Please?

Tommy

You can see the entire list here:

http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/assets/0000/1676/Booklist_2010_9_-_12_yrs.pdf

Some of my own favourite authors are also on the list including Charlie Higson, Andy Stanton, Mark Walden, Dav Pilkey and Roald Dahl!

Suffice to say, I’m very excited!

Tommy

Both wallpapers are available in three different sizes, so you’re sure to find something that’ll suit your screen and your nerves!

Click here to download the latest Scream Street desktop wallpapers!

You can also see how the link-up looked from the other end (although this picture was taken on a different day to mine, hence the change of t-shirt!)

Instead of driving from my home in Lancashire to Kent and back to run my creative writing classes, I’ve been linking up with year 8 pupils at Holmesdale Technology College over the Internet each day.

Using Skype (a free Internet telephony and video conference program), I’ve been teaching pupils at the opposite end of the country how to come up with unique story ideas, develop three-dimensional characters and plan a three-act plot.  And I haven’t had to charge a penny in travel expenses!

As you can see in the image below, grabbed from screen during today’s session, I get to see the class in front of me and – at their end – I’m projected on a screen on the wall (very Big Brother!)  This is the view I get – the pupils filling the window and me in a box in the corner.  They, of course, see the opposite.

The whole thing is still a learning process and, as with any new endeavour, there are pros and cons:

On the plus side…

• I get to work from home, so I can get some writing done instead of driving to and from the school

• The school only pays for my time and not travel and/or accommodation expenses

• I’m working on ways to show screen elements, such as graphs, illustrations and writing examples

On the minus side…

• There are occasional technical glitches – but nothing, so far, that’s stopped us from linking up

• I can’t point to individual members of the class to ask questions

• I have to make my own cups of tea!

It is, however, HUGELY EXCITING, and I intend to set up many more of these sessions.  If any other schools are interested in linking up with me in this way – from wherever you are in the world – please drop me a line.

There’s no end to where we could go with this kind of event – in fact, the Skype’s the limit!

Tommy

Now, I suspected I might enjoy the book as I’m a huge fan of Adams’s work AND a huge fan of Eoin Colfer.  But what I wasn’t quite expecting was the scale to which the Hitchhiker’s galaxy would spring back to life as though Douglas himself was wielding the pen.  That’s not to say you can’t feel Eoin’s touch – you can, and it makes for a wonderful new sheen to the characters we know and love so well.  Many fans thought it unwise to continue the series but, to me, it just all felt so, well… right.

I don’t want to give anything away – but if you’ve ever enjoyed an afternoon in the company of Arthur, Ford, Trillian and the stupendously shallow Zaphod Beeblebrox – then you’re in for a real treat with this book.  Plus, we are introduced to a fantastic new character (among others) in the lumpy shape of caring Vogon, Constant Mown.

If you’ve never read a Hitchhiker’s book before – you’ll love And Another Thing… And, if you’re a dedicated H2G2 fan – it’s just like visiting old friends.

Highly recommended!

Tommy

Click here to download your copy!

Tommy

My four Too Ghoul For School books in the collection are: Terror In Cubicle Four, Silent But Deadly, School Spooks Day and Attack Of The Zombie Nits.

So, treat your DS to a little creepy action this Christmas with Flips!

Tommy

Here it is…