David Lawrence Jones's Blog, page 3
May 25, 2013
Yorkshire to Devon in one week... phewwww!!!
Well it's been a couple of weeks since my last blog... the main reason being is that SAT's sort of gave me a bit of a breather from my primary school visits, so I took some valuable time to concentrate on writing the fourth Bradley Baker adventure story... the Gullfather of New York.
The plotlines are progressing well and the book is on schedule to be released later this year. However, the school visits didn't stop for too long... I was busy again this week with five more author presentations at both ends of the country, when I travelled to Rotherham and Plymouth!
Four schools within the Clifton Partnership played host to my showcase events; on Monday I presented to the year 7 students at Clifton Community School... then onto St Ann's Junior; then on Tuesday to Herringthorpe Juniors and finally St Mary's RC Primary. A long drive back to Devon on Thursday and a wonderful visit to Dunstone Primary near Plymouth. WOW... what a hectic week but well worth the effort, as I accumulated thousands of new BB fans!!! and boy did they love the books with huge queues for signed copies at all five schools :)
Here are some of the letters from children at Dunstone Primary, thanking me for visiting their school;
I'm really looking forward to returning to Cockington School in Torquay in July to complete their book publication project. Sixty children in year 4 have been taking part in my creative workshops and the half term break this week will afford me an opportunity to work on the book in readiness for my next visit.
I'm also excited about my visit to Buckfastleigh too... I'll be meeting with the lovely peeps at Families For Children and talking about how I can help to advocate the charities great work within the region.
Check out this link to find out more information about adopting a child in the Devon and Cornwall area... http://www.familiesforchildren.org.uk/
Catch up again next week and thanks for popping by folks!
Best wishes DLJ
The plotlines are progressing well and the book is on schedule to be released later this year. However, the school visits didn't stop for too long... I was busy again this week with five more author presentations at both ends of the country, when I travelled to Rotherham and Plymouth!
Four schools within the Clifton Partnership played host to my showcase events; on Monday I presented to the year 7 students at Clifton Community School... then onto St Ann's Junior; then on Tuesday to Herringthorpe Juniors and finally St Mary's RC Primary. A long drive back to Devon on Thursday and a wonderful visit to Dunstone Primary near Plymouth. WOW... what a hectic week but well worth the effort, as I accumulated thousands of new BB fans!!! and boy did they love the books with huge queues for signed copies at all five schools :)Here are some of the letters from children at Dunstone Primary, thanking me for visiting their school;
I'm really looking forward to returning to Cockington School in Torquay in July to complete their book publication project. Sixty children in year 4 have been taking part in my creative workshops and the half term break this week will afford me an opportunity to work on the book in readiness for my next visit.
I'm also excited about my visit to Buckfastleigh too... I'll be meeting with the lovely peeps at Families For Children and talking about how I can help to advocate the charities great work within the region.
Check out this link to find out more information about adopting a child in the Devon and Cornwall area... http://www.familiesforchildren.org.uk/
Catch up again next week and thanks for popping by folks!
Best wishes DLJ
Rotherham to Plymouth in one week... phewwww!!!
Well it's been a couple of weeks since my last blog... the main reason being is that SAT's sort of gave me a bit of a breather from my primary school visits, so I took some valuable time to concentrate on writing the fourth Bradley Baker adventure story... the Gullfather of New York.
The plotlines are progressing well and the book is on schedule to be released later this year. However, the school visits didn't stop for too long... I was busy again this week with five more author presentations at both ends of the country, when I travelled to Rotherham and Plymouth!
Four schools within the Clifton Partnership played host to my showcase events; on Monday I presented to the year 7 students at Clifton Community School... then onto St Ann's Junior; then on Tuesday to Herringthorpe Juniors and finally St Mary's RC Primary. A long drive back to Devon on Thursday and a wonderful visit to Dunstone Primary near Plymouth. WOW... what a hectic week but well worth the effort, as I accumulated thousands of new BB fans!!! and boy did they love the books with huge queues for signed copies at all five schools :)
Here are some of the letters from children at Dunstone Primary, thanking me for visiting their school;
I'm really looking forward to returning to Cockington School in Torquay in July to complete their book publication project. Sixty children in year 4 have been taking part in my creative workshops and the half term break this week will afford me an opportunity to work on the book in readiness for my next visit.
