Anywhere Book Club

Spark a lifelong love of reading and writing in children, through playing, talking and connecting — anywhere and anytime

We want to reimagine how adults can support children’s reading and writing with our on-the-go games which are quick and fun

( Anywhere Book Club )

Building confidence

Talking about books and words improves reading skills and reading enjoyment and also fuels imaginative and confident writing. ABC games empower children to come up with and articulate ideas. The focus is on collaboration and creativity rather than competition.

Making happy connections

Studies have shown that sharing books with significant adults can create meaningful memories that lead to a lifelong love of reading. It is also proven that children who read for pleasure have better outcomes in later life, including improved mental wellbeing.

Outdoors, upside-down, anywhere

Our philosophy is all about the benefits of incidental learning: five minutes here and there, on a journey, around the supermarket or waiting in a queue. Once you have shared the book together, all of our activities can be done on-the-go and none of them require any equipment – not even a pen and paper.

( About )

Anywhere Book Club co-founders Anywhere Book Club

Who are we?

We are two experienced teachers (and mums) who want to reimagine how adults can support children’s reading and writing. Natasha has been a primary school teacher since 2008, leading on curriculum development and whole-school English teaching; Saskia has been a secondary school English teacher since 2009, teaching GCSE and A Level as well as supporting pupils with special educational needs. We also have four primary age children between us. We see on a daily basis how reading for pleasure genuinely makes children (and teenagers) happier.

Why join the Anywhere Book Club?

How many times have well-meaning experts suggested that you “share a book” with your child? In our experience, many parents and carers are keen to help their child enjoy books, reading and writing but struggle to know exactly how to do this. We create companions to accompany current children’s books that suggest quick, accessible and fun games. These activities support your child’s language and emotional development without the restrictions of formal reading and writing expectations. We come up with the questions to ask and the word games to play, so you don’t have to.

Anywhere Book Club companion cover Anywhere Book Club

Anywhere Book Club companion inside cover Anywhere Book Club

Anywhere Book Club companion spread Anywhere Book Club

Anywhere Book Club companion inside back cover Anywhere Book Club

Why does the Anywhere Book Club work?

We believe that there are three things that get in the way of successful carer-led literacy activities: lack of time, lack of resources and resistant children! Our priority is to offer opportunities for incidental learning and happy connections that can be done on-the go and fit easily into busy family life.

Our activities are flexible, can be done anywhere and can last as long as you want them to – two minutes or twenty – and so they don’t feel like just another chore. They don’t require any resources or expensive ‘extras’.

We also recognise how difficult it can be to encourage your child to sit and complete reading and writing tasks without tears and tantrums. Instead of creating conflict, we want to help parents and carers connect with their children in a positive and impactful way. Children enjoy doing ABC games because the activities are fun and creative, all ideas are valued and they like sharing their thoughts with their adult(s).

( Partner with us )

We are actively looking to start conversations with bookshops, publishers, authors, schools and educators. If this is you, please contact us via hello@anywherebook.club

( Shop )

Anywhere Book Club companion Anywhere Book Club

***Shop now live***

Visit the ABC shop here

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( Contact )

Enquiries to hello@anywherebook.club or via this form:

( Reviews )

“if you really want to support your child’s reading development and comprehension and understanding of writing devices… this is a bit of a godsend, actually.”

Jo, @thelittleliterarysociety

“The ABC book club has been a lovely addition to our reading journey. What I like about it is, that whilst the booklets are paired with a specific picture book, they also work as a way of jogging my memory to sometimes play little word games with my girls (instead of another round of Eye spy!). I am trying to be a more playful with my kids and create more moments of connection and this has been a fun way to do that during our walks to school or on bus rides.”

LAUREN, ENGLISH TEACHER AND MUM OF 2

“It’s absolutely fab. Love the branding, love the secretly literary activities – stealth culture!”

Jenny, mum of 2

“a great and valuable resource for teachers and parents”

Alex Latimer (author of ‘Food Fight’)

“It’s a pocket-sized package that encourages you to take word play and imagination with you wherever you go. It is packed with fun ideas to play with words and explore your creativity. It would be great to use in the classroom too or in forest school sessions. It’s perfect for taking out and about and keeping everyone occupied on adventures! With my teacher head, I love how aligned it is to the National Curriculum too, looking at numerous aspects from rhyme and alliteration to synonyms and abstract nouns.”

Esther, @mrsbrownsbookbox

"The Wilderness is a wild place; Anywhere Book Club is an essential guide on your adventures in books and outdoors. I was totally charmed by all the detail and care put into these wee treasures, they truly bring a book to life, in a brand new way."

Steve McCarthy, author and designer (and author of ‘The Wilderness’)

“One of my favourite things to do with my children is read. It brings us all together, makes us laugh, calms us and brings us joy. But what I don’t always have the time or headspace for is thinking about what goes alongside our reading to promote literacy, vocabulary and imagination. The Anywhere Book club companion guides give me ideas, prompts, games and challenges (with examples!) to accompany our books and help me get the most out of them. They’ve done all the work for me, and all I have to do is enjoy reading with my kids!”

Helen, mum of 3

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Design & Direction: Polytechnic. Illustration: Marcus Oakley. Photography: Andrew Sims