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Scottish Friendly Children's Book Tour
The Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour brings authors, illustrators and a variety of other creative practitioners to schools, libraries and public venues.
The tour hosts fully-funded events with authors, illustrators, poets, storytellers and other creative practitioners in every local authority in Scotland to inspire a love of reading, writing and illustration in schools. The tour also visits schools in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. Previous tours included Julia Donaldson, Chris Riddell, Joseph Coelho, Pamela Butchart and David Almond.
Following the announcement from Scottish Government about the latest COVID-19 restrictions the virtual author tours planned for January – March will go ahead with a limited schools audience. These live events will be available to watch on demand. Applications will be open to anyone who wants to join live.
Apply now
Connected: Polar
This January, the Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour will visit our planet’s frozen polar regions. Five days of brrrrrilliant virtual events will transport young people to our planet's most mysterious and isolated regions. Discover the stories of daring explorers, the secrets of climate science and the habitats of some of our favourite polar animals through a mix of live events, unique videos and interactive Q&A sessions.
- Epic polar adventurers with Vashti Hardy and Catherine Johnson
- Poles Apart with Jeanne Willis and Jarvis
- Shackleton's Journey with William Grill and RSS Discovery
- Surviving the Antarctic with Sarah Airriess and British Antarctic Survey
Connected: Space
In February, The Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour prepares to boldly go where no book tour has ever been before. Four days, four out-of-this-world virtual events telling the stories of daring space adventures and asking ‘is there anybody out there?’ through science fact and fiction.
- Space Explorers with Libby Jackson
- The Final Frontier with Dr Sheila Kanani
- Orion Lost with Alastair Chisholm
- Rocketmole with Matt Carr
How to apply
- Visit the event pages to find the best fit for your pupils and apply
- Schools can apply for multiple events. Please note that we can't guarantee a place for all events
- Please indicate your first choice of event(s) in your application
Upcoming
Connected: Continents (March 2021)
Buckle up for a round the world adventure packed with live events and videos with amazing talks, activities and interactive Q&A from unique, inspiring locations.
Watch videos from authors and illustrators we've worked with before(this will open in a new window)
Scottish Friendly Assurance
Scottish Friendly have been sponsoring the tour for over 20 years(this will open in a new window) and they continue to offer support to the touring programme. We reach an average of 6,000 children every year in a vast range of different communities, from rural schools with 8 pupils in Mouswald to a 2000 seat theatre.
Scottish Friendly Assurance is a progressive and modern financial services group, who have been around for over 150 years. It provides investors and families with a wide range of financial products. You can find out more about Scottish Friendly on their website(this will open in a new window).
