The Story of a Great Family Holiday - Be Sure To ‘Book’ With Thomas Cook

Family favourite travel giant Thomas Cook is introducing fantastic new Reading Zones to its club: KidsWORLD properties for summer 2009.

Seventeen properties in hotspots including Turkey, Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza will feature these special chill-out zones where children can relax with one of their favourite authors, thanks to the fantastic range of books that will be on offer.

“We’ve partnered with Random House Children’s Books – one of the UK’s largest children’s book publishers in the UK – to introduce Reading Zones into all our resorts that feature club: KidsWORLD.  They will be jam-packed with favourite books from leading children’s authors and they’re a great place to relax,” said Tony Hopkins of Thomas Cook.

“This year is The National Year of Reading and it has made us realise how vitally important it is for parents and their children to read books together.  Our new Reading Zones will help encourage youngsters to pick up a book while they’re on holiday and enter a world of excitement and imagination.  We want to help them understand that reading isn’t just something to be done at school – it can be enjoyed wherever you are.”

To celebrate the introduction of the new Reading Zones, children holidaying in Majorca this summer will be treated to a magical spectacle, as they will be invited to take part in action-packed author workshops and fantasy tea parties.

Best-selling children’s author Janey Louise Jones will take a trip to the Balearic Islands to entertain children with tales from her Princess Poppy series and invite them to special fancy dress tea parties, allowing them to enter Princess Poppy’s enchanting world on Honeypot Hill.

Janey Louise said "I’m delighted to be doing Princess Poppy events in Majorca for Thomas Cook this summer.  It was an honour to be asked by such a reputable company and it will be lovely to see Princess Poppy fans in holiday mood! I love the island of Majorca and can't wait to tell stories and play games with children in such a beautiful setting."

The August event follows on the success of a week packed with events that was held there in early July with leading children’s author Steve Cole.

During one-hour sessions, he engaged children in the world of reading and writing, bringing to life his best-selling Astrosaurs and Cows In Action stories and highlighting to kids the pleasure to be had from picking up a book.

Steve was delighted with their reaction: “I’ve been to some unlikely places with the Astrosaurs and Cows in Action” he said, “but never expected to en-cow-nter them in Majorca! I’m delighted to be taking part in such an exciting new initiative – it’s a fantastic opportunity to bring young readers from all over the country together for some out-of-this-world holiday fun.”

Children will also be invited to take part in interactive story writing sessions.  They will be encouraged to write their own story and Random House Children’s Books will publish the winning tale on its website.  The lucky winner will receive £500 worth of Random House books, with 10 runner–up prizes of £30 each.

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