Pupils from Ferryhill and Forthview Primary Schools will be among the guests when award -winning illustrator Lauren Child comes to Edinburgh next week.
Lauren, who is the current Waterstones Children’s Laureate, will visit schools in Scotland as part of the Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour. On Monday 25 March, Lauren will talk to over 300 P6 & P7 pupils in Edinburgh at Edinburgh Academy, with nine other schools also attending the event.
During the Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour, which runs for the whole week, Lauren Child will visit over 1,700 pupils from more than 30 different schools in Edinburgh, Perth & Kinross, Stirling, Glasgow and Falkirk.
The Children’s Book Tour is supported by Scottish Friendly and organised by Scottish Book Trust, the national charity transforming lives through reading and writing. Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tours visit both primary and secondary schools, and have enthralled more than 100,000 children with visits from over 100 individual authors since they began in 1998.
Lauren Child is the creator of the much-loved Charlie and Lola series, which was adapted as a popular cartoon for the BBC. She has been awarded an MBE for her work and was appointed as an Artist for Peace by Unesco in 2008. Lauren has now sold over 3 million books in 19 countries across the globe.
For the last 15 years, Lauren has been innovative with her illustration of children’s books, championing mixed media and visual literacy. She is a vocal advocate for creative freedom for both children and adults, and is a trustee of House of Illustration, a gallery set up by former Laureate Sir Quentin Blake.
Through her time as the Waterstones Children’s Laureate, Lauren has promoted illustration as its own language: that an image can communicate an idea or thought across age groups without need for words. She has also placed importance on the value of children’s illustration, citing that books for adults are often treated more seriously than books for children.
During the Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour, Lauren will give insightful talks on how she creates her books, offering helpful tips for aspiring writers and illustrators alike. She will also discuss her journey as a writer and illustrator, her own inspirations from her life and where her creativity comes from. Lauren will discuss her popular series Ruby Redfort and her latest book Hubert Horatio: How to Raise your Grown-Ups.
Marc Lambert, CEO of Scottish Book Trust, said: “It’s an honour to host Lauren Child as part of the Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour. Her illustrations are a household favourite for children and their parents, and we’re sure schools across Scotland will be thrilled to learn how her stories come to life.
“We also encourage schools across the country to tune into a very special BBC Authors Live on Thursday 28 March with Lauren herself.”
Kevin Brown, Communications Manager at Scottish Friendly, said: “We are delighted that Waterstones Children’s Laureate Lauren Child can join us for the first time on the Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour.
“In the space of a week, Lauren will travel across the country, and will reach over 30 schools. It’s a visit that the pupils and teachers will both treasure, and we look forward to hearing more about Lauren’s journey into illustration and picture books.”
Lauren Child said: “I am so happy to be returning to Scotland. Chatting to children and teachers is such a joyful experience. Live events are a good opportunity to get children excited about reading words and pictures, and thinking about creating their own stories and illustrations.”
Touring Dates
Monday 25 March – Edinburgh
1pm: Edinburgh Academy (P6 & P7)
Also attending:
St Catherine’s Primary School
Corstorphine Primary School
Longstone Primary School
Canal View Primary School
Forthview Primary
Broughton Primary School
Leith Walk Primary School
Craiglockhart Primary School
St Andrew’s Fox Covert RC
Ferryhill Primary School
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