Do Something Booky for #WorldBookDay20 - share the love of children's books and reading!

It can bring the most organised and crafty parent out in cold sweats, suddenly having to put together a costume at 11pm the night before ("Where did we put those Where's Wally socks?").

But we prefer to think of World Book Day as a time to share the joy and love of children's books - and take a full part in one of the UK's biggest book celebrations.

This year is extra special as it's the 20th anniversary of World Book Day. That's two awesome decades of dressing up, and literally millions of £1 vouchers and free books for children.

As well as exchanging their vouchers for the WBD books themselves (and you can take a look at this year's selection here) they can be used as £1 off any book in the shop.

World Book Day asks 'Do Something Booky' and we say 'Read A Book!'. So for today's #FridayReads, and in the interests of sharing the joy of reading for #WorldBookDay20, here are our pick of brilliant new children's books that have come into the shop in the last few weeks.

All of these are out on our two display tables front and back, so you won't be able to miss them when you walk into the shop!

'Also an Octopus' by Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Benji davies
One of Imogen's favourite picture books of the year so far, this bonkers tale of how a story gets told features purple spaceships, an incredibly cute bunny...and also an octopus. Illustrated by Benji Davies ('The Storm Whale') this is bold, funny, imaginative and guaranteed to become a firm family favourite.

'Opposite Surprise' by Agnese Baruzzi
We love books that generate surprise and laughter amongst very little ones, and 'Opposite Surprise' by Italian illustrator Agnese Baruzzi is a wonderful board book, where each page concertinas open to totally transform the picture to great delight.

Minedition is a fantastic German publisher, who gather international authors and illustrators to publish some of the most original books, so come take a look at the others that they publish.

'Detective Dog' by Julia Donaldson and Sara Ogilvie
This week, the shortlist for the Oxfordshire Book Awards was published, and amongst some of our favourite Oxfordshire-based authors being on the list (yay!) there was also 'Detective Dog' by Julia Donaldson - one of this year's £1 book authors.

Peter's Dog Nell has an incredible sense of smell, which means he's first on the case if there's a mystery to solve. But Nell also goes to school and listens to the children reading, so when they arrive one morning to find all the school books have disappeared - this is tailor-made for our snigging canine sleuth. It's a fast-paced celebration of books, reading, libraries, and the relationship between a little boy and his rather special dog.

'Butterfly Dance' by Suzanne Barton
Published next week, local author and illustrator Suzanne Barton - who transformed out window a few years back with artwork from her brilliant debut 'Robin's Winter Song' - Butterfly Dance is another sublimely beautiful mixture of art and story.

Caterpillars Dotty and Stripe do everything together. They play, they eat leaves and do all sorts of caterpiller-y things, and then one day, after spinning themselves into snuggly cocoons, they wake up as beautiful butterflies! But soon they realise that, for the first time ever, they look different. Should Dotty only play with butterflies that look like her? And Stripe only play with butterflies that look like him? It's a stunningly illustrated story about friendship and and being happy with who you are,

'The Goblin Princess: The Grand Goblin Ball' by Jenny O'Connor and Kate Willis-Crowley
We loved Jenny O'Connor's first story of Matty, the Goblin Princess, a fun, delightful story illustrated by Kate Willis-Crowley. In this follow-up, there is to be a grand Goblin Ball at the Goblin Castle and when the fairy twins Teasel and Tansy get lost in the woods, they end up at hobgoblin mountain and overhear the hobgoblins planning to invade the Goblin castle and CLEAN IT!!! Will Teasel and Tansy be able to get to the castle in time to warn Princess Matty or will the Hobgoblins carry out their fiendish plan?

'Ned's Circus of Marvels' by Justin Fisher
Ned always thought he was just a normal boy. But on his thirteenth birthday he is thrown into a world he knows nothing about - a world where magic is REAL. When he discovers the truth about who and what he is, secrets held for many years come pouring forth and Ned's life is changed for ever. It turns out that only he can stop the world from being engulfed by monstrous beasts - and all he has to help him is a robot mouse, a girl witch...and the most amazing circus you'll ever read about.

Justin Fisher's day job is designing title sequences for big Hollywood movies (yes, that is an actual job) so those title sequences you see at the start of X-Men and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are probably down to him. And the feedback from young readers in the shop is that this book is awesome!

