Just Imagine bookshop, Chelmsford

I did events in and around London all week but Thursday, the 3rd of March, was the actual World Book Day.  I stayed right around the corner from my publisher’s office (Faber and Faber) in Bloomsbury,  next door to the British Museum.  I usually walked down there and meet the Faber children’s publicist, Laura Smythe, and a car arrived to take us to the event. By the way, Faber has an especially fun and newly revamped Humphrey website. www.funwithhumphrey.com

World Book Day started off with a bang as Laura and I went to St. Luke’s C of E Primary School on the Isle of Dogs in London. Great name, isn’t it? Adjacent to the Thames. Cold, gray, drizzly weather ! Did I say cold and gray? And drizzly?

 It didn’t matter a bit as I met a great group of enthusiastic students to kick off the week. Next, we went to William Patten Primary School in Stoke Newington for a presentation and a warm welcome. Thanks to Jo da Guia of Victoria Park Books for arranging and taking care of the book sales.

That evening, I had dinner with Jodie Marsh, my UK agent,  meeting her for the first time. Always great to actually get to see someone you work with face to face. Good news: School According to Humphrey is selling extremely well and moving up the charts daily! It will be out in the U.S. as School Days According to Humphrey this summer.

Tuesday,  Laura and I took the train to Chelmsford, about 30 minutes away. We left from the enormous Liverpool Station which was teeming with commuters. Luckily, we were going the opposite direction. We headed to Beehive Lane Elementary, where I got a warm welcome and a tour of the school guided by two very knowledgeable students, Jessica and Robin. They have a lot of outdoor areas including a story garden and a forest school. It’s lovely to be in a place that demonstrates all learning doesn’t take place in a classroom. A special thanks to the school head, Brenda Dyke.

I spoke and answered questions, then had lunch with the students. One of my favorite parts of school visits is getting to chat with the kids. Nikki Gamble, owner of Just Imagine bookshop, took us to Melbourne Park Primary School. Unfortunately, there were tech problems and we never could get the laptop to talk to the projector. After making the very patient students wait a long time, I finally did my presentation without visuals. I hated the fact that they missed out on the great visuals and animations I have, but they were great sports and a terrific audience.

Nikki then took us to Just Imagine which is only four weeks old! Such a lovely space with rooms for crafts, storytelling and all kinds of events.  I had tea with the staff there and we talked about children’s books, of course. And talked and talked. I signed books and then back to the station for the train. I stayed in and rested Tuesday night.

Wednesday – off to East London — more about THAT to come!