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Visit the World Book Day website for ways to celebrate World Book Day this year.

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10 Ways to Celebrate World Book Day 2021!

" Back

World Book Day 2021 might be a little different to previous years but we are more determined than ever to help you celebrate a love of books and shared reading, with ideas and resources that can be enjoyed both at home and at school.

Find out more about World Book Day here, or head to our FAQs to see how things are working during lockdown.

Here are some of the ways you can join in with World Book Day celebrations this year...

1. CHOOSE YOUR £1 BOOK

Take a look at our line-up of £1 books for 2021, featuring some of your favourite authors and illustrators. The handy 'Look Inside' feature gives a preview of each book before you make your choice.

2. SHOW YOUR SHARES

We want to see you sharing stories together and we're awarding prizes for the best story shares with a different theme each week. Find out how to enter here from 17th February.

3. READING RESOURCES

Our website is stuffed full of reading recommendations and free resources that you can enjoy as a family on World Book Day and all year round.

4. FREE AUDIOBOOKS

A brand new selection of free audiobooks for all ages will be available from 18th February.

5. SHARE A STORY

Our Share A Story Corner videos are perfect for watching with little ones. Or head to our YouTube channel for videos of World Book Day ambassadors reading from their own (or their favourite) children's book.

6. BE A READING STAR

Fill in your own book-y star chart every time you share a story with our Reading Stars game!

7. GET FUNDRAISING

Buy a T'shirt, earn a badge, or organise an event with your family, at school, or even at work. Find out more on our Fundraising page.

8. WORK PERK

Calling all companies and book-loving boards of directors! Why not let your staff finish work early on Thursday 4 th March so they can share stories with any children in their lives? You can even tweet about it for extra kudos @WorldBookDayUK

9. JOIN OUR BOOK CLUB

Our brand new World Book Day Book Club is launching in March! Get the low-down here and find out what our first Book Club title will be!

10. FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL

Find out all the latest news in the run up to World Book Day and beyond by following us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram (all our links are at the top of this page). Get involved by tagging us in your posts - you can use #WorldBookDay across all platforms!

World Book Day is a charity funded by publishers and booksellers in the UK and Ireland.

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10 Ways to Celebrate World Book Day 2021! - World Book Day

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Our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users and enhance your user experience. They also help us improve our site. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

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Author Celia C Pérez shows how to get creative by making your own zines.

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A zine, pronounced "zeen" (just like the end of the word magazine), is a homemade publication. There are no set-in-stone rules for making zines. A zine can be about anything you're interested in. Really! There are all kinds of zines including: fanzines (a zine about something or someone you love), cooking zines full of recipes and tips, comic zines, art zines, poetry zines, and personal zines where people write about their daily lives. I once saw a zine that was created to look like sticks of chewing gum inside a wrapper! The content and appearance of a zine is completely up to the creator and can be as simple or as complicated as you want.

In my middle grade novel, The First Rule of Punk, 12-year-old Malú makes personal zines to explore the things that are happening in her life. She writes and uses a combination of collage and drawings to document her feelings about leaving her home and moving to a new city, learning about her Mexican heritage, her love of music, and even dyeing her hair.

Making a zine is all about self-expression and creativity. Sound good? Okay, let's get to it!

Supplies

These are all you really need:

Paper

Something to write with

A pair of scissors

Extra Supplies

The sky's the limit, really, but here are a few things I like to use:

Glue stick

Colored pencils (or crayons)

Rubber stamps

Washi tape

Stickers

Old magazines

Old stamps

Paint chips

Security envelope linings

String or yarn

Instructions

Step 1: Fold your sheet of paper in half. Fold it again into quarters, and then one more time so that it is folded into eighths.

Step 2: Open your paper so that it is folded in half. Cut halfway across the middle from the fold. When you open your paper it should have a slit in the middle.

Step 3: Fold your paper lengthwise (along the crease that has the slit). Hold the paper at either end, then push the ends in toward each other. The sections should fold into each other to form an eight-page booklet.

Step 4: Now it's time for you to fill in your blank booklet and turn it into a zine! How you fill it in is completely up to you. You can plan or sketch out your content before making it final, or just wing it. Use the basic supplies only or add extra elements. If you want to just write and not use images, that's cool too.

Step 5: And that's it! You can keep it for yourself, give the original away as a one-of-a-kind gift, or make copies to share with your friends. Either way, you've made your first zine!

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How to Make a Zine: A Kid-Friendly DIY Guide | Brightly

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A zine, pronounced "zeen" (just like the end of the word magazine), is a homemade publication. There are no set-in-stone rules for making zines. A zine can be about anything you're interested in. Really!

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Access to Britannica Online, New Oxford Shakespeare, Naxos Music Library, Press Reader and many other resources. All free to county library members. Join the library here.

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General reference Family history Literature and music Business information Newspapers and magazines Learning

Hertfordshire names online
Access many of our indexes to local and family history sources, such as pre-1837 marriages, wills, newspapers and magazines, tithe awards and records about the poor.

Hertfordshire names online
Access many of our indexes to local and family history sources, such as pre-1837 marriages, wills, newspapers and magazines, tithe awards and records about the poor.

Naxos Music Library (Use your library card number to login).
Streaming music website, focusing on classical music, also with jazz, world music and classic rock.

Our licence allows for 10 users to have access at the same time. If access is denied, please try again at a later time.

New Oxford Shakespeare (Login with "hertsb" and your library card number)
Read or cross-search the complete texts (in modern or original spellings and punctuation), notes, and scholarly resources in one integrated powerful resource. Highly recommended for students, lecturers, actors, play-lovers and scholars.

Who else writes like? (Use your library card number to login).
Find an author whose books you like and see which other writers are recommended. You can also browse by genre or explore prize winners.

Who else writes like? (Use your library card number to login).
Find an author whose books you like and see which other writers are recommended. You can also browse by genre or explore prize winners.

Press Reader
(Card number to log in).
Read over 4000 newspapers from 100 countries in 60 languages.

By default, your full name is visible to other Hertfordshire customers on PressReader. You can change your user name and edit your privacy settings.

RBDigital magazines
(Use your library card number to create an account).
Read more than 120 popular magazines, all in full colour.

(Use your library card number to login).
A collection of 1000s of national, international and local newspapers, including all UK broadsheets and tabloids.

(Use your library card number to login).
A collection of 1000s of national, international and local newspapers, including all UK broadsheets and tabloids.

