In the Reading Corner

Pooja Puri's  A Dinosaur Ate My Sister was selected as the first book choice for Marcus Rashford's Book Club.  A percentage of sales will be donated to the charity Magic Breakfast. Marcus and Pooja are both committed to ensuring children have the fuel to give them energy and help them learn through the day, as well as books to engage and delight.

Pooja joined me In the Reading Corner to talk about her madcap story, featuring a super confident, creative heroine, a time travel machine and some dinosaurs. You won't be surprised to learn that Pojja is a big fan of Doctor Who.

About A Dinosaur Ate My Sister
Before you start reading, there are a few things you should know:

• 1. I, Esha Verma, am a genius inventor extraordinaire. 
• 2.There is nothing I cannot invent. This includes words. 
• 3. I did not mean to send my sister back to the Age of the Dinosaurs. That was HER OWN FAULT (Mum and Dad, if you're reading this, please take note).

Esha Verma, her snotty apprentice Broccoli and his cunning pet tortoise have a dream. They are going to win the legendary Brain Trophy - the ultimate inventing prize. This year's entry: A TIME MACHINE. But the day before the competition, Esha's IGNORAMUS big sister hijacks the time machine and is lost in the Cretaceous age.

With help from a new recruit for The Office of Time, Esha and Broccoli will have to face hungry dinosaurs, mysterious black holes and malfunctioning inventions to get them back in time.

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Thank you for listening. 

If you enjoyed this podcast, please support us by subscribing to our channel. and by purchasing books from our online bookshop, Bestbooksforschools.com

In the Reading Corner is presented by Nikki Gamble, Director of Just Imagine. 

Follow us on Youtube for more author events YouTube.com/@nikkigamble1

For general news and updates: follow us on X @imaginecentre  Bluesky  https://bsky.app/profile/justimaginecentre.bsky.social  Instagram https://www.instagram.com/justimagine_books/

Full details about the range of services we provide can be found on our website www.justimagine.co.uk

Lauren St John is well-known for her thrilling mystery series, The White Giraffe series, Laura Marlin Mysteries and Wolfe and Lamb.  Lauren's books are infused with an adventurous spirit so I was delighted to invite her to be my guest for this episode of In The Reading Corner to talk about her latest book Wave Riders.

About Wave Riders
A storm is coming. What will it take to survive?

Twins Jess and Jude Carter live a dream life sailing from one exotic destination to the next with their guardian, Gabriel.

But after Gabe vanishes and a storm smashes up their lives, they're left penniless and alone. When a wealthy, glamorous family offer them a home, everybody tells them they're the luckiest children in the world. But the Blakeneys' stately mansion is full of secrets - secrets that seem entangled with the twins' own fate.

As they race to uncover the truth, Jess and Jude must confront their deepest fears. How do you solve a mystery when that mystery is you?

Support the show

Thank you for listening. 

If you enjoyed this podcast, please support us by subscribing to our channel. and by purchasing books from our online bookshop, Bestbooksforschools.com

In the Reading Corner is presented by Nikki Gamble, Director of Just Imagine. 

Follow us on Youtube for more author events YouTube.com/@nikkigamble1

For general news and updates: follow us on X @imaginecentre  Bluesky  https://bsky.app/profile/justimaginecentre.bsky.social  Instagram https://www.instagram.com/justimagine_books/

Full details about the range of services we provide can be found on our website www.justimagine.co.uk

Marcia Williams is well known for her wonderful retellings of best-loved stories in her inimitable comic book style which invite reading and rereading. King Arthur, Robin Hood, Shakespeare, Chaucer and the myths and legends of Greece and Egypt have been given her special treatment. She has also written and illustrated two exceptional books in diary/scrapbook format. Archie's War and My Secret War Diary by Flossie Albright.

Marcia's latest book is all about feelings and how to deal with them. A particularly pertinent topic at the present time as many children come to terms with re-establishing relationships having spent time in small bubbles.

I invited Marcia to talk to me about this project and why she felt it was so important.

About The Fantastic Book of Feelings
 How do you feel today? Whether you're happy, sad or anything in-between, this book is the perfect guide to understanding and celebrating all your feelings! 

In colourful comic-strip stories, explore a whole range of emotions and discover ways to cope when any feeling becomes overwhelming. Packed with top tips for mental wellbeing and a first aid box for feelings, this is a helpful and engaging guide celebrating the importance of good mental health.

Support the show

Thank you for listening. 

If you enjoyed this podcast, please support us by subscribing to our channel. and by purchasing books from our online bookshop, Bestbooksforschools.com

In the Reading Corner is presented by Nikki Gamble, Director of Just Imagine. 

Follow us on Youtube for more author events YouTube.com/@nikkigamble1

For general news and updates: follow us on X @imaginecentre  Bluesky  https://bsky.app/profile/justimaginecentre.bsky.social  Instagram https://www.instagram.com/justimagine_books/

Full details about the range of services we provide can be found on our website www.justimagine.co.uk

Hilary McKay is one of the best-loved children's novelists writing today. She has a talent for making the ordinary beautiful and extraordinary.  Her depiction of families is warm and compassionate even when circumstances are challenging.

