Author Visits: Rathfern Primary

I'd like to say a very big thank you to Rachel Waddoups and everyone I met at Rathfern Primary  School for the wonderful welcome they gave me when I visited them last week!

It was a pleasure to talk to Years 6, 5 and 4 about writing and books, and to hear all their favourites.  There were many great readers in this school.  Some of them had already been reading Varjak Paw, and they had some terrific questions for me!  We didn't quite have enough time to answer all the questions, so if anyone from Rathfern has any more questions, you can ask them here as a comment at the bottom of this page.

I was delighted to sign books at the end of the day for everyone who wanted one signed.  So I'd just like to end by wishing everyone HAPPY READING – and thanks again for a fantastic visit!

Author Visits: Burlington Junior School

I'd like to say a big thank you to Natalie Smith, Matthew West, and all the students and staff I met when I visited Burlington Junior School last week!

It was exciting for me to see that many of the students had already come across my work, and that they were currently reading The Outlaw Varjak Paw in Year 4!  So it was a pleasure to talk to Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 about reading and writing, and to hear about their favourite books.  There were many great readers in this school, and it was brilliant to see how many people wanted to have a book signed at the end of the day!

It was a pleasure to sign books for everyone, but if there's anyone who didn't manage to get a book on the day and would like one, you can always order signed books through Pea Green Boat Books, who did the brilliant bookselling.  And if anyone at Burlington would like to ask me any more questions, or to say anything about the visit or my books, just leave me a comment below!

Author Visits: Acorns Primary School / ChipLitFest

I'd like to say a big thank you to Milly Weaver and ChipLitFest, and to everyone at Acorns Primary School for the wonderful welcome they gave me when I visited them last month!

My visit was part of the ChipLitFest schools programme, which takes authors into local schools; I also had the pleasure of being part of it two years ago.  I very much enjoyed meeting Years 3-6 in Acorns, and talking to them about books and writing.  There were some great young readers in this school, with some terrific favourite books!

They had lots of questions about the writing process, and so I told them all about how Varjak Paw, The Outlaw Varjak Paw and Phoenix were really written.  If anyone from Acorns would like any more writing tips, you can find some here; and if anyone has any more questions, or would like to say anything about the visit or my books, just leave me a comment below!

After the visit, this lovely piece appeared in the school's newsletter – you can read it in full here.  Many thanks to Acorns, and thanks to ChipLitFest photographer Jenny Aston for the fantastic photographs!

Author Visits: Willow Brook Primary

I'd like to say a big thank you to Anoara Mughal, Graham Clifford and all the staff and students I met at Willow Brook Primary for the wonderful welcome they gave me when I visited them on World Book Day!

There was a snowstorm raging outside, but it was great to see so many people had still come to school in their costumes!  It was a pleasure to talk to Years 6, 5, 4 and 3, and to celebrate books with them.  I heard about their favourite stories, and I told them about the ones I have written so far: Varjak Paw, The Outlaw Varjak Paw, and Phoenix. 

They asked me lots of great questions, and we didn't quite have enough time to answer them all, so if anyone from Willow Brook has any more questions, just leave me a comment below!  And in the meantime, I'd just like to thank you all again – and to wish you happy reading!

World Book Day 2018

I'd like to say a massive THANK YOU to everyone who braved the snow to spread the love of books on World Book Day this year – and especially to everyone who dressed up as a character from one of my books, or made special artwork and displays!  I know there's been a lot of debate about World Book Day recently, but I have to say, I'm in favour of anything that builds a buzz around reading.  So here are some of the amazing pictures I've seen this year, with huge thanks to all teachers, parents, schools – and most importantly, readers!

When one of your old class returns to Y3 to choose @whatSFSaid Varjak Paw as his favourite book ever!! And I’m dressed as Varjak himself too!!! #smithdownreaders pic.twitter.com/pn5ns0jZQ2

— Miss. Comer Y3 (@MissComerx) March 1, 2018

Lincoln, world book day 2018 Varjak Paw @whatSFSaid pic.twitter.com/HQOnVBe60X

— Kathleen Ford (@Kathlee13940036) March 1, 2018

School might be closed but #WorldBookDay is still very much happening in our house 😬😬😬 Charlie opted for Harry and Olivia for Varjak Paw @whatSFSaid Happy World Book Day everyone!! pic.twitter.com/6is3cLh2gR

— Rose Edmondson (@RoseEdmondson5) March 1, 2018

So @WorldBookDayUK might be postponed but nothing will stop Bixa Silvertongue @whatSFSaid pic.twitter.com/AUflkBQO1j

— Laura Ovenden (@OvendenLaura) March 1, 2018

Snow day at school today so theyre doing #WorldBookDay2018 next week. But here's Sarah who couldn't wait. pic.twitter.com/XH4OGNNsCY

— John Bradley (@Marble_lights) March 1, 2018

Look @whatSFSaid at this! It’s Varjak and Sally Bones! #WorldBookDay pic.twitter.com/IUXv0lIZdh

— Filton Hill Primary (@filtonhillpri) March 1, 2018

Productive snow day #WorldBookDay Reading pheonix by @whatSFSaid in preparation for tomorrow (if we're open) ⛄❄ pic.twitter.com/CU9HulDWJy