Learnmyway
Free basic courses for beginners on using a computer, browsing the web, sending an email, online safety and finding work online.

FutureLearn
Free access to hundreds of online courses from top universities and specialist organisations. Develop your professional skills or discover a new hobby.

Learnmyway
Free basic courses for beginners on using a computer, browsing the web, sending an email, online safety and finding work online.

FutureLearn
Free access to hundreds of online courses from top universities and specialist organisations. Develop your professional skills or discover a new hobby.

Universal Class
Access over 500 high quality online courses, from art and photography, home and garden, to writing skills. Courses have real instructors to guide the learning and provide a collaborative learning environment.

Universal Class
Access over 500 high quality online courses, from art and photography, home and garden, to writing skills. Courses have real instructors to guide the learning and provide a collaborative learning environment.

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General reference Family history Literature and music Business information Newspapers and magazines Learning Hertfordshire names online Access many of our indexes to local and family history sources, such as pre-1837 marriages, wills, newspapers and magazines, tithe awards and records about the poor.

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A different free book to read online every week, author videos and activities.

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First News Weekly Newspaper For Children

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First News Weekly Newspaper For Children

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Free access to the digital edition during school closures.

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There's always something new and exciting going on at First Group Enterprises (publishers of First News). We'd like to tell you about news, offers, other educational products, competitions and promotions from First News. We only process data and send communications as detailed within our Privacy Policy. By submitting this form you are agreeing to receiving relevant marketing communications from First News. You'll always be able to opt-out and we'll never share your information with third parties for their marketing.

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We are creating free access to our products for a limited period of time, to help parents, children and schools during any isolation or school closures. First News is a weekly newspaper aimed at 7 to 14-year-olds that aims to get kids talking about the news in an easy to understand and non-threatening way.

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Amanda Gorman's inspiring poem which she wrote and performed for the inauguration of President Biden.

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hen day comes, we ask ourselves where can we find light in this never-ending shade?
The loss we carry, a sea we must wade.
We've braved the belly of the beast.
We've learned that quiet isn't always peace,
and the norms and notions of what "just" is isn't always justice.
And yet, the dawn is ours before we knew it.
Somehow we do it.
Somehow we've weathered and witnessed a nation that isn't broken,
but simply unfinished.
We, the successors of a country and a time where a skinny Black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of becoming president, only to find herself reciting for one.

And yes, we are far from polished, far from pristine,
but that doesn't mean we are striving to form a union that is perfect.
We are striving to forge our union with purpose.
To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters, and conditions of man.
And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us, but what stands before us.
We close the divide because we know, to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside.
We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another.
We seek harm to none and harmony for all.
Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
That even as we grieved, we grew.
That even as we hurt, we hoped.
That even as we tired, we tried.
That we'll forever be tied together, victorious.
Not because we will never again know defeat, but because we will never again sow division.

Scripture tells us to envision that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree and no one shall make them afraid.
If we're to live up to our own time, then victory won't lie in the blade, but in all the bridges we've made.
That is the promise to glade, the hill we climb, if only we dare.
It's because being American is more than a pride we inherit.
It's the past we step into and how we repair it.
We've seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it.
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy.
This effort very nearly succeeded.
But while democracy can be periodically delayed,
it can never be permanently defeated.
In this truth, in this faith, we trust,
for while we have our eyes on the future, history has its eyes on us.
This is the era of just redemption.
We feared it at its inception.
We did not feel prepared to be the heirs of such a terrifying hour,
but within it, we found the power to author a new chapter, to offer hope and laughter to ourselves.
So while once we asked, 'How could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?' now we assert, 'How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?'

We will not march back to what was, but move to what shall be:
A country that is bruised but whole, benevolent but bold, fierce and free.
We will not be turned around or interrupted by intimidation because we know our inaction and inertia will be the inheritance of the next generation.
Our blunders become their burdens.
But one thing is certain:
If we merge mercy with might, and might with right, then love becomes our legacy and change, our children's birthright.

So let us leave behind a country better than the one we were left.
With every breath from my bronze-pounded chest, we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one.
We will rise from the golden hills of the west.
We will rise from the wind-swept north-east where our forefathers first realized revolution.
We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states.
We will rise from the sun-baked south.
We will rebuild, reconcile, and recover.
In every known nook of our nation, in every corner called our country,
our people, diverse and beautiful, will emerge, battered and beautiful.
When day comes, we step out of the shade, aflame and unafraid.
The new dawn blooms as we free it.
For there is always light,
if only we're brave enough to see it.
If only we're brave enough to be it.

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The Hill We Climb: the Amanda Gorman poem that stole the inauguration show

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hen day comes, we ask ourselves where can we find light in this never-ending shade? The loss we carry, a sea we must wade. We've braved the belly of the beast. We've learned that quiet isn't always peace, and the norms and notions of what "just" is isn't always justice.

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Holocaust Memorial Day: The Question by Tom Palmer

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Holocaust Memorial Day: The Question by Tom Palmer

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Holocaust Memorial Day is on 27th January 2021. Tom Palmer reads his story about a school visit from a holocaust survivor. More about Holocaust Memorial Day and writing your own story here.

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A fantastic collection of poems on the theme of freedom.

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A free poetry anthology of wonderful poems - old and new - on the theme of "freedom".

17 of the poets in this eBook - created by Macmillan Children's Books with Forward Arts Foundation - are National Poetry Day Ambassadors. This crack team of poets are out on poetry business every day of the year, look out for them - Deborah Alma, Sally Crabtree, Jan Dean, Roger Stevens, Indigo Williams, Liz Brownlee, Joseph Coelho, Rachel Rooney, Brian Moses, Paul Cookson, Remi Graves, Matt Goodfellow, Sophie McKeand, Matt Goodfellow, Chrissie Gittins, Sophie Herxheimer and Joshua Seigal. Catch them if they're appearing near you, and discover their poetry and the poetry that inspires them in this free anthology.
Download as pdf

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National Poetry Day eBook - National Poetry Day

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A free poetry anthology of wonderful poems - old and new - on the theme of "freedom". 17 of the poets in this eBook - created by Macmillan Children's Books with Forward Arts Foundation - are National Poetry Day Ambassadors. This crack team of poets are out on poetry business every day of the year,...

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Request books using the online form and collect them at the library door. You can join the library here.

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Ready Reads is a new way to borrow books from Hertfordshire libraries. Simply let us know what you like to read, which of our participating libraries you'd like to collect your order from, and we'll choose a selection of books for you. You won't be able to request specific authors or titles in your pack, but we'll do our best to find books you'll enjoy. You can make reservations through our catalogue in the normal way.

