Things to do this summer: August

Here's our picks of the summer: August 2 - National Theatre, London: War Horse Shadow Puppetry Workshop It's something we've all wondered about isn't it - how does that horse work?? Well now you have the chance to find out, and if you're lucky, you could become Grand Puppet-master yourself for a day! Also August 8 and 29: War Horse Puppetry Workshop August 4 - Waterstones, Bury: Meet Babar Babar has been the king of children's books for 80 years now - but he doesn't look a day older than when he started! Come and meet the lovable elephant and listen to his tales of adventure August 4 - Waterstones, Altrincham, Chesire: On your marks! Mr. Men Sports Day The Mr Men are holding their own olympics - will Mr Tickle be strong enough to win the javelin? Will Mr Skinny make it over the high jump? And can anyone make Mr Lazy run the 100m sprint? Come along and find out! August 8 - Reading: Meet Guy Bass The award-winning author of the Dinking Dings and Gormy Ruckles series is all set to entertain your little monsters! August 10 - 19 Belfast: Noye's Fludde The story of Noah, his Ark and the flood is brought to life in this children's opera sung by local schoolchildren and professional musicians. See if you can count the animals two-by-two in the zoo as you listen! August 11 - Waterstones, Preston: The Very Hungry Caterpillar Read the stories and enjoy a very special visit from the hungry caterpillar himself - if you're going to bring lunch, make sure you bring enough for two... Also visiting Waterstones at Bury, Manchester August 18 - 19 August 16 - Holy Trinity Church, Guildford: Philippa Gregory Think history is all about boring dates and battles? Think again. It's so much more interesting than that. Heresy, intrigue and espionage - Philippa's books bring the past to life and she'll be talking about it all August 17 - High Wycombe, South Bucks: Farmyard Tails Bring along a rug and a picnic for an afternoon of farmyard mayhem - what do animals get up to when no one is looking? Age 3 - 7. August 18 - Waterstones, Derby: Andrew Cope If you didn't catch him and his canine companion in Manchester don't despair, Andrew is heading south and Lara is coming with him! August 22 - 25 National Theatre, London: Cesario Bored by the bard? Not any more! Come along and watch this hilarious new play about Shakespeare's children, performed by a cast of young people. August 23 - Waterstones, Southhampton: Garth Nix There's no confusion about Garth Nix's place as one of the best children's authors today. He'll be talking about books (including his latest, A Confusion of Princes), writing, and life in general. Book signings are a must! Also visiting Plymouth (August 24) August 24 - 6 - British Library, London: Wonderlands: A Festival of International Writing For Children As part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad, the British Library is putting on a mini-festival of children's writing. This spectacular-spectaclur features some of our best-loved British authors including Children's Laureates present and past Julia Donaldson, Michael Morpurgo, Michael Rosen, and many others. August 26: Waterstones, Bournemouth: Doctor Proctor's Crazy Invention Fun Day It's going to be one crazy day on the south coast as Waterstones put on a range of activities inspired by the manic Doctor Proctor. Whooppee cushions move over, it's fart powder at the ready! And still keep an eye out for: • Over the twelve weeks of the London 2012 Festival, children can use StoryCloud free to download, listen and read six brand new stories from some of the UK's leading children's writers. They are released every Monday until September 3 - check out what you've missed now! • Summer Reading Challenge : join in the Story Lab adventure for free and support your local libraries and museums. And in true Olympic spirit, the Summer Reading Challenge 2012 has a special theme linked to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, with all participants who read six or more books from their local library receiving a medal and certificate. • It may be called Seven Stories , but there's no limit to the amount of fun that can be had this summer in Newcastle. There's a little bit of everything at the home of children's books