Be an Irish Children’s Book Champion

Schools and Teachers – we are calling on you to:

1/ Use Irish class novels where possible. We have created some recommended Irish book lists to help you do this. See the Resource section of this website.

2/ Highlight Irish children’s books in your classrooms and libraries. Read Irish books during storytime or read aloud.

Can you display books by local Irish children’s authors and illustrators, showing children that they too can be a writer or an illustrator one day?

3/ Invite Irish authors and illustrators into your classrooms in person or on Zoom. To find an author you can contact the Writers in Schools via Poetry Ireland scheme, the author’s publisher, or the author directly.

Schools play a vital role in helping children and teenagers discover great books. Let’s try to make more of them Irish books so they can see themselves and the country they live in reflected on the page!

Parents, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Book Lovers – we are calling on you to:

1/ Seek out Irish children’s authors and illustrators and read Irish books to the children in your care. Ask a librarian or bookseller to find you a great Irish book to share at bedtime or storytime.

2/ Buy Irish children’s books. To help you find them we have created some lists of recommended titles – see our website www.discoveririshkidsbooks.ie for details.

3/ Bring the children in your care to libraries and festivals to see and meet Irish children’s authors and illustrators. This shows children living in Ireland that they too can be a writer or an illustrator one day. If your local festival does not have events for children – ask for them to be included next time.

Bookshops – we are calling on you to:

1/ Stock Irish children’s books and display them on your tables and shelves. We have downloadable display material to help you do this.

2/ Recommend Irish children’s books to your customers. We have created some lists to help you do this.

3/ Use our Discover Irish Children’s Books stickers designed by Irish author/illustrator Chris Haughton to highlight the Irish books in your shop.

Libraries – we are calling on you to:

1/ Highlight and display Irish children’s books on your tables and shelves and recommend Irish children’s books to parents, educators and carers.

2/ Feature one Irish story a month in your storytime.

3/ Use Irish (especially local) children’s authors and illustrators where possible for workshops, launches and events (eg Summer Stars).

Libraries play such an important part in helping children discover great books. Let’s try to make more of them Irish books so they can see themselves on the page!

Festivals – we are calling on you to:

1/ Invite or continue to invite Irish and Irish based children’s authors and illustrators to your festival. A good aim would be 24% children’s and young people’s programming (24% of book sales are children’s books) but 10% is a good start.

2/ Feature said events in your festival publicity.

3/ Consider taking advice on programming these events from a specialist (like Children’s Books Ireland) or hire a specialist children’s book programmer. We are happy to advise on how to find the right person for your festival – so please do get in touch. 

Children’s events build arts audiences for the future. Let’s make 2024 a great year for children’s festival events!

Publishers – we are calling on you to:

1/ Make a splash with your new Irish children’s titles. Make sure booksellers are aware of your key titles and when they are coming out. Help your authors and illustrators to get to bookshops throughout Ireland to help promote these titles.

2/ Create more POS and promotional material for your children’s books. Create teachers’ notes for your novels.

3/ Create more children’s books that are heavily illustrated and novels for younger readers – like the Milly McCarthy books (Gill Books). There is a huge demand for Irish illustrated books and novels for younger readers.

The Media – we are calling on you to:

1/ 24% of book sales are children’s books – we’d love to see this reflected in your coverage. Feature Irish books throughout the year, not just at Christmas.

2/ Review Irish children’s books. Use stand alone reviews of individual books as well as round ups.

3/ Feature authors and illustrators from Ireland – many of them have fascinating life stories to tell!

Authors (for both children and adults) – we are calling on you to:

1/ Read and talk about Irish children’s books on your social media or other channels. If asked for your 2023 book highlights, consider including an Irish children’s book in the mix.

2/ If you write for adults and are invited to an Irish festival check if they have children’s events. To build future audiences we need events for young people and children to attend.

3/ If you are invited to talk about your work, talk about your love of reading as a child and how important Irish children’s books are in creating readers of the future.

Online Reviewers, Bloggers and Influencers – we are calling on you to:

1/ Read, review and post about Irish children’s books. Use #DiscoverIrishKidsBooks where you can.

2/ Feature authors and illustrators from Ireland in your blogs or stories or Tik Toks – many of them have fascinating life stories to tell!

3/ 24% of book sales are children’s books – we’d love to see this reflected in your coverage. Feature Irish books throughout the year, not just at Christmas.

Cultural Institutions – we are calling on you to:

1/ Look at your collections. Are contemporary Irish children’s books well represented? If not, can you make changes so that they are?

2/ Stock Irish children’s books in your giftshops

3/ Include Irish and Irish based children’s authors and illustrators in your programming where possible