Goodbye to our Writer in Residence Michelle Robinson and congratulations to her competition winner!

The tenure of our Writer in Residence Michelle Robinson has come to an end and she has picked the winner for her competition! 

It’s been a total joy to be BookTrust’s Writer in Residence over the past six months. I’ve loved sharing ideas and tips on having fun reading together. 

There really are so many ways to make turn reading into a special and memorable treat. I believe that every minute spent reading together is a minute well spent. It’s been brilliant to hear from so many teachers, carers and parents who feel the same way.  

There were an amazing number of entries into my competition to win a virtual author visit. Thank you all for taking the time to share your tips on how you make reading together fun. Your ideas were inspiring and hugely varied, picking a winner took a while! 

There were some common themes – providing a variety of books, letting children pick subjects that interest them, ‘doing the voices’, singing, throwing in surprising and unexpected words, creating a special atmosphere, getting comfortable and cosy and making a special event such as a ‘book breakfast’.  

My favourite tip came from Michelle Hames. She said,

‘It’s simple –get stuck in and enjoy it too! There's nothing better than really going for it and immersing yourself in story time. Children are very perceptive and can tell if you're having fun too. A love of reading is contagious.’ 

I couldn’t agree more. I’m looking forward to my virtual visit with Michelle’s winning school, Servite R.C Primary School. 

Being Writer in Residence has been an absolute honour and a ton of fun. Thank you so much for your support and engagement, and remember: if you’remaking time to read together, you’re doing something right. I can’t wait to follow Rashmi Sirdeshpande’s posts when she takes over as Writer in Residence next month, championing fact books. Enjoy reading together!