 Book festival returns with early bird offer available
Get ready for a fun weekend as the Wokingham Children's Book Festival is returning in October.
A total of 13 events are being held across 14 and 15 October, with lots of award-winning authors and illustrators coming to town.
This year’s line-up includes Nick Sharratt, Holly Webb, Iszi Lawrence Jane Elson and Clare Bevan. Each workshop is followed by a book signing and sessions are always interactive and family-friendly.
Children can meet their favourite authors, learn more about the creative process of coming up with characters and have a go themselves by taking part in drawing activities.
You will receive a 15% discount on tickets purchased by the end of August. Otherwise, tickets remain priced at just £3 per person and can be bought from the book festival website.
 Meet the authors: Ruth D’Alessandro and Tom Hindle
Ruth D'Alessandro
The daughter of Berkshire Constabulary's first female detective is giving a talk about her mother's life next month. Gwen Crockford, who previously served in Wokingham, had a pioneering career that inspired her daughter, Ruth D'Alessandro, to write a trilogy of books.
The second book, Calling Detective Crockford, was published in March and details Gwen's day-to-day crime scene investigations, using forensic techniques of the time.
In this illustrated talk, which is being held at Wokingham Library on Friday 8 September, Ruth will explore those techniques and read passages from Calling Detective Crockford.
Starting at 2pm, the talk is free to attend but registration is required. Ruth's books will be available to buy on the day and the talk is due to finish at 3pm.
Tom Hindle
Come and meet crime writer Tom Hindle on Wednesday 13 September and find out about his novels and career as a writer. This a free event and will run from 10.30am to 11.30am, but places must be booked in advance.
His debut novel A Fatal Crossing was inspired by masters of the crime genre, from Agatha Christie to Anthony Horowitz. His second title The Murder Game was published this year and another Murder on Lake Garda is due to be published next year. Tom's books will be available for purchase on the day.
 Community volunteers wanted to help run libraries
If you are passionate about helping your local community, we are currently recruiting volunteers for our libraries in Arborfield, Spencers Wood and Wargrave.
Our library service has regularly used volunteers to help customers and we hugely value the passion and engagement that this brings.
Volunteers would be required to open and close site, undertake daily health and safety checks, shelve books and tidy. This role is a great way to engage with your community and you would be supported by our libraries team, with a minimum of six weeks training.
There will always be more than one volunteer on site to ensure you are supported and you can be flexible by choosing to volunteer weekly or monthly. Applicants must be at least 21.
 Library hosting second session to meet guide dogs
Come and meet guide dogs and their owners at Wokingham Library on Thursday 31 August.
This drop-in event is being held from 10am to 12 noon to give you the chance to find out more about the work of The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, which is the world's largest breeder and trainer of working dogs.
A similar session was held earlier this month at the library, which proved to be very popular and informative.
There is no need to book and all ages are welcome, so just come along and meet some wonderful dogs and find out how they help their owners.
 Still time to take part in Summer Reading Challenge
There is still time to start the Summer Reading Challenge! Children have until Saturday 26 August to start the challenge by visiting their local library and reading at least six books this summer.
They then have until Saturday 16 September to complete the challenge, which includes the chance to win a free swim.
All of our libraries have been taking part by hosting themed activities, as well as offering recommendations and handing out prizes, with medals and certificates for those who complete the challenge.
For children five and under, The Little Explorers Book Club is a great way for young ones to discover their local library.
All they need to do to get started is have their own library card and they can collect a stamp each time they borrow books. Drop into your local library to find out more.
 Activities for children taking place at our libraries
Let's Colour In
Calling all children aged four to 11 to take part in a fun art session to colour in, cut, collage and paste with artist Chris Holley. This session is being held at Wokingham Library on Tuesday 22 August from 11am to 12 noon. It costs £3 to take part and places must be registered in advance.
Get Arty
Arts and crafts sessions suitable for children aged four to 10. Booking is required and cost £2 per child. Sessions are being held on:
- Wednesday 23 August, 10.30am to 11.30am, Woodley Library
- Thursday 24 August, 10am to 11am, Lower Earley Library
- Tuesday 29 August, 11am to 12 noon, Twyford Library
Board Games
Come and play some board games at Wokingham Library on Friday 1 September from 10am to 11.30am. This free session is suitable for children aged four to 11 and there is no need to register.
 Artwork that will brighten town adorns library walls
Wokingham Town Council has arranged for the original paintings by the artist Calina Lefter used to create the Erftstadt Court panels to be hung on public display in Wokingham Library.
The panels were originally installed as part of a public art installation to uplift the space and deter graffiti.
Due to the scale and complexity of creating murals in these spaces, the town council decided to commission a local artist to create three paintings and reproduce these as large weatherproof panels.
 Highlights for adults: Art talk, cribbage club and more
Unpacking Art
Join artist Chris Holley for an illustrated talk at Wokingham Library on Thursday 28 September all about Yayoi Kusama and Marina Abramovic. During this talk, which will run from 2pm to 3pm, she will go into detail about the differing and individual art of these renowned, world famous artists. To book, visit our library events website.
Scrabble Club
Meets at Woodley Library on the third Thursday of each month from 2pm to 4pm. The next session is on 21 September and you can just turn up and play for free.
Cribbage Club
Our Cribbage Club that meets at Wokingham Library needs new members and is happy to welcome newcomers and those with experience. The club meets on the first and third Friday of each month, with the next meeting being on Friday 1 September from 10.30am to 12 noon. There is no need to book, just drop-in.
Become a Reader Leader and help change lives
A charity that uses the power of literature and reading to transform lives is looking for people to help lead a group at Wokingham Library.
The Reader aims to bring people together to share stories and poems to create a Shared Reading group. Through these sessions, the charity aims to improve wellbeing and reduce loneliness.
Send an email to register your interest or you can submit an online form.
Prize-winning news and helpful tips on our blog
Book recommendations
Our blog features lots of articles on book awards and recommendations for your reading list:
Selected titles from the posts mentioned above are available to borrow or reserve from our libraries.
Online Services
We have several library resources that you can access from home through your computer, tablet or mobile phone, as well as several online resources that you can access for free on the public computers in our libraries. Find out more by reading our blog post on our online services.
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