20 December 2016
Tesco Bank Summer Reading Challenge Scotland 2016 - Participation Report
Here is the national participation report for the Big Friendly Read, Tesco Bank Summer Reading Challenge Scotland 2016.
19 December 2016
Bring Back the King: The New Science of De-extinction by Helen Pilcher - an extract
If you could bring back just one animal from the past, what would you choose? It can be anyone or anything from history, from the King of the Dinosaurs, T. rex, to the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Elvis Presley,...
19 December 2016
Bring Back the King: The New Science of De-extinction by Helen Pilcher - discussion questions
De-extinction – the ability to bring extinct species back to life – is fast becoming reality. Around the globe, scientists are trying to de-extinct all manner of animals, including the woolly mammoth, the passenger pigeon and a bizarre species of...
19 December 2016
The End of the World Running Club by Adrian J Walker - discussion questions
Edgar Hill is 35 and caught in his own headlock. Overweight slob, under-performing husband and reluctant father – for Ed, the world may as well have already ended. So when it does end in a catastrophic asteroid strike and Edgar...
19 December 2016
The End of the World Running Club by Adrian J Walker - an extract
This is the ultimate race-against-time thriller. When the world ends and you find yourself stranded on the wrong side of the country, every second counts. No one knows this more than Edgar Hill. 550 miles away from his family, he must push...
16 December 2016
The New Odyssey: The Story of Europe's Refugee Crisis by Patrick Kingsley - discussion questions
We have some discussion questions for your reading group about The New Odyssey. Europe is facing a wave of migration unmatched since the end of World War II. The author, Guardian’s migration correspondent, has reported on this crisis in depth. Throughout...
16 December 2016
The New Odyssey: The Story of Europe's Refugee Crisis by Patrick Kingsley - an extract
This extremely topical, non-fiction book is a fascinating read. Europe is facing a wave of migration unmatched since the end of World War II – and no one has reported on this crisis in more depth or breadth than the...
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...
