Children’s Literature News April 2026
Children’s book news for April 2026: Michael Rosen wins the Hans Christian Andersen Award, CLiPPA and UKLA shortlists arrive, and Puffin launches its new picture book list, Puffin Studio.
Recommended reading books for primary & secondary aged children in the UK
Brian Fitzgerald is an Irish author-illustrator of children’s picture books and historical books for older readers, based in Dublin.
He graduated from the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) in the early 1980s.
As an illustrator, his clients include Little Tiger Press (UK), Usborne Publishing (UK), Random House (New York), Blue Apple Books (New Jersey), Carthusia Books (Italy), Les Apprentis Réveurs (France), An Gúm and Futa Fata (Ireland).
His published works as author include historical nonfiction books such as McCarthyism: The Red Scare, The Korean War: America’s Forgotten War, Fighting the Vietnam War, and Under Fire in World War II under the “On the Front Line” and “Snapshots in History” series.
As author-illustrator, his picture book Bounce Bounce won the International Silent Book Competition at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in 2014.

Children’s book news for April 2026: Michael Rosen wins the Hans Christian Andersen Award, CLiPPA and UKLA shortlists arrive, and Puffin launches its new picture book list, Puffin Studio.
Outdoor reading space resources, with bean bags, tents, pop-ups, teepees, wigwams, hammocks, pouffes, giant outdoor cushions, outdoor classrooms, reading sheds, garden playhouses, reading treehouses and literacy teaching ideas.
Disclosure: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops, or Waterstones.com.
Keep up to date with our email newsletter and our latest social media posts about reading, children's books and literacy.