Teen Librarian

About Time

About Time

A children’s guide to the science and history of telling the time and clockmaking in a fun and interactive way.
This interactive book will help children aged 7-9 understand how clocks work and learn how to tell the time on various devices.
Time is central to our experience as humans, and it’s important for children to know not just how to tell the time, but also how to make the most of it.
About Time
uses fun and unique elements to teach children about the topic of time and introduce concepts like time zones and time management.
DK Children
This is a fascinating book, pitched as 7+ but absolutely suitable for much older readers. I can’t believe they got so much in there…I did a degree in geology before my librarianship qualifications so I particularly loved the section on geological time.
We have some thoughts from the co-authors: watchmaker and horologist Rebecca Struthers and science teacher Alom Shaha:
Rebecca Struthers
Your Favourite Section:
What is your absolute favourite section or concept in
About Time
and why? What makes this section stand out to you personally?
My favourite bit of the book is the central section that takes you through the processes that make a mechanical watch work. Aside from Lucy Rose’s drawings which are stunning, I know I’d have found that fascinating to study when I was a kid.
What do you hope readers will take away from this particular part of the book?
I hope it shows that even the most incredible machines can be easy to understand if we break them down and tackle them stage by stage.
Are there any interesting anecdotes or research titbits related to this section that you could share?
I structured this section as an age-appropriate version of how watchmakers start their theory training, so this is what they could expect if they wanted to take up the craft when they leave school.
The Contemporary Artisans:
About Time
features contemporary artisans from around the world who are keeping the craft of watchmaking and timekeeping alive. This is a fantastic aspect of the book that we’d love to highlight. Why was it important to include these contemporary artisans?
I really wanted the subject of watch and clockmaking to feel real, current, and relevant. It was important to me that kids could see themselves in these sorts of jobs when they grow up so the contemporary artisans represent a diverse range of incredible makers from around the world who have learned their skills in a variety of different ways.
Could you pick one or two artisans featured in the book that particularly resonate with you? Who are they, and what makes their work unique or inspiring?
They all inspire me, and I feel incredibly privileged to know them all. Alison Moriarty’s story resonates with me as a fellow woman with an auto-immune disease. She manages being an exceptionally talented watchmaker and enameller around her health and being a Mum. She’s a queen of multitasking and an all-round legend.
The book also offers insight …

The World of Sharks

The World of Sharks

Did you know that sharks are among the oldest creatures on earth? They swam through the primordial oceans long before there were dinosaurs. Many legends surround these animals with their fearsome sharp teeth. But how dangerous are sharks really? In this book, you will not only find out how sharks were able to survive so many other animals and how many different species we know today, but also a lot about their very special teeth, their peculiar lateral line organ and excellent sense of smell. However, many sharks have hardly been researched to this day – their habitats are too deep in the sea for us humans to reach. This book is the starting point for so much more to explore about sharks.
Little Gestalten publishes beautiful, tactile books that are a pleasure to read and share with younger readers.
The World of Sharks
is no exception!
When I was a younger reader (around 40 years ago now) I fell in love with a shark book at my local library. It contained stories and information about sharks from around the world, from the Wobbegong (or Carpet Shark) in Australia, to the Great White Shark from South Africa where I grew up, it became one of the books I checked out every few weeks as I had become a shark fan (this happens to many children around the world when they learn about sharks, also common when they discover dinosaurs).
Anyway I digress, The World of Sharks has reawakened that love frenzy I felt for sharks when I was a child, and it did the same for my daughter who is about the age I was when I picked up that book.
Containing a ton of information broken down into bite-size chunks,
The World of Sharks
is lavishly illustrated with matte pages and a slightly rough cover that is a delight to hold and peruse from cover to cover or just opening to random pages. Honestly if you (or a small person in your life) is a lover of sharks or the ocean then this book is a must-have, or at least a must-borrow if you have a local library that you can request it from!
The World of Sharks
is written by
Darcy Dobell
and illustrated by
Becky Thorns
and is published by
Little Gestalten
. It is available now wherever good books are sold!

