I have a couple of EXCELLENT things to share with you in this post, hence … um … this post. I moan a lot about children’s literature getting a less than positive coverage in the media (ie: none) so it is important to acknowledge those moments when it does. And one of these moments  in particular is 30 minutes of the most lovely television I’ve watched for a while (I’m looking right at you Shirley Hughes…)

• What do Artists do All Day? : Shirley Hughes Available via the IPlayer, this gorgeous little documentary is like therapy. I now want a channel solely devoted to delightful doyennes of picture books. I would watch it for years.
• Not Suitable For Children, done by the fascinating academic Sophie Coulombeau explores the nature of controversial children’s literature. It’s a really comprehensive and well done piece of radio- and I’ll challenge you to count how many of the literary references you pick up in the first few minutes.
• How children’s literature with a social conscience galvanised a generation and changed the UK. This is Kimberley Reynolds, of Newcastle University’s brilliant children’s literature team, talking about radical publishing between the wars. This ties into Reynolds’ forthcoming book on radical children’s literature (a book I am most excited for!)
• Frank Cottrell Boyce : What’s the point of culture in Brexit Britain? I am a fan of everything Cottrell Boyce does, it seems, and this is no exception. His graceful, genuine, heartbreaking brilliance is everything here.
• Finally, this thread on Twitter is something that I suspect should be mandatory for those of us involved in the library world.