Children’s Literature News May 2026
Children’s book news for May 2026: Reading Rights, the Children’s Booker, Michael Rosen at 80, the Klaus Flugge and Branford Boase shortlists, BookTrust winners, LitUp results and shared reading data.
Recommended reading books for primary & secondary aged children in the UK
Sam Sedgman is a British author and playwright, known primarily for co-authoring the Adventures on Trains series with M.G. Leonard. The series began with The Highland Falcon Thief, published by Macmillan Children’s Books in 2020. Subsequent titles include Kidnap on the California Comet (2020), Murder on the Safari Star (2021), Dangers on Dead Man’s Pass (2021), Sabotage on the Solar Express (2022), and The Arctic Railway Assassin (2022).
Sedgman studied English Literature at the University of Warwick. He has worked as a digital producer and playwright, with his plays performed in London and at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. His collaborative work with M.G. Leonard has received critical recognition. The Highland Falcon Thief won the 2021 CrimeFest Award for Best Crime Novel for Children. The series has been translated into multiple languages and published internationally.
In addition to his fiction, Sedgman has contributed to radio and theatre projects. He is represented by the literary agency Peters Fraser + Dunlop. In 2023, Sedgman published Epic Adventures: Explore the World in 12 Amazing Train Journeys, a non-fiction title illustrated by Sam Brewster and published by Macmillan Children’s Books.
Sam Sedgman’s work has been shortlisted for the British Book Awards and the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. The Highland Falcon Thief was selected as a Waterstones Children’s Book of the Month in February 2020.

Children’s book news for May 2026: Reading Rights, the Children’s Booker, Michael Rosen at 80, the Klaus Flugge and Branford Boase shortlists, BookTrust winners, LitUp results and shared reading data.
Adventure stories for children and teens, including modern and classic titles by Maz Evans, Cressida Cowell, Dom Conlon, Lucy Brandt, Sufiya Ahmed, Varsha Shah, A.F. Steadman, Wilbur Smith, Robert Muchamore, Robert Louis Stevenson and more.
Here’s our selection of top new titles coming out in spring 2026. These reading recommendations include picture books, early and middle-grade fiction; young adult novels and non-fiction.
Here’s our selection of top new titles coming out in Summer 2025. These reading recommendations include picture books, poetry, early and middle-grade fiction; young adult novels and non-fiction.
Here’s our selection of top new titles coming out in Spring 2025. These reading recommendations include picture books, early and middle-grade fiction; young adult novels and non-fiction.
Here’s our selection of top new titles coming out in Spring 2024. These reading recommendations include picture books, early and middle-grade fiction; young adult novels and non-fiction.
Here’s our selection of top new titles coming out in Spring 2020. These reading recommendations include picture books, early and middle-grade fiction; young adult novels and non-fiction.
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