Samantha Baines

Samantha is an award-winning comedian, actress (Call the Midwife, The Crown, Silent Witness) and author. Samantha is a deaf activist and as well as wearing a hearing aid herself and suffering from tinnitus, she is an ambassador for Action on Hearing Loss and the British Tinnitus Association.

Her debut children's book Harriet versus the Galaxy was 'Best Children's Books of 2019' in the Independent, Book of the Month for the BookTrust and has garnered excellent reviews in The Telegraph and beyond. Passionate about promoting deaf awareness, Samantha's book sees a female protagonist with a hearing aid in an intergalactic adventure. Harriet's hearing aid even translates alien languages, which is very useful when you are protecting the planet with your Gran.

https://www.samanthabaines.com/

Latest

April 2024

With things finally starting to feel a bit more spring-like outside and Earth Day being celebrated on 22nd April, this month we've chosen a #BrilliantBeanstalkBook of the month which we hope will help children understand the importance of protecting our planet and some of the issues faced by climate change. Read more about 'The Last Bear' by Hannah Gold here...
Win books for your nominated school library!

Coram Beanstalk, The Alligator's Mouth Book Shop and The Bright Agency are once again offering schools the opportunity to win a set of the ten books longlisted for The Alligator’s Mouth Award 2024, which champions both authors and illustrators of highly illustrated children’s fiction. Nominate a UK-based school to win a set of the ten longlisted books for their school library here...
6 ways graphic novels encourage reading for pleasure

Our friends at Parrot Street Book Club generously give us a 50p donation for every book they ship to their subscribers. Here, Emily Bright and Sarah Campbell, founders of the book subscription service for children, have written about the 6 ways in which graphic novels can encourage reading for pleasure!
Celebrating the success of our Reading Leaders programme

Having delivered over 40 of our Reading Leaders courses in secondary schools across the country since September, we're delighted to be receiving so much positive feedback and have even appeared in a recent Ofsted report. Read more here...

Abi Elphinstone

Abi was a reading helper in London primary schools from 2015 until she moved to Scotland with her family. She is the author of the highly acclaimed Dreamsnatcher trilogy and Sky Song series of books, amongst others. Read more...
Polly Faber

Author of the Mango and Bambang series of books and picture books Grab That Rabbit and Picking Pickle, Polly has been supporting children with their reading as a volunteer for Coram Beanstalk since 2011. Read more...
Piers Torday

Piers was a Coram Beanstalk reading helper in London for 10 years. He is the author of The Last Wild Trilogy, There May be a Castle, The Lost Magician and The Frozen Sea. Read more...
Peter Bunzl

Peter’s debut novel Cogheart and follow up Moonlocket are both highly commended novels and Coram Beanstalk children in London benefitted from his reading support for several years. Peter enthralled Coram Beanstalk children at BookFest 2018. Read more...
Chris Callaghan

Author of The Great Chocoplot, Chris has made the move from his hometown in the North East to South London where he volunteered as a Coram Beanstalk reading helper. Read more...
Andy Seed

Andy is best known for writing fun factual books including The Silly Book of Side-Splitting Stuff and The Clue is in the Poo. He’s an energetic advocate of reading for pleasure, loves doing events, and is excited to support Coram Beanstalk’s work in the South-West of England.
Dan Smith

Dan Smith writes books for both adults and children and lives in the North East where he is a great advocate for Coram Beanstalk. His children's books include Boy X, Below Zero and The Invasion of Crooked Oak, which is published by the dyslexic-friendly publisher Barrington Stoke.
Gary Hake

Author of a series of books about a Viking and his dog, Gary writes and teaches in Kent so is particularly interested in supporting Coram Beanstalk in the South East. Read more...
Jemma Hatt

Jemma is best known for The Adventurers Series, featuring a group of children and their Border collie as they travel everywhere from Cornwall to Cairo in search of treasure, adventure and fun. She is also a Coram Beanstalk reading helper in Kent! Read more here...
John Dougherty

John Dougherty is the author of many hilarious books including Oscar's Book Prize winner 2018 There's a Pig Up My Nose and also the Stinkbomb and Ketchup-face series. He is also a poet and songwriter, based in Gloucestershire, John is delighted to support our expansion into the county. Read more here..

Apply to become a volunteer with us

Ready to take the first step to becoming a reading helper? Check that you can meet some basic practicalities and fill in our application form here.
Frequently asked questions

You may have some questions in your mind before you fill in your application form. Here are answers to our most commonly asked questions. If your question isn't answered here you can find out how to get in touch with our team.
The benefits of being a reading helper

We know from our volunteers that being a reading helper brings purpose and enjoyment into their lives. Find out more about the benefits of being part of our reading community here.
Our approach

Find out more about how we work and our approach to reading support.
Thank you for applying to be a Coram Beanstalk reading helper
Literacy charities join forces

On 1st November 2017 Reading Matters merged with the national children’s literacy charity Beanstalk.
Current vacancies

Click here to view our current vacancies.
Volunteer agreement

Find out more about how we will do the best we can to make your volunteer experience with us enjoyable and rewarding.
How we train and support our volunteers

Find out how we help our volunteers to become confident in delivering the Coram Beanstalk approach and feel connected, and supported, within our reading community.
Story Starters training

Our early years programme offers a unique approach to equipping adults in your setting to help children develop all six crucial pre-reading skills plus the communication, concentration and confidence they need to ‘catch the reading bug’. Read more about how our unique programme Story Starters can help you ensure that children start their primary education ready to be taught to read.