Tag: stories

Writing the Times: a unique gift from North Edinburgh

Looking for that truly special Christmas gift? Your search may be over!

Writing the Times is an anthology created by local people during the first months of the coronavirus pandemic.

Over six weeks when the pandemic was at it’s height, the North Edinburgh Arts Writers worked with editor Stephanie Knight through Zoom sessions and emails to create stories based on the themes Fables for the Future, Stories to be Shared and Tales to be Told

Hopeful, reflective, poignant and comical, the writers share their thoughts recorded during these unprecedented times.

Something to look back on when the pandemic becomes a distant memory, Writing the Times would make a unique Christmas gift for friends and family.

Writing the Times is now available at North Edinburgh Arts, priced only £5. For further information email: admin@northedinburgharts.co.uk

It’s Roald Dahl Day

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Twits, James and the Giant Peach … children and adults have been delighted by Roald Dahl’s books for generations. September 13 is Roald Dahl Day, a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our favourite Dahl stories and characters with fellow fans all over the world.

Here, Dahl fan and former primary school teacher Laura Steele of educational resources experts PlanBee shares her top facts about the much-loved author.

Who was Roald Dahl?

Roald Dahl is one of the most famous authors in the world. His children’s books have been translated into almost 60 different languages, and sold over 250 million copies worldwide.

He was born on September 13 1916, in Llandaff, South Wales. His parents were Norwegian. 

School Life

Roald joined Llandaff Cathedral School in Wales when he was seven. He was said to have been a mischievous child. On one occasion, he and his friends devised the ‘great mouse plot’ when they hid a dead mouse in a jar of gobstoppers in order to give an unpleasant old sweet shop owner a fright. The boys were later found out and caned by their headmaster while the sweet shop owner watched. (This story, as well as many other tales from his childhood, is recounted in his autobiography, ‘Boy’.)

As a result of the caning, Roald’s mother withdrew him from the Cathedral School and sent him to St Peter’s Boarding School in Weston-super-Mare. He was just nine years old. Roald was very homesick to begin with, and even pretended to have appendicitis so that he would be sent home!

When he was 13, Roald became a pupil at Repton School in Derbyshire. One of the rare highlights of being a pupil there was when the boys were asked to sample and rate new chocolate bars for Cadbury!

Overall, however, he did not enjoy his school days, calling them ‘days of horror’ that were filled with ‘rules, rules and still more rules that had to be obeyed’.  When, aged 17, he was asked by his mother if he wanted to go to university, his reply was: ‘No, thank you. I want to go straight from school to work for a company that will send me to faraway wonderful places like Africa or China.’

African adventures

Roald’s first job with an oil company sent him to work first in Kenya, and then Tanzania. In Tanzania, Roald saw many wild and dangerous animals, including lions, rhinos and hyenas, but it was the snakes he feared the most.

Flying ace

Roald joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) in Kenya at the outbreak of the Second World War, and became a fighter pilot. Unfortunately, he crash-landed in the Western Desert of North Africa and was badly injured.

I Spy!

After being discharged from the RAF, Roald became a British Intelligence Officer (a spy!), passing on important information to the government. He worked alongside another spy, Ian Fleming, who later became famous for his James Bond 007 series. 

Becoming an author

In 1961, Roald Dahl’s first novel for children, ‘James and the Giant Peach’, was published. In total, he wrote 20 children’s books – 17 fiction books and three poetry books.

Do not disturb!

Roald had a small hut at the bottom of his garden where he would go to write. It contained a battered old armchair and a table of strange mementos, including a silver ball made from old chocolate wrappers, and a piece of his own hip bone that was removed during an operation!

Ten Fun Facts about Roald Dahl

  1. Roald’s parents named him after the Norwegian explorer, Roald Amundsen, who was the first man to reach the South Pole, in 1911.
  2. In Norwegian, Roald’s name is pronounced ‘Rooo-al’, with a silent ‘d’.
  3. When he was a child, he had two pet mice called Marmaduke and Montague.
  4. As an adult, Roald was 2 metres tall.
  5. He could speak three languages, English, Norwegian and Swahili, the official language of Kenya and Tanzania.
  6. Roald’s first ever piece of published writing was an account of his plane crash during the Second World War.
  7. Roald invented over 250 new words (there is even a special Oxford Roald Dahl Dictionary).
  8. According to his teachers at school, Roald was never very good at writing.
  9. September 13th, 2020 would have been his 104th birthday.
  10. Roald wrote for four hours every day. He did not want his children disturbing him while he was in his writing hut, so he told them wolves lived there!

