Tony Bradman's Viking Boy is a popular book in primary classrooms, often used to support a historical study of The Vikings. Now Tony has written a companion book, Viking Boy: The Real Story.

A scholar of history, Tony is particularly knowledgeable about the Roman, Viking and Saxon periods and in this episode, he shares his enthusiasm with Nikki Gamble.

About Viking Boy: The Real Story
A sparky non-fiction guide to the Viking world, told by the hero of Tony Bradman's bestselling novel Viking Boy. Take a real-life tour of the everyday world of Gunnar, a teenage Viking boy: find out how the Vikings lived, what they believed, how they travelled and fought, and gained their legendary reputation as warriors. Gunnar tells us the real story of growing up as a Viking in an exciting first-hand account, introducing us to family and friends, famous warriors, sea-raiders and even a Norse god! 
Packed with historical facts, figures and anecdotes, with illustrated information panels on topics from Viking poetry to battle and bloodlust, this is a brilliant new read for Viking fanatics, both at home and in the classroom.

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

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Emma Chichester Clark is one of the UK's foremost illustrators. She has published well over 60 books for children including her own very popular Blue Kangaroo series as well as stand-alone picture books and illustrated books for other writers.

Emma studied graphic design at Chelsea School of Art in the 1970s and then later studied illustration at the Royal College of Art where Quentin Blake was her tutor. Her former mentor remains a good friend.

In 1988, Emma was awarded the Mother Goose Award for best newcomer in children's books illustrations

In this episode, Emma talks to Nikki Gamble about her book Mister Toots.

About Mister Toots
When Bella opens her front door and finds an other-wordly, little stranger on the doorstep, her life changes forever! Cold, hungry and lost, the only word the stranger can say is 'Toot!', so Bella and her children, name him Mister Toots, before giving him something to eat and a comfy bed. Soon Mister Toots becomes a much-loved member of the family and neighbourhood.

But one terrible day, he disappears into the sky... Will anyone ever see him again? Beautifully illustrated, this poignant, moving story about the power of kindness and compassion, and accepting and welcoming others, will touch the hearts of adults and children alike.

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

Lee Newbery's debut novel, The Last Firefox was recently published by Puffin.  It's a fantasy adventure in which another world bursts into the real world, in the form of a magical firefox and Charlie Challinor has to summon all of his bravery to protect the endangered creature from the villains that are hunting it down.

Lee talks to Nikki Gamble about the experience of having his first book published and how the idea for the story first emerged.

About The Last Firefox
A heartwarming story about family, friendship and finding your inner fire. Between bullies at school and changes at home, Charlie Challinor finds life a bit scary. And when he's made guardian of a furry fox cub called Cadno, things get a whole lot scarier.

Because Cadno isn't just any fox: he's a firefox - the only one of his kind - and a sinister hunter from another world is on his trail. Swept up into an unexpected adventure to protect his flammable friend, Charlie's going to need to find the bravery he never thought he had, if he's going to save the last firefox.

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

Kate di Camillo is an American children's author with over 25 novels on her backlist. Her first novel Because of Winn Dixie won her immediate critical attention. Further novels include The Tiger Rising, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, The Magician's Elephant, Flora and Ulysees and the Three Rancheros series. She has twice been awarded The Newbery Medal.

Kate's most recent novel The Beatryce Prophecy is a fairy tale set in a period reminiscent of the European Middle Ages. It's an extraordinarily original story about finding home, power, truth and above all love.

About The Beatryce Prophecy
A magical medieval tale from two masters, Newbery Medal-winning Kate DiCamillo and Caldecott Medal-winning Sophie Blackall - a fantastical meditation on fate, love and the power of words to spell the world. We shall all, in the end, be led to where we belong. We shall all, in the end, find our way home.

In a time of war, a mysterious child appears at the monastery of the Order of the Chronicles of Sorrowing. Gentle Brother Edik finds the girl, Beatryce, curled in a stall, wracked with fever, coated in dirt and blood and holding fast to the ear of Answelica the recalcitrant goat. As the monk nurses Beatryce to health, he uncovers her dangerous secret - one that imperils them all.

And so it is that a girl with a head full of stories must venture into a dark wood in search of the castle of a king who wishes her dead. But should she lose her way, Beatryce knows that those who love her - a wild-eyed monk, a man who had once been king, a boy with a terrible sword and a goat with a head as hard as stone - will never give up searching for her. And to know this is to know everything.

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

Undiscovered Voices is an initiative from SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Illustrators and Writers) which gives a platform to up and coming voices in children's writing. An online anthology is published featuring the work of the selected authors which can be read online and downloaded http://www.undiscoveredvoices.com/

Nikki Gamble caught up with two of this year's authors, K L Kaine and Andrew James, along with Sara Grant from the organising committee to find out more about the project, how it supports new writing and the success it has had to date.

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

Malachy Doyle grew up in Ireland, studied in England. He lived for a time in Wales while bringing up his family but has now returned to Ireland, where he lives on an ISLAND off the coast of Donegal.
 