There are 6 books in each adult and teen Ready Reads pack and 12 books in each children's Ready Reads pack. Privacy notice - how we'll use the data you give us (PDF, 177KB)

If you're ordering books for your child: Children need to have their own library cards. If your child does not have a card, please join them online before proceeding. You will be given a temporary number which you can use on this form to order your child's book packs.

You can order packs of books for yourself and other family members on this form. Once you've submitted it, we'll select a pack based on your choices and contact you when it is ready for collection. We'll even issue the books to your card, so all you will have to do is collect your pack.

Visit your local library page to check collection times.

Find out more about how Hertfordshire libraries are responding to Coronavirus.

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Hertfordshire Libraries - Ready Reads request form

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Ready Reads is a new way to borrow books from Hertfordshire libraries. Simply let us know what you like to read, which of our participating libraries you'd like to collect your order from, and we'll choose a selection of books for you.

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BBC adaptation of Phillip Pullman's epic trilogy with extra clips from behind the scenes.

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Star-studded adaptation of Philip Pullman's fantasy trilogy.

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Find information, games and quizzes.

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Britannica Money

Discover all you need to know about retirement, investing, and household finance, without the jargon or agenda. Get reliable guidance, insight, and easy-to-understand explanations, written, edited, and verified to Britannica's exacting standards.

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Explore the fact-checked online encyclopedia from Encyclopaedia Britannica with hundreds of thousands of objective articles, biographies, videos, and images from experts.

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Which character are you? Take the quiz and find out!

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Take the Skulduggery Pleasant character quiz! - UK Skulduggery Pleasant

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Test your author knowledge!

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QUIZ: Take a trip from the land of Oz to Narnia alongside Max and Peter Rabbit to figure out how much you know about writers of children's books. Let the wild rumpus start!

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Free chapters to read from various popular manga.

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VIZ: Read Free Shonen Jump Manga - Official & Simul with Japan

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The world's most popular manga! Read free or become a member. Start your free trial today!

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Harry Potter Book Night has been moved to 24th June 2021, but plenty of activities on this page to keep Harry Potter fans busy until then!

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If you haven't already, you can also register and download the 36-page Harry Potter Book Night Event Kit, which is now available until the end of June 2021 - this 36 page booklet is full of additional activities. Download here.

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If you haven't already, you can also register and download the 36-page Harry Potter Book Night Event Kit, which is now available until the end of June 2021 - this 36 page booklet is full of additional activities. Download here.

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Talking about Noughts and Crosses, racism and immigration.

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Malorie Blackman on her new 'Noughts and Crosses' book and anti-immigrant feeling in the UK

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Talking about the importance of diversity in books for young people.

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Alex Wheatle: What happens when diverse readers see themselves reflected in fiction

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Author Alex Wheatle explains why books need to show children and teenagers a world they recognise - and start telling some different stories.

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The brilliant Bali Rai who visited Highfield last year talks about his new book Mohinder's War, an adventure story set during WWII.

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For our June Q&A we were lucky enough to interview author Bali Rai. A leading voice in UK teen fiction, he has written over 40 novels and is a passionate advocate of libraries, reading for pleasure and promoting literacy. Born in Leicester, his writing is inspired by his working-class, multicultural background.

Bali's latest book, Mohinder's War, is a thrilling World War II adventure set in occupied France, featuring an Indian RAF pilot and is a brilliant read for fans of Michael Morpurgo and John Boyne, and perfect for anyone looking for diverse historical fiction.

Can you tell us a bit more about Mohinder's War and where you came up with the
inspiration for it?

Mohinder's War is inspired by the story of Mohinder Singh Pujji, a Sikh RAF pilot during World War Two. Although it's fictional, I wanted to highlight the role of non-white, British subjects during the war. Pujji was an ace pilot who survived a crash and was flying again just weeks later. After the war, he settled in Kent, and there is a statue of him in Gravesend. His story is not widely known, and I wanted to change that. My story uses elements of his life, but the plot is entirely my own.
With the 75th anniversary of VE Day this year, many children and young people will be asking questions about World War II. What message would you like your readers to take away from your story?
I think the main message is to remember the sacrifices made by all those who helped the war effort. By that, I mean the factory workers, the "land girls", the animals and their handlers, ordinary civilians across Europe and further afield, amongst so many others. And particularly those whose voices haven't been heard very much. India contributed the largest volunteer force in history during WW2 (1.5 million), and then we have those who came from the Caribbean and across Africa, from places like Poland etc... These people deserve to have their efforts recognised. Sadly, that isn't always the case. The British war effort would have failed without support from across the world. In our remembrance of this awful time, we cannot and should not ignore that.

Historical fiction is a brilliant way of getting children and young people interested in
history. Can you name any of your favourite stories that you think everyone should read?
As a child, did you always want to be a writer? What advice would you give young writers out there?
Oh wow - where do I start? I have always loved Auslander by Paul Dowswell, and I recommend it continually. I adored Race to the Frozen North by Catherine Johnson, too.

Patrice Lawrence's Divers Daughter is also excellent. Ruta Sepetys' Salt To The Sea, The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge, The Somerset Tsunami by Emma Carrol, A Beautiful Lie by Irfan Master. Anything historical from Michael Morpurgo or Elizabeth Laird. I was also sent a novel called The Art of White Roses by Viviana Prado-Nunez, which is set in 1950s Cuba and was a delight. I'm a huge fan of historical fiction so I could go on and on. In fact, I've probably missed out loads!

Yes, I always wanted to be a writer. I adored the books of C.S. Lewis, Roald Dahl, Douglas Adams, S.E. Hinton and others, but my role model was Sue Townsend. She was the writer that made me dream. After reading her first two books, I started to believe it was possible. Sue will always remain the most pivotal writer in my career.
Mohinder's War by Bali Rai, published by Bloomsbury publishes on 11 June.
The advice I give to young writers never changes. Read as much as you can, practice your writing every day if possible. Don't worry about making mistakes, they are lessons that improve your writing. Don't be afraid to copy the styles of your favourite authors - I mimicked my favourites until my own style appeared. You learn to play guitar by copying your favourite guitarist, you learn to paint by copying your favourite artists. Writing is exactly the same. Keep honing your skills and you will improve and flourish. And enjoy it, too. Before anything else, it should be fun.

Here at World Book Day, we're all about sharing stories. Who do you most like sharing
stories with and why?