'Wed Wabbit' by Lissa Evans
We told everyone about 'Wed Wabbit' a few weeks back in the newsletter, but this is still one of our favourite books of the year so far. It's utter genius, extremely funny, and at times genuinely scary.

It's about a children's story book world that gets entangled with the real world, and things go horribly, horribly wrong. Although perfect for 9+, we think plenty of adults will enjoy it immensely - whether you see it as a satire on the modern world or just a brilliantly imaginative tale. A genuine must-read from one of our favourite authors!

World Book Day 2016: A few of our favourite things

We love World Book Day. We love the buzz and excitement created by authors going into schools, children dressing up as their favourite book characters, and the arrival of new titles by some of our favourite children's authors. Best of all, we love to see children coming in to bookshops - some of them for the very first time - clutching their £1 vouchers to exchange for a book - or to get £1 off any other children's book, don't forget.

(We also love the fact that, despite the name, the UK celebrates World Book Day on a totally different day from the rest of the world. How did that happen? Well, it's all a bit complicated, and some of the exact dates are disputed, but basically the Spanish started the tradition early in the 20th century to honour 'Don Quixote' author Miguel de Cervantes - who died on this day - and given the fact that Shakespeare died on this day too just seemed to make it doubly appropriate, but given that England celebrates St George's Day already, the UK decided to hold World Book Day on the first Thursday in March. All clear?)

Anyway, irrespective of how it started, who who it celebrates, World Book Day has become one of the big events in the bookselling calendar. We are involved in 11 (!) events with 17 schools (!!) over the coming two weeks - and there are thousands of events happening across the UK.

If you are lucky enough to find yourself with a World Book Day voucher, we thought you might like to know about some of the fantastic new children's book freshly arrived in the shop this week. We're excited about them - and we thought we'd share them with you!

(Mark appeared on BBC Radio Oxford on Friday to discuss these books with Alex Lester - you can listen to the interview by clicking on this link, and fast-forwarding to about 1 hour and 38 mins into the programme)

The Shadow Keeper - Abi Elphinstone
Trying to keep safe from their enemies, a group of gypsies are hiding out in seaside caves, but danger swirls out of the sky and the sea and Moll and her friends must find powerful ways to fight the terrifying magical creatures trying to hunt them. The only weapon powerful enough is an amulet and the friends set off facing certain danger to seek it out, with just their strong friendship and determination to help them.

This is thrilling, atmospheric writing, with wonderful imaginative baddies, a feisty heroine and a gripping sequel to 'The Dreamsnatcher' - one of our absolute favourite children's books of 2015. Abi Elphinstone has already become a firm favourite with children based on her storyteller heroics at schools, and this book looks set to cement her reputation as one of our most exciting new authors.

The Mystery of the Jewelled Moth - Katherine Woodfine

Another book we've been eagerly awaiting is Katherine Woodfine's follow up to her exciting mystery-adventure 'The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow'. The disappearance of a fabulous jewel sparks a thrilling investigation by Sophie and Lil - and it's another rip-roaring adventure featuring dastardly criminals, thrilling pursuits, and some extremely cunning disguises.

Stories featuring children foiling criminals among glamorous locations are doing really well at the moment - and this, a mystery set among Edwardian debutantes, will appeal to those tweens with the spirit of adventure.

The Astounding Broccoli Boy - Frank Cottrell Boyce

What can we say about Frank Cottrell Boyce. Almost unique in style, original, contemporary plots, with sophisticated humour and totally wild storytelling. His latest title has arrived in the shop fresh out in paperback, and it features killer kittens (well, not really), green children (that bit's true), superpowers (we think) and mysterious goings-on in the London capital which might just involve an alien invasion. Confused? Well, not as much as Rory Rooney and the doctors looking after him. Something's turned Rory green, but does this mean he has superpowers? One thing is for sure, his favourite book 'Don't Be Scared, Be Prepared' has given him plenty of preparation for finding out - but is the world ready for possibly its most unlikeliest superhero?

Oi Frog - Kes Grey

Here's a brilliantly witty, pitch-perfect picture book from another favourite author of ours, Kes Grey.

In 'Oi Frog' our green hero is expected to sit exactly where he's told - on a log. But Frog does not want to do this, oh no. Rhyming silliness ahoy as Frog learns that all animals have their special places to sit...

World Book Day 2014 - David Melling at Mostly Books

It's World Book Day this Thursday (March 6) and we will be joining in the celebrations about books and reading for children that are taking place across the country.

