On Tuesday 21st January the children of Preshute Primary welcomed the award-winning children’s author, Sophie Kirtley. Sophie’s best-selling books, The Wild Way Home and The Way to Impossible Island, have been published in many languages across the world and have been selected as top reads for children by the Reading Agency, Booktrust and Waterstones. Her stories are set in the Stone Age and are inspire, in part, by her own childhood imaginings whilst growing up near an important pre-historic site in Northern Ireland.
Through creative writing workshops and fun-filled reading activities the children explored the exciting ideas within Sophie’s books and have possibly been inspired to become authors too one day!
Sophie Kirtley said, “I am delighted to visit the children of Preshute Primary School. Meeting young readers and chatting with them about the books they love is always such a joy. Kids have the best imaginations and I just love their infectious enthusiasm for stories.”
Enjoying books from an early age really does matter. Research shows that children who regularly read for pleasure not only have greater general knowledge, a wider range of vocabulary and achieve better academic results, but they are also happier. Children report that reading makes them feel calmer and helps them to deal with their worries.
Claire Hann-Perkins, Headteacher, said,“Sophie ran workshops for our Key Stage 2 children, her books fit in with our history topic as they are based on the Stone Age and the Vikings. The children were really inspired by the workshops and lots of children are writing their story books as a result of the visit.”
Further details about Sophie Kirtley, her books and her work with schools is available on her website click here.