Empathy Lab: Empathy Day 2023 - Plans Announced for Thursday 8th of June 2023 - Press Release

 

EMPATHY DAY steps up a gear as it returns for its seventh year – 

at a time of great need 

• Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho will share an exclusive Empathy Day poem as part of his national assembly beamed into UK classrooms 
• We’ve Got This! – a new empathy handbook for children, helping develop their superpower will be published on 18 May by the Quarto Group 
• 1,000 children will play empathy-boosting games in Manchester’s Velodrome with favourite authors & illustrators, Rob Biddulph, Rashmi Sirdeshpande and Sophy Henn    
• Leading authors and illustrators act as empathy role models in online festival, Empathy Day Live! 
• EMPATHY DAY 2023 is on 8 June 2023 

EmpathyLab has announced geared up plans for Empathy Day 2023 (Thursday 8 June), at a time of great concern about young people’s wellbeing – research shows that 1 in 16 10-15-year-olds are not happy with their lives and teachers report rising levels of anxiety and mental health problems. The social enterprise aims to involve 1 million children a year by 2026, acting as a focal point for celebrating empathy’s power to build a kinder, less divided world. 

From May, hundreds of thousands of children will get involved in learning more about empathy, and putting it into action, inspired and galvanised by leading children’s authors and illustrators. New plans announced for 2023 include:  

• To launch the Empathy Day Live! online festival on 8 June, Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho leads a national assembly featuring an exclusive Empathy Day poem. 
• The festival also stars top authors and illustrators modelling empathy-boosting Mission Empathy activities – including Cressida Cowell, Chris Riddell, Jacqueline Wilson, Frank Cottrell Boyce, Hannah Gold, Sharna Jackson, Sue Hendra, Louie Stowell, Rob Biddulph and Maisie Chan. 
• A new empathy handbook for 7-12-year-olds publishes on 18 May, written by Rashmi Sirdeshpande, in collaboration with EmpathyLab. We’ve Got This! takes readers through six simple steps to harness empathy as their human SUPERPOWER, and discover how using this power can change their lives and the world around them for the better. lllustrated by Juliana Eigner and published by Words & Pictures, all royalties support EmpathyLab’s work. 
• A special live event at Manchester Velodrome on Empathy Day itself, with 1,000 children playing empathy-boosting games with Rob Biddulph, Sophy Henn and Rashmi Sirdeshpande 
• Building partnership roster: Empathy Day has grown quickly, with the support of community partners who believe in EmpathyLab’s mission to raise an empathy educated generation. 2017 was the first year, and in 2022 402,000 children took part. This year sees growing momentum, with 47 children’s publishers pledging concrete support, and partners like Twinkl, Scottish Book Trust, The Week Junior, Authorfy, Toppsta, Manchester Libraries, Read Manchester and the National Literacy Trust increasing their involvement, helping EmpathyLab to benefit more children and young people.

“Empathy is a force for change, and we badly need that change. Empathy Day gives us all practical ways to support young people and develop everyone’s empathy skills and understanding” says founder Miranda McKearney OBE. “We’re passionate about giving every child the chance to be surrounded by empathetic adults and to learn more about this crucial life skill”. 

Five creative Mission Empathy activities for all 

At the heart of Empathy Day are five inspiring Mission Empathy Challenge activities for children to complete in class or at home. Designed to develop key empathy skills such as active listening and perspective-taking, the emphasis is on social change. Everyone is urged to make and enact Empathy Resolutions – small behaviour changes with a positive impact on the people around us. The Mission Empathy activities can be done from May onwards, and a key action is for schools and libraries is to sign up for free resources to take part https://bit.ly/EDay23Registration.

Leading authors and illustrators will model and celebrate these same five activities in the Empathy Day LIVE! Festival on 8 June, with bitesize films streaming into classrooms, assemblies, libraries or homes. Activities kick off at 9am with Joseph Coelho’s assembly, before a dazzling array of favourite authors & illustrators share their Empathy Resolutions and how they will be putting empathy into action, including Cressida Cowell, Chris Riddell, Jacqueline Wilson, A.M. Dassu, SF Said, Maisie Chan, Rosie Jones and Robin Stevens.

