Award-winning children's author visits youngsters at library in Scarborough

Emma, who is originally from Rotherham and also a West End actress, visited the library to deliver an interactive meet-the-author session.

She has recently written two children's novels, Cruise Ship Kid: Thief At Sea and Cruise Ship Kid: Kidnap At Sea! both of which are based on her own childhood growing up onboard cruise ships.

Eighteen children aged between three and 11 attended the engaging session and also joined up to the Summer Reading Challenge.

The children thoroughly enjoyed being entertained by Emma and loved joining in with games, acting and even some singing.

Emma's protagonist, Silver, even made an appearance and played pranks on everyone.

Eliza, eight, said: “I thought Emma was really funny.

"I liked finding out about what it was like growing up on a cruise ship and how she followed her dreams to become an actress and writer.”

The Little Fox Bookshop from Whitby, provided a pop-up bookshop and Emma signed copies of her books for the children to read at home.

Children's Library volunteer, Sam Merron said: “This is the third children's author to visit our library.

"We love inviting authors to inspire the young people in our community.

"Emma's visit brought a whirlwind of joy and she reminded us all why it is important to dream big.

"We were delighted to have Emma launch our programme of Summer Reading Challenge activities.

"We would like to thank Scarborough College who funded this brilliant event.”

The Summer Reading Challenge 2026 is running in all North Yorkshire Libraries from July 4 to Saturday September 12.

Children aged four to 11 can register for free at any North Yorkshire library and are encouraged to read six books over the summer to win prizes and stickers.

Local libraries are also running lots of children's events throughout the summer as part of the Summer Reading Challenge programme.