If the Invader Comes by Tom Palmer - the first in a new WW2 trilogy set in Cornwall
From Mostly Book Talk · 37:36
Show by Katy Donnelly and Alison Palmer
We talk with Tom Palmer about his latest book, If the Invader Comes, the first in a trilogy of books set in Cornwall. Published by Barrington Stoke in a dyslexia friendly format, the Allies trilogy explores the experiences of children during World War II in Cornwall and focus on the dynamics of friendship and allyship among the characters.As with his earlier books about the two World Wars, Tom has meticulously researched the series and we talk about the records he has used of ordinary people's lives in Cornwall during the war and the way in which he worked with a local primary school and has drawn on the knowledge of their extended families to ensure the stories are authentic. Having recently moved to Cornwall he has been exploring the county and as the National Year of Reading Ambassador for Cornwall Libraries, he has visited every public library in Cornwall to promote reading.Tom is a familiar figure at the Imperial War Museum where he does a lot of his research. We talk about their current exhibition, Childhood in War, which explores how children have experienced conflict from 1914 to the present day and features Tom's book Armistice Runner. Tom also introduces his new sports series, Underdogs, which has a sports focus. The first one, The Fear, is about football; the second, Front Foot, about cricket; and cross country running is to feature in the next book. We conclude with Tom's own recommendation for a children's book that shouldn't be missed - Anthony McGowan's Birdlands.If you want to find out more about Tom's school visits and the other events that he holds his website can be found here.If you are interested in using Tom's books in your school or library, free book club resources including questions and activiites are available at Book Clubs in Schools for both If the Invader Comes and Armistice Runner. Send us a message
More episodes of Mostly Book Talk
More episodes
- National Year of Reading - Letterbox Library
- Fred the Very Demanding Deer - with author and illustrator Pépé Smit
- National Year of Reading - Literacy Hive
- National Year of Reading - The Children's Literacy Charity
- National Year of Reading - English and Media Centre
- National Year of Reading - Pupil Library Assistant of the Year Award
- National Year of Reading - BookTrust
- Time Tub Travellers - with author Claire Linney
- Wild Magic with Abiola Bello
- Author and Poet Dean Atta talks about his picture book, Auntie's Bangles
podsearch is a free, independent podcast search engine. Read about podsearch, the privacy policy or contact us.