I'm also excited about my visit to Buckfastleigh too... I'll be meeting with the lovely peeps at Families For Children and talking about how I can help to advocate the charities great work within the region.
Check out this link to find out more information about adopting a child in the Devon and Cornwall area... http://www.familiesforchildren.org.uk/
Catch up again next week and thanks for popping by folks!
Best wishes DLJ
The plotlines are progressing well and the book is on schedule to be released later this year. However, the school visits didn't stop for too long... I was busy again this week with five more author presentations at both ends of the country, when I travelled to Rotherham and Plymouth!
Four schools within the Clifton Partnership played host to my showcase events; on Monday I presented to the year 7 students at Clifton Community School... then onto St Ann's Junior; then on Tuesday to Herringthorpe Juniors and finally St Mary's RC Primary. A long drive back to Devon on Thursday and a wonderful visit to Dunstone Primary near Plymouth. WOW... what a hectic week but well worth the effort, as I accumulated thousands of new BB fans!!! and boy did they love the books with huge queues for signed copies at all five schools :)Here are some of the letters from children at Dunstone Primary, thanking me for visiting their school;
I'm really looking forward to returning to Cockington School in Torquay in July to complete their book publication project. Sixty children in year 4 have been taking part in my creative workshops and the half term break this week will afford me an opportunity to work on the book in readiness for my next visit.
I'm also excited about my visit to Buckfastleigh too... I'll be meeting with the lovely peeps at Families For Children and talking about how I can help to advocate the charities great work within the region.
Check out this link to find out more information about adopting a child in the Devon and Cornwall area... http://www.familiesforchildren.org.uk/
Catch up again next week and thanks for popping by folks!
Best wishes DLJ
May 12, 2013
First visit to Plymouth a great success...
This week I attended a primary school in Plymouth and what a reception I received from over 250 enthusiastic KS2 pupils eager to learn all about my Bradley Baker adventures and my life as an author. My visit to Salisbury Road proved to be a great start to a tour of Plymouth schools, which will eventually take me across the city to meet thousands of students. I returned to Salisbury Road the following day to yet another rapturous welcome with hundreds of new Bradley fans queuing to buy their books and have them signed.
It was great to read about my recent visit to Cockwood Primary near Dawlish on the schools website... here's an extract and some pics; "The children enjoyed a wonderful session working with the author David Lawrence-Jones. David wowed the children with his tales and demonstrated how to write an exciting story."
I was then lucky enough to be given the honour of opening the new library. The school also celebrated the success of two of their children who have both read 1 million words on the accelerated reader programme. Big thank you to the head teacher Lorraine Curry, all the parents, governors and the Mayoress Pauline Bloomfield for attending this super event.
I was then lucky enough to be given the honour of opening the new library. The school also celebrated the success of two of their children who have both read 1 million words on the accelerated reader programme. Big thank you to the head teacher Lorraine Curry, all the parents, governors and the Mayoress Pauline Bloomfield for attending this super event.
Midweek I returned to Galmpton Primary School in Brixham to help them complete the publication of a school book of short stories. The children in year 6 wrote about disasters, including monsters, creatures and even ninjas... here's a copy of the front cover, which is now available to buy online;
Next week sees the start of SATs for KS2 so I'm taking a short break from school visits to concentrate of writing a few words for the fourth Bradley adventure; The Gullfather of New York. The short break will also enable me to catch up on some planning for events over the next few months with two weekly tours already secured in Rotherham plus a week in Swindon and four weeks in Plymouth. I've also been invited to present in Kent after the summer break so looking forward to a busy schedule during the next academic year already. I'll be picking up the baton again and visiting Queensway Primary in Torquay next Friday for a showcase presentation then I will return as guest of honour to the school's summer fete on Saturday... so I'll catch up with you all after and let you know how successful the events are!!! :) DLJ
It was great to read about my recent visit to Cockwood Primary near Dawlish on the schools website... here's an extract and some pics; "The children enjoyed a wonderful session working with the author David Lawrence-Jones. David wowed the children with his tales and demonstrated how to write an exciting story."
