Brentwood Children’s Literary Festival is back for a second year!
Organisers Natasha and Jim Radford, who run the Chicken and Frog bookshop in Ongar Road, have put together a full programme of events to delight children of all ages.
Natasha came in to Phoenix FM to chat to Michelle about this year’s event, which you can hear again below:
Phoenix FM is delighted to be on board as a partner of this highly worthwhile event.
The festival is for children (and their grown ups) from pre-schoolers to teens. The festival will take place from 22-29 July 2017.
You can visit their website at brentwoodlitfest.com.
Here’s the full schedule for this year’s festival. Events are subject to change.
SATURDAY 22ND JULY 11:00AM-12:00PM Knights Way Centre Age 6+ Entry fee £3 |
FIRST NEWS WORKSHOP
Are you a newshound? Do you dream of being a world class reporter? Join a member of the First News team for a fascinating talk about all the different aspects of creating a news paper and how to write a great article. There’ll be plenty of time to ask questions too. |
SATURDAY 22ND JULY 3:00PM-4:00PM Knights Way Centre Age 8+ (Guidance only) |
RUTH FITZGERALD
One day Ruth was sitting, minding her own business when a girl popped into her head and started talking. She was fed up with her parents for being a bit useless and fed up with her friends for being, well, a bit rubbish at being friends. The more she told Ruth, the funnier it got, so she started to write down what it was like to be Emily Sparkes. Ruth will share snippets from her Emily Sparkes books with you, answer your questions and sign books. Ruth’s books will be available to purchase on the day. |
SUNDAY 23RD JULY 11:00AM-12:00PM Brentwood Theatre Age 10+ (Guidance only) Entry fee £3 |
LARA WILLIAMSON
Join award-winning A Boy Called Hope author Lara Williamson as talks about her latest novel for children, Just Call Me Spaghetti-Hoop Boy. Delve into Lara’s childhood diaries and stories and see how everything she wished for when she was small, although it may not have come true in real life, has since come true in her books, through her characters. Get stuck in and play the ‘wish game’ – catch the ball and tell Lara your wish, be it big, small or totally crazy and find out how your wish could become a story! Lara’s books will be available to purchase on the day. |
MONDAY 24TH JULY 11:00AM-12:00PM Brentwood Theatre Age 8+ (Guidance only) |
THE WIMPY KID SHOW
A must for all Diary of a Wimpy Kid fans and great family entertainment. Host Alastair Watson brings the books to life with fun activities including The Wimpy Kid Draw-Along and The Wimp Wars! Quiz. The event also includes exclusive clips of author Jeff Kinney talking about the books, his involvement in the films and showing how he draws the characters. All those who purchase a book on the day will be eligible for it to be stamped with an exclusive Wimpy Kid Show stamp. Under 11s must be accompanied by an adult. |
MONDAY 24TH JULY 3:00PM-4:00PM Brentwood Theatre Age 9+ (Guidance only) |
PETER BUNZL
Lily’s life is in mortal peril. Her father is missing and now silver-eyed men stalk her through the shadows. What could they want from her? With her friends – Robert, the clockmaker’s son, and Malkin, her mechanical fox – Lily is plunged into a murky and menacing world. Too soon Lily realizes that those she holds dear may be the very ones to break her heart… CogHeart is a fantastical Middle Grade adventure story featuring two friends, murder and mayhem, airships and automata, an over-opinionated mechanical fox and a smattering of steampunk! Peter’s books will be available to purchase on the day. Under 11s must be accompanied by an adult. |
TUESDAY 25TH JULY 11:00AM-12:00PM Brentwood Theatre Age 5+ (Guidance only) |
JOHN KIRK PRESENTS THE TWITS
“If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.” This highly interactive show contains twits being vile to each other. Be prepared for silly behaviour and beard making… “The Twits” is presented with the kind permission of Casarotto Ramsay and the Roald Dahl Estate. A selection of Roald Dahl titles will be available to purchase. Under 11s must be accompanied by an adult. |
TUESDAY 25TH JULY 3:00PM-4:00PM Brentwood Theatre Age 8+ (Guidance only) |
SARA GRANT PRESENTS A MYSTERY!
