Schoolchildren were treated to a special visit from bestselling children’s author and poet Matt Goodfellow on the 19th of August, as he officially opened a new children’s book nook in a railway station.
The new area, with donated books and comfortable seating, has been set up at Mossley Hill station to encourage passengers of all ages to pick up, swap and enjoy books while they travel.
Matt, who has won and been shortlisted for a string of major awards, arrived at 11am to unveil the book nook and spend time talking to children about life as an author.
He read from his work and answered questions from the children, many of whom were visiting the station for the first time as part of the event.
To mark the occasion, free copies of Matt’s latest book ‘Six Weeks’ were given away to those in attendance.
The book nook has been set up at the station as part of an initiative launched by publisher Hachette UK to celebrate its 200th anniversary.
Hachette UK is working with The Reading Agency to create welcoming reading spaces in community settings, to help more children and families discover and enjoy books.
Matt said:
“Thank you to Northern for inviting me to Mossley Hill station to open their book nook.
“I’m delighted they’re partnering with The Reading Agency and Hachette’s Raising Readers initiative to ensure that children can access books in community spaces, especially during the summer holidays.
“It was lovely to chat to the audience about why books and poetry can be such an important and exciting part of life.”
Kerry Peters, Director of Stations for Northern, said:
“It was wonderful to welcome Matt Goodfellow to Mossley Hill to open our new book nook.
“Seeing the children’s faces light up as they listened to him read and took home their own copies of Six Weeks was exactly what we hoped this space would achieve – encouraging a love of reading and making the station a warmer, more welcoming place for our community.”