[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":11},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-post-liverpool-readathon-2017":3},{"_type":4,"body":5,"bodyHtml":6,"excerpt":5,"featuredImage":5,"publishedAt":7,"slug":8,"tags":9,"title":10},"blogPost",null,"\u003Cb>Liverpool!\u003C/b> I'd always wanted to visit but never been, until last week, when I got to be an ambassador for \u003Ca href=\"http://readforgood.org/\">Read for Good UK\u003C/a>, at \u003Cb>Liverpool Readathon\u003C/b>, which had 20,000 children taking part. I didn't have a lot of time to sightsee, but I managed a couple sprints around Albert Dock near sunset:  \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/298532_original-003d394ef2.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nWhat an amazing place. I need to go back again, see more of its architecture and explore some of its museums. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/298833_original-d6ba5d0028.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nBut what was I doing there? Here's a video that Read for Good shows to schools before they embark on a Readathon fundraiser. It's all about kids helping kids, and that resonates with them. Everyone can imagine what it must be like to spend days, weeks, months, possibly years in bed in hospital, uttery bored, and how much good books might help cheer them up and relieve boredom.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Clj-embed id=\"4061\"/>\\r\n\\r\nI decided to get stuck in with Read for Good after being approached by so many different charities and thinking that my tiny contributions to each one were taking up huge amounts of time, but not actually making much difference. If I could focus more on one charity that I could get to know well, there might be more chance of making real impact. So I'll keep you posted on how it goes! In Liverpool it started with visiting Breakfast Club at Springwood Heath Primary School. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/299091_original-d2818a3577.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nBesides eating cheesy toast, I got to draw alongside this group of kids who meet in the mornings before school. These photos were tweeted by \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/crashspringwood\">@crashspringwood\u003C/a>: the C.R.A.S.H. club name stands for Cool Readers at Springwood Heath.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/299418_original-e1245ada86.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nThey'd already made some lovely drawings in the days before I arrived; here are some beautiful ones! \\r\n\\r\n\u003C!--more Click here for lots more under the cut!-->\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/300496_original-7aad087d41.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\n(I noticed they'd used some of my drawing tutorials; if you or your kids ever want them, I have free printable activities for each of my books, which you can \u003Ca href=\"http://www.jabberworks.co.uk/books/\">download from my website.\u003C/a>)\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/300581_original-5699cfe3d3.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nI drew lots of quick portraits of the kids, which I didn't manage to snap photos of, but here are a few of ones they drew of me! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/299774_original-1171de0998.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nSome of them even drew my hat! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/299996_original-63968e2449.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nHere's the school team who hosted me (including the headmaster, \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/Springwoodht\">Mr Hunt\u003C/a>), along with \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/JennyHolderLiv\">Jenny Holder\u003C/a> from \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/ReadingatLLP\">Liverpool Learning Partnership\u003C/a> (with her partner Martin and their baby) and Partnerships Coordinator \u003Cb>Annie Smith\u003C/b> from Read for Good (with the orange bag). \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/300110_original-4ad317b04b.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd here's our team back in the car, with Martin driving Annie, Jenny and me to the next stop...\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/300882_original-e3bc20ab7e.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\n...Liverpool Central Library! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/301249_original-49f206aa36.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nWith the Liverpool Readathon, while 80% of the money goes to buying books for kids at local Alder Hey Children's Hospital, 20% of the funds kids raise goes into buying books for their own school library. It's so important that kids have books to read right at their fingertips, not only in big central libraries that they might not be able to visit every day. But today was a special day! At least 500 kids came along to this amazing place. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/301325_original-8c3cbc7817.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nJenny and Annie managed to whip me around for a quick tour. OH MY. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/303776_original-b35e3efcb8.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nHere's the huge room where I got to meet the kids, encourage them in their Readathon and try to inspire them with a talk from a real writer-illustrator. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/301650_original-f57c03145a.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nI did two sessions, one for younger children and one for slightly older. For the first, I decided to talk about \u003Ci>\u003Ca href=\"http://www.jabberworks.co.uk/theres-a-shark-in-the-bath/\">There's a Shark in the Bath\u003C/a>\u003C/i> because it's been so popular with libraries. (And it's always fun to draw sharks.) Here are some photos tweeted by St Patrick's Primary School, \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/stpatsyr3\">@stpatsyr3\u003C/a>:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/302010_original-237e755979.