Sara is back this year, with an exciting mystery for you to solve, featuring Chase & Mackenzie from Chasing Danger and Mystery at the Ice Hotel. A few actor volunteers from the audience will help to dramatise a short play that Sara has written; the scene concludes with a crime to solve. Get you detective heads on for this exciting event! Sara’s books will be available to purchase on the day. Under 11s must be accompanied by an adult. |
WEDNESDAY 26TH JULY 11:00AM-12:00PM Brentwood Theatre Age 4+ (Guidance only) Entry fee £3 |
PHILIP ARDAGH & ELISSA ELWICK
From the award-winning Philip Ardagh, and rising illustration talent Elissa Elwick, comes Meet the Little Adventurers – Finnegan, Sprat, Floss and Peanut. Each week they meet in their top-secret shed HQ, ready to share their fun with you! Sprat has a pet: Leafy! But can you really have a leaf as a pet? Find out… Under 11s must be accompanied by an adult. Philip and Elissa’s books will be available to purchase on the day. |
WEDNESDAY 26TH JULY 3:00PM-4:00PM Brentwood Theatre Age 9+ (Guidance only) |
MICHELLE HARRISON
A few words about one of Michelle’s titles, The Other Alice: What happens when a tale with real magic, that was supposed to be finished, never was? This is a story about one of those stories . . . Midge loves riddles, his cat, Twitch, and – most of all – stories. Especially because he’s grown up being read to by his sister Alice, a brilliant writer. When Alice goes missing and a talking cat turns up in her bedroom, Midge searches Alice’s stories for a clue. Local Essex girl, Michelle will talk about her books and her life as author, as well as be on hand to sign books! Michelle’s books will be available to purchase on the day. Under 11s must be accompanied by an adult. |
THURSDAY 27TH JULY 11:00AM-12:00PM Brentwood Theatre Age 7+ (Guidance only) |
JAMES NICOL
The Apprentice Witch: With everything stacked against her, apprentice witch Arianwyn Gribble must overcome a shaky start to achieve her true potential… In the Four Kingdoms, witches use a set of five magical glyphs, to control the natural flow of magic in the world. But Arianwyn Gribble, a young apprentice witch, has seen a sixth glyph for as long as she can remember, a glyph that has always heralded trouble and darkness, like the death of her mother. At her crucial evaluation test Arianwyn is distracted by the glyph and fails. spectacularly, much to the delight of Gimma Alverston, Arianwyn’s fellow apprentice and arch-rival. James will talk about his books and life as author, as well as be on hand to sign books! Witches and wizards are welcome! James’ book will be available to purchase on the day. Under 11s must be accompanied by an adult. |
THURSDAY 27TH JULY 3:00PM-4:00PM Brentwood Theatre Age 5+ (Guidance only). |
ILLUSTRATOR, NICK EAST
Join awesome illustrator, Nick East, for this fun-packed event. In this short period of time as an illustrator Nick has been shortlisted for the English Picture Book awards, longlisted for The Evening Standard’s Oscar’s First Book Prize and illustrated the successful Goodnight series, recently collaborating with author Michelle Robinson, Puffin and astronaut Tim Peake on ‘Goodnight Spaceman’. Under 11s to be accompanied by a ticket holding adult. |
THURSDAY 27TH JULY 5:00PM-6:30PM Brentwood Theatre Age 11+ Entry fee £3 |
YA PANEL DISCUSSION WITH DAN SMITH, GEMMA FOWLER, MOLLY LOOBY & CARA JORDAN WHITE
Join us and a fantastic panel of YA authors, for a gritty discussion about YA fiction. If you have a question that you’re desperate to ask, or an opinion that you really want to share (about YA!), then this is the event for you. The panel is: Dan Smith, Gemma Fowler, Molly Looby and Cara Jordan White. The discussion will be MC’d by YA book blogger, Josh. A selection of the authors’ books will be available to purchase on the day. |
FRIDAY 28TH JULY 11:00AM Brentwood Theatre Age 5+ (Guidance only) Entry fee £3 |
NICKY DEE
