16 December 2016
Himself by Jess Kidd - discussion questions
Himself is a genre-bending crime story set in County Mayo in the 1970s. Abandoned on the steps of an orphanage, Mahony, a lovable car thief and Dublin charmer, returns to the town of his birth after an anonymous message suggests that...
16 December 2016
Himself by Jess Kidd - read an extract
When Mahony returns to Mulderrig, a speck of a place on Ireland’s west coast, he brings only a photograph of his long-lost mother and a determination to do battle with the lies of his past. No one – living or dead...
16 December 2016
Call out for submissions - Reading Well for long term conditions
FOR PUBLISHERS the call out for submissions for the Reading Well for long term conditions list to be launched in July 2017.
16 December 2016
Wild Kingdom: Bringing Back Britain's Wildlife by Stephen Moss - discussion questions
We have some great discussion questions for your reading group about Wild Kingdom, the non-fiction book by Stephen Moss. Stephen Moss has travelled the length and breadth of the UK, from the remote archipelago of St Kilda to our inner cities,...
16 December 2016
Wild Kingdom: Bringing Back Britain's Wildlife by Stephen Moss - read an extract
The newspaper headlines tell us that Britain’s wildlife is in trouble. Wild creatures that have lived here for thousands of years are disappearing, because of pollution and persecution, competition with alien species, changing farming and forestry practices, and climate change....
16 December 2016
SHTUM by Jem Lester - discussion questions
We have some great discussion questions for your reading group about Shtum by Jem Lester. As you can see below, other groups have enjoyed reading and discussing this book: “I cannot stress highly enough how much I loved this book. Simply charming,...
16 December 2016
SHTUM by Jem Lester - read an extract
Ben Jewell has hit breaking point. His ten-year-old son, Jonah, has never spoken. So when Ben and Jonah are forced to move in with Ben’s elderly father, three generations of men – one who can’t talk; two who won’t –...
09 December 2016
False Hearts by Laura Lam - read an extract
One night Tila stumbles home, terrified and covered in blood. She’s then arrested for murder, the first by a civilian in decades. The San Francisco police suspect involvement with Verve, a powerful drug, and offer her twin sister Taema a...
09 December 2016
False Hearts by Laura Lam - discussion questions
We have some great discussion questions for your reading group about False Hearts by Laura Lam. As you can see below, other groups have enjoyed reading and discussing this book: “It was engaging right from the off, brought a wonderful vision of...
06 December 2016
DKfindout! Sharks poster
Enjoy this fact-filled poster all about sharks!
06 December 2016
DKfindout! Pirates poster
Download this fact-filled poster all about pirates!
02 December 2016
The Appointment by Graham Easton - discussion questions
We have some discussion questions for your reading group about The Appointment: What Your Doctor Really Thinks During Your Ten-Minute Consultation by Graham Easton. The Appointment is a book which explores the idea that despite the modern trend towards empowering patients...
02 December 2016
The Appointment by Graham Easton - read an extract
Despite the modern trend towards empowering patients and giving them more choice, the nuts and bolts of medical practice largely remain a mystery – a closed box. In fact, the more health information is available on the internet, the more...
28 November 2016
Cosy Winter Reads - Chatterbooks Booklist
Check out these winter reads from our children’s publisher partners. There are books for all ages, plus discussion and activity ideas for your Chatterbooks group.
28 November 2016
Cosy Winter Reads - Chatterbooks Activity Pack
In this Chatterbooks activity pack you’ll find cosy, familiar, and magical stories to keep out the winter chill – and adventures in snow and ice bringing shivers and thrills and wonder. There are books for all ages, plus discussion and activity...
25 November 2016
Summer Reading Challenge 2016 - The Big Friendly Read Headline Results
Here are the summary findings and a regional breakdown of results for The Big Friendly Read, the 2016 Summer Reading Challenge
25 November 2016
Summer Reading Challenge 2016 - The Big Friendly Read Family Survey
In 2016 we carried out a family participation survey. The results were very positive, demonstrating that families really value and enjoy taking part in the Challenge, and it makes a difference to their reading behaviour and library usage over the...
24 November 2016
Summer Reading Challenge 2016 - Participation Report
Here is the national participation report for the Big Friendly Read, Summer Reading Challenge 2016.
22 November 2016
2015-16 Evaluation: Reading Well Books on Prescription
2015-16 evaluation of Reading Well Books on Prescription. Research and evaluation completed by BOP consulting.
22 November 2016
The Graces by Laure Eve - read an extract
Read an exclusive extract from The Graces by Laure Eve. Everyone said the Graces were witches. They moved through the corridors like sleek fish, ripples in their wake. Stares followed their backs and their hair. They had friends, but they were...
22 November 2016
Thin Air by Michelle Paver - read an extract
Read an exclusive extract of the chilling and dark Thin Air by Michelle Paver. It is 1935, and young medic Stephen Pearce travels to India to join an expedition with his brother, Kits. The elite team of five will climb Kangchenjunga,...
17 November 2016
Holding by Graham Norton - read an extract
Read an exclusive extract from Graham Norton’s debut novel, Holding. Duneen is a quiet place, far enough from the big towns to have kept its own rhythms. Its residents include cast down policeman PJ who lives a lonely, uneventful life punctuated...
17 November 2016
You Will Not Have My Hate - read an extract
Read an extract from the powerful and moving You Will Not Have My Hate by Antoine Leiris. On 13th November 2015, Antoine Leiris’s wife, Hélène, was killed, along with 88 other people at the Bataclan Theatre in Paris, when three men...
17 November 2016
Peaks and Troughs by Nick Perry - read an extract
We have an exclusive extract for you to read from Peaks and Troughs by Nick Perry. Peaks and Troughs is the story of a naïve young man who is initiated into adulthood through the harsh reality of having to survive in...
17 November 2016
How to promote year-round volunteering
This guide is to help you promote year-round volunteering in libraries in a way that won’t impact on existing staff responsibilities. It includes example volunteer roles, and information on how to work with and support young volunteers.
17 November 2016
Peaks and Troughs by Nick Perry - discussion questions
We have some discussion questions for your reading group about Peaks and Troughs by Nick Perry. Peaks and Troughs is the story of a naïve young man who is initiated into adulthood through the harsh reality of having to survive in...
17 November 2016
The Zoo by Isobel Charman - discussion questions
We have some discussion questions for your reading group about non-fiction book The Zoo by Isobel Charman. The creation of a zoo in Dickensian London – the first ‘zoo’ in history – is a story of jaw-dropping audacity. It is the...
17 November 2016
The Zoo by Isobel Charman - read an extract
We have an exclusive extract for you to read from non-fiction book The Zoo by Isobel Charman. The creation of a zoo in Dickensian London – the first ‘zoo’ in history – is a story of jaw-dropping audacity. It is the...
03 November 2016
Chatterbooks Newsletter
The latest Chatterbooks Newsletter. This November newsletter celebrates National Non-Fiction November.
02 November 2016
Pamela Butchart activity pack
This Chatterbooks activity pack celebrates eight hilarious books from author Pamela Butchart and publisher Nosy Crow. Meet Pugly, the pug with great ideas who is ready for (almost!) anything; and Peri (aka Petunia Perry), Cammy, their band the Spoons, and...
