Stephanie Taylor

 Stephanie shares her passion for working with children and talks about her journey to becoming a published author, which she acknowledges may be slightly different to others as she was fortunate to have a few agents to choose from. She also talks about how one of the characters in her book, Ms Copeland in I’m Going to Be a Princess, is based on a Black professional ballet teacher who was an inspiration to her as a child. 

Stephanie is a mum of two adult children and lives with her husband Michael and fur baby Neko. She loves reading, writing, music and dance. She has worked in primary education for more than 25 years and is passionate about diverse books for all children. Her book, I’m Going to Be a Princess, illustrated by Jade Orlando, reflects Stephanie’s passion for inclusion. You will usually find her in the children’s picture book section of a bookshop.

EYFS and KS1

Tapestry, our partners have kindly devised a FREE educational resource to support this Podcast. Please click on the link to download and share:

https://tapestry.info/laura-henry-allain-podcast-activities/

Tapestry is the original and leading childhood education platform, providing an online learning journal, progress monitoring and management system for Early Years settings and primary schools. It helps educators to celebrate children and engage families in mainstream and SEND provision. Tapestry keeps families in touch with how their child is doing, enables educators to build a picture of each child's development and interests, and provides the tools for the daily running of a setting.

Created by educators for educators, Tapestry was launched in 2012. We are now an award-winning platform used in more than 40 countries, supporting 14,000 schools and settings. Visit us at: https://tapestry.info

Simon James Green

Simon reflects on his journey from qualified lawyer to working in theatre, to becoming an author. He talks about self-doubt and how to keep going when starting out and trying to get published. He also shares his belief that non-fiction books are just as important as fiction books. In A Year of Pride and Joy, Simon curates 52 contributions from the LGBTQ+ community, sharing their joy and showcasing their wealth of skill and talent.

Simon is a multi-award-winning author of books for children and young adults. As one of the UK’s leading writers of LGBTQ+ young adult fiction he regularly visits schools around the country with his unique brand of laugh-out-loud events that have inclusion and diversity at their heart. Along with positive LGBTQ+ messaging, Simon is passionate about reading for pleasure and helping young people of all ages realise the joy of books. His latest book A Year of Pride and Joy: LGBTQ+ Voices Share Their Life Passions, illustrated by Ruth Burrows, continues to mirror his positive messages on the LGBTQ+ community.

KS1, KS2, KS3

Tapestry, our partners have kindly devised a FREE educational resource to support this Podcast. Please click on the link to download and share:

https://tapestry.info/laura-henry-allain-podcast-activities/

Tapestry is the original and leading childhood education platform, providing an online learning journal, progress monitoring and management system for Early Years settings and primary schools. It helps educators to celebrate children and engage families in mainstream and SEND provision. Tapestry keeps families in touch with how their child is doing, enables educators to build a picture of each child's development and interests, and provides the tools for the daily running of a setting.

Created by educators for educators, Tapestry was launched in 2012. We are now an award-winning platform used in more than 40 countries, supporting 14,000 schools and settings. Visit us at: https://tapestry.info

In this episode, Jamel reflects on his background as an Early Years teacher and how this has been important to him as an author. He discusses the lack of representation of men in Early Years, especially Black men who work with children, and how Olu’s Teacher mirrors an Early Years Black male teacher. Jamel reflects on the books that inspired him as a child, in particular those by Trish Cooke.

Jamel is an Early Years educator, consultant, radio/ television host, keynote speaker, renowned storyteller and bestselling author. He has worked in education for more than 20 years. 

Jamel created the first Early Years and Key Stage 1 Lit in Colour list for Penguin Random House and The Runnymede Trust. He has written articles for the local and national press, including Early Years sector journals. Jamel’s first picture book, Olu’s Teacher: A Story About Starting Nursery, illustrated by Lydia Mba, supports children as they transition into nursery.

EYFS, KS1,

Tapestry, our partners have kindly devised a FREE educational resource to support this Podcast. Please click on the link to download and share:

https://tapestry.info/laura-henry-allain-podcast-activities/

Tapestry is the original and leading childhood education platform, providing an online learning journal, progress monitoring and management system for Early Years settings and primary schools. It helps educators to celebrate children and engage families in mainstream and SEND provision. Tapestry keeps families in touch with how their child is doing, enables educators to build a picture of each child's development and interests, and provides the tools for the daily running of a setting.

Created by educators for educators, Tapestry was launched in 2012. We are now an award-winning platform used in more than 40 countries, supporting 14,000 schools and settings. Visit us at: https://tapestry.info

Rachel has ADHD, a fact she proudly shares on her travels, especially when engaging with children and young people. She also talks about how in Felix and the Future Agency it was important for Felix to be dyslexic and how the inspiration for her central character was based on a true story. Readers will love the magical places inspired by the London Underground in this book. Rachel’s advice for emerging authors is ‘sometimes getting a no is okay’.

Rachel Morrisroe is a bestselling author. She loves creating wondrous stories for children and her new title Felix and the Future Agency is full to the brim with big magic. Rachel once worked at Battersea Dog’s and Cat’s Home and now lives in the north of England with her family and a silly dachshund.

KS1, KS2 and KS3

Tapestry, our partners have kindly devised a FREE educational resource to support this Podcast. Please click on the link to download and share:

https://tapestry.info/laura-henry-allain-podcast-activities/

Nikki shares her deep love of reading, which has been with her since childhood. Becoming an author was a natural progression for Nikki: her son is autistic and Nikki was keen to write a book where he and other autistic children could see themselves. Ready Eddie GO! the book series was adapted for television and is now on Sky Kids. The book Ready Eddie Go! Painting celebrates how using paint can be fun and there is no right or wrong way to be creative.

