News

The vote in favour of air strikes against Syria had an immediate impact on one group of people: those charged with doing the striking. And while our first thoughts may be of aircrews required to carry out what has been voted for, and the wide range of people who support them such as ground crews, we know that the families of all military personnel involved in the campaign to defeat IS are immediately impacted too. Of course all potentially involved will have been on a high state of alert for weeks now, and that’s part of their role. In the run [...]

Now is the time to take out Christmas books from the library or dig out the ones you put away with the Christmas decorations last year – or treat the family to a new book. There are so many fantastic Christmas stories to get the family in the festive mood, and these are a few favourites from the Reading Force team. Stick Man by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler Age 3+ Stick Man is trying to get back to his family tree in time for Christmas, but many mishaps stop him having a smooth journey home. Poor Stick Man is picked [...]

On Friday 9th October 2015 pupils in schools all over the UK will be showing their support for soldiers, sailors, airmen and their families, by dressing up in Red, White & Blue and donating £1 each. Red, White & Blue Day is held every year and in 2015 will be taking place on 9th October, or any day of your choice during October & November. This year the event will feature specially created lesson plans and films which tell the story of how the RAF beat back the Luftwaffe from the skies of England during September 1940. The Battle of Britain [...]

Children’s author, Tom Palmer, blogs about why he is so pleased to be part of the Reading Force Roadshow. There is no way I could have written my Rugby Academy series of books without the help of the children and teachers at Albrighton Primary School and the RAF Cosford base where many of those children’s parents are based. My problem was I wanted to write books about children whose mums and dads were in the forces – but I knew nothing about what those children’s lives would be like. There was only one way I was going to be able to [...]

A child being able to hear the voice of their parent who is posted away from home is very precious and helps them feel closer. Story book Waves makes this happen by recording Royal Navy and Royal Marines parents reading a picture book story for their child. Then a team of specially trained volunteers adds a soundtrack to make a personalised CD that the child can listen to over and over and whenever they want. Families who have made Storybook Waves CDs joke that they get listened to so much they are the only CDs to get worn out! At Reading [...]

It’s never too early to share books with your little ones, and that’s why we’ve created Reading Force little ones. We’ve created a new colourful scrapbook for pre-school aged children – it’s similar to our signature scrapbook, but with more blank pages for infants to draw in, stick photographs, and collage. One of the things we’re most excited about is the fantastic choice of picture books we have in stock to send your little ones! Inside your scrapbook you'll find a postcard voucher – fill it in, post it off to us (Freepost) and we’ll send you a FREE picture book and [...]

On Friday 10th October 2014 pupils in over 600 schools in the UK will be showing their support for soldiers, sailors, airmen and their families, by dressing up in Red, White & Blue and donating £1 each. Red, White & Blue Day is held every year and 2014 is set to be the biggest yet. If your school isn’t registered yet it’s not too late to get involved! Simply go to www.redwhiteblueday.co.uk to register. Your school can celebrate Red, White & Blue Day this Friday or on any other day before 30th November. Each pupil donating £1 is raising funds for [...]

Saturday 7th June was my first Reading Force event. I confess that I was curious and concerned as to how it would all go. But all trepidation was instantly swept away by the wave of enthusiastic librarians.  When I arrived, I found Emma and her energetic team busy at Plympton library in the midst of excited preparations. They were displaying bright bunting over a large party table topped with a deliciously decorated Reading Force iced cake, tempting strawberries and assorted fruits for children to savour. Colourful carpets were being rolled out for the families to banquet on. As soon as Reading [...]

Thank you to all those who submitted their finished scrapbooks to the April competition. We have read and looked at every single scrapbook – they came from all over the country and from Service families overseas. We (the Reading Force team, Alison, Elaine and Hattie), looked over them with our fantastic designer, Jo, and brilliant printer, Paul, both of whom were as captivated as us. We have been very impressed with all the work that has gone into each scrapbook. Some had amazing illustrations, others had great sections of writing and research into the book. Some were full of humour, others [...]

If your scrapbook is lying around at home and you like the idea of using it and want to enter the Scrapbook Competition, but you’re not sure what to put in it, read on... Hundreds of children and families are taking part in Reading Force at the moment, and we’ve already had some fantastic scrapbooks submitted to our Scrapbook Competition. The current competition closing date is 25th April 2014. First things first, remember your scrapbook is for you and your family and friends – there is no right or wrong way to complete it – only your way! If you like [...]