I was then lucky enough to be given the honour of opening the new library. The school also celebrated the success of two of their children who have both read 1 million words on the accelerated reader programme. Big thank you to the head teacher Lorraine Curry, all the parents, governors and the Mayoress Pauline Bloomfield for attending this super event.
I was then lucky enough to be given the honour of opening the new library. The school also celebrated the success of two of their children who have both read 1 million words on the accelerated reader programme. Big thank you to the head teacher Lorraine Curry, all the parents, governors and the Mayoress Pauline Bloomfield for attending this super event.
Midweek I returned to Galmpton Primary School in Brixham to help them complete the publication of a school book of short stories. The children in year 6 wrote about disasters, including monsters, creatures and even ninjas... here's a copy of the front cover, which is now available to buy online;
Next week sees the start of SATs for KS2 so I'm taking a short break from school visits to concentrate of writing a few words for the fourth Bradley adventure; The Gullfather of New York. The short break will also enable me to catch up on some planning for events over the next few months with two weekly tours already secured in Rotherham plus a week in Swindon and four weeks in Plymouth. I've also been invited to present in Kent after the summer break so looking forward to a busy schedule during the next academic year already. I'll be picking up the baton again and visiting Queensway Primary in Torquay next Friday for a showcase presentation then I will return as guest of honour to the school's summer fete on Saturday... so I'll catch up with you all after and let you know how successful the events are!!! :) DLJ
May 6, 2013
Another week in Devon...
Another week entertaining KS2 students in Devon and it was nice to be nearer to home, whilst visiting three more primary schools in the area. Monday got off to a great start at Starcross and a big thank you to Tim Rolinson for organising the showcase and book signing event. My second author visit of the week was to St Joseph's in Newton Abbot, where Katie Rose prepared the students for another showcase extravaganza. The third school event of the week was held at Wilcombe Primary in Tiverton and a massive thank you to Alice Reeves and the children for making my visit a great success.
The week also produced a couple of welcome surprises too, with invites to attend two very special events as guest of honour and guest speaker. The first engagement will be held at Plymouth University later this month, where I will execute my duties as Vice Chancellor of the Children's University by awarding certificates to the Torbay graduates. Then in July I will attend a special lunch at Tower House School in Paignton to celebrate speech day... it will be great to return to the school as guest of honour following my recent author visit.
I'll be heading into Plymouth for the first time next week to start my tour of local schools and I'm looking forward to meeting everyone at Salisbury Road Primary. Also I'll be able to complete yet another school book publication project when I visit Galmpton Primary in Brixham... more details of both visits next week.
Bye for now and thanks for joining my weekly BlogSpot. DLJ
The week also produced a couple of welcome surprises too, with invites to attend two very special events as guest of honour and guest speaker. The first engagement will be held at Plymouth University later this month, where I will execute my duties as Vice Chancellor of the Children's University by awarding certificates to the Torbay graduates. Then in July I will attend a special lunch at Tower House School in Paignton to celebrate speech day... it will be great to return to the school as guest of honour following my recent author visit.
I'll be heading into Plymouth for the first time next week to start my tour of local schools and I'm looking forward to meeting everyone at Salisbury Road Primary. Also I'll be able to complete yet another school book publication project when I visit Galmpton Primary in Brixham... more details of both visits next week.
Bye for now and thanks for joining my weekly BlogSpot. DLJ
April 27, 2013
Back in Devon for another eventful week...
The recent visit to Gloucester was superb but it was great to be back home in Devon to enjoy another eventful week visiting more schools.
Monday got off to a great start with my author visit of the week to Bishopsteignton Primary near Teignmouth. I sensed an air of excitement as soon as I arrived in reception with posters advertising the event pinned to every wall and window... and children waving as I passed through the dining hall. Enthused whispers of "it's the author" could be heard from pupils, as they huddled together in anticipation. The showcase that followed was superb and I can't thank Emma Humphrey enough for organising such a well run event.
