Discover more about Angel of Grasmere here
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Read Chapter 1 of Angel of Grasmere
Discover more here
lovereading4kids guest editor
Please catch up on the latest interview with me about writing Angel of Grasmere in my Guest Edited edition of lovereading4kids here
https://www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/blog/tom-palmer-our-guest-editor-of-the-month-6657
Thank you
Summer Term News 2024
What’s on offer this term, Summer 2024
- NEW Angel of Grasmere NEW historical fiction preview
- Book now! Online event
- Meet Me! In person events
- NEW Rocky Race Soccer Diaries
- 6 June 2024 D-Day 80th Anniversary – read D-Day Dog and free resources
- May 2024 new audio books
- Autumn Term Author visits
New Book!
Angel of Grasmere:from Dunkirk to the Fells
By Tom Palmer Published May 2024 Barrington Stoke.
July 1940 – Tarn struggles to come to terms with the loss of her beloved brother in the chaos of the British retreat at Dunkirk and she and her friends scour the hills around their Westmorland home, watching for any signs of the long-dreaded Nazi invasion.
But as the war drags on, with little good news from the front, the locals become aware of someone carrying out anonymous acts of kindness. With no one claiming credit, the village come to think of this unidentified stranger as a kind of guardian angel, but when his identity is finally revealed can Tarn come to terms with the truth…?
“In the darkest of days, that’s when the miracles begin”
“In this powerful new novel, Tom Palmer conveys the devastating impact of war both for those who fight on the frontlines and those who are left at home to worry and grieve. Angel of Grasmere is another brilliant example from Tom of how history can be brought vividly to life for young people today in a way that they can relate to and empathise with.” Ailsa Bathgate
Free resources available now …
- Trailer https://youtu.be/BAwGDDuNRHk
- Tom’s writer’s scrapbook
- Tom’s writer’s diary
- Interview with Tom
- A cover prediction set of worksheets
- Angel paper dolls activity
- Settings map worksheet
- A Little Lakeland Nature-read along and colour in
Discover more about it and all these free resources here https://tompalmer.co.uk/angel-of-grasmere/
Signed copies are already available to pre-order from Sam Read Books, Grasmere www.samreadbooks.co.uk/product/AngelGrasmere/12997
New! Online event
Tuesday 9 May 11am Angel of Grasmere, from Dunkirk to the Fells
Dunkirk Anniversary – A Commemoration Special with Mr Dilly and Tom Palmer.
The event features:
- Join Tom Palmer speaking on location from the beaches of Dunkirk and the Grasmere Fells
- Interview and conversation with Mr Dilly and Tom Palmer
- Watch footage of the Dunkirk evacuation
- Listen to pre-recorded interviews with some of the Dunkirk veterans
Book Now FREE here
Meet Me 2024 – In Person Events
Thursday 30 May 2024 11-3pm Imperial War Museum North
Friday 31 May 2024 11-3pm Imperial War Museum London
Free
NEW May 2024 – Rocky’s Big Move
The exciting sequel in The Soccer Diaries series starring Rocky Race, a British footballer looking to make it big. Rocky Race is going for goal – but what about her grades?
Fourteen, hard as nails and magic on the pitch, Rocky Race is one of the best up and coming young footballers in the UK. But does she have what it takes to make it as a soccer pro in California?
Rocky Race is living the dream: she’s won a scholarship to a prestigious high school in Los Angeles, where she gets to play soccer and train for going pro. She’s got an amazing best friend, and a supportive mum and brother back home in the UK. But living away from home isn’t easy, and fitting in with American kids in high school is scary and new. Not to mention she has to keep her grades up if she wants to stay on the pitch! Will Rocky survive high school?
Preorder on Amazon here
Discover more here
“everything that today’s children need as they grow up. It is jam-packed with positive role models, girls involvement in Women’s Football, respect, mental well-being, good work ethic, education and aspiration. Tom Palmer expertly weaves all of this together with friendship, family and a great little plot.” Books for Topics
6 June 2024 D-Day 80th Anniversary
Reading D-Day Dog and my free resources like blackout poems are a great way to commemorate this year’s 80th Anniversary of D-Day.
More here
AVAILABILITY : Virtual & In Person Author Visits
I am delighted to be still going into schools this term for in-person author visits and have availability from Autumn 2024. More here.
“The impact of last year’s visit was massive and has really helped us develop reading with our current year 6 group. In reading surveys and discussions your books always get a mention and are still read by a lot of the year group.” Green Lane Primary School
New! Audio Books
Audio books for my other Barrington Stoke titles will be available from 9 May 2024. Thank you for listening.
Please use this form to receive publication reminders
Our replies are never automated so you will get a personal reply. Please be patient with us!
