During visits I often combine whole school assemblies with smaller classroom workshops - inspiring the children to read for pleasure and to develop their creative writing skills. My books have a track record in engaging emergent and more reluctant readers, and encouraging boys as well as girls to enjoy reading. The books highlighted here are perfect for enrichment of the Saxon topic at KS2, the transport topic at KS1 and the dinosaur topic at KS1/ KS2. Freedom for Bron (Saxon fiction) also includes themes of migration, friendship and acceptance of others.
My visits are fun, friendly and very interactive. They include quizzes, role play, group story telling and on-the-spot illustrating to show how my character illustrations developed over time. Very importantly, I also read from the books - inspiring reading for pleasure is something that I am passionate about. However no two visits are exactly the same - I liaise closely with the organising teacher and tailor visits accordingly - for example, if a teacher wants to incorporate work they are already doing on Saxons, dinosaurs or transport - or if they have already used or intend to use the literacy activity sheets that accompany my books.
FREE ONLINE VISITS For my Saxon talk, based on Freedom for Bron, I am able to offer free online sessions, when a set of a class books are purchased. There is a also a 20% discount available for teachers purchasing a set of books for the class. For more details please email my publisher, Dinosaur Books Ltd on info@dinosaurbooks.co.uk
Classroom resources - linked to the text and suitable for KS1 and KS2 (free PDF downloads)
Topics Covered
Anglo-Saxon Topic KS2
Freedom for Bron, my Anglo-Saxon story, has become a firm favourite with many teachers. Rachel Steele, the literacy lead in an Essex primary explains how the story has brought the Anglo-Saxon period to life for her KS2 children in the video at the bottom of this page. During my visits I cover factual aspects of Anglo-Saxon life and culture and show how my story is based on a real event in Anglo-Saxon history.
My Secret Dinosaurs series is great for this topic and I often get booked to coincide with the teaching of this. I can visit just the class/year who are doing this topic or expand my visit to take in a whole school assembly too.
Transport Topic KS1
The Fantastic Electric Mash-Up Machines is one of my newer titles. It is particularly pacy with short chapters and plenty of page-turning cliff hangers and vibrant illustrations to keep emergent readers happy and help them become fluent readers. The book is set on a fantasy island where there is a series of wonderful all-terrain car races - these mash-up machines are recycled vehicles which run on electricity (derived from local renewable sources).
When I'm not busy writing, I teach creative writing to adults twice a week. I love drawing, walking, family time and watching Dr Who! I visit dozens of schools each year (all areas - I once took the night train from London to Cornwall to visit schools, it was great!).
As a child I loved to read shorter books and now, as an author, I believe that shorter middle grade books are a great way to encourage reading - particularly when those books have a few illustrations. I wrote a guest blog for the lovely Armadillo Magazine about this recently: Armadillo Magazine Guest Blog
If you'd like me to put you in touch with a school I have recently visited, do let me know.
Contact: nsblackmanauthor@gmail.com
"We had a lovely day of workshops with Nigel Blackman for our World Book Day celebrations...After a highly engaging assembly sharing his illustrations, he spent time with each of our KS2 classes to support their work to create dinosaur drawings based on his book." – Kat Smith, St Anne's Catholic Primary School (London, March 2024)
“Really interactive and the drawing session worked well” Librarian & LRC Manager, Thomas Hardye School (June 2021)
"The visit brought the period to life! All the children were enthralled by the story-telling" Rachel Steele, Head of English, Epsom Downs Primary School (Essex, June 2022)
“I read The Secret Dinosaur with my year 3 class and they LOVED it – they made me read the second book and are completely hooked. I discovered Nigel through recommendation on a forum and his visit was fantastic – he was great at engaging the children." Mandy Joslin (Dorset, July 2018)
“The visit was a great success last week - please see below from a happy parent!... “Hi, Both R and E loved the visit from Nigel Blackman. The house is being filled with dinosaur pictures! Please do forward on my thanks and these pictures if possible.” Jennie Wallace (Bristol, March 2018)
“We have children of all abilities and today I saw two of our boys in particular focused in a way they have never done before. Thank you!” Jo Morris (Cornwall, March 2018)
“I read the first book to my yr3 /4 class and they absolutely loved it. It inspired some fantastic writing even from the most reluctant writers. The children are so excited, thank you!” Catherine Townshend (London, March 2018)
The Secret Dinosaurs:
"We would recommend this imaginative and high-energy story to be read aloud to Key Stage 1 classes or as an exciting independent reading choice for early or reluctant readers who are beginning to dive into chapter books." Books For Topics
“Fast moving; rip roaring adventures …The characters and world building are believable which is no mean feat given the subject of the book!... A welcome addition.” The School Librarian Journal
“5* dinosaur fiction …This is a fun and engaging world ... the books are a great fit for the target audience – straightforward, energetic and imaginative.” Bookbag Book Reviews
Freedom for Bron:
"A tour de force of accurate history and epic adventure scenes, this is a really great book for Year 5 and 6 children." The School Run
“This is an excellently written narrative that really evokes the period, bringing the reader an excellent cast of characters to relish ...the excitement of the period is conveyed really well, to draw in the reader.” Parents-in-Touch
The Fantastic Electric Mash-Up Machines:
"The Fantastic Electric Mash-up Machines is a fast-paced, action-packed racing story. The cartoon-style drawings make the book particularly accessible for emergent and struggling readers" The School Reading List
Shortlisted for Awards
Freedom for Bron is among titles shortlisted for one of the most respected book awards for children in the UK: the Hull Children's Book Award for KS2, run by Hull City School Library Service. The shortlist of 5 is drawn up by a panel of teachers and librarians who survey all new titles for children published across the UK over the past year.
Championing literacy, comprehension and a love of stories
I was thrilled and delighted when The Dinoteks - Giants Awake! was selected by Hodder Education to feature in their Literacy Course for primary schools. The course includes fiction by a few selected writers, including Michael Morpurgo and Roald Dahl (and respected educationalist/poet Pie Corbett - who visited my school and taught me in the late 1980's - what great company to be among!). The course book uses the opening of The Dinoteks as an exemplar of how to engage children into a story, encouraging them to read for pleasure.
We had a lovely day of workshops with Nigel Blackman for our World Book Day celebrations last week. After a highly engaging assembly sharing his illustrations, he spent time with each of our KS2 classes to support their work to create dinosaur drawings based on his book.