He is the author of many popular picture books, such as The Dancing Tiger and The Bold Boy as well as critically acclaimed novels  Georgie and Who is Jesse Flood?

In this episode, Malachy talks to Nikki Gamble about his series of picture books set on a fictitious island - perhaps resembling his own in some ways. These stories are about family life, the environment, isolated island living and connections with the outside world

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

Gillian Cross may be best known for The Demon Headmaster series but she has written widely for teenagers and children. Among her many achievements and accolades are the Carnegie Medal, which she was awarded in 1990 for Wolf and the Whitbread Award (renamed Costa Award) for The Great Elephant Chase.

Gillian's latest book, Ollie Spark and the Accidental Adventure is co-authored with Alan Snow. It's a highly illustrated techno adventure with plenty of laughs and just the right amount of jeopardy.

Gillian spoke to Nikki Gamble about the start of this new series.

About Ollie Spark and the Accidental Adventure
Machines, mysteries and mayhem - this must be a case for OLLIE SPARK! 
Ollie Spark loves mending machines and solving mysteries. But he gets more than he bargained for when fixing Aunt Caz's van throws him into a real-life spy adventure! Ollie is whisked away to a mysterious city with strange plants, an unknown language and suspicious people around every corner. With the help of Gasket, his new dog best friend, he sets off on a mission to save the city - and Aunt Caz - from disaster.

Can Ollie fix things before it's too late?!

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

Oli Hyatt, a former young businessman of the year, is co-founder of BAFTA award-winning animation studio Blue Zoo. He is also the Director of Alphablocks Limited, the company behind the popular CBeebies phonics shows, Alphablocks and Numberblocks. He is also the chair of Animation UK and was awarded an MBE for his services to the animation industry.

He co-authored his debut children's book, Antigua de Fortune of the High Seas with Anna Rainbow. 

In this episode, Oli talks to Nikki Gamble about why this story is so important to him.

About Antigua de Fortune of the High Seas
A magical, thrilling pirate adventure: fun, fantastical and totally unputdownable! Tiggy has always had the ocean in her blood - and lately, she's been dreaming of mermaids - but she's a high-born girl on the Isle of Fortune, forced to wear dresses, attend balls and (worst of all) comb her wild curls. But then the Pirate King strikes, wielding deadly turquoise magic, and Tiggy's younger brother is stolen - along with every boy on the island. Tiggy knows it is time to claim her destiny, take to the high seas and rescue the boys of Fortune ...

A spellbinding, hugely exciting pirate adventure: fun, feminist, classic in feel and totally unputdownable. 

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

Jo Ellen Bogart is a US/Canadian writer now living in Ontario, Canada. Notably, she is the author of The White Cat and the Monk based on the Old Irish poem Pangur Bán. The book was illustrated by Sydney Smith.

Maja Kastelic is  a Slovenian illustrator.  She received a BA in painting from the University of Ljubljana's Academy of Fine Arts and Design and studied philosophy and theory of visual culture at the University of Primorska.

Together they are the creative partnership behind the wordless picturebook, Anthony and the Gargoyle.

Jo Ellen and Maja joined Nikki Gamble In the Reading Corner, to talk about how the book came together across different continents, during a pandemic.

About Anthony and the Gargoyle
A boy befriends a baby gargoyle in this magical wordless story from award-winning creators Jo Ellen Bogart and Maja Kastelic. Anthony wakes up one morning to find his favourite rock has cracked open - and it's hollow! He discovers a strange-looking hatchling inside, and the two become fast friends. When Anthony asks his mother where the rock came from, she shows him photos from their trip to Paris, including of Notre-Dame cathedral, with its familiar-looking forms perched on top.

Could Anthony's new friend be a gargoyle?

This magical wordless story is brought to life in stunning, silent, hand-painted panels, and is a touching tale of true friendship and letting go.

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

Natasha Farrant has a long career in children's publishing and has her own literary scouting agency.

Her debut YA novel The Things We Did for Love was shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award.   In 2020,  an adventure story Voyage of the Sparrowhawk won the Times and Sunday Times Children's Books of the Year and was awarded the prestigious Cost Children's  January 2021. Eight Princesses and a Magic Mirror was published in September 2019 by Zephyr and was one of the Guardian's Books of the Year.

Her latest book The Girl who Talked to Trees is a collection of original fairy stories woven into a framing narrative, with a strong conservationist theme.

About The Girl Who Talked to Tress
Magical interlinked stories about what one girl learns from talking to trees throughout time and from around the world

. Olive's best friend is a four-hundred-year-old oak tree, and it is in danger.

As she tumbles into its magic world, she makes it a promise. From deep roots to high branches, a Persian garden to an underwater forest, from tulip trees to wild apple to vengeful box, she listens to the trees telling stories for all time. And she keeps her promise.

With a conservation message and facts about tree science alongside the magic and wonder of seven beautifully imagined original stories.

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