Mrs Bean: Turquoise Reader 1 (Rigby Star Independent)

While this book is a Key Stage 1 (primary school) reading book for children, it highlights the problems that school PTAs face in finding good ideas for fundraising.

In this story there is no PTA, and the fundraising for the new school garden is carried out by the teacher, Mrs Bean, and the pupils.

The pupils come up with lots of ideas such as a talent show, a sponsored car wash, and a quiz but they've all been tried before. Luckily, Asif comes up with a novel suggestion based on his teacher's name. He tells his teacher: "we can use your name to help raise money. We can have a Bean Day!"

And that is what they do. The event features stalls where you can guess the weight of beans, throw beanbags, eat bean burgers, and guess the number of beans in a jar. The event is a success and they raise £549.

It is an amusing short read that introduces children to fundraising and event planning, with a useful example of how to create a new spin on fundraising events.