Publishers produce special books that sell for just £1. Many children get a World Book Day voucher for £1. And booksellers give everyone £1 off a children's book if they have a voucher.

Result - happy children and the opportunity to get a free book. What could be better?

Well, how about meeting the author of one of the books on World Book Day itself?

This Thursday, our very exciting news is that author David Melling will be in the shop for anyone wanting to meet the creator of 'Hugless Douglas'.

David Melling and Hugless Douglas is a firm Mostly Books favourite, and this year he is one of the World Book Day authors. Loveable Hugless Douglas features in his own £1 adventure, 'Hello Hugless Douglas'.

We're delighted that David will be calling into Mostly Books from 2.45pm - and that if you use your voucher at Mostly Books on Thursday, we'll let you 'double-up' - use your voucher to get a copy of 'Hello Hugless Douglas' and still get another WBD title, or £1 off as well.

At 2pm, we are also inviting pre-schoolers to join us in Mostly Books at a special World Book Day storytime. No need to book - just turn up.

From 2.45pm, children can meet David, and get any books signed.

We love Hugless Douglas. They are great stories to share and read aloud about slightly clumsy Douglas, whose friendliness and enthusiasm sometimes get him into scrapes - but his friends are always around to help him out.

And...win an exclusive piece of David Melling artwork!

What book will you buy with your voucher? Will you try a new author? Or have you been saving up for a favourite book?

Until the end of March, if you tell us you what you think about a children's book you have bought at Mostly Books (it can be a couple of lines, or a full review) you will be in with a chance of winning an exclusive piece of David Melling artwork drawn specially for us on World Book Day.

Sound exciting? Then we hope to see you here on Thursday for what we hope will be a smashing, hug-filled day!

Want to know more about World Book Day? Mark talked about World Book Day on the BBC Radio Oxford Afternoon Bookclub this week. He also discusses books by Tracey Corderoy, Jo Cotterill and Christiane Dorion. Fast forward to 1 hour and 6 minutes...

Writing tips and rooftops – a book launch with Katherine Rundell

When Katherine Rundell was searching for an idea for her second children’s novel she felt cursed with second novel syndrome. So she turned to her own childhood and remembered her fascination with tightrope walking and the incredible bravery of people who take to the skies with only their own agility to keep them from falling.

Katherine Rundell was at Our Lady's Abingdon with 300 schoolchildren from across Abingdon to celebrate the launch of ‘Rooftoppers’ on Mar 7 and to talk about the high-wire act that writing can sometimes be.

She was brought up in Zimbabwe and so inspired by the feat of Philippe Petit walking between New York’s twin towers, she strung her own rope between two trees to try to teach herself to tightrope walk.

Her parents eventually sent her to circus school to try to stop her injuring herself.

In ‘Rooftoppers’, baby Sophie is rescued from a sinking ship and brought up by scholarly Charles in London. He concentrates on teaching her what he feels is important, which involves lots of books and music and very irregular meals.

The authorities are never far away and when it looks as though Charles’ eccentric upbringing will end in Sophie being taken to an orphanage, the pair, following a clue, head to Paris to try to find out if Sophie’s real mother really did die when the ship sank.

Now wanted by the police, but determined to still search for her mother, Sophie gets help from a bunch of children she meets living on the Paris rooftops. She starts a totally different adventure, joining the rooftoppers and learning to leap between buildings, catching birds to eat and only coming out after dark. She has to learn to tightrope and scale ancient buildings to keep up with them and keep a step away from anyone trying to catch them as together they follow the only clue they have – that Sophie’s mother played the cello.

It’s an exciting story, full of pace and adventure and Katherine was full of advice at the book launch of how to take an idea and turn it into a great book.

‘You need a good opening sentence and a grip on your reader – but you have to decide what sort of grip it is that you want to have. First ideas are never very good and you have to pound your brain to come up with something worth reading. Maybe your fourth idea is the one no-one has ever had before. The secret of good writing is writing the things that come into only your head – to be a little bit different is the one thing you need to be a writer. But now people pay me for the things that I make up which seems like a lovely miracle.’

Katherine has drawn on her own unique life for inspiration to come up with her stories and eccentric characters.

