Climate Change Week

Climate Change Week takes place from 4th to 10th March 2013. It is a great chance to get children (and adults) thinking about what we can do to reduce the impact of climate change to communities around the world. 

 

In 2011 I became quite obsessed about the metling ice in the Arctic. I read up about it in books that spelled out not only the grim impact climate change is having and coming threat on communities aroud the world, but, in particular, about what will happen in the Arctic when the ice has gone.

 

I visited Tromso and the Arctic areas north of that city in Norway to find out more. Then, using my findings, I wrote a children's novel - White Fear - about five child spies who are trying to prevent a war that is about break out about who owns the oil and gas that lies beneath the Arctic seabed. All too likely, I am sorry to say.

 

My website page on how I went about writing White Fear has more information about that research and on the melting ice.

 

There is a free schools' pack of activities around the book and the theme of climate change too.

But, more importantly, please visit http://www.climateweek.com for more information about Climate Change Week and what you, your family and your school can do to help.

Fair Trade Fortnight

Next half-term it is Fairtrade Fortnight: a great opportunity to get children thinking about where they spend their money and the difference that choice can make other people's lives.

In 2009 I wrote a book about a boy called Kofi, who - as well as being a gifted footballer - was the son of cocoa bean farmers in Ghana.

The book is called Off Side.

At the beginning of the Off Side, Kofi's family were being cheated and not paid a fair amount for their beans. By the end they had become part of the Kuapa Kokoo co-operative which supplies chocolate manufacturers Divine.

I was very lucky, when in Ghana researching my novel, that Divine took me to meet some farmers and to a school paid for by our buying Fairtrade Chocolate. I have seen the results of the decision we can make to buy Fair Trade chocolate: children being well-schooled, learning to run their own businesses and families living in decent accommodation.

 

My blog about visiting a Fair Trade community in Ghana.

 

When I came home I worked with Divine Chocolate to produce a schools' pack that should encourage children to think about the impact of buying Fair Trade products. It is free to download.

 

Free Fair Trade schools' pack

 

There is more information about my book, Off Side, which also looks at people trafficking, particularly the exploitation of young footballers from Africa.

 

About Off Side

 

And, if you would like to download the first chapter of the book for free, it is available here.

 

Off Side: chapter one

 

Fair Trade fortnight runs from 25th February to 10th March 2013.

 

10 Tips for Parents: Using the Six Nations to get your kids reading

The 2013 RBS Six Nations tournament runs from 2nd February to 16th March, with England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France and Italy competing to be the northern hemisphere's top rugby nation.

For parents with children interested in rugby - or sport in general - this is a great chance to get them reading. For pleasure.

Here are 10 quick tips on rugby reading that your children could try as the tournament progresses in the next six weeks.

ONE: download the RBS Six Nations app and keep up to date with official news updates, match analyses and player profiles

TWO: read a copy of the latest Rugby World magazine, packed with interviews and expert anaylsis of the tournament - also try The Rugby Paper

THREE: go to the library and borrow rugby books about players, teams, coaching and the history of the game

FOUR: follow previews to the Six Nations in newspapers - on paper online

FIVE: read one of several children's stories about rugby, including The Rugby Zombies by Dan Anthony, Rugby Spirit by Gerard Siggins and Scrum by Tom Palmer

SIX: check out some of the best sports websites for very up-to-date information and videos of key highlights - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/ is a great one

SEVEN: read one of the new books published in time for the Six Nations, checking out your local library or bookshop, with When Rugby was Rugby or the World Rugby Records 2012 book looking good

EIGHT: buy official RBS Six Nations 2013 magazine, to have on the arm of your sofa as you watch the games

NINE: leave any of the above lying around the house, on the kitchen table or as a screen saver on the home computer, if you have one.

TEN: read some of the above together with your children - reading with kids and talking to them about what you are reading is a great way of finding things out - and a great way of embedding reading in them as a thing to do for pleasure

There are other resources that can help parents, teachers and librarians encourage children to read. Check out my last blog for free schools' packs, book lists and other ideas.

www.tompalmer.co.uk

Six Nations Rugby 2013

The RBS Six Nations tournament kicks off on February 2nd. It is a great opportunity to get boys reading for pleasure.

Rugby Books for Children

First of all a book list. There are not many rugby books for children. But this is what there is:

(1) The Rugby Zombies series by Dan Anthony. Published in Wales by Pont. Three boys meet fifteen zombies in the woods: all the zombies are wearing Welsh rugby union tops. It is funny, moving and very good for rugby fans. Age 8+.