Buy Books
Signed and dedicated copies of all my books are available personalised to order from my local independent children’s bookshop “The Thoughtful Spot” here.
With an extra special Christmas or birthday card from me on request!
Overseas :
Australia: Boomerang
Canada: Amazon Canada
New Zealand: Wheelers
USA : Indigo books
Visit my
bookshop or support your local bookshop HIVE
Schools bumper 33 book pack offer here
33 books
£194 saving £63 – over 25% discount
FREE DELIVERY & SIGNED BOOKPLATES
Please email rosie@rosemaryhillbooks.co.uk
Schools class set offer here.
15 copies 20%+ discount
30 copies 25%+ discount
100 copies 30% + discount
FREE DELIVERY & SIGNED BOOKPLATES
Please email rosie@rosemaryhillbooks.co.uk for a quote
Email me here for more information or use my contact form here to ask me a question.
Thank you.
PRIVACY & COOKIES POLICY TERMS & CONDITIONS
Dunkirk Commemoration Online event
Tuesday 9 May 11am Angel of Grasmere – from Dunkirk to the Fells
A Commemoration Special with Mr Dilly and Tom Palmer
Book Now FREE
A commemoration History Special this May as Mr Dilly’s WORLD OF HISTORY presents a perfect event for schools, all children KS2 plus, those interested in WWII history, and curious minds everywhere!
Join Mr Dilly and multi award-winning children’s author Tom Palmer as they co-host and commemorate the WWII events of the evacuation at Dunkirk, and on its publication day, they discuss the story, characters and events behind his latest WWII novel Angel of Grasmere.
Learn about the incredible Dunkirk evacuation during World War II (1939–45) where around 340,000 British, French, and Belgian allied soldiers were rescued from the beaches of Dunkirk in France. See Tom on location from Dunkirk and the Grasmere Fells, discover the story behind the Dunkirk evacuation, and the life-threatening conditions in which the soldiers were being rescued, and be amazed at the bravery of the civilian sailors who helped saved them.
The event features:
– Join Tom Palmer speaking on location from the beaches of Dunkirk and the Grasmere Fells
– Interview and conversation with Mr Dilly and Tom Palmer
– Watch footage of the Dunkirk evacuation
– Listen to pre-recorded interviews with some of the Dunkirk veterans
Book Now FREE here
Discover more about Angel of Grasmere here
Thank you
Angel of Grasmere souvenir reader’s pack
To celebrate the forthcoming publication of my latest book, Angel of Grasmere, I am offering a special souvenir reader’s pack.
In Angel of Grasmere, Tarn grapples with the loss of her brother at Dunkirk as she faces the threat of Nazi invasion in the Cumbrian countryside in this gripping wartime tale.
Published by Barrington Stoke
Out 9 May 2024.
9+
Discover more and lots of literacy resources here.
The Souvenir Readers’ Packs contain:
- a sampler with the first chapter
- a signed bookplate – with optional dedication “To …”, if requested below
- a signed postcard
- a signed bookplate
- bookmarks
- a poster
To request a pack, free of charge, please complete the contact form below.
Thank you! Our replies are never automated. You will get a personal reply so please be patient with us!
Data protection notice – we respect your privacy and we will not share your details with anyone else. You may unsubscribe at any time by emailing admin (at) tompalmer (dot) co (dot) uk or use my simple unsubscribe page here. If you are under 16, please always make sure to ask a parent for their permission before you give your details to this or any other website. Please refer to my Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions for further information.
Buy the Book
Pre-order from your local library, local independent bookshop,
Waterstones and Amazon.
Signed and dedicated copies personalised to order from Sam Read Books, Grasmere here. www.samreadbooks.co.uk/product/AngelGrasmere/12997
DISCOVER more about the inspiration behind Angel of Grasmere here.
Thank you!
RESPONSES TO ARCTIC STAR
Here is a little gallery of some of the wonderful class and home work already created by children and teachers in response to “Arctic Star”.
I hope they inspire you!
A Cake from Ibstock Place School
St Columbkille’s Blackout Poetry
Amazing display from Stanley Grove
Winter 1943. Teenagers Frank, Joseph and Stephen are Royal Navy recruits on their first mission at sea during the Second World War, on HMS Belfast part of an Arctic convoy sailing to Russia to deliver supplies to the Soviets. The convoys have to navigate treacherous waters, sailing through a narrow channel between the Arctic ice pack and German bases on the Norwegian coast. Faced with terrifying enemy attacks from both air and sea, as well as life-threatening cold, gales and pack ice, will all three boys make it home again?
Buy Books
Signed and dedicated copies of all my books are available personalised to order from my local independent children’s bookshop “The Thoughtful Spot” here.
