Breachwood Green Primary School children in Hitchin love to read, so they were delighted to discover that they were the lucky winners of Raintree’s competition to win a visit from award-winning US children’s author, Michael Dahl

Deputy Head teacher Alana McCabe said of winning the competition:

‘Michael Dahl’s books are a great way to encourage children to extend their reading beyond school books and into reading for pleasure. When I saw the competition I thought it would be a fabulous way to introduce the children to a new and exciting author with an abundance of books available for them to enjoy. Winning the competition is definitely an amazing way to promote reading throughout the school. A great opportunity for all of us!’

And Breachwood Green Primary School staff and children aren’t the only ones that are excited about the author event; Michael is excited too:

‘I love, love, love, meeting other people who read! Being a writer, so much of my time is spent alone, on the computer, at my desk, in my room, in a corner of the coffee shop. SO — to be able to meet real live, breathing, human beings who have read my books is a huge treat!  Young readers are more honest with their responses to reading than most grown-ups are. Young readers will tell me what they don’t like, what seemed weird, or didn’t work. They give me terrific suggestions. And that helps me grow as a writer, and helps me become better as a storyteller.  And children, students, young readers have amazing imaginations, they have curiosity, energy, humor, and new ways of looking at the world.  How can you not like visiting schools and talking with students? They will open your eyes to a brand new universe. Like Obi-wan Kenobi says to Luke Skywalker, “You have taken your first step into a larger world.”  That’s how I feel about school visits. They are the Force!’

The event will take place at Breachwood Green Primary School on Friday 6  November. Michael will be running a fun and inspirational workshop event from 1.15pm for an hour and half. The children will have the opportunity to hear Michael talk about what inspires him, what he likes to read and where he gets his story ideas. A truly memorable event for the children and staff at the school.

Helen Freeman, Publisher at Raintree commented: ‘We are excited for Breachwood Green winning this competition. We know they’ll have a great day with Michael and we hope that it will inspire the children to have a go at writing their own stories and that they’ll feel encouraged to want to read more. We fully support children having access to a wide range of books and authors. Whether a child is just beginning to read or they are already confident; whether they love characters such as Batman and Scooby Doo, or they enjoy fairytales or scary tales; action-packed graphic novels or non-fiction books, rich with facts, photos and information – we consider it our job to develop quality books with strong appeal, whatever a child’s interests or reading ability. We want children to learn to read and then keep on reading – for life.’