Warners End author to read her first children’s book at Berkhamsted’s Waterstones this month - including raffle to win a cuddly toy

A former seamstress turned author is holding a reading of her first children’s book at Waterstones in Berkhamsted late this month.

67-year-old Ann Parker from Warners End in Hemel Hempstead will read Magic & Memories - A Collection of Short Stories in the bookshop on Saturday, November 19 at 11am and is inviting families to come along to listen.

Ann said she is “looking forward to the book reading with puppets and props”.

She added: “I’m having a free raffle for all the children attending, the prize is a cuddly toy badger like in the story I'm reading: The Bravest Badger.”

The book is Ann’s first and includes illustrations by her grandson, Harvey Padmore.

When asked how it feels to embark on her writing journey, Ann said: “Oh, fantastic. I was terrified. I thought that nobody would buy it but it's really done well and people seem to love it.”

Erik the Elf, a superhero unicorn and family-centred tales featured in the book which is currently stocked in Chaulden Post Office, Hemel’s The House of Elliot and Fancy That in Tring. Ann wrote the stories written with parents in mind as they have to read them, there are plenty of hidden references and jokes in the book.

She explained: “I’d love to do Magic & Memories Two, I've got so many ideas in my head.” Ann will be in Waterstones on Berkhamsted High Street on November 19 at 11am, with the raffle afterwards.

Her book can be found here.