Pupils from Harmony Trust Academies meet acclaimed children’s author

Over 750 Year 5 pupils across The Harmony Trust schools in Oldham, Tameside and Derby were brought together to meet the author Emma Carroll.

The special event took place at Northmoor Academy in Oldham, where all Year 5 classes in the six north-west Academies (Greenhill, Northmoor, Richmond, Westwood, Alt and Greenfield) gathered together.

Their peers from the Trust’s nine Derby-based academies joined the event via Microsoft Teams.

Emma took the children on an exciting journey into the Amazon as she talked to them about her new novel ‘Escape to the River Sea’, which was commissioned to celebrate Eva Ibbotson’s much-loved classic ‘Journey to the River Sea.’

Teachers were encouraged to join in the action too, encouraging children to guess what Amazonian foods they might be eating by their faces!

Children were then encouraged to ask questions directly to Emma and to pick up their own signed copy of her book.

The event was a collaboration between Chadderton-based book shop Madeleine Lindley and The Harmony Trust as part of their ‘Read, Achieve, Succeed’ strategy.

‘Read, Achieve, Succeed’ is a central Harmony Trust strategy that aims to enable teachers to become experts in the teaching of reading and children to develop as confident, skilled and fluent readers who read for both pleasure and purpose.   

Jessica Hainsworth, Director of Education for The Harmony Trust and co-founder of the ‘Read, Achieve, Succeed’ strategy, said: “Bringing authors directly to children can enhance their understanding of the writing process, which helps them to get further enjoyment from reading and also help them in their own creative writing.

"At The Harmony Trust, we understand the importance of developing a love of reading early in life to ensure children achieve everything they possibly can in life.

"We’re very grateful to our partners at Madeleine Lindley for facilitating this very special experience for the children.”

Author Emma has written more than 20 novels for children.

She added: “My story is called ‘Escape to the River Sea’, and can be read as a sequel to Eva Ibbotson’s original text, or as a standalone adventure story.

"It’s set in the Amazon in 1946 and follows Rosa and her friends on the trail to find a supposedly extinct creature deep in the forest… I had such fun writing this story during lockdown and hope the children enjoy reading it.”

Rachelle Carter from Madeleine Lindley added: “Creating a positive reading environment within schools is at the heart of what we do and that involves not just the sourcing and provision of great literature, but also events that help bring books to life for children.

"We were delighted to help provide this experience for the children.”

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