Back To School - by Emma Barnes

7th March 2013 was World Book Day. As usual, the requests came in: “Would you like to visit our school for Book Week...the children would love to meet a real, live author”. This year I visited primaries in Sheffield, Leeds, North Yorkshire and Edinburgh and, now that all the rushing about is over, I’ve time to reflect a bit about what authors can bring to schools.

When I visit a school, part of it is “the talk” – often to an assembly group. In this session I’m trying to do a few things: share my excitement about books and reading, get across that reading is not a “worthy” activity but something that can take you into new worlds and generate real, edge-of –the-seat excitement; and convey that my job is fundamentally about STORY – creating narratives that people want to read, and where all the time they are demanding “what happens next?”

 It’s important for primary children to realise that this is an entirely different skill to handwriting, spelling or punctuation (which they may be bad at, and heartily dislike.) It’s not necessarily got much to do with adverbs, “openers”, “connectives” or “wow words” either. These are just parts of the tool-kit, that can be brought out when required. The aim is to create the world – the characters within it – and their story.

As well as talking to the children, I do workshops. I spend a lot of time preparing these, and asking myself the question – what extra thing can I, as a writer, bring to the children? What can I provide, that a teacher, however well-trained and inspired, might not?

....What if your mother was a witch?
Illustrator: Emma Chichester Clark

Increasingly, I focus on story. A lot of the writing that children do in class is not based around creating stories – yet for me, that is the key part of being a writer. And it’s hard, incredibly hard, to come up with a gripping story – one that holds attention, suspends disbelief and both surprises and satisfies.

Imagine Jessica's problem....

So most of my workshops are about finding different ways into a story. Whether it’s about inventing a surprising character (a mermaid who can’t swim, a dragon that can’t breathe fire), looking at a place you know and searching out the things that happen there, or thinking about a “What If...” situation...What if your mother was a witch? (Jessica Haggerthwaite: Witch Dispatcher). What if your new dog turned out to be a wolf? (Wolfie).

Some of the most fun I’ve had in schools recently has been creating stories in groups. I start the ball rolling...”What is your character’s name?” “How old are they?” And in a surprisingly short time we will develop a story...sometimes an amazing story, in which I will be astonished by the creativity and imagination all around me. “I think I’ll steal this one for my next book” I tell them (actually quite tempted!)

Best of all are the comments from teachers, about the children who have taken their stories home, or gone on working at them at playtime or in class. Sometimes I’m sent copies of the finished versions!

Emma Barnes's web-site
Emma's latest book is Wolfie - available from Amazon
 Wolfie: "funny, clever and satisfying" - Book of the Week, Books for Keeps

The Fire In The Forest - David Thorpe

In my last blog post, I said that in December my wife, Helen Adam, and I were lucky enough to be hired to run a music and drama workshop during the winter holidays at Vijay International School on the island of Praslin in the Seychelles.

This is what happened.

I say winter, but it was 31°C most of the time and 90% humidity. The word 'winter' does not occur in their vocabulary! There were 16 children and the age range was demanding: from 6 to 15.

All of them spoke English, some of them French, and all of them spoke Creole.

The aim was to create a musical drama from scratch. What we weren't prepared for were the paucity of materials and lack of musical instruments, not to mention the fact that the children had never done anything like this before, nor even seen a theatrical performance.

The expectations of the staff were correspondingly fairly low as to what the children would be able to achieve in just 10 days.

What happened completely surprised everyone. The result was a 45 minute musical, called The Fire in the Forest, which included five songs, which they wrote themselves, displaying the huge talent of these students.

At the start, the happy villagers of Waverley are sharing food and a game.

My job was to guide them through creating the storyline and the script, and Helen's to do the same with the music and songwriting. My friend and the school's headmaster, Martin Kennedy, supported them in creating the masks, props and sets.

... but then the evil Smilekiller comes with his soldiers.

Everyone worked hard, from eight in the morning to three in the afternoon.

In the first week, we explored ideas, plot structure, morals, musical elements, how to collaborate, then wrote the plot, script, lyrics and music.

In the second week we rehearsed and learnt about stagecraft and musical and dramatic performance. Every single one of the students contributed an equal amount to the final work, which is the sum of many small parts.

He makes the blacks turn the whites into slaves.

