Age guideline 11-13, 13+
About the event
Join not one, but two Children’s Laureates in an all-star international celebration of books and reading with the always brilliant Cressida Cowell from the UK and the superb Jason Reynolds from the USA! Cressida and Jason chat to Sunday Times children’s book critic Nicolette Jones about their roles as UK Waterstones Children’s Laureate and US National Ambassador for Young People's Literature respectively. They celebrate the joys of reading and writing on both sides of the Atlantic – and the good that can come from the magic of reading when that magic is available to everyone.
In this event you will hear Jason and Cressida talk about the truth of enjoying reading, which is that not all of us do, or that there might be things that stop us enjoying reading, even when grown ups tell us we should. They’ll talk about how they want to help children come to love reading and how books can be made exciting so we want to read them. You’ll hear them talk about how they base their books on their own lives, experiences and relationships and Jason talks about honouring people he knows by writing them into his stories.
This event will be followed by a live Q&A.
How to access the event
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Teacher resources and further reading
As you watch the event think about the following things and have a go at some of the activities as part of your classroom work or at home. We’d love to see your ideas!
How would you encourage a friend who doesn’t like reading to read a book you really loved?
What ways does your school encourage children to love reading?
Are there any other ideas you can think of to help the younger children in your school get into reading (e.g. making exciting book posters that look a bit like movie posters for display)
What books, films or TV shows have you read, listened to or watched that you feel reflect your life and experiences?
Which books, films or TV shows have really exciting beginnings – the kind that make you hooked right away? Can you think of an idea that would make a brilliant beginning? Challenge yourself to either write or tell a friend an opening to a story that’s so good they’re begging you to tell them what happens next!
What has happened in your life that might make a good story? Is there anyone in your life – a family member or friend for instance – that you’d like to write about so they were immortalised in a book?
The Reader Teacher’s Top Tip
Thanks to Scott Evans, The Reader Teacher, for this top teacher tip:
‘This event is excellent to use when teaching English in the curriculum to share the true joy of reading through two champions of children’s literature in conversation who chat about their childhood and college experiences of reading and writing, books and libraries and celebrate the rights that all children should have to make reading magic, using Cressida’s charter as a cause for change.’ @MrEPrimary
About the authors
Cressida Cowell is the number one bestselling author-illustrator of the How to Train Your Dragon and The Wizards of Once book series, and the author of the Emily Brown picture books, illustrated by Neal Layton. She has sold over 11 million books worldwide in 38 languages. How to Train Your Dragon is also an award-winning billion-dollar DreamWorks film series, and a TV series shown on Netflix and CBBC; The Wizards of Once has also been optioned for film by DreamWorks.
Cressida is an ambassador for the National Literacy Trust, a trustee for World Book Day and a founder patron of the Children’s Media Foundation. She has won numerous prizes for her books, including the Blue Peter Book Award and the Ruth Rendell Award for Championing Literacy. She is a honorary fellow of Keble College Oxford, and has a honorary doctorate from the University of Brighton. She grew up in London and on a small, uninhabited island off the west coast of Scotland and she now lives in Hammersmith with her husband, three children and a dog called Pigeon. cressidacowell.co.uk
Twitter: @CressidaCowell
Instagram: @CressidaCowellAuthor
Facebook: /CressidaCowellBooks
Jason Reynolds is the winner of more than 25 US and international awards, including the 2018 Edgar Award and LA Times Book Prize, Newbery Award, Printz Award and two time Walter Dean Myers Award winner. A New York Times bestselling author, his books include Long Way Down, Miles Morales, Boy in the Black Suit and the Run series (Ghost, Patina, Sunny and Lu). He is the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature (US) 2020-2021.
Twitter: @JasonReynolds83
Instagram: @JasonReynolds83
About the festival partner
This event has been programmed by Bath Children’s Literature Festival
Bath Festivals is a charity that brings you the Bath Children’s Literature Festival, Europe’s largest dedicated children’s literature festival with a vibrant array of talks and activities for children. They are also responsible for The Bath Festival in the summer which bring the city alive with a celebration of music and books in the beautiful venues and spaces of the world heritage city. By creating innovative and diverse programmes, their festivals inspire and provide unique experiences for residents and visitors to Bath and surrounding areas. Their year-round creative learning programme of hands-on music and literature projects gives children and young people opportunities to gain real-world experience, building their inner confidence and improving communication skills through the arts.