Although set in a different place and a different time there are similarities between ‘Rooftoppers’ and with Katherine’s first book ‘The Girl Savage’. Her first book she wrote in a month, and based it mostly on her own wild childhood growing up in Africa.

In the story Wilhelmina (Will) is sent from Africa to an English boarding school, where she discovers that all the skills and knowledge that served her so well in Africa are useless in her new environment, so runs away and finds she can live quite happily for in London Zoo, while seeing if she can find the bravery to return to her restrictive school environment.

They are both great stories about being yourself, not fitting in, as well as out-and-out adventure tales, full of eccentric twists, imaginative word play and a theme of believing the impossible and not letting go of your dreams.

Her second book took two-and-a-half years to write, which she admits, was down to fear of being judged by the 9,000 people who’d bought her first book.

‘All the bravery you think you have for jumping out of trees, then I realised I was a coward afraid to fail in front of people. It was like those 9,000 people were in the room with me when I tried to write. But you just have to tell your wolves you are coming from them and just do it. And each word written means the next word will be better, in the same way that if you are a swimmer you need your twenty slow laps to make you able to do one really fast one.’

But she does admit to sometimes having to tie herself to her chair to make herself write.

For her inspiration, like in her first book, she turned again to ways to escape when you feel you don’t fit in.

At 21 she was by far the youngest fellow of All Souls in Oxford and felt she was the only person there who was looking for adventure. She would often imagine someone might be having an adventure up on the vast rooftops and thought rooftops would be a good place to live if you didn't want to be seen.

Her personal dream has always to be an explorer and go to the South Pole, like Scott, and has high hopes she might still get to go there one day.

But in the meantime she still has a yearning to improve her tightrope walking skills and keeps a tightrope set up in her office so she can put in her daily practice. ‘I am trying to learn to do it in high heels which is more difficult than it sounds.’

It was a heartfelt and revealing talk about the pleasures and perils of being a writer, but we couldn't resist asking Katherine just a few more questions before the event finished...

Five questions with...Katherine Rundell's Writing Life

1. What are you working on at the moment?

An adult murder mystery and a sequel to Rooftoppers and a doctorate on John Donne.

2. What is the best writing tip you’ve ever been given?

I don’t think I have been given many writing tips, but the one I remember is to get to the end so you can start again at the beginning.

3. What’s the best thing and the worst thing about being a children’s writer?

Children are better readers than adults, they are more imaginative and they remember what they have read. The worst thing is deadlines.

4. Do you have a writer’s survival kit, eg a place, thing or snack essential before you can start work?

I have a special book that I write in. I write always with a cup of tea and black chocolate.

5. What was your biggest breakthrough?

The first time you get published is the biggest. That and getting Philip Pullman to promote the book was lovely.

On the river and In The Trees: five questions with Pauline Fisk

At Oxford Spires Academy on World Book Day, we did an event with Rachel Ward (which we'll be writing up separately) and Pauline Fisk - author of books including Sabrina Fludde, Midnight Blue and In The Trees, a book she wrote after time spent amongst the rainforests of Belize.

Pauline spoke to pupils about her books and writing life - before signing books in the school library:

This was appropriate really given that Pauline practically lived in the library as a child, something which she talks about on her blog:

"I grew up in the suburbs of south London, a shy girl who loved books and created a world inside her head.  The way I saw it, my parents’ garden was full of hidden fairy folk, the alley behind it was their kingdom and if home life was boring at least the local library was close by - my gateway to all things fabulous and exciting."

We were able to interview Pauline between signings in the library, and find out more about her writing life and inspirations...

Five Questions with...Pauline Fisk's Writing Life

1.    What are you working on at the moment?

I’ve just begun a new book – but I’d rather not talk about it too much as it’s at an early stage. However, I’ve really got into blogging recently, involved in a project entitled My Tonight from Shrewsbury. It’s a one year blog, and I’m interviewing everyone I can in the town (from the Big Issue seller up to the prison governor . We’re trying to get to the heart of an English town – it’s a big commitment, but I’m loving it.

2.    What is the best writing tip you’ve ever been given?

(Thinks hard about the question) - I’m a bit torn about this, can I have two? OK, the first is ‘please yourself’. I was told this by Gerry Anderson, I was working with him on Lavender Castle (a children’s stop-motion television series). He said “if you are enjoying it, the reader will enjoy it”. The second tip is ‘trust your own voice’. When I was very young, I tried to make myself 'read' like other authors, but you have to trust your own voice, your own way of writing.