The process of creating and shaping the work was as important as the final result, to help them learn collaboration and partnership.

It was a truly intense experience; we got to know them all very well and they became our friends.

How was this possible in just nine days?

We were completely surprised ourselves. After some introduction to the four basic plots, and story structure, the children decided on the themes, which were spirit animals and equality/discrimination.

Helen put them in a trance and guided them to find their own spirit animals.

 By transforming into their spirit animals they are able to free themselves of this spell...

They split into four groups to each come up with characters and a story. Each group then pitched their story to the rest.

I then combined all four stories into one story, and gave it to them for their approval.

We then split the story into 11 scenes. The group divided into pairs or individuals, who each then wrote a scene. I typed them up into the script.

 Meanwhile, it is up to the villagers' three pets to save the world by putting out the fire in the forest created by Smilekiller....

... With the help of a Mad Monkey!

The songs were written in a similar way. A theme or subject was decided upon for that point in the narrative. Each child then wrote a single line. They then ordered the lines into verses and chorus. Helen helped them come up with the tunes.

So, by the end of the fourth day we had a script! We also had four of the five songs. This was a stage we hadn't expected to reach until the beginning of week two. On the fifth day we had a read-through and cast the parts.

They spent the weekend learning their lines. The first four days of week two were spent rehearsing and creating their masks for their spirit animals.

The final performance was on the afternoon of the 10th day. All of the parents, some teachers and school governors attended.

 They manage to put out the fire.

Everyone was completely amazed at what these children had achieved, ourselves included.

It was so successful that we were immediately invited back for the following year, except that the next time the outcome will be a short film instead of a performance.

But one of them dies. How sad.... (Cue a lament!)

For Helen and I, it shows what children are capable of when given the chance.

In their feedback, most of the children commented on how much the experience had increased their self-confidence and spirit of cooperation, which is surely the point. Some of them now want to learn musical instruments, which is difficult as there are no music teachers on the island of Praslin.

Their parents remarked on how, unlike on school days when they had to be dragged out of bed, they were up in plenty of time to get to school!

Helen and I cannot wait to go back next year.

 Back in the village, the spirit animals fight the spirit animal of Smilekiller, but are thrown into gaol.

The Story

This is the story they came up with:

The sleepy village of Waverley guards the Peace Forest, on which all other forests of the world depend. It is led by two wizards, Ricky and Jack, and blacks and whites live together equally.

Then, the evil Smilekiller and his soldiers come. With magic claws he puts the villagers under a spell, where the blacks must dominate the whites. Then he uses a magic crystal to burn the forest.

 The Dove manages to escape.

Only the villagers’ three pets can save the forest, but first they must get magic fan leaves from a tree guarded by a werewolf, to put out the fire in the crystal.

 She finds a way to charm Smilekiller.

The villagers manage to transform into their spirit animals, when they are free from the spell. They challenge Smilekiller, who changes into his own spirit animal, the king of the beasts. They win the struggle, but the tyrant’s soldiers put the villagers in gaol.

The three pets succeed in putting out the fire, but one of them, the toucan Findicesa, dies.

Victoria, whose spirit animal is a dove, can escape, however. She overhears that Smilekiller is evil because he was bullied. She sings a song that charms and calms his heart.

... who releases the villagers from his spell by giving them each one of her magic claws.

Smilekiller relents and releases the villagers. The surviving pets return with the crystal, which Smilekiller agrees to throw away because it is too dangerous for anyone to own. The villagers celebrate victory with a song: We Are Proud.

We Are Proud!

The Cast

Waverley Village inhabitants
Charlotte Vanacore, a Wizard, Jack
Rasiki Devi Pillay, a Wizard, Ricky
Linnea Huechenne, a villager, Bella
Phin Phinehas, a villager, Johnny
Aliette Vidot, a villager, Victoria
Hlo Moyo, a villager, Brendan
Vanilla-Lou Labiche, a villager, Jacob
Alysa Payet, a pet dog, Miki
Chloé Verlaque, a pet cat, Carlisle
Candice Harter, a pet toucan, Findicesa

Others
Brigitte De Charmozhadlache – Smilekiller
Perry Pointe – Smilekiller’s soldier
Wendy Danielle – Smilekiller’s soldier
Simon Allisop, a mad monkey
Ishah Figaro, a werewolf

Songs

I Am Who I Am
Animal Rap
No One (Lament for Findicesa)
Time To Change Your Heart
We Are Proud

Patronising without patronising - John Dougherty

I’m going to be a patron!

