Almost two thirds of Britain’s 22 million pet owners celebrate their animal’s birthday or adoption day, spending an average of £121 each

Who has the patience to move at toddler pace? A 77-year-old with a dicky heart. And despite warning he wouldn’t be ‘hands on’, in fact, he can’t get enough

All the usual terms are too ageing for the bestselling writer of the Alex Rider series. His grandson calls him ‘Ant’, he says, ‘which is perfect’

Billund, in Denmark, is where the colourful toy bricks began — and there’s no better place for both children and adult fans to play than the Lego House

The broadcaster on his fight for justice for victims of school abuse — and duetting with his daughter on his new album

Gender disappointment is real, says Flora Gill — but it didn’t last long

Kenechi Udogu’s sci-fi novel Augmented follows a teenager with the power to make plants grow using her voice

Ceci Browning and her father took to the road from Austin to the Rio Grande, exploring the places he knew 50 years previously as a boy

Elizabeth Stone urges parents to swap devices for audio books and challenge older teenagers to ditch Harry Potter, which is the literary equivalent of ‘puréed baby food’

Housed in glamorous grade II listed buildings, with membership fees to match, the new generation of private clubs are catering to a new generation. Anya Meyerowitz reports