Finally, join beloved author and illustrator Rob Biddulph for a special empathy-themed ‘Draw with Rob’ from 2pm. 

All Empathy Day Live! events can be watched live at empathylab.uk/empathy-day-live, and will also be available to watch on demand. 

Book Competition: Win Free Books for Life with Bookshop.org - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

 

What a great book competition. How would it feel to win free books for the rest of your life? 

Today, Bookshop.org is launching a once-in-a-lifetime competition that will grant one lucky winner free books for the rest of their life – the Golden Bookmark Competition.

 

Inspired by the Golden Ticket from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, the competition will grant one lucky winner £300 in Bookshop.org gift cards every year for life (yes, for life!). The link to take part is here. 

Win Free Books for Life with Bookshop.org 

●        A ‘Golden Bookmark’ will give one lucky book-lover free books for life

●        The winner will choose an independent bookshop to receive £500

●        Bookshop.org has generated over £2.4m for independent bookshops to date

 

London, Monday 10 October 2022. Bookshop.org, the online bookstore on a mission to support local independent bookshops, is today launching the Golden Bookmark Competition, an unprecedented initiative to win free books for life*.

Inspired by the Golden Ticket from the much-loved children’s book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, the competition will grant one lucky winner £300 in Bookshop.org gift cards every year for life. The Grand Prize Winner will also get to nominate their favourite bookshop to receive a one-time £500 donation, in line with Bookshop.org’s mission to financially support independent bookshops.

 

The competition starts today and will run for a month, until Thursday 10 November. To take part, entrants should follow this link. Entrants will receive five bonus entries each time someone enters through their referral link, which will be made available to them after their entry is submitted.

For more information on the Golden Bookmark Giveaway, and the official rules, please visit this link. Follow Win Free Books for Life with Bookshop.org for the latest developments on social media.

The Best New Children's Book Picks March 2021 Part Two - Mr. Ripley's Enchanted Books

 

Hannah Foley - The Spellbinding Secret of Avery Buckle - Published by Floris Books (18 Mar. 2021) 

Part-girl, part-cat, Avery Buckle has always known she's a little different (after all, her tail is a bit of a giveaway). What Avery doesn't know is that she is the only one who can uncover a forgotten magical secret and bring back a great lost wizard. Teaming up with shape-shifting best friend Low, and with help from her witch guardians, Avery is plunged into a haphazard world of shadowy monsters, bewitched libraries and flying bicycles. Grab your enchanted tandem bike and hold on tight! Wildly inventive and packed with fantastical thrills, The Spellbinding Secret of Avery Buckle is a warm and quirky whirlwind of an adventure, full of magical heart.

Gemma Fowler - City of Rust - Published by Chicken House (4 Mar. 2021)

An out-of-this-world sci-fi adventure for a new generation!

Railey dreams of winning the drone races with her bio-robotic gecko friend, Atti. But when a bounty hunter crashes their biggest race yet, the pair are forced to flee to the feared Junker clans who mine the rubbish orbiting the Earth.

Rescued by a couple of Junker kids, they discover a danger bigger than anything they'd imagined - but can three kids, a gecko and an ancient computer save the world against the huge trash bomb (and its power-crazed creator) threatening to destroy the world?

The fun, original and thrilling middle-grade debut from Gemma Fowler.  

Rachel Delahaye (Author), George Ermos (Illustrator) - Mort the Meek and the Ravens' Revenge - Published by Stripes Publishing (4 Mar. 2021)
The first in a wickedly funny new series about an aspiring pacifist in a brutal kingdom!

On Brutalia violence is a way of life. Ravenous ravens circle overhead, monstrous grot bears cause chaos and the streets are bulging with brawls. But Mort isn’t like the other islanders – he’s determined to live peacefully. His struggle is made even tougher when the cruel queen appoints Mort as Royal Executioner. No one has challenged the royals and lived to tell the tale. Can Mort keep his head and outwit the queen? 