Okay, that doesn’t look very exciting written down, but I think it is. I’ve signed up for a new scheme, the brainchild of Tim Redgrave, head teacher at Ysgol Esgob Morgan in St Asaph, North Wales. The idea is that a school adopts an author as Patron of Reading, to develop a relationship with the school and its pupils and to foster and promote a culture of reading.

The idea came to Tim following a hugely successful visit by my friend Helena Pielichaty. This doesn’t surprise me at all; I’ve had to spend a ridiculous amount of time this week alone telling my daughter to put down that blimmin’ Girls FC book and get dressed/have your breakfast/brush your  teeth/get in the car.

Anyone who knows anything about my views on education knows how important I think reading for pleasure is. It’s the key; there’s so much more evidence to support its foundational role than just about anything else. So I’m delighted to be part of this scheme. I could witter on about it for pages & pages, but I think instead I’m going to direct you to Helena’s blog, where she explains the whole thing. Please take a look - you'll be inspired!

And if you’re a teacher or school librarian looking for ways to promote reading for pleasure, or an author wanting to get involved, please contact Tim via the link on this page to add your name to the list of potential patrons!

John's website is at www.visitingauthor.com.
He's on twitter as @JohnDougherty8

His most recent books include:

Finn MacCool and the Giant's Causeway - a retelling for the Oxford Reading Tree
Bansi O'Hara and the Edges of Hallowe'en
Zeus Sorts It Out - "A sizzling comedy... a blast for 7+" , and one of The Times' Children's Books of 2011, as chosen by Amanda Craig

The Wordshop - Andrew Strong

In my last post for ABBA I wrote about my intention to take a roadshow to schools across Edinburgh. I say ‘roadshow’ but I’m not sure what that is. I also used the word ‘workshop’, and in the end decided it was a ‘wordshop’.

Well, I did go up to Edinburgh, and I thought I’d tell you about it.

First, I should I explain that I really didn’t know what I was doing.  I think it’s important to state this otherwise you may be looking for the point of it.  I had about three weeks to prepare, and was looking for interested teachers at the same time. You can imagine the difficulties when I first contacted schools.

Teacher: so what is this about?

Me: I’m not sure. Literacy. Words. Music.

Teacher: does it have a purpose?

Me: Oh yes, of course. It will have. Soon.

Teacher: Could you say what the purpose is?

Me: I want to expand your mind. I want to control your stationery.

With a couple of days to go I had a format for the ‘wordshop’ worked out. I would talk about interesting words, read a few poems, ask children to make up their own poems, get children to improvise a surreal drama, then finish with some whale sound effects. Everyone likes those.  Had I discovered what the point of it was? No. I was on an adventure.  I suppose I wanted the children to feel that too, as if they couldn’t be too sure of what was going to happen next.

I would hold up my books, perhaps read from them at the end if there was time.  What I wanted to do more than anything else was engage children. Engage, entertain, amuse, confuse, distract, challenge, motivate, inspire.  That sort of thing. 

I’m back home now, two weeks or so later. It was great fun. The children I worked with were wonderfully exuberant and came up with some astonishing comments and insights, and took part with glee.  I loved the moment a boy stood up and began a hilarious chant using the word ‘potato’, and in one school a teacher laughed so much she had to go and sit in the corner and dry her tears.

I learnt several things: a) my keyboard is heavy b) parking in Edinburgh is difficult c) most people are open to new ideas d) rationalising what you’re doing is not always a good thing  e) nothing is as hard as trying to be funny, but when you succeed, it’s obvious. f) everyone loves to hear whale song.

So thank you Edinburgh, and all those people who gave me an opportunity to try out my multimedia self-publicity. A big thank you to Kenris and also Fiona, Saira, Amber and Richard.

Next, I want to try and combine music, poems and stories into a sort of operatic audio magazine. Sell them to schools at £5 a time. If it goes well I should make about £10,000 a month.  Enough to afford some real whales.

