Children’s books rarely keep quiet, and this summer is no exception. Awards, research and new releases – May and June 2025 have brought plenty for teachers and parents to keep tabs on. Here’s what’s shaping reading in the UK, from the classroom to the kitchen table.
This year’s CLiPPA poetry prize landed with Colette Hiller, best known for Colossal Words for Kids, a collection designed to expand young vocabularies without putting anyone to sleep. Hiller picked up the award at the National Theatre, where children from more than 400 schools joined in, shadowing the judges and giving live performances. Poetry’s public image as the quieter cousin of fiction is wearing thin, if the energy in the Lyttelton Theatre was anything to go by.
Margaret McDonald, aged 27, made Carnegie Medal history as the youngest winner for writing with her novel Glasgow Boys. The story, which traces the lives of two boys growing up in foster care, was chosen by a panel of librarians. The Carnegie Medal for Illustration went to Olivia Lomenech Gill for Clever Crow, a non-fiction book. Both authors have pledged to use their prize money for charity and education projects, with McDonald donating her sum to Action for Children and Lomenech Gill supporting schools in Palestine. The shadowing scheme for the Carnegies continues to pull in schools and libraries, letting pupils debate, judge, and, sometimes, outshine the adults.
The School Library Association’s Information Book Award shortlist highlights non-fiction’s continued growth, even as sales in the education sector have hit a ten-year low. This year’s list covers a range of topics, from artificial intelligence and physics to hair and animal kingdoms. The awards now feature a strong book club element: schools sign up, receive a set of shortlisted books, and vote on winners. Four Children’s Choice prizes and a golden bookmark are up for grabs.
Demand for inclusive children’s books shows no signs of flagging. The charity Inclusive Books for Children has quintupled its book-gifting scheme for 2025, supplying 60 boxes, each with 100 titles, to schools and community libraries that need them most. These books, reviewed and chosen for their reflection of UK society, aim to boost enjoyment and self-esteem among pupils. Last year’s recipients reported higher reading enjoyment and a greater sense of belonging.
Book sales data brings a less rosy view. The Children’s General Non-Fiction category sold over one million copies from January to May, but this figure represents a 22% drop over two years. DK has edged ahead of Quarto as the largest non-fiction publisher, while Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara’s Little People, BIG DREAMS series, especially the Taylor Swift edition, remains a mainstay on charts. Sales of school-related books have dropped 9% year-on-year in bookshops, with budgets tight and digital resources more prevalent.
Fiction and illustrated titles still pull their weight. Shrapnel Boys by Jenny Pearson stands out for its Second World War setting and focus on resilience in adversity, while Andy Shepherd launches The Wood Where Magic Grows, a new series already on its way into classrooms. My Name is Samim by Fidan Meikle, a debut centred on the refugee experience, comes with new teaching resources for Refugee Week.
Several new releases target the early years and key stages. Pia’s Pet Club: Puppy Problem by Serena Patel follows a determined pet-lover, while Get Dressed! by Katy Canales presents a whistle-stop tour through clothing history. Chris Riddell’s A Mermaid’s Diary, Neill Cameron’s Donut Squad: Take Over the World! and Nadine Aisha Jassat’s The House at the Edge of the World add variety for primary readers. For older children, Jessica Townsend’s Silverborn: The Mystery of Morrigan Crow and Bryony Pearce’s Aphrodite expand the options for summer reading, while Akwaeke Emezi’s Somadina draws on Igbo folklore for a different take on young adult fantasy.
On the campaign and charity front, WHSmith has joined with the National Literacy Trust for the Get Kids Reading with Diary of a Wimpy Kid campaign. Every book sold in WHSmith Travel stores until September supports literacy projects in areas with low reading enjoyment. The statistics behind this initiative are sobering: only one in three children and young people enjoys reading in their spare time, the lowest rate in 20 years.
The National Literacy Trust, in partnership with Bloomberg, continues to create new school libraries, targeting communities hit hardest by cost-of-living pressures. Each space comes with 500 new books and a trained staff member, aiming to create a reading hub within the school.
Other news includes the announcement of the Indie Book Awards shortlist and the return of the Kelpies Prizes for Writing and Illustration in Scotland. Inclusive Books for Children’s expanded gifting scheme, new book clubs for the SLA Information Book Award, and a surge in festival and arts events round out the month’s activity.
On the bestseller lists, familiar faces hold the fort. Bluey: My Dad Is Awesome, Cozy Corner, and the ever-hungry caterpillar continue to shift copies, while the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and Little People, BIG DREAMS remain popular in their respective categories. The market is evolving, but young readers still reach for the old favourites alongside the new contenders.
For schools, parents, and anyone trying to keep children reading, it’s a time to look beyond sales charts. Libraries, clubs, and campaigns are busy, and the children’s sector, though battered, is far from beaten. If you’ve ever doubted whether young readers have something to say, you haven’t been to a poetry prize ceremony lately.