I love sharing stories with the pupils and staff I meet in schools across the UK. That's always been a fun way to test new ideas. I also share with my two closest friends, and for the past couple of years, my little girl (Maisie's seven now). Parenthood has given me a hundred ideas and Maisie and I will be putting a series together quite soon, based on her and her best friend, Stanley. Of course, social media is also a wonderful platform to share stories. I'm pleased for anyone to read mine, once I'm completely happy with how they read!

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Q&A with Bali Rai, author of Mohinder's War - World Book Day

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For our June Q&A we were lucky enough to interview author Bali Rai. A leading voice in UK teen fiction, he has written over 40 novels and is a passionate advocate of libraries, reading for pleasure and promoting literacy. Born in Leicester, his writing is inspired by his working-class, multicultural background.

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A programme about Julia Donaldson and her books.

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the gruffalo and me: the remarkable julia donaldson

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The Gruffalo and Me: The Remarkable Julia Donaldson

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A celebration of the life and work of Julia Donaldson.

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An exciting online read from Anthony Horowitz.

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blog - Dev Sardana , author of thriller.....

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Cathy Cassidy reads Snowflakes and Wishes, Angel Cake, Scarlett and Love from Lexie, plus Sunday Book Club.

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Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

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Neil Gaiman reads The Graveyard Book

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Watch Neil Gaiman Read The Graveyard Book Return to the sprawling graveyard in this classic novel or discover Bod's boyhood adventures anew, read by master s...

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On why he wrote Refugee Boy.

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A collection of stories and poems in MP3 format.

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Welcome

Lit2Go is a free online collection of stories and poems in Mp3 (audiobook) format. An abstract, citation, playing time, and word count are given for each of the passages. Many of the passages also have a related reading strategy identified. Each reading passage can also be downloaded as a PDF and printed for use as a read-along or as supplemental reading material for your classroom.

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Lit2Go is a free online collection of stories and poems in Mp3 (audiobook) format. An abstract, citation, playing time, and word count are given for each of the passages. Many of the passages also have a related reading strategy identified.

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The author of The Hate U Give and On The Come Up talking about being young and Black in America.

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When Worlds Collide | The Hate U Give & On The Come Up with Angie Thomas

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Collection of articles related to English, History, Citizenship and Religios Studies inspired by items in The British Library.

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Created to comfort and inspire during lockdown, a collection of stories, poems and art by children's writers and artists, edited by Katherine Rundell.

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Edited by Katherine Rundell, with contributions from more than 100 children's writers and illustrators

This extraordinary collection of short stories, poems, essays and pictures has contributions from more than 110 children's writers and illustrators, including Lauren Child, Anthony Horowitz, Greg James and Chris Smith, Michael Morpurgo, Liz Pichon, Axel Scheffler, Francesca Simon and Jacqueline Wilson.

The collection, published by Bloomsbury, is dedicated to the doctors, nurses, carers, porters, cleaners and everyone working in hospitals.

Read the book

When schools were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic in both 2020 and 2021 Bloomsbury generously permitted us to share The Book of Hopes as an ebook freely accessible to schools and families.

As part of our Education Recovery support for schools and children we worked with partners to develop a range of supporting resources, that you can find linked below.

The Book of Hopes is now available as a beautiful hardback gift edition, with 23 never-seen-before stories, poems and illustrations, providing an ongoing wealth of discovery, comfort and inspiration for children.

The Book of Hopes is available to buy from all good book retailers. A donation from the sale of each book will go to NHS Charities Together, in gratitude for the incredible efforts of all those who worked in hospitals over the quarantine period. Learn more and purchase your own copy.

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The Book of Hopes | National Literacy Trust

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Read The Book of Hopes: Words and Pictures to Comfort, Inspire and Entertain Children

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If you've joined your town library, you can download the BorrowBox app to access free eBooks and audio books.

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Children, Children's Fiction, Fantasy Fiction, Literary Fiction

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Stories and activities for anyone who likes football.

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The football is about to kick off again. For many children who won't be able to get into school until September, this sudden summer of football action could be a great way to keep them reading and writing. These ten activities offer a variety of ways to engage children with reading and writing for fun and keep them literacy fit for autumn 2020.
ONE Roy and Rocky of the Rovers Writing Kit. A set of eight activities designed to engage football fans with different aspects of writing using passion for the game as a way in. https://royoftheroversofficial.com/news/2343

￼

TWO Listen to the seven-part story, The Mystery of the Stolen FA Cup Medal - read by a proper actor - and do the activities designed by the British Council. https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/mystery-stolen-fa-cup-medal

THREE Learn to draw football star - Rocky Race - with the help of Roy of the Rovers illustrator, Lisa Henke: https://www.tompalmer.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Rocky-drawing-2.pdf

FOUR Read about how football and other things in Tom Palmer's life directly inspired the storylines in his books. And how being into football made him a reader in the first place: https://tompalmer.co.uk/biography/

FIVE Read Call of Duty, a short story about a modern footballers volunteering for war. Linked to his First World War football novel, Over the Line. https://issuu.com/barringtonstoke/docs/call_of_duty/1?e=2213880/7442461

SIX Encourage a young reader to read one of Tom's series and receive a personalised signed certificate to congratulate them. https://tompalmer.co.uk/reading-certificates/

SEVEN Read the first chapters of 34 children's books and read whole stories available only on Tom's website: https://tompalmer.co.uk/free-reads/

EIGHT Have a go at a range of colouring sheets, many of them based around football books: https://tompalmer.co.uk/colouring-pages

NINE Read a novel in sixteen chapters set at the last EUROs in France: https://www.tompalmer.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Over-the-Line-Euro-2016-Full-Story.pdf

TEN Contact Tom and ask him a question about one of his books. Please do this via a teacher or a parent and ask them to pass on your questions using the contact form below.
We hope that helps. Happy reading and enjoy the football.
Families ... stay up to date with what I'm doing - or simply say hello - on social media.
Twitter:@tompalmerauthor
Facebook: www.facebook.com/tompalmerauthor/

Subscribe to Tom's newsletter - you can hear direct from Tom each holiday (3 per year) about new writing, preview chapters and exclusive competitions. Please get your parent/guardian's permission.

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A SUMMER OF (READING & WRITING) FOOTBALL

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The football is about to kick off again. For many children who won't be able to get into school until September, this sudden summer of football action could be a great way to keep them reading and writing.

