Good book ends hold your special books together and decorate your room.  They’re also a great way of displaying the current reads your kids are enjoying and making it easy to reach them. We’ve rounded up a few of our favourites. Go Designer Featured left and below is one of the most stylish options we know from SA design brand, Pederson + Lennard Simple, stylish and functional, they can go through each age and stage of your child’s life. The A-Z of Books Kids Cove make these whimsical books ends on order. Made in durable steel and a variety of colours, they also make lovely gifts. De ..read more

Adapted by Cedella Marley and illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton (Chronicle Books) Age 3 -6 Now in board book for the first time, One Love brings Bob Marley’s most beloved song to life for a new generation. This multicultural music book for toddlers and kids celebrates diversity with a joyful reggae beat. Children will delight in dancing to the beat and feeling the positive groove of change when one girl enlists her friends, family, and community to help transform her neighborhood for the better. Perfect for: Read-aloud at home, preschool, nursery school and early primary sch ..read more

Poetry Picks Our pick of the best poems for children and young adults “Messy Room” by Shel Silverstein (A Light In The Attic)   Whosever room this is should be ashamed! His underwear is hanging on the lamp. His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair, And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp. His workbook is wedged in the window, His sweater’s been thrown on the floor. His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV, And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door. His books are all jammed in the closet, His vest has been left in the hall. A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed, An ..read more

By Ursula Le Guin  (published by Orion) Age 12+ Ursula Le Guin is the grande dame of Sci Fi and her award winning and genre defining books have been celebrated around the world. Gifts begins the trilogy with a backstory. We meet Orrec and Gry reflecting on the ‘runaway man’, Emmon who came to them from the Lowlands. Orrec and Gry live in the Uplands, an area of poor, desolate farms where the clans each possess unique gifts. Some have the ability—with a glance, a gesture, a word—to summon animals, bring forth fire, move the land. Some have fearsome gifts: They can twist a limb, chain a ..read more

  It’s another year of the annual Kingsmead Young Writers’ Competition and we can’t wait to read your entries! What’s it all about? Celebrating the talents of young writers across South Africa, the competition is open to all school children aged 6 – 18. Kingsmead College is a leading girls’ school in Johannesburg and three years ago they launched this nationwide competition to encourage a culture of reading and writing. Can all school children enter? Yes! The writing competition aims to provide a platform for young writers’ skills and a space to explore different genres and styles wit ..read more

Celebrate World Read Aloud Day this Wednesday 7 February with a host of activities to promote literacy and community.  What’s it all about? Litworld is an organisation that launched World Read Aloud Day in 2010. They believe that stories are humankind’s greatest resource, and as such, stories are the key to creating social change. “When kids have access to spaces where they are free to explore their identities, discover their strengths, and express their dreams, they become empowered to create lasting change in their lives, in their communities, and beyond.”  Litworld run camps a ..read more

By Eoin Colfer (published by Viking Press) In the first book of the series, twelve-year-old child prodigy Artemis Fowl is a millionaire, a genius, and above all, a criminal mastermind. But even Artemis doesn’t know what he’s taken on when he kidnaps a fairy, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon Unit. These aren’t the fairies of bedtime stories—they’re dangerous! Full of unexpected twists and turns, Artemis Fowl is a riveting, magical and exciting adventure series for age 9 +. Artemis dedicates his life to criminal activity and leading the Fowl criminal empire, which has existed in his famil ..read more

By Eoin Colfer and illustrated by Matt Robertson (Barrington Stoke Publishers) Ages 7-9 Anna Liza’s mother is a brain doctor, which she explains is called a psychiatrist – ‘sye-kye-a-trist.’   Anna Liza sees that many of her patients are sad and her mum explains that it’s ‘more important to listen to her patients than to talk to them.’ Anna Liza wants to be a brain doctor too one day but for now she loves trying to cheer patients up in the waiting room, either by telling endless ‘knock knock’ jokes or chatting to them and finding out what is wrong.  When a little boy call ..read more

Written by Nicole Rimensberger and illustrated by Cristy Zinn. (Available at Ethnikids and Takealot) Witchfield is a magical adventure story about two friends, Katie and Themba, who take on a strange mystery in a small South African town. Katie Peridot quite likes being ordinary.  Which makes it very hard when stange things start to happen to her – magical things which no-one except a cleaning lady at school can seem to understand.   She can’t talk to her mother who is already rather strange herself and her best friend Mayuri is no longer her best friend. When a si ..read more

By Amonge Elethu Sinxoto and illustrated by Lebogang Thato Sekwelenkwe (New Africa Books) Ages 4-7 Isenguye is excited to start BIG school! But when she gets there, her teacher shortens her name because she can’t pronounce it.  What can Isenguye do ? Her mama has the answer. Soon all her friends will learn to uncover the power in Isenguye’s name – and their own names too. What is the power in your name? My BIG name is inspired by Amonge’s own sister’s story of having her name changed by a school teacher, altering it from Isenguye to Izzy because she could not pronounce it. Sinxoto wan ..read more