Happy World Book Day!

Virtual School Library

9781526616050 Audio FULL

GOOD THIEVES COVER

Fresh off the boat from England, Vita Marlowe has a job to do. Her beloved grandfather Jack has been cheated out of his home and possessions by a notorious conman with Mafia connections. Seeing Jack's spirit is broken, Vita is desperate to make him happy again, so she devises a plan to outwit his enemies and recover his home. She finds a young pickpocket, working the streets of the city. And, nearby, two boys with highly unusual skills and secrets of their own are about to be pulled into her lawless, death-defying plan.

The Good Thieves

It's the week of World Book Day and our author of the week, Katherine Rundell, is sharing an audiobook of The Good Thieves for you to listen to for FREE! 

It's the week of World Book Day and our author of the week, Katherine Rundell, is sharing an audiobook of *The Good Thieves* for you to listen to for FREE! You can also watch an exclusive video about her £1 World Book Day book, *Skysteppers*, discover her top three children's books, watch a video about *The Good Thieves* and hear her top reading tips. 

This World Book Day, swap the voucher you received in school for *Skysteppers* by Katherine Rundell and get the book completely free!

Listen to The Good Thieves by Katherine Rundell for FREE and watch exclusive videos.

What is your all-time favourite book?

If you could be a storybook character, who would you be?

What is the best thing about reading?

Steal a moment with Katherine Rundell

Katherine Rundell | Author of the week

Download Starfell activities

Starfell - Episode 1

Starfell - Episode 2

Starfell - Episode 3

Starfell - Episode 4

Starfell - Episode 5

Starfell: Willow Moss and the Lost Day cover

Willow Moss is the youngest and least powerful sister in a family of witches. She has a magical ability for finding lost things like keys, or socks, or wooden teeth, which is useful, but not exactly exciting.

But then, the most powerful witch in the world of Starfell turns up at Willow's door and asks for her help. A whole day - last Tuesday to be precise - has gone missing. Now Willow holds the fate of Starfell in her rather unremarkable hands. Can she save the day by finding the lost one?!

Starfell: Willow Moss and the Lost Day

Listen to an audiobook of the first in the Starfell series, watch an exclusive video with the author, discover Dominique's favourite children's books and read a Q&A.

This week, you can get lost in the world of Starfell! Listen to an audiobook of the first in the series, _Willow Moss and the Lost Day_ and watch an exclusive video with the author to find out more about the books and her best writing advice. You can also discover Dominique's favourite children's stories and read a Q&A about books and reading.

Silky the elf from Enid Blyton’s _The Magic Faraway Tree_. I’d have the recipe to the honey-filled ‘pop biscuits’ she makes, and get to live in that wondrous forest inside a magical tree, where I could go on adventures to all the strange new lands that visited the very top. I’d always have a good-hair day and have interesting, though odd, friends nearby (which are the best kind, really).

I think the best thing is the escape. It’s like a portal to a wonderful world – one that you build in your own mind, and where you get to experience lots of exciting things such as riding a dragon, standing up to a bully, falling in love or experiencing another world – all from the comfort of your couch or bed!


This IS hard as I have so many favourites from _Tom’s Midnight Garden_ by Philippa Pearce to Enid Blyton’s _The Faraway Tree_ which made me fall in love with the magic of reading. But I’d have to say _Anne of Green Gables_ by L.M. Montgomery sits warmest in my heart as no character has ever felt so alive to me as her. I felt that I identified with her so strongly as a child. She’s sensitive, moved by nature and often prone to flights of fancy, and daydreaming. Yet, she’s also stubborn and has a quick temper that can get her into trouble. She felt very real, as did the beautiful setting in the fictional town of Avonlea and all its wondrous characters in Prince Edward Island.

I love this question! Here are some of my top tips:

*   I’ve found that making it a habit has helped. Give yourself a time to read everyday – maybe it’s just a page before bed or when you wake up with your glass of water or tea. Or make it fun with a daily bubble bath.
*   Listening to audiobooks is great too. You can listen as you go on a walk, when you’re in the car or even when you’re doing other things like cleaning, which makes the tasks so much nicer. It helps me read more than one book at a time as I usually have a physical book and an audiobook on the go most days.
*   Social media is a big attention seeker and often though you might want to do something else – like read – it ends up sucking you in instead. So, in order to combat this I disable push notifications, including email alerts, and put my phone out of reach whenever I want to read.