I invited Hilary into the Reading Corner to talk about The Swallows' Flight, the sequel to Skylarks War.

About The Swallows' Flight

A moving WWII story of family and friendship on opposite sides of a devastating conflict. The Swallows' Flight is the stunning companion novel to The Skylarks' War. 

Erik and Hans are German boys.

Ruby and Kate are English girls. 

They grow up in worlds that would never meet until war tumbles their lives together. Then one September afternoon there are choices to be made. How is courage lost, and found? Who is really the enemy? And what does friendship truly mean, in the middle of a war?

Meanwhile, Rupert and Clarry work secretly for peace - and a brighter future for them all . . .

Support the show

Thank you for listening. 

If you enjoyed this podcast, please support us by subscribing to our channel. and by purchasing books from our online bookshop, Bestbooksforschools.com

In the Reading Corner is presented by Nikki Gamble, Director of Just Imagine. 

Follow us on Youtube for more author events YouTube.com/@nikkigamble1

For general news and updates: follow us on X @imaginecentre  Bluesky  https://bsky.app/profile/justimaginecentre.bsky.social  Instagram https://www.instagram.com/justimagine_books/

Full details about the range of services we provide can be found on our website www.justimagine.co.uk

Ewa Jozefkowicz's latest book is simply delicious. The Cooking Club Detectives covers some serious territory such as food poverty and adult depression, but it deals with the subjects lightly in a story full of hope, where children have agency and take positive action.  And as you will gather from the title, there's a mystery to be solved too. I invited Ewa In The Reading Corner to help me sort out the ingredients in this culinary delight.

About The Cooking Club Detectives
Meet Erin, her puppy Sausage and friends as they swap recipes and pots for clues and culprits and try to solve the mystery of why their cookery club is closing and save it for everyone. The fourth middle-grade book from author Ewa Jozefkowicz about family, friendship and self-discovery, touching on themes of food poverty and online bullying. 

Skipton House Community Centre may look ramshackle, but it is soon at the heart of Erin's life - especially the cooking club. When the building is suddenly threatened with closure, Erin and her new friends, Tanya, Frixos, and Sam, form The Cooking Club Detectives.

Can they, and their four-legged assistant, Sausage, uncover who the mystery culprit is and save Skipton?A beautifully observed story about the power of food and the importance of community.

Support the show

Thank you for listening. 

If you enjoyed this podcast, please support us by subscribing to our channel. and by purchasing books from our online bookshop, Bestbooksforschools.com

In the Reading Corner is presented by Nikki Gamble, Director of Just Imagine. 

Follow us on Youtube for more author events YouTube.com/@nikkigamble1

For general news and updates: follow us on X @imaginecentre  Bluesky  https://bsky.app/profile/justimaginecentre.bsky.social  Instagram https://www.instagram.com/justimagine_books/

Full details about the range of services we provide can be found on our website www.justimagine.co.uk

Jenny Pearson's first book The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates was published to great acclaim and quickly became a favourite with primary teachers for its closely observed, hilarious but compassionate portrayal of children.  Jenny is a primary teacher herself and it's clear that she loves both parts of her working life and that they feed each other.

A second book The Incredible Record Smashers was published in 2021 and is equally funny, with some genuine laugh out loud moments. I rarely laugh aloud when I am reading alone, but this book triggered my funny bone.

To find out why, listen to Jenny talking about The Incredible Record Smashers in this episode.

About The Incredible Record Smashers
A record-smashing, feel-good adventure packed with heart, humour and Guinness World Records from Costa Award-shortlisted JENNY PEARSON, and Kid Normal illustrator Erica Salcedo Lucy is a fixer of broken things. But there's one thing she can't fix and that's her unhappy mum. Until she comes up with an INCREDIBLE plan.

Along with her best friend, Sandesh, Lucy is going to SMASH a world record. Because she's convinced that starry Paul Castellini - Record Smashers TV host and singing legend - is the answer to her mum's problems. But breaking a world RECORD when watermelons, kumquats, two baddies and a 30 cm shatter-resistant school ruler are involved isn't quite as easy as Lucy thought.

Can she learn that sometimes happiness doesn't come with a plan?"

Support the show

Thank you for listening. 

If you enjoyed this podcast, please support us by subscribing to our channel. and by purchasing books from our online bookshop, Bestbooksforschools.com

In the Reading Corner is presented by Nikki Gamble, Director of Just Imagine. 

Follow us on Youtube for more author events YouTube.com/@nikkigamble1

For general news and updates: follow us on X @imaginecentre  Bluesky  https://bsky.app/profile/justimaginecentre.bsky.social  Instagram https://www.instagram.com/justimagine_books/

Full details about the range of services we provide can be found on our website www.justimagine.co.uk

Susie has been a teacher, a tour guide, a typist, a workshop facilitator, a PA and a painter. She formerly wrote and directed TV programmes for children at the BBC and Channel 4, for which she won a BAFTA Award. 

