Author Visits and Speaking Events

A virtual visit by a picture book author is a really fun unique experience to bring a story to life. It’s a great way for children to explore the joy of reading, creativity and connection.

For many children, the excitement of speaking to the person who wrote the book in their hands is uncontainable. So having the author of the picturebook speak directly with them at home or in their classroom is a memorable event. It’s a lovely thing to be able to demystify and inspire young readers and writers to see that they too can write a book.

A visit by an author can inspire children to read for pleasure, and the benefits will help shape the rest of their lives. Here are some of them:

• Improves concentration focusing on a story is good practice to develop a good habit of focus and concentration to other forms.

• Increases intelligence and awareness of different ways of life. Diving into a good book opens up a whole world of knowledge and experiences and “children are twice as likely to read above their expected level for their age”.(*)

• Brain exercise helps the child to learn. Encouraging your children to read more will improve their comprehension and vocabulary.

• Boost critical thinking skills when you read you exercise your comprehension and analytical thinking skills. Good stories encourage a child to predict what’s going to happen at the end, thus challenging their brains to think of other possibilities.

• Reading can make you a better friend. By reading about other people’s emotions, reading helps the child understand what and how others may be thinking. It can also build on common emotions which encourage a better understanding of one another.

• Reading makes you feel better. Research has found that people who read for 30 minutes a week are 20% more likely to report greater life satisfaction than those who do not. Especially during the pandemic, reading may have even greater benefits to a child’s well-being.

• Reading can help work through your emotions and develop good self-image stories can evoke emotion and help a child uncover their feelings through the character in the story. Diverse books and books that challenge norms can be very liberating for children to see themselves in a story.

• Bedtime Stories create connection and help children sleep better. The Sleep Council say, “39 percent of people who are in the habit of reading before they go to sleep, sleep very well” and who doesn’t like a good snuggle before bed.

An author visit creates excitement (I’ve seen it!). It’s an event children can look forward to, especially during a time where events and gatherings are not possible.

An author visit can be a gorgeous way to connect with children from less privileged backgrounds who may be less likely to learn at home, so an author school visit creates an inclusive opportunity for all children.

Words of passion and encouragement from a new person can be the exact boost some reluctant or struggling readers need to feel motivated*.

I am often told that my reading of Lockdown Hair makes children laugh, and fills them with questions about the character, the pandemic and emotions they’ve felt during this difficult time. The book has certainly inspired many conversations at home and parents have shared their increased confidence to speak about this challenging topic once they had the story as their foundation of common focus.

*The UK’s National Literacy Trust reported in June 2019.