We were delighted to welcome Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre to The Bookery last week!

On September 22nd, Sarah visited nearly 600 children with her books Grumpycorn and Don’t Call Me Grumpycorn. Sarah is not only the well-known author of picture books for children, she is also the designer of our logo and the lettering on the front of our shop! She went to Broadclyst in Exeter to talk to 180 children (aged 4-7) and was joined by the three other schools in the Cornerstone Academy Trust by Zoom. The children all learnt how to draw their own Grumpycorn and went away inspired to write their own stories.

In the afternoon we moved from an urban to a rural setting and took Sarah out to Chulmleigh primary, with the children from East Worlington and Lapford joining by Zoom. Many children, especially in our more deprived areas, own very few books and read less in the pandemic[1] and teachers tell us that meeting an author in person and taking home a copy of their book is often the catalyst that inspires a child to read!

The following day Sarah was joined by author Philip Reeve, a patron of The Bookery, to launch the fourth and final book in the Legend of Kevin series: Kevin vs The Unicorns. This is a romp of an adventure about a flying pony and is well loved by children aged 7 and up: it’s the ideal first chapter book. Philip and Sarah visited children at Landscore and Haywards primary schools in Crediton, reading from the book and leading the children in an ingenious game where half the school represented Kevin and the other half were the unicorns, racing to the finish!

Thanks to The Bookery’s sponsorship programme, each of the 900 children attending these events received a book of their own to take home. We are indebted to local businesses including Redrow and Cavenna homes and to Oxford University Press for their support in helping us make this happen. The enthusiasm from the pupils has been fantastic and teachers tell us how significant this experience has been in supporting children on their reading journey.

The Bookery has been serving schools in Crediton, Exeter and across Devon with author visits and book activities for eight years. We are passionate about the importance of children’s literacy and recognise the value of reading for pleasure for both academic achievement and emotional wellbeing[2].

We would love all future author visits to schools to include a book for every child and welcome sponsorship from local businesses to enable this to happen. If you would like to support our programme: Giving the Gift of Reading, please contact us.

[1] The Bookseller (1/3/21) https://www.thebookseller.com/news/childrens-reading-declines-2021-while-access-books-remains-concern-1239393

[2] National Literacy Trust https://literacytrust.org.uk/research-services/research-reports/book-ownership-literacy-engagement-and-mentalwellbeing/