3.    What’s the best thing and the worst thing about being a children’s writer?

Best: the stories themselves, I love writing from young people’s point of view, discovering things for the first time, opening up, getting out there and having new experiences. There’s optimism there, and hope. But basically, children are really interesting! The worst thing – and this isn’t just for children’s writing – it’s a terrible time for authors at the moment, publishing is in disarray, no-one knows where it’s going to end up.

4.    Do you have a writer’s survival kit, eg a place, thing of snack essential before you can start work?

Well, I don’t need much to start writing, certainly not a survival kit – in fact, it’s harder to get me to stop writing than start. But to get my best writing, I like to get to the computer as soon as possible after getting up. No coffee, family, conversations – as quickly as I can. There is something very special about the in-between world before full ‘awakeness’. Issues you have, in fact the problems of the world, seem to solve themselves at this time.

5.    What was your biggest breakthrough?

Well, creatively, as mentioned above, was finding my own voice. But the real publishing breakthrough came with winning the Smarties Prize (in 1991). I was up against Roald Dahl and other fantastic authors. That was a fabulous year, shortlisted for Carnegie, no-one had ever heard of me before then!

BBC Radio Oxford Afternoon Bookclub for March - and a Face Like Glass

Following on from World Book Day last week, here are two sessions on the BBC Oxford Afternoon show - the first is the regular monthly afternoon bookgroup that took place today (Monday March 11 - and which will be on BBC iPlayer for the next 7 days).

So get yourself a hot beverage, and indulge yourself in some bookish discussions...

Together with Nigel French of Coles Bookshop, we discussed some new titles - including Katherine Rundell's 'Rooftoppers' and John Ashdown-Hill's book 'The Last Days of Richard III' as well as discussing 'Red Bones' by Ann Cleeves, the book which inspired 'Shetland'.

Click on the link here and fast forward to approximately 1 hour and 9 minutes (or slightly earlier if you fancy a bit of Belinda Carlisle). The full list of books discussed can be found here.

On World Book Day itself we did an event with Frances Hardinge at Chandlings School - here are some of the children with copies of Frances' books:

Click to listen here and fast forward to approximately 2 hours 9 minutes. It's a fascinating interview with an author who was shaped by books, was addicted to books and stories from an early age, and can't imagine a life not writing...

3 4 Friday: "Only Connect" for World Book Day

World Book Day takes place next Thursday, a fantastic celebration of children and reading. It's a uniquely British (and Welsh, Scottish and Irish) 'spin' on a far older tradition which takes place globally on the 23rd of April 23rd, and is a fabulously cross-cultural mash-up stemming from a Spanish tradition that links books, St George, roses, Shakespeare - and the death of 'Don Quixote' author Cervantes in 1923.

Honestly, you could write a book about it.

Whatever it's origins, the tradition is for a whole host of book-related activities and events centred on libraries and schools - and we are very proud to be involved in a record number of events (4) on the day. But events have been coming think and fast at the moment, and over the course of this week and next, we have done / will be doing a record number of events with sixteen authors, which even for us is overdoing it a bit.

Luckily we have had fantastic support from publishers, schools, staff and customers to make it happen (and ensure we don't keel over). So to celebrate, today's post attempts to connect these authors and their works in a way that Forster would have been proud...

We'll start with World Book Day, where author Sally Nicholls will be talking to pupils at Wheatley Park School, Oxford about her latest book 'All Fall Down' a novel of an ordinary girl living through extraordinary times - the Black Death. All Fall Down was one of our favourite books of last year, which manages to convey the terrifying and extraordinary changes of those times with the hopes and dreams of a girl who most children would be able to relate to today.

Sally lives in Oxford where once a month performance poet, narrow-boat dweller and insanely talented stand-up and compere George Chopping organises a monthly 'jamboree' at The Chester Arms on Iffley. On Tuesday night he joined four other speakers at a 5x15 evening of intellectual cabaret at Radley School, and arguably stole the show with a sublime - and subversive - performance of his poetry.

(George is standing second from the left, together with authors Stanley Johnson, Patrick Hennessey, Georgina Ferry and Robin Dunbar. Only an optical illusion makes George look the same size as the bookseller, he's tall).