Step into a magical world with Dominique Valente

Dominique Valente | Author of the week

Romans on the Rampage book cover

Romans on the Rampage

This week hilarious author, Jeremy Strong, is sharing Romans on the Rampage with you to read for FREE!

This week hilarious author, Jeremy Strong, is sharing _Romans on the Rampage_ with you to read for FREE! You can also watch an exclusive video with the author, discover his top three children's book and read a Q&A to find out his favourite things about books.


My storybook character also happens to have been a real person, Gerald Durrell. He wrote a great story called _My Family and Other Animals_. The book was based on Durrell’s life adventures on the Greek island of Corfu in the late 1930s. I adored his fascination with animals and also the adventures of his extraordinary family. Gerald went on to become both a famous naturalist and writer. What a guy!

Simply being able to lose yourself in a book, in another world entirely. A book is an escape, whether it’s fact or fiction, poetry or drama. It takes you in an instant to another world, away from all the annoyances, even the horrors of our real world.

Oh no! I can’t possibly answer this. Books answer different needs, just like all good art does; music, art, cinema, theatre, books - they all have a purpose for whatever mood you are in. Sometimes you want something funny. Sometimes you want something exciting, or mysterious or melancholy, or scary. Different books for different purposes. There is no one book above all other. Besides, I am an adult so a lot of my reading is for adults. But I also love picture stories!

Just keep reading! Read what YOU want to read, not what others choose for you. Go to the library, bookshops, browse and peep inside. When you see something that takes your fancy - read that! It doesn’t matter if someone says it’s too easy or too difficult or has too many pictures or any nonsense like that. Just read!

Head back to the Roman Age with Jeremy Strong

Jeremy Strong - Author of the Week

How to make a potato clock

How to make pancakes

cookie 1

cookie 2

cookie 3

Cookie and the Most Annoying Boy

Cookie thinks her life is over because her best friend is moving to Solihull. She begs her parents for a pet to fill the void and sets her heart on the cutest kitten in the pet shop, Bluey. But then the most ANNOYING boy she's ever met in her entire nine years buys Bluey and renames her Nigel! And then he joins her year at school! If that wasn't bad enough, he then moves in next door to her. AAAAGGGGHHHHH!

But it's not all bad. Cookie gets the chance to go on her favourite TV show, *Brainbusters*. It's only a chance though - she'll have to win the school science competition first, which shouldn't be too hard. All she has to do is keep her head down, but unfortunately that's not Cookie's strong point...


Cookie and the Most Annoying Boy in the World

Listen to Cookie and the Most Annoying Boy in the World by Konnie Huq for free, watch an exclusive video and find out her fave children's books.

This week former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq is sharing Cookie and the Most Annoying Boy in the World, the first book in the Cookie series that she both wrote and illustrated, as an audiobook. You can listen completely FREE! There's also an exclusive video from Konnie, you can discover her top three recommended children's books and find out more about what she enjoys about reading in a Q&A!

Mary Lennox from *The Secret Garden*. She goes on such a journey from being a not very nice person to totally transformed. There are many parallels - I remember my younger self being a way more material and judgemental person than I am now. I like to think that I, like Mary, have become a better person than my former self!


Reading can transport you to new worlds you wouldn’t otherwise be able to go to, and puts you in the shoes of other people.

It would be hard to pick a favourite but a seminal favourite would have be *To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee*. I read it when I was relatively young and it was the first time I encountered race and racism being overtly addressed in mainstream popular culture. Back then this was very important and refreshing to me.

Get to know Cookie and Konnie Huq

Konnie Huq - Author of the week

Mr Tiger, Betsy and the Blue Moon

When Betsy K Glory, the daughter of a mermaid and an ice-cream maker, meets the mysterious Mr Tiger they have a giant challenge: a moon to turn blue, berries to collect and wishable-delicious ice cream to create. The sort that makes wishes come true.

With Mr Tiger and his troupe of Gongalong circus acrobats, a toad under a spell, a lonely giant, and Mum and Dad, Betsy sets off on her quest.

 Mr Tiger, Betsy and the Blue Moon

Read Mr Tiger, Betsy and the Blue Moon completely free, watch an exclusive video with the author Sally Gardner to hear and discover her favourite books!

