CHOCOLATE BOX WRAP PARTY!

Reader Millie writes about the day she attended the very special CHOCOLATE BOX GIRLS 'Wrap Party' at Puffin Towers in London!

Millie says:

It was Saturday 13th June and I'd never been so excited in my life. Today I would meet my favourite author, Cathy Cassidy, along with my best friend Sharlize. As part of an activity in my school's creative writing club, I had written some interview questions for Cathy which were then sent to the Guardian - newspaper. Then came the news that instead of having the questions answered by email or video I was to go down to London to meet and interview Cathy at a special 'Wrap party' for her CHOCOLATE BOX GIRLS series! We took the train to London and walked to Puffin HQ where we were given security passes. So many questions were flying around my head. How many other children would there be? What would we do? Would I be able to take photos?

A lady from Puffin books led us down a marble-lined corridor; I think Puffin HQ has to be the poshest building I've ever been in! We whizzed up to the 10th floor where there were stunning views of London, and Cathy was there to greet us. She talked to everyone, and then we found a seat and began making and decorating our own name tags. Cathy made an inspiring speech about her new book Fortune Cookie and told us how she writes and where her ideas come from. Then there were lots of fun activities to try while Cathy moved around the room chatting and signing books on every table. My favourite task was icing chocolates in the style of the iced truffles on the covers of Cathy's books.

The winners of the My Best Friend Rocks comp was announced - the finalists were all guests too! Everyone was given a goodie bag with Cathy's four most recent books inside - LOOKING GLASS GIRL, FORTUNE COOKIE, SWEET HONEY and CHOCOLATE BOX SECRETS, along with a magazine, some posters ad a fortune cookie! Sharlize and I went to grab some fruit to dip in the chocolate fountain and then we took some photos with Cathy on the balcony, which had a stunning view of London and the Thames behind. The icing on the cake for me was that this all took place on Cathy's birthday. A delicious chocolate cake was brought out and we all sang Happy Birthday. Cathy was so genuine and down to earth, spending so much time with each person.

Thank you so much Cathy for writing these amazing books and being such a lovely person. Thanks to Guardian Children's Books for giving me the opportunity - I loved every minute and wish it was possible to go back in time and replay those amazing two hours!

Here is a video I made at the party: Meeting Cathy!

Here is the article me and Sharlize wrote for the Guardian, along with the interview! The Guardian article.

Cathy says:
Thank YOU, Millie, for this fab, fab feature… a perfect reminder of one of my very fave days this summer! You were all awesome… it was a real honour to meet you. What is YOUR fave memory of the summer? COMMENT BELOW to have your say!