Another very talented poet who can often be found in a cabaret setting is AF Harrold, who this week took assembly at The Manor School, Abingdon - and by all accounts managed to keep the children and teachers just the right side of 'uproar'. He is the author of "Fizzlebert Stump, the Boy who Ran Away from the Circus and Joined the Library", a delightfully surreal, crazed-pensioner-filled, delight of a book with a nice line in word-play you'd expect from someone who's day job is, well, words...

Someone who pretty much DID run away to the library is author Pauline Fisk, who will be at Oxford Spires Academy School on World Book Day talking about her life as an author. Growing up in a London suburb, her back garden was full of fairy folk, and the library a gateway to another world. She claims that if she could bottle 'Essence of Library' it would be up there with scents of roses and vanilla ice-cream. She writes strikingly original fantasy stories for children, but her most recent book 'In The Trees' was inspired by the experiences of her son, and her subsequent visit to, the rainforests of Belize...

...where she may have bumped into Stanley Johnson (aka "BoJo's Dad") a world-renowned explorer and conservationist, who (amongst many other achievements) is a winner of a Greenpeace award for services to the environment. Stanley was also at Radley on Tuesday, discussing some of the stories contained in his poignantly-titled book 'Where The Wild Things Were'. Despite accelerating species-loss and ecosystem damage, Stanley remains an optimist, and his book is a collection of very personal stories from the highs and lows of conservation work around the globe, from Antartica to Bhutan.

Now, as we're in the Himalayas, go about 1000km West of Bhutan, past Nepal and round the Southern border of Tibet and you'll come to the region of Ladakh in northern India. This is the setting of Liz Harris' wonderful and beautiful cross-cultural love-story 'The Road Back', set in the region during the 1960s.

Liz will be one of the authors at the Kennington Library 'Story and Spice Gala Evening' this Saturday, with star billing going to local author and illustrator Ted Dewan. The author of the 'Bing Bunny' picture books, as well as 'One True Bear', Ted was once a physics teacher in the US before relocating to Oxford. He can be found most days curating Rochester's Extraordinary Story Loom as artist-in-residence at the Oxford Story Museum.

Go inside the Story Museum, and you'll see a huge illustration drawn by the legendary Korky Paul, creator of classics such as 'The Dog Who Could Dig', 'Sanji and the Baker' and of course 'Winnie The Witch' (not forgetting her cat Wilbur), and last year Winnie was 25 years old. Korky once slaved away drawing dinosaur portraits in the Mostly Books garden, a long way from Harare, Zimbabwe where he was born.

Zimbabwe is also the birth-place of a brand-new talent on the children's book scene, Katherine Rundell. Her debut novel, the Girl Savage, won both critical and commercial acclaim, and we are excited and honoured that Katherine is choosing to launch her second title 'Rooftoppers' at Our Lady's School, here in Abingdon on World Book Day. Rooftoppers is set in Paris, about a girl who survives a shipwreck, and joins a group of rooftop urchins in a search for her mother. The book is partly inspired by illicit trips onto the roof of All Soul's College in Oxford, where she is the youngest Fellow of All Soul's College.

Katherine studied English at Oxford - and so did Frances Hardinge, a shadowy and elusive author (her own words) who won the Branford Boase Award in 2006 for her debut, 'Fly By Night'. As this post is going up, Frances is meeting children at Oxford Central Library and Cowley Library, and will be visiting Chandlings School on World Book Day, to talk about her latest book 'A Face Like Glass' one of our favourite children's books from 2012 (read Ellie's review here). The book is a gloriously-imagined world of underground dwellers who are born without facial expressions - which makes them the perfect liars...

Something that Professor Robin Dunbar backed up at Radley as he explained why social media fails to deliver on the friendship front. Professor Dunbar is the author of 'How Many Friends Does One Person Need', an exploration of 'the Dunbar number' (an expression ironically coined during a Facebook discussion) which explores how humans can only maintain meaningful relationships with about 150 people. He presented research that showed Face-to-Face and Skype as being the most effective forms of communication. Apparently it's linked to facial expressions, and seeing the whites of someone's eyes, particularly when they are laughing.

Former army officer - and bestselling author - Patrick Hennessey bore testimony to Dunbar's number and his example from the army. Apparently the optimum number for a company of men, the best command in the army according to Patrick, is 120-180 men, because you will know everyone. Patrick wrote 'The Junior Officer's Reading Club' and 'Kandak', his memoirs of fighting in Afghanistan between 2004-2009. Erudite, hugely admiring of his Afghan colleagues, and keen to explain the complexity of the situation in Afghanistan, listeners on Tuesday couldn't fail to wonder that we need more individuals like him closer to the top of our military and political leadership.

