Written by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick  (Simon & Shuster) Young Adult, Romance, LGBTQ+ The new hate-to-love rom com from bestselling author Rachael Lippincott and debut writer Alyson Derrick, is the perfect queer romance to lose yourself in.  The plot Don’t be surprised, but at first, Molly does not like Alex.  ? Alex is brash, headstrong, bossy and too much of a flirt, thinks Molly.  Meanwhile Alex thinks Molly is weak, awkward, exasperatingly shy and ... useful.  Because while Alex can flirt and get any girl she wants, she can’t seem to keep them ..read more

Written and illustrated by Dav Pilkey  (Scholastic) This series about a half man/half-dog super hero called Dog Man is a popular kids comic series for children age 7+. Who is Dog Man? When Greg the police dog and his cop companion are blown up by a bomb, a life-saving surgery saves the day, and Dog Man, the unlikely superhero is born. With the head of a dog and the body of a human, this heroic hound digs into deception, claws after crooks, rolls over robbers, and scampers after squirrels. Will he be able to resist the call of the wild to answer the call of duty? A Captain Underpants S ..read more

Written by Nancy Gaylard and illustrated by Thuto Mvulane   (Lapa Publishers) The first day at a new school is always challenging – but even more so when you’re Deaf. Ayen’s first day starts out well – her new teacher knows Sign Language and some of the children are very friendly. But then things start to go very wrong: she trips when she has to go up and introduce herself, a boy starts teasing her for wearing a hearing aid and some of the other chidlren laugh. Ayen is mortified and gets up running out of the classroom. What happens next tests all her resolve as she gets stuck in a ..read more

Written and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers  (HarperCollins Children’s Books) What happens when we try to protect ourselves from getting hurt by locking our hearts away?  The story starts with a young girl happily curious about her world, engaged, creative, dreamy, joyful, and loving.  She loves being read to, and imagines a thousand things from the words she hears.  She watches the stars, combs the beach and explores the world with wonder. Broken Heart Then one day she experiences the loss of someone important to her.  It’s not specified who, but the chair that was ..read more

Kingsmead Book Fair & Young Writers’ Competition 2023 Get your diaries out and note these dates: 31 March and 27 May 2023 The Kingsmead Book Fair (KBF) will be held on Saturday 27 May at Kingsmead College, Rosebank, Johannesburg. This is the 12th year of the festival and it’s a much loved event on South Africa’s literary calendar, for authors and readers alike. The Children’s and Young Adults Programme The children’s and teen programme has grown phenomenally, offering the ideal setting to introduce young readers to the authors of their favourite books.  We celebrate all things books ..read more

Written by Refiloe Moahloli and Illustrated by Katlego Keogale (Pan Macmillan) Know My Name is an early chapter book about twins Rorisang and Morena who move to a new school and have to face all sorts of new challenges. Rorisang and her twin brother Morena can’t believe they have to move to a new school. Their old school was right across the street, and everyone knew them. They even got the annual award for being most likely to be late to school and the headmaster, Mr Pope, was best buddies with their dad. Mama decides they are not taking school seriously enough and she moves them to The ..read more

Written by Dianne Stewart and illustrated by Imile Wepener (Penguin) What can a boy do when he has a fear of creepy crawlies and he has to go on school camp? A fear of ‘yucky’ insects Joshua Finkelstein Bade is known as the boy who hates insects.  He has always had an insect phobia, even though he comes from a family of insect lovers.  One of his grandmothers is an entomologist (scientist who studies insects) and his grandfather, a game ranger in a game park, studies dung-beetles. Joshua is allergic to mosquitoes, squirms when he sees creepy crawlies and hates to touch slimy scu ..read more

Do you want to write a children’s book? Resources for writing children’s books Do you want to write a children’s book?  Of course you do.  Do your homework first, though and make sure you’ve figured out all the nuts and bolts before you begin. We’ve gathered some of the best sites and resources that offer inspiration and guidance. 1. This lovely site prompts you to think why you want to write a children’s book. And helps you be clear on what you want to write about. 2. Author Debbie Ridpath Ohi (that’s her work below) is one of our favourite authors and her generosity in sharing re ..read more

By Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton (Macmillan Children’s Books) Look what’s just come out!  Fans of the Tree House series will be thrilled to know there’s a new book out filled with silly stories. The stories revolve around Andy, Terry and Jill, all characters from the Tree House series.  They follow the hugely successful style of silly, fantastical stories about crazy and wild things happening to the group of friends in their magical treehouse. Like eating a pencil sharpener, or being flushed down a toilet, or shrinking themselves down so they can climb into Terry’s brain and unb ..read more

By Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton Look what’s just come out!  Fans of the Tree House series will be thrilled to know there’s a new book out filled with silly stories. The stories revolve around Andy, Terry and Jill, all characters from the Tree House series.  They follow the hugely successful style of silly, fantastical stories about crazy and wild things happening to the group of friends in their magical treehouse. Like eating a pencil sharpener, or being flushed down a toilet, or shrinking themselves down so they can climb into Terry’s brain and unblock it. I must say that coul ..read more