Resources
All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai - discussion questions
Elan Mastai was born in Vancouver and lives in Toronto with his wife and children. He writes movies and his credits include the award-winning script for What If, starring Daniel Radcliffe, Zoe Kazan and Adam Driver. He is currently developing the screenplay for All Our Wrong Todays which has been optioned by Paramount with producer Amy Pascal on board. All Our Wrong Todays is Elan’s debut novel. Our reading panel loved All Our Wrong Todays – here are some of their comments: “This is one of...
All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai - an extract
You know the future that people in the ‘50s imagined? Flying cars, teleportation, jetpacks and moon bases? Well, it happened. And it was just as great as we hoped it would be. It’s 2016 and in Tom’s world, technology has solved all of humanity’s problems – there’s no war, no poverty, no under-ripe avocados. Unfortunately, Tom isn’t happy. He’s lost the girl of his dreams. And what do you do when you’re heartbroken and have access to a time machine? Something very stupid indeed. Finding...
S.C.R.E.A.M: The Mummy's Revenge book extract
Read the opening chapter of S.C.R.E.A.M: The Mummy’s Revenge, the latest book from Andrew Beasley
Uncle Shawn and Bill video extract
A.L. Kennedy reads the opening from her novel Uncle Shawn and Bill and the Almost Entirely Unplanned Adventure, illustrated by Gemma Correll, in which a brave and handsome young badger called Bill meets two extremely dreadful sisters and begins an adventure he may not survive.* *He also has a sore ear and remembers that he doesn’t like shorts, especially if he is wearing them.
The Cherry Pie Princess activity sheets
Download these sheets inspired by The Cherry Pie Princess to share with your Chatterbooks group. This bundle includes a drawing activity, short story prompts and more!
World Book Day 2017 Chatterbooks Activity Pack
This year is very special. It is the 20th year there’s been a World Book Day, and on 2nd March 2017 children of all ages will come together to appreciate reading. In this pack you’ll find lots of ideas for your group’s activities and discussion, all linked to the World Book Day 2017 titles.
Help! I'm An Alien activity sheet
Download this fun wordsearch inspired by the hilarious Help! I’m An Alien Series for your Chatterbooks group!
Rita the Rescuer Activity sheet
Download this Rita the Rescuer colouring sheet to share with your group!
World Book Day 2017 Toolkit
Are you wondering how you can support World Book Day 2017? This Toolkit has been designed so that authors, illustrators, publishers, librarians and booksellers can join in with #WorldBookDay20. There are loads of ideas, such as how you could use social media to promote your World Book Day event; a timeline of important dates and a selection of activities that can be done in various workplaces. Download the Toolkit today and see what you can do to celebrate World Book Day on Thursday 2 March!
CWA 2017 Longlist - Brian McGilloway
Brian McGilloway is the bestselling author of eight crime novels, five featuring Garda Inspector Benedict Devlin and three in the DS Lucy Black series. In addition to being shortlisted for a CWA Dagger and the Theakston’s Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year, he is a past recipient of the Ulster University McCrea Literary Award and, in 2014, won the BBC Tony Doyle Award for his screenplay, Little Emperors. Brian’s ninth novel, Bad Blood, again featuring DS Lucy Black, will be released in May...
CWA 2017 Longlist - Chris Ewan
Born in Taunton in 1976, Chris Ewan now lives in Somerset with his wife, Jo, and their daughter. Safe House, his first stand-alone thriller, was a number one bestseller in 2012 and was shortlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year Award. Dead Line, his second thriller, was published in 2013 and is optioned for film. Dark Tides was shortlisted for CrimeFest’s eDunnit award for the best crime fiction eBook, and Long Time Lost, described in the Independent as ‘a masterful...
CWA 2017 Longlist - Nicola Upson
Nicola Upson was born in Suffolk and read English at Downing College, Cambridge. Her debut novel, An Expert in Murder, was the first in a series of crime novels whose main character is Josephine Tey – one of the leading authors of Britain’s Golden Age of crime writing. She lives with her partner in Cambridge and spends much of her time in Cornwall. Nicola has been longlisted for the CWA Dagger in the Library 2017. Download the resource to find out more about Nicola, and the book she would...
CWA 2017 Longlist - Alison Bruce
Alison Bruce is a crime novelist and creator of the Cambridge-based Gary Goodhew series. Her seventh novel is Cambridge Black. She has also written two factual crime books and a number of short stories. Alison is an RLF Fellow at ARU in Cambridge. She is keen to promote creative writing and frequently speaks at libraries, schools and writers’ groups. Since 2008 she has sponsored Fordham Primary School’s storyteller-of-the-year award and she is the patron of Lakenheath Library in...
Thin Air by Michelle Paver - discussion questions
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, the world’s third highest mountain and one of mountaineering’s biggest killers. No one has scaled it before, and they are, quite literally, following in the footsteps of one of the most famous mountain disasters of all time – the 1906 Lyell Expedition. Five men lost their lives back then, overcome by the atrocious weather, misfortune and...
