'Growing young readers and writers'

 

 

 

 

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Pic credit: The gorgeous illustration above is © Dapo Adeola and Penguin. Read more here. 

Hello! 
The Book Tree is a home for authors, books and readers.
We’re on a mission to excite children about reading, to help parents on this path
and to get books into the hands of children everywhere.
Come join us! 

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We have a set of four brilliant local books up for grabs. Simply join the Book Tree Club and you’ll be entered.    Join The Book Tree Club.

Book News

Book Ends We Love

Book Ends We Love

Good book ends hold your special books together and decorate your room. They're also a great way of displaying the current reads your kids are enjoying and making it easy to reach them.

Impossible Creatures

Impossible Creatures

Enter the magical world of impossible creatures and the humans (and semi-humans) who protect them.  Mal is a small girl who can fly when the wind blows. Christopher is a young boy about to discover that his amazing ability to attract animals is a sign of his true potential. Together they must save the world from a deadly enemy draining the life energy out of their world.

“Maybe this is why we read, and why in moments of darkness, we return to books: to find words for what we already know.”

― Alberto Manguel, author of A Reading Diary: A Passionate Reader’s Reflections on a Year of Books. 

Latest blog posts

The Book Tree Podcast – Episode 1

A podcast about children’s books, authors, illustrators, publishers and other bookish people. And we have books for parents too! After all, if you want to raise a reader, be a reader.

Why Nursery Rhymes Are Good for Kids

Studies show that nursery rhymes, while sometimes outdated, help with building memory, vocabulary, numeracy, and speaking skills.

How to PLOT your story

A good plot is the key to a page-turning story that keeps your reader interested and helps to guide you through the writing process. Organiser of the Kingsmead Young Writers’ Competition, Corinne Rosmarin, shares top tips on creating a plot for any story.

Book Ends We Love

Good book ends hold your special books together and decorate your room. They’re also a great way of displaying the current reads your kids are enjoying and making it easy to reach them.

Make a Book Movie Trailer

Good book trailers really make you want to read the book and while they look very professional, anyone can make them! Follow our 5 steps and share your videos and favourite books.

Kingsmead Young Writers’ Competition 2024

It’s another year of the annual Kingsmead Young Writers’ Competition and we can’t wait to read your entries! Celebrating the talents of young writers across South Africa, the competition is open to all school children aged 6 – 18.

World Read-Aloud Day 7 Feb 2024

Celebrate World Read Aloud Day this Wednesday 7 February with a pack of activities to promote literacy and community. There is SO much fun to be had!   What's it all about? World Read Aloud Day was launched by American organisation, LitWorld in 2010. They believe that...

10 Books to Inspire Creative Thinking

We’ve rounded up 10 of the best books to inspire creative thinking for children. More than ever, we have to educate young people to think for themselves and decide what is right and wrong, what is true and false and what is good for everyone. We also have to teach them how to think ‘out the box’ from the very beginning.

Teens Need Comprehension Skills

With AI on the rise, being a critical thinker and reader and knowing how to read for meaning and understand how to build links between texts and ideas is vital. Reading skills are not enough and our teens are falling short in their high school years.

Book & Author Podcasts

Listen to some of your favourite authors from the Kingsmead Book Fair on the Jonathan Ball podcast Pagecast. Authors interviewed include Jo Watson, Refiloe Moahloli, Jarred Thompson, Amonge Sinxoto, and AI expert Johan Steyn.

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Looking for great books?

We have hundreds of reviews per age group.

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Need help with struggling readers?

Check out our tips and advice.

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Order a Book Box.

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Searching for ideas to inspire creativity?

Creativity is everything.  Check out our Create page for ideas & resources.

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Donate Books Here

If you have children’s books in good condition, we have places that may need them.

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Keep up to date with the latest book news!

“Show me a family of readers, and I will show you the people who move the world.” – Napoléon Bonaparte

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Book News

Call to re-open Central Library, Johannesburg

Residents have long questioned the three year closure of the Central Library for renovations. The closure has removed a vital facility for inner-city students and children who rely on it.

“There is no democracy without books. Libraries should never be closed. Books and libraries are the dignity promised in the Freedom Charter,” said historian and Nobel laureate Achille Mbembe at a recent protest.

Read more here. 

 

 

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