Children’s Authors love to get together

 

Authors by their nature of work do not often see each other so when they do they have a lot to talk about. They talk about their latest books, unless like #thewriter they say nothing about them until they appear in print; they talk about their agents; they talk about their publishers; they talk about school visits; They have all  have so much to say about school visits that I’m thinking of collecting all the anecdotes and publishing them myself!

Yesterday evening after having  spent the day inspiring children and teachers about books and reading, and in turn being inspired by amazing librarians, two children’s authors met up to compare notes, whilst I sat and listened. Andrew Norriss and HL Dennis love the chance to catch up and share words of encouragement and support for each other.

 

Children’s Authors love to get together

 

Authors by their nature of work do not often see each other so when they do they have a lot to talk about. They talk about their latest books, unless like #thewriter they say nothing about them until they appear in print; they talk about their agents; they talk about their publishers; they talk about school visits; They have all  have so much to say about school visits that I’m thinking of collecting all the anecdotes and publishing them myself!

Yesterday evening after having  spent the day inspiring children and teachers about books and reading, and in turn being inspired by amazing librarians, two children’s authors met up to compare notes, whilst I sat and listened. Andrew Norriss and HL Dennis love the chance to catch up and share words of encouragement and support for each other.

 

Bernard’s Watch by Andrew Norriss free today!

Bernard’s Watch by Andrew Norriss is free today!

Today is the last day to download your free copy of Bernard’s Watch.

Lots have already taken advantage of the offer and now have a delightful story to read themselves and with their children.

No catch just a three day promotion to celebrate World Book Day.

Just click on the links below.

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com

Free Bernard’s Watch eBook

Free Bernard’s Watch eBook

To celebrate World Book Day Award winning children’s author Andrew Norriss is giving away his book Bernard’s Watch. Help your self! It’s a delightful story about a boy who is given a watch that stops time.

UK link  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bernards-Watch-ebook/dp/B0081UC1CQ/ref=la_B003IQ2RX6_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1362750503&sr=1-8

If you could stop time…

Bernard’s Watch by Andrew Norriss is the children’s book based on the popular children’s TV series Bernard’s Watch. The eBook is free for 3 days now from Amazon.

Click here Amazon.co.uk

Click here for Amazon.com

What would you do if you had a watch that could stop time?

When Bernard finds himself outside of school during the lunch break, his Aunt B. gives him a special watch with the power to stop time. With it, Bernard need never be late for anything again, and begins using the watch to help himself and others. He becomes star of the school football team by playing in goal, waiting for the ball to come his way, then stopping time and moving into a position where he can stop the goal being scored. He stops time so he can find out the answers to difficult maths and other academic problems, and to hand school bullies over to the police without them knowing how they came to be hanging on railings outside the police station. But the watch also has a power for great harm. While Bernard can use it to stop time and move someone out of the way of a car accident, someone else could use it to move him into the path on an oncoming bus. And can the watch stop time from running out for his elderly Aunt B.?

Andrew Norriss shines in this book; his writing is sensitive, humorous and thought-provoking all at once. The relationships between the characters are extremely important, and Norriss doesn’t just focus on the children. He give times to the personalities of Aunt B. and the thoughts of Mr. Beasley and his neighbour, and shows Bernard’s change through their eyes as well as Bernard’s own. It is refreshing for the listener to have time to appreciate the reactions of Bernard’s close family and friends, as well as the police sergeant who finds himself mysteriously caught up in events where things seem to appear and or disappear into thin air. It is enjoyable by both children and adults.

The audio book runs at approximately 3 and a half hours, perfect for a long car journey.

by Louise Anne Bateman, WATERSTONE’S CRAWLEY

Free eBook for World Book Day 2013

Free Download on World Book Day 2013

“Bernard’s aunt gave him the watch at a little after two o’clock on a Thursday afternoon in early February. Later, he would sometimes wonder why his aunt chose to give it to him at that particular time or, indeed, why she chose to give it to him at all, instead of to somebody else. But whatever the reason, he was always extremely grateful to her. It was the perfect present at the time because, at the time, time was exactly what he needed.”

So begins Bernard’s Watch by Andrew Norriss. The story began as a 15 minute short film for the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) some years ago. As the brief was to provide a story comprehensible and enjoyable for children throughout Europe, there was little dialogue and a narrator told the story. It was a great success, so much so that a series was commissioned by ITV, and then another and another…

1997-2001

The first run told of a young boy called Bernard who was always late, until a postman gave him a “magic watch” which could stop time. He soon found out that the postman had magical powers, and that these watches were given to people who needed them. The rules of him keeping his watch were that he couldn’t use it to commit crimes and couldn’t be greedy. Every episode focused on Bernard or someone he’d lent the watch to facing a problem or simply doing day-to-day stuff and trying to sort it out, using the watch.

Here’s episode 1 on Youtube

Andrew Norriss wrote 6 series of delightfully stories about Bernard and then used some of the ideas to write a the book Bernard’s Watch published by Puffin Books in 1999. When it went out of print I typed it out (we didn’t have the original document), and published it as an eBook. It was a delight for me to re-read and I recommend it to adults and children alike. Andrew Norriss’s characteristic ‘light humorous touch’ and clever plotting make for a most enjoyable and satisfying read, and so that more can appreciate it I have made it free to download for 3 days this week including World Book Day. Do help your self and let me know what you think!

Click here for Bernard’s Watch by Andrew Norriss

Free eBook World Book Day 2013

 

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