Resources
SHTUM by Jem Lester - discussion questions
We have some great discussion questions for your reading group about Shtum by Jem Lester. As you can see below, other groups have enjoyed reading and discussing this book: “I cannot stress highly enough how much I loved this book. Simply charming, beautiful and gut-wrenching. This would appeal to anyone who is a parent or has a parent! Told from the point of view of Ben a 30-something father of a severely autistic boy, this book grabs your heart strings, pulls them sideways and then snaps...
SHTUM by Jem Lester - read an extract
Ben Jewell has hit breaking point. His ten-year-old son, Jonah, has never spoken. So when Ben and Jonah are forced to move in with Ben’s elderly father, three generations of men – one who can’t talk; two who won’t – are thrown together. As Ben battles single fatherhood, a string of well-meaning social workers and his own demons, he learns some difficult home truths. Jonah, blissful in his innocence, becomes the prism through which all the complicated strands of personal identity, family...
False Hearts by Laura Lam - read an extract
One night Tila stumbles home, terrified and covered in blood. She’s then arrested for murder, the first by a civilian in decades. The San Francisco police suspect involvement with Verve, a powerful drug, and offer her twin sister Taema a chilling deal. Taema must assume Tila’s identity and gather information to bring down the drug syndicate. The police may then let her sister live. However, Taema’s investigation raises ghosts from the twins’ past. The sisters were raised by a cult, which...
False Hearts by Laura Lam - discussion questions
We have some great discussion questions for your reading group about False Hearts by Laura Lam. As you can see below, other groups have enjoyed reading and discussing this book: “It was engaging right from the off, brought a wonderful vision of a fairly-dystopian future with its description of advanced technologies…” Library panel “The book prompted lively discussion on the plot and side-discussions on medical dilemmas, cults, dystopian universes, drugs and much more.” Macclesfield Library...
DKfindout! Sharks poster
Enjoy this fact-filled poster all about sharks!
DKfindout! Pirates poster
Download this fact-filled poster all about pirates!
The Appointment by Graham Easton - discussion questions
We have some discussion questions for your reading group about The Appointment: What Your Doctor Really Thinks During Your Ten-Minute Consultation by Graham Easton. The Appointment is a book which explores the idea that despite the modern trend towards empowering patients and giving them more choice, the nuts and bolts of medical practice largely remain a mystery – a closed box. In fact, the more health information is available on the internet, the more patients can feel swamped and confused....
The Appointment by Graham Easton - read an extract
Despite the modern trend towards empowering patients and giving them more choice, the nuts and bolts of medical practice largely remain a mystery – a closed box. In fact, the more health information is available on the internet, the more patients can feel swamped and confused. The Appointment offers an intimate and honest account of how a typical GP tries to make sense of a patient’s health problems and manage them within the constraints of their health system and the short ten minute...
Cosy Winter Reads - Chatterbooks Booklist
Check out these winter reads from our children’s publisher partners. There are books for all ages, plus discussion and activity ideas for your Chatterbooks group.
Cosy Winter Reads - Chatterbooks Activity Pack
In this Chatterbooks activity pack you’ll find cosy, familiar, and magical stories to keep out the winter chill – and adventures in snow and ice bringing shivers and thrills and wonder. There are books for all ages, plus discussion and activity ideas for your Chatterbooks group, inspired by these winter reads from our children’s publisher partners.
The Graces by Laure Eve - read an extract
Read an exclusive extract from The Graces by Laure Eve. Everyone said the Graces were witches. They moved through the corridors like sleek fish, ripples in their wake. Stares followed their backs and their hair. They had friends, but they were just distractions. They were waiting for someone different. All I had to do was show them that person was me. Like everyone else in her town, River is obsessed with the Graces, attracted by their glamour and apparent ability to weave magic. Desperate to...
Thin Air by Michelle Paver - read an extract
Read an exclusive extract of the chilling and dark Thin Air by Michelle Paver. 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...
Holding by Graham Norton - read an extract
Read an exclusive extract from Graham Norton’s debut novel, Holding. 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...
You Will Not Have My Hate - read an extract
Read an extract from the powerful and moving You Will Not Have My Hate by Antoine Leiris. On 13th November 2015, Antoine Leiris’s wife, Hélène, was killed, along with 88 other people at the Bataclan Theatre in Paris, when three men armed with guns and suicide bombs opened fire on the unsuspecting crowd at a rock concert. Three days later, Antoine wrote an open letter addressed to his wife’s killers, which he published on Facebook. The whole world was in mourning for the victims, but Leiris...
