Bonnier Books UK and Konnie Huq team up with National Literacy Trust to deliver lockdown eco lesson and donate 8,000 books to Bradford Stories
Broadcast by Mail+ and delivered by Konnie, the 15-minute lesson features a reading, eco tips on how young readers can make a difference and organise their own Save the Planet party and shows children how to make an innovative bird feeder, covering national curriculum areas including English, PSHE and geography. The lesson will be streamed by Mail+ at mailplus.co.uk from today, and is free and open to all.
To celebrate the lesson, Bonnier Books UK is donating 8,000 copies of Konnie’s Huq’s first book in the Cookie series, Cookie and the Most Annoying Boy in the World, continuing the successful partnership between the company and the National Literacy Trust. The books will be donated to the National Literacy Trust’s Bradford Stories, where 33% of five-year-olds start primary school without the early language and communication skills they need to learn and make friends. Konnie Huq is one of the key authors in their Connecting Stories programme, working with schools in the area throughout the year.
Cookie and the Most Annoying Girl in the World is the latest title in the bestselling Cookie series and is sure to be a hit with Bradford’s young readers.
Bonnier Books UK’s CEO, Perminder Mann said: “It’s wonderful to see Konnie bring her energy, talent and zeal to this live lesson in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust and Greenpeace. Funny and relatable, Cookie is an absolute delight. Capable of anything she wants to do, she’s the kind of character I would’ve been inspired by growing up – I hope that, through this donation of books, we can introduce her to a whole new raft of young readers.”
“It’s really great to bring together this partnership to get kids crafting, reading, learning and, very importantly, saving the planet.” Konnie Huq Author, former Blue Peter presenter and passionate literacy advocate
Imran Hafeez, Manager at Bradford Stories says: “We are so thrilled to receive 8,000 copies of Cookie and the Most Annoying Boy in the World, continuing Konnie’s generous involvement in our work in Bradford – both as an ambassador for our Connecting Stories programme and allowing us to host Cookie’s audiobook on our Virtual School Library.
We are grateful for her support, helping us encourage Bradford families to read and write for pleasure and escape into the powerful world of stories. Since 2014, Bradford Stories has worked directly with over 30,000 children, families and teachers.”
Gemma Hoskins, Head of Outreach, Greenpeace UK said: “We at Greenpeace are thrilled that Konnie is partnering with us and the National Literacy Trust to support children to learn about the challenges our planet faces and – crucially – how they can take action. We hope lots of people enjoy Konnie’s Eco Lesson and are inspired to seek out our fun and free educational resources and activities for children of all ages – as well as book free Speaker talks for schools and groups – all available on our website.”