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Join in at: bit.ly/empathydaylive on 9th June 2020.

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Thank you to everyone who joined in with our fabulous online programme. We hope you all enjoyed it and are eager to use your empathy super powers to make the world a better place.

It was lovely seeing all your beautiful empathy glasses and empathy resolution posters. We will share as many of them as possible over the next few days.

All the videos from the day are collected below so if there's anything you missed, you can watch it now.

Feeling inspired? Share your ReadforEmpathy book recommendations with your friends and family. Think about how to put empathy into action in your community. Empathy is needed now more than ever. After all, every day should be empathy day.

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Thank you to everyone who joined in with our fabulous online programme. We hope you all enjoyed it and are eager to use your empathy super powers to make the world a better place. It was lovely seeing all your beautiful empathy glasses and empathy resolution posters.

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"When we share our stories we quickly realize we are all in this together."

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Two Poets, One Vision: The Art of the Spoken Word | The Twin Poets | TEDxWilmington

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Poets about social justice, identity and human rights from poets.org.

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The following poems explore the themes of social justice, identity, and human rights and are appropriate for young people.
more poems for kids
" from Citizen, VI [On the train the woman standing]" by Claudia Rankine
On the train the woman standing makes you understand...

" Carrying Our Words" by Ofelia Zepeda
We travel carrying our words...

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The following poems explore the themes of social justice, identity, and human rights and are appropriate for young people. more poems for kids "Praise Song for the Day" by Elizabeth AlexanderEach day we go about our business... "Still I Rise" by Maya AngelouYou may write me down in history...

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Find poems or prompts to write your own.

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Are you stuck at home? Maybe even self-isolating? Fancy flexing your creative muscles? We've put together a bundle of great writing prompts from across Young Poets Network's nine-year history. Originally, these challenges were set up as writing competitions. They're not competitions any more, but they'll still do a good fun job of getting you writing. Each challenge, like a workshop, contains plenty of examples and ways in. And you can even read the winning responses for yet more inspiration!

So... without further ado:

This is one of the most visited pages on Young Poets Network. Why? Kennings force you to invent new ways of describing - a great exercise for any poet, of any age, and at any stage.

Is the blank page giving you side-eye? Vanquish it along with all its expectations by beginning with something that already exists - a newspaper, a recipe, a page from a travel book. All you have to do is highlight, black out or cut out their words, and turn them into a poem of your own.

This 21 st century poetic form, created by U.S. poet and teacher Terrance Hayes, makes writing interesting new poems a whole lot easier. The challenge is this: take a line from someone else's poem/song/novel (etc.), and use of their words as an end-word for each line in your new poem. Don't worry, it's easier to understand when you read all our examples, and we promise you'll be shovelling in no time.

Clare Pollard, editor of Modern Poetry in Translation, and translator Adham Smart offer the tools to translate 'Today' by Armenian poet Lola Koundakjian - without learning Armenian. If you don't fancy translating 'Today', you can use these skills on any poem with the help of Google Translate. If you're interested in translation, check out this earlier challenge on literary translation by Don Cellini too!

Chris Meade collects 'nearlies' - stories about things that have nearly happened, and how they affect us. Write your own nearly-poem - a perfect 'what-if' exercise for the curious mind!

Do you miss being outside? So do we. Get that nature-fix by thinking afresh about all the interesting names we have for places and plants, wherever in the world you are. Jen Hadfield starts you off with Nigh-No-Place, the Vomit Comet and Krowdrah (which is 'hard work' backwards)...

'The trees are coming into leaf / Like something almost being said'... we may be stuck indoors, but outside your window, spring is carrying on as normal. Trees and poe-tree have a long-established and fruitful relationship - so branch out in your poetics and get inspired by our fir-y friends! (Sorry-not-sorry.)

Have you ever written a mathematical poem? Whether you love or hate science, Jade Cuttle takes you through some marvellous ways that STEM subjects can help inspire your writing.

Want to escape the confines of your house, which seems to be getting smaller by the day? Write from someone else's perspective. Glyn Maxwell has some top tips about how to pull off the dramatic monologue in this challenge.

Can you write a poem that sticks to just one vowel? A, E, I, O or U... choose wisely. This challenge by Ross Sutherland was our first ever workshop on Young Poets Network - and it's still a good'un!

Let us know in the comments how you get on with these, and explore Young Poets Network for over a hundred more writing challenges. Throughout April 2020, we are also sharing daily prompts on The Poetry Society's Instagram as part of NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Wriitng Month) - give us a follow!

P. S. A special extra for students and teachers - here's a fab feature by Richard O'Brien on how to close-read a poem, scallop-shell style. You can also search Young Poets Network for the poets you're studying - we may well have an article about them, and if not, our friends at Poetry By Heart might.

P. P. S. For everyone - right now is a challenging time for everyone, so please make sure you look after your brain. Here are our tips for looking after your mental health, updated to include advice for combatting self-isolation and news-related-anxiety. And remember - just getting through the day in self-isolation is an achievement! If you don't have the brain space to do any writing or reading, don't fret - there's plenty more time in the future for that.

Published March 2020

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Are you stuck at home? Maybe even self-isolating? Fancy flexing your creative muscles? We've put together a bundle of great writing prompts from across Young Poets Network's nine-year history. Originally, these challenges were set up as writing competitions. They're not competitions any more, but they'll still do a good fun job of getting you writing.

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Big Read: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

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Big Read: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

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A daily reading from Coleridge's epic 150-verse poem. Readers include Marianne Faithful, Lemn Sissay and Iggy Pop.

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Poetry ideas for lockdown.

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As students move into the summer after a spring spent in online classes, many parents may wonder how to help their children maintain a sense of progress and develop their creativity. Poetry can assist with both, says Naomi Shihab Nye, who is serving a three-year term as the nation's Young People's Poet Laureate, a position created by the Poetry Foundation. Ms. Nye has published 18 books of poetry for adults and six for young people. Her latest collection is "Cast Away: Poems of Our Time." She recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Book Critics Circle.
Q: How can poetry expand children's perceptions of the world and their own abilities?
Computers and tablets make it easier for kids to look up poems! There are countless poetry sites, such as the Poem-a-Day site and poetry.org, as well as many sites for kids. You can keep special files and folders of favorite poems you find or write: indoor poems, outdoor poems, grouchy poems, frustrated poems, memory poems - whatever you like!

