YOUNG readers around Cornwall with have the opportunity to meet author Tom Palmer when he embarks upon a half-term tour of the county’s libraries.

Tom is Cornwall Libraries National Year of Reading Ambassador for 2026, and launched his latest children’s novel, If the Invader Comes, at Trebah Garden on Thursday (May 7).

The scene is set in June 1940, under the threat of a Nazi invasion. Youngsters Bobble, Cilla and Cadan know their parents are involved in top-secret work, and find themselves playing their own part in the war effort.

Tom mined a rich seam of stories in south Cornwall, featuring locations including Trebah, Penryn and Falmouth, while Trescatho House bears a striking resemblance to the manorial remains at Carclew, between Devoran and Mylor.

“We tend to have fixed ideas about the war, mostly centred around the South East,” said Tom. “I wanted to tell untold stories, connected to the South West.”

These include the bombs that killed nine civilians in Truro in 1942; and how the HTP Motors showroom on Back Quay served as a covert aircraft component repair facility, repairing and producing Spitfires parts.

For authenticity, Tom turned to archives at Kresen Kernow, the National Maritime Museum Cornwall and the Museum of Cornish Life, and enlisted the fact-checking help of pupils from Mylor Bridge primary school.

“I started writing the book in Yorkshire, and you can’t just parachute into a place and get it all wrong – people will notice,” said Tom, who has since moved to Pelynt near Looe. “The children were very generous – they also spoke to their grandparents about their war memories and passed on their stories.”

Tom’s own experience with reading was not plain sailing.

“I struggled with it until I was about 17,” he admits. “My two passions were football and the Second World War - reading about what interests you is a game-changer. I also started reading children’s and teenage books, which I found more direct without trying to be clever. They felt right, and that’s what I write now.

“Libraries really helped me. So many people can’t afford or don’t want to pay for books – libraries make them more accessible. That’s why I really wanted to support them and got in touch with the fantastic Cornwall Libraries team.”

Meet Tom for free at:

· Saturday, May 23: Hayle 10am, Camborne 11.30am, Redruth 1pm;

· Monday, May 25: Waterstones Truro 2pm;

· Tuesday, May 26: Bodmin 10am, Wadebridge 11.30am, Bude 1pm, Camelford 2.30pm;

· Wednesday, May 27: St Columb 10.30am, Newquay 11.45am, Perranporth 1pm, St Agnes 2.30pm;

· Thursday, May 28: St Just 10am, Penzance 11.30am, St Ives 1pm;

· Friday, May 29: Helston 10am, Falmouth 11.30am, Penryn 1pm, Truro 2.30pm;

· Saturday, May 30: Lostwithiel 9am, Fowey 10.15am, St Austell 11.45am;

· Monday, June 1: Looe 10am, Liskeard 11.30am, Saltash 1pm, Torpoint 2.30pm;

· Tuesday, June 2: Callington 10am, Launceston 11.30am, Par 1.30pm;

· Saturday, June 6: Cornwall Libraries stand, Royal Cornwall Show;

· Monday, August 3: Looe Library Family Reading Session, 11.15am to 12.15pm.