Latest News & Blogs
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Q & A with Nicola Hill, Reading Force Book Club Ambassador
Nicola has been our Book Club Ambassador since April 2022. Her role has since expanded to include sending our teen journals, scrapbooks and books to Reading Force families around the world. Nicola [...]
Scotty’s Little Soldiers
Reading Force is pleased to have teamed up with Scotty’s Little Soldiers to make sure bereaved military children know they are warmly invited to receive Reading Force books and resources. In [...]
Tom Palmer visits Catterick!
The Reading Force Team worked with Carnagill Primary School to organise a very special visit from award winning author, Tom Palmer. In this blog Sarah Bradshaw, English & Service Pupil Lead at [...]
THIS EVENT HAS TAKEN PLACE – Announcing an opportunity to consider the practicalities of writing a memoir – for anyone involved with the military
THIS EVENT HAS TAKEN PLACE Saturday 20th July, The Rifles Museum, Romsey Road, Winchester, 1-4pm If you have had a connection with the military, whether [...]
Q & A with Professor Alison Baverstock MBE, Reading Force Founder & Director
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 [...]
Q & A with Fiona Maxwell, Reading Force Ambassador in Scotland
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 [...]
The green reader – books v screens?
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 [...]
Thinking of starting a Book Club….
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 [...]
From REME to Robots
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 [...]
Arco the Bossy
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 [...]
Wee People, Big Feelings
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, [...]
Your chance to meet multi award-winning author Sir Michael Morpurgo
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 [...]
My Daddy’s in the RAF / My Mummy’s in the RAF
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 [...]
Reading Spine
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… [...]
A life in the Army Reserves and a magical planet
Author Charlotte Goodwin joined the Reserves aged 18 and in this blog she explains how Army life runs through her fantasy books for adults.This month marks my twentieth year in the Army Reserves. I joined [...]
“The Army gave me a home, now it’s my turn to give the Army a home.”
Read this blog to discover veteran Tony Brown’s life journey and his incredible creation of Forces Manor… Situated in the village of Kincraig, on the banks of the River Spey, five miles south of [...]
Happiness is … Reading Force Book Clubs
In this blog our fabulous Book Club Ambassador, Nicola, gives the lowdown on her role supporting book clubs to get up and running… Thanks to a grant from the Veterans’ Foundation, we are continuing [...]
‘My Forces Life’ Art Competition Winners!
‘My Forces Life’ Art Competition Winners! From the Under 4s to Adults’ entries, once again the Forces community have amazed us with their immense creativity and power of expression. We would like [...]
LIFE IN A BLUE SUIT
We’re thrilled to welcome Andrew Terry as our guest blogger. Andrew left the Navy in 2022 and set about writing and illustrating a children’s book about deployment and how as a deployed parent you’re [...]
I, SPY: A Bletchley Park Mystery
We are thrilled Rhian Tracey’s mystery adventure set in Bletchley Park at the start of World War II, has just come out! In this very special guest blog, Rhian reveals her inspiration [...]
HAVE YOU SEEN OUR AMAZING NEW TITLES FOR OUR JUNIOR AND SENIOR BOOK CLUBS?
Our junior book clubs are perfect for children aged 8 -11 years old and our senior clubs are suited to those aged 12-16/18yrs with a military connection including children of veterans and reservists. [...]
The Rock Retreat Young Writers Competition 2023
The Rock Retreat and Accord Literary are hosting workshops and running a young writers and illustrators competition and inviting Reading Force children and young people to take part! Accra in Ghana is UNESCO World [...]
Charity Spotlight – Fighting With Pride
In this blog our Ambassador in Scotland, Fiona Maxwell, highlights the fantastic work of the charity Fighting With Pride… Fighting With Pride Prior to January 2000, there was a ban on LGBT+ personnel serving [...]
It’s not too late to make a New Year’s Resolution…
Join a Reading Force book club and read more amazing books, for free! Check out our THREE AMAZING new titles for our adult book clubs! New volunteer coordinators can choose from: Capital by John Lanchester, [...]