JK Rowling has been writing a new story in lockdown. Here’s what she says:

I had the idea for The Ickabog a long time ago and read it to my two younger children chapter by chapter each night while I was working on it. However, when the time came to publish it, I decided to put out a book for adults instead, which is how The Ickabog ended up in the attic. I became busy with other things, and even though I loved the story, over the years I came to think of it as something that was just for my own children.

Then this lockdown happened. It’s been very hard on children, in particular, so I brought The Ickabog down from the attic, read it for the first time in years, rewrote bits of it and then read it to my children again. They told me to put back in some bits they’d liked when they were little, and here we are!

The Ickabog will be published for free on this website, in instalments, over the next seven weeks, a chapter (or two, or three), at a time. It isn’t Harry Potter and it doesn’t include magic. This is an entirely different story.

The most exciting part, for me, at least, is that I’d like you to illustrate The Ickabog for me. Every day, I’ll be making suggestions for what you might like to draw. You can enter the official competition being run by my publishers, for the chance to have your artwork included in a printed version of the book due out later this year. I’ll be giving suggestions as to what to draw as we go along, but you should let your imagination run wild.

I won’t be judging the competition. Each publisher will decide what works best for their editions. However, if you, your parent or your guardian would like to share your artwork on Twitter using the hashtag #TheIckabog, I’ll be able to see it and maybe share and comment on it!

When the book is published in November, I’m going to donate all my royalties to help people who have been affected by the coronavirus. We’ll give full details later in the year.

I think that’s everything you need to know. I hope you enjoy reading it and I can’t wait to see your pictures!

Check it out here:

https://www.theickabog.com/read-the-story/

A seven-day online festival in partnership with Waterstones from 8 – 14 June for families to celebrate the power of imagination and Puffin’s 80th birthday – watch on Puffin Facebook and YouTube channels.

CLS Empathy Competition

To celebrate Empathy Day on Tuesday 9th June, Creative Learning Services are running a competition all about empathy. 

What is empathy? Empathy is a skill we use to understand how other people feel. We exercise this skill when reading, writing, talking and listening to others. Having empathy helps us to be kinder and more accepting of others. It can then lead to an understanding of what we can do to help people and change things for the better. 

For this competition they would like you to use your empathy skills and imagine that you are living in someone else’s shoes. 

This person could be: 

• A family member or friend 
• A child from a different time in history 
• A child from a different country or culture 
• A fictional person of your own creation 
• An existing character that you love 

You can either: 

1. Create your own character and think about what they might be feeling. (You can use our feelings template to help) 

or 

2. Write a short story as if you are someone else. 

Email your entry along with your name, age and school name to [email protected] by Friday 12th June. 

There will be separate book goodie bag prizes awarded, one for each of the following age groupings: EYFS/KS1, KS2, KS3 and KS4/5

Write a story of up to 300 words, using the theme BIG DREAMS – an epic fantasy inspired by a dream, an amazing adventure that takes place in another world, or a true-to-life story set in an imaginary school. Deadline is midnight on 28th May.

Click the link for more information:

https://www.nationalbooktokens.com/big-dreams?utm_source=nbt&utm_medium=email&utm_content=big-dreams&utm_campaign=20200515_writing-competition

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