Weekly Round-up 13th March 2026
- Carolyn McCarthy
- Mar 12
- 4 min read
Your weekly digest about what's happening in the world of children's literature
Hi everyone,
Thanks for taking the time to look at our round-up. I’m Nicola, Pageticker’s founder and your resident reading‑for‑pleasure advocate. Over on social, I’m on a mission to help families and schools find 10 minutes a day to read together, and this weekly Round-up is the teacher side of that mission. Each edition brings you book picks for 4–12 year olds, a peek behind the scenes at Pageticker, practical tips for your teacher dashboard, hand-picked resources, key dates in the book world - and the chance to win all of this month’s featured books. My hope is that you finish reading feeling excited, reassured and well‑equipped to champion reading, without needing to be a book expert.
Nicola, Founder
Did you know? Every school can unlock a completely free Pageticker class plan for up to 35 pupils, with full access to all Pageticker features. This isn’t a trial or a time‑limited offer – once your class is set up, it’s free forever for that class, and free for parents at home too. If you’re curious about digital reading diaries but wary of adding to your workload or budget, this is an easy way to try Pageticker with one class and see the impact before you decide whether to roll it out more widely.
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
As Comic Relief is around the corner, we thought we’d share a book that’s sure to make children laugh. Donut Squad: Make a Mess by Neill Cameron is suitable for children 7 and above.
The bagels are lying low… but not for long. The Donut Squad heads camping, dodges bears, and dives into chaos. Anxiety Donut’s adventure is in your hands, Lil Timmy discovers the Meaning of Life, and the bagels are about to strike. Can the Donut Squad save their own story?
This will be popular with children who are fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Jamie Smart’s books, among others.
Notable New Release
Letters from the Upside is a relatively new release (September 2025). After reading it, we had to include it on this list. We’re huge fans of Katya Balen’s writing!
Con is really angry and has been since his Dad left. His anger pushes everyone away, even his best friend. After he’s been suspended, he feels like the good person he wants to be is completely out of reach.
Then his neighbour lets him in on a secret: there are homing pigeons on the roof. As he’s trusted with their care, he starts to believe he can change. When he’s left alone, he wonders if the pigeons could help him find his dad.
We’d recommend this book for fans of Katya Balen’s books, fans of Bird Boy by Catherine Bruton or Fallout by Lesley Parr.
Pageticker Insights: Most read by boys
Here are the Pageticker “most read by boys” books so far this year - a mix of laugh-out-loud favourites, big fantasy adventures and high-stakes stories that keep readers turning the pages. They range from illustrated chapter books to chunky novels. We have left out the familiar series characters (Harry, Wimpy Kid, Dog Man) and focused on the lesser-known gems like The Wild Robot and The Ancient Egypt Sleepover.
The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark by Jill Tomlinson
The Wild Way Home by Sophie Kirtley
The Ancient Egypt Sleepover by Stephen Davies
Planet Omar: Unexpected Super Spy by Zanib Milan
Salah (Ultimate Football Heroes) by Matt & Tom Oldfield
Jungle Drop by Abi Elphinstone
Russian Roulette by Anthony Horowitz
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
March Giveaway - now open!
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
9-13 March - British Science Week
19 March -Decline in Volitional Reading - Free Seminar with the Open University
20th March - Red Nose Day
23-27 March - Shakespeare Week
22nd April - Earth Day
Take a look at the events for the National Year of Reading
Pageticker Spotlight: Meet the founders
We’re Nicola and Tom, former teachers and founders of DoodleMaths, now fully focused on reading. As parents, we’ve spent years juggling paper reading diaries and hunting for books that would truly hook our three children, each with completely different reading needs.
We built Pageticker because we could see how much time teachers were spending on admin, and how many brilliant little reading moments were going unrecorded. We wanted a simple, joyful way for schools and families to share one clear picture of each child’s reading – without ads, noise or extra workload – so teachers can focus on nurturing readers, not searching for reading diaries.
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