Perfect for fans of the HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON series, FROSTHEART and THE NOTHING TO SEE HERE HOTEL.

Laura Wood (Author), Ellie Snowdon (Illustrator) - The Animals of Madame Malone's Music Hall - Published by Barrington Stoke (4 Mar. 2021) 

Summer by the seaside with Gran isn't exactly what Callie expected. Instead of sunshine and ice cream, she's stuck helping Gran's drama group save their local theatre. Worst of all, they've asked her to star in their play. But when she goes exploring backstage, Callie stumbles into an altogether different world - another theatre, run by a wise fox and her troupe of talking animals. And the strangest part of all? Callie's set to play the lead in their show too. Forced to face her fears will Callie be up to the challenge of saving Madame Malone's Music Hall? A cast of creative creatures take centre stage in this theatrical Barrington Stoke debut from Blue Peter Book Award shortlisted author Laura Wood. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant or dyslexic readers aged 8+

Louie Stowell (Author), Davide Ortu (Illustrator) - The Dragon In The Library - Book Review - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

Coming out in June 2019 is the first book in a brand new series by Louie Stowell. The Dragon in The Library, which will be published by Nosy Crow, will soon hit the bookshops and libraries near you. The book will have amazing Neon artwork which you will be able to see from Mars. Whilst the book cover image has been fabulously illustrated by the very talented and rising star Davide Ortu. His collaboration makes this book a little extra special. Below is one of the inside illustrations to show you just how wonderful and engaging his artwork and the story together really are. 

The book is aimed at the younger reader (approx. age 6 and upwards) so it makes it a perfect family or classroom read. The fantastic theme running throughout the story is about the power of reading. It looks at saving our public libraries regardless of the individual and worldwide situations we face. The best gift that we can give our children is to freely access books. In doing so, we can feed their imagination and help them to understand the world around them. This book does that in a number of exciting ways.  

It's the first day of the summer holiday and the start of the hunt for Danny Fandango. Kit can't STAND reading, but when she's dragged along to the library by her two best friends, Josh and Alita, she makes an incredible discovery. Books are MAGIC and dragons are REAL. Stories can make dreams even bigger. She comes to realise that you won't and can't die of boredom in a Library. Unfortunately, it needs to be saved first.

This is a fantastic story about friendship and saving the local library from being torn down. The book features a lovely cast of characters who represent a diverse range of cultures. Their opposing personalities make the storyline very playful and engaging. It's definitely a story full of imagination. Such as jumping in and out of stories, literally, just like Marry Poppins. 

This story is a thrilling slice of fantasy, action, and fun. It has a fast-moving plot full of spells, wizards, dragons, monsters, and a very bad villain. All of this created a magically immersive outing but with a great message to be told. This is a great start to a series which should not be missed. 

Without libraries, the WORLD will END. 

Wordery 12 Books Of Christmas - What Books Have YOU Bought for Christmas 2018?

12 Books Of Christmas:

New research reveals the 12 books you’re most likely to get under your tree

Wordery unveil the nations best-selling books in the run-up to Christmas

• Michelle Obama’s page-turning Memoir ‘Becoming’ is the number one bestseller according to Wordery sales data
• Family favourite ‘The Snowman’ comes in second as it returns for its 4oth anniversary gift edition
• Two Christmas themed books made the cut with ‘The Snowman’ and ‘We’re Going on an Elf Chase’ both featuring in the list
• ‘The Tattooist of Auschwitz’ by Heather Morris comes in third place, a harrowing tale during the time of the Holocaust and a good read for bookworms.

13th December 2018: Findings released today from Wordery reveal the top 12 bestselling books over the past month. Based on  sales data from the previous month we can reveal the books that are most likely to end up under your Christmas tree.

With nearly 63 million books typically sold in the run-up to Christmas in the UK, which is a third of the market’s annual volume, it comes as no shock that new titles such as ‘Becoming’ by Michelle Obama are in the race to secure the number one slot in the festive book charts.