When in School...Top Tips for REAL AUTHORS - Emma Barnes

“Drat,” I say – or something less suitable for a blog about children’s books – as the dog trips me up, and I go sprawling across the kitchen floor in the dark.

One of the great advantages of being a writer is there no need to get up early. Or to look smart. This is lucky for me, because I am much better at lounging around in my saggy tracksuit, tapping at my computer, and not needing to impress anyone except the dog (who is easily impressed).

Watch out for the dog!

But today is different.

Today is a School Visit day. The downside to that warm glow I always feel when a school gets in contact, and tells me that I am the right person to inspire their pupils with the love of literature (“Well, I’ll do my best,” I say modestly), is this scrambling about before dawn, so that I can set off and arrive bright and early before the school bell. And amazingly, I am never, ever late.

(All right, once I was caught in a hideous traffic jam. Once my train was delayed. And once – very embarrassing this – I got lost. In the city where I live. It wasn’t entirely my fault. They had built a new ASDA and changed the roads.)

I like to think that I have turned school visits into a streamlined military operation. Who am I kidding? As I stumble about with boxes of books, clutching my bag of sandwiches, fretting about my Sat Nav, and wondering uneasily if I remembered to fill up with petrol, the last thing on my mind is the joy of the imagination and the wonders of reading and all those other things I like to bang on about on my web-site.

Near Settle

When I am finally off, however, a kind of calm descends. One of the joys about school visits is that they take you places you would not usually go. As I drive through open moorland, or down twisting, fogbound country lanes, or through the immense snowy flatness of East Yorkshire, I am fascinated to discover new places, and landscapes that will stay with me after the day is finished.


Approaching my destination, uneasiness descends again. When it says “turn left” does my Sat Nav really mean into that industrial estate? And when I find the school – what do I do if the staff car park is locked? Is it OK to park on the street? What happens if a local resident comes out and shouts at me (as happened once. And there wasn’t even a yellow line!)

Arrived!

And then, suddenly, I am standing in front of a vast hall of bobbing faces, as the kind teacher says, “We are very lucky today, because here is Emma Barnes, a REAL AUTHOR, who has come to speak to us about her books!” And I wonder uneasily if I am what a REAL AUTHOR looks like, and if any of the children are disappointed, and whether actually I should have turned up in the muddy tracky bottoms after all, because that is what this REAL AUTHOR looks like when she is actually doing her writing.

 (And what would an UNREAL author look like and would that be more interesting?)

“Now tell me,” I begin, “who here loves reading?” And a forest of hands shoot up, and we’re talking favourite books, and favourite authors, and suddenly all is well. I read from my own book, and although I will never win any Oscars for my acting, I am not going to let that hold me back (I AM Fred the Grumpy Angel, I AM Martha the naughty child). The children laugh. The teachers too. (Maybe it’s at my hammy acting, but who cares?) And in the workshops, the kids make me laugh, with wonderful ideas and turns of phrase that I am tempted to steal for my next book.

I AM Martha!

I AM Jessica!

I fall back into my car at the end of the day exhausted, amused, intrigued and inspired. Schools are such fascinating places: each of them a world of their own. Even if everything does not go to plan, it’s always interesting. Even those Year 6 boys who insisted on turning what was supposed to be a funny, family story into a piece about an axe-murderer: well , it certainly livened up the session. And their teacher said they had never shown such enthusiasm for writing!

I turn the music up loud and set off back across the moors.

Top Tips for School Visitors:

Don’t rely on your SatNav. It may decide the A1 does not exist. Or (as mine once did) refuse to speak anything but Afrikaans. 

Never eat school dinners. Despite Jamie Oliver, it's not worth the risk.


Don’t leave your memory stick with powerpoint presentation at home. 

Hands off!

Don’t leave your memory stick with powerpoint presentation in the school computer.



Staff rooms can be funny places. Ask before you help yourself to a mug of tea (that might be the Headteacher's personal snoopy mug).  


Takes lots of sugar in your tea. You'll need it.


Above all, be ready for the unexpected. I was once the subject of  Prayers in assembly. “Oh Lord, make us more like this author! Let us write wonderfully like her!” I nearly collapsed from shock.

Emma Barnes's latest book is How (Not) To Make Bad Children Good
Visit Emma's web-site - with details about how to contact her for school visits!