Puffin Schools has been created by the children’s publisher Puffin to help bring together all the inspiring content we create for schools into one place.
Best-loved author Jacqueline Wilson has written over 100 books – and now she’s sharing her wisdom with you and your pupils in a series of Creative Writing Top Tips!
Jacqueline Wilson’s Top Tip Number THREE is about how to start a stroy.
“This is the difficult bit! No-one likes looking at a blank page or screen. It’s so hard to know how to start. Everyone always says a story needs a really good eye-catching beginning – but of course that makes you go all self-conscious and unable to think of even one simple sentence. My tip would be to pretend you’ve got the most amazing piece of news and you’re dashing into school to tell your best friend all about it, and you just have to seize hold of them and give them the whole story straight away, making it as amusing and astonishing as possible so that you keep their full attention. I don’t think you need several paragraphs of description and explanation before you get started on the story. Jump straight in. And do you know what I mean by Show not Tell? Okay, two ways to start a story: NUMBER ONE: George walked along the road with his mother. He was feeling fed up and miserable. He wanted a bar of chocolate but his mother said no. George was cross. OR: George trudged along the road, scuffing the toes of his trainers. Miss Horrible Hawkins had been moaning about his spelling and handwriting again. And Wayne the Pain had snatched George’s lunch-time crisps and his Whizzo Wonder Bar. ‘I’m starving. Can I have a chocolate Whizzo, Mum?’ asked George. ‘No, of course not. You’ve already had one today,’ said Mum. George sighed and stuck his bottom lip out. The first version is fine, but we’re being told it all. It’s a bit dull. I think the second version is better. It brings it all alive.” Jacqueline Wilson
Puffin Schools has been created by the children’s publisher Puffin to help bring together all the inspiring content we create for schools into one place.
The books on this website will range from those for EYFS through to primary and up to lower secondary school. You can discover our full range of books at puffin.co.uk
Puffin is an imprint of Penguin Random House, the world’s number-one publisher representing a vibrant community of publishing houses marked by unparalleled success. Through our world of stories, Puffin aims to open up the world to every child. Our mission is to inspire children to feel they can be and do anything, and to create readers for life.
Puffin started out as a non-fiction publisher, with its first title appearing in 1940. As the most iconic and well-known children’s book brand in the UK today, we are always on the lookout for innovative ways to tell the world’s favourite stories and for brilliant new debut talent and brands that connect with today’s young readers, from newborn up to twelve years old.
We publish a diverse and wide range of fiction, non-fiction, picture books and children’s classics. Our list includes some of the world’s favourite authors, illustrators and licensed brands, such as Eric Carle, Helen Oxenbury, Nadia Shireen, The Snowman, Doctor Who, Roald Dahl, Tom Fletcher, Jeff Kinney, Rick Riordan, Robin Stevens, and Jacqueline Wilson to name but a few.
Ladybird, Puffin and Penguin are imprints of Penguin Random House UK. Across their extensive list, we believe there is a story for every child, everywhere.
You can find information about books for all ages at penguin.co.uk
All the books featured on this website can be purchased in the usual way: as well as being available on the high street and online, you can find lots of brilliant offers via school-specific suppliers and wholesale retailers.
Whether you’ve got a brilliant idea for a lesson, a photograph of something incredible you’ve done at your school or just have a question, please email [email protected] and a member of the team will get back to you as soon as possible .
The Story-Makers Show was known as Puffin Virtually Live up until March 2019. The content and ambition of the show remains the same: to give every pupil the opportunity to engage with authors and illustrators in their own classroom using the power of the internet.
We’ve re-named Puffin Virtually Live so that it’s easier for new teachers to discover it as part of Puffin Schools and to acknowledge that the show now premieres on show day, rather than being streamed live.
Your account for Puffin Virtually Live has been deactivated as it is no longer a feature of the Puffin Schools website.
If you were registered for the newsletter, you will now receive the Puffin Schools newsletter, which is filled with all the latest information about accompanying resources and upcoming shows.
If you do not wish to receive it any longer then please unsubscribe.
You can watch The Story-Makers Show on the Puffin Schools site. However, please be aware that it uses a YouTube player and that you should check your school’s permissions to ensure that YouTube isn’t blocked.