Children’s Literature News February 2026
Children’s book news for February 2026: CLiPPA opens, Carnegies longlists land, BBC screens Lord of the Flies, plus Information Book Award and ALCS Education Writers’ shortlist updates.
Recommended reading books for primary & secondary aged children in the UK
Tasneem Abdur-Rashid is an author of young adult and adult fiction. Her YA work centres on contemporary themes for teen readers and is published in the UK by David Fickling Books.
Her YA debut, Odd Girl Out (David Fickling Books, 2025), follows Maaryah as she moves from Dubai to the UK and navigates school, family change and friendship.
Abdur-Rashid also writes adult contemporary fiction for Bonnier Books UK’s Zaffre imprint, including Finding Mr Perfectly Fine (2022) and The Thirty Before Thirty List (2024).
She is also co-host of the award-winning podcast, Not Another Mum Pod.
Odd Girl Out was published by David Fickling Books in 2025 (ISBN 9781788453394) and nominated for the Carnegie Medal for Writing in 2026.
Children’s book news for February 2026: CLiPPA opens, Carnegies longlists land, BBC screens Lord of the Flies, plus Information Book Award and ALCS Education Writers’ shortlist updates.
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.
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Our latest reading national curriculum year group recommended reading lists:
Picture books for the under 5s | Books for Reception | Books for Year 1 | Books for Year 2 | Books for Year 3 | Books for Year 4 | Books for Year 5 | Books for Year 6 | Books for Year 7 | Books for Year 8 | Books for Year 9 | Books for Year 10 | Books for Year 11