Even if you write them by hand in a notebook first, it's helpful to type up your poem on a computer to see what it looks like on the screen. While you're writing one poem, you often think of a possibility for another poem. It's intrinsically stimulating to put words together, shape phrases and lines - and to know you don't have to be perfect. You can always revise. (But I recommend keeping drafts of your work!)
Q: For families practicing social distancing, how can poetry alleviate a sense of isolation?
Many poems have been written out of times of great anxiety and sorrow. They help you know you're not alone, and this strange time of virus and fear is not the first bad time in history.

We're all anxious together. Poetry offers a compass for shared navigation.
Q: Young children are poets by nature. Why is that the case?
Young children dwell in the land of metaphor from the ages of 2 to 3; it may be our richest experience of language ever, and then we forget it. A 2- or 3-year-old will make surprising metaphors without a bit of self-consciousness. Write these spontaneous gems down, oh parents and guardians! They are so refreshing. As we get older, even by the age of 4 and 5, a new self-consciousness starts taking hold and language becomes more predictable. But if we write poems, we can keep playing with words, images, connections.
Q: Does that kind of verbal play help readers and writers reconnect with a richer, more vivid use of language?
Absolutely. We all have a poetry channel inside our brains and sometimes we need encouragement to acknowledge or value it, or let it give our lives energy. We turn on the channel by becoming very quiet or mindful and listening - to what's around us and inside us. We empty out. We open up. The poetry channel clicks into action when people ruminate, stare, daydream, let their thoughts meander. We all need it regularly and whenever we're feeling overwhelmed is a good time to use it. Or let it hold us.
Q: What daily activities foster your creativity?
I love my ordinary life full of regular old chores. Washing dishes by hand gives me time to think. It's private time. Sweeping gives me time to gather a few thoughts, as I collect the scraps or leaves or dust. Making a bed, I can smooth out my mind too. Everything is a metaphor.

Going outside provides the most benefit to our imaginative thinking: the air, the breeze, the sun, the light, the fog, the birdsong. (I was just digging in my quiet-looking compost heap and dug up a whole crowd of worms doing somersaults.)

Looking out a window is also helpful. What's there? What didn't you notice before?
Q: What advice would you give to parents and teachers who want to encourage young people to read and appreciate poetry?
Expose them to it - daily readings of poems at bedtime, at morning wake-up call, before dinner. Post poems around the house; give your children books of poems, empty notebooks, and nice pencils. You don't have to be an expert on poetry to share it. Just help them feel its power and brevity.

Resources for parents and students
Books by Naomi Shihab Nye:
Voices in the Air
Greenwillow Books (2018)

This Same Sky: A Collection of Poems from Around the World
Aladdin (2008)
Ms. Nye recommends a resource every month on the Poetry Foundation website. Here are some of her recent selections:
Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z
Written by Irene Latham and Charles Waters and illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini, Carolrhoda Books, Minneapolis, 2020.

The Artful Read-Aloud: 10 Principles to Inspire, Engage, and Transform Learning
By Rebecca Bellingham, Heinemann, 2020.

I Remember: Poems and Pictures of Heritage
Compiled by Lee Bennett Hopkins, Lee & Low, Books Inc., 2019.

The Creativity Project: No Rules, Anything Goes, Awesometastic Storybuilding
Edited by Colby Sharp, Little, Brown and Company, 2018.

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As students move into the summer after a spring spent in online classes, many parents may wonder how to help their children maintain a sense of progress and develop their creativity. Poetry can assist with both, says Naomi Shihab Nye, who is serving a three-year term as the nation's Young People's Poet Laureate, a position created by the Poetry Foundation.

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A film poem inspired by Dean Atta's YA novel Black Flamingo, produced as part of Tate London Schools and Teachers project, The Black Flamingo Open Studio.

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The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta | Directed by Lisa Cazzato Vieyra

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Inspiration ahead of National Writing Day on 24th June.

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Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

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Tom Palmer reads the first chapter of After the War 

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Tom Palmer reads the first chapter of After the War 

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The story of three refugees who end up in the Lake District after WW2.

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Tom Palmer reads the first chapter of his children's novel, After the War.

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Catherine Millar interviews children's authors including Katherine Woodfine, Bali Rai and Catherine Johnson.

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Illustrated by Axel Scheffler, a new book from Nosy Crow explaining the virus for children. Free to download.

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Lots of bookish ideas and activities for lockdown.

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- check out our favourites We have over 1,000 books with videos, lesson plans and activity sheets! here or search for your favourite book and see what's available on the book page.

Involve the grandparents - call/skype grandparents and ask them to provide the first line of a story. The kids then sit down and write for 30 minutes then phone them back to read out their story.

Get the kids to write a diary - these are extraordinary times and this will help not only to record these crazy days but writing things down can also help with anxiety.

Maps & Atlases - I printed off a world map and asked the kids to think of/research 10 books set in different countries and add them to the map. If you have an atlas at home you can also set them challenges to find where places are e.g. "Find the Galapagos Islands"..."in which country is St Petersburg in"..."write down 10 facts about Turkey" etc etc

Write a book review - I'd be remiss if I didn't encourage kids to write a book review! You can download our ' 10 tips on how to write a book review' which also includes a quick book review template to print off at home. It doesn't matter if they enjoy reading classics or David Walliams books, writing a review helps them to think about the book, hone their comprehension skills and improve their vocabulary.

Audiobooks - we have a list here of some of our favourite audiobooks but Borrowbox, which are ebooks and audiobooks loaned out by your local library should be your new best friend. Audible have also put a small selection for free and there are apps like Cloudaloud which have some free titles too.

Podcasts - Soundcloud (where you can listen to extracts, author readings, kids interviewing authors and more)

Videos - We're adding videos to our book pages (see this author video for The Train to Impossible Places and a gorgeous video review of Captain Whiskers from one of our Video Panel Reviewers)

Publisher Youtube Channels: See Walker Books, Usborne, Dorling Kindersley, Nosy Crow, HarperCollins Children's, Puffin Books, Egmont Publishing, Macmillan Children's Books, Hachette Children's Books, Ladybird Books (including Peppa Pig), Little Tiger Press, Lit Film Fest are releasing a daily video or writing tips.

Author Youtube Videos: Michael Rosen, Andy Stanton reads Mr Gum and the Biscuit Billionaire, Abi Elphinstone, Jeff Norton, Philip Ardagh,

Illustrator Youtube Videos: Steven Lenton, Nick Sharratt, Tom McLaughlin

Toppsta Youtube channel: We've recently launched our Toppsta Youtube channel and we'll be sharing video reviews from children and 'Look Inside' videos too.

