Paignton Library is a busy community hub, situated near the station and town centre. The library offers a fun and vibrant environment and offers a welcome to everyone. There are lots of activities for children including Bounce and Rhyme for babies and toddlers, Saturday morning Lego Club, Code Club as well as craft activities in the holidays.
Saturday 13th September 2025
Christie for Kids

- Morning session (children aged 3-6 years)
- Afternoon session (children 8+ years)
Free (Booking Required)
The Agatha Christie Festival, in partnership with Libraries Unlimited, is delighted to introduce the Festival’s first Christie for Kids day at Paignton Library. Open to all families and children, it’s free to attend though please register for your free tickets.
Best-selling children’s authors Robin Stevens (Murder Most Unladylike) and Abie Longstaff (Before the Fairytale) will be delivering talks and workshops during the day. Children can also join a fun treasure hunt around the library with prizes for everyone who completes it. Our Festival friends, the East Gate Bookshop from Totnes, will have a book stall selling Robin’s and Abie’s books with a chance to get yours signed by the authors and, of course, there are plenty of books in the library to borrow as well.
Time Table
Time | Description | |
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10am | Arrival | |
10:30am - 11:30am | Abie Longstaff Once upon a time, there was a story before the fairy tale... For children aged 3-6 years Join best-selling author Abie Longstaff for a magical journey into the origins of classic fairy tale characters. Discover how Little Wolfie became The Big Bad Wolf, then explore your imagination to solve your own fairy tale mystery! Every child will leave with an enchanting tale of their own! |
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11.30am - 12pm | Book signings | |
12.30-1.30pm |
Robin Stevens Murder and Mysteries with Robin Stevens For ages 8+ Calling all young detectives! Come and join mega Agatha Christie fan Robin Stevens, the best-selling author of the Murder Most Unladylike and Ministry of Unladylike Activity series for this not-to-be-missed opportunity. Learn how Christie’s books inspired Robin’s own writing career, hear all about Robin’s brand new title, *A Stocking Full of Spies*, and put your little grey cells to the test in this fun, interactive event. |
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1.30pm - 2.30pm | Book signings |
About the Authors
Abie Longstaff is an award-winning, best-selling author of children’s fiction. She has a life-long love of fairy tales and nursery rhymes and her work is greatly influenced by these themes. Her picture books include 'The Fairytale Hairdresser' (broadcast on Nickelodeon as 'Sunny Day'). For older children, she writes 'The Magic Potions Shop' series and 'The Trapdoor Mysteries' books.
Abie's brand-new ‘Before the Fairy Tale’ series is a laugh-out-loud reimagining of the early lives of classic fairy tale characters. The first book is Little Bad Wolf.
Robin Stevens was born in California and grew up in an Oxford college, across the road from the house where Alice in Wonderland lived. She has been making up stories all her life.
When she was twelve, her father handed her a copy of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and she realised that she wanted to be either Hercule Poirot or Agatha Christie when she grew up. She spent her teenage years at Cheltenham Ladies' College, reading a lot of murder mysteries and hoping that she'd get the chance to do some detecting herself (she didn't). She went to university, where she studied crime fiction, and then she worked at a children's publisher.
Robin is now a full-time author and the creator of the internationally award-winning and best-selling Murder Most Unladylike series, starring Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong, and the brand-new Ministry of Unladylike Activity. She still hopes she might get the chance to do some detecting of her own one day. She lives in England.
To book your tickets
Whilst the event is free, ticket numbers are very limited. To reserve your space to avoid disappointment on the day please visit here
Please note all children must be accompanied by an adult
Venue: Paignton Library

Accessibility
Paignton library offers a fun, inclusive and vibrant environment. There are:
- Step free access into the library
- Step free access to all areas within the library
- Wheelchair friendly public table/desk with PC
- Wheelchair friendly public table/desk for study space
- Neurodivergent support items (such as headphones, quiet spaces)
- Public access to an accessible toilet
- Visual communication support board For further information email: info@librariesunlimited.org.uk If you have any questions about the day, please email admin@iacf-uk.org
Kindly supported by The Colwinston Charitable Trust
In partnership with Libraries Unlimited