18 October 2017
The Polar Bear Explorers’ Club - Postcard competition
The Polar Bear Explorers’ Club It sounded like a respectable and worthy enough death for an explorer – tumbling from an ice bridge to be impaled upon a mammoth tusk – but Stella really, really didn’t want that to happen, just...
17 October 2017
Wonder - library activity pack including 'Ways to be 'WONDERful' checklist competition
Wonder ‘My name is August. I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse.’ R. J. Palacio’s Wonder is the unforgettable story of August Pullman, an ordinary boy with an extraordinary face. It is a funny and frank...
17 October 2017
We're All Wonders - library activity pack and colouring competition
We’re all Wonders “I know I can’t change the way I look. But maybe, just maybe, people can change the way they see . . .” Wonder is the unforgettable story of August Pullman and has become a modern classic that has...
17 October 2017
Father Christmas and Me - Christmas bauble competition
Get into the festive spirit by winning a £30 National Book Tokens card and one of FOUR signed books! Father Christmas and Me is the third book in bestselling Matt Haig’s Christmassy series, with enchanting illustrations by Chris Mould. Following...
16 October 2017
Linwood Barclay’s Secret Mission digital resources
Linwood Barclay’s Secret Mission – CHASE Hachette Children’s Group and Orion Books are celebrating the publication of Linwood Barclay’s first novel for children, CHASE, and his new paperback, Parting Shot, by providing these great digital resources for libraries. Hachette Children’s Group and...
13 October 2017
Winnie and Wilbur 30th birthday activity pack
Winnie and Wilbur Friday 13 October is the 30th birthday of the brilliant Winnie and Wilbur series created by Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul. To celebrate this, Oxford University Press Children’s books have sent us a pack with many activity sheets and...
12 October 2017
Guidance to support reading for pleasure for prisoners with ESOL
This is a document compiled by Jenny Roden and Celine Castelino from NATECLA (National Association for Teaching English and Community Languages to Adults) to accompany their list of book recommendations for people learning English as a Second or Additional Language...
12 October 2017
Ideas for running Reading Ahead for prisoners with ESOL
This is a downloadable resource created as part of a project funded by the Bell Foundation to support the use of Reading Ahead for prisoners with English as a Second or Additional Language. Please use it in conjunction with...
12 October 2017
Duke of Edinburgh's Award Ideas Pack
Working with DofE volunteers? This pack includes sample volunteer roles, an introduction to the Award and a letter template to help with recruitment
11 October 2017
The Polar Bear Explorers’ Club - Host a Polar Bear Explorers' Book Club
The Polar Bear Explorers’ Club The Polar Bear Explorers’ Club is a gorgeously imaginative and snowy middle grade fantasy adventure combining the magic of Peter Pan, the chaos of A Series of Unfortunate Events, and the thrilling icy adventure of Northern...
10 October 2017
2016-17 Evaluation of Reading Well
2016-17 evaluation of Reading Well Books on Prescription. Research and evaluation completed by BOP consulting.
10 October 2017
Pick a Pine Tree by Patricia Toht - A book trailer and craft activity
Pick a Pine Tree Pick a pine tree from the lot – slim and tall, or short and squat! Long straight limbs or branches bent – Mmm! Just smell that piney scent! From Alan’s Big, Scary Teeth creator, Jarvis, and author Patty...
09 October 2017
The Dollmaker of Krakow by R. M. Romero - Teachers' guide
The Dollmaker of Krakow A timeless fantasy set in the Second World War that weaves together magic, folklore and history, perfect for fans of The Book Thief, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and Goodnight Mister Tom. One night a little...
09 October 2017
Follow the Track All the Way Back by Timothy Knapman - A book trailer
Follow the Track All the Way Back Today is a BIG day for little Train … he’s going out on the track, all by himself, for the very first time! From Ben Mantle and Timothy Knapman, the author of Soon and Time...
