I have been virtually visiting schools since 2012, during which time I’ve done over 230 virtual visits with over 180 different schools in the UK, the US and beyond. You can find a map of the schools I’ve visited and read some of their feedback at the bottom of this page.
After offering free 20 minute sessions for several years, I’ve now switched to offering longer, for-a-fee virtual sessions adapted from some of the most popular in-person sessions I do in schools and libraries. Outlines of these sessions are shown below.
I offer a 30% DISCOUNT* for additional sessions booked by the same school as part of the same booking.
Summer Term Special
MOLE AND FRIENDS, illustrated by Vanessa Cabban
A reading of TWO of the Mole and Friends books of your choice:
Bringing Down the Moon • No Place Like Home • Diamond in the Snow •The Best Gift of All • A Secret Worth Sharing
Q & A: I chat with the children and answer their questions between the two readings.
Suggested Age: 4-7 years • Session Length: 30 minutes
UK Price £60 excl. VAT (£72 incl. VAT)
International Price $85 (payment via PayPal)
PICK & MIX
Two readings of a complete novelty or picture book or an excerpt from one of my chapter books. Schools can request whichever two books they like and each reading can be followed by a Q&A.
Suggested Age: 4-9 years • Session Length: 30-40* minutes
UK Price £80 excl. VAT (£96 incl. VAT)
International Price $110 (payment via PayPal)
THE CLOCKWORK DRAGON, illustrated by Elys Dolan
A reading of The Clockwork Dragon.
Clockwork Creature collage activity: I show the children how the pieces on a collage sheet can be used to create other clockwork creatures and create a couple of clockwork creatures on request. The collage sheets are available as downloadable printouts which the students can use to create their own clockwork creatures after the session has ended.
Q & A: I answer the children’s questions.
Suggested Age: 5-9 years • Session Length: 45 minutes
UK Price £100 excl. VAT (£120 incl. VAT)
International Price $140 (payment via PayPal)
THE PLESIOSAUR’S NECK: A Prehistoric Puzzle, illustrated by Adam Larkum. This session is co-presented by palaeontologist and co-author Dr Adam Smith, subject to his availability.
A short introduction to plesiosaurs.
A reading of the rhyming text of The Plesiosaur’s Neck.
An entertaining exploration of some of the explanations scientists have given for Poppy the Albertonectes plesiosaur’s extraordinarily long neck.
Q & A: Dr Adam and I answer the children’s questions.
Suggested Age: 5-9 years • Session Length: 45 minutes
UK Price £100 excl. VAT (£120 incl. VAT)
International Price $140 (payment via PayPal)
HOW THE BORKS BECAME: An Adventure in Evolution, illustrated by Elys Dolan
A short introduction to the concept of evolution.
Spot the Difference: I challenge the children to spot the differences between the Borks’ appearance at the beginning and end of the book’s timeline and suggest how these differences might help the Borks to survive.
A reading of How the Borks Became: An Adventure in Evolution
Q & A: I answer the children’s questions.
Suggested Age: 5-9 years • Session Length: 45 minutes
UK Price £100 excl. VAT (£120 incl. VAT)
International Price $140 (payment via PayPal)
HERE BE MONSTERS, illustrated by Poly Bernatene
A short talk explaining how a five-hundred-year-old sea map inspired the story and introducing the animal pirates in Captain Cut-Throat’s dastardly crew.
A reading of Here Be Monsters.
Q & A: I answer the children’s questions.
Suggested Age: 6-9 years • Session Length: 45 minutes
UK Price £100 excl. VAT (£120 incl. VAT)
International Price $140 (payment via PayPal)
PIGS, FROGS & PRINCESSES, illustrated by Poly Bernatene
A reading of Prince Ribbit.
Froggy Fact or Froggy Fiction Challenge: The children are challenged to tell fact from fiction in a Would I Lie to You? style quiz and learn some amazing facts about frogs along the way.
A reading of The Princess and the Pig.
Q & A: I answer the children’s questions.
Suggested Age: 5-9 years • Session Length: 50 minutes
UK Price £100 excl. VAT (£120 incl. VAT)
International Price $140 (payment via PayPal)
FAST AND FURRY RACERS, illustrated by Ed Eaves
A short introduction to The Silver Serpent Cup‘s animal racers and their vehicles.
A reading of The Silver Serpent Cup**.
Design a Racer collage activity: I create a new animal race vehicle by request and show the children how the kit of vehicle parts can be used to create other vehicle designs. The kit is available as downloadable printouts which the students can use to create their own vehicle designs after the session has ended.
A reading of Cleopatra Bones and the Golden Chimpanzee.
Q & A: I answer the children’s questions.
Suggested Age: 5-9 years • Session Length: 45 minutes
UK Price £100 excl. VAT (£120 incl. VAT)
International Price $140 (payment via PayPal)
30% DISCOUNT* for additional sessions booked by the same school as part of the same booking
(* For two or more sessions of varying prices, the highest priced session will be charged at full price with 30% discount applied to all additional sessions)
I’m happy to consider virtual visit requests from any English-speaking school, providing the visit can be done between 9:00am and 9.00pm United Kingdom time on a weekday. If you are not in the United Kingdom, you can use the international time converter here to convert from your local time to UK time. Make sure you enter the actual date into the converter so that it can correct for Daylight Saving Time if needed.
Virtual Visits need to be booked at least three working days in advance.
Group size: In regular circumstances, I am happy to talk to up to four classrooms (on separate logins) simultaneously on my visit. All of my sessions include an opportunity for question and answers and it’s difficult to do this well with more than four classrooms in one session. If you’d like me to visit more than four classrooms, you can book an additional session(s). I offer a 30% discount for additional sessions booked by the same school as part of the same booking.
ZOOMING WITH STAY-AT-HOME STUDENTS DURING THE PANDEMIC: I’m happy for students to log-in from home (in addition to four classrooms from school) but ask that a member of school staff set up and host the Zoom session, so that they can MC the session and admit any late-comers once the session has begun.
Payment: I will email you an invoice shortly after the session. Payment must be made within 30 days of the session.
UK Schools: I will only accept payment by either BACS transfer (preferred) or cheque.
US and International schools: I will only accept payments via PayPal. You can pay using a debit or credit card or a PayPal account. My invoice will include a link to a page on the PayPal site where you can make payment.
PLEASE NOTE: My virtual visits should not be recorded without my prior permission.
Software: After using Skype for my virtual visits for several years, I’ve switched to using Zoom as it’s more reliable and simpler to administrate. If your school is not using Zoom already, please download the Zoom app and check that you are able to use it within your school before booking a Zoom session with me.
I’m also happy to arrange virtual visit sessions using Google Meet.
I don’t currently offer sessions using Microsoft Teams as it is incompatible with Apple Keynote, which I use for most of my sessions, and does not work well on my Mac computer.
Fill out the form below to request a virtual visit
Technical Requirements
PLEASE NOTE: I am unable to offer technical assistance for individual hardware and operating system configurations, so if you are new to video calls please make sure that you have familiarised yourself with your particular set-up by making some video calls before your virtual visit with me. If you are intending to use external sound and video and have not done this before, please test these in advance too.
Other Requirements
BOOK SALES: If you’d like to order copies of my books from a book shop to coincide with my virtual visit this list of my books currently in print may be useful for putting an order together. I’m happy to send out signed book plates for any books purchased in this way.
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My Home Town
Virtual Visit
Multiple Virtual Visits
