Author visit: Cath Howe

A couple of weeks ago, two of our member schools had a visit from Cath Howe. Cath is well known for her fabulous books for older readers, most recently the brilliant ‘My Life on Fire’, and has just started a new series for younger readers, ‘Call the Puffins’. Brilliantly illustrated by Ella Okstad, it was the first of these books, all about Muffin the Puffin who longs to join the search and rescue team, that Cath came to talk to the children about.

Great fun was had by all as Cath read some of the story, showed everyone how to draw Muffin and then taught them how to do the puffin dance! One teacher told me, ‘The children loved the visit!’, saying how engaged they all were and how much they were talking about the story afterwards. Another told me how wonderful it was to see so many happy children clutching their new books as they headed home.

Many thanks to Cath for coming to see us and for making so many children (and teachers) so happy! It was a wonderful day and ‘Call the Puffins’ is highly recommended!

You can find out more about Cath on her website-http://www.cathhowe.com/ and can read my review of Call the Puffins here.

Author visit: Tamsin Mori

Last month, two of our member schools were lucky enough to have a visit from Tamsin Mori, author of ‘The Weather Weaver’ sequence. Wonderfully atmospheric, these books are fabulous adventures, perfect for reading aloud and exploring in depth. They romp along at a pleasing pace, with wonderful descriptions, full of myth and magic and the beauty of nature. Stones absorb all sorts of things…our connection to the world around us is beautifully celebrated, reminding us to pause, pay attention- and enjoy!

The children loved hearing Tamsin speak and being introduced to her books. One class teacher said, 'The children were captivated by Tasmin as she talked all things weather! Some of the children were particularly interested and impressed with the writing process - that the drafting and editing process can be as important as the writing bit took them all by surprise.'

Many thanks to Tamsin for joining us and inspiring so many children. Thanks also to Alistair from ‘Books on the Hill’ in Clevedon for providing copies of the books!

You can find out more about Tamsin on her website: https://www.tamsinmori.com