Work with @InclusiveMinds and Stepping Into Stories. All opinions are mine alone. On Instagram & Bluesky as bookjo too.
Joined April 2009
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Reception Read Alouds (that got an enthusiastic reception (baduuum tish). The New LiBEARian by Alison Donald and Alex Willmore, Maybe by Chis Haughton and to read next week (kids are curious about it) Goodnight Sun by Eoin McLaughlin and Morag Hood. #ReceptionReadAlouds
Joanna Sholem retweeted
Tonight, Cardiff Castle will light up green to mark Dwarfism Awareness Day. 💚
The illumination celebrates diversity and helps raise awareness and understanding of dwarfism. orlo.uk/S4Qel
ALT Cardiff Castle illuminated at night by bright green floodlights against a dark sky. Caer Castell Caerdydd wedi'i oleuo wrth nos gan fflachlysau gwyrdd disglair yn erbyn awyr dywyll.
Joanna Sholem retweeted
Update: the new Persephone bookshop opens at 10am on Weds Nov 4 at 1 Scala Street, London W1, with the proviso that this is v much a 'soft' opening, a bit like a pop-up, so there may be a slight air of chaos. But we will certainly have all our 155 titles in stock - do come by.
We have some news. This autumn we are opening a second Persephone bookshop – in London, in Fitzrovia to be precise. We had not actually been planning this, but by chance we heard about a 1767 four-storey house that had become available... More info here: persephonebooks.co.uk/blogs/…
Joanna Sholem retweeted
Young PIP recipients are no more likely to report mental health and neurodivergent conditions than older groups, with the sole exception of autism.
Those aged 16-24 are less likely to report depression than 25-54-year-olds;
less likely to report anxiety than 25-44-year-olds
➡️ buff.ly/eYndkHn
ALT Chart showing proportion of PIP recipients aged 16-64 who report the top ten most common conditions, by age band: England and Wales, May-June 2026
Joanna Sholem retweeted
In our new report on reforming PIP, our authors concluded that (improved) functional assessments remain the best approach to determining entitlement for the benefit.
Louise Murphy explains why 👇
Joanna Sholem retweeted
A majority of PIP recipients undertake economically valuable or wellbeing-enhancing activities that they could not do without support.
Close to half (47 per cent) report that the benefit enables them to do at least one "economically valuable" activity, including working, training or caring.
ALT chart showing Proportion of PIP recipients aged 16-64 who report that PIP enables them to undertake various activities: England and Wales, May-June 2026
Joanna Sholem retweeted
#journalists ahead of the #budget a plea to remember
🚨Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is NOT an out of work benefit 🚨
Please challenge guests who assume it is.
You can work AND claim PIP.
#Budget2026
It feels hard to keep pushing back against, doesn’t it?
I feel mentally exhausted from reading comments on some articles about #benefits & #bluebadge use. So much hatred for disabled people, so many untruths (anxiety does not get you a "free car"). It feels heavy.
When did things get so bad?? #disability
Joanna Sholem retweeted
‘There’s two ways of doing time travel, right?’ says Audrey Niffenegger
Life Out of Order is the long-awaited sequel to Audrey Niffenegger’s bestselling science-fiction novel The Time Traveler’s Wife. She spoke to Alison Flood about future-building, time loops ― and the value of art
newscientist.com/article/259…
docs.google.com/document/d/1…
Audrey Niffenegger’s Life Out of Order, a follow-up to her bestselling novel The Time Traveler’s Wife, is an intricate and thoughtful vision of a frightening future, says Alison Flood newscientist.com/article/259…
Joanna Sholem retweeted
Surprise! Stepping into Stories brings you a wonderful bonus event, Stepping Into Comics on 15/11 at Station Hall in Herne Hill. Will whet your appetite for the festival in February. steppingintostories.org/comi…
Joanna Sholem retweeted
The line-up for this year's @Literacy_Trust 'Reconstructing Reading' conference is simply world-class, with every speaker bringing a wealth of experience and expertise from their own particular field.
More information here: literacytrust.org.uk/trainin…
Surprise! Stepping into Stories brings you a wonderful bonus event, Stepping Into Comics on 15/11 at Station Hall in Herne Hill. Will whet your appetite for the festival in February. steppingintostories.org/comi…
Joanna Sholem retweeted
It's been bird week all week, so we all are appreciating birds' special contribution they make to Australia. It's the songs! It's their colours! And the beady eyes of Magpies that love staring as us humans.
Joanna Sholem retweeted
Non-fiction graphic novels are a wonderful way of helping children understand complex information. I've started putting together a list of my favourites to use in class. Feel free to add to the list!
padlet.com/Jon_Biddle/non-fi…
Joanna Sholem retweeted
Thanks London Literature Festival for a great night of poetry @southbankcentre @DUALIPA, Mustafa, @mafiasafia
Joanna Sholem retweeted
A couple of months ago, @timredgrave, @MarieZarro97723 and I relaunched the Patron of Reading initiative, which focuses on authors, poets and illustrators developing long-term relationships with schools. To find out how to get involved, take a look here: padlet.com/mariezarro/patron…
I love that the BBC Bitesize quiz recommended @Richard O Neill’s A Different Kind of Freedom: A Romani Story to me (part of Scholastic’s amazing Voices series)
Bingo - exactly the kind of book I’d want to read.
How well can it suss you out?
bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/…