Tuesday's return to Bishopsteignton proved very popular with the students. A terrific book signing event was held in the school library with lots of well-thought questions fired at me from every angle. Fantastic stuff!!!
A change to my usual school format on Wednesday with a visit to a secondary academy in Newton Abbot. The literacy coordinator at Coombeshead organised a theatre-style presentation for me to lecture a select group of year 7 students. Harriet Turner also invited some feeder school pupils to attend the event with Canada Hill and Haytor View being represented. The occasion was a great success with a return visit on Thursday to speak further to the whole of year 7. It was also great to secure yet another school event during my visit to Coombeshead with one of the primary schools requesting an author visit too. I'll be sure to tell you all about my impending visit to Haytor View when I showcase my Bradley Baker adventures.
My third event of the week was spent at a wonderful independent school in Paignton. Tower House Juniors enjoyed my author showcase and Bradley Baker secured another legion of fans. During the signing event on the following day, the headteacher informed me that the children were asked to share their experience during morning assembly. Apparently they were all able to explain the presentation... scene by scene! A great testament to their concentration during the event and also a great assurance that my showcase is certainly hitting the right notes!!!
Another exciting event happened this week... my TV interview in Gloucester was aired on Friday and I'm really pleased with the broadcast and the crew at Cotswold TV.
Here's a link so you can watch the video... hope you enjoy it :)
http://www.furryfeet.tv/cotswolds/venue_video.php?footprint=851
Finally... I received the first rough sketch for the recently commissioned Bradley Baker character figurines. The five limited edition sculptures and sketches will be available in the summer but here's a quick glance at the first character "Bradley Baker"...
That's all for now folks... catch up again this time next week.All the best DLJ
Monday got off to a great start with my author visit of the week to Bishopsteignton Primary near Teignmouth. I sensed an air of excitement as soon as I arrived in reception with posters advertising the event pinned to every wall and window... and children waving as I passed through the dining hall. Enthused whispers of "it's the author" could be heard from pupils, as they huddled together in anticipation. The showcase that followed was superb and I can't thank Emma Humphrey enough for organising such a well run event.
Tuesday's return to Bishopsteignton proved very popular with the students. A terrific book signing event was held in the school library with lots of well-thought questions fired at me from every angle. Fantastic stuff!!!
A change to my usual school format on Wednesday with a visit to a secondary academy in Newton Abbot. The literacy coordinator at Coombeshead organised a theatre-style presentation for me to lecture a select group of year 7 students. Harriet Turner also invited some feeder school pupils to attend the event with Canada Hill and Haytor View being represented. The occasion was a great success with a return visit on Thursday to speak further to the whole of year 7. It was also great to secure yet another school event during my visit to Coombeshead with one of the primary schools requesting an author visit too. I'll be sure to tell you all about my impending visit to Haytor View when I showcase my Bradley Baker adventures.
My third event of the week was spent at a wonderful independent school in Paignton. Tower House Juniors enjoyed my author showcase and Bradley Baker secured another legion of fans. During the signing event on the following day, the headteacher informed me that the children were asked to share their experience during morning assembly. Apparently they were all able to explain the presentation... scene by scene! A great testament to their concentration during the event and also a great assurance that my showcase is certainly hitting the right notes!!!
Another exciting event happened this week... my TV interview in Gloucester was aired on Friday and I'm really pleased with the broadcast and the crew at Cotswold TV.
Here's a link so you can watch the video... hope you enjoy it :)
http://www.furryfeet.tv/cotswolds/venue_video.php?footprint=851
Finally... I received the first rough sketch for the recently commissioned Bradley Baker character figurines. The five limited edition sculptures and sketches will be available in the summer but here's a quick glance at the first character "Bradley Baker"...
That's all for now folks... catch up again this time next week.All the best DLJApril 21, 2013
A week of brilliant events in the Cotswolds
With another hectic schedule of school visits in Devon planned for the week ahead... I still haven't quite recovered from last week's venture into Gloucester. I have to take this opportunity to thank Debbie Silvester from Abbeymead Primary School for organising three fantastic events... this is the stage set ready for one of my presentations and what a show it turned out to be with an audience of over 300 enthusiastic children in attendance!
