The wonderful thing about school visits by Jess Butterworth

Writing is often a very solitary experience. I can very happily spend days on end in front of a computer, immersed in my imagination and watching the characters come alive as I type.

But there’s another aspect to a children’s writer’s life, one that involves meeting the readers and school visits. And throughout September and October, Running on the Roof of the World, Eve the yak and I, went on tour.

And we had the best time ever.

During the school visits I met the most wonderful, creative pupils who asked intelligent, thoughtful questions. One of my most cherished memories will always be watching pupils read along with me as I read the first chapter aloud. I told them they were all the next generation of authors and some pupils even shared their own creative writing with me.

I also met some incredible teachers, librarians and booksellers. It is such a great privilege to write for children and be part of the wonderful community actively seeking to enrich education and engage and excite young people through books. With so much uncertainty in the world we live in, the role of books and stories has never been more important: they invoke a sense of wonder, provide a safe place to escape and dream; build empathy skills; nurture a desire to discover, and expose readers to new experiences and ideas.

And I can’t wait for When the Mountains Roared to be published so that I can visit them all again.


Jess Butterworth 

@j_t_butterworth (Twitter)
@jessbutterworthauthor (Facebook)
Jess's website

So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye-eee.... Megan Rix / Ruth Symes

How time has flown. I've just looked back at my blog posts and see I started way back in November 2011 and here we are 3 years later and my last post for now.

I've just finished my latest book tour as Megan Rix. This time it was for my book 'The Hero Pup' and we got to have guide dogs and hearing dogs and medical alert dogs, as well as my own two, Traffy and Bella, coming along to different sessions. It was fantastic! My favourite tour so far :) Back in 2011 I hadn't done any week long book tours and now I have 5 under my belt. I'd also never done a ppt presentation but now when we turn up at a school and they're having problems setting it up I'm (don't want to jinx it) so will just say usually able to sort it out. And requests to speak to 700 children plus staff at once - a breeze - done it twice now.

This year has been amazing. Two children's book
of the year award wins - one for 'Victory Dogs' at

lovely Stockton-on-Tees and one for 'The Bomber Dog' at beautiful Shrewsbury. Shrewsbury even provided a dog to come out on stage with me - not a german shepherd like Grey in Bomber Dog but a lively ball loving spaniel who works as a bomb sniffing dog.

Dogs are so wonderful and I never tire of telling children all the brilliant things they can do as well as showing pictures of the things my two get up to. Fortunately I have lots of pictures and the one where Bella as a tiny pup is trying to bury a sock always goes down well. As does the fox poo one :)

I've been so proud of Traffy coming into our local school with me to listen to children read. She's been such a hit and is always ready with a wag of her tail as a new child coos over her. Her special reading mat with letters on it was a true find and the children who've read to her have shown improvements even more than the school had hoped for.

The school was also the first one to hear a very early first chapter of 'Cornflake the Dragon' my new Secret Animal Society series that I'm writing as Ruth Symes. The Ruth Symes books tend to be for slightly younger children than the Megan Rix ones and I love getting letters from readers and pictures of the toys that have been made of the characters. I especially treasured an email I got recently about 'Dancing Harriet' and how the book was being used at a school in India to help teach tolerance and inclusion.

I'm going to miss not writing for ABBA for a while (other than hopefully an occasional guest post) but I've just got a bit too overworked what with running two careers as Ruth Symes and Megan Rix and so it's best to step out rather than find blogging a chore rather than a pleasure. But I'll still be reading it and looking forward to catching up with what's happening  :)

PS Just found out 'A Soldier's Friend' is one of the nominated books for 2015's Carnegie medal - yahoo! Good luck to everyone with books in it xx

PPS Thanks so much to Carol Christie for saying her son got switched back on to reading by The Bomber Dog I hadn't seen the comment at the end of my Dog Days posts until I looked back at the old posts I'd done yesterday. That's what it's all about :)


www.ruthsymes.com and www.secretanimalsociety.com and www.meganrix.com

The strange things children’s writers do – Lari Don

Yesterday, I helped dress a dragon in a car park.

The dragonmobile, at Pirniehall Primary in Edinburgh

But it’s not the strangest thing I’ve done as a children’s writer.

I've recce'd a castle, going in undercover as a tourist, to discover the best way to steal their most famous artefact.

I've interviewed a vet about how to heal a fairy’s dislocated wing, and a boat builder about how to fit a centaur on a rowing boat.

I've lost half a dozen journalists in a maze. (I guided them out again eventually. Most of them.)

I've told Celtic legends on an iron age hillfort, fairytales in an inner city woodland, and Viking myths in a cave.

And all of these things have been an integral part of my job as a children’s writer. Because writing is not just sitting at a keyboard and tapping out chapters.

The research (chatting to vets about fairy injuries and sneaking about castles) is often as much fun as the writing. And the promotion (dragon dressing and outdoor storytelling) is almost as important as the sitting at my desk imagining.

