Author Visits: Park Hill Junior School & Kenilworth Books

Nearly four years ago, I visited Park Hill Junior School at the invitation of Sally Greenaway, who was the first teacher I ever heard from who was reading Phoenix with a class.  Last month, I had the absolute pleasure of returning to Park Hill and visiting them again, and I'd like to say a very big THANK YOU for the wonderful welcome they gave me!

I love visiting this school, because there are so many brilliant young readers and writers there.  And because they read Varjak Paw in Year 3 and Phoenix in Year 6, they know my books very well, and do fantastic work with them.  Before this visit, I received some amazing letters, like this one:

So it was a total pleasure for me to talk to Years 6, 5, 4 and 3 about writing and books, and I was thrilled to see so much enthusiasm for stories, and to hear so many inspiring dreams.  There were lots of excellent questions – more than we had time to answer, so if anyone at Park Hill would like to ask another question, or to say anything about the visit or my books, just leave me a comment below!

The brilliant Tamsin Rosewell of Kenilworth Books did the bookselling at the school, and then invited me to do a signing in the bookshop, which is one of my very favourite bookshops.  She had made the extraordinary window display that you can see above, with some of the most beautiful artwork I have ever seen!

There were also star-shaped biscuits in honour of Phoenix, and they were delicious!  It was a pleasure to meet and chat with some more of Kenilworth's young readers, and to sign books for all who wanted them!

If there's anyone out there who would like a signed copy of one of my books, but didn't get to the signing – they still have lots in stock at Kenilworth Books, and you can order them directly from the shop!  And I'd just like to say another big THANK YOU again to everyone who made this such a memorable and magical day!

Author Visits: Westbury on Trym CE Academy

I'd like to say a very big thank you to all the brilliant staff and students I met at Westbury on Trym CE Academy when I visited them last week!

It was a pleasure to talk to Years 6, 5, 4 and 3 about writing and books.  It was clear to me that there were some brilliant young readers and writers in this school.  Quite a few of them had already read Varjak Paw or Phoenix, and there were many excellent questions, especially about the writing process – some of the best I've ever heard!

We had an outdoor signing at the end of the day, which was great fun even on a freezing December afternoon!  It was a pleasure to sign books for everyone who wanted one.

I always love hearing from readers, so if anyone at Westbury on Trim has any more questions, or would like to say anything about the visit or my books, just leave me a comment below!  And for anyone who would like any more of my writing tips, you can find them by clicking this link!

Author Visits: Perrymount Primary School

I'd like to say a big thank you to Ukachi Akalawu and everyone I met at Perrymount Primary School for the great welcome they gave me when I visited them last month!

It was a pleasure to talk to Years 6, 5 and 4 about reading and books.  I was inspired to see so many great young readers in the school, and delighted to discover that many of them had already read Varjak Paw.   I told them all about how my books were really written, and how many drafts Varjak Paw took to get right!

 

There were many questions!  We didn't quite have enough time to answer them all, so if there's anyone at Perrymount who would like to ask another question, or to say anything about the visit or my books, just leave me a comment below!

And it was a pleasure to sign books for everyone who wanted them at the end of the day.  So thanks again to everyone at Perrymount for a fantastic visit – and keep the Way alive!