Download lots of fabulous Roald Dahl resources for FREE from PlanBee’s Roald Dahl resource collection.

Coronavirus is 2020 Oxford Children’s Word of the Year …

… and ‘Scotland’ is the most popular word in Scotland!

  • The word coronavirus appears for the first time in the 500 Words stories in 2020.
  • Young writers used it 459 times, with Wuhan and Covid-19 also featuring among the total of 134,709 entries to the competition.
  • The competition closed on 27th February – before the UK’s first recorded coronavirus case and before lockdown in the UK, showing how engaged many children were with the emerging pandemic.
  • Children have responded to the developing threat to the world’s health by becoming problem solvers and finding a cure for the disease.
  • The Australian bush fires and their impact on wild animals, especially kangaroos and koalas, feature strongly in the stories. Awareness of environmental activism has also risen, with mentions of Greta Thunberg up 1755% on last year.
  • Technology also features widely, with YouTube the most frequently referenced platform. Mentions of Instagram are not far behind however, increasing 99% in 2020.
  • ‘As cool as a crab with sunglasses on’ is just one example of children’s ability to invent fun similes and use language inventively.
  • The Oxford Children’s Word of the Year will be announced ahead of the 500 Words final.
  • The final will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 2’s Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on Friday 12th June 2020, with the winning stories read by celebrities including David Walliams, Dua Lipa, Joanna Lumley, Jodie Whittaker and Mwaka Mudenda.
  • Along with competition winners, special guests will include 500 Words judges Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Malorie Blackman, Francesca Simon and Charlie Higson, and honorary judge Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Cornwall.

 

There is a somewhat apocalyptic feel to many of the entries in this year’s BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show’s 500 Words story-writing competition and run in partnership with Oxford University Press.

The devastating impact of coronavirus, the terrible bush fires in Australia and ongoing fears of the effects of climate change show that Britain’s children are very much in touch with the most pressing issues of our time and respond to them with sensitivity, compassion, and a desire to find positive, practical solutions.

From the 134,709 entries, analysis by lexicographers at Oxford University Press has revealed fascinating data and discoveries about how children use language to express themselves.

This is the 10th anniversary of 500 Words. The competition was originally created by Chris Evans for the Radio 2 Breakfast Show in 2011 and has now received over 1 million entries, generating more than 440 million words.

Why coronavirus? 

Previous Children’s Word of the Year include Brexit (2019), plastic (2018), Trump (2017), and refugee (2016), indicating the influence of global affairs on children’s creativity.  Standing out this year was the first appearance of the word coronavirus and associated names or words, such as Covid-19 and Wuhan.

Coronavirus was used 459 times in 2020, with words associated with the pandemic also increasing in frequency, including NHS, virus, antibodies, epidemic, and lockdown. Boys and girls wrote almost equally on the topic; however, the subject of the unfolding coronavirus pandemic was more widely covered in older children’s writing (10-13 years).

In many stories, the word is specifically associated with China. Given that the closing date of the 500 Words competition was 27 February 2020 (which was, coincidentally, the day before the first case of transmission within the UK was documented), this can be understood on the basis that news stories had been reporting on the rapidly emerging crisis in the city of Wuhan and later across China.

Many narratives contained realistic physiological and medical details associated with the coronavirus:

‘The nurses came running over. I felt a pain in my neck, I started to gasp for air. My body started shaking I couldn’t control myself. My eyes rolled to the back of my head, a mask covered my mouth, my heart rate dropped, my temperature raised and I have the corona virus’ (The Ex, girl 13)

On the other hand, the young writers also show a delightful blend of humour, fantasy, and creativity as they write about searching for cures and dive into science fiction.

A boy of 10 writes about a getting a blue magic potion from The Smurfs and from a girl of 8 we have: That night I had an interesting dream, a magical sparkling unicorn came and whispered to me the secret ingredients of the cure for the Coronavirus. (The Magical Cure).

In Microbial Madness (from a girl of 12), Salmonella, Flu, and Legionnaire’s Disease join forces against coronavirus, while we have a triumphant diary entry which finds the cure on Day 2370: The cure was successful, we did it. We are putting every penny of our funding into distributing the cure. We will use drones to spray droplets of the liquefied version of the cure. Well, I guess I have no more time to write, I have a planet to cure! (Inside the life of a Coronavirus doctor, boy 11). 