With the big day nearing closer, Wordery reveal which 12 best selling books could be under your Christmas tree this year. View the full graphic here.

Wordery’s top 12 selling books:

Rank	Title	Author
1	Becoming	Michelle Obama
2	The Snowman: 40th Anniversary Gift	Raymond Briggs
3	The Tattooist of Auschwitz	Heather Morris
4	Fire and Blood: 300 years Before a Game of Thrones	George R. R. Martin
5	Milkman	Anna Burns
6	We’re Going on an Elf Chase	Martha Mumford and Laura Hughes
7	My Name Doddie	Doddie Weir and Stuart Weir
8	I Adulted!	Robb Pearlman
9	Golf Rules Quick Referencing	Yves C. Ton-That
10	Dynasties	Stephen Moss
11	Thomas Kinkade: the Disney Dreams Collection 2019 Diary	Thomas Kinkade
12	The Truth Pixie	Matt Haig and Chris Mould

The number one seller ‘Becoming’ by Michelle Obama, the former First Lady of the United States is a memoir which was published in November 2018. It details her upbringing in Chicago, motherhood, and her time in the White House alongside lighthearted personal and public moments.

It’s not really Christmas without ‘The Snowman’ taking the silver baton, as this 40th anniversary gift edition comes with a letter from the author Raymond Briggs and also a limited edition illustrative print. This is one for everyone as it’s a true Christmas tradition for generations of children.

The book coming in third is ‘The Tattooist of Auschwitz’ by Heather Morris, which tells the story of a Slovakian Jewish man who is captured and put to work as a tattooist marking his fellow prisoners. It’s a harrowing tale during the time of the Holocaust and a good read for those bookworms out there.

Barry Magennis, spokesperson for Wordery, comments

“The outcome provides a diverse insight into what people in the UK are buying in the run up to Christmas. It’s great to see with no surprise two festive books making the cut with the classic literary ‘The Snowman’ being our second best seller. Wordery are looking forward to seeing which books do end up as Christmas gifts this year.”

For more information on the best selling books for Christmas, visit Wordery

R. S Holt – Modern Magic Interview Questions for Mr Ripley’s Enchanted Books (Adult)

One of the most intriguing books for me this year has to be Modern Magic by R.S. Holt. The book was published by The Book Publishing Guild, which is a well-established independent book publishing company from Brighton. It has been publishing books for over 30 years. This particular book is aimed at an adult audience with good-old fashioned magic at the heart of the story. I wanted to find out more about the book before I purchased it, so I decided to ask the author some questions. Please find below the responses. I hope you enjoy the post as much as I did. 

Modern Magic is an adult fiction that follows a group of friends who live normal lives as shopkeepers by the New Forest and in Bloomsbury. The reader discovers that they also share secret lives of magic. Their charming, amusing and intellectually rich narratives take the reader through magical experiment exploration and daring adventure - raising some surprising emotional conclusions. The Stories of the Overbury Shops are three separate successive stories within one novel, following Pip, Geoffrey and Eleanor - each with their own narrator.


What element are you most proud of in this book? 

When writing Modern Magic I wanted to set out explanations for problems generally disregarded in fantasy writing; for example: we usually meet only male goblins; transformation into animals has a string of practical difficulties; curses must have a science of their own, which my characters deal with by modern methods; they rationally investigate bases of group magic such as whether nakedness is significant. I also wanted to demonstrate to myself that intelligent and mostly good characters can be interesting and sympathetic. 


How do you sum up Modern Magic: Stories of the Overbury Shops? 
I’d describe Modern Magic as contemporary realist plus fantasy. The founder of this work is Edith Nesbit as acknowledged by C.S. Lewis and others. 

