This week’s selection of possible gifts for book loving children and families comes from The British Library Shop.


Bookchase is the perfect game for anyone who has ever read a book. The game can be played with questions or without – fast or slow. Ever dropped a book in the bath, or lent a book to someone and never got it back? 2-6 players aged 6 and upwards – the perfect family boardgame. First to collect, beg, borrow or steal 6 books is the winner.

Children’s Writers – The Spoken Word. Settle down and enjoy as ten favourite children’s writers read extracts from their own books. Listen to the actual voices of J.R.R. Tolkien, Roald Dahl and Philip Pullman among others.
I also want to point you towards Wonder-Shirts – an online shop selling t-shirts (for both adults and children) featuring artists more familiar from children’s books, including Arnold Lobel, Rosemary Wells, Garth Williams and Tomie de Paola

Wonder-Shirts is based in the US but will ship world-wide if you contact them about shipping costs.
Choxbox
Awesome! You are a true gems-finder!
A friend had once gifted us a set of beautiful bookmarks made by children’s lit illustrators, and got from the British Library Shop. Would you know if they are still available?
Zoe @ Playing by the book
Hi Choxbox, I don’t think there’s anything like that available online – at least I can’t see them in their online shop. I don’t know if the bricks and mortar shop has more stock… Instead, do you know these free bookplates:
http://www.myhomelibrary.org/
Choxbox
Thanks Zoe. Thats a lovely site!
One time our surgery had given a set of bookplates done by various kid-lit illustrators as part of a book-bag after some milestone check-up (can’t remember the details). Still have them, don’t have the heart to use them up. The ones by Shirley Hughes are my absolute favourites.