Front Row Children's Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce on the new Children's Booker Prize
Apr 28, 2026
Frank Cottrell-Boyce, celebrated children's author and former Children's Laureate, on launching the Children's Booker Prize and his plea to make physical books central to childhood. Tetiana Berezhna, Ukraine's culture minister, on large-scale looting and the fight to preserve Ukrainian heritage. Kae Tempest, poet and novelist, reads from and discusses their new novel about Rothko Taylor. Sharon Marshall, soap script expert, on bold storytelling in long-running dramas.
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Prizes Find Unexpected Children's Books
- Prizes help surface unexpected children's books and broaden the cultural conversation beyond a few dominant names.
- Frank Cottrell-Boyce created the Children's Booker to spotlight 8–12 chapter books and involve child judges alongside adults to find fresh reads.
Read Aloud To Synchronise Brains
- Read aloud to children because it synchronises adult and baby brains, building bonding and emotional stability.
- Frank cites the Baby Development Lab showing reading calms babies and creates cellular-level bonding even in prisons and foster care.
Bag Books As A 'Wonderment' To Encourage Borrowing
- A Barnsley worker reassured parents who feared damaging library books by giving them a bag and presenting returned books as a 'wonderment'.
- That simple ritual overcame fear of public property and encouraged reading at home.
