October Jones

Hiya Odd Squad! I’m October & I’m… 📚 Children’s Librarian ✨ Chair of CILIP #YLGSE 📚 GLL Literary Foundation #LiteraryChampion ✨Judge for #SparkBookAward25 📚 #FirstChapter 2024 Winner ✨Spooky Book Blogger 📚#AroundTheCauldron Podcast Host & I’m SO enchanted to meet you! 🖤

Audiobooks for all! Spotify and generous publishers are helping make the #SummerReadingChallenge more accessible by offering free audiobooks this summer! Find out more: readingagency.org.uk/spotify-suppor… #StoryGarden #SpotifyAudiobooks

Best Friday 13th ever?! I genuinely cannot wait for this spine tingling sequel to cast its magic on my dark heart 💀🖤✨ #Spooksmiths

.@jamackay_ talking about his debut middle-grade horror novel, Gloam! Out on 14th August and available to preorder now!!

🕵️‍♂️New book alert!🕵️‍♂️Do YOU have a little detective in your life? The Werelock & Scratch Detective Agency needs their help to crack the case! Perfect for readers 7+, with puzzles, clues & riddles galore! Out 25/09. Pre-order to join the crime-busting fun! geni.us/xlkwlt

It’s 100 days til Halloween. I woke up this cutie on my window, I had an amazing nature based interactive storytelling event where we made clay creatures AND a super cool kid taught me how to make origami moths. Pretty perfect day in the life of a spooky Children’s Librarian!

The pride I have in my heart that I work for this incredible authority grows every day. Yet ANOTHER huge opportunity for our children and families of Wandsworth 💚

Take a look at the stunning cover of Gloam, captured in all it's glory by the talented @EMDigiContent! 🤩🤩 Gloam by @jamackay_ is out on 14th August and is available to pre-order now! bit.ly/44W81N6

On behalf of the Alliance of Radical Booksellers, we are thrilled to bring you the: ⚡️2025 Shortlist for the Little Rebels Award for Radical Children’s Fiction⚡️ Congratulations to all of the shortlistees! #LittleRebelsAward

Pumpkins, does it get better than watching the SRC sign up queue grow at your lovely little library a mere 34 minutes after delivering your SRC assembly?! ahahaha. I love it. These kids are awesome.🤓

I was the VERY lucky recipient of last year’s #KlausFlugge bursary to attend the #YLG conference in Glasgow. It was a weekend of everything that stimulates your brain, nourishes your soul AND I managed to squeeze in meeting people little you never thought possible! Apply now ✨

We were so thrilled to share the joy and celebrations of incredible authors & illustrators today at the award ceremony. Huge huge congratulations to all. Also a thank you to the judges and students for their time and dedication in the selection process. #carnegies2025

Is there a crisis in children's reading? It depends on how you define "reading". Things like comics & football reports are seldom counted, but shouldn't all reading count? And if you want kids to love reading - LET THEM READ THINGS THEY LOVE! #literacy (Art: Bill Watterson)

On #Friday13th, we have a suitably spooky #BookOfTheDay for you! The brilliant @JenniferKillick kicks off her very exciting new #SerialChillers series with The Witch in the Woods, perfect for all lovers of the horror genre: booktrust.org.uk/book-recommend… @FarshoreBooks

If you are paying a visit to your local bookshop this indie bookshop week, keep an eye out for our super vibrant sprayed-edge edition of Riverskin by @edwardswrite , exclusive to independent bookshops 💚 #IndieBookshopWeek @booksaremybag

Comics aren’t just fun — they’re a lifeline for reading enjoyment. In this blog from the Comics Cultural Impact Collective (CCIC), find out why comics are the antidote to the reported ‘reading crisis’, and how they support lifelong literacy. 👉️ readingagency.org.uk/reading-crisis…

‘Criminally epic’ sounds absolutely ON POINT! We are going to be in our alternative history, secret boarding school, assassin training (or Thief, or Politico or Spy) era this Summer! Get #Shadowthieves on your TBR 💙