Fallen Star Stories

Yes, Thursday the 19th of March was the very last World Book Day event of the year... and it was the perfect event to end on; a great day with Patricia Forde that leaves us all wanting more. Trish gave up time from her busy, bust schedule to entertain classes from Scoil Chatriona in Renmore and Scoil Iognaid. She talked about writing and reading and story-telling...and then she read a bit from a few of her books, including a small taste from her upcoming (and first ever) novel, The Wordsmith (published by Little Island...you wonderful people!; due oout on 14th May.) The kids all loved it....and so did staff and customers. More photo op! Thank you sooooo much, Trish! See you soon.

Drawing this extravaganza to a close is always bittersweet for me. It's been quite a month! I'll dispense with the sentimentality for this post (anyway) and share with you the events of Wednesday, 18th March. On Wednesday, the schools (4th class from Scoil Iognaid and 2nd class from St. Michaels Boys School) were treated (once again) to the phenomenal story-telling gift that is Rab Fulton. Rab shared one of his all time best stories; that of his Grand-Uncle Hamish and how the worst fisherman in Scotland became the best fisherman in Scotland. Then, Rab gave his own, particular rendition of Little Red Riding Hood..... a treat for everyone who stopped by to listen. Thank you to the schools, and to the customers who hovered around to hear how it all turned out! Photo op! And a FANTASTIC time was had by all! Many, many thanks to Rab for your time and your talent...what a great gift to share. http://rabfultonstories.weebly.com/

Here's some brilliant news! On Saturday, the 18th of April the town and historic castle of Lismore in West Waterford will play host to the first ever Towers and Tales Story Festival....and a new childrens book festival is always great news. This promises to be an event the whole family and anyone who loves childrens books is going to love. With a line-up of best-selling childrens authors and illustrators, plus some incredibly exciting newcomers, there will be readings, workshops; all manner of events held throughout the day. So far, those confirmed to appear ton the day will be: Philip Ardagh Niamh Sharkey (you might notice Niamhs' work on the poster!) Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick Darren Shan Shane Hegarty Chris Riddell Sarah McIntyre ...with more soon to come. There will be the Monster-Doodle. The Book Doctors will be on hand to prescribe exactly what you need. There will even be an illustration masterclass and a 'writing for children' panel for the grown-ups.  ...

So...the week has come to a close. Todays' sessions were an  absolutely incredible way to end a week long celebration of books, reading and childrens literature. We began the day with me (again) taking the first two sessions. First, there was the busy, exciting 3rd classes from Claddagh National School. After a bit of discussion of favourite books, I decided it was time to share the wonderful world of Harry Potter with a few of the new generation of Potter readers. Only one in the class(es) had approached the books, but all had seen the films. So we began at the beginning with Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone . Incredible fun! Then it was time to move on to the 1st classes of Mercy Primary and more favourite books. They really loved the reading of Tom Mclaughlins The Story Machine ! And Abracazebra by Helen and Thomas Docherty was an big hit! Then, it was time for the grand finale(s) by the one and only Nicola Pierce! Nicolas' biggest fans in Galway (to date) are t...

HAPPY WORLD BOOK DAY! Today was an exceptional day to celebrate the day that's in it!  The started off with reading (by me!) to a wonderful group of 2nd class children from Scoil Iognaid. We read from Claude in the Country by Alex T. Smith...what a hilarious story! Then we moved on to The Pirates Next Door by Jonny Duddle. And a good time was had by all. The second session saw me reading from Young Sherlock Holmes: Death Cloud by Andrew Lane to the 5th class boys (aged 10/11) of St Patricks School. This has been the first year in nine the St Patricks School has attended World Book Day events in nine years and I was positively delighted to have them join us. After reading from Death Cloud , we moved on to a short piece from Knife Edge , in which Young Sherlock finds himself in Galway. Only one of the boys had read any of the Young Sherlock series, so it was a real treat. There was a good bit of discussion has to what the next possible scenario in the books would be. Very...

What a busy, happy day it was today. We had a total of 120 school children visit for events today, and while it was, at times, a little chaotic (with 120 children, how could it NOT be?), it was really happy and fulfilling. I started the events off today by taking the first two sessions myself. First, I chatted with and read picture books to the first class from Claddagh National School. We read The Wonder by Faye Hanson; a beautifully illustrated story that takes us through the day of a small boy 'whose head is filled with wonder." While he is always getting told to pay attention and get his head out of the clouds, he learns the real value of imagination and the beauty and joy it can create. The it was on to The Pirates Next Door by Jonny Duddle and finishing, as always with Where The Wild Things Are. Great fun with wonderful, creative children! The second class in was the 5th class from Scoil Ide. We read from Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell and discussed aspects of the ...

Today was a brilliant day! First, I got to read to the junior/senior infants class from St Nicholas Parochial School. I chose 4 of my favourite picture books including The Story Machine by Tom McLaughlin, Frances Dean Who Loved to Dance and Dance by Birgtta Sif and The Snatchabook by Helen and Tom Docherty. (I am promised a picture story based on the things we found out in The Story Machine!) And, of course, we ended with my very, very favourite picture book of all time; Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak...and the children made very good wild things: the best I've seen in years! After this session, the combined talents of Juliette Saumande and Sadie Cramer visited the bookshop for three sessions! It was wonderful! They talked about their book, Chop Chop Mad Cap: where the ideas came from, how the pictures were created, the characters and their relationships...and there was a brief reading from Mad Cap during which we met a very special character from the book. Then, ea...