Weekly Round-up 26th March 2026
- Carolyn McCarthy
- Mar 26
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 10
Your weekly digest about what's happening in the world of children's literature
Hi Everyone,
Welcome to this week's round-up. This week’s book picks are Enzo the Swallows and Me (4–7) and Monsters at the End of the World (8–11), two brilliant choices for sharing and sparking big conversations. I’m also spotlighting Pageticker Challenges - an easy way to set whole-class or whole-school reading goals, including over the holidays, so you can see who’s still reading when school is out - plus the graphic novels currently trending on Pageticker if your shelves need a refresh.
Nicola, Founder
If you’d like to see Pageticker in action, you can also book a short demo. In 20–30 minutes, we’ll walk you through how teachers track reading at home and in class, how families use the free app, and what the data looks like for reading leads and SLT. It’s also a chance for you to ask questions.
Pageticker Free Resources
We’ve put together some free resources to help you make the most of the National Year of Reading this term.
Handpicked Seasonal Suggestion
Our handpicked suggestion this week is Enzo, The Swallows and Me. It’s suitable for children in Nursery, Reception and Year One.
Jack’s new neighbour is Enzo who’s from South Africa. They quickly become friends and bond over pizza, drones and birdwatching. When the swallows migrate, Enzo has to head home too. But can their friendship survive this distance?
This is a great book about friendship, to share with the class during storytime or at home as a bedtime story.
Notable New Release
The notable new release for this week is Monster’s At the End of the World. It’s suitable for children aged 8 and above.
Sunny has always been told that the sea creatures off her town are deadly, dangerous monsters, who are not to be trusted and should be avoided at all costs. But when Sunny meets Mo who is a gentle, intelligent creature, who is simply searching for his brother, she begins to question this. As life becomes harder in Seawaren and hunger grips, dark secrets surface. Sunny begins to question who the real monsters are…
This is a great book to share with children about looking past stereotypes and prejudices and thinking for themselves.
Pageticker Insights: Graphic Novels
Here are the graphic novels currently trending on Pageticker:
The Stonekeeper’s Curse
Splatoon 3 Volume 1 (manga)
Bunny Vs Monkey: Total ChaosTintin in Tibet
Hilda and Twig: Hide From the Rain (comic)
Heartstopper
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (graphic novel edition)
When Stars Are Scattered
Ghosts
Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea
The Promised Neverland Volume 20 (manga)
The Baby‑Sitters Club: Claudia and Mean Janine (graphic novel adaptation)
These graphic novels are a brilliant mix of humour, fantasy, slice‑of‑life and high‑stakes adventure, and a useful pointer if you’re looking to freshen up your graphic novel shelf or suggest new titles to families.
March Giveaway - Final Chance To Enter!
One winner (randomly selected) will receive all of the above books.
This giveaway closes on the 27th March 2026 (12:00 p.m. GMT). Full T&Cs here.
Upcoming Dates
23-27 March - Shakespeare Week
April -National Pet Month (United Kingdom)
April National Poetry Month
22nd April - Earth Day
23 April- World Book Night
29 April - Effective leadership of reading for pleasure in the real world, National Literacy Trust webinar
Take a look at the events for the National Year of Reading
Pageticker Spotlight: Our Challenge Feature
Pageticker’s challenge feature lets schools set simple, high‑impact reading goals for a class, year group or whole school. Teachers choose the target, set the dates and assign it to pupils; families log reading as normal, and Pageticker tracks progress automatically in the teacher dashboard. It works brilliantly in term time or over the holidays, and here's a short video explaining how to get started.
Pageticker is the UK's top-rated digital reading diary designed to help children develop habits that will fuel their curiosity and learning for life. Find out more.
Happy reading,
The Pageticker Team
