Resources
Spear by Nicola Griffith - promotional guide
About the ADCI Literary Prize 2023 Launched in 2022, the ADCI (Authors with Disabilities and Chronic Illnesses) Literary Prize seeks to encourage greater positive representation of disability in literature. Founded by author Penny Batchelor and publisher Clare Christian together with the Society of Authors, the prize is generously sponsored by Arts Council England, ALCS, the Drusilla Harvey Memorial Fund, and the Professional Writing Academy. Open to authors with a disability and/or chronic...
National Reading Group Day - library toolkit
This toolkit will help librarians to plan for National Reading Group Day on 14 September. Contact readinggroups@readingagency.org.uk with any questions.
National Reading Group Day - assets
Libraries and other organisations can download these social media assets to promote National Reading Group Day (14 September 2023). Contact readinggroups@readingagency.org.uk with any questions.
Reader Reviews August 2023 - what readers thought about books this month!
Did you know that we offer free reading group sets of books for groups every month? All we ask for in return are reviews. If you’d like to find out more you can sign up to our newsletters. Every month we will be sharing reviews from our readers who have received copies of the latest books from our publisher partners. Books reviewed in August include: Children’s Thief of Farrowfell Spellstone Between Night and Day Emerald and the Ocean Parade Wider Than The Sea The Deadlands Nic Blake and the...
Usborne Adventure Gamebooks Activity Sheet
Prepare for death-defying rooftop chases, shadowy enemies and fiendish picture puzzles in this thrilling adventure gamebook where the hero of the story is YOU. As a member of the League of Thieves you’re used to plenty of danger and mystery, but your most perilous mission yet is about to begin. Can you succeed where all others have failed and break into the infamous Castle Flaggstone to rescue your friend, steal a priceless treasure and uncover an ancient secret? With a fun dice-based combat...
The Selfish Crab Colouring Sheets
Claude has the most beautiful shell of all the crabs on the beach. It makes him feel special and he’s determined never, ever to part with it. Of course, hermit crabs change their shells as they grow-in fact they often swap with each other. But when it’s time to swap, Claude says ‘NO!’. His decision spins the hermit crab community into chaos and it means that little Alphonso’s shell is much too big. At the seaside this is dangerous. Can Claude give up his selfish ways in time to save his friend?
Cleo the Completely Fine Camel Activity Sheet
Cleo is a COMPLETELY FINE camel. Really, everything is just great. Honestly. A sweltering hot day? Well, Cleo has never felt better! Is she thirsty? No really she’s fine. A desert sandstorm? Not a problem, because Cleo is FINE (even while buried under two feet of sand). It’s only when an ostrich who tells it like it is turns up that Cleo has the courage to admit that, just maybe, she’s not fine at all.
Into the Wild Colouring Sheets
One night Joe leaves his window open and with a swirl of leaves and a flap of feathers, the Wild invites him outside to explore the night-time city. Joe learns that animals and plants can thrive even in the most built-up environment, and that with a bit of imagination, a city can be full of surprises.
Between Night and Day Activity Sheets
When Pongo, a young orangutan, reaches for a ripe mango, she gets a big surprise! Clinging to the fruit, and very confused, is a little bat called Bulu who can’t find his way back to his cave in the busy daytime forest. Pongo soon learns that for a creature who is used to the shadows of the night, the day can be a very scary place. When they finally find Bulu’s home, the roles are reversed, and Pongo must venture into a dark and unfamiliar world. Can the two animals find somewhere between...
The Destiny of Minou Moonshine Teaching Resources
The story of a queendom set in an alternate colonial India, blending Frances Hardinge with Kipling’s Kim. A debut rich in fantasy, friendship and faith, and an original steampunk adventure that sparkles with storytelling magic. ‘A land that loses its stories loses its way.’ The beautiful queendom of Moonlally has fallen under a tyrant’s rule. Their queen is dead, worship of their goddess, the Dark Lady, is forbidden, and the precious black diamond that protects the city – a rare fragment of...
Rider of the Storm Teaching Resources
Dido gallops headlong into her third adventure, following her escapades in the riveting and action-packed Race to the Death and Rivals on the Track. Dido is reconciled to leaving the racing track and staying at home to train horses with Scorpus and Parmenion. But a storm is brewing. It brings with it a fiery black stallion, uncannily like Dido’s beloved Porcellus. Word arrives from Rome that her cousin, Abibaal, a talented young charioteer, has been recruited to compete for the evil emperor,...