As well as Debbie's own school, I also visited and presented to teachers and pupils at Heron and Coopers Edge with all three primary schools providing a fantastic reception. Here are just a few of the great pictures taken by Sue Smith during the showcase event at Heron, which hosted an audience of over 400 excited students...
As well as the Gloucester schools showcase events, I also enjoyed a half day of workshops working with pupils from years 3 and 4 at Abbeymead. All the children displayed a keen willingness to improve their literacy skills and it was really fabulous to work with such a positive group of polite students.
On a slightly different note, there were a couple of new arrivals this week. Two of my Bradley Baker characters joined the showcase cast in the form of life-size cut-outs to enhance my presentations. Here's a picture taken with Grog to demonstrate just how impressive they are;
Finally, I am pleased to announce that five Bradley Baker character sculptures and related sketches have just been commissioned. I'll be posting more updates soon about these limited edition collectibles but for now here is a little taster of what's in store. This is the first draft sketch in plasticine of the Bradley sculpture by the talented artist Abie Greyvenstein.
Look forward to catching up with you all again next week... best wishes for now. DLJ
As well as Debbie's own school, I also visited and presented to teachers and pupils at Heron and Coopers Edge with all three primary schools providing a fantastic reception. Here are just a few of the great pictures taken by Sue Smith during the showcase event at Heron, which hosted an audience of over 400 excited students...
As well as the Gloucester schools showcase events, I also enjoyed a half day of workshops working with pupils from years 3 and 4 at Abbeymead. All the children displayed a keen willingness to improve their literacy skills and it was really fabulous to work with such a positive group of polite students.
On a slightly different note, there were a couple of new arrivals this week. Two of my Bradley Baker characters joined the showcase cast in the form of life-size cut-outs to enhance my presentations. Here's a picture taken with Grog to demonstrate just how impressive they are;
Finally, I am pleased to announce that five Bradley Baker character sculptures and related sketches have just been commissioned. I'll be posting more updates soon about these limited edition collectibles but for now here is a little taster of what's in store. This is the first draft sketch in plasticine of the Bradley sculpture by the talented artist Abie Greyvenstein.
Look forward to catching up with you all again next week... best wishes for now. DLJ
March 31, 2013
Easter record breaker and a library opening to be proud of...
Another very busy week leading up to the Easter break. More school visits in Devon starting at Blackpool Primary School near Newton Abbot on Monday. A fabulous reception from all the children with more record breaking sales of Bradley Baker books during a very hectic signing schedule that lasted over two hours. Then onto Cockwood School near Dawlish for a very special event. I showcased the Bradley Baker adventures to years 4, 5 & 6 in a very crammed classroom. The lack of space didn't affect the presentation with all the children totally engaged and enthused. A very long queue followed during the book signing event that preceded the school's library event. Special thanks to Alison for organising the event. The visit to Cockwood was further enhanced with an invitation from the headteacher Lorraine Curry for me to officially open the new school library. It was also a great pleasure to meet the Mayor of Dawlish... and she even asked me to sign copies of my books!!! It was a privilege to be part of the library opening at Cockwood and I was awarded a card and Easter egg as a thank you! Very proud indeed :)
It was then time to visit a quaint rural school in Doddiscombleigh with a pupil roll of just 34. It's amazing that these small schools still manage to survive but I can see why... the welcome was great and the children were superb. I really enjoyed presenting my Bradley Baker adventures and I informed everyone about the new book, which will be published in the Summer. Here's a trailer, please check it out... It was nice to be featured in a local newspaper again... following my visit last week to Whipton Barton School in Exeter. Here's the article that appeared in the community news section of the Express & Echo;
The week finished with a fantastic achievement for some Gifted & Talented students in Torquay... I attended Westlands School to help the year 7 classes to complete the publication of their very own book of short stories. The students have been working really hard over the past few months and it was great to see all their efforts come in to fruition, as the button was pressed to launch the book complete with its own ISBN. The session was the last of four and the book is now available to purchase online priced at £6.49 Here's a copy of the front cover... please keep a look out for it!!!
