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Celebrating One Year of the TPP Reading Club!
The summer holidays are finally here! And with that hopefully there will be some time to relax, chill out  – and maybe catch up on some reading . . . If you’re not sure what to start with, why not check out our recommendations from the first year of our TPP Reading Club? We’ve had a brilliant first season, with a wide range of middle-grade fiction from a host of excellent Irish children’s authors, who really demonstrate just why Irish children’s …
Reading Club

Book of the Month #10: The Doomsday Club by Kevin Moran
Classmates – and definitely not friends – Conan, Jack, Yash and Jerry are in detention. For fighting. And for the little matter of a fire in the boys’ bathroom … However, when a supernatural monster emerges from a swirling vortex outside their classroom window, it isn’t long before the detention takes a sinister turn.  Watching the monster vanish into the garden of the eerie Mr Kilroe, an old man who lives opposite the school, the boys decide they need to …
Author interview

TPP Talks to Kevin Moran
This month we got to chat to debut Irish children’s author, Kevin Moran. TPP: What inspired you to create The Doomsday Club?  KM: I love mysteries, adventure and horror, so I wanted to create something like Stranger Things – with an Irish twist and relatable characters you’d see in any Irish primary school.  TPP: The book explores male friendships – was it a conscious choice to explore this dynamic?  KM: Definitely. I’m a primary school teacher and was teaching 6th class in an all-boys school …
Reading

The Enjoyment of Reading . . . for Parents
Do you enjoy reading to your child? Or is it something you dread or try to avoid when you can? A recent survey conducted by book data company Nielson and publisher HarperCollins has found that only 40% of parents of children aged 0 – 13 enjoy reading to them.  We all know the benefits of reading for children and adults, and this starts in childhood, usually with parents reading to babies and young children. For children to see reading as …
Reading Club

Book of the Month #9: The Case of the Secret Signal by Brian Gallagher
Set in the lead up to Christmas in 1911, The Case of the Secret Signal is the latest book in Brian Gallagher’s new mystery series. Following the adventures of twins Deirdre and Tim, and their friend Joe, The Case of the Secret Signal picks up where the first book in the series – The Case of the Vanishing Painting – left off, with the trio looking forward to a trip to stay with Deirdre and Tim’s Aunt Helen in Carlingford.  …
Author interview

TPP Talks to Brian Gallagher
This month we got to talk to long-standing Irish children’s author, Brian Gallagher. TPP: Who or what inspired the characters of Tim, Deirdre and Joe? BG: They’re purely figments of my imagination, but I liked the idea that two of them would be twins, and that Deirdre would be feisty while Joe would be both sporty and bookish.  TPP: Why did you set  the story in 1911? BG: I wanted the mystery elements to be the focus of the story, so I set it …
Reading Club

Book of the Month #8: Being Autistic by Niamh Garvey
Being Autistic (and what that actually means) is a brilliant celebration of what it means to be autistic, and the unique qualities neurodiversity brings to the world. Aimed at both those who are autistic and those who are not, this book introduces the reader to what it means to be autistic in a positive and realistic way. Being Autistic doesn’t hide from the challenges autism can bring, but it also shows the wonderful strengths and skills that people who are …
Author interview

TPP Talks with Niamh Garvey
This month we got to chat to the brilliant non-fiction writer, Niamh Garvey. TPP: What inspired you to write Being Autistic? NG: A lot of people asked me to recommend a kids’ book explaining what it means to be autistic, but I couldn’t find one. So, I wrote one myself! TPP: Do you think that everyone, whether or not they are autistic, needs to understand what it means to be autistic and neurodivergent? NG: Absolutely! The more that people understand autism, the more …
Reading

World Poetry Day
This Friday, March 21, is World Poetry Day. Established by UNESCO in 1999, World Poetry Day is a day designated to promoting the reading, writing and teaching of poetry. There is no doubt that poetry and verse is a brilliant way to discover literature and get into reading. With shorter line lengths, less words and usually a less dense layout, poetry can often be seen as a very accessible form of reading.  With its lyrical and musical quality, poetry is …
Reading

World Book Day 2025
‘Read Your Way’ is the theme for this year’s World Book Day on March 6. The idea behind this theme is to encourage children to have the freedom to read in any way in which they choose, whether that be a traditional book, an e-book or an audio book, fiction or non-fiction, graphic novel or picture book – anything goes!  Often many children (and adults) can see reading as a chore. This possibly comes from the way in which they …
Reading Club

Book of the Month #7: The Girl Who Fell to Earth by Patricia Forde
Aria is a proud Terrosian who loves living with her friends and family on Planet Terros. However, Aria’s always felt a little different; she isn’t good at science, despite being genetically designed to be a scientist, she gets ill and has allergies (Terrosians are designed to never get sick), and she loves writing (a skill of no use on Planet Terros as they have all the literature they will ever need). One day Aria discovers that her DNA is different …
Author interview

TPP talks to Patricia Forde
This month we got to chat to Ireland’s current Laureate na nÓg, Patricia Forde. TPP: What inspired you to tell the story from the perspective of an alien? PF: Strangely, I never thought of Aria as an alien. In most ways, she is just like us, though she lives in a more evolved society. I wanted to tell the story of a girl who finds out that everything she’s been told about humans is a lie. TPP: Would you like to live on …