Rider of the Storm Teaching Resources
Dido gallops headlong into her third adventure, following her escapades in the riveting and action-packed Race to the Death and Rivals on the Track. Dido is reconciled to leaving the racing track and staying at home to train horses with Scorpus and Parmenion. But a storm is brewing. It brings with it a fiery black stallion, uncannily like Dido’s beloved Porcellus. Word arrives from Rome that her cousin, Abibaal, a talented young charioteer, has been recruited to compete for the evil emperor,...
Art is Everywhere Activity Sheets
What do you think ART is? Is it pictures on the walls of a gallery? And what about an ARTIST? Someone holding a paintbrush, standing in front of an easel? Yes to both, but art and artists are so much more than that! Art is everywhere around us, we just need to know how to look for it… I’m Joe Haddow, artist, radio producer, podcaster and super-fan of all forms of art. I’m on a mission to show everyone how art can be found in so many different places, and created by so many different people....
Get Ready for School Activity Sheets
This bumper sticker book is made up from four separate books – Alphabet, First Numbers, Colours and Shapes – providing a comprehensive introduction to a range of early years skills which are essential for children who are about to start school. Adding stickers provide an interactive element which reinforces learning.
Wider Than the Sea Teaching Resource
Ro finds school impossible. She knows people think she’s shy – and stupid. But when she goes to the bay each afternoon to watch the dolphin leap through the water, she finds the strength to keep going. Then the dolphin disappears, and everything starts falling apart. Can Ro overcome her fears to find him?
Esme's Rock Teaching Resources
Esme is a small cave girl. She has the kind of voice that’s great for keeping big things with sharp teeth away but that isn’t so great for keeping secrets, like the plans for Morris the mammoth’s birthday surprise. But when the birthday surprise is in danger of not being finished on time, it is Esme’s booming voice that brings people together, makes sure the job is done, and allows the party to go with a real swing!
Nowhere Island Teaching Resources
Hidden at the intersection of several busy highways behind the trees and scrubby undergrowth is an island, full of secrets… Pez has lived there for a while now, enjoying the solitude. She has a vegetable patch, a routine, her own way of doing things and a condor, who may be outstaying his welcome. Runaway brothers, Riley and Grayson call the island home too. They keep their distance from Pez and spend precarious days trying to survive, still relying on the man-made world which speeds around...
Ultimate Football Heroes – activity pack
From the playground to the pitch: the Ultimate Football Heroes welcomes two new Lioness titles in time for the 2023 Women’s World Cup! Ultimate Football Heroes: Leah Williamson Discover how this versatile player from Milton Keynes balanced school with a burgeoning football career to hone her skills. From her early start as a six-year-old and being a part of Arsenal’s youth programme at nine to receiving an OBE in 2023 for services to association football and being made captain of England’s...
Into The Wild by Thomas Docherty - teachers' guide and activities
Into The Wild by Thomas Docherty is a picture book that is a joyous celebration of nature in urban environments and a child’s imagination. Joe loves Wild things, but can’t find any in the city he lives in. When the Wild invites him to explore the night-time city, he is going to learn that nature can be found just about everywhere. There’s also non-fiction information and a search and find activity at the back of the book for little readers who want to explore more of the wild. Perfect for...
My Heart was a Tree - digital pack
Discover the beauty and wonder of trees in this stunningly illustrated collection of poetry and stories by national treasure, Sir Michael Morpurgo, illustrated by Yuval Zommer. Inspired by the woods around his home, the mighty forests that support our life on Earth, and the Ted Hughes poem which gives this book its title, My Heart Was a Tree is a celebration, and national treasure Sir Michael Morpurgo’s love letter to trees. There are stories from an ancient olive remembering Odysseus and...
Skellig 25th anniversary - activity pack and animation
The bestselling story of love, loss and hope. This modern classic is now illustrated by Tom de Freston for the first time in a hardback 25th anniversary edition. About the book Michael was looking forward to a new start. But now his baby sister is ill and Dr Death has come to call. With his parents worried and exhausted, Michael is left alone explore. That’s when he finds him. Man, bird or angel? Skellig is more than he first appears. Together with his friend Mina, they bring Skellig into the...
