Bringing the magic of authors to schools during a pandemic

WHEN the Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour began in 1998, the idea was simple: bring the magic of an author visit to every community and remote area in Scotland.

Since then, the tour has expanded, covering Northern Ireland, England and Wales.

For many students, this may be the only chance they have to meet a writer in real life. As a national charity, promoting reading culture in schools and educational settings is one of Scottish Book Trust’s key aims, and thanks to the tour, more than 130,000 children have had the opportunity to meet authors like Julia Donaldson, Chris Riddell and Malorie Blackman.

This time last year, the Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour was faced with a new challenge – how to reach schools when physical events are no longer safe? Scottish Book Trust engaged with schools across Scotland and transformed the tour into a virtual experience. Although the tour van was no longer on the road, the Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour clocked up mileage with adventurous Polar and Spacethemed events, featuring RRS Discovery, Sarah Airreiss and British Antarctic Survey, live from the Antarctic.

The latest tour, Connected: Continents was the most ambitious yet, with Scottish pupils travelling around the world in just one week. Overcoming time differences and language barriers, young people in school and at home were able to tune into events across Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia as well as North and South America.

Pupils sitting in classrooms in Glasgow and Shetland listened to author Issa Watanabe read from her picture group, Migrants, live from Peru. The event, which was in Spanish, was live translated. The book explores forced migration, casting the migrants as a group of animals who must take a perilous journey across the sea. Through colourful and stark illustrations, the book sparks young people’s imaginations and helps them to feel empathy for those who are often forced to make such journeys.

EDUCATION has been much disrupted by the pandemic, and an author visit not only helps to engage a classroom but can provide support for teachers when visits to libraries and book shops are not possible. A majority of teachers in the UK surveyed by Oxford University Press expressed concern that pupils may have read less widely for pleasure during lockdown. Through remote learning, the Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour has provided teachers with a variety of free and fun events from authors all over the globe. The Connected tours saw 146 schools and 8,000 pupils from 29 local authorities across Scotland, England, Wales and even Canada join events.

As schools return after the Easter holidays, the Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour will continue to be digital. Families at home can enjoy the events and activities from the on-demand library on Scottish Book Trust’s website. The magic of an author visit can inspire young people to pick up a pen: perhaps one day, they will become authors of their own.

To find out more about the Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour, visit scottishbooktrust.com/ tour-on-demand