Chris Callaghan worked on a ‘Pick n Mix’ counter followed by being a RAF aircraft mechanic and then an Environmental Scientist. But it was when he became a Stay-At-Home-Dad, his brain began fizzing with stories. His wife and daughter kept insisting that he should write some of these stories down. So he did.

His idea of a Chocopocalypse – a global chocolate crisis – was turned into his first children’s book, The Great Chocoplot. Since its publication, Chris has had lots of fun spreading chocolate panic around schools and libraries throughout the country and word is slowly spreading out across the globe! Read more about Chris's book here.

Chris has trained to become a Coram Beanstalk reading helper when he moved down South and volunteered before the Covid pandemic in a school in Croydon.

I initially wrote this story to read with my daughter, so we could have a giggle together at bedtime. Sharing stories and seeing children enjoying reading is something very special.

Coram Beanstalk are incredibly enthusiastic at providing children, of different ages and abilities, the opportunity to gain confidence and an interest in reading with special one-to-one sessions. I was an awkward and reluctant reader as a child, so I can see the huge benefits such a scheme can help other children like myself. The work Coram Beanstalk volunteers carry out is extremely important and I have so much admiration for how they are developing our children into assured readers.