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The TPP October Mental Maths Challenge!
Well hello there, TPPers! It’s month two of Season 16 – time for another Mental Maths Quiz! This month, we’re putting your mental maths to the audio test again! Here’s how it works: 25 questions, with 25 correct answers to aim for. Give it a go on your own, with a partner or as a full table team – whatever suits your class best. Once everyone has their 25 answers written down, ask your teacher to read out or share …
Education

The October TPP Classroom Quiz
Hello, TPPers! Ready for round two of Season 16? We’re back with another not-so-tricky quiz for October! Whether you joined us last month or are having your first go, the rules are simple – 25 questions, 25 answers. You can try it on your own, in pairs or in table groups. Ask the boss! Once you’ve answered all the questions, ask your teacher to share the answers and find out who this month’s winning brainbox, pair or table is. Can …
Reading Club

Book of the Month #20: Milly McCarthy’s Wild Atlantic Antics by Leona Forde
Who doesn’t love Milly McCarthy? From Ballbrogin in Co. Cork, she’s a hapless hero who can’t help but get into trouble!Her fifth adventure, Milly McCarthy’s Wild Atlantic Antics, sees her getting into all sorts of bother on an overnight school tour to Co. Kerry. Excited at the prospect of finally having a sleepover with her friends (as there is no way her mam is going to let her have one at home), Milly heads off to Co. Kerry determined to …
Author interview

TPP Talks to Leona Forde
To end this season’s TPP Book Club, we were thrilled to meet with the creator of the Milly McCarthy series, Leona Forde. TPP: Milly is a real rebel! What inspired you to create her? LF: I was inspired by my daughter, Asha, who pointed out that a lot of the books she was reading had male protagonists and were set in America. She wanted a book that reflected her life back at her, so I wrote one. TPP: What do …
Reading Club

Book of the Month #19: Heroes of Light and Shadow by Conor Forrest
Oisin Ryan is on a school tour at a museum when he overhears three men planning a robbery set to take place at midnight. He tries to warn the museum’s security guard, but the guard doesn’t take him seriously, so Oisin decides to take things into his own hands. Returning to the museum that night, Oisin is determined to foil the robbery, but things don’t exactly go accordingto plan. When he is attacked with an axe, everything goes black and …
Author interview

TPP Talks to Conor Forrest
This month, to celebrate the release of his debut novel, Heroes of Light and Shadow, we were delighted to talk to debut author, Conor Forrest. TPP: What was your favourite part about writing Heroes of Light and Shadow? CF: There are so many to choose from! I did a lot of very enjoyable research into Irish mythology and folklore and I learned so much about stories, characters and locations I’d never heard of before. For example, I’d always had a …
Reading Club

Book of the Month #18: Wolfstongue by Sam Thompson
Nicknamed ‘Silence’ by the school bullies, Silas is a boy who struggles to speak. After a hard day at school, he prefers to be by himself, choosing the longer way to walk home – down an empty cycle path. One day, Silas helps an injured wolf on the path. The wolf then disappears back into the woodland and Silas finds himself confronted by a group of talking  foxes who are looking for the wolf. Silas struggles to speak and is …
Author interview

TPP Talks to Sam Thompson
This month we were delighted to have a chat with author, Sam Thompson. TPP: Why was it important to have a protagonist who struggles to speak? ST: When I wrote the book, my son was around six years old and was having some speech difficulties. Seeing this made me think a lot about how strange and troublesome language can be, and how it can defeat and trap us as easily as it can help us to express ourselves. That’s what …
Reading Club

Book of the Month #17: Fairy Hill by Marita Conlon-McKenna
When her mum goes on honeymoon with her new husband, Anna is sent to stay with her dad and his new family at Fairy Hill in Sligo for the summer. Unhappy with the situation and unused to her new life, Anna initially struggles, wishing that things could go back to the way they used to be. However, as the days move on, Anna starts to settle into life in Sligo, especially enjoying her time with her three-year-old brother Jack and …
Author interview

TPP Talks to Marita Conlon-McKenna
Continuing our Reading Club interviews, this month we caught up with international bestselling author Marita Conlon-McKenna, most famous for Under the Hawthorn Tree, the first book of the Children of the Famine trilogy. TPP: What inspired Fairy Hill? MCM: The book was inspired by W B. Yeat’s poem ‘The Stolen Child’ which is so evocative and visual, and also by all the Irish legends that I grew up with: stories about the Children of Lir, Changelings and Fairies. I loved …