(2) Rugby Spirit by Gerard Siggins. Published by O'Brien in Ireland. Great story about a boy who joins a new school where his granddad was a heroic rugby union player. Age 8+.

(3) The Flea Thing by Brian Falkner. Published by Walker. About a very fast New Zealand
rugby league player. Very good read. 8+

(4) Scrum! by Tom Palmer. Published by Barrington Stoke. A rugby league and union novel. Two rugby codes. A dad and a step dad. North vs south. Lots of conflict. Dyslexia friendly. 8+


Free Rugby reading resources

(1) The National Literacy Trust has a free pack called Love Rugby: Love Reading. I wrote it. You can download it here. It was written for the 2011 World Cup, but most of it is general enough to be useful now. It is full of activity ideas for promoting reading through the love of rugby.

(2) I have produced a reading and writing pack based around my own rugby novel, Scrum! It is called Rugby Reading. Again it is free and available here. From five-minute fun activities to writing your own rugby stories in class. Plus activities based around reading my book.


Author Events

I am going to be doing a tour of schools during the Six Nations, running my Rugby Reading Game. It involves a quiz, talking about rugby reading and a kicking competition. More info about that here.

 
And if you need to know the Six Nations fixures, to plan good days for your activities, go here.
 
Enjoy the tournament. I will.

How the Arctic inspired my new book

My latest children's novel - White Fear - was published this week by Puffin.

The book was inspired by reports I read in newspapers about how quickly the Arctic ice is melting - and the number of catastrophes that could come of that.

* the seas will rise

* rare wildlife will die out

* communities that live in the Arctic will lose their way of life

* without the ice in place, the seabed is accessible and some countries will begin to drill for oil, gas and other valuable resources - AND that they will start to jostle for who owns which part of the sea bed

White Fear draws mostly on the last two threats.

It is set at a fictional conference of the Arctic Powers (Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland,Norway, Russia, Sweden and USA) in Tromso, Norway. These countries are trying, in a last chance to avoid war, to decide who owns which part of the seabed. But evil forces are at large. Forces that profit from war and oil exploitation. Forces that don't want peace.

The only way to avert war is for The Squad - five British child spies - to infiltrate the conference and stop the evil-doers. It involves mountain-top anxiety, abseiling, chases on ocean liners and even a submarine.

It also involves an ecological protest group made up of Inuit people - called White Fear - that is trying to make the Arctic Powers see sense and help reverse the ice melt.

Sadly, events in the last week have re-highlighted the problems the Arctic faces. 

The Arctic ice is now at its smallest and thinnest since records began. The melt is accelerating year on year, meaning that some Arctic Powers are already exploring, looking for oil and gas and minerals. Not so long ago the Russians placed a Russian flag on the seabed, appearing to claim it for themselves.

In addition, this week Greenpeace has been trying to prevent Russian drilling ships from searching for oil beneath that newly-exposed seabed, facing a very aggressive response from the Russians.

This time last year I was on board a Norwegian ship, looking at the waters and land that the Arctic Powers are fighting over. I hope this book does something to raise awareness in children about something that is vital to the future of our planet.

I also hope they enjoy it as a half-decent action thriller novel.

For a daily update on the Arctic ice you can visit http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/

For news from Greenpeace's Save the Arctic campaign visit http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/.

  

Olympic Football events in libraries

I am doing loads of events to help celebrate the Olympics in libraries this summer. Twenty eight in all.

I'll be running a special Olympic Football Reading Game: an easy quiz about things you can read around the Olympics (such as newspapers, magazines, online, books), followed by a penalty shoot out in the library, each featuring  different librarian in goal.

This is the schedule. I hope you can come and have a go.

