We were delighted to sponsor Book Week in Guernsey this year.
Book Week is a popular, longstanding initiative that welcomes three popular children's authors to the island and this year ran from 20 to 24 October.
It's one of the many events the Guilles-Allès Library puts on each year to promote the magic of reading among schoolchildren of all ages in primary and secondary schools.
Thanks to the support of Collas Crill, this year the library arranged for acclaimed authors Peter Bently, Jenny Pearson, and Ele Fountain to tour schools across the Bailiwick.
By the end of Book Week, these authors had visited all the local primary and secondary schools to inspire and engage, meeting more than 5,000 children from reception through to year 9.
Each author hosted a free public event at the Library, including creative writing workshops and a story and crafts session, which the Collas Crill team assisted with. Staff helped judge the colouring competitions that ran in the schools and Collas Crill also provided book marks printed on plantable seed paper.
Gareth Bell, Guernsey Managing Partner, said: 'This initiative is all about inspiring the next generation which is something we're very passionate about as a firm. Our key focus when it comes community activity is 'supporting local talent and ambition' – and Book Week does just that.
'Reading from a young age not only helps develop invaluable life skills – literacy, communication skills, empathy, creativity, wellbeing – but also helps establish a love of books that can last a lifetime.
'We hope the island's school children enjoyed getting involved in everything that was on offer over the course of Book Week. From the video it certainly looks that they did.'
Watch a video on of the Book Week hightlights here.
About the authors
Peter Bently
Children in Key Stage 1 will see Peter Bently, best known for his humorous rhyming picture books like The Shark in the Dark and The Great Dog Bottom Swap. His books have won several national awards, including the 2022 Children’s Book Award for Octopus Shocktopus.
Jenny Pearson
Key Stage 2 children will meet author and teacher Jenny Pearson. Her debut children’s novel, The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates, was illustrated by Rob Biddulph and went on to be shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and the Costa Children’s Book of the Year in 2020. Her subsequent novels include Operation Nativity and The Incredible Record Smashers.
Ele Fountain
Meanwhile, children in Key Stage 3 will meet Ele Fountain, whose debut novel Boy 87 was written while she was living in Ethiopia. About a young refugee fleeing a dictatorship, the book was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize for Older Readers, and nominated for the prestigious Carnegie Medal. Her latest novel, Storm Child, was recently named as a Times Book of the Week.
