Konnie Huq delivers free eco lesson as Piccadilly Press donates 8,000 books

Bonnier Books UK and Konnie Huq have teamed up with the National Literacy Trust to deliver a lockdown eco lesson on the Daily Mail website Mail+, with 8,000 copies of the author's latest book set to be donated to children in Bradford.

The "Blue Peter" presenter has joined forces with Bonnier Books UK imprint Piccadilly Press, the National Literacy Trust (NLT) and charity Greenpeace UK to create a “lockdown eco lesson”, inspired by the 'Save the Planet' message of Huq’s latest book Cookie and the Most Annoying Girl in the World (Picadilly Press). Available from Friday (26th February) streamed by Daily Mail site Mail+ online for free and delivered by Huq, the 15-minute lesson features a reading, eco tips on how young readers can make a difference and organise their own 'Save the Planet Party' and shows children how to make an innovative bird feeder, covering various national curriculum areas.

To celebrate the lesson, Bonnier Books UK is donating 8,000 copies of Huq’s first book in the Cookie series, Cookie and the Most Annoying Boy in the World, to the NLT's Bradford Stories, the charity’s literacy project for young people in the city. Huq is one of the key authors in their Connecting Stories programme, working with schools in the area throughout the year.

Bonnier Books UK c.e.o. Perminder Mann said: “It’s wonderful to see Konnie bring her energy, talent and zeal to this live lesson in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust and Greenpeace UK. Funny and relatable, Cookie is an absolute delight. Capable of anything she wants to do, she’s the kind of character I would’ve been inspired by growing up - I hope that, through this donation of books, we can introduce her to a whole new raft of young readers.”

Huq said: “It’s really great to bring together this partnership to get kids crafting, reading, learning and, very importantly, saving the planet.”

Imran Hafeez, Bradford Stories manager commented: “We are so thrilled to receive 8,000 copies of Cookie and the Most Annoying Boy in the World, continuing Konnie's generous involvement in our work in Bradford - both as an ambassador for our Connecting Stories programme and allowing us to host Cookie’s audiobook on our Virtual School Library.”

Gemma Hoskins, head of outreach, Greenpeace UK said: “We hope lots of people enjoy Konnie's Eco Lesson and are inspired to seek out our fun and free educational resources and activities for children of all ages - as well as book free talks for schools and groups - all available on our website.”

For more information, visit mailplus.co.uk.