I joined "dubbler" this week. It's a very useful social media portal where you can record your own messages and post them with a photo. I'll be using this new online media format from now on to talk about my writing and explain more about up-and-coming publication projects in more detail.
Please keep a look out for "dubbler" and check out this link to follow my posts; http://dblr.me/f/b3TZyUo1NZoaVcG41jeQE8ZwqCQli7t6P4UVhHkX9B3rENHzhxQGqRqZNUZ3E1XRw Have a great Easter Holiday everyone and I'll catch up with you again in a couple of weeks when I will be breaking through the boundaries of Devon and heading up the M5 to visit schools in the Gloucester area. Bye for now, DLJ
It was then time to visit a quaint rural school in Doddiscombleigh with a pupil roll of just 34. It's amazing that these small schools still manage to survive but I can see why... the welcome was great and the children were superb. I really enjoyed presenting my Bradley Baker adventures and I informed everyone about the new book, which will be published in the Summer. Here's a trailer, please check it out... It was nice to be featured in a local newspaper again... following my visit last week to Whipton Barton School in Exeter. Here's the article that appeared in the community news section of the Express & Echo;
The week finished with a fantastic achievement for some Gifted & Talented students in Torquay... I attended Westlands School to help the year 7 classes to complete the publication of their very own book of short stories. The students have been working really hard over the past few months and it was great to see all their efforts come in to fruition, as the button was pressed to launch the book complete with its own ISBN. The session was the last of four and the book is now available to purchase online priced at £6.49 Here's a copy of the front cover... please keep a look out for it!!!
I joined "dubbler" this week. It's a very useful social media portal where you can record your own messages and post them with a photo. I'll be using this new online media format from now on to talk about my writing and explain more about up-and-coming publication projects in more detail.
Please keep a look out for "dubbler" and check out this link to follow my posts; http://dblr.me/f/b3TZyUo1NZoaVcG41jeQE8ZwqCQli7t6P4UVhHkX9B3rENHzhxQGqRqZNUZ3E1XRw Have a great Easter Holiday everyone and I'll catch up with you again in a couple of weeks when I will be breaking through the boundaries of Devon and heading up the M5 to visit schools in the Gloucester area. Bye for now, DLJ March 22, 2013
Blackpool bound... but no sign of a tower!
Another fantastic week meeting lots of primary school children and their teachers. Monday got off to a grand start with a trip to Homelands in Torquay. The students loved the Bradley Baker showcase and queued to buy signed copies in the hall... here is class teacher Hannah with her pupils proudly holding their new books;
I then headed up to the TeignValley to present at a lovely village primary school in Christow, where headteacher David Lamoon hosted a fabulous event. An audience of 80 children were totally enthused by the showcase presentation with a very high percentage of all three BB books purchased following the visit.
Mid week fast approached and it was time for a return visit to Cockington Community Primary School for our second literacy workshop. It was great to see all 60 children again with their stories ready to be loaded onto the T-Drive. The pupils were split into teams and they worked very hard to start the publication process for their very own school book! Westlands School in Torquay followed and I hosted their third literacy workshop... we are now ready to complete the project during the final session next week! Exciting stuff and I'm looking forward to seeing the completed book of short stories finally come together :)
The working week finished at Blackpool (no not the one with the famous tower) ... the primary school in Liverton near Newton Abbot. The 300+ audience were astonished at the site of a smoking bath but absolutely loved the presentation. I spoke with Diane Boyden who organised the event and she was delighted at the site of children busy writing their own stories in wet-play straight after the event. Very inspiring and good to see the youngsters so enthused!!! I'm really looking forward to my return visit on Monday.
If you haven't had the chance to see the new Bradley Baker book trailer... you can view it on YouTube; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxwzGQx-HRM
That's all for this week folks, except to say that my events schedule is looking very busy leading into the Summer term and indeed beyond with bookings appearing in the diary for Sept & Oct!!! Fabulous!
Catch up soon and best wishes from DLJ
I then headed up to the TeignValley to present at a lovely village primary school in Christow, where headteacher David Lamoon hosted a fabulous event. An audience of 80 children were totally enthused by the showcase presentation with a very high percentage of all three BB books purchased following the visit.
