World Book Day Week

I had an amazing set of visits this year and I want to thank all the staff and children for welcoming me so warmly.

Monday was my first school and I was delighted that it was a school in Luton because, as you probably already know, that is where Call Me Lion is set. 

The children at Someries Junior School were so much fun. I did a full school assembly, then different story building workshops with each of the year groups. 

The most memorable moment at Someries was when a quiet girl who was sat next to me during the lunchtime 'meet the author' session in the library (one of the busiest libraries I've seen in school BTW) confided in me that she didn't have any friends. A confident boy nearby overheard and came over, beaming saying he would be her friend and they shook hands on it. 

​On Wednesday I had my second visit and first time to a school in Hatfield. I loved Brookmans Park Primary, especially as they asked me to do a special assembly to KS1. I very rarely work with the younger children so it was a treat to get them to vote on the picture book they wanted me to share. 

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There were Call Me Lion based workshops with different year groups and that meant lots of opportunities to practice my signature. The day ended with a book signing where I met one of the finalists in the BBC 500 words competition. She had been to Buckingham Palace to meet the REAL Queen Camilla - my turn to be star struck.

On World Book Day itself, which always falls on the first Thursday in March, I was back in Luton (hurrah) to visit Maidenhall Primary School. Totally fell in love with this school which despite its size, had the warmest most relaxing feel to it. There was a big whole school assembly, then year group, select workshops throughout the day. It was really well organised with plenty of time for banana snacking. 

I met some amazing kids who were writing their own books and I was really impressed by some of their skills and knowledge. 

My most memorable part of the day was seeing all the certificates other staff members had awarded one another and displayed in the staff room. I've never seen that level of mutual support before and it was heartwarming. 

My final visit was to Chestnuts Primary School in Milton Keynes. This was my time visiting a school in MK and I really enjoyed it. The kids were hilarious and the staff were very helpful and accommodating.

There were lots of Call Me Lion workshops and I loved the book signing at the end when I got to meet parents/carers too. I was shown (or nearly shown - didn't really want to see) a fresh tooth fallen out that day and I met a French family, then eldest of whom translated something in Timide comme un lion (the French edition of Call Me Lion) that I'd been puzzling about.

I loved all the drawings of characters and the buzz of the school was very exciting with lots of children keen to learn.

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So that's it for another year, but don't forget school visits don't just have to be for world book day. Do get in contact if you'd like me to visit your school. I'd love to come!