With an extra special Christmas or birthday card from me on request!
Overseas :
Australia: Boomerang
Canada: Amazon Canada
New Zealand: Wheelers
USA : Indigo books
Visit my bookshop or support your local bookshop HIVE
Schools bumper 33 book pack
offer here
33 books
£194 saving £63 – over 25% discount
FREE DELIVERY & SIGNED BOOKPLATES
Please email rosie@rosemaryhillbooks.co.uk
Schools class set offer here.
15 copies 20%+ discount
30 copies 25%+ discount
100 copies 30% + discount
FREE DELIVERY & SIGNED BOOKPLATES
Please email rosie@rosemaryhillbooks.co.uk for a quote
Email me here for more information or use my contact form here to ask me a question.
Thank you.
RESPONSES TO OVER THE LINE
Here is a little gallery of some of the wonderful class and home work already created by children and teachers in response to “Over the Line”.
I hope they inspire you!
Children from Stramongate Primary School in Kendal were inspired by ‘Over the Line’ to create a dance to perform at a dance festival. Tom visited the school to share his stories and engaged in a Q&A session before enjoying a performance of the dance.
The children enjoyed reading ‘Over the Line’ as their class text, as part of their World War I unit of work. Alongside the classroom learning, the children worked with dance artist, Rachel Towe, to explore the themes of the book and use them in the creative process to create a dance. The dance was performed at a local dance festival where primary and secondary schools came together to share and celebrate dance work. The children performed to a public audience of nearly 300 people in a local professional venue, The Brewery Arts Centre, in Kendal. Many of the children had never performed in a professional venue or on stage before.
The dance begins when the outbreak of war is all over the newspapers. The footballers are distracted, their heads are still in the game. Eventually, they sign up. Then they become lost in the horrors of the frontline. The dance also included the extraordinary ceasefire on Christmas day; a magical historical moment that brought football back to the soldier’s life for a fleeting moment. The two opposing sides play football in ‘no man’s land’. Finally, the dance depicts the poppy fields, a symbol of the soldiers who died during WWI.
All involved in the project were excited to share the dance with Tom. They wondered if Tom had ever had a dance created that was inspired by one of his books before.
Dance Artist Rachel Towe explained… ‘As soon as I read Tom’s book ‘Over the Line’, I knew it was going to be a great stimulus for a dance with the Year 6 children I was working with. Many of the children had never danced on stage before, let alone perform on a professional stage. I knew they loved the football and war theme and that it would be great to capture the interest and imagination of that group of children in particular. Sharing the dance with Tom, when he visited the school, was really special – It looked like Tom was quite moved by the performance, and it was a memorable experience for all involved!’
Stramongate Primary pupils also produced cakes and other 3D and 2D representations of Over the Line. Amazing!
Photos shared with permission.
Over the Line is powerful historical novel about one footballer’s experience in the First World War. It’s 1914 and Jack is making his debut as a professional footballer. But the match is marred by a demonstration demanding that the players sign up to do their duty in France. It is not long before Jack is bound for the trenches with the Footballers’ Battalion.
“Classic” The Guardian
Find out more about Over the Line and more resources here
Email me here what you thought about Over the Line and for more information about my books or use my contact form here.
Thank you.
PRIVACY & COOKIES POLICY TERMS & CONDITIONS
Q&A with Tom about Angel of Grasmere
Firstly, can you tell us a bit about Angel of Grasmere and what first inspired you to write the book?
Tom : It is set in Cumbria – known then as the English Lakes – during WW2. I had heard that – during both wars – some men hid in the mountains to avoid going to fight. I also read that there were genuine fears the Germans could invade by parachuting and landing in gliders on the higher fells. The two things came together and I started thinking what impact that would have on children who lived there then. Angel of Grasmere is the result.
How did you find striking the balance between fact and fiction when telling the story?
Tom : Normally I am very focused on basing all scenes on actual events and on the testimony of those who experiences them. This book – although based on real events that happened – is more fictional. I’d say it’s 50/50 real/fiction. It was a lot of fun to do.
The story casts a spotlight on the experiences of ordinary Cumbrian people during the early days of World War Two. What made you want to write about here during this particular period of the war? Were there any aspects that were especially important to you to show?
Tom : As wars rage today we see on TV their impact on civilians. I think – as well as showing the horrors of war in aeroplanes, the trenches and at sea – we need to understand what war does to civilians too. I hate war. I want to show how awful it is if we allow it, don’t stop it, even cause it. Civilians are suffering around the world now and I wanted to do what I could to draw from the past so we can think about the present and maybe make a better future.
How did you go about your research for the book? What was the most interesting discovery you made?
