“There is a tangible difference when you are reading your own book to children in person. An alchemy, a magic of having the person there.” Patricia Forde

This lively, interactive event explores ideas around making assumptions about things, being afraid without any real reason, and how to take a step forward to confront worries.

It’s a dark and stormy night, and Sophie knows that there is a monster hiding under her bed. So, like any sensible child, she decides to send him a letter. As letters begin to fly back and forth, Sophie starts to wonder if Monster isn’t as scary as she thought. What if he’s the friend she’s been looking for all along?

Patricia Forde is Ireland’s seventh Laureate na nÓg. Her first novel The Wordsmith won a White Raven Award from the International Youth Library, is an American Library Association Notable Book for Children in the United States, and was shortlisted for the Children’s Book of the Year Award in Ireland.

In 2018 Patricia wrote Bumpfizzle the Best on Planet Earth, which was chosen as the Dublin UNESCO Citywide Read 2019. Mother Tongue, the second book in The Wordsmith series was published in 2019. She also writes picture books and middle grade novels in Irish, and television programmes for children for TG4 and RTÉ.

CLASS Junior Infants – 1st 

CURRICULUM PLC, ART (VA), SPH

LANGUAGE English

Buy the book! Special price €10 available from the festival bookshop partner on site, Dubray.