If you need more details please get in touch with the library - or email me at info@tompalmer.co.uk

 

 

Monday 30^th July

10.30am                  Fred Moore Library, Hull

1pm                        Analby Library, Hull

3pm                        Hull Central Library

Tuesday 31^st July

10.30am                  Polesworth Library, Warwickshire

2pm                        Southam Library, Warwickshire

Thursday 2^nd August

10am                      City Library, Newcastle

11.45am                 East End Library, Newcastle

2.30pm                  Blakelaw Library, Newcaslte

Friday 3^rd August

10am                      Lower Kersall library, Salford

11.45am                 Broughton Library, Salford                              

2pm                        Ordsall library, Salford                   

Saturday 4^th August
11am                      Beswick Library, Manchester

2pm                        Longsight  Library, Manchester

3.45pm                  Levenshulme Library, Manchester   

Thursday 9^th August

10.30                      Bansolme Library, Hull

1pm                        Ings Library, Hull

3pm                        Freedom Centre, Hull

Friday 10^th August

10.30am                   Bedworth Library, Warwickshire

2.30pm                     Rugby Library, Warwickshire

Monday 13^th August
11am                      Hale Library, Trafford
2pm                        Coppice Library, Trafford
4pm                        Old Trafford Library, Trafford

Tuesday 14^th August

11am                      The Avenue Library, Manchester

1.30pm                  North City Library 

3.45pm                  Withington Library

Wednesday 15^th August

11am                     Wythenshawe Forum Library, Manchester

1.30pm                  City Library, Manchester

3.45pm                  Fallowfield Library, Manchester

Euro 2012 reading tips for parents # 4: LIVE FICTION

Sometimes it is good to have a story that is really relevant.

If a story is set now and is about things on everybody's mind, then it might have a chance to grip a reader more.

I call it LIVE FICTION.

For example, there are a few decent fiction books out about the Olympics now. Check out the following:

Running for Gold by Owen Slot
Cycling for Gold by Owen Slot
Danny Baker's Silly Olympics by Steve Hartley
Deep Waters by Robert Rigby
Running in her Shadow by Robert Rigby
Parallel Lines by Robert Rigby
Wheels of Fire by Robert Rigby

Also, my new book, Black Op takes place in the week before Euro 2012 and is set in Poland and Ukraine, where the tournament is taking place. A good one for children to be reading this week, perhaps...

But some readers find a whole book a bit too much to handle. That is why episodic stories, one short chapter a day, can work too. This is about as live as live fiction can get.

In conjunction with the National Literacy Trust, I have written one called The Great Euro 2012 Swindle. Well, the first chapter, anyway.

This is that first chapter of a story that is set for the duration of Euro 2012:

CHAPTER ONE

There will be fifteen more chapters, all published at 8 a.m. on the morning of each week day during Euro 2012.

To make it more exciting (and more of a challenge for me) the story will be written each evening after the day's games are played, after all the controversies of the tournament. Each will repsond to those events, meaning whatever is being talked about in the playground will be in the chapter.

The story is free. It will be published at http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/schools_teaching/euro_2012 and can be read aloud or printed out to one child, or to whole assemblies. Last the 2012 World Cup - over 3000 schools took part.

I hope this appeals.

P.S. I have not decided whether to follow the results of the tournament slavishly... or to change the scores so that England win. What do you think?

Euro 2012 reading tips for parents: # 3 WEBSITES

There are loads of websites covering the Euro 2012 football tournament. I think websites like this are great way of engaging children with reading.

This is why:

(1) webistes have short passages of text that are not too overwhelming;

(2) they have familiar images from the world of TV that children can feel comfortable with. Even familiar commentators and pundits;

(3) as websites, they have a great mix of images, audio and video footage, meaning that the reading is just part of an overall way of taking in information and is therefore not too much about trawling through lots of words;

(4) some of the websites have interactive elements, meaning that children can read a bit, then respond, then read a bit more.

(5) websites can be read on computers, phones and - importantly - in public libraries, making them free, unlike newspapers and magazines.
I have had a look at four of the main Euro 2012 websites. I've not gone for the newspapers' websites, because I have already talked about newspapers. But if you look on-line, all of the newspapers have extensive coverage of the tournament too.

Here goes:

BBC's is the best, for me. I love the way it is laid out. There is so much there. Here is a list of what they have:

* latest news
* analysis of each country's team
* videos of goals and players
* blogs by their correspondents
* a history of the tournament
* a kit to set up your own office or family sweepstake
* an e-wallchart
* and much much more

ITV have a decent site too. It has news, humour, videos and the fixtures. But I don't like it as much as the BBC one, which is far more comprehensive and better laid out, for me. That could be because I always look at the BBC's website, though, meaning that I am used to its format.

Like the BBC website, the ITV one is good because it relates very closely to what we are going to be watching on the TV. The same names. The same images. But with extra words. I find that attractive because it means I am already at ease with their content. I think - had there been websites when I was a boy - these two would have been my choices.

