In March I received an open invitation to librarians, teachers & booksellers to apply to be on the Blue Peter Book Club panel for 2025-27. Those selected would be part of reading & reviewing a number of children’s books for consideration for the Blue Peter Book Club. The book club highlights excellence in children’s literature, in a variety of areas such as diversity, enjoyability, accessibility and cultural relevance. The books selected are promoted on the tv programme, in Blue Peter publications and online, with tie-in resources produced by BBC bitesize.

Having sent off my application just before Easter, I was very pleased to hear on May 1st that my application had been successful and that I was officially a member of the panel!

I have already begun the process of reading & reviewing the books - some of which are not even released yet - and look forward to being part of the process that decides which ones are chosen to promote a love of reading in children nationwide. 

Our strong reading culture here at OWPS and the voices of our own pupils will most definitely influence the books I recommend - and it’s a real privilege to be able to be part of such a significant national programme.

^{Photo by Tom Hermans on Unsplash}