I’m relieved to report that Michael Morpurgo wore a smart green suit when he read The Emperor’s New Clothes to open the British Library’s Hans Christian Andersen exhibition. In one of his last appearances as Children’s Laureate, he picked up a new title, Andersen Ambassador. The nine ambassadors, also including Sandi Toksvig, Roger Moore, David Frost and Liz Hurley, will promote Andersen’s works and the HCA-abc Foundation, set up in the bicentenary year to address illiteracy worldwide. The exhibition, staged under the wings of a giant swan by children’s theatre company Theatre Rites, is the BL’s first major attempt to appeal to families with installations picking up on Anderson’s passion for papercuts (pictured).

Book now for the programme of talks (and a conference August 8-10 aimed at teachers, librarians and academics). See www.bl.ukhca or tel 020 7412 7222