6:30pm GMT
EMC & CLPE, Webber Street, London, SE1 8QW, FREE. All welcome, registration essential.
Join us for a facilitated community discussion exploring the antiracist archives (ILEA & EMC) - bringing educators & creators together.
A chance to browse archival items relating to antiracism, education, and children's literature and participate in a community conversation about lessons from the past and plans for the future!”
Against a background of 2 shades of blue.
3 red framed circles down the right side with head & shoulder photos of the contributors.
4 book cover images along the bottom: Teaching & Racism; Dragon’s Teeth; The Story of Britain’s Black Nurses; The Story of the Windrush.
“Look beyond Lunar New Year to harness the global ESEA wave.”
The ‘surge’ in ESEA-authored books & the need for ESEA children’s books to expand beyond the seasonal and dragons…
Eric Huang in @thebookseller (5/12/25)
thebookseller.com/features/b…
ALT Image of an event flyer.
Text reads:
“THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS
€ ANTIRACIST EDUCATION
Wednesday, Jan 28th | 5-6:30pm GMT
EMC & CLPE, Webber Street, London, SE1 8QW, FREE. All welcome, registration essential.
Join us for a facilitated community discussion exploring the antiracist archives (ILEA & EMC) - bringing educators & creators together.
A chance to browse archival items relating to antiracism, education, and children's literature and participate in a community conversation about lessons from the past and plans for the future!”
Against a background of 2 shades of blue.
3 red framed circles down the right side with head & shoulder photos of the contributors.
4 book cover images along the bottom: Teaching & Racism; Dragon’s Teeth; The Story of Britain’s Black Nurses; The Story of the Windrush.
An illustration from My Mummy Marches that works beautifully as a classroom prompt for discussions around peaceful protest, civic engagement and values. Great for PSHE & citizenship.
🌈🌈🌈Picture book images which have given me total joy today.
#VincentXKirsch
ALT First in a series of 3 images: white boy wearing white shirt and blue striped tie bends his head. Speech bubble reads “Archie Lives Jack”
ALT Image 2: Black boy wearing top with different patterns in green purple and tan, bends head. Speech bubble reads, “Zack loves Archie”.
ALT Image 3: both boys walk side by side, looking at each other & smiling. Both wear suits, blue striped (Archie) and green checked (Zack) and pointed tan shoes. Archie carries an orange rucksack- a heart pops out the top. Zack wears a matching rucksack. The same heart is tucked under his left arm.
“A profound wish that we make a better, fairer future for us all”(Eileen Primary Teacher, Letterbox Library reviewer).
Radhika Natarajan @ChaoTayiana Alexander Mostov @wideeyeded
Full review/to buy:
letterboxlibrary.com/product…
ALT Black woman with gold-rimmed glasses, pink head wrap, gold necklace, white loose top and green/blue patterned wrap skirt, stands with her right fist raised, left fist clenched & hanging by her side. Behind her are more women of colour.
“The success of the Author Academy is evidence of the huge wealth of talent in underrepresented communities just waiting for the opportunity to shine” @kenwilsonmax on @HarperCollinsUK Author Academy.
Applications open until:
⚡️Feb 6th!⚡️
Applications are OPEN for the HarperCollins Author Academy. A free, six-week virtual writing programme for unagented writers from underrepresented ethnic backgrounds. Find out more and apply now at harpercollinsacademy.co.uk
Double checking you all saw Imogen Russel Williams’ last Children’s Books Roundup in @guardian and then also that you spotted Phoenix Brothers by Sita Brahmachari & The Other Father Christmas @JRichardsAuthor & Priscilla Mante @storymixstudio
And also…
theguardian.com/books/2025/d…
…We should probably let you know said Other Father Christmas does in fact exist since we met him last year ⬇️
@storymixstudio
ALT A man of colour wearing a full Santa costume stands and reads from a laptop screen on a stand. To his right is a woman of colour sat on a sofa, wearing a red/black floor length dress, trainers and a Santa hat. She’s looking up and laughing. We see bookshelves in the background.
January is here, which means a whole load of brilliant new children's books for us to enjoy!
Whether they’re a teeny toddler or a very particular teen, get their year off to a great start with one of these books 👇
bit.ly/487zIVT
ALT A collage of colourful book covers. The text reads books we love in January.
⚡️Representation of Black people in children’s literature-
The Listen to this Story! exhibition, curated by @ksandsoconnor, is on tour and is at Cambridge Central Library until 16th Jan.
bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx23…
Delighted that @ksandsoconnor will continue our @BooksForKeeps column for an eighth year. Next one looks at books featuring children of colour in care / alternative family situations. Fostering, adoption, care homes for example. Please share suggestions! Thx
When teachers read for themselves, they bring richer experiences to the classroom — talking authentically about books and inspiring children to read for pleasure. Explore more in our free booklet: clpe.org.uk/research/reading…
🥳Welcome to 2026.
And I know we keep shuffling you over to our Instagram account BUT keep shuffling if you’d like to see our Letterbox Library Year in Review. All the highs: books, launches, ponies 🐴 & a splash of ABBA.
Heads, Dep Heads, Snr./Literacy Leaders-
☀️your 2026 wake-up 😊course:
FREE online intro to @clpe1’s #PowerOfReading flagship training & how it can scaffold your English curriculum.
➡️clpe.org.uk/training/webinar…
“But asking awkward questions is better than accepting the silence of a still-narrow literary monoculture.”
The nuances of working class identities for creatives, targeted initiatives and hope for @NewWritingNorth’s The Bee project.
From #TheBooksellerMostRead.
In May, Mo Fanning discussed how publishing’s diversity drive throws up some difficult questions about identity and class 👇
#TheBooksellerMostReadebx.sh/YieiHY
“Is 2026 the year DEI dies?”
Comment by @penny_author
With specific reference to disability representation in children’s books and to the Reflecting Disability Project: reflectingdisability.co.uk
Following President Trump’s orders in January 2025 to end diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in federal government, across the Atlantic we have felt the knock-on effect, says @penny_author 👇 ebx.sh/xnu60l
✨ Happy New Year from all of us at CLPE! ✨
We hope you’ve had a restful break. We can’t wait to welcome you back next term and keep supporting you in bringing the joy of reading and writing into your classrooms. 💫