Peaks and Troughs by Nick Perry - read an extract
We have an exclusive extract for you to read from Peaks and Troughs by Nick Perry. Peaks and Troughs is the story of a naïve young man who is initiated into adulthood through the harsh reality of having to survive in the material world. Despite the hardships, he never loses his belief that there is an alternative way to farm that is sympathetic to the earth and the animals in his care. His neighbours never take him seriously and try to undermine his efforts as he struggles against the...
Peaks and Troughs by Nick Perry - discussion questions
We have some discussion questions for your reading group about Peaks and Troughs by Nick Perry. Peaks and Troughs is the story of a naïve young man who is initiated into adulthood through the harsh reality of having to survive in the material world. Despite the hardships, he never loses his belief that there is an alternative way to farm that is sympathetic to the earth and the animals in his care. His neighbours never take him seriously and try to undermine his efforts as he struggles...
The Zoo by Isobel Charman - discussion questions
We have some discussion questions for your reading group about non-fiction book The Zoo by Isobel Charman. The creation of a zoo in Dickensian London – the first ‘zoo’ in history – is a story of jaw-dropping audacity. It is the story of trailblazing scientists, rival keepers and aristocratic naturalists collecting amazing animals from all around the world – and sending them to what was dubbed ‘the ark’ by the mocking press. Telling this almost unbelievable true story, Isobel Charman depicts a...
The Zoo by Isobel Charman - read an extract
We have an exclusive extract for you to read from non-fiction book The Zoo by Isobel Charman. The creation of a zoo in Dickensian London – the first ‘zoo’ in history – is a story of jaw-dropping audacity. It is the story of trailblazing scientists, rival keepers and aristocratic naturalists collecting amazing animals from all around the world – and sending them to what was dubbed ‘the ark’ by the mocking press. Telling this almost unbelievable true story, Isobel Charman depicts a highly...
Chatterbooks Newsletter
The latest Chatterbooks Newsletter. This November newsletter celebrates National Non-Fiction November.
Pamela Butchart activity pack
This Chatterbooks activity pack celebrates eight hilarious books from author Pamela Butchart and publisher Nosy Crow. Meet Pugly, the pug with great ideas who is ready for (almost!) anything; and Peri (aka Petunia Perry), Cammy, their band the Spoons, and the wonderful cat, Margaret. And in the Baby Aliens series you’ll find Izzy, Zack, Jodie and Maisie, and the hilarious situations they get into – inspired by their boundless imaginations!
StoryWorlds Nature drawing competition
Encourage your Chatterbooks group to draw their own animal story to celebrate National Non-Fiction November this month. The best entry will win a bundle of 360 Degree books from publisher Little Tiger and a colour chancing bag from Squid London. Simply download the competition flier and send back to the Reading Agency by 9 December.
Behind the scenes of 'Children Just Like Me'
In this behind the scenes video, non-fiction book designer Fiona and editor Sam explain how books get made at DK and share some special moments from the making of Children Just Like Me
National Non-Fiction November - DK booklist
Enjoy these great titles from DK – part of National Non-Fiction November’s 100 Brilliant Non-Fiction Books for Children and Young People
National Non-Fiction November poster
Celebrate National Non-Fiction November with this poster featuring 100 brilliant non-fiction titles for children and young people
Wonderful Non-Fiction - Chatterbooks Activity Pack
This Chatterbooks activity pack gives you a treasure chest of wonderful non-fiction titles from our Children’s Reading Partners publisher partners, plus lots of ideas for activities and discussion with your Chatterbooks groups. Enjoy these bright and vibrant books, full of fascinating information – and celebrate this year’s National Non-Fiction November!
Get to know the Dewey Decimal Classification system
A brief PowerPoint slide show to help you understand how the Dewey Decimal Classification system works in your library
The Falcon Chronicles Activity Pack
Download this fact-filled pack based on Steve Backshall’s series The Falcon Chronicles. This resource contains animal fact files, word puzzles, activity sheets and more!
Middle School video trailer
Watch the latest trailer for James Patterson’s Middle School series
Wonderful Non-Fiction - Chatterbooks Booklist
Enjoy this great selection of information books on all kinds of subjects.
King Flashypants and the Evil Emperor Competition sheet
Competition for children. Draw an arch enemy below for your chance to win £50 worth of book tokens for you and £100 pounds worth of books for your library! Don’t forget to give them a name and a Kingdom…