Nikki is an author, creator and executive producer of the Bafta nominated Ready Eddie GO! on Sky Kids. Her love for storytelling traces back to childhood and became an invaluable tool in supporting her eldest son, Tyler, as he started to explore his autism diagnosis and celebrate his differences.

Tapestry, our partners have kindly devised a FREE educational resource to support this Podcast. Please click on the link to download and share:

https://tapestry.info/laura-henry-allain-podcast-activities/

EYFS, KS1, KS2 and KS3

Lydia talks passionately about the magic of sharing stories that every child can fall in love with, irrespective of their background. She explains that her mum (Mummy Debbie) was a foster carer when she was a child and how Lydia’s family home was full of children and love. Mummy and Me is a story that celebrates the close bond between an elephant and their child, closely mirroring that of Lydia and her daughter. Lydia is keen for children to have conversations and celebrate their family story.

Lydia, star of The Only Way Is Essex, has broadened her career to include podcasting, fashion, and children’s writing with the 2024 release of Mummy and Me. A devoted mother and NSPCC ambassador, she’s also recognised for her social media collaborations, promoting fashion, beauty, and family life.

EYFS, KS1 and KS2

Tapestry, our partners have kindly devised a FREE educational resource to support this Podcast. Please click on the link to download and share:

https://tapestry.info/laura-henry-allain-podcast-activities/

Lanisha shares her story of how signing up to an incentive led her to becoming a children’s author. She also talks about how entering competitions, such as the BBC’s 500 Words, can open the door to children becoming authors themselves. Lanisha describes how her book Flower Block has always been in her heart and is a modern-day Jack and the Beanstalk. Flower Block looks positively at social housing and the wonderful working-class community that fill its many homes. Lanisha also shares how magical things can happen when we plant seeds of love.

Lanisha is a children’s picture book author, who published her first book last year. Flower Block is set in a tower block and is illustrated by Hoang Giang. The story harnesses the power of love and nature in bringing communities together. Born and raised in social housing, Lanisha is passionate about telling stories about everyday characters and reminding children from lesser-heard backgrounds that they deserve magic and fairy tales too.

EYFS, KS1 and KS2

Tapestry, our partners have kindly devised a FREE educational resource to support this Podcast. Please click on the link to download and share:

https://tapestry.info/laura-henry-allain-podcast-activities/

In this episode, Louie talks about the career she had before she became an author, which included being an editor for a publishing company – she was Laura’s editor for My Skin, Your Skin! Louie reveals what inspires her to write, her favourite books as an adult and how these have influenced the Loki series. She also reflects on A Bad God’s Guide to Making Enemies and may even share a few spoiler alerts for Loki book five!

Louie Stowell writes books about magic, gods and monsters (mostly). She has written books about space, politics and science but eventually lapsed into just making stuff up. The award-winning Loki: A Bad God's Guide series is her first as both author and illustrator, inspired by her research into Norse myths.

KS2 and KS3

Tapestry, our partners have kindly devised a FREE educational resource to support this Podcast. Please click on the link to download and share:

https://tapestry.info/laura-henry-allain-podcast-activities/

In this podcast episode, Richard reminisces about his Romani heritage and how this is central to his storytelling; he fondly shares how he was one of the last in his family to live in a caravan and travel around the UK. Richard also talks about how his storytelling includes the past, present and future and indeed how storytelling is an art. We hear from Richard about how he was inspired to write The Can Caravan, which highlights the importance of community and teamwork. 

Richard O’Neill MBE is an acclaimed storyteller, author, playwright and educator from northern England. Raised in a nomadic Romani family, he champions inclusion through storytelling. A professor, literacy advocate and award-winning writer, O’Neill co-founded Diverse Book Week and Trails of Tales. He leads on creativity for the National Centre for Children's Books. 

EYFS, KS1, KS2, KS3

Tapestry, our partners have kindly devised a FREE educational resource to support this Podcast. Please click on the link to download and share:

https://tapestry.info/laura-henry-allain-podcast-activities/

Tapestry is the original and leading childhood education platform, providing an online learning journal, progress monitoring and management system for Early Years settings and primary schools. It helps educators to celebrate children and engage families in mainstream and SEND provision. Tapestry keeps families in touch with how their child is doing, enables educators to build a picture of each child's development and interests, and provides the tools for the daily running of a setting.

Created by educators for educators, Tapestry was launched in 2012. We are now an award-winning platform used in more than 40 countries, supporting 14,000 schools and settings. Visit us at: https://tapestry.info

Patrice passionately shares the importance of diversity in families and communities and how this has influenced her work. She talks about the power of reading a wide range of books and how children learn and appreciate reading books that show characters that are outside their own experience, especially on the issue of creating empathy. Specifically, Patrice talks about how in People Like Stars the grandmother’s character is not a stereotypical representation. 

Patrice has written books for children of all ages, from picture books to titles for young adults. She has won multiple awards including the Waterstones Children's Book Prize for Older Fiction and the Bookseller YA Book Prize. Patrice has been awarded the MBE for services to literature and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. 

KS2, KS3

Tapestry, our partners have kindly devised a FREE educational resource to support this Podcast. Please click on the link to download and share:

https://tapestry.info/laura-henry-allain-podcast-activities/

Tapestry is the original and leading childhood education platform, providing an online learning journal, progress monitoring and management system for Early Years settings and primary schools. It helps educators to celebrate children and engage families in mainstream and SEND provision. Tapestry keeps families in touch with how their child is doing, enables educators to build a picture of each child's development and interests, and provides the tools for the daily running of a setting.

Created by educators for educators, Tapestry was launched in 2012. We are now an award-winning platform used in more than 40 countries, supporting 14,000 schools and settings. Visit us at: https://tapestry.info