Where Are You, Eddie? by @michaelrosenyes.bsky.social, illustrated by Gill Smith, is a beautifully personal book and a sensitive way of opening up difficult conversations about loss and grief with pupils. I can't begin to imagine how difficult it must have been to write.

I've published about 20 articles on Substack over the past couple of months, all focused on developing school reading cultures. Some are brand new, others are updated versions of articles I've previously written. Do take a look!

jonbiddle2.substack.com

If you're out and about today, do try and pop into your local bookshop. Many of them are celebrating #BookshopDay and have organised some exciting events with authors and illustrators.

Today, we wrote and decorated our Poetry Post in KS2. Tomorrow, we're off round the village to deliver poems to our local community. It's always really well received, with our pupils realising that they can have a positive impact on where they live.

There's more info here: ourfp.org/eop/poetry-p...

Bison Rule, OK! by @bardymum.bsky.social, illustrated by Nia Havilliard, is a hugely imaginative poetry collection that plays with lots of different styles. As with all the best collections, it contains a mixture of emotional, thoughtful and funny poems. Ideal for KS2.

Reading aloud to a class is something that should be prioritised, not forgotten.

jonbiddle2.substack.com/p/the-case-f...

If you haven't yet seen @booktrust.org.uk's Great Books Guide 2026-27, do take a look. It's a collection of 100 carefully selected, recently published children's books, including fiction, graphic novels, poetry and non-fiction.

You can download it here: www.booktrust.org.uk/book-recomme...

Feel free to add your own.

jonbiddle2.substack.com/p/25-ways-to...

Pleased to see my article about the Verse Novel Awards published in the local press today, especially as it's National Poetry Day.

www.edp24.co.uk/news/2658240...

I really enjoy compiling my book packs for @badgerlearning.bsky.social, and have written a short article about some of the new additions for this year.

As always, I’ve tried to include a wide range of fiction, poetry, graphic novels and non-fiction.

www.pandorabooks.co.uk/jon-biddles-...

Beyond books: What does it mean to be a reader?

We need to recognise the many different ways children read, from magazines and comics to audiobooks, song lyrics and video games.

jonbiddle2.substack.com/p/beyond-books

Poems on Toast by @attielime.bsky.social is a joyful and wonderfully varied collection of poetry. It's full of wit and humour, while also tackling some deeper emotions. Personal favourites include Reading is My Superpower, Did You Do It?, and Poetry. A great addition to the KS2 bookshelf.

Non-fiction texts are an essential part of the classroom reading diet and deserve far more attention. In my latest blog, I begin to explore the important role non-fiction can play in developing a rich reading culture.

jonbiddle2.substack.com/p/making-spa...

I've written more about the role of our Reading Champions and what they actually do to help shape our reading culture: jonbiddle2.substack.com/p/reading-ch...

Our Reading Champions are full of enthusiasm and energy, and are always looking for ways to get other pupils reading. I've written about their role and what they actually do to help shape our reading culture: jonbiddle2.substack.com/p/reading-ch...

It might look as if they're all reading but...

jonbiddle2.substack.com/p/reading-en...

Delighted by how many times my picturebook assembly overview has been downloaded over the past couple of weeks. It's lovely to hear that the books are also being used in classrooms, as well as for assemblies. Feel free to download and adapt it for your school setting.

padlet.com/Jon_Biddle/r...