Climate change, current affairs, and activism

Children’s concern for the environment has been growing since plastic was the Children’s Word of the Year in 2018. Indeed, mention of this word has increased by 32% year on year (2019 – 20), while phrases such as global warming, save the planet, and climate change jumped in use; by 126%, 156%, and a staggering 839% respectively.

In light of this, it is perhaps unsurprising that Greta Thunberg has seen her appearance in stories increase 1755% on last year. In one wonderful, feminist mash-up – notably written by an 11-year-old boy – she is working with three other iconic women to bring about political and societal change: ‘The P.O.W (Protectors Of Women) Brigade were having a meeting in their secret cellar beneath the magnificent Buckingham Palace. The head of the team Emmeline Pankhurst was leading the meeting… “Now down to business. Rosa Parks, Greta Thunberg and Marie Curie – I would like you three to take this one: a man in America doesn’t believe that world problems and gender inequality is happening.’ (The P.O.W Brigade)

Sharing the young activist’s anxiety across a range of issues, many stories were set in the future, imagining earth suffering catastrophic environmental damage as a result of climate change – ‘Earth looked like a tiny burning speck, red flames visible even from here. Her sobs became uncontrollable. Earth was finished, climate change had seen to that. Her home, family and friends were gone for good. All over, time up. The end.’ (The End, girl 12) 

Throughout December 2019 and January 2020, the media was filled with heart-rending stories about the Australian bush fires. Responding to this, the UK’s children wrote about the threat to Australian wildlife, most notably koalas and kangaroos.

In such stories, the narrator often tries to save animals trapped by the fires, with many showing empathy with animals in danger, while others narrate tales through the eyes of the creatures in peril – ‘What caught their eyes was the poor kangaroo in front of them crying, looking at the fire rapidly moving towards her joey.’ (Set alight, girl 12)

A number of stories also featured the series of storms that swept across Britain last winter, particularly Ciara and Dennis – ‘It was the night of the storm Ciara, the wind whistled, the thunder was as loud as seven cars falling from the sky, fences blew over, as the wind was so powerful and strong. I laid in my bed with my eyes shut as tight as possible. I could hear bins, trampolines and all sort of things falling over.’ (The silhouetted figure, girl 10).

Technology and social media

Technology and gaming once again featured strongly in the submissions for 2020’s competition and as in 2019, the Xbox is the leading games console mentioned. However, other platforms have seen large rises in their inclusion in stories, which are mainly written by boys.

The games Minecraft, Fortnite, Roblox, Call of Duty, and Just Dance all experienced increased mentions, by an average of 75%. Albeit that Fortnite, while remaining the second most-included game in related stories, saw a fall in its use by 33%.

In a revealing insight that many parents will recognise, one youngster wrote vividly about being denied access to his favourite tech: ‘Tom was a 13 year old boy. He never did any work because he was too busy playing on Nintendo, watching TV or playing on his iPad…. He was about to grab his Nintendo when he realized that it was not there. So, he went to find the TV remote but that was not there either…. “Where is my technology?” asked Tom. “I have taken it away until you do some science,” answered Mum.’ (Life without Technology, boy 9)

YouTube continues to be by far the most-mentioned platform, although Instagram is beginning to rival it – increasing 99% in 2020. Girls write about social media far more than boys, especially older girls who also appear to be spearheading the rise of TikTok.

With almost chilling acuity, fake identities and catfishing are also brilliantly observed: ‘My name is Tilly.  I’ve got darkish hair but on insta it will be raven black. I’ve got brown eyes, but soon they’ll sparkle like emeralds. (Evil Instagram, girl 10).

Reflecting the use of Insta as part of creating a new portmanteau word and promoting a message about having a positive self-image, Pickle the Pig’s Story is something of a latter-day morality tale: ‘She looked back at her phone and realized that she posted the ugly picture of herself on Instasnort a couple of seconds ago.  However, it had received a million likes and many kind comments of all types.  From that day Pickle had understood that you must be yourself not what someone else said you should.’ (girl 11) 

The big names of 2020

Famous people, real or imagined, continue to feature strongly in many stories, as do mythological and fictional characters. Once again, Santa tops the list with 2,293 mentions, with Donald Trump continues to provide a rich source of material in 2nd place overall and heading the list of ‘real’ people. Boris Johnson enters the list for the first time, with 278 hits.