Our free book this week is Sally Gardner's Mr Tiger, Betsy and the Blue Moon, illustrated by Nick Maland. You can also watch an exclusive video with Sally to hear all about her The Tindims of Rubbish Island stories, discover Sally's top three children's books and read a Q&A!

I would be Mary Poppins so that I could get to know and help lots of different children.


Books are friends. You always know they’re going to be there, they’re never going to change, they’re always waiting for you, and they’re always reliable and they’ve always got the same story to tell, which I think is very comforting.


*A Bear Called Paddington* by Michael Bond. Paddington Bear inspired me when I was struggling to read, and I think it inspires anybody really. They are delicious stories, they are beautifully written and they’re exceedingly funny. The first one had me in absolute stitches, I loved it.


I am dyslexic and often I find words become circus horses that go leaping all over my page, which isn’t very helpful when you’re trying to read. So I think audiobooks are a very good thing indeed. I love using both, so I read a bit of a book and listen to a bit of a book, and that way, lo and behold, you’ve got through quite a lot of books!


Meet Mr Tiger, Betsy and the Blue Moon with Sally Gardner

Sally Gardner - Author of the week

The girl who stole an elephant

Chaya, a no-nonsense, outspoken hero, leads her friends and a gorgeous elephant on a noisy, fraught, joyous adventure through the jungle where revolution is stirring and leeches lurk. Will stealing the queen's jewels be the beginning or the end of everything for the intrepid gang?


The Girl Who Stole an Elephant

Read or listen to The Girl Who Stole an Elephant completely FREE below, watch an exclusive video about Nizrana's new book, discover her top three children's books and read an interview all about reading.

You can read or listen to The Girl Who Stole an Elephant completely FREE below, watch an exclusive video about Nizrana's new book, *The Boy Who Met a Whale*, discover her top three children's books and read an interview all about reading.


So many to choose from! I don’t know if this is cheating but right at this moment I’d like to be Shifa in my own book, *The Boy Who Met a Whale*. Simply because the scene where she and her brother meet the whale is one of my favourite scenes to write ever and I wish so much I could have been there for real.

For me it’s the fact that it takes you to so many different places and experience things that you may not normally do. And I love that there’s space to bring your own imagination in too as you build up a picture in your head. You can't do that with TV!


From my childhood, it’s Five on a Treasure Island by Enid Blyton. I’ve read many books since then that I’ve thought are better, but this book will always have a special place in my heart. It was the book that made me a reader.


I would say choose books that you actually like. Don’t be swayed by what books are on display prominently in shops, or what people say you SHOULD be reading. I think it’s much more fun to browse, read blurbs and make your own discoveries. You get better at reading the more you read, and you’re more likely to stick with reading if you love the books you read.


Steal an elephant with Nizrana Farook

Download the Tracy Beaker activity pack

Download the Tracy Beaker word search

Download the Tracy Beaker mask

Take the Tracy Beaker test

Tracy is 10 years old. She lives in a children's home but would like a real home one day, with a real family. Read her story for FREE below and share her hopes for the future in this very funny tale, all told in Tracy's own words.

The story of Tracy Beaker

Read The Story of Tracy Beaker for free, watch an exclusive video with Jacqueline Wilson and download fun activities.

You can read her most popular book, *The Story of Tracy Beaker*, for FREE below, find out more about Jacqueline's inspiration for writing in an exclusive video and download fun activities to try at home, including a mask, a wordsearch and a brilliant quiz.

Virtual School Library

Free reading and writing activities from your favourite children's authors from the National Literacy Trust.

About our library

Steal a moment with Katherine Rundell

More authors:

Step into a magical world with Dominique Valente

Head back to the Roman Age with Jeremy Strong

Get to know Cookie and Konnie Huq

Meet Mr Tiger, Betsy and the Blue Moon with Sally Gardner

Steal an elephant with Nizrana Farook

Spend time with Tracy Beaker and Jacqueline Wilson

.oak-national-logo-green-icon_svg__cls-2{fill:#4b3241}Virtual School Library

Free reading and writing activities from your favourite children's authors from the National Literacy Trust.

About our library

Steal a moment with Katherine Rundell

More authors:

Step into a magical world with Dominique Valente

Head back to the Roman Age with Jeremy Strong

Get to know Cookie and Konnie Huq

Meet Mr Tiger, Betsy and the Blue Moon with Sally Gardner

Steal an elephant with Nizrana Farook

Spend time with Tracy Beaker and Jacqueline Wilson

Virtual School Library