The Little Book of Trees

The Little Book of Trees

What is a tree and how does it actually grow? How does a tree change over the course of the seasons and what phases does it go through during its entire life? What happens in its crown, trunk or roots if we look closely? Which animals live there and which forests have developed in the different regions of the world where many trees grow close together? The Little Book on Trees takes children into the world of these fascinating plants.
This stunning book for younger readers is a wonderful introduction to trees around the world.
No matter how much you think you may know about trees, you will almost definitely find something new to add to your store of knowledge! Aimed at younger readers and learners, this book is the perfect starting place for budding arboriculturists as well as those with just a passing interest in trees.
Illustrated by
Caroline Attia
with text by
Claire Philip
this is an book should be an essential addition for elementary collections in classrooms and libraries.

Thirst

Thirst

Nobody talks about the strange happenings in Maimsbury. No one speaks of the hooded figures glimpsed in the woods, nor the children’s game that went so horribly wrong. But most of all, nobody dares whisper their doubts about the river they have worshipped for centuries.
Like everyone in Maimsbury, Gorse is used to the sacrifices made every spring to the River Yeelde. The life of a farm animal – in return for a year of plenty – seems a fair trade. That is, until a tragedy leads Gorse to a blood-curdling discovery.
Because this year is a Brim Year, and after giving so much, the river needs more than an animal’s life to sate its thirst…
Pushkin Press
Cover illustration by Natalie Smilie
This was actually the first book by Darren Simpson I’ve read, though I’m not sure why because I’ve seen lots of praise on social media from teachers and librarians for him on social media. I think he might be one of those authors I avoided because where others rave I’m often ‘meh’…but I was certainly biting my nose off to spite my face because, when I sat down to read this, I was hooked from the first page and had to finish it the same day. It raises some big thoughts about whether it can be justifiable to do a bad thing, how decisions affect more than just your own loved ones, and having the courage to say no. All wrapped up in a wonderfully gruesome folklore-ish tale set in the vividly imagined world of a small village.
I asked Darren a few questions:
You write dark but hopeful stories. Do you start with a theme or the world or a character…or something else?
Each book seems to have started with a different thing.
Scavengers
was inspired by the sight of cats scrapping over a sandwich at a recycling centre, which got me thinking about animals and humans living on landfill.
The Memory Thieves
was driven by the desire – prompted by the time I crashed my car and went through a rough patch – to encourage emotional openness in young people. In contrast,
Furthermoor
evolved from the conundrum of how to use a vivid, fantastical setting in an urban, realist story. And my latest book,
Thirst
, came from an itch to write horror (leaning into that darkness, I guess), and from a growing appreciation of folklore and the part it still plays in our lives today.
As you can see, I have worryingly little control over where my inspiration comes from. But one thing I do have is the instinct to spot it, grab it and see where it takes me.
Without spoilers, are there any bits that you thought might be too scary or that editors asked you to tone down?
There are a couple of scenes I thought I’d have to tone down or take out altogether. But it turned out I didn’t have to do any of that.
As much as
Thirst
has its grisly moments, they’re never excessive or gratuitous. There’s one scene in particular I thought I’d never get away with in young fiction. But my editor, Sarah Odedina of Pushkin Press, didn’t bat an eyelid. When I quizzed her over this, she said the scene plays a …

Black History Month UK

Black History Month UK

October is Black History Month in the UK, this year the theme is
Standing Firm in Power and Pride
and there are some brilliant resources and articles on the official website.
I used to do a thread on twitter of the best books by (mainly) Black British creators I’d read in the preceding year, then 2 years ago wrote
this blog post
, then somehow last year passed me by…In November last year CLPE released their
7th Reflecting Realities survey
about publishing in the UK in 2023 demonstrated what I thought I’d noticed: that the uptick in publishing of diverse voices was faltering:
For the first time in its history, the annual CLPE Reflecting Realities survey
reports an overall drop in the percentage of racially minoritised characters featured in published children’s books reviewed – from 30% in 2022 to 17% in 2023.
The report shows the number of racially minoritised main characters has dropped by half to
7% in 2023, compared to 14% in 2022
.
The more recent
IBC Excluded Voices
report makes a similarly dispiriting observation. So, I thought it important to highlight some amazing books published over these 2 years!

