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Award-winning authors and illustrators will descend on Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall for the Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour Jamboree. On Wednesday (6 June), around 2000 P4-P7 pupils from 22 local authorities will be treated to a fun-filled day of reading, writing and drawing.
2018 marks the 20th anniversary of the Children’s Book Tour, which is sponsored by Scottish Friendly, one of the UK’s leading financial mutuals, and organised by Scottish Book Trust, the national charity transforming lives through reading and writing.
Joining the Jamboree event on 6 June is Jacqueline Wilson, author of Tracy Beaker; Chris Riddell, former Children’s Laureate; Cressida Cowell, author of How to Train Your Dragon; The Etherington Brothers, creators of comic Money Nuts; and Pamela Butchart, author of The Spy Who Loves School Dinners. All of the authors and illustrators have taken part in the Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour in the past and will be reunited for this once in a lifetime celebration event.
Over 70 primary schools from across Scotland applied to attend the Jamboree event, and travel bursaries were offered to help those schools from further afield. Schools across the UK can tune in and watch the event on the day, via live-stream on Scottish Book Trust’s YouTube channel.
Award-winning author Jacqueline Wilson has sold over 35 million books worldwide and is best known as the creator of Tracy Beaker. Many of her stories have been dramatised for television and theatre.
Jacqueline Wilson said:
I am delighted to be taking part in the Scottish Friendly Jamboree and am very much looking forward to the trip to Glasgow with my fellow authors. I think it’s a wonderful idea that children from all over Scotland are given the opportunity to come and hear authors enthuse about books and the importance of reading for pleasure.
Chris Riddell is an award-winning illustrator and previous Children’s Laureate, whose work includes The Goth Girl series, loved by children and adults alike.
Chris Riddell said:
It is such a pleasure to come to Glasgow and to meet and talk to so many avid readers. I have sharpened my pencils ready to do lots of live drawing and am really looking forward to spending time with the brilliant folks at Scottish Book Trust.
Cressida Cowell is the author of the much-loved novel series How to Train Your Dragon, inspired by her childhood on a remote Scottish island.
Cressida Cowell said:
I’m delighted to be part of the Jamboree 20 year celebration – thank you Scottish Book Trust for inviting me. I had a wonderful tour with Scottish Book Trust a few years ago, and I have a huge admiration for all the work they do, especially in schools. Events in Scotland are particularly meaningful to me, because my How to Train Your Dragon series is partly inspired by summers I spent as a child on an uninhabited Scottish island off the west coast.
Pamela Butchart is one of Scotland's most exciting children's authors, and is best known for her books The Spy Who Loves School Dinners and My Head Teacher is a Vampire Rat – winners of the Blue Peter Best Book Award and the Children’s Book Award.
Pamela Butchart said:
I'm honoured to be part of the Scottish Book Trust Jamboree. The book tour is absolutely fantastic, and so are all the Scottish Book Trust staff, school teachers, classroom assistants and librarians who work hard to make it possible. I can't wait to meet pupils from across Scotland at the Jamboree. It’s going to be a brilliant day!
The Etherington Brothers are the creators of the amazing comic books Monkey Nuts, YORE!, Baggage and Long Gone Don.
The Etherington Brothers said:
The Scottish Friendly Book Tour Jamboree represents everything great about the storytelling experience for young readers. For 20 years Scottish Book Trust has been bringing the magic of literature to life for countless children across Scotland by connecting them directly to a phenomenal array of authors and illustrators.
The Scottish Friendly Children’s Book tour visits both primary and secondary schools, and has enthralled more than 100,000 children since it began in 1998. The tour will next visit venues in Bradford later this month with Chae Strathie, winner of the 2018 Bookbug Picture Book Prize for Gorilla Loves Vanilla.
Schools in the Highlands, Orkney and Shetland can apply now for a fully-funded event to take place in September with Andy Stanton, an award-winning children’s author and cartoonist. Andy will inspire pupils by talking about his own journey to becoming an author, including hilarious examples of what he wrote when he was at school. He will also give pupils practical tips on using just one idea to start a story and what to do when you get stuck writing a story. The application deadline is Friday 22 June at 5pm.
Calum Bennie, Communications Manager of Scottish Friendly, said:
The Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour seems to have got bigger and better each year and has become a firm favourite with schools and young children, many of whom, 20 years since the tour started, are now adults. Our Jamboree event is the biggest we’ve undertaken and is the perfect celebration of 20 years of promoting children’s literacy.
Marc Lambert, CEO of Scottish Book Trust, said:
We’re very much looking forward to greeting the alumni of the Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour for the 20th anniversary. The Jamboree event is a wonderful opportunity to come together with authors, illustrators and pupils from across Scotland for an exciting day of reading, writing and drawing.
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