The Three Impossibles is Susie's second novel for children aged 8+. It is an original story steeped in fairy tales, told in the classic storytelling voice.

Susie joined me In The Reading Corner to talk about the influences on the story and her approach to writing,

About The Three Impossibles
Mim grew up surrounded by secrets. On the day she was born, her mother died and a mysterious curse was cast on her family. Ever since, she's been isolated in a walled castle, forbidden from venturing to the Outside.

But Mim has never been able to stop asking questions - and when her father enlists the suspicious Madame Marionette to train her in the art of being a princess, her curiosity only gets more intense. Determined to understand, Mim sets out on an epic adventure in which she will break all the rules, encounter strange creatures and use all her cunning to solve impossible problems. But will it be enough to bring happiness back to the lonely castle on the rock?

Support the show

Thank you for listening. 

If you enjoyed this podcast, please support us by subscribing to our channel. and by purchasing books from our online bookshop, Bestbooksforschools.com

In the Reading Corner is presented by Nikki Gamble, Director of Just Imagine. 

Follow us on Youtube for more author events YouTube.com/@nikkigamble1

For general news and updates: follow us on X @imaginecentre  Bluesky  https://bsky.app/profile/justimaginecentre.bsky.social  Instagram https://www.instagram.com/justimagine_books/

Full details about the range of services we provide can be found on our website www.justimagine.co.uk

Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre have earned themselves a place in the hearts of many children, parents and teachers. Their creative partnership produces books that emanate joy and laughter, so we had to start our conversation with the serious topic of biscuits. Have you had a biscuit today?

About Kevin and the Biscuit Bandit
A brilliantly quirky adventure story from creative powerhouse Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre. Bumbleford has been hit by a series of biscuit thefts. All the clues lead straight to the only roly-poly flying pony in town, and Max's best friend, KEVIN! Max and Kevin are forced to go on the run.

Will they find the real culprit before Kevin ends up in pony prison? 

Pick up a copy of the book to find out. It goes very well with tea and biscuits. Mine's a fig roll, thank you.

Thank you for listening.

If you enjoyed this podcast, please support us by subscribing to our channel. And if you are interested in the books we have featured, purchasing from our online bookshop Bestbooksforschools.com

In the Reading Corner is presented by Nikki Gamble, Director of Just Imagine. It is produced by Alison Hughes.

Follow us on Youtube for more author events YouTube.com/@nikkigamble1

For general news and updates, follow us on Twitter @imaginecentre

Full details about the range of services we provide can be found on our website www.justimagine.co.uk

M G Leonard is the author of the internationally bestselling Beetle Boy series, a thrilling and sometimes dark adventures series that helped many readers discover an appreciation for the beetle world.

In her latest novel, Twitch, she does for birds, what she did for beetles. 

In this episode, she talks to Nikki Gamble about the new series and her new ornithological interest.

Support the show

Thank you for listening. 

If you enjoyed this podcast, please support us by subscribing to our channel. and by purchasing books from our online bookshop, Bestbooksforschools.com

In the Reading Corner is presented by Nikki Gamble, Director of Just Imagine. 

Follow us on Youtube for more author events YouTube.com/@nikkigamble1

For general news and updates: follow us on X @imaginecentre  Bluesky  https://bsky.app/profile/justimaginecentre.bsky.social  Instagram https://www.instagram.com/justimagine_books/

Full details about the range of services we provide can be found on our website www.justimagine.co.uk

Brian Conaghan was born and raised in the Scottish town of Coatbridge but now lives in Dublin. He has a Master of Letters in Creative Writing from the University of Glasgow. For many years Brian worked as a teacher and taught in Scotland, Italy and Ireland. His first YA novel for Bloomsbury, When Mr Dog Bites, was shortlisted for the 2015 Carnegie Medal, and his second, The Bombs That Brought Us Together, won the 2016 Costa Children's Book Award. We Come Apart, a verse novel co-authored with Carnegie Medal winner Sarah Crossan, won the 2018 UKLA Book Award, and his fourth novel, The Weight of a Thousand Feathers, won the 2018 Irish Book Award for Teen & Young Adult Book of the Year.

In this episode, he talks to Nikki Gamble about his recently published novel, Carboard Cowboys.

Support the show

Thank you for listening. 

If you enjoyed this podcast, please support us by subscribing to our channel. and by purchasing books from our online bookshop, Bestbooksforschools.com

In the Reading Corner is presented by Nikki Gamble, Director of Just Imagine. 

Follow us on Youtube for more author events YouTube.com/@nikkigamble1

For general news and updates: follow us on X @imaginecentre  Bluesky  https://bsky.app/profile/justimaginecentre.bsky.social  Instagram https://www.instagram.com/justimagine_books/

Full details about the range of services we provide can be found on our website www.justimagine.co.uk