The top 25 ‘famous people’ (including fictional and mythological characters) are:

1) Santa – no change

2) Donald Trump – ↑ 3

3) Zeus – no change

4) Adolf Hitler – ↑ 4

5) Cinderella -↑ 6

6) Christiano Ronaldo – ↓ 2

7) Lionel Messi – new entry

8) Harry Potter – ↓ 2

9) Snow White – ↑ 6

10) David Walliams – ↑ 12

11) Tooth Fairy – ↓ 4

12) Cleopatra – new entry

13) Queen Victoria – new entry

14) Pegasus – ↓5

15) Gingerbread Man – ↑ 4

16) Little Red Riding Hood – new entry

17) Henry VIII – new entry

18) James Bond – new entry

19) Boris Johnson – new entry

20) Albert Einstein – new entry

21) Sherlock Holmes – new entry

22) Mo Salah – new entry

23) Neil Armstrong – new entry

24) Easter Bunny – ↑ 1

25) Usain Bolt – new entry.

 

The top 10 ‘real people’ are:

1) Donald Trump

2) Adolf Hitler

3) Cristiano Ronaldo

4) Lionel Messi

5) David Walliams

6) Cleopatra

7) Queen Victoria

8) Henry VIII

9) Boris Johnson

10) Albert Einstein

And now for something completely different

This year’s 500 Words has again demonstrated that children delight in the unusual. Whether it is creating an invented word, fun similes, or dramatic and witty story openers, there has been another feast of creativity for the judges to revel in.

At nineteen letters long, the Transligualiminator was a real eye-catcher: ‘Finally, after weeks of preparation, the new life-changing device was ready for sale. Timmy Rykon called it The Transligualiminator. It could be a phone, a microwave, or it could dispense anything including nachos, fire-balls or socks. (The Transligualiminator, boy 11).

Could the charming simile as cool as a crab with sunglasses on (girl 9) be set to replace the more usual and staid cucumber? Many must surely have felt as confused as a blind goldfish (boy 9), or that awkward moment in a conversation when things fall as silent as an exam hall (girl 9)?

Helen Freeman, Director, Oxford Children’s Dictionaries & Language Data at Oxford University Press says: “Once again, the analysis of the children’s writing has revealed how tuned in young people are to global events and how real-world  events can inspire such a variety of stories and writing styles, from apocalyptic science fiction, to fairy tales, and humour.

“It’s striking that so many children are choosing to explore these themes and ideas in their writing, and it’s a complete delight for us to read their stories in this special 10th anniversary year.”

Zoe Ball, Radio 2 Breakfast show presenter comments: “The OUP’s analysis is so fascinating.

“Revealing, to no surprise, that kids are so aware of everything that’s going on in the world around them and then are able to turn it into the most brilliant, engaging and imaginative stories!”

While Helen Thomas, Head of Radio 2 Content Commissioning says: “I’d like to thank OUP for their incredible work analysing this year’s 134,709 stories and building a unique Corpus of words from the entries to 500 Words.

“I’d also like to thank all the talented children who entered in the competition’s 10th year, as well as the teachers and judges who initially judged the entries – we could not have done it without you!”

The Top 10 words which are used more in the stories of Scottish children than in any other are: 

  1. Scotland
  2. gran
  3. wee
  4. vikings
  5. couch
  6. bunker
  7. Edinburgh
  8. Glasgow
  9. celtic
  10. Liath

Mimi And The Mountain Dragon to be ‘BBC One festive treat’

Airing this winter on BBC One, a special 2D animated adaptation of Sir Michael Morpurgo’s children’s book Mimi And The Mountain Dragon is to have its television premiere this festive period as part of a wider literature focus on the BBC in 2019-20.

The (1×25’) story on BBC One will have an introduction from the award winning writer himself, Sir Michael Morpurgo (War Horse), and will be narrated through classical music in an original score written by Oscar award-winning composer, Rachel Portman (The Little Prince). It will be performed by the BBC Philharmonic featuring singers from the Hallé’s family of choirs and will be recorded at Media City UK, Salford.

Based on original illustrations by Emily Gravett and adapted for the screen by novelist, poet, and playwright, Owen Sheers, Mimi and the Mountain Dragon is a story about a village that quakes in fear of the mighty Mountain Dragon. One winter, a shy little girl called Mimi finds a tiny baby dragon asleep in her family woodshed. Mimi takes the perilous journey through blizzard and darkness to return the baby dragon to her mother who all the villagers fear.

