BREAKING THE LOCKDOWN BLUES WITH THE BOOK OF HOPES

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Being in lockdown is hard on all of us. With the world staying home, we are missing our families and friends, venturing out to new places, even the mundane things like going to work and school. It's easy for restlessness and boredom to set in as we wonder how long will this go on, only to hear things like "for quite some time to come." It's easy to lose hope. But help is at hand with something marvelous!

On 27th April, The Book of Hopes: Words and Pictures to Comfort, Inspire and Entertain Children in Lockdown was launched by award-winning (and completely brilliant) childrens' author, Katherine Rundell. Here, Katherine has curated the work of more than 110 authors and illustrators in a volume that is utterly wonderful. This is a collection of poems, short stories, essays and pictures from many favourites like Lauren Child, Anthony Horowitz, Jacqueline Wilson, Emily Sutton, Jonny Duddle, Sharna Jackson, Michelle Paver, Ross Montgomery and so many more, including Katherine herself. A book that can be shared in bits and pieces, depending on your mood and whim, it is a great gift to each and every family stuck at home and is sure to lift everyones' spirits, regardless of age or situation.
Now, are you ready for the best part? The Book of Hopes is being hosted exclusively on the Family Zone on the National Literacy Trusts' website. That's where you'll find it... COMPLETELY FREE FOR ALL CHILDREN AND FAMILIES. That's right. 377 pages of all this hope, completely free. All you need to do is follow the link (below), which you can visit at any time and open yourself up for any one (or two or three...) of a myriad of adventures.
The Book of Hopes is dedicated to all the doctors, nurses, porters, cleaners and everyone currently working in hospitals to help and support us all in these strange and trying days. Bloomsbury intends to publish a gift book based on this special project in the autumn, in support of NHS Charities Together.
A wonderful gift to us all, here's the link for you. Read The Book of Hopes...you'll feel much better.

https://literacytrust.org.uk/family-zone/9-12/book-hopes/

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