Nicky Dee is the author of the series ‘Special Dinosaurs’ – you may have been lucky enough to meet her at Chicken and Frog Bookshop last year. Nicky’s new book, The Bone Wars, is due for publication in May. It promises to be an exciting adventure. Two men. One battle. The ‘Great Dinosaur Rush’ is an amazing time in American history when the hunt for dinosaurs really began. Would the two gentlemen scientists who led the hunt play nicely and work together or would their desperation to be the best lead them to behave very, very badly? A true adventure story, crammed full of guns, trains, native Indians, explosives and DINOSAURS, written for children for the very first time. Join Nicky for a jam-packed talk, with superb artefacts to keep any budding paleontologist on the edge of their seats. There’ll be time for questions, and Nicky will be on hand to sign books too. Under 11s must be accompanied by a ticket holding adult. |
FRIDAY 28TH JULY 3:00PM-4:00PM Brentwood Theatre Age 4+ (Guidance only) |
REALLY BIG PANTS THEATRE COMPANY
This show is going to be fast, fun, inspirational, educational, highly interactive – and downright brilliant. Really Big Pants Theatre Company storytelling show SUDDENLY…! gives traditional tales a whole new twist and encourages children to explore their creativity and imagination, as well as promoting the value of reading and writing. Under 11s must be accompanied by an adult. |
SATURDAY 29TH JULY 11:00AM-12:00PM Knights Way Centre Age 8+ (Guidance only) |
MAZ EVANS
Maz’s writing career began in journalism as a TV critic and feature writer. After working as a creative writing lecturer, she founded Story Stew, an anarchic creative writing programme that has visited primary schools and literary festivals around the UK. A little about Who Let the Gods Out? Elliot’s mum is ill and his home is under threat, but a shooting star crashes to earth and changes his life forever. The star is Virgo – a young Zodiac goddess on a mission. But the pair accidentally release Thanatos, a wicked death daemon imprisoned beneath Stonehenge, and must then turn to the old Olympian gods for help. After centuries of cushy retirement on earth, are Zeus and his crew up to the task of saving the world – and solving Elliot’s problems too? Maz’s book will be available to purchase on the day. |
SATURDAY 29TH JULY 3:00PM-4:00PM Hutton Community Hall Age 7+ (Guidance only) |
JOHN DOUGHERTY
John’s session will be full of energy; expect a guitar, enthusiastic singing, and hilarious stories. You are in for a huge treat! John’s books have been shortlisted for a number of prestigious awards – and one was chosen by The Times as one of the Best Children’s Books of the Year 2011 – but, more importantly, they make children giggle. John’s books will be available to purchase on the day. |
SUNDAY 30TH JULY 11:00AM Knights Way Centre Age 7+ (Guidance only) Entry fee £3 |
GARETH P JONES
Award winning author Gareth P Jones (Ninja Meerkats, The Thornthwaite Inheritance) presents his new series, Pet Defenders, which sees a secret organisation of pets defending the earth from alien invasion. For fans of funny and action-packed animal adventures including Andrew Cope’s Spy Dog series, Astrosaurs and Jeremy Strong. Expect frenetic interactive story telling, raucous songs played on various instruments and a whole bunch of weird alien stuff. Gareth’s books will be available to buy on the day. Under 11s must be accompanied by a ticket holding adult. |
SUNDAY 30TH JULY 1:00PM Knights Way Centre Age 8+ |
WRITING WORKSHOP WITH LISA THOMPSON
Lisa Thompson, author of The Goldfish Boy, will lead a hands-on workshop. They’ll talk about how our sight, smell, hearing, touch and taste can make us feel different emotions and how we can use these emotions to help us in our writing. Lisa will talk about her background working in radio production and how for her, her ears are crucial when it comes to writing; from listening to other people’s conversations, to reading her work out loud during the editing stage. For this workshop, Lisa will bring in props to stimulate the senses and get some creative writing flowing! The workshop will finish with Lisa reading a short piece from The Goldfish Boy followed by some Q&As. Copies of The Goldfish Boy will be available to purchase on the day. |