The newly animated film from Leopard Pictures and Factory started life when Jan Younghusband, Head of Commissioning for BBC Music TV, approached Sir Michel Morpurgo and asked him if he would write a children’s story that could be set to classical music for BBC television. Inspired by a trip to a village in Switzerland some years before, Michael Morpurgo wrote Mimi And The Mountain Dragon which was also released as a children’s book.

The programme is commissioned by Head of BBC Music TV Commissioning, Jan Younghusband, for Charlotte Moore, Director of BBC Content. The project is also supported by Alice Webb, Director, BBC Children’s & Education, and is executive produced by Leopard Chief Creative Officer, Kristian Smith and Phil Chalk for Bafta-winning studio Factory.

Charlotte Moore, Director BBC Content, says: “We’re delighted to be bringing this enchanting mix of music and storytelling to BBC One this Christmas.

“Sir Michael Morpurgo’s wonderful book will be perfectly complemented by the music of Rachel Portman, The BBC Philharmonic and singers from the Hallé’s family of choirs – a real festive treat for all the family.”

Sir Michael Morpurgo says: “Many years ago, in the Engadine Valley in Switzerland, I saw village children in red hats, cracking whips, ringing cowbells, banging drums, creating a great cacophony of noise, as they paraded up through the village. I asked why this was happening. They are driving away wicked spirits, I was told. So began my story of Mimi And The Mountain Dragon.

“And now, extraordinarily, wonderfully, this little story is being made into an animated film, by Leopard Pictures and Factory Create. And what a team BBC Music have put together. There is music by Oscar-winning composer Rachel Portman, a script by Owen Sheers, the great Welsh poet (so he knows a thing or two about dragons!) and with magical drawings from the supremely talented Emily Gravett. I can’t wait to see it!”

Jan Younghusband, Head of BBC Music Commissioning for Television, says: “At the BBC we have a proud heritage of finding new ways to introduce children to classical music, stretching right back to Benjamin Britten’s Young Person’s Guide To The Orchestra, The BBC’s Ten Pieces project and now Mimi And The Mountain Dragon.

“It is an honour to work with Sir Michael Morpurgo, Rachel Portman, Owen Sheers, Emily Gravett, Leopard, Factory, The BBC Philharmonic and Hallé’s family of choirs to bring classical music to audiences everywhere with this film.”

Kristian Smith Chief Creative Officer Leopard Pictures, says: “Mimi And The Mountain Dragon is truly born of love. With countless awards and prizes each, author Sir Michael Morpurgo, composer Rachel Portman, writer Owen Sheers and illustrator Emily Gravett have united their exceptional and exquisite talents to create a timeless, magical story. How lucky am I to get to hang on their coat tails?

“We had the great privilege of partnering with a company I deeply admire in Factory, who are bringing the animation to life. This is a beautiful film, all set to Rachel’s phenomenal original music.”

Phil Chalk, Managing Director of Factory, says: “We are absolutely thrilled to be working with Leopard Pictures and the BBC in making this magical 2D animated special of Mimi And The Mountain Dragon. It’s such a wonderful story by Sir Michael Morpurgo, which we can’t wait to bring to life!”

Losing Arthur: BAFTA-nominated TV writer Paul A. Mendelson releases debut children’s novel

BAFTA nominated TV writer Paul A. Mendelson shares his debut children’s novel, “Losing Arthur” which is largely set in Scotland.

Paul A. Mendelson tells the story of Zack, quirky and imaginative, but bullied at school. He has only one true friend in the world: Arthur. The trouble is, only Zack can see him. One day his mum gets so fed up that she ‘grabs’ Arthur, dumps her handful of nothingness into a box and posts it to Zack’s long-departed father at some made-up Scottish address. Zack, usually so timid, has to set off on a perilous journey to rescue his imaginary friend before he fades away. But there are rogue elements out there who have dangerous plans for the two of them.

“Losing Arthur” author, Paul A. Mendelson lives in Harrow, Middlesex and is a British writer best known for his work on television and radio. Paul has written for the BBC, ITV and for DreamWorks Animation and is currently developing several feature films both in the UK and in the US. Mendelson released his debut adult fiction, “In the Matter of Isabel” earlier this year with great success!

With endorsements from Jamie Rix (Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids) and Elly Brewer, multi-award winning ex lead writer of Tracy Beaker Returns and The Dumping Ground, “Losing Arthur” is a must-read for children and young adults alike!

 

Children’s writing competition: green fingers required!

