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Don't Let Go by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross always gets me! I have to steel myself to read it out loud.

Thanks, Addy. And Debi Gliori's 'No Matter What' -the UK English non-board book edition. Interesting what Jane said about the US market being happier to have something tear-jerking. 'No Matter What' in the States has a massively toned down ending to remove all reference to death. If you know the book (in the English version), you'll know how crazy that is. The final couple

Something Else by Kathryn Cave and Chris Ridell always kills me with the line, &#39;You&#39;re not like us. You&#39;re something else&#39;. And ditto the line from Dogger. I can almost burst into tears even thinking about Dogger!!! I also love, love, love the line from Tiger Who Came to tea about being in the cafe with all the lights outside..<br />*lies in corner and sobs for rest of day*

Ah, yes! Thanks, Charlotte!

That&#39;s lovely, Clare. Sooo happy Debi&#39;s going to be at Winchester!

That scene in Tiger says so simply and unsentimentally what it&#39;s like to be a child. I also like another book by Kathryn Cave and Nick Maland called, &#39;Friends&#39;. I love this, &quot;when you are lost, in the wood, in the wood, I will find you.&quot; Bravery and friendship in a lyrical line - love it.<br />Now, cheer up, Caroline!

What a lovely post Abby. Wonderful to read about such moving stories, and what they mean to people. Also great to find out about books that I&#39;ve not heard of. I can feel a trip to my local book shop coming on.

I interviewed a bunch of kids about their favourite books and it was interesting that when they started reminiscing about the picture books that they loved when they were barely out of babyhood, they got quite emotional (watch the film <a href="http://www.candygourlay.com/2012/07/we-read-my-diy-documentary-of-what.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>). <br /><br />I so agree with you about Oscar Wilde -

thanks, Sally! Hope you enjoy a good weep!

I love your &#39;We Read&#39; video - such an important film to see, I think. I&#39;d forgotten The Happy Prince and THAT line. Waaaah indeed.

I can&#39;t possibly read this! I&#39;m crying too much! Could someone pass me a tissue?

I meant to say &#39;ALL of the work&#39;

you&#39;ll set everyone off, Jackie!

One line that has always stuck in my mind is from Not Now Bernard - But I&#39;m a monster, said the monster. It may not tug on the heart strings as much as some others but I can still remember the first time I read it - I felt his confusion!

Lovely post. I loved The Maggie B by Irene Haas as a child which is a surreal story about a girl bringing up her little brother on a boat all on her own. Even as a child, I felt there was a sadness to this story although it was a &#39;wish-come-true&#39; and when Margaret sings her brother to sleep, I always feel a little teary.

&quot;Her Mother&#39;s Face&quot; by Roddy Doyle and illustrated by Freya Blackwood. It&#39;s just so beautiful to look at, and I love how the girl struggles to remember what her mother looks like. As she grows up she sees her mother&#39;s face reflected in her own. I was very teary just thinking about my grandparents and trying to remember the sound of my grandpa&#39;s voice. He didn&#39;t talk

I know what you mean although I felt so very sad reading this out loud. Kept wondering if I did that ignoring thing too much. Children just enjoyed it for what it was.

Thanks, Amelia. I don&#39;t know that story but will look it out.

Meant to say, have you read &#39;Bye, Bye Baby?&#39; by the Ahlbergs?

Ah, that&#39;s so sad! And clever with the ending. I love the way pci books can be appreciated at different stages of life.

I love the comment about entertaining not teaching. Author visits should be about energizing and inspiring. After a good author visit, we see the children suddenly leap forward in their written work, and it&#39;s because very often the visit is what helps them suddenly see the point and joy of it all. And if it&#39;s a REALLY good visist the effects will carry them through the year.<br /><br />

... authors will do anything for cake!

What if I were a genuine hewed out of stone troll? <br />Anyway - worthwhile post. As a teacher turned writer ( think poachers and gamekeepers) great author visits are an absolute highlight for most children.<br />You need to be yourself , be prepared and be enthusiastic. Leave the shameless self-promotion behind and gag the inner editor/critic. You&#39;ll have a great time - and if the staff

p.s. in my experience, authors will do anything for jam doughnuts

That comment about entertaining, not teaching: in a different context, that is how I approach the Chatterbooks groups I run. They&#39;ve been in school all day already: coming to the library should be all about fun. In fact, they have so much fun I have trouble making them leave at the end. And most of them leave with an armload of books.

CAKE! and white wine.

Not sure the Society of Authors would approve of these rates, Candy

... and sweet and sour pork hong kong style.

I definitely think you&#39;re there to inspire the children generally but hopefully the teachers too. I still remember a local poet (Gillian Allnutt) who came in and worked with my class over a few sessions. She left me with so many ideas to pass on to other members of staff. And, she was worth every penny - we had a parents evening based on her visit, made and sold a poetry book of all the

Great post! So true that author visits are a varied experience. I&#39;ve had a range of experiences so far and haven&#39;t been doing them long. I agree that you&#39;re not there to teach, but to let them in on the process of writing and meeting a writer. It enhances the curriculum and often teachers ask me to emphasis what they&#39;ve been teaching as the kids will hear it better from the author

I absolutely believe that inspirational is the way to be. There&#39;s such a difference between being a teacher (I supply teach) and a visiting writer. I find it freeing and fun - i can only hope the children do as well.<br /> <br />I think biscuit/cake requirements should be part of any writer database. For the record I&#39;m partial to custard creams.

I must admit the words school and visit in the same sentence gives me the heebie jeebies. But stick a bottle of wine in there, it makes me feel a bit better (as long as I get to drink it just before the visit)

Would it be incredibly rude to specify white wine on my school visits page? i don&#39;t drink red!