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 News World Book Day is 20 years old in 2017 - World Book Day YA Event Waterstones London- 1st March 2017

World Book Day is 20 years old in 2017, and we are celebrating with an extravaganza of a day on Thursday 2nd March 2017. 

Waterstones Piccadilly, 203 - 206 Piccadilly, London W1J 9HD - : 01 March 2017 @ 5.30 - 6.30pm

As part of the Biggest Book 

Show on Earth tour, we are hosting a special YA event on the eve of World Book Day, 1st March 2017.

Joining us will be David Almond and Michael Grant, authors of World Book Day £1 books Island and Dead of Nightrespectively; presenter and DJ Gemma Cairney whose debut Open is released in March; and author, vlogger and musical actress Carrie Hope Fletcher as chair.

The group will discuss their favourite books; where, when and how they read; the books they are currently working on; and give the audience book recommendations. After the event, there will be an opportunity to redeem £1 World Book Day tokens, meet the authors, get your books signed – and take selfies, of course!

Come join the booky fun! Tickets are free but to reserve a ticket, please click here

By: David Almond

Each year, sixteen-year old Louise travels with her father to the island of Lindisfarne. It’s a holiday, but also a pilgrimage to the place Louise’s mother loved best of all in the whole world. This year things are changing and the beautiful and haunted island is a troubled place. Louise is growing fast, and is yearning for independence. Her father becomes infatuated by an American tourist. And they arrive at the same time as Hassan, a mysterious boy from Syria, who fascinates Louise. He seems to have known this place from long ago, and to be at home here. He’s an acrobat, maybe a sorcerer, maybe a source of great danger. The gang of boys who live in the island’s wilder places want to cast him out.

Over the course of a few days, the forces of love, death, hope and destruction move these characters towards a deeper understanding of themselves and the world. This is a story which shows how the journeys we take and the people we meet shape us forever.

By: Michael Grant

Rio Richlin doesn’t have superpowers. She is an ordinary young woman. A soldier in the American army, wearing a uniform, carrying a rifle, and fighting alongside thousands who are trying to make a difference, trying to change the world.

At least, that’s the plan. Right now she’s part of a squad on a training exercise in some place called Wales. They’re cold, they’re wet, and Rio’s pretty sure they’re also lost. Spending the night in a creepy old inn wasn’t part of the plan at all…

Set in the alternative World War II scenario of his Front Lines novels, Michael Grant, author of the bestselling Gone series, has written this story exclusively for World Book Day.

Find out more: http://www.worldbookday.com

Loogabarooga Festival of Children’s Illustrated literature October 2016 - Michael Rosen/Harry Potter Exhibition

MICHAEL ROSEN, JULIAN CLARY AND HARRY POTTER EXHIBITION COMING TO LOUGHBOROUGH FOR LOOGABAROOGA FESTIVAL 2016


Programme of events is launched for Children’s Illustrated Literature Festival from 19-24 October 2016


The programme of events for this year’s Loogabarooga Festival of children’s illustrated literature has been launched. The new programme includes many new highlights for families and children who love reading to see and hear from 19-24 October 2016 at venues across Loughborough. 


Performers, workshops and exhibitions at Loogabarooga Festival 2016 include Michael Rosen, best-selling children’s author and poet, and former Children’s Laureate; comedian, entertainer and writer, Julian Clary reading from his latest book, The Bolds To The Rescue; and the Illustrating Harry Potter exhibition at Charnwood Museum, an illustrated reimagining of the blockbuster classic, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. 


Tickets for all of the free and paid events can be booked online at www.loogabarooga.com. Copies of the free programme will be available to collect from Loughborough Town Hall, Charnwood Borough Council offices, Charnwood Museum and venues across Loughborough and Charnwood. 

Following the success of the inaugural Festival in 2015, this year’s programme will also include free creative drop-in workshops, storytelling sessions, advice on how to write and illustrate your own book, with appearances from some of the nation’s favourite children’s authors and illustrators.

The Loogabarooga Festival will be organised by Charnwood Borough Council in partnership with Leicestershire County Council, Leicester Shire Promotions and supported by Love Loughborough. 


Nicky Morgan, MP for Loughborough said: "This year's Loogabarooga Festival promises to be better than ever. The programme is packed full of exciting events and Loughborough is looking forward to welcoming some very special guests. There is a real buzz around the 2016 festival and I am looking forward to taking part in what promises to be a thrilling line-up." 


Hilary Fryer, Charnwood Borough Council's Cabinet member for Open Spaces and Leisure, said: "We are delighted to be hosting the festival once again and extremely excited to have some really big names coming to Loughborough. 

"The first festival was a huge success and this year is set to be bigger and better. Loogabarooga is not only great fun, but it also celebrates the joy of reading and brings people to Charnwood." 


For all of the latest information, follow the Festival on Facebook at www.facebook.com/loogabarooga or on Twitter @loogabarooga16

Stephen Davies - Blood & Ink - Book Review (Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books)

Diversity in children's books is a great thing, and much needed, as it often takes the reader out of their comfort zone. I don't always enjoy books like this one. Recently, I've not been able to finish a couple of books based on similar themes. Once I'd read the first chapter, I thought that this book was destined to end in the same way. However, I'm very glad that I persevered with this story as it really challenged me, both in my learning and understanding of a different culture.  

Tonight, the Islamist rebels are coming for Timbuktu.....

The plot is set in Timbuktu, a city in the West African nation, which is situated north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The book really depicts the remoteness and the challenging landscape particularly well, in my opinion. The setting is linked to the historical events that happened in 2012; the capture of the city by the Malian military known as the Tuareg rebels.   

Historically, this book chimes with a defiant beat and gives the story a feeling of authenticity. Some of this is down to the author's understanding of events and his personal time spent living amongst the Fulani herders in Burkina Faso. 

The more that you read, the more that you are aware of the focus of the story on the troubled world of extremism and violence on West African Muslims. This makes you face up to the real issue of what is happening in the world - a regime of law that tears apart a peaceful world including a ban on television, football, radios and even music, everything that we take for granted and may hold dear to our lives.  

This is a very topical read, but with a light-hearted centre that pushes some of the seriousness and the darkness to one side to create a balance. The two main characters are brought to life; they are full of life and feeling. Kadijia is the music-loving daughter of the guardian of the sacred manuscripts. Ali is a former shepherd boy, but is now a trained warrior for Allah. Part of the story has a romantic summer step to it and lifts the book to magical heights. The harsh regime sets the two main characters apart as Kadijia's defiance draws Ali to her. It's a modern day romance that transcends religious beliefs. 

This book has everything to offer the reader; action-packed adventure, historical events and thrilling real-life danger pumped with emotions and feelings. A great infusion of religious culture will leave you thinking, even after the last page has been turned. It is fantastically plotted with many twists and turns that will keep the reader on their toes. I can see this book being a great read for GCSE students as well as readers 12 years and older. It is really enjoyable, very interesting and full of educational content - recommended 100%.  

Published by Andersen Press, June 04, 2015