nne Robinson was totally wrong about the Welsh. They are lovely people. I have just spent three days in the Conwy and Denbighshire area, visiting schools and libraries during National Book Week. Every school I went to gave me a warm welcome. The children had all read my books beforehand and some arrived in the school hall with notebooks and questions ready. Teachers made a big deal out of the fact they had 'a real, live author' with them and I was happy I had accepted the bookings, especially after the previous week.

The previous week's journey to Ottaker's bookshop in Wilmslow had been a bit of a disaster. I set off in plenty of time but an accident had closed the Manchester route off the M1 and the diversion led me straight into a stationary traffic jam at Holmfirth so I turned round and headed for the M62 further north. This was fine until I missed my exit off the Manchester ring road and ended up, somehow, in a Wickes car park outside a place called Kearsley. Kearsley is not anywhere near Wilmslow, as I discovered as I studied my road atlas for the nth time. So, I ventured into Wickes, headed for the paint aisle and asked a man who looked knowledgeable for directions. By knowledgeable I mean he was wearing a Manchester United shirt and as Wilmslow's supposed to be where Manchester United players live, I thought he'd be a safe bet. Wrong. The guy hadn't even heard of the place, so it was back into my little Skoda to try again. In the end, I drove right round the ring road in the opposite direction I should have approached it from and eventually found the elusive place. The bad news was, I was too late for the first group I had been due to meet. Fortunately I was staying overnight so I was able to go into the school, Lacey Green Primary, the next day and take the assembly but the whole episode didn't do my stress levels much good. I wonder if I could get lottery funding for my own light aircraft to take me to and from long distance bookings? It doesn't have to be fancy - second-hand would do - with maybe a small coat of arms on each wing. One day, ey?

Helena Pielichaty (above left, with shiny nose) with illustrator and writer Sue Heap (above right, without shiny nose)

Earlier in the month I attended the launch of 'Authorzone' which is the children's books world equivalent of Hello. Colourful and glossy, Authorzone contains interviews, pictures and questionnaires with fifty selected children's authors (available with well-thumbed cover on a library table near you). I appear in the fourth and final edition, as does the illustrator of my 'Simone' books, Sue Heap. It seems strange but authors rarely meet with their illustrators and I had only ever corresponded with Sue through brief letters before so it was a real treat to meet her and thank her for her great drawings.

by Sophie (aged 10) and George Howell (8) of John Blow Primary is Keep Fat Class by Ros Asquith (Orchard Red Apple Books. £3.99)

George writes: 'It was funny. I liked the bit where Éclaire went missing and managed to change the bridesmaid's dress by herself.'

Sophje agreed. 'Éclaire is fat and she likes it that way until she agrees to go to a wedding and has to slim down to fit into the dress. This is a great book. It made me laugh all the way through it.'

If any children from other schools would like to review books, let me know.