The British Library

The British Library's website Discovering Children's Books is brimming with magical themes and exciting ideas waiting to be discovered. From making a tiny tale for their virtual library of miniature books to creating your own imaginary adventures. Click here to find out more. If you would like to share your creations parents and carers can share them with the BL on Twitter with #DiscoveringChildrensBooks. You can also email learning@bl.uk.  

18th May 2020 - The Nightingales' Song, profits from sales to NHS 

The Author Phil Clegg has been a teacher for over 20 years and, when not in the classroom, does a bit of writing. His latest book is for primary school aged children and written around the current situation parents and children find themselves in with all proceeds going to the NHS. It is an illustrated children’s ebook featuring global sporting superstars:

• Jordan Henderson, Jack Wilshere and Danny Welbeck from football
• Joe Root, Mark Wood and Danni Wyatt from cricket and
• George Kruis, Tom Curry and Anthony Watson from rugby.

The ebook launched on Amazon this week and only costs £3.99: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nightingales-Song-Phil-Clegg-ebook/dp/B088C414TQ. 100% OF THE PROCEEDS FROM THE BOOK ARE GOING TO THE NHS.

Hay Festival

The Hay Festival is taking place on line this year, bringing authors straight from their house to yours from Monday 18 – Friday 22 May. Each day, from 8am onwards, you can see two primary (years 3-6) authors introduced by Konnie Huq and two secondary (years 7-10) authors introduced by Jenny Valentine. These events will be available to watch again on Hay Player and you can access teaching materials to support learning before, during and after the festival.

 

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BookLife

Be sporty like Serena Williams, Geeta Phogat or Usain Bolt! Inspire little athletes as you explore the achievements and lives of key figures from the past and present. This series will inspire you to be whatever you want to be...
Our FREE e-book this week (11th May) is part of the I Can Be... series, and is yours to download and keep. Simply create a free account, download your pdf, and get learning!

 

Have you ever wondered which dinosaur had the most teeth, or which planet is the biggest? Maybe you want to know how tall the tallest building is, or where you can find the largest crater on Earth? Super Stats takes you around the world and beyond, ranking the stats so that you know the facts.Their FREE e-book this week is part of the Super Stats series, and is yours to download and keep. 
 

All their free resources can be found here.

 

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The Book of Hopes

Available from Mon 27^th April, The Book of Hopes is edited by Katherine Rundell, with contributions from more than 100 children’s writers and illustrators

Completely free for all children and families, the 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, Jacqueline Wilson – and Katherine herself.

The collection, published by Bloomsbury, is dedicated to the doctors, nurses, carers, porters, cleaners and everyone currently working in hospitals. You can read it by clicking on the link below:

 

https://literacytrust.org.uk/family-zone/9-12/book-hopes/

 

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27th April 2020   Free digital book for children about coronavirus

 

Nosy Crow have published a free digital book illustrated by Axel Scheffler for primary children about the Coronavirus. It is available here.

 

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World Book Night – 23^rd April

World Book Night is run by The Reading Agency, a national charity that tackles life’s big challenges through the proven power of reading.  It is a national celebration of reading and books that takes place on 23 April every year.

 

Up and down the country, individuals and organisations celebrate the difference that reading makes to people’s lives, and everyone from publishers to librarians, and local businesses to the general public can get involved.

 

This World Book Night, the nation is asked to join in the #ReadingHour from 7-8pm on 23 April.  This is a time to dedicate to reading, in any form! You can:

• read alone

• listen to an audiobook while preparing dinner

• read to children before they go to bed

• hold a virtual reading group meeting

• call a friend to chat about books

• anything else you want (but it must be about books)!

 

The Reading Agency also want everyone to share their reading experiences on social media  using #WorldBookNight /#ReadingHour, @WorldBookNight /@readingagency

 

Happy World Book Night!

 

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Puffin Storytime: From Monday 6^th April, Puffin will be bringing 20 minutes of storytime magic to homes daily at 3.30pm on weekdays. This will include readings and draw-alongs from their stellar list of authors and illustrators. Caregivers, teachers and children can view Puffin Storytime on Puffin’s YouTube, Instagram and Facebook channels #PuffinStorytime

 

The Full ‘Puffin Storytime’ Schedule:

Mondays & Fridays, 3.30pm - Storytime & Draw-alongs for little ones 0-5. Launching on 6^th April with Look Up! By Nathan Bryon and Dapo Adeola

Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3.30pm - Sam Copeland will serialise, in 20-minute episodes, the entirety of his hilarious book Charlie Changes into a Chicken for readers 7+ 

Wednesdays, 3.30pm - Story Starters for ages 6-11. Puffin authors will read extracts from their books to help inspire children to discover their next read. Launching on 8^th April with an extract from the bestselling Murder Most Unladylike read by Robin Stevens.

 

The Puffin Podcast: A new 3-part Puffin Podcast series launched on Sunday 19^th April (via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Acast and YouTube Kids), where comedian, children’s author and YouTube personality Humza Arshad hosts laugh-out-loud stories, games and jokes guaranteed to give you the giggles! Aimed at unlocking creativity, taking stories to imaginations worldwide and inspiring children to dream big, the podcast will be available at www.puffin.co.uk/podcast  

 

Puffin Schools: To support teachers, parents and caregivers now tackling home-learning, the Puffin Schools website has been restructured to make Puffin books and resources accessible to children who need them. A huge collection of easy to discover resources to bring stories to life, including bite size activities and new categories such as Writing Prompts, Activity Ideas and Picture Book Packs, can be found at https://www.puffinschools.co.uk/