Lucy Bannerman
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Lucy Bannerman
@timeslucy.bsky.social
620 followers 180 following 41 posts
Children's book critic and journalist at The Times. Championing the best in children's literature every week. News | Features | Podcasts | Book prize judge Insta: @lucybannerman_books
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'Augmented' by Kenechi Udogu is The Times children's book of the week.
A fresh take on eco sci-fi for young adults 🪴🌱🌿🌾🌻
(with a bit of gentle romance)...
@faberbooks.bsky.social
Did you know that skatole, the foul-smelling compound that makes poo stink is also used in...perfumes? And as a flavour enhancer in strawberry ice cream? 🤢
I do now thanks to The Times childrens book of the week: 'Elements of the Day' by Samantha Lewis+Hao Hao

www.thetimes.com/article/36d3...
How to make chemistry fun for kids
Samantha Lewis’s Elements of the Day makes the periodic table rock
www.thetimes.com
Shopping trolleys! Folklore! Techno! And a green-skinned heroine in a dress made out of Tesco carriers bags.
'Riverskin' by Mike Edwards is The Times children's book of the week.
A bold and atmospheric story for readers 9+.
@walkerbooksuk.bsky.social

www.thetimes.com/article/3a09...
It’s the Little Mermaid but with discarded shopping trolleys and techno
A folktale resurfaces among the slime and grime of Britain’s rivers in Mike Edwards’s debut, Riverskin
www.thetimes.com
This is a SUPERB novel for readers aged 12+
Although it's set in Blitz-era London, it steers well clear of any 1940s ''Dad's Army' cliche, and delivers a wise and unflinching story that makes you think about Gaza and Ukraine today. Superb.

www.thetimes.com/article/4651...
Childhood friendships forged in the flames of the Blitz
In Under a Fire-Red Sky by Geraldine McCaughrean, four runaways live by their wits on the streets of London at war
www.thetimes.com
Are you an unpublished children's author who wants to win a £10k publishing deal?
Send your manuscript to The Times Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition.
✨Only 10 days left to enter.... ✨

urldefense.com/v3/__https:/...
Something so sad about little boys being read to less than little girls.

One in five wee boys (aged 0-2years) is rarely or never treated to storytime with an adult, according to new research.

@harpercollins.bsky.social @philearle.bsky.social

www.thetimes.com/article/b306...
Gen Z wishes goodnight to bedtime stories for children
The youngest generation of parents are the least likely to value reading aloud, research suggests
www.thetimes.com
Making a good picture book - must surely be up there with giving up smoking and doing the ski-jump as 'things that look easy but are actually very hard.'

'Sleep Tight, Disgusting Blob' by Huw Aaron is The Times children's book of the week.
www.thetimes.com/article/5f1b...
Finally, a monstrously funny bedtime story
Sleep Tight, Disgusting Blob by Huw Aaron turns traditional monsters into adorable characters — from Dracula brushing his fangs to Medusa blow-drying her snakes. It’s a hilarious read for ages 3-7
www.thetimes.com
An evil tech entrepreneur has destroyed civilization. Only a few plucky survivors remain. And Jen's dad is actually...an AI replica. Whose side is he really on?

'After' by Padraig Kenny, a sci-fi thriller for 9+, is The Times Children's book of the week.

www.thetimes.com/article/5461...
The robots have risen up against us. What happens next?
In After, Pádraig Kenny’s novel, a daughter and her unusual father must use their wits to survive in a post-apocalyptic world
www.thetimes.com
The Times children's book of the week is 'What Happens Online' by Nathanael Lessore.
A brilliant, big-hearted book about boyhood.
(Also contains good jokes about Kanye, Ozempic, bubble tea and Shoe Zone. 💪)

@hotkeybooks.bsky.social
#childrensbooks
www.thetimes.com/article/9dab...
It’s Adrian Mole for the gaming generation
What Happens Online by Nathanael Lessore has a brilliantly relatable teenage protagonist, who provides laughs and positive messages
www.thetimes.com
Would you let your kids chat with Harry, the AI-generated bot?

Is the idea of taking a fictional character from the safety of the page and using AI to develop it on messaging platforms an exciting idea - or a deeply sinister one?

#clickarte #bologna #BCBF #kidlit
www.thetimes.com/article/1af9...
Why did the tiger come to tea? Kids could soon ask it on WhatsApp
The book world is poring over an AI project that introduces children to characters on the page and encourages them to get to know them better on messaging apps
www.thetimes.com
"I love it when a new picture book lands that is so original, so distinctive, it suddenly makes the competition look bland."

Delighted for Mikey Please whose debut, The Cafe at the Edge of the Woods, has won the Waterstones Children's Book Prize.

Review here:

www.thetimes.com/article/5229...
The Café at the Edge of the Woods by Mikey Please review — a sublime shot of flavour
This debut from a Bafta-winning director about an ogre who likes nothing on the menu is subversive and original
www.thetimes.com
This is a scandal that doesn't get enough attention.
Single parent families are owed almost £700million in unpaid child support.
The penalty for ex-partners who refuse to pay up?
ONE person went to prison last quarter of 2024.
ZERO passports confiscated.

www.thetimes.com/article/4f5a...
Single-parent families owed £690m in unpaid child maintenance
Homes ‘repossessed’ after uncollected payments to Child Maintainance Service. Yet agency is not using all powers at its disposal to pursue evading parents
www.thetimes.com
I'm still haunted. (In a good way).
Also, I don't care what anyone says, this was the best movie of the 1980s.
Once seen, never forgotten...
#ReturntoOz
It's a little bit X-Files, a wee bit Stephen King-lite and a lot of frightening fun...
The Times children's book of the week is The Deadsoul Project by Dan Smith, the first in the new Night Files series. Illustrations by Luke Brookes.

@dansmithauthor.bsky.social
www.thetimes.com/article/3410...
This book is Stephen King for children
Dan Smith’s horror-mystery, The Night House Files — The Deadsoul Project, has the perfect balance of thrills and chills
www.thetimes.com
Why are some of the best dogs - Airedale terriers! Old English Sheepdogs! Irish terriers! - on this list of vulnerable breeds?
There's no justice.
I blame the cavapoos.

@crufts.bsky.social @kennelclub.bsky.social @dogstrust.bsky.social
They were once among the UK's favourite dogs.
Their admirers included Dorothy Parker, Rudyard Kipling, Beatrix Potter, Julie Andrews and Humphrey Bogart - all owners of a 'Scottie'.
But now the popularity of the Scottish Terrier has hit a record low. 😢 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

www.thetimes.com/article/ce81...
Save our Scotties: popularity of Scottish terriers hits record low
The breed, once a favourite of royalty and presidents, is at risk of disappearing. The Kennel Club says the Old English sheepdog and Irish wolfhound are also declining
www.thetimes.com
Reposted by Lucy Bannerman
Etymology of the day: ‘book’ comes from an ancient root shared by ‘beech’, a wood that people used for engraving inscriptions. ‘Paper’ comes from ‘papyrus’, and ‘volume’ is from the Latin for a ‘roll’ of parchment.

Happy World Book Day.