Mid week fast approached and it was time for a return visit to Cockington Community Primary School for our second literacy workshop. It was great to see all 60 children again with their stories ready to be loaded onto the T-Drive. The pupils were split into teams and they worked very hard to start the publication process for their very own school book! Westlands School in Torquay followed and I hosted their third literacy workshop... we are now ready to complete the project during the final session next week! Exciting stuff and I'm looking forward to seeing the completed book of short stories finally come together :)
The working week finished at Blackpool (no not the one with the famous tower) ... the primary school in Liverton near Newton Abbot. The 300+ audience were astonished at the site of a smoking bath but absolutely loved the presentation. I spoke with Diane Boyden who organised the event and she was delighted at the site of children busy writing their own stories in wet-play straight after the event. Very inspiring and good to see the youngsters so enthused!!! I'm really looking forward to my return visit on Monday.
If you haven't had the chance to see the new Bradley Baker book trailer... you can view it on YouTube; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxwzGQx-HRM
That's all for this week folks, except to say that my events schedule is looking very busy leading into the Summer term and indeed beyond with bookings appearing in the diary for Sept & Oct!!! Fabulous!
Catch up soon and best wishes from DLJ
March 17, 2013
Abbey to Whipton... another busy week!
It's been another very busy week... starting at Abbey School in Torquay on Monday to meet the children again following my showcase event before the weekend. The old school building provided a perfect setting and the enthused students queued patiently to have their Bradley Baker books signed.
I headed up to Exeter in the afternoon (and what a contrast in buildings - a large modern school packed with very excited children indeed) to meet teachers and pupils at St Michael's School. What a reception... there were posters advertising my visit on every entrance, with 300+ students waiting in the hall to see the Bradley Baker showcase extravaganza! A brilliant event and special thanks to Sally Baker (no relation to the boy hero) for organising the day and for really promoting the visit.
I attended an arranged awards ceremony at KEVICC on Tuesday morning... children from all 12 Totnes Schools were in attendance with their respective Headteachers and parents. Here are three of the students representing Broadhempston Primary with their certificates.
A return to St Michael's School in Exeter followed in the afternoon and I was delighted to be interviewed by the local press and have pictures taken of the signing event. I'll post some more updates when the news story appears in the Express & Echo.
A paid a return visit to Torre Primary in Torquay on Wednesday morning to meet classes 1 & 2 to hear about their storytelling and creative writing exercises. Its great to see so many young children stepping onto the literary ladder and producing such fantastic work. Thanks to Sue Julyan for inviting me into school again. I then headed over to Westlands Secondary School for the second of four literacy workshops... we are well on the way to producing a fantastic book, which will create 30 new authors who will be published online. Great stuff!!!
Thursday soon came around and it was time to visit the children at Topsham Primary School. The showcase was absolutely brilliant with lots of pupils taking part and recreating the characters form my Bradley Baker adventure books. This was followed by a busy book signing event...
The week was topped off with a return author visit to Whipton Barton... this time it was the infants turn to enjoy the Bradley Baker showcase and we all had a great time. It's such a wonderful school (both Juniors and Infants) and I'd like to thank Sarah Ronson for looking after me on the day.
That's all till next week folks... thanks for viewing this week's blogspot.Best wishes DLJ
I headed up to Exeter in the afternoon (and what a contrast in buildings - a large modern school packed with very excited children indeed) to meet teachers and pupils at St Michael's School. What a reception... there were posters advertising my visit on every entrance, with 300+ students waiting in the hall to see the Bradley Baker showcase extravaganza! A brilliant event and special thanks to Sally Baker (no relation to the boy hero) for organising the day and for really promoting the visit.
I attended an arranged awards ceremony at KEVICC on Tuesday morning... children from all 12 Totnes Schools were in attendance with their respective Headteachers and parents. Here are three of the students representing Broadhempston Primary with their certificates.
A return to St Michael's School in Exeter followed in the afternoon and I was delighted to be interviewed by the local press and have pictures taken of the signing event. I'll post some more updates when the news story appears in the Express & Echo.
