Ben Lerwill

Day 2 of walking the Sheep's Head Way, a community-run hiking trail in County Cork. It was opened almost 30 years ago, in July 1996, and is still maintained by volunteers. The landscapes on the Sheep's Head Peninsula are full of raw magic and the views stretch far into the Atlantic. Soul-lifting birdlife too - just heard my first cuckoo of the year. Eyes peeled for whales and dolphins... @guardiantravelsnaps @tourismireland

🦣A MAMMOTH thank you to the Year 4 pupils of Hampshire School Library Service, who have voted Stone Age Beasts as their winner of the Hampshire Information Book Award 2026 🦣 It really does mean an enormous amount for the book to get recognition like this from the readers themselves, especially as almost 5,000 pupils voted in the award. I know that illustrator #grahamebakersmith and the ace team at @walkerbooksuk are every bit as thrilled as I am. Thank you again! #kidsbookstagram #picturebook #booksforkids

Cock-a-doodle-ROARRR!! A few spreads from the newly released 🐓CHICKENS AND OTHER DINOSAURS 🦖, published by @hachettechildrens and illustrated with prehistoric panache by @sarahedmondsart . It looks at the evolution of today's birds from their ancient dinosaur forebears. Clucking its way into all good bok-bok-bok-bookshops now! #kidsbookstagram #childrensbooks #bookstagram #picturebook #booksforkids

A few spreads from Wonder World Water, a new natural science title with @nosycrow and @nationaltrust - it's the follow up title to Wonder World Earth, and is brilliantly illustrated by @xuanle.txl 💦 It's out now!! 💦 #kidsbookstagram #childrensbooks #bookstagram #picturebook

Is that the thud of distant dino footsteps? And why’s that glass of water rippling? Roaring into the world today comes 🐔CHICKENS AND OTHER DINOSAURS🦖, which focuses on the extraordinary tale of bird evolution. It looks at how sharp-toothed prehistoric theropods became the birds we see and hear around us today. Dinosaurs aren’t extinct – they’re everywhere! It’s been a joy working on this very handsome book with mega-talented illustrator @sarahedmondsart , brilliant editor @sadie71 and the rest of the @hachettechildrens team. #childrensbooks #kidsbooks #bookstagram #picturebooks #booksforkids #newkidsbooks #kidsbookstagram #reading #childrensbookillustration #picturebook #childrensbook #childrensbookstagram #raisingreaders

Splashdown! It’s publication day for 💦WONDER WORLD: WATER💦, the second in a beautiful natural science series with @nosycrow and @nationaltrust . And it’s a stunner! Following on from WONDER WORLD: EARTH, it’s gorgeously illustrated by @xuanle.txl and dives into all things watery, from oceans, rivers and aquatic wildlife to the water cycle, erosion and hydration. It holds a microscope up to water molecules, shows how water came to Earth in the first place, and highlights just how vital H2O is to this whole head-spinning hoopla we call life. #childrensbooks #kidsbooks #bookstagram #picturebooks #booksforkids #newkidsbooks #kidsbookstagram #reading #childrensbookillustration #picturebook #childrensbook #childrensbookstagram #raisingreaders

Totally delighted to have been named as a finalist in the England category at the Inspire Global Media Awards 2026, for a travel piece in The Guardian on the Welland Valley. The awards are dedicated to celebrating positive impact storytelling. Congrats to all finalists! #positiveimpactstorytelling

🐔🦖Psst! It's just over a month until this beauty breaks out of its egg and comes blinking into the world... 👀 Out on April 9th, available to pre-order on link below! @sarahedmondsart @sadie71 @hachettechildrens /p/books/chickens-and-other-dinosaurs-how-dinosaurs-became-the-birds-we-know-today-ben-lerwill/3b173cd326d47826?ean=9781803380483&next=t&next=t&affiliate=10403

Honoured and so thrilled to hear that 🐾THE BIGGEST DOG IN THE BOOK🐾 has been selected to be part of Dolly Parton's @imaginationlibrary for 2026, which gifts books to hundreds of thousands of children free of charge to inspire a love of reading. Such an incredible piece of news! And testament to a book that was a real team effort. #woofing9to5 @markachambers @dkbooks @lisadavisbooks

What's under our feet? Burrows! Fossils! Tunnels! Magma chambers! Trains! Vast ecosystems teeming with life! THE WORLD UNDERGROUND is available for pre-order now, with 25% off through Waterstones until Friday night. Like its predecessor THE WORLD AT NIGHT, it's illustrated by the amazing @paulabossio and published by @buster_books This is a beautiful and comprehensive 96-page book packed with facts and illustrations - I'm very proud of it. It's aimed at readers aged 9-11. Use the code FEB26 at /campaign/february-pre-order-offer

Pinch me. NOT SURE WHO THIS BLOKE IS, but he's doing a read-aloud of the US edition of a book I made with the wonderful @mandarina_ruiz . I mean. Wow. The idea for this book came in 2021 after the nastiness in the aftermath of the Euros final. It's for very young kids and celebrates football for what it is: a force for connection and a sport for everyone, everywhere. It's published by @hachettechildrens This is so great. A massive thank you to Harry Kane and US keeper Matt Turner for getting involved with Crayola Creativity Week in North America and showcasing the book. Kids watching the video will also get some brilliant art and creativity tips from Marina. And this year in particular, it's worth remembering that football is ours. It doesn't belong to the FIFA fella or business consortiums or he with no shame. It belongs to us.

It's time to Go All In for the National Year of Reading. This year is going to be the greatest celebration of reading the nation has ever seen! Why now? Because reading for pleasure has, for years, been declining in popularity. Books mean the world. (I’m a chronic under-sharer on social media, but this is me right now: just finished Babel by RF Kuang/ currently reading Wintering by Katherine May/ next up Whatever Will Be Will Be by Felix White/ size of bedside stack: 12-deep and counting.) A good book is a marvellous, marvellous thing. It builds empathy, encourages reflection, fosters learning, provides escape, boosts focus and serves as a general antidote to stress/ burnout/ apathy/ the bad stuff. Reading to or with others, particularly children, is a truly invaluable form of connection. In the words of the National Literacy Trust, "There can be few things as powerful as regularly reading to a young child. It has astonishing benefits for children: comfort and reassurance, confidence and security, relaxation, happiness and fun. Giving a child time and full attention when reading them a story tells them they matter." Old books, new books, audiobooks, graphic novels, kids’ books, magazines, e-books, even blogs: now’s the perfect time to dive back into these worlds headfirst, especially if reading is a passion you’ve lost over the years. Head over to goallin.org.uk and find out more today. #GoAllln2026 #NationalYearofReading2026