Eight Questions With… Ben Dean

Eight Questions With… Ben Dean

Hi Ben welcome to TeenLibrarian and thank you for giving up your time to answer some questions about
Bury Your Friends
!
Thank you for having me!
Can you introduce yourself to those in the audience who may not know who you are?
Of course! My name’s Ben and I’m a bestselling author of (mostly) thriller books that centre queer characters of colour. I have a background in celebrity interviewing and journalism, so I love scandal and gossip, which is often a core theme in my books. What can I say – I love the drama! So, if you’re picking up a Benjamin Dean book, buckle up for a ride with plenty of twists and turns.
What is the elevator pitch for
Bury Your Friends
?
Bury Your Friends
is a nepo baby slasher where the fractured friendships of a privileged group of teens is put to the test by a deranged serial killer who locks them inside a country manor and demands that they evict one person from the house every hour starting from midnight…
When writing, in general what usually inspires you (and what inspired BYF)?
I’m usually inspired by some kind of scandal and mess, and I flesh the story out from there. For this book, I had been away for a weekend with friends in the countryside and I’m unfortunately just reeeeeally not a countryside kind of person – I think it’s beautiful in the day, but the moment the sun sets, I think the vibes are terrifying! So, there we were in this huge house mostly made of glass, and in the dark, all you could see was your own reflection. I just couldn’t stop imagining someone hiding in the dark and watching us – it really creeped me out! So that was the first seed, which was quickly followed by the idea of two boys going missing and only one of them coming back to crash their own vigil. I thought that posed a lot of interesting questions and gave me the chance to try my hand at an unreliable narrator, which was really exciting for me as a writer.
For readers new to your work, where would you recommend they begin?
Ooooh, I’ve never actually thought about that before! I think you can start with any of my books and whichever one interests you the most, but if you wanted one book that really gives you an introduction to me as an author…I’d maybe say How to Die Famous. It brings together so many of my favourite things – fame, pop culture, scandal and secrets – and it gives readers a good insight into what to expect from me in my other YA books.
What are you currently reading?
I’m currently in the middle of reading
Silvercloak
by L. K. Steven, which is an adult fantasy book with a magic system fuelled by pleasure and plain. I really love reading books set in fantasy worlds and this one has me hooked!
I know this one is a bit unfair to ask as you have just had a book published, but can you drop any hints about what you are currently working on?
Haha! You know what, I hate to disappoint but I’ve actually been taking a small writing break to refill the well and enjoy various hobbies without …

Finding a Replacement for Microsoft Publisher

Finding a Replacement for Microsoft Publisher

Perhaps the hardest news I have had to face in my (admittedly tiny) digital creation sphere was the news that our tech overlords at Microsoft decided that their venerable Publisher program will no longer be supported from
October 2026
. For over a year I ignored the news and indulged in wishful thinking, denial and hope that they would change their minds. Somewhere along the line I decided that this is no way to live my life and for a while now I have been poking alternatives to Publisher so that when October arrives I will be set up on a usable alternative.
It is not easy to say goodbye, many of my library posters were cobbled together in Publisher. You can view my downloadable posters
here
. Over the years I have flirted with
Adobe Express
(back when it was still Adobe Spark), I tried Canva briefly and a few other online tools whose names escape me. None of them could take the place of Publisher, at the height of my creative prowess I could slap together a poster, flier or related thing in a matter of minutes, when I had time and inspiration I happily spent hours making eye-catching posters using a variety of tools to tweak the parts that I would put together of a Publisher page, the control I had during my creative process was total. I have colleagues and friends who swear by Canva, when I used it I eventually swore at Canva. It is a perfectly decent tool I am sure, but I do not like ceding control of functions, or having to be online to use it or the many other cloud-based tools that are now available.
If you, like me are fans of Publisher, you may be interested in trying out one, or both of these open source tools that are close to Publisher:
LibreOffice Draw
Part of the
LibreOffice
Suite of Tools developed by
The Document Foundation
, Draw is a free and open source vector graphics editor that I have found easy to transition to and use. LibreOffice is available to download and install on Linux, Windows and macOS platforms. Honestly if you are trying to get out from under the thumb of tech companies, why not start trying out LibreOffice, it won’t cost you a thing!
Download here:
https://www.libreoffice.org/download/download-libreoffice/
The Document Foundation also has an official user guide for Draw that can be downoalded or read online
here
.
Scribus
Scribus is an open source desktop publishing tool developed by The Scribus Team, who have been shepherding it’s design since 2001. It is available on a variety of platforms including Unix, Linux, BSD, macOS, Haiku, Microsoft Windows and more!
I am still kicking the tyres and getting used to how it works, but I feel that it does have potential as a Publisher replacement although I currently prefer LibreOffice Draw, but that may change as I ttes out Scribus more.
Scribus is also free to download and use. You can find official download links here:

Get Scribus

Scribus has an online
tutorial for beginners
which forms p…