Yesterday on the Today Programme on BBC Radio Four, many of us listened to renowned children's author Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Robin Stevens of Murder Most Unladylike Mysteries fame discussing how the lack of critical discourse and the under funding of libraries has resulted in a "narrowing down" of the choice of books parents are picking up for their children to read.

Cottrell-Boyce took to Twitter to vent his frustration on the lack of critical conversation about children’s books, before then being interviewed on Today.

He commented that "Report after report...has shown that reading for pleasure is a key thing for children achieving happiness...it helps attainment at school, but above all else, it helps children be happy. To read for pleasure you have to have choice."

He said the choice of children’s books on offer seems to be "narrowing down", that people are not pointing towards good books, and that there is no critical conversation around children’s books, which hampers their visibility in society. 

We know from the breadth of books we read here at LoveReading4Kids that there are tons of amazing books for children out there, but it's tough for them to get cut through in this age of celebrity. 

Stevens commented: "There's a name recognition thing which is a huge problem, and there is a small and shrinking children's review market but I think it all stems from a lack of access to libraries.

It means that children don't have access to librarians, to people who know books, who can recommend new and exciting authors, different stories they haven't heard of, to them and their parents. Because we are missing that connection point, parents are confused, children are confused and they reach for established brands, stories they know, older stories from parents' childhoods. We are not connecting parents and kids with new voices, and this is a huge, huge problem."

Here at LoveReading4Kids, we champion new voices every day, we shout about books we adore every day. Books where all children can find themselves reflected. Fiction, and non-fiction, for every interest and every reading level. Since 2005 we have helped families across the nation find their children's next favourite book. You can filter by age range, and interest. You can read opening extracts to try before you buy. You can read reviews from children, as well as our children's book experts. Your children can even share their own reviews of books they've loved and see them published on the site.

This Summer, we launched as a bookstore with social purpose so you can buy from the site too, and know you are helping get more books in schools. Buy a book with us, and support a school. 25% of the cover price of every book sold can be donated to a school of your choice. If you don't have an affinity with a particular school, 10% of the cover price will be put into a pot for our Funding for Schools Scheme prioritising schools in real need.

Stevens also commented: "I think if we had more value on reading in the curriculum and more value on reading society-wide, and that does start at school, I think the conversation would change."

Our LoveReading4Schools portal supports schools across the UK wanting to embed a reading for pleasure culture. On their schools dashboard, they can create their own tailored recommended reading lists, adopt our expertly curated lists, and share these lists with their parents enabling them to make better informed purchasing decisions for their kids. 

Children’s authors recommended by both authors on the programme included Sharna Jackson, Elle McNicoll, Joe Coelho, Patrice Lawrence, Phil Earle, Serena Patel, Nadia Shireen, M.G. Leonard, and S.F. Said.

If you're looking to be inspired by the breadth of new and exciting books on offer for children, go and browse by age range, dive into our fiction categories, or if non-fiction if your child's bag, there are some brilliant selections here. We must of course highlight our Star Books, the best of the best books of all that we read, that become our books of the year. Check out our Best Books of 2022 Collection.

Happy reading.