Organisations with free resources to use at home:

But also check out BBC Teach, Authorfy (login required), World Book Day, CLPE (Centre for Literacy in Primary Education), British Library, Scholastic Resource Bank, The School Run, Booktrust, Literacy Shed, KeyStage2Literacy, Literacy Trust, Lovemybooks and Caryl Hart is doing an amazing job collecting together all the picture book resources over on her website.

Creative Writing/Drawing: Pobble (a picture a day to inspire drawing and writing. Ask your kids to find their favourite book and ask them to either draw the existing cover or a new version. Author Sinead O'Hart is running creative challenges on her website for kids to enter and win books.

Twitter: if you're on Twitter we are running a live Twitter chat every weekday at 10am where you can find out more about new books, authors and illustrators. You can also follow the hashtags #FreeBookResources #UnitedByBooks #lockdownkidlit

Facebook: Author Events Online

Instagram: Lydia Monks, Sandra Dieckmann,

Run a sponsored read - and get books into the hands of children who need them most. Take a look at Readathon and the brilliant work they do

Check if your favourite author has their own website - so many have brilliant resources you can download for free from their website: see Joshua Siegal, Joseph Coelho, Tom Palmer, Peter Bunzl, Robin Stevens, Andy Shepherd, Will Mabbitt, Kieran Larwood & more

Great illustrator websites with free resources: Nick Sharratt, Sarah McIntyre

Ditto for great publishers who have tons of resources over on their websites. Check out the advice and free resources for dyslexic readers on the Barrington Stoke website, Walker Picture Book Party, Nosy Crow Activities, Usborne Play & Learn (coming soon), Chicken House, Piccadilly Press, Lonely Planet Kids, Child's Play, Lion Hudson and more

ebooks - Register for Borrowbox so you can borrow ebooks from your local library and Project Gutenberg has has more than 60,000 ebooks available for free

Bedtime Stories - Check out Cbeebies Bedtime Stories

Toppsta

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Weekly schedule of online bookish events taking place this week | Toppsta

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check out our favourites We have over 1,000 books with videos, lesson plans and activity sheets! here or search for your favourite book and see what's available on the book page. Involve the grandparents - call/skype grandparents and ask them to provide the first line of a story.

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Free reads every month.

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Read full length books online for free and enjoy exclusive, extended excerpts of new young adult novels at RivetedLit.com.

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Blog about Japanese Manga, Anime and Culture.

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A fantasy series created by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell. Listen on YouTube.

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THE NAMELESS ONE PART 1 - The Edge Chronicles Series Book (The Cade Saga Trilogy)

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Visit ambient soundscapes inspired by Harry Potter locations.

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Harry Potter ASMR Ambience/POV 1 hour cinemagraphs - by ASMR rooms - YouTube

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Harry Potter Inspired ASMR - Hufflepuff Common Room - Hogwarts Ambience - 1 hour HD Cinemagraphs

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Make your own miniature book.

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Make a miniature book

Created by Shelagh McCarthy

These tiny books shown below measure 57mm high and 47mm wide - around the same length as a mouse's tail! They were part of the Infant's Library created more than 200 years ago.

Why are The Infant's Library books so small?

These books were designed to help children learn by reading to their dolls. The series starts with the alphabet and ends with books about animals, flowers, birds, games, outdoor scenes, objects and a (very!) Short History of England.

A small book for a small person

The very first work author Charlotte Brontë created was a miniature book containing a short story written for her baby sister Anne. Written and stitched together when Charlotte was just 12 years old, it was one of many tiny handmade books made by Charlotte and her siblings. The later books were made for and about the children's toy soldiers.

Books for a dolls' house

The book shown below is from the library of Queen Mary's Dolls' House. The little royal house has a garage with cars, baths with silver taps that really work, there's even real wine in tiny bottles in the cellar, and a gramophone with very small records that play the National Anthem. The dolls' house library contains nearly 600 books, handwritten by famous writers such as the author of Winnie-the-Pooh, A A Milne, and James Barrie, who wrote Peter Pan.

Take a look at these brilliant miniature books made by some of your favourite authors, from Jacqueline Wilson to Philip Ardagh, Axel Scheffler and Katherine Rundell.

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Make a miniature book | The British Library

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Make a miniature book Created by Shelagh McCarthy These tiny books shown below measure 57mm high and 47mm wide - around the same length as a mouse's tail! They were part of the Infant's Library created more than 200 years ago. These books were designed to help children learn by reading to their dolls.

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Poems to read and share, curated by Carol Ann Duffy, in response to the Coronavirus pandemic.

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"We need the voice of poetry in times of change and world-grief. A poem only seeks to add to the world and now seems the time to give"
Carol Ann Duffy
Creative Director of the Manchester Writing School

Copyright in the poems submitted to WRITE Where We Are NOW remains with the original author but they have granted Manchester Metropolitan University permission to publish each poem on the University website and share in other electronic forms (including on social media channels) for the purposes of this project.

Manchester Metropolitan University is home to the Manchester Poetry Library, opening in 2020. As the North West's first public poetry library, it will host a collection of contemporary poetry and a programme of exhibitions, events and performances where language is celebrated in all its diversity. To find out more about opportunities available, visit: https://www2.mmu.ac.uk/poetrylibrary/

The Manchester Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan is one of the UK's most successful literary centres, and home to the country's largest postgraduate English and Creative Writing community with more than 95 published alumni. The School also offers short courses, events and international writing competitions. To find out more, visit: https://www2.mmu.ac.uk/english/mcr-writing-school/

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"We need the voice of poetry in times of change and world-grief. A poem only seeks to add to the world and now seems the time to give" Carol Ann Duffy Creative Director of the Manchester Writing School Copyright in the poems submitted to WRITE Where We Are NOW remains with the original author but they have granted Manchester Metropolitan University permission to publish each poem on the University website and share in other electronic forms (including on social media channels) for the purposes of this project.

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"Reading is magic, and magic is for everyone"

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"Reading is magic, and magic is for everyone"

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A letter of reassurance and hope from Waterstones Children's Laureate Cressida Cowell.