Bumble and Snug - activity pack
Join Bumble and Snug for a series of epic adventures about little monsters with BIG feelings, in these brilliantly funny graphic novels created by Mark Bradley. They are the perfect introduction to graphic novels for newly independent readers aged 5+ and fans of Bunny vs Monkey.
InvestiGators by John Patrick Green - Activity Booklet
Crack the case with the InvestiGators! A hilarious, full-colour comic book series by John Patrick Green, perfect for fans of Bunny vs Monkey and Dog Man. ‘If your young reader is looking for something to fill a Dogman-shaped hole in their personal libraries, let alligator investigators Mango and Brash step in. With a detailed comic-strip format, lots of toilet humour and zany plot lines, you will be pestered for the sequel before it’s published.’ – Sunday Business Post MANGO and BRASH are the...
Magic Faces Activity Pack
The magic face paints have transformed Austin, Alanna and sausage dog Ozzy into superheroes! When two supervillains, Foul Prune and Brains, swoop into the busy City Museum in a flying machine, they steal a priceless gem and Austin and Alanna narrowly escape being hit with their Freeze Ray. Alanna Storm and Austin Steel must track the supervillains down, return the gem and save the museum before their time in this superhero world runs out!
The Reading Agency’s July booklist – Turning the Page (historical)
The Council for British Archaeology run the UK’s biggest celebration of archaeology called the Festival of Archaeology which is held from 15-30 July. We also know that historical books are incredibly popular with readers, so we have picked 12 brilliant books that share brilliant stories set in the past. The selected books include different genres with a mixture of fiction and non-fiction, so that hopefully everyone can find a book they’ll enjoy. We also have a couple of recordings from...
Jamie by L.D. Lapinski - teaching resources
Celebrate with PRIDE Jamie – a beautiful and uplifting story from L.D. Lapinski, author of The Strangeworlds Travel Agency, about how to make your own place when the world doesn’t think you fit anywhere. Jamie is perfect for children aged 9+ and for celebrating PRIDE Month, Non-Binary Awareness Day or any time of year. ‘FABULOUS, HOPEFUL, IMPORTANT’ – Emma Carroll Jamie Rambeau is a happy 11-year-old non-binary kid who likes nothing better than hanging out with their two best friends Daisy...
Sharks! Sharks! Sharks! - digital resources
A deep-dive into sharks and their behaviour!S From award-winning non-fiction duo Susan Martineau and Vicky Barker, this is an expertly pitched book all about sharks and how they behave. There are coral reef sharks, glow-in-the-dark sharks, baby sharks and even mystery sharks. Young readers will find out everything they ever wanted to know about sharks, from whether sharks want to eat us to how they look after their babies. This is the perfect book to surprise shark-loving super fans with new...
Friendship Never Ends - digital resources
‘Sheppard brilliantly captures all the awkwardness and insecurities of being in your early teens in this hopeful, heart-filled paean to friendship and girlhood.’ Observer When you’re figuring it all out, there are some friendships that mean the most. Meet Sunita, Gifty, Dawn and May. They’re each about to have a summer they’ll never forget, but does growing up have to mean growing apart? Funny, relatable and heart-warming, get ready to laugh, cringe and cry with these four besties! ‘A...
The Night Animals by Sarah Ann Juckes - digital resources
Uncover the ghost animals within in this moving and uplifting story about finding help where you need it, from the highly acclaimed author and illustrator of The Hunt for the Nightingale. Nora’s mum has good days and bad days, but the bad days are getting worse. It’s been just the two of them for always, and they don’t need anyone else. When the rainbow-shimmering ghost animals Nora used to see when she was small start to reappear, she’s convinced that they hold all the answers. Along with...
Loki: A Bad God’s Guide to Ruling the World - teaching resources, activities and book trailer
Welcome to Loki’s THIRD doodle-packed diary in the number one best-selling series! When Heimdall and Hyrrokkin abandon their “children” to go on holiday, Odin sends Baldur – Thor’s half-brother and god of making Loki look bad – to babysit. As Baldur and Thor bond, Loki’s attempts to prove he’s good start getting a bit desperate. After the drama teacher casts him as the villain in the school play, Loki starts to wonder whether there’s any point in being good when everyone seems convinced of...
