Sunday Times launches children’s book video series

The Sunday Times is this weekend (2nd October) launching a series of videos about children’s books hosted by its children’s editor, Nicolette Jones.

The series, which will run from October until Christmas, will feature recommendations about new releases, as well as interviews with writers such as David Baddiel and Philip Reeve. The first episode will be about non-fiction titles.

Each video will last for 3-4 minutes and run on the Sunday Times website.

Jones said she came up with the idea because she wanted to give children’s books more coverage, especially since this is a “boom time” for the industry.

“I’m delighted that the Sunday Times, also recognising this, has made space on its website for this feature,” she said. “Not only do short videos offer an opportunity to mention more books than there is room for in print, they also allow audiences to see illustrations and authors, which I hope will help to bring the books to life, and whet appetites for a wider range of children’s reading.”

Andrew Holgate, literary editor at the newspaper, said: "Nicolette Jones is without doubt one of the most influential voices in children's literature, whose recommendations carry enormous weight. We're thrilled to be hosting and developing this video series with her. Giving children's books proper support is very important, and we hope that this innovative series will reach a really wide audience."

The paper may consider extending the series, which will be behind the Sunday Times paywall, depending on how successful they are, he added.