06 October 2017
The Polar Bear Explorers’ Club - Colour in the scene activity
The Polar Bear Explorers’ Club A gorgeously imaginative and snowy middle grade fantasy adventure combining the magic of Peter Pan, the chaos of A Series of Unfortunate Events, and the thrilling icy adventure of Northern Lights. You can read a review from...
06 October 2017
The Polar Bear Explorers’ Club - Drawing activity
The Polar Bear Explorers’ Club _All of a sudden, the sled rose up over the crest of a hill – and they came face to face with a white, sparkling, magnificent castle. Countless spires and turrets rose up high into the sky,...
06 October 2017
The Polar Bear Explorers’ Club - Design your very own crest
Stella joins the Polar Bear Explorers’ Club, Ethan is in the Ocean Squid club. Download this activity sheet and invent your own Explorers’ Club and design a crest below.
06 October 2017
The Polar Bear Explorers’ Club - Make an igloo craft activity
The Polar Bear Explorers’ Club It sounded like a respectable and worthy enough death for an explorer – tumbling from an ice bridge to be impaled upon a mammoth tusk – but Stella really, really didn’t want that to happen, just...
05 October 2017
Witches and Wizards Chatterbooks Activity Pack
Get in the mood for Halloween with this month’s Witches & Wizards Chatterbooks Activity Pack. There are activities, discussion questions and further reading, inspired by our favourite magical characters.
04 October 2017
Amazing Animals Chatterbooks pack
As it is #WorldAnimalDay we are highlighting a brilliant Amazing Animals Chatterbooks pack that we have. Here are some great stories and picture books about all kinds of animals, plus ideas for activities in your Chatterbooks reading group. Download the pack and...
04 October 2017
Witch for a Week - a brilliant book trailer
Witch for a Week Here is a trailer for a new magical adventure from Kaye Umansky, the bestselling author of the much loved children’s classic Pongwiffy. The book is all about Elsie Pickles and is brought to life with charming illustrations...
29 September 2017
Luna Loves Library Day - reviews activity
Award-winning performance poet Joseph Coehlo has written his first picture book Luna Loves Library Day, illustrated by Fiona Lumbers, publishing this October. This lovely book is based around Luna loving her special time in the library. What better way to engage...
29 September 2017
Luna Loves Library Day - wordearch activity sheet
National Libraries Week (9-14 October) is a chance to discover the range of things you can do at your library, from play and learning for children, to managing your health, to accessing wifi and games, to finding a job, a...
29 September 2017
Luna Loves Library Day - maze activity sheet
Award-winning performance poet Joseph Coehlo has written his first picture book Luna Loves Library Day, illustrated by Fiona Lumbers, publishing this October. Every week Luna looks forward to one special day. The day when she discovers magic among the library...
29 September 2017
Luna Loves Library Day - creating covers activity sheet
“Libraries are more than the buildings or the people or books within them, they are gateways into reading, into writing, into discovering a world beyond that in which we find ourselves. Luna Loves Library Day was inspired by this magic,...
26 September 2017
Travel Booklist
The book loving team at The Reading Agency has put together a list of their favourite travel books.
24 September 2017
Banned Books Week 2017
Every day, across the globe, writers are being censored in a hundred different ways. Some face persecution, others are imprisoned, some have their work banned and some are subject to more insidious means of censorship. We’re sharing a list of frequently...
21 September 2017
Lincoln in the Bardo - what to read next
The Man Booker Prize is the leading literary award in the English speaking world, and has brought recognition, reward and readership to outstanding fiction for over four decades. Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders is one of the six shortlisted...
21 September 2017
Elmet - what to read next
The Man Booker Prize is the leading literary award in the English speaking world, and has brought recognition, reward and readership to outstanding fiction for over four decades. Elmet by Fiona Mozley is one of the six shortlisted titles for 2017. All...
21 September 2017
Exit West - what to read next
The Man Booker Prize is the leading literary award in the English speaking world, and has brought recognition, reward and readership to outstanding fiction for over four decades. Exit West by Mohsin Hamid is one of the six shortlisted titles for...