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Young entrants to Edinburgh’s Green Pencil Award were immersed in their subject matter at the launch of the annual writing competition yesterday. Preston Street Primary School pupils explored the competition’s theme, Scotland’s Glorious Gardens, during a visit to Princes Street Gardens. Continue reading Children’s writing competition: green fingers required!

Mara and Craigroyston kids share stories in the garden

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Storyteller Mara Menzies joined Craigroyston Primary P2 children for a storytelling session in North Edinburgh Arts’ beautiful community gardens yesterday. Continue reading Mara and Craigroyston kids share stories in the garden

Read all about it – top author praises Craigie ‘illustrauthors’!

A group of Craigroyston Community High School students have been working with top author John Fardell over the autumn term. With John’s guidance the S2’s have produced their own story books, and the Edinburgh-based writer was full of praise for the students’ efforts when he attended his final session last week. 

John spent his last session with the class looking at the students’ books – and he was delighted with what he read. He told students: “There is an incredible variety here – there are some amazing ideas and wonderful stories. I really do hope that you will keep writing.”

John was initially invited to Craigroyston by the school librarian Desmond Spiers, who explained: “The group of 16 pupils have literacy problems and during S1 they were targeted for extra support using a Literacy Programme called ‘SRA’, which is a reading support programme. Rather than having the work done with the pupils as a ‘stand-alone’ programme we wanted to embed and extend their work and progress with something outside the normal remit of the curriculum.

In 2006 and 2007 we had a very successful project with the author Keith Gray working in school for a year as our ‘Writer in Residence’ and we decided we would like to do something similar with this group of pupils when they entered S2 in August – this time we would have a writer in for a term. John Fardell was recommended to us by colleagues in other schools – he is both a writer and illustrator, having published a range of picture books and fiction books for older children and he has also contributed regularly to the adult comic Viz.”

Desmond continued: “John worked with the pupils for five sessions over the Autumn Term, talking to the pupils about how he gets his ideas for stories, how he goes about constructing a plot and then writing a story. He’s explained how pictures tell a story, along with lots of hints and tips for the pupils. He has also brought in and shown the pupils examples of work in progress from the first rough ideas and drafts to the finished book.

“John’s visits have been funded by the ‘Live Literature’ programme at Scottish Book Trust, who pay half of the costs with the school paying the remainder. This project has also been encouraged and supported by Education Advisors in Support for Learning, English and Literacy.”

In between John’s visits the pupils worked in class writing their own short stories which were then bound into books, and their creations were presented to the author at John’s final session on 8 November.

Every single book received positive comments and there was helpful feedback for each writer – among the comments:

‘Nice simple uncomplicated style’ 

‘Great use of white space – makes the pictures stand out’ 

‘Great work – go for what you find interesting’ 

‘Very striking – fine story and excellent design’ 

‘Wild, psychedelic colours and a really, really good fantasy story’

‘Lovely ideas on themes of friendship – wonderful illustrations’

 ‘Great first sentence for a story and mixes text and pictures really well’

 ‘Very original, with some fantastic cartoon baddies. A good fun, exciting story’

 ‘Nicely laid out – excellent mix of excitement and humour’ 

‘Very dark, bleak opening but you can start a story like that. Great atmosphere’ 

‘Nice use of wild lettering and curly writing, sort of Pop Art collage. Unique style’

‘Really good use of illustration, unique and personal’

‘Nice style with fluffy thought bubbles – I really like the diary format’

‘A collection of poetry with a contents page – some lovely contrasts here’.

In short, John was impressed!

Summing up, he told the students: “It’s great that these 17 books are all so wonderfully different. They are all very individual and that makes them unique and exciting books. I know you have all worked really, really hard and you should be very proud of what you have achieved. Keep your drawer full of rough ideas – you have shown a real talent, fantastic”.

John clearly possesses an infectious enthusiasm for books and 13-year-old Keiran Blackie was particularly inspired by working with the author. “John was brilliant to work with – he gave us lots of helpful tips and ideas and he was also very funny sometimes! My book is called The Best Accident and the idea for it came while I was watching the Paralympics on television. It took me around seven weeks from start to finish – I enjoyed writing it and I do like the way it looks now it’s finished. I’ve tried to write before but this is the first time I’ve really succeeded, and it has given me confidence – I think I will hopefully do another one.”

Teachers Margaret Beveridge and Eric Freund did the majority of the classwork with the pupils, and both were full of praise for John. They said: “He helped reinforce lessons already undertaken with the students, fired their imagination and left a body of work that we can build upon and extend over the coming months. We hope we can repeat this excellent project again next year.”