World Book Day Press Release
Press Release Friday 5th March
Peter Crouch and author Dan Freedman celebrate World Book Day at White Hart Lane
Thursday 4th March saw a unique event taking place at White Hart Lane to celebrate World Book Day. England international and Tottenham Hotspur striker Peter Crouch took time out from his busy schedule to promote reading for pleasure in an event with 120 children from local schools, alongside author Dan Freedman.
Dan Freedman’s novels are all about an aspiring young footballer Jamie Johnson. They have helped thousands of children to discover an enjoyment of reading through their love of football. Dan wrote a special World Book Day story that published yesterday: Born to Play.
Pupils from two local Haringey schools, St Paul’s and All Hallows’ Junior School and St Francis Desales Primary School, were chosen to attend the World Book Day event. Peter and Dan discussed what life is like for a footballer and if Peter’s early experiences are similar to the story that Dan presents in his Jamie Johnson novels. Peter Crouch recalled that Roald Dahl had been a favourite author when he was young. The event finished with a reading from Dan Freedman’s first novel, The Kick Off, with Peter and the pupils joining in.
Dan Freedman says, “It was an afternoon that the children will remember forever. It was a real team effort and everyone had a great time. It was the perfect combination of football and stories, and it was fantastic that Peter Crouch joined us to celebrate World Book Day 2010.”
The event highlighted all that Peter Crouch, Dan Freedman, World Book Day, the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation and Scholastic UK stand for: showing that a love of reading and a love of football are not exclusive. Reading for pleasure is something that footballers at the top of their game engage in and football makes for thrilling stories.
For more information please contact Alyx Price at Scholastic UK at aprice@scholastic.co.uk or 020 7756 7777 / 07899 996389
Notes to Editors
About Peter Crouch:
The England international striker rejoined Tottenham Hotspur from Portsmouth in July, 2009, having been released as a youngster some nine years previously. After appearing as a substitute in the club’s first three games of the 2009-10 season, Peter made his full debut for Spurs in the Carling Cup second round tie with Doncaster Rovers in August. He marked the occasion by scoring his first senior goal for the Club in a 5-1 victory over the Championship side. And he did not have to wait long before scoring his first Premier League goal for us, again off the bench, in a win over Birmingham City just days later. Peter scored 16 goals in all competitions in 2008-09 in what was his second spell at Portsmouth having previously enjoyed eight months at Fratton Park from July 2001 where he scored 19 goals in 39 games. He joined Aston Villa in March 2002, before moving to Southampton for the start of the 2004/05 campaign. His performances at St Mary’s attracted the attentions of Liverpool and after just one season at Southampton, where he scored 16 times in 33 games, he moved to Anfield. The striker, who began his career with the Club as a trainee before signing for QPR in July 2000, made 132 appearances during three seasons on Merseyside and scored 40 times.
About Dan Freedman:
Dan Freedman was born in London in 1977 and has been obsessed with football from a very young age. His passion was a constant through school and university and led him to work with Arsenal FC, Radio Five LIVE, Carlton TV, Mail on Sunday and Sky Sports. Dan joined The FA in 2000, becoming Editor of their website and his job was to bring to life the behind-the-scenes action and to give the players and coaches a platform to talk directly to the fans. He also wrote all the programmes for England matches and The FA Cup Final and toured with the England team during two World Cups and the European Championships. The three Jamie Johnson books have sold in excess of 100,000 copies. The fourth novel in the Jamie Johnson series, Man of the Match, publishes in July 2010. For more information about Dan and his books see www.jamiejohnson.info.
About World Book Day:
World Book Day, on Thursday 4 March 2010, is the UK’s largest celebration of books and reading. To mark the day hundreds of events take place around the UK in schools, libraries, bookshops and clubs. Every primary school child in the UK, and various pre-school and secondary school pupils will receive a World Book Day £1 book token sponsored by National Book Tokens. These tokens can be exchanged for one of the specially published World Book Day £1 books, written by bestselling authors including Philip Ardagh and Darcey Bussell. The World Book Day £1 Book Tokens can be redeemed from 1 March to 28 March inclusive at participating book retailers. For further information about the World Book Day £1 books and events in your area, visit: www.worldbookday.com.
About Tottenham Hotspur Foundation:
The Football Club’s official charitable body was launched at Number 10 Downing Street by then Prime Minister Tony Blair in January, 2007. Since then, the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation’s aim has been to use the power of sport, in particular football, to Create Opportunities that Change Lives people in the local community. The Tottenham Hotspur Foundation achieves these aims by:
- Creating Sporting Opportunities Delivering 73 different programmes throughout the year across the boroughs of Barnet, Enfield, Epping Forest, Haringey and Waltham Forest, as well as much of Essex and Hertfordshire. Through an extensive range of grassroots football programmes, 450 children aged between 7 and 11 attend development centres and elite training programmes each week, offering a unique opportunity within the professional game for children to progress to the Spurs Academy and beyond.
- Improving Community Cohesion The Community Development team delivers over 3,500 hours of free provision each year for young people aged between 11 and 19 years to help reduce crime and anti-social behaviour.
- Recognising and Inspiring Educational Achievement More than 6000 children pass through the Spurs Learning Zone each year, helping to improve the educational outcomes of young people from our communities. Over the duration of the football season, more than 100 GCSE students attend career workshops delivered in schools and colleges by Foundation coaches. Working in partnership with over 100 public, private and voluntary sector organisations in identifying, encouraging and rewarding the achievements and good work of individuals and groups in the community and every opportunity.
- Supporting Disabled People Providing 13,000 sporting opportunities for people with learning difficulties and/or physical disablities each year. The Disability and Inclusion Programme enables the Foundation to work with up to 12 different specific disability and sensory impairment groups.
- Promoting Healthy Lifestyles Initiatives aim to help increase the level of physical activity for a wide variety of age groups within the community. More than 1,500 children accessed the Healthy Schools programme, which uses Foundation coaches as role models to encourage and promote a positive attitude towards health.
About Scholastic:
Scholastic UK (www.scholastic.co.uk) is part of Scholastic Inc, the largest publisher and distributor of children’s books in the world and a leader in educational technology. Scholastic UK Ltd has four divisions: Scholastic Book Clubs, Scholastic Book Fairs, Scholastic Children’s Books and Scholastic Education.
As a distributor of children’s books through Scholastic Book Clubs and Fairs, Scholastic is the biggest children’s specialist bookseller in the UK and Ireland with unparalleled reach to children through schools, increasing opportunities for reading and book ownership for children in the UK and Ireland and donating 2 million books to schools in 2005. Scholastic Children’s Books publishes a wide range of books for all ages, including best-sellers and award-winners such as the Horrible Histories series and Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, the Baby Einstein books and Klutz’s innovative book and craft packs. Scholastic Education is the UK’s market-leading publisher of print and electronic resources for teachers. It offers professional and classroom support that meets teacher’s needs and provides them with inspiration for their lessons through its website; through its range of popular teacher magazines including Nursery Education PLUS and Child Education PLUS; and through its teacher’s resource books, including the best-selling 100s series.