Holding by Graham Norton - discussion questions
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 only by the next meal – until now; the beautiful and mysterious family of three spinster sisters each with their own secrets and sorrows; and of course, the town’s gossip who think she knows the answers. When a grim discovery is made on a building site up by the old school, it becomes the catalyst for half lived...
We Chose to Speak of War and Strife by John Simpson - an extract
In corners of the globe where fault-lines see the into bloodshed and civil war, foreign correspondents have, for hundreds of years, been engaged in uncovering the latest news and – despite obstacles bureaucratic, political, violent – reporting it by whatever means available. It’s a working life that is difficult, exciting and undeniably glamorous. We Chose to Speak of War and Strife brings us pivotal moments in our history – from the Crimean War to Vietnam; the siege of Sarajevo to the fall...
Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germay by Norman Ohler - an extract
The Nazis presented themselves as warriors against moral degeneracy. Yet, as Norman Ohler’s gripping bestseller reveals, the entire Third Reich was permeated with drugs: cocaine, heroin, morphine and, most of all, methamphetamines, or crystal meth, used by everyone from factory workers to housewives, and crucial to troops’ resilience – even partly explaining German victory in 1940. The promiscuous use of drugs at the very highest levels also impaired and confused decision-making, with Hitler...
Border: A Journey to the Edge of Europe by Kapka Kassabova - discussion questions
When Kapka Kassabova was a child, the border zone between Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece was rumoured to be an easier crossing point into the West than the Berlin Wall so it swarmed with soldiers, spies and fugitives. Today, this densely forested landscape is no longer heavily militarised, but it is scarred by its past. In this book. Kassabova sets out on a journey through a hidden corner of the continent, and meets the people of this triple border – Bulgarians, Turks, Greeks, indigenous Balkan...
The Girl Before by J. P. Delaney - an extract
Enter the world of One Folgate Street and discover perfection … but can you pay the price? Jane stumbles on the rental opportunity of a lifetime: the chance to live in a beautiful ultra-minimalist house designed by an enigmatic architect, on condition she abides by a long list of exacting rules. After moving in, she discovers that a previous tenant, Emma, met a mysterious death there – and starts to wonder if her own story will be a re-run of the girl before. As twist after twist catches the...
What the Dog Knows by Cat Warren - an extract
A New York Times–bestselling book which has been featured on the Radio 2 Book Club: Fact Not Fiction. When Cat Warren adopted Solo, an unruly German shepherd puppy, she soon began to wonder what she’d let herself in for. Solo’s boundless energy was what made him loveable ― but it also made him exhausting, and difficult to train. Then she struck upon an idea: what Solo needed was something to do. Like many dogs, Solo was destined to work: using his nose to help the police locate missing...
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi - an extract
Effia and Esi: two sisters with two very different destinies. One sold into slavery; one a slave trader’s wife. The consequences of their fate reverberate through the generations that follow. Taking us from the Gold Coast of Africa to the cotton-picking plantations of Mississippi; from the missionary schools of Ghana to the dive bars of Harlem, spanning three continents and seven generations. Yaa Gyasi has written a miraculous novel – the intimate, gripping story of a brilliantly vivid cast...
Where's Wally activity sheets
Celebrate the 30th anniversary of Where’s Wally with these fun activity sheets! This download includes colouring sheets, word puzzles and a maze activity
Looking for Captain Poldark by Rowan Coleman: Quick Reads learning resource
These resources have been designed for those using Quick Reads independently, as well as for those using Quick Reads in a group.
The Other Side of You by Amanda Craig: Quick Reads learning resource
These resources have been designed for those using Quick Reads independently, as well as for those using Quick Reads in a group.
Dead Simple by Harry Bingham (Editor): Quick Reads learning resource
These resources have been designed for those using Quick Reads independently, as well as for those using Quick Reads in a group.
One False Move by Dreda Say Mitchell: Quick Reads learning resource
These resources have been designed for those using Quick Reads independently, as well as for those using Quick Reads in a group.
A Very Distant Shore by Jenny Colgan: Quick Reads learning resource
These resources have been designed for those using Quick Reads independently, as well as for those using Quick Reads in a group.
Spies and Crime Busters - Chatterbooks Activity Pack
Following up on our previous ‘spies and detectives’ packs, here’s another collection of action adventures and detective stories, with thrills and twists – and often humour too! As well as lots of reading suggestions for your group you’ll find ideas on this theme for discussion, warm ups, and longer activities.
A Busy Day for Birds video
Go behind the scenes with multi-award-winning author/illustrator Lucy Cousins (creator of Maisy) and find out about her new picture book, A Busy Day for Birds. Flap your wings, fly up high, open your beak and sing in this fun action rhyme story about fantastical birds! A bouncy read-aloud book, beautifully illustrated with bold, bright colours and packed with all sorts of wild and wonderful birds!
Also An Octopus Activity sheets
Download these fun Also An Octopus activity sheets for your Chatterbooks group, including colouring sheets and spot the difference
