Welcome to the official website
of award winning author and music educationalist
Ann Bryant
Ann Bryant is the author of 130 books roughly 75% children’s fiction and
25% primary music resources. Ann says 'I am a serial series writer, and
love writing about families, friendships, fun and most of all, fitting in.'; her
latest series SEARCHLIGHT features alien twins desperately searching for
their father on Earth whilst trying to keep hidden from an evil faction of a
brain research company who are seeking to steal their teleporting skills.
Twelve-year-old twins Zane and Finola, together with their mum, crash-land on Earth from the planet Sevent. The three are following Dad and are desperate for them all to be together again. The twins have to remain hidden to avoid suspicion as they wait for news, but when cryptic messages are received from Dad, they must break cover and venture out into the world to discover their meaning and have a chance of reuniting their family.
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33 lessons with 33 accompanying videos
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A piece of classical music at the top of every lesson
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Great for specialists and generalists
School Author visits
I have visited schools in Spain, Cyprus, India, China, Belgium, The Philippines, Egypt, Vietnam, Thailand, Kuwait, Gibraltar, Indonesia and Jordan, and I was the Patron of Reading for three years for all the primary schools in the Bailiwick of Guernsey. In 2025 I was in Bangkok visiting three lovely schools and I am currently Patron of Reading for my local Infant and Junior Schools.
MY TYPICAL AUTHOR DAY AT A PRIMARY SCHOOL:
(The following sessions can be timetabled to suit the school)
- Session for Reception (forty minutes)
- Session for Years 1 and 2 (one hour)
- Session for Years 3 and 4 (one hour)
- Session for Yrs 5 and 6 (seventy minutes)
- Optional whole school assembly on the theme of poetry
- Signing Session
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I like to work in a hall and it's great if there's a piano and a facility for audio and video. The sessions are strongly interactive and not at all static! I make sure there are literacy initiatives for the teachers to take back to the classroom, but I also make it fun and hopefully inspirational. There is quite a strong musical element. I read a bit from appropriate books, and introduce the children a little to the life of an author, as well as showing them how a book evolves from an idea floating about in my head to the finished product they see in book shops. (Oh, and I never read for too long!)
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Some schools have found it a successful formula to have a tea party after school so that children get to introduce me to their parents. I have published over 100 books suitable for boys and girls from 3 - 12, and can either bring a along a selection of books or take pre-orders or do both!
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PLAY IN A DAY
I also offer a drama day, working with just one age group towards a 20-25 minute production with song, action, dance, rap, chant, based on a theme from one of my books. The most popular is the theme of Bullying with Year Six. The rest of the school watches the performance, then in your own time you might like the children to follow up by writing something, age appropriate, about the performance e.g. a review, a poem, a paragraph, a picture. As a further follow up, I am happy to judge the writing and offer prizes for each year group.
"We had a brilliant Play in a Day with Ann Bryant. She had every child on board from the word go. Boys who are usually reluctant to participate were giving it their all and loving it. The play was amazing! Whatever you did, Ann, it was magic!"
Rebecca Hockey Yr 4 Teacher and Music and Library Coordinator at St Mary and St Michael School, Guernsey.
May 2017.
CPD SESSIONS
I also offer CPD sessions.
FROM STORY TO STAGE
This is a 60 minute workshop for teachers of Early Years or KS1 and 2. I show you pain free ways of creating spectacular performance with no stress about learning lines and only needing minimal rehearsal time, whether for an end of term show or for an assembly.
Debbie, infant school Teacher Team Leader of YCIS International School, Shanghai, said, "It was awesome because you gave us ideas that we could take away and implement immediately in the classroom.”
TALK TO PARENTS
I’m also happy to talk to parents.
The talk is called COOKING THE BOOKS! and is about the importance of reading for pleasure.
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Thank you for inspiring my son to want to read! My son has learning difficulties and reading
hasn't always been easy for him, so to come home from school after seeing you, desperate
to read your book, meant the world to me. So, thank you!
Parent, Discovery School, Kings Hill
Fiction Books
I was first published in 1986 with a series of plays. Since then I have written extensively for main stream publishers.
MUSIC Books
As well as my fiction books, I write classroom music resources and I have a series of piano tutor books. My book "Teaching Key Stage 1 Music" won the 2002 Music Publishers' Award for Best New Product.
MUSIC WORKSHOPS
Music Workshops for Teachers- TEACHING FOUNDATION, KS1 AND KS2 MUSIC
I can customise a music workshop for you whether you want a whole day, a half day, a twilight session or a one-to-one.
The sessions are very hands on and quite energising! I don't make anyone do anything they don't want to do (!), but I DO make sure you have fun and learn lots and lots to take straight back to the classroom - and not just ideas in isolation but understanding of a whole scheme.
"Thank you very much for such an inspiring day today. I loved every minute. Your inspirational energy made me wake up and smell the coffee!"
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Jo Wardroper
(absolutely knackered!)
I am used to delivering these workshops to a mixture of trained and untrained musicians in such a way that everyone is stimulated! You should come away feeling confident and competent to teach effectively and to be able to successfully evaluate your work.
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INSTANT PRIMARY MUSIC LESSONS
IPML is my latest book for the whole Primary School, published by Hal Leonard. There are 33 lessons in the book, and a code that gives you access to 33 accompanying videoed lessons. You can simply press the button on the videos and let me do the teaching, or you can glance through the lesson in advance in the book, then use the video to guide you in your own teaching. For specialists who are ‘time poor’ this is a great solution for gaining inspiration and new ideas that you can then make your own. The USP of this book is that every lesson starts with a piece of classical music by composers from different ethnicities and periods of history, both male and female. There is a story or poem or body percussion or action/movement or some other device which acts as a hook to get children interested in listening then there are activities related on some way to the piece and each lesson finishes with ‘Music on Paper’ where the class can hear the music again but without the hook, as they interpret it in whatever way they want on paper.
The workshop gives you a taste of various diverse lessons from the book.
​​​PICTURES POEMS & PERCUSSION
I incorporate these books in the workshops above. This is for teachers who've got shed loads of percussion instruments and not a clue what to do with them!
INTRODUCING CLASSICAL MUSIC THROUGH STORIES
Classical Music Through Stories combines her two careers of music educationalist and
children's author. Great highlights include concerts featuring her stories with the Royal Liverpool
Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, The Gibraltar Story Orchestra
and Kidenza orchestra, of which she is a Patron.
START WITH A STORY
These Foundation books are very popular in workshops!
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Please email me for further information on any of these workshops, including costs and availability.
"I have just returned home after your IAPS day. I thank you so much for this. I have been teaching music to young children for nearly thirty years. Today was the best day I have spent on a course. You were energetic, passionate and inspirational."
Colin Lockhead
"Thank you so much for the inspirational day yesterday. I am buzzing with excitement and can't wait to get started!"
Lesley Pattison