Did you get any of your ideas for this book working as a museum curator? 
There are scenes in the book in the British Museum at night, but I just walked in the Museum to imagine these. My work as a museum curator was the basis for the ice skating in the book because I wrote an exhibition called Farewell Ice Rink when Richmond Ice Rink closed. Our exhibits included Torvill and Dean’s original Bolero costume, made in Richmond, and Robin Cousins’ Olympic costume worn for competition at Richmond. 


Tell us a little bit about yourself perhaps something not many people know?
One of my favourite pastimes is putting selected sea sand under a microscope and listing the shells I find, some babies of big species, and some that never get bigger, even living as parasites on bigger sea snails. I also find first stages or fragments of other sea creatures such as starfish, sea urchins, fish and crabs. The lists aid conservation mapping by the Conchological Society. But I do it because it’s beautiful, even just the sand grains in water under strong light. It’s entering another world. In my novel, Eleanor’s seaside holiday draws on this interest. 


Have you written any other books that have not been published? 
I’ve written a story of about a dozen short chapters which is narrated by Millie now aged thirteen (eleven/twelve in Modern Magic). I shall put it on a free author’s website when it’s been seen by my usual checking readers. I have many other stories planned, but unfortunately, I have other demanding projects for the next year or two.
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Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books: Marcus Alexander - Keeper Of The Realms - Self-Publishing (Yay or Nay)

There is no better person to ask about the road to self-publishing than my good friend Marcus Alexander. In my opinion, he is a super "five" star person and a fantastic ambassador for children's books. No other person comes near to him in motivating and enthusing a classroom of children. Armed with his big sonic-boom personality, his cheeky smile and a range of nifty acrobatics. 

Check out his vlog it's brilliant, brilliant, brilliant! It should help you if you are thinking about the road to self-publishing. 

This post will be followed by my favourite self-published children's books article so make sure that you check it. It is coming out very soon. There are some brilliant reads. Check it out HERE

http://whoischarliekeeper.com

Most Powerful Quotes From Literature Infographic - 50 Book Quotes

Take a note out of these authors’ books and discover this collection of fifty of the most powerful quotes from literature. This collection of quotes provides a glimpse into some of the most tragic, romantic, heart-wrenching and inspirational stories ever told on paper. These quotes are still being referenced today in film, television and theatre adaptations as well. These famous literary quotes have been placed into a fun and eye-catching infographic. 

Provided and designed by Essay Writing Service UK please check out the website for more details.

Please include attribution to  with this graphic.

Now Open for Submissions: YA Book Prize 2017 (27th September - 1st December 2017)

We have come to the time of year when we are opening submissions for the YA Book Prize again. It’s amazing to think that we are already planning the third award, as it seems like it’s only been five minutes since we excitedly launched the prize because we wanted to support UKYA and the fantastic books being published in the UK and Ireland.

In such a short amount of time the prize has come so far. We’ve given the award to two fantastic books so far – Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill (Quercus), which was given the inaugural prize in 2015, and One by Sarah Crossan (Bloomsbury Children’s), which won this year.
Both authors are hugely successful within the YA field – O’Neill has since winning the YA Book Prize signed a big US film deal and a new publishing deal with Hachettte, and Crossan, already a huge name in children’s publishing, won the Carnegie Medal.

We really can’t wait to see which books publishers enter for the YA Book Prize 2017.
To be eligible, entries must be:
- Published either in hardback or paperback for the first time between 1^st January and 31^st December 2016
- A novel aimed at YA readers (16 and over)
- Written by an author resident in the UK or Ireland who was resident for at least six months prior to publication
This year, as with every year, we are looking for the books that YA readers are most likely to want to (A) read and (B) recommend to their friends. We also want a shortlist that is as diverse as possible – so please do send in a mix of genres and types of stories. We love contemporary YA but want to showcase different types of books, so if you have a horror or sci-fi YA, send it in!

To enter, all you have to do is fill in the form here with all the relevant details.
You will also need to send 10 copies of every book entered to The Bookseller, Crowne House, 56-58 Southwark Street,London, SE1 1UN.

