London LitSoc Kids' Book Club
Welcome to LitSoc!
Meet your next favourite author at our new kids’ book club
LitSoc is all about sharing our love of reading for fun.
Every month we’ll choose a book to read and then we’ll get together with the author to hear great stories, and find out more about their wonderful characters and messages.
We’ll be reading books by some of the biggest names in kids’ books, a few exciting new voices and a couple of classics so you can bring a copy you may already have, or borrow one from your school or local library.
At LitSoc you’ll have the chance to discover new authors and genres, hobnob with the writers you’ve been reading, share your ideas and ask your own questions in a warm and welcoming space at St Paul’s School here in Barnes.
What do we do at LitSoc?
- Read the book! You don’t have to buy one. You can borrow a copy from your school or local library.
- Try and finish the book before we meet so that you won’t be too worried about spoilers!
- Come along to our meeting where the author will join us for an hour or so to bring their book to life
- You’ll have time to ask your own questions and share your thoughts with your book club friends
- Afterwards there’ll be a chance to meet the author and have your book signed PLUS
- Every month we’ll have a list of books to read after book club which we also think you’ll love AND
- We’ll also pick a wildcard each month which is a book we think might surprise you.
So what are you waiting for? Let’s get reading and we’ll see you at LitSoc!
LitSoc May
Saturday 13 May 2023
Brightstorm
by Vashti Hardy
2.00pm – 3.15pm
Suitable for 8+ years
‘Fear kills more dreams than failure ever will.’
Arthur and Maudie Brightstorm receive devastating news: their famous explorer father has died in a failed attempt to reach South Polaris. To make matters worse, the Lontown Geographical Society finds Ernest Brightstorm guilty of sabotaging the expedition of his competitor, Eudora Vane. But a mysterious clue leads the twins to question the story they’ve been told—and to uncover the truth, they must undertake the journey of a lifetime. Joining the ragtag crew of a homemade sky-ship captained by the intrepid Harriet Culpepper, Arthur and Maudie race to South Polaris to salvage their family’s reputation and find out what really happened on their father’s doomed expedition.
Come and join the Blue Peter Book Award winning author Vashti Hardy and explore the fantastical world of The Brightstorm Chronicles. Vashti will share her childhood inspirations and how tales of real life explorers throughout history have inspired the bold characters and amazing adventure stories she writes now. Bring your notebook because Vashti will be bursting with creative world-building ideas for young writers.
Vashti also provides a sneak peek from the latest adventure in the Brightstorm world, Serpent of the Sands.
Vashti Hardy was a primary school teacher for many years with a special interest in children’s writing, especially free writing, and the use of journals and creating fantasy worlds. Her debut Brightstorm, the first book in The Brightstorm Chronicles, was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the Books are My Bag Awards and the Leeds Book Award, among many others. She is also the author of the acclaimed sky-ship adventure Wildspark which won the Blue Peter Book Award and the Federation of Children’s Book Groups Award in 2020. Vashti has always loved real life adventurers from history such as Ernest Shackleton and Amelia Earhart and she’s a big fan of Bear Grylls too.