SkySports' Euro 2012 website is a little confusing, not so well laid out. The big issue for me with their site is that it is too easy to stumble into the Sky Bet areas. Not something I want to be encouraging children to do. I have a friend whose life has been ruined by betting on the football.

UEFA also have a website for the tournament. As the official one it has a lot of good information. But all the kick off times are in Central European Time, which started to confuse me a bit. But I'm easily confused.

So, take your pick. I hope these are useful.

Also, check out my blogs - below - about newspapers and magazines.

Euro 2012 Reading Tips for Parents # 2: MAGAZINES

Magazines are a great way of encouraging children to read. Especially if they are into football.

If you have football-loving children, then you will probably already know about Match, Match of the Day and Kick, the three football magazines aimed at children today. They all have special Euro 2012 editions out at the moment and would be a good present for children this Bank Holiday.

All three have lots of photos, statistics and quizzes, but may look short on text. They're great for the kind of children who really struggle with reading more than a page of a book without feeling it's a chore. But also great for more fluent readers.

There are some really good Euro 2012 magazines and books around this week that have a little more wording in them.  ITV, World Soccer, The Daily Express, FourFourTwo and others have produced special editions. They are in the newsagents and bookshops now.

These can be great as a way of encouraging reading in less-than-keen readers. Here are five ways you can use them to do just that:

1. Look at the fixture list or wall chart provided free with some of the guides. Put it on the wall. Challenge your child to predict who will win each group. Then suggest they read some of the content of the magazine to decide on how the results will go.

2. Show your child the two-page feature on a team in the magazine an hour before they kick off. Suggest they read about the team England is playing so that they are fully informed. Or read it to them.

3. Challenge them to a quiz. Give them the magazine for half-an-hour, saying you will quiz them on its contents (like, who is the top scorer in Spain, or, what colour is the Swedish flag). This could motivate them to read it - especially if you offer them a prize for getting so many questions right: something nice to eat or drink during the game, perhaps?

4. Stick page of the magazine around the house. On doors. In the kitchen. On the back of your car seat.

5. Show them the statistics pages in the back of most of the magazines. Stats and numbers are a great way of grabbing football fans' attention, to then lead them into reading some of the words.

Now you just need to choose the right magazine for you. You can read my review of most of the Euro 2012 guides here. I wrote these reviews with a class of year sixes in Essex, so they're about as honest as they could be.

Check out http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/schools_teaching/euro_2012 for loads more ideas about using Euro 2012 to encourage children to read more.

Euro 2012 Reading Tip for Parents # 1: NEWSPAPERS

I did not enjoy reading when I was a boy. Nor did I have the stamina to try anything as long as a book. I found books intimidating and boring. 

But I loved football.

So my mum used newspapers to build both my reading stamina and my idea of myself as a reader. She got me reading match reports, league tables, player interviews and more. I liked them because they were short and about something I wanted to know more about.

Also, they weren't book length, so there was no chance I was going to fail.

Euro 2012 gives parents a chance to enthuse football-loving children about reading, just like my mum did. Here are some tips on how you can get your child reading newspapers:

1. Deliver a football-heavy newspaper to your child's bedroom on the morning of big game.

2. Look at the newspaper yourself and read out bits to your child, leaving out the ending, to try to entice them to have a read themselves.

3. Find a newspaper feature about a player you know they admire. Someone from the club they support. Cut it out and see if they'll have a look at it. Stick it on the toliet wall if you think they'll have a look at it while there.

4. Pore over the post-match statistics in the newspaper. Player marks out of ten, number of shots on goal, etc. Try to guess what you and your child think will be the marks out of ten or other statistics before the game. This might encourage them to follow it up the next day in the newspaper.

5. Read out the interview the manager will have given after the game. Ask your child if they think he is telling the truth or just making excuses.

Some of these ideas might work. I hope so.
Once my mum had got me confident reading newspapers, I would even buy them myself to find out more about football. Soon I was a more confident reader and began to be less intimidated by books.

Sadly my mum is dead now. She saw me get into reading, but died before I started to try to write books. It's a great shame. But at least she left me with the wonderful legacy that is a love of reading.

For more Euro 2012 reading tips check out this blog tomorrow and have a look at http://tompalmer.co.uk/documents/TomPalmer-Ten-Top-Tips-for-family-reading.pdf.