The partnership will enable around 60 museums across the UK to take part in a fun, free activity for families over the February half term – including the Horniman Museum & Gardens in London, Riverside Museum in Glasgow, Museum of Liverpool and the winner of the Family Friendly Museum Award 2022, the National Emergency Services Museum in Sheffield.

Inspired by the new book from comedian Alasdair Beckett-King, illustrated by Claire Powell, families will be able to go undercover and test their detective skills, picking up an activity sheet to help them explore their local museum and its collections. They are invited to try out playful prompts and solve puzzles, collecting a free moustache bookmark to get in the mystery-solving mindset!

There will also be the chance to enter a national competition to be shared across the Kids in Museums social media channels @kidsinmuseums to win a signed copies of the new book.

The promotion kicks off on 11 February and runs until 31 March.

Walker Books will provide a free activity sheet template, bookmarks and posters to support museums to run the promotion, as well as accompanying digital assets.

Alison Bowyer, Executive Director at Kids in Museums, said:

“We’re thrilled to partner up with Walker Books again on this exciting new release, continuing our work to support museums of all sizes, all over the UK. This fun, free and easy-to-run activity will help museums to attract new and returning family visitors, and encourage them to explore and be playful at their local museum.”

Jill Kidson, Head of Consumer Marketing at Walker Books, said:

“We’re delighted to be working with Kids in Museums again, supporting the fantastic family-friendly work they do, and introducing children to Montgomery Bonbon (aka Bonnie Montgomery) the world’s greatest ten-year-old secret super sleuth, in such an engaging and interactive way!”

 

Notes to Editors

For more information, please contact:

Montgomery Bonbon: Murder at the Museum
Text © 2023 Alasdair Beckett-King. Illustrations © 2023 Claire Powell
Published by Walker Books Ltd. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Alasdair Beckett-King is a multi-award-winning comedian and writer. He studied at the London Film School and was nominated for a Student Oscar in 2012. Since then, he has performed critically lauded solo shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, written for BBC radio, co-written an award-winning video game and created numerous viral sketches for social media, including an interactive whodunit. You can find Alasdair on Twitter @MisterABK, Instagram @itsmisterabk, or online www.abeckettking.com

About the Illustrator

Claire Powell is a bestselling children’s book maker, character designer and illustrator who started out designing for television brands before she got her first book deal in 2016 and has never looked back. You can find Claire on Twitter @misspowellpeeps, Instagram @misspowellposts, or online at www.claire-powell.com

About Walker Books

Home to books for all ages, Walker Books publishes many award-winning authors, illustrators, and literary franchises including Anthony Horowitz, Angie Thomas, Cassandra Clare, Lucy Cousins, Anthony Browne, Patrick Ness, Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury, and Where’s Wally? by Martin Handford. Walker Books is part of the vibrant international Walker Books Group that includes Walker Books Australia; Candlewick Press in America and its new division, Walker Books US; and Walker Productions.

About Kids in Museums

We are a charity dedicated to making museums open and welcoming to all children, young people and families. We support and champion family friendly organisations through wide-ranging initiatives, including the Family Friendly Museum Award and Takeover Day. We invite heritage organisations to sign up to our Manifesto, which sets out simple guidelines for making museums easy to reach for all ages. www.kidsinmuseums.org.uk

Find us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.