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/302622_original-a86a12a103.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nFrom \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/AbsLiteracy\">@AbsLiteracy\u003C/a>:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/302178_original-c6a80d56d1.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nFrom St Clare's Primary School, \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/stclareslpool\">@stclareslpool\u003C/a>:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/303593_original-309bd0b107.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nIt was brilliant getting to connect with so many kids, little conversations with some of them, looking at their drawings, even just smiling at each other. It's brilliant hearing about how they're reading; the schools do something during the day called D.E.A.R.: Drop Everything and Read. And kids can read whatever they like, it's about reading for pleasure, and how coming to love books - any kind of books - will set them up for a lifetime of reading. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/302554_original-baa6d384af.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nHere are some of the pugs drawn by the older children, from \u003Ci>\u003Ca href=\"http://www.jabberworks.co.uk/pugs-of-the-frozen-north/\">Pugs of the Frozen North\u003C/a>\u003C/i> by \u003Ca href=\"http://www.philip-reeve.com\">Philip Reeve\u003C/a> and me: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/311012_original-3def4a8614.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd it wasn't just the kids who did fab shark in the bath drawings, the teachers got stuck in, too! I love it when teachers take part in drawing; the kids pay so much more attention when they see it's something grownups do, too. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/302968_original-0511fc811e.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nA few more peeks at the amazing building that is Liverpool Central Library. Thanks for hosting us!\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/304041_original-5902c23e46.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/304247_original-d6642bd825.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nThe next stop on the Liverpool Readathon tour was St Gregory's, and I was met by my own 'Sarah McIntyre team'! I didn't get any more photos of that visit, but the kids were bubbling over with enthusiasm about reading, and we had a great time together. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/303308_original-4a03a40fae.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nI had a great meal with this team at Delifonseca Dockside! From the left: Cultural Education Coordinator at Liverpool Learning Partnership (LLP) \u003Cb>Alice Demba\u003C/b>, Councillor \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/LanaLiverpool\">Lana Orr\u003C/a>, \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/readerjanedavis\">Jane Davis\u003C/a> (director of \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/thereaderorg\">The Reader\u003C/a>), Read for Good UK Partnerships Coordinator \u003Cb>Annie Smith\u003C/b>, LLP Reading Coordinator \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/JennyHolderLiv\">Jenny Holder\u003C/a>, and LLP CEO \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/elaineatllp\">Elaine Rees\u003C/a>. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/304394_original-2b0b5c447c.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nOn my second evening, I had time to run around and look at a few more buildings and have dinner with a relative on Bold Street.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/304973_original-1e139f4ab0.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nI spotted a white grand piano and a huge stuffed polar bear through the windows of this sleek block of flats near Albert Dock:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/305181_original-4cfb0240d8.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nArgh, Liverpool, I wish I had more time to explore!\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/305423_original-37fbab6a62.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nBut no, Doug the Pug and I were off to the airport. (If you want to download a free knitted pug pattern by \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/deadlyknitshade\">@deadlyknitshade\u003C/a>, \u003Ca href=\"http://www.jabberworks.co.uk/pugs-of-the-frozen-north/\">here's the link\u003C/a>.) \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/305672_original-3a127c2342.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nGoodbye, Liverpool! Thanks so much for taking part in the Liverpool Readathon, you totally rock! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/304752_original-ea825fab72.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nIf you work at a school or have kids in school, think about introducing the school to the Read for Good Readathons. You can \u003Ca href=\"http://readforgood.org/how-it-all-works/\">read about it on their website\u003C/a> and they'll send you a well-designed pack with pledge sheets, posters and more to help you run it. Thanks, LLP and Liverpool schools and kids for getting behind this! And big thanks to Annie, Jenny, Alice, freelance publicist \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/LizScottPR\">Liz Scott\u003C/a> and everyone at the schools and libraries who helped coordinate my visit. You can follow Read for Good on Twitter - \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/ReadforGoodUK\">@ReadforGoodUK\u003C/a> - and Liverpool Learning Partnership: \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/ReadingatLLP\">@ReadingatLLP\u003C/a>.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Clj-embed id=\"4062\"/>\\r\n\u003Cp>\u003Ca href=\"https://vimeo.com/203806960\">A short film about what a difference a school sponsored read makes\u003C/a> from \u003Ca href=\"https://vimeo.com/readathon\">Read for Good\u003C/a> on \u003Ca href=\"https://vimeo.com\">Vimeo\u003C/a>.\u003C/p>","2017-10-16T08:54:00.000Z","liverpool-readathon-2017",[],"liverpool readathon 2017!",1776628729244]