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Hello Reading Force families! I'm Emma, I'm a Pad Brat and school librarian and I write a regular blog here about reading and Forces life. I love libraries! When I was growing up I couldn’t always access a library in every country I lived in/travelled to. These days we have more access to books as e-books exist, but back then it was a different story. Every time I would return to England I would make sure I visited the local library and read as many books as I could before travelling away again. Now I am really lucky because I AM [...]

Alison Baverstock founded Reading Force seven years ago. With the launch of our shiny new website and the new school term, Alison reflects on why she started Reading Force…. It’s back to school time all over the country. Children are busy getting creases and scuff marks into what were their pristine new shoes. During the week ahead, universities are preparing for the arrival of a new intake of students (my day job is as an academic at Kingston University where I teach Publishing Studies – incidentally, that’s how I met Hattie Gordon, who now manages Communications and Liaison for Reading Force). [...]

Hello Reading Force families! I'm Emma, I'm a Pad Brat and school librarian and I write a regular blog here about reading and Forces life. The summer holidays are when I really like to get into reading – whether it’s lazing by the pool with a good book, or having a staycation and escaping into fiction. I remember as a child, summer meant travel. We would go on epic long car rides from Germany to France to Italy, through Switzerland and Austria – and all the way to Gibraltar to see the border of Africa! We would always make time to [...]

Reading Force founder and Director, Dr Alison Baverstock, has written an insightful blog for TES - the key policy publication for education - about Forces children and how they can be better supported by schools. Written in response to the recently published report by the Children’s Commissioner on forces children, Alison outlines the realties of life for forces children and families (drawing on her own family’s experience, and that of others), and how teachers and schools can better support them and nurture resilience. You can read the blog here… Introducing her recent report on forces children, the Children’s Commissioner concludes they should [...]

Children’s author Vivian French launched Reading Force activity at Colinton Primary School, Edinburgh, in March. Vivian, who has written over 300 books, including The Cherry Pie Princess and Robe of Skulls, became an author later in life as she was told at school she was no good at writing! At Colinton she told the children ‘You’re all authors,’ and guided them to create characters and conjure up their own story, asking what could happen next and giving pointers on what makes a good tale. The youngsters came up with a wonderful idea about Jeffrold, an anxious tiger and were challenged to [...]

  Hello Reading Force families! I'm Emma, I'm a Pad Brat and school librarian and I write a regular blog here about reading and Forces life. Forces life is unique. There are very few other lifestyles that allow children to travel and experience different cultures so freely and fully in a safe and supported community. This, however, is a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, I can look back and have such fabulous memories of the things I’ve seen and done, on the other hand, other memories are filled with sadness as I look back on friends I have [...]

We’re delighted to welcome author Amanda Prowse as this month's guest blogger. I grew up in a house without books – apart from The Littlewoods catalogue and a copy of a Haynes car manual! My parents were young and working hard to support their four children and I don’t think they had the time to read at home. The day I was given my first library card was the day my life changed. I was six and remember learning about the Dewey decimal system and being told that I could choose not one, but a whole stack of books to take [...]

Children’s author Vivian French launched Reading Force activity at Colinton Primary School, Edinburgh, in March. Vivian, who has written over 300 books, including The Cherry Pie Princess and Robe of Skulls, became an author later in life as she was told at school she was no good at writing! At Colinton she told the children ‘You’re all authors,’ and guided them to create characters and conjure up their own story, asking what could happen next and giving pointers on what makes a good tale. The youngsters came up with a wonderful idea about Jeffrold, an anxious tiger and were challenged to [...]

         Ages 4 to 7 What’s Next Door? by Nicola O’Byrne  Interactive book which children step into, as they take part in the story and enter new environments from stormy seas to hot deserts and icy lands.     My First Mog 123 by Judith Kerr  Learn to count with the very lovable Mog!       Max Campion and the Great Race Car Robbery by Alexander McCall Smith When Max finds an old car with his surname on the bonnet – Champion – he discovers his grandfather used to make some of the best cars…and race them! [...]

“We have done scrapbooks for four years now. We love doing them. We usually choose to do them on books which are new to us. We like doing the scrapbooks as it’s a lovely way to spend time together. We take away the memories we have of creating them. The children have also learnt to work together and listen and see that everyone’s ideas matter.”   Mum of three, Pip Mahoney, first came across Reading Force in 2015 when her family were posted in Cyprus. “My daughter, Skylar, got her scrapbook from her school at the time, RAF Akrotiri, then I [...]