Forces Families

I have worked with many forces families and their schools especially through Reading Force, the Naval Children’s Charity and Little Troopers.

My recent visit to Carnagill Primary School with Reading Force (photos with permission)

Their teacher said, “the children had such a wonderful time and learnt so much. Some children had already finished reading the book by the end of the day!”

Well done!

At the school, I was also interviewed with BFBS Radio about the visit

Armed Forces Day –

Here is a special Blackout Poem Challenge here using an extract from Arctic Star with an optional signed certificate to mark Armed Forces Day.

Navy inspired : Arctic Star

Arctic Star is my first naval story for children, having previously written books about the Army (Over the Line, Armistice Runner and The Last Try) and RAF (Flyboy, Spitfire, Typhoon and Rugby Academy).

Rooted in the real-life story of the Arctic convoys, Arctic Star was researched with the generous support of HMS Belfast and the Imperial War Museum and the Russian Arctic Convoy Exhibition.

More information here

Army inspired : Armistice Runner

Lily is struggling to compete in her junior fell-running races and, worse, she’s losing her gran to Alzheimer’s. But then she discovers her great-great-grandfather’s trench-running diaries from the First World War. Could his incredible story of bravery help her reconnect with her gran and even give her the inspiration she needs to push through and win? More here

Reservist inspired : D-Day Dog

Jack can’t wait for the school trip to the D-Day landing beaches to learn more about the war heroes he has always admired – brave men like his dad who is a reservist. But when his dad is called up to action Jack questions all he believes about war. Finding comfort in his loyal dog, Finn, Jack is drawn to the heart-wrenching true story of one particular D-Day paratrooper More here.

Army inspired : Over The Line

A powerful historical novel about a real 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. More here

Read my free short story Call of Duty about a modern footballer going to war here.

RAR inspired : The Wings series

The Wings series is about four children at a football summer camp near an old airfield. They mysteriously find themselves propelled back in time. Only if they can learn how to fly the great RAF planes – the Sopwith Camel, Spitfire and Typhoon, will history will lead them on a flightpath back to the present.

The series features:

- the great RAF planes – the Sopwith Camel, Spitfire and Typhoon
- the famous Ace flyer Hardit Singh Malik from the First World War
- female pilots of today and yesteryear
- airshows
- flight simulators
- RAF museums
- making model aircrafts

Find out more about the three books in the Wings series here:
1 Flyboy
2 Spitfire
3 Typhoon

“Your books are still massive favourites with the boys especially the Wings series.” Birkdale School

Read the first chapters by clicking on the covers below:

More here

RAF inspired : Rugby Academy

The Rugby Academy series was inspired by children of serving RAF personnel, and I used their input to get life as a Service Child right.

In the first book of this series, Combat Zone, football-mad Woody finds himself stuck in a rugby-obsessed British boarding school, as his dad is being deployed overseas.

British Service Children

My Rugby Academy & Wings series are in the Armed Forces Covenant Collection, which provides support for young people, whose friends or family members are serving in the armed forces and I am a featured author for the SCIP.

Little Troopers School Resource Pack

Primary Pack includes over 30 resources….short story by Tom Palmer, role play plans, lesson plans, circle time scenarios, activity sheets, USB loaded with templates and loads more!

Perfect for ANY school with children 4-11 years AND there is a discount code for the first 50 packs purchased…you can get £10 off with the code LTS10 more here

I am proud to be the RAF Museum children’s author in residence.

reading force original I am proud to work with Reading Force – who promote sharing and talking about books with children in British Armed Service families. I helped launch Reading Force at Le Cateau School in North Yorkshire in 2014.

Find out if you’re part of a Service family how to take part here.

reading force

In 2016, I visited Hornbill School in Brunei with Reading Force.

reading force flyer

In 2015, Reading Force took me on a roadshow to meet children and parents.

reading force 3 We visited all these schools:
Eggbuckland Vale Primary School
Widey Court Primary School
Downlands Community Primary School
Talavera Junior School
Carnagill Community Primary School
RAF Leeming Primary School
Hipswell C of E Primary Schoo
RAF Benson Primary School
Bulford St Leonard’s CE Primary School
Kiwi Primary School

“We had a brilliant afternoon and a great response to the fete – the hall was crammed! Tom and Jim’s presentation to the children was lively and easily kept them engaged for an hour and a quarter. We had huge queues to get Tom to sign the books and all the children have been really enthusiastic about reading them. I am now running a competition for the best book review of a Tom Palmer book in Term 6!” Bulford St Leonard’s

I was interview by BFBS radio about my book Over the Line during my visit to Downlands School at Blandford Camp.

Listen to Jim Sells from the National Literacy Trust and I talk about Reading Force and our roadshow.

Read the latest Roadshow Roadshow Press release

Read my blog about being

On the Road with Reading Force

blog 2 Read Alison Baverstock (the founder and director of Reading Force, and Associate Professor in the Department of Journalism and Publishing at Kingston University) blog here

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.