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Age guideline 7-11, 11-13
About the event
British Book of the Year-winning author M.G. Leonard has a new hobby, birdwatching! M.G. explores this fascinating new world through Twitch, a thrilling adventure that brings a birdwatcher and a bully together to try to capture a robber. All about friendship, the genius and beauty of birds, and the endless rewards of having a relationship with the natural world, Twitch is a joyful book that will encourage you to get back out into nature.
M. G. Leonard is a keen amateur birdwatcher, and in this event she will take you on her journey of birding discovery, with some tips on how to spot birds where you live that might even inspire you to get up super early and listen to the Dawn Chorus, and she will definitely get you to take THE TWITCHER’S OATH. Want to know what this is? You’ll have to watch the event to find out!
Buy the Book here: Twitch - M.G. Leonard
How to access the event
From 1 January 2022, this event will move to our collection of Past Event Videos where you can access all past festival events for a small one-off fee of £5. Go to the top of the page to view Past Event Videos. Please click here to sign up or log in if you are already a member.
Teacher Resources
Living things and Local Environment
Link this event and the book Twitch to Science topics on living things and the local environment. Twitch has observed, identified and classified living things in his local environment: his home and garden and Aves Wood. He understands the way that these habitats change throughout the year. He has also considered the human impact on those environments. Link how Twitch has done this to your own exploration of the local environment: the school grounds, the local park, streets or nearby fields, woods or beaches.
Geographical Skills and Fieldwork
In this event M G Leonard shows us how she created the map for Aves Wood from a map of Cromwell Bottom. She uses the physical and human features of the nature reserve to form the idea for her story. Link this event to map making of a place local to you, exploring ways of marking and presenting features to communicate what the area is like.
Story Settings
Use the event and the map based task to create a story setting of your own.
PSHE
Link this event and the book to exploring what makes a good friendship, respecting yourself and others and different types of family.
About the Author
M.G. LEONARD is an award-winning, bestselling writer of children’s books, as well as a member of Authors4Oceans. Her Beetle Boy series has sold in 37 countries and she is currently writing the screenplay for a TV series based on the trilogy. Her first picture book, The Tale of a Toothbrush, is out now. Before becoming a writer, she worked as a digital media producer for the National Theatre and Shakespeare’s Globe. She is also a trained actor, dabbling in directing and producing as well as performing. She lives in Brighton with her husband and two sons.
Twitter: @MGLnrd
Instagram: @mglnrd
Facebook: MGLnrd
Website: https://www.mgleonard.com/
About the festival partner
This event has been programmed by Bath Children’s Literature Festival.
Bath Festivals is a charity that brings you the Bath Children’s Literature Festival, Europe’s largest dedicated children’s literature festival with a vibrant array of talks and activities for children. They are also responsible for The Bath Festival in the summer which bring the city alive with a celebration of music and books in the beautiful venues and spaces of the world heritage city. By creating innovative and diverse programmes, their festivals inspire and provide unique experiences for residents and visitors to Bath and surrounding areas. Their year-round creative learning programme of hands-on music and literature projects gives children and young people opportunities to gain real-world experience, building their inner confidence and improving communication skills through the arts.