— Rachael Miley (@RachaelMiley) March 1, 2018

Some of the brilliant potato creations from around school today! #creativity pic.twitter.com/ZRPg5wiPC0

— Ashley Booth (@MrBoothY6) March 1, 2018

The moment when you realise your Class Reader choices have been a success...4 Stellas, 3 Podkins, 2 Unicorns, a Holly and Amelia Fang #WorldBookDay2018 @Lillustrator @Alex_Bell86 @kmlarwood @whatSFSaid pic.twitter.com/hDDZ4R9ZQA

— Westfield School (@Westfield_Wigan) March 1, 2018

My son Lincoln absolutely loves Varjak Paw and was running around the house this morning acting out the book x pic.twitter.com/5DeB2wxcS0

— Kathleen Ford (@Kathlee13940036) March 1, 2018

Having a go with the the face paints for Olivia’s Varjak Paw outfit for #WorldBookDay tomorrow @whatSFSaid pic.twitter.com/OWkE8arZmM

— Rose Edmondson (@RoseEdmondson5) February 28, 2018

@whatSFSaid we are so excited to get started! pic.twitter.com/g1knqSLyzT

— Joshua Stinchcomb (@MrStinchcombY5) March 1, 2018

#WorldBookDay #WBD2018
Went dressed as a library-couldn't pick just one character!@sanditoksvig @whatSFSaid @MGLnrd @MaryAliceEvans @SweetCherryPub @philipreeve1 @afharrold @nightzookeeper @alexbellos @chrisriddell50 @RLloydJones @neilhimself @_Reading_Rocks_ #PrimaryRocks pic.twitter.com/28jagoF00v

— Parky_teaches (@Parky_teaches) March 9, 2018

Author Visits: Filton Hill

I'd like to say a massive THANK YOU to Laura Walker and everyone I met from Filton Hill Primary, St Michael's Primary, Holy Trinity Primary, Baileys Court Primary and Charborough Road Primary for the amazing welcome they gave me when I visited them all last week!

This was a really special visit, because it brought together around 360 children from five different schools in Bristol.  Many of them had read or were reading Varjak Paw, and the level of excitement around the room was just fantastic.  Some of them could just not stop reading!

I loved talking to them about reading, writing and books, and hearing all their inspiring dreams and ambitions.  They had many brilliant questions too!  We didn't have quite enough time to answer them all, so if anyone would like to ask another question, or to say anything about the visit or my books, just leave me a comment below.

It was a total pleasure to sign books for everyone who wanted them at the end of the day; you could really feel the buzz that the visit had created around reading!  There was even a journalist from the Filton Voice covering it; here's his piece about it.  And finally – THANK YOU again to everyone who made this such a special day!

Author Visits: Moorlands Primary

I'd like to say a very big THANK YOU to all the staff and students at Moorlands Primary for the wonderful welcome they gave me when I visited last week!  This is a school that really believes in the power of reading for pleasure.  Everywhere you go in Moorlands, you see books being celebrated and talked about; on the door of every classroom, there's an update telling you what the teacher is currently reading.  And in the classrooms, there are amazing displays about books – like this one!

So I really enjoyed talking to Years 6, 5, 4 & 3 about books and reading.  They had a very wide selection of favourite books, which shows just how deep the reading culture is at this school.  It was wonderful to hear some people say Varjak Paw was their favourite – things like that make all the hard work of writing feel worthwhile!

There were lots of excellent questions too, though we didn't have quite enough time to answer them all, so if anyone at Moorlands would like to ask another question, or to say anything about my visit or the books, just leave me a comment below!

At the end of the day, it was a pleasure to sign books for everyone who wanted one.  And it was absolutely amazing to see responses like this one afterwards on Twitter - so thanks again to Mr Lee, Mr Ruddick, Mr Biddle, Miss Eyles, and everyone else who made this such a special and memorable day!

Author Visits: St John's C of E Primary School

I'd like to say a very big THANK YOU to Siobhan Eastwood and everyone I met at St John's C of E Primary School for the wonderful welcome they gave me when I visited them last week!

It was fantastic to meet students from St Johns and other Ipswich schools including St Mary's and Helen's, and to talk with them about reading and books.  I talked to Years 6, 5, 4 and 3, and was delighted to see that quite a few people in each year had read either Varjak Paw or Phoenix.  Quite a few of them wanted to be writers too, and they asked me some great questions about the writing process.  (For anyone who'd like more writing tips, here's a link to all the writing tips I've done on this blog!)

On school visits, I like to ask people what their favourite books are, and I'm always excited when I hear a range of different responses; it shows that people are reading a lot of books!  Here, I heard one of the widest ranges of responses I've ever come across – everything from old classics like SE Hinton's The Outsiders to recent classics like Polly Ho-Yen's The Boy In The Tower.  This shows what fantastic work the teachers are doing here.

At the end of the day, we had a bookselling and signing session organised by the excellent Pea Green Boat Books.  It was a total pleasure to sign a book for everyone who wanted one.

If there's anyone who didn't get a book on the day but would like one, Pea Green have some signed copies which you can order directly from them through this link.  And if there's anyone who'd like to ask another question, or to say anything about the visit or my books, just leave leave me a comment below!