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Alison founded the Reading Force initiative in 2010 on a shoestring budget. What started as a pilot has gone from strength to strength and today Reading Force is a tri-service charity with worldwide reach. We are thrilled to congratulate Alison on being awarded an MBE in recognition of her services to military families in the King’s Birthday Honours list. Here she shares her Army and Reading Force life… When you decided to set up Reading Force in 2010 you were an Army wife, mum of four, author, and academic (in no [...]

Fiona Maxwell has been Reading Force Ambassador in Scotland since July 2017. Her role has since expanded to include the North of England. In Scotland she has become known as the Book Lady among the military community. Here she shares what being an RF Ambassador involves and a favourite book! Can you tell us a little bit about your Ambassador role? The main focus of my Ambassador role is to raise awareness of Reading Force and the positive impact of shared reading as widely as possible. To reach families, we rely [...]

In this blog publisher, author and Reading Force founder Alison Baverstock gives the lowdown on the sustainability of books. A criticism often faced by publishers is that books are not environmentally-friendly, and it would be more sustainable to encourage people to read on electronic devices. When talking about why books are enjoyable, in various contexts, I’ve often had it said to me that “I don’t buy books because I love trees”. Here I hope to convince you that you really can love both, without compromising your environmental beliefs! Books [...]

Newly posted to Brunei, and with the unfamiliar novelty of having time on her hands, Kim decided to start a book club. In this blog she shares her experience of getting the book club up and running, how the first three meetings went, the awkward bits, the good bits, and how it’s stuck… Book Club Brunei Before my family moved to Brunei, I was a primary school teacher and used to being busy. It hadn’t taken our three boys long to settle into their new school and my husband to get into [...]

In this blog Lorraine, one half of the dynamic duo We Are Bert, shares the story of how the wonderful Berts came about… As Andy and I celebrated our 60th birthdays recently, we found ourselves reflecting on the winding path that brought us to where we are today. Andy began his career with helicopters when he joined the REME at 16 and went straight to Army Apprentice College. It only feels like yesterday we were just 19 years old, embarking on the adventure of military life. From the early days of our first posting to the births of our [...]

In this blog Royal Marine & Children’s author Tom Cornner shares the inspiration behind his children’s book Arco the Bossy… My journey as a children's author wasn't planned, it was whispered on the breeze of bedtime stories and fuelled by the imagination of my own children. From their earliest days, I found myself captivated by the worlds they built through drawing and imaginative play. This draw to the fantastical, coupled with my own artistic childhood, steered me towards fiction, where strange creatures and fantastical landscapes could come alive. The inspiration for the Greebs series, however, bloomed closer [...]

Exploring emotional literacy within settings Starcatcher’s is Scotland’s arts and early years organisation and run inspiring creative projects across Scotland for babies, toddlers, and young children. We’re thrilled to welcome Amy Hall Gibson, Starcatchers’ Early Years Development Manager, as our guest blogger. Starcatchers is delighted to share Wee People, Big Feelings: A Practical Guide for Early Years Practitioners, which explores the importance of story-telling and creativity in helping our youngest children express how they feel. The guide is the result of artist Skye Reynolds developing play sessions around movement and emotional regulation, with Armed Forces children in the Scots Corner [...]

We are pleased to offer a very special afternoon for children from military families. This event is for children who have, or have had,  a mum, dad, carer, or grandparent, in the Army, Navy/Marines or the RAF. The National Army Museum and the military charity Reading Force welcome you to join us on Saturday 18th May 2024 from 1-4pm. Tickets will be available in January. You will have the chance to hear a talk from multi award-winning author Sir Michael Morpurgo, and listen to a special reading by him from his personal favourite of all the books he has written: [...]

Claire Dunbar is a mother of two, a primary school teacher, and now, an author. Her husband serves in the Royal Air Force and she has written two books for children who have a parent in the RAF. It has long been an ambition of mine to write a book. Last year, I wrote a small rhyming story about preparing to a start primary school. My daughter, Amber, will start school next year and I wanted to prepare her for the skills and things that would be helpful for her, but also share the things she didn’t need to worry [...]

In this blog English Leader at Carnagill Community Primary School, Sarah Bradshaw, writes about the transformative power of teachers reading aloud every day and how this has grown pupils’ love of reading and stories… It all started in Year 6. One particular year group were finding lunchtimes difficult. To calm them down, when they got into class, to stop the bickering and tears, the teacher at the time started to read to them. They were engaged from the moment she started to read. It was a moment of peace in a crazy day, time to breathe, slow down and listen [...]