A paid a return visit to Torre Primary in Torquay on Wednesday morning to meet classes 1 & 2 to hear about their storytelling and creative writing exercises. Its great to see so many young children stepping onto the literary ladder and producing such fantastic work. Thanks to Sue Julyan for inviting me into school again. I then headed over to Westlands Secondary School for the second of four literacy workshops... we are well on the way to producing a fantastic book, which will create 30 new authors who will be published online. Great stuff!!!
Thursday soon came around and it was time to visit the children at Topsham Primary School. The showcase was absolutely brilliant with lots of pupils taking part and recreating the characters form my Bradley Baker adventure books. This was followed by a busy book signing event...
The week was topped off with a return author visit to Whipton Barton... this time it was the infants turn to enjoy the Bradley Baker showcase and we all had a great time. It's such a wonderful school (both Juniors and Infants) and I'd like to thank Sarah Ronson for looking after me on the day.
That's all till next week folks... thanks for viewing this week's blogspot.Best wishes DLJ
March 9, 2013
World Book Week... what a blast!
What a blast!!! That has to be the busiest World Book Week I have experienced so far...
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the teaching staff at the six schools that hosted their fantastic events this week... and to over 3000 children that displayed a copious amount of excitement and enthusiasm during the Bradley Baker Showcase Events.
The week of activities began on Monday morning at Hazeldown Primary in Teignmouth, then onto St Sidwell's in Exeter in the afternoon. On Tuesday morning I visited the pupils and teachers at Chudleigh Community Primary and then returned to Hazeldown in the afternoon for a book signing event. I received a wonderful welcome from a group of 60 children at Stokeinteignhead Primary on Wednesday and then returned to Chudleigh for a record breaking book signing event in the school library.
The Bradley Baker roadshow continued at a rapid pace into World Book Day on Thursday when the Bradmobile arrived at Gatehouse Primary in Dawlish... it was an amazing reception and the hall was crammed packed full of children all dressed as their favourite book characters. I then called back at Stokeinteignhead before the final day of presentations.
It was a perfect finish to a perfect week, on Friday I attended Abbey School in Torquay and the children absolutely loved the Bradley Baker books. The local press were in attendance and took lots of pictures and I'm looking forward to returning to see all the students again on Monday.
Back to school next week (literally) and especially looking forward to Tuesday when I will be presenting awards at KEVICC to the Gifted & Talented students in the Totnes Learning Community. I will choosing a winner who will have their new character profiled in my next Bradley Baker adventure book "The Gullfather of New York", which will be published in the Summer.
If you get the chance, please check out the trailer for the new book... here's the link;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxwzGQx-HRM
Best wishes for now and catch up again soon.
DLJ
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the teaching staff at the six schools that hosted their fantastic events this week... and to over 3000 children that displayed a copious amount of excitement and enthusiasm during the Bradley Baker Showcase Events.
The week of activities began on Monday morning at Hazeldown Primary in Teignmouth, then onto St Sidwell's in Exeter in the afternoon. On Tuesday morning I visited the pupils and teachers at Chudleigh Community Primary and then returned to Hazeldown in the afternoon for a book signing event. I received a wonderful welcome from a group of 60 children at Stokeinteignhead Primary on Wednesday and then returned to Chudleigh for a record breaking book signing event in the school library.
The Bradley Baker roadshow continued at a rapid pace into World Book Day on Thursday when the Bradmobile arrived at Gatehouse Primary in Dawlish... it was an amazing reception and the hall was crammed packed full of children all dressed as their favourite book characters. I then called back at Stokeinteignhead before the final day of presentations.
It was a perfect finish to a perfect week, on Friday I attended Abbey School in Torquay and the children absolutely loved the Bradley Baker books. The local press were in attendance and took lots of pictures and I'm looking forward to returning to see all the students again on Monday.
Back to school next week (literally) and especially looking forward to Tuesday when I will be presenting awards at KEVICC to the Gifted & Talented students in the Totnes Learning Community. I will choosing a winner who will have their new character profiled in my next Bradley Baker adventure book "The Gullfather of New York", which will be published in the Summer.
If you get the chance, please check out the trailer for the new book... here's the link;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxwzGQx-HRM
Best wishes for now and catch up again soon.
DLJ