The deadline for entries is 1^st December 2016.
Full terms and conditions are on the YA Book Prize website, including marketing and publicity financial commitments for shortlisted books. If you have any queries please get in touch by emailing charlotte.eyre@thebookseller.com. 
The shortlist will be announced in the spring, and the winner will be revealed at the Hay Festival 2017.

Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books: Amber Lee Dodd - We Are Giants - Author Q&A Interview

Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books is really pleased to be sharing with you the following Q&A with Amber Lee Dodd. Her latest book, We Are Giants, was published on the 7th April 2016 by Quercus Children's Books. The book deals with topics that will be familiar to a lot of 9-12 year olds. It is a refreshing and a heartwarming story, and very sensitively written.  I hope that this interview piques your interest and encourages you to purchase a copy and read it. Thank you Amber. 

Tell us a little bit about We Are Giants? 
It’s about love, family and being proud of who you are. 
It’s the story of Sydney, her sister Jade and her mother Amy who has dwarfism. When the family are forced to leave home and move to a new city, Sydney worries she will forget her Dad (who died a few years before) without the memories of home around her. To add to that, her new home is barely a home, it’s more of a shoe box and her new school is clearly run by mad teachers. With everything changing around her Sydney is determined to keep some things the same. Namely she wants to stay little, just like her Mum. 

Who would love reading We Are Giants, and why? 
Anyone who’s ever wanted to be different.

We all need a hero! Tell us about your protagonist(s)? Was there a real-life inspiration behind him or her? 
Sydney is shy and thoughtful and has a huge imagination. But she also has a fierce side she call ‘The Wild Thing’. Jade is brave and bold and is never more than five minutes away from throwing a wobbly. And Amy is creative and stubborn and force to be reckoned with. 

I think all the characters where inspired by the children and teens I worked with, or people I knew. 
In the book Sydney and Jade have to deal with bullies. 

How much research did you do into this subject? 
I used to tell people I hardly did any research, but that’s not true! I researched everything; it just never felt like work because all the things I found out where so interesting. Most of the research went into Amy’s dwarfism and Sydney’s fairytales. Things like place, school and the bullies are all drawn from my own childhood. 

What tips can you share in writing a believable world/background? 
I think in creating a world you have to give a voice to it as much as you would a character. Even in the craziest fantasy you have to ground your story in a place that feels real. 

For me writing about Portsmouth, where We are Giants is set, was easy as I grew up here. It’s largely a working class city with a strong, proud identity and was the perfect setting for a family struggling in post recession Britain. 
Do you have any strange writing habits? 
I write in bed because I don’t have a desk I can use. I’m also a very messy writer. I once walked out the house with several sticky notes stuck to the back of my leg! 

What do you think makes a good story? 
Oh gosh, this is such a hard one. I think great stories have their own voice. They couldn’t have been written by anyone else but that person. 

What genre of books do you like to read? do you limit yourself to only the genre that you write yourself? 
I read everything! From plays to memoir, to short stories and literary fiction. My favourite books are Olive Kittredge by Elizabeth Strout, Matilda by Roald Dahl, The play The Memory of Water by Shelia Stevenson and the short story collection How to Breathe Underwater by Julie Orringer. I come back to these books again and again. 
At the moment I have a tbr pile that includes the biographies of some lady adventures, a couple of crime novels (I love an Agatha Christie) and some smashing Middle grade books. 
If you were to look for me in a bookshop you would find me by the picture books. It is pretty much impossible to be unhappy flicking through a good picture book. 


As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up? 
The first thing I desperately want to do was be a surgeon. I like to think it was because I wanted to help people, but I think it might have been more to do with the fact that I loved blood and guts. But sadly I wasn’t very good at science or maths. However, I was very good at telling stories. So that’s what I decided to do instead. 


Is there anything else that you would like to tell us, like new writing projects? 
I’m working on some more short stories. You should hopefully get to listen to my story The Love Songs of Foxes on BBC radio 4 again soon. And I’m also working on a new children’s book, staring lady adventurers, Scottish islands and a dyslexic hero with a very unusual gift. But Shhh, don’t tell anyone.