Tom : Books, films, interviewing very old people who remember the war when they were children. Museums, hikes up mountains. I even spent one night in a tent alone on top of a mountain just so I could get a sense of what my chracters might see and hear and how they would feel in such an extreme place. From all of that the most interesting thing for me was how even in a small country like ours you can walk and camp for hours and hours and not see another person and how lovely that is sometimes.
Find out more about Angel of Grasmere here
Be the first to know
Sign up for updates and a preview of first chapters please complete my Writing Update contact form below.
Buy Books
Signed and dedicated copies personalised to order from Sam Read Books, Grasmere here. www.samreadbooks.co.uk/product/AngelGrasmere/12997
Overseas
Australia: Boomerang
Canada: Amazon Canada
New Zealand: Wheelers
USA : Indigo books
Visit my bookshop or support your local bookshop HIVE
Schools bumper 33 book pack offer here
33 books
£194 saving £63 – over 20% discount
FREE DELIVERY & SIGNED BOOKPLATES
Please email rosie@rosemaryhillbooks.co.uk.
Schools class set offer here.
15 copies 20%+ discount
30 copies 25%+ discount
100 copies 30% + discount
FREE DELIVERY & SIGNED BOOKPLATES
Please email rosie@rosemaryhillbooks.co.uk for a quote
Email me here for more information or use my contact form here to ask me a question.
Thank you.
Spring 2024 highlights
What’s on offer this term, Spring 2024
- January 2024 Holocaust Memorial Day
- March 2024 World Book Day
- Spring Term Author visits
- May 2024 New historical fiction preview
- NEW Rocky Race series
- NEW Football Ultimate Heroes
Saturday 27 Jan 2024 – Holocaust Memorial Day
Our 2024 resources are available with partners including UCL Centre for Holocaust Education and the National Literacy Trust. This year we are offering …
- a webinar with the Historical Association
- a Free 5 part story
- an online Q&A event with Mala Tribich
7 March 2024 World Book Day
Can you judge a book by its cover? Watch below or in YouTube…
Dress up ideas for all my books here https://tompalmer.co.uk/world-book-day/
And lots more free resources here
May 2024 – new Historical Fiction
I will have a new children’s historical fiction out in May set in Cumbria in the Second World War.
- Sign up for a reminder to get an advance chapter and for more here tompalmer.co.uk/new-writing/
- More about researching and writing Angel of Grasmere here
- Signed and dedicated copies personalised to order from Sam Read Books, Grasmere here. www.samreadbooks.co.uk/product/AngelGrasmere/12997
Meet me 2024
Thursday 30 May 2024 11-3pm Imperial War Museum North
Friday 31 May 2024 11-3pm Imperial War Museum London
More here
Audiobooks update
After the War, Resist and Soccer Diaries are already available.
D-Day Dog, Armistice Runner, Over the Line, Arctic Star and Angel of Grasmere are being recorded now and will be available from May 2024
Latest Football Fiction – NEW Rocky Race series
Rocky Race, the sister of Roy of the Rovers – has a new spin off series kicking off .
In Rocky Takes L.A. we join the combative British fourteen-year-old as she signs up for a summer soccer school in California.
- More about Rocky here https://tompalmer.co.uk/soccer-diaries/
- Read Chapter 1 https://tompalmer.co.uk/soccer-diaries-read-chapter-1/
Author Visits
I am available for in-person and virtual author visits with a focus on creative writing, sports, reading and writing about history.
- More about my author visits here www.tompalmer.co.uk/schools-librarians/author-visits/
For latest availability & fees, please email admin@tompalmer.co.uk, subject “2024 Author Visits”
USE this form to receive availability and publication reminders
Our replies are never automated so you will get a personal reply. Please be patient with us!
Buy Books
Signed and dedicated copies of all my books are available personalised to order from my local independent children’s bookshop “The Thoughtful Spot” here.
With an extra special Christmas or birthday card from me on request!
Overseas :
Australia: Boomerang
Canada: Amazon Canada
New Zealand: Wheelers
USA : Indigo books
Visit my bookshop or support your local bookshop HIVE
Schools bumper 33 book pack offer here
33 books
£194 saving £63 – over 25% discount
FREE DELIVERY & SIGNED BOOKPLATES
Please email rosie@rosemaryhillbooks.co.uk
Schools class set offer here.
15 copies 20%+ discount
30 copies 25%+ discount
100 copies 30% + discount
FREE DELIVERY & SIGNED BOOKPLATES
Please email rosie@rosemaryhillbooks.co.uk for a quote
Email me here for more information or use my contact form here to ask me a question.
Thank you.
PRIVACY & COOKIES POLICY TERMS & CONDITIONS
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