Intelligence is crucial to modern warfare, and arguably modern intelligence all began at Bletchley Park in World War II. There have been several exemplary titles detailing the history of Bletchley Park, but Michael Smith's 'The Secrets of Station X' mixes personal stories with hard technical and military details to provide a compelling account of how the codebreakers shortened the war. Like Patrick, Michael was in the British Army, then turned journalist writing for The Daily Telegraph and The Times on defence matters.

After the war, the heroics of Bletchley Park was smothered in secrecy, which might have hampered Britain's attempts to develop computing for more general use. However, the world's first commercial use of a computer was British, the Lyons Electronic Office (or LEO) and the final author on stage at Radley, Georgina Ferry, has documented this story brilliantly in her book 'A Computer Called Leo'. Award-winning journalist and tireless champion of woman in science, Georgina wrote an award-winning biography of Dorothy Hodgkin, Nobel Prize winner, recommended and inspirational reading (male or female).

And talking of extraordinary women, at the Manor School this week, author Gill Lewis worked with children to develop creative writing skills. Before she could walk, Gill was found administering help to a sick hedgehog and her passion for helping animals led to a career as a vet. As a children's author, she has written two critically-acclaimed stories 'Sky Hawk' and 'The White Dolphin', wonderfully-told, modern-day animal tales.

Gill went to university in Bath - which is where our last author Rachel Ward lives. Rachel will be at Oxford Spires Academy on World Book Day along with Pauline Fisk. She is the author of the gripping, gritty 'Numbers' trilogy.

And that's everyone (phew). If anyone has another way of linking these authors, post a comment and let us know.

But hopefully, be inspired, have a great World Book Day...and treat yourself to a book by any one of these fabulous authors currently sitting on the shelves of Mostly Books... 

Robert Muchamore alert. Signing POSTPONED

(For immediate release)

Release BEGINS:

Robert Muchamore, the bestselling author of the CHERUB and Henderson Boys books, has been incapacited by agents hostile to CHERUB, and will - sadly - no longer be able to travel to Abingdon for the scheduled booksigning at 6pm on March 3rd.

This event has had to be POSTPONED.

It will be rearranged at a future date. More information will be released as Robert's condition becomes clearer. You can follow updates on Robert's Twitter feed.
The suspicion at the moment is a toxic substance, which has left Robert with severe flu-like symptoms - and no voice. How enemy agents managed to slip through Robert's rebust security systems is, at the present time, a mystery, but new wood flooring recently installed in the author's house is the current prime suspect.

More information as we get it. We have set up a special email address http://www.blogger.com/cherub@mostly-books.co.uk for enquiries about Robert's health, and any information you may have for this audacious attack.

Release ENDS

World Book Day with Chris Bradford

Two years ago, we did a fantastic event at Larkmead School involving Young Samurai author Chris Bradford as he launched book one in the series: Way of the Warrior. We - and the school - we so impressed, that we quickly approached Chris to take part in our Amazing Books for Boys event last year - culminating in an incredible show to coincide with the launch of book two: Way of the Sword. So when we were approached a few weeks ago to come along and help run an official World Book Day event with Chris, we jumped at the chance. And so on Thursday, Chris performed in front of almost 400 kids from various schools in Abingdon to celebrate both his World Book Day flipbook The Way of Fire, and book three in the Young Samurai series The Way of the Sword. Anyone who has seen Chris perform before knows his electrifying mix of live martial arts, scene-reenactment, sword display and audience participation. This time was no different. Afterwards, Chris signed books and posters and met fans - new and old - after two separate performances. There was an impromptu live performance on stage of a school battle in book three (which fingers crossed I have on video) and we had prepared for the day with hundreds of WBD flip books which looked impressive on the display racks: The event was organised through the Federation of Children's Bookgroups - and we very much appreciated the opportunity to take part. 2010 is the year of Young Samurai - as well as World Book Day, book four comes out in August, with another two already planned, a film in development, and another story appearing as part of Penguin's Pocket Money Reads. We have signed copies of book three in the shop - and for a limited time only, if you buy a copy you'll receive a signed Way of the Dragon book as well...