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BookTrust HomeTime

Looking for something fun as a family? Enjoy storytime with our free online books and videos, play games, win prizes, test your knowledge in our book-themed quizzes, or even learn how to draw some of your favourite characters.
Go to the HomeTime hub

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A letter from Cressida Cowell: 'Reading is magic, and magic is for everyone'

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Looking for something fun as a family? Enjoy storytime with our free online books and videos, play games, win prizes, test your knowledge in our book-themed quizzes, or even learn how to draw some of your favourite characters. Go to the HomeTime hub

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Patrick Stewart reads Shakespeare's sonnets

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Patrick Stewart reads Shakespeare's sonnets

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Listen to Patrick Stewart read a different sonnet every day.

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Log in to Twitter to see the latest. Join the conversation, follow accounts, see your Home Timeline, and catch up on Tweets from the people you know.

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A collection of over 60,000 ebooks focusing mainly on older books and classic stories.

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Podcasts about the exciting world of YA books!

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Hey YA! A Young Adult Books Podcast From Book Riot: Listen Now

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From great new books to classic reads, from news to the latest on-screen adaptations, keep up with the world of young adult lit with the Hey YA podcast!

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Cressida Cowell reads How to Train Your Dragon on YouTube plus lots of other videos about her books.

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"cressida cowell" "how to train your dragon" "the wizards of once" readings "reading aloud" "children's books" "kids books" "books for kids" "books for child...

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Hello! I'm Cressida Cowell, the Waterstones Children's Laureate and the author and illustrator of How to Train Your Dragon and The Wizards of Once. On my channel, you will find readings, creativity tips, book recommendations and story writing ideas. #ReadingisMagic and magic is for everyone!

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Creative fun from your favourite authors. New challenges every day!

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Are you new to Authorfy?

Create an account for just £2.50 a month to gain instant, unlimited access to all
of our author videos, book extracts and downloadable resources.

Already a member?

Sign in to access our entire video and resource library.

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Create an account for just £2.50 a month to gain instant, unlimited access to allof our author videos, book extracts and downloadable resources. Sign in to access our entire video and resource library.

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Chris Bradford's YouTube with his Ninja Night Reads originally broadcast April 2020.

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As an author, Chris Bradford practises what he terms ‘method writing’. For his award- winning Young Samurai series, he trained in samurai swordsmanship, karate, ninjutsu and earned his black belt in Zen Kyu Shin Taijutsu. For his Bodyguard series, he embarked on an intensive close-protection course to become a qualified professional bodyguard. And for the Soul Prophecy trilogy, Chris travelled extensively to experience first-hand the cultures featured in the story – from living with the Shona people in Zimbabwe, to trekking the Inca trail, to meditating in a Buddhist temple amid the mountains of Japan. His bestselling books are published in over twenty-five languages and have garnered more than thirty children’s book awards and nominations. Chris lives in England with his two sons. To discover more about Chris, go to www.chrisbradford.co.uk

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Alexander Gordon Smith reads his book Lockdown.

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Lockdown in Lockdown!! The Escape From Furnace: Lockdown Read-Through, Part 1!

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It's a great time to keep a journal - advice from author Nicola Morgan.

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An article by Filed Under: Nicola Morgan on News, Wellbeing and stress management

With schools off for months and all of us living through an extraordinary time, I have an idea to help with both. All of us should keep a daily diary. This would be brilliant for adults, too, but for young people, it serves three specific purposes:

1. Something genuinely creative, educational, practical to do each day

2. Writing, especially about one's own feelings and experiences, is therapeutic - it helps us process what we are dealing with

3. A historical record which I absolutely promise you'll be glad of in years to come

"But we will never forget this," I hear you say. Oh, you will! You will forget almost all the details - and you will have no control over which you forget and which you remember. You'll even forget the emotions. Just a few weeks after all this is over (because, yes, it will be) you'll have forgotten 90% of what it really felt like. Our memories of fear, stress, upset, confusion fade fast - it's a psychological defense mechanism that keeps us mentally well.

What we remember are statements such as "It was really scary", "It was very confusing" and general things like "There was panic-buying" or "Schools closed". But you will - trust me - forget most of the details and most of the feelings. You'll remember the words about the feelings but you'll have little emotional context to put those words in. In order to remember properly, we need details.

So, write them down. In your own words, your own style. It can be notes or something longer. It could be a letter to yourself or an imaginary friend.

Do it every day. Things are moving so fast that writing two or three days later won't be enough - you'll have forgotten half of it already. If you want it to be accurate and true, you must do it every day.

Give detail - a lot of detail. Record not just what happened but your feelings about it. If you don't put enough detail in, in many years you won't know what you meant. I've written a diary since I was 14 years old but in those early years I didn't put enough detail so, when I re-read it now, I often don't know who or what I'm talking about.

You don't have to be "good" at writing! No one else has to read this. No one is marking it. There is no exam on it.

EXCEPT..... ***NEWS***NEWS***NEWS***

....I am planning a creative writing competition. I don't have the details yet (because I only thought of it this morning when I got such a huge response on Twitter to my suggestion about writing a diary) but I will announce them soon. Basically, once this is all over, I will have the biggest and most exciting writing competition I can manage to organise on my own and I will offer the biggest prizes I can. All I can say at the moment is this:

1. There will be different age categories, probably under 15 and 15+

2. You will enter through your schools

3. The topic will be something to do with "My memories of the virus"

SCHOOLS - this is for you. Please sign up to my website (see the home page) so you don't miss the announcement of details. I'll be offering free actual school visits, Skype sessions and books as the prizes.

But just write for yourself for now

Don't think about the competition for now. Just make sure you write about your experiences, thoughts and feelings every day. I promise you won't regret it and in years to come you will be able to tell your children all about it and you will know that you are telling the truth.

Hold this thought: one day, and in only months, this will be over and we will be looking back and recovering. We will move forward. We need your words from today so that in the future the past is clear and true. It's up to each of us to make that so!

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Write it down - your diary will be valuable (and could win prizes!) | Nicola Morgan

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An article by Filed Under: Nicola Morgan on News, Wellbeing and stress management With schools off for months and all of us living through an extraordinary time, I have an idea to help with both. All of us should keep a daily diary.

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First chapters and short stories, free to read. Explore the rest of his website for videos and writing tips.

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Welcome! I have lots of great ways to kick-start your start reading, so click on the covers below to try a first chapters of any of my books or scroll down for exclusive on-line stories. Suitable …

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Use our Bookfinder to look for books that suit your tastes and interests, browse our archive of interviews with authors and illustrators, watch our online storybooks, or just see what's out this month that should be catching your eye in the bookshop or library. Here, you can also find reading tips and book recommendations for children of all ages, from babies to teenagers.

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Nothing Much To Do Official Trailer | The Candle Wasters