I suspect that as a children’s writer, you have to be just as imaginative in your research methods and your promotion ideas as you do in your cliffhangers and your characterisations.

But I can’t take credit for the dragon in the carpark. I did create a shiny friendly blue dragon, as one of the main characters in my Fabled Beast series. However, I had moved onto creating other characters in other stories, when my publishers decided to give the Fabled Beasts Chronicles new covers, and announced that they were going to promote the covers with a dragonflight tour.

Then the very talented marketing executive at Floris Books designed a dragon costume for her own car. And she’ll be spending most of the next fortnight driving me round beautiful bits of Scotland and the north of England (yesterday Edinburgh, today Perth, then Aberdeenshire and Penrith, as we get more confident and stretch our wings!) in a car which we dress up as a dragon in the carpark of various primary schools, then invite the children out to ooh and aah at our shiny blue dragon and her shimmering flames, before I go inside to chat with the pupils about cliff-hangers and quests.

So, this week, I’ve already learnt how to put a dragon’s jaws on at speed. And I’ve discovered that if the engine hasn’t cooled down yet, those flames coming down from the bonnet are actually warm!

Very brave Forthview Primary pupils sitting on dragon's flames!

So, yes, I do strange things. But I have fun! And I hope that my enjoyment comes across in my books, and in my author events.

I don’t think the adventures I create would be nearly as interesting without the odd conversations I have while I’m researching them, or the weird things I do to promote them.

So – what do you think? Should I just be sensible and stay indoors writing? Or is a little bit of weird now and then an effective way to make books, reading and writing more exciting for children?
 

Lari Don is the award-winning author of 22 books for all ages, including a teen thriller, fantasy novels for 8 – 12s, picture books, retellings of traditional tales and novellas for reluctant readers. 

Lari’s website 

Lari’s own blog

Lari on Twitter

Lari on Facebook

Lari on Tumblr

On The Road - The Victory Dogs Book Tour... Megan Rix

Before the Tour:

My days are usually spent walking my dogs and then writing while my dogs sleep on the bed, or the office floor, before reminding me they need to be played with or fed. So when Puffin asked if I'd like to do a book tour, for my book The Victory Dogs, something I'd never done before, I was surprised and delighted, and immediately said yes without really understanding what it would entail.

Once I knew I'd be talking at 11 schools in 5 days I started to worry - mostly about my voice holding up and what if I got sick, authors who do lots of school visits always seem to be catching colds. What if I was in a large hall and the children at the back couldn't hear me? What if my carefully prepared powerpoint presentation didn't play on the schools' computers?

Hannah from Puffin was on hand to reassure me - they'd ask for a microphone and we'd send my powerpoint to the schools beforehand so they'd have it all set up when we arrived. But I'd also bring my own laptop with it on, just in case.

I wondered if a costume would be a good idea? She thought it would. Shopping for the tour was lots of fun as I bought WW2 overalls, two different WW2 helmets; a warden's one and a rusty Zuckerman, ARP whistle, authentic looking evacuees suitcase and items children would have had in them. CDs of Glenn Miller and air-raid siren sound effects.

I knew I was more prepared than I'd ever been for school visits before but I still worried that the children might be bored or the staff not friendly.

On the Friday Hannah emailed to say one of the schools on the first day had phoned to ask if I'd bring Traffy with me, following on from a piece in the local press about her being a reading therapy dog. She'd told them she wasn't sure if I'd think it was a good idea. I say I think it's a great idea. I'd love having Traffy with me and it would make my day to have her there.

Monday

Traffy and Bella, are confused about why they're not going for their usual early morning walk. I feel guilty for leaving them but at least my husband's working from home this week so he'll be with them.

When I arrive at the first school, 5 or so miles away, the staff are all smiles as they look behind me and ask where Traffy is? The Headmaster loves dogs and they've brought lots of treats for her.

'We put that we wanted her to come too on the form we filled in.'

I knew the second school had asked but didn't know about this one wanting her as well. I don't want to disappoint them and I'd love to have Traffy with me, so I phone my husband and Traffy is brought to the school, where she is greeted like a film star. She likes the treats they've brought for her very much but I'm a bit worried that it could be overwhelming for her. My first talk goes well - although not exactly as planned.

Once I've finished signing books I nip back home with Traffy and take her and Bella for a long walk by the river before heading off to the second school of the day. This time Traffy knows what's going on and is much calmer. I keep her with me while I'm giving my talk and she falls asleep on the floor in front of me and wakes up at the end so all the children can pet her.

Everyone comments on how well-behaved she is and I have to agree. I am very proud of her. She's such a good girl.

My husband picks Traffy up and we swap cars so I can drive to Bury St Edmunds, roof down as it's such a gorgeous day, with Hannah from Puffin.

A member of the night's hotel staff takes our bags to our rooms and parks the car for us.

Tuesday

3 schools to visit in Suffolk today. My World war 2 overalls are lasting well although my WW2 warden's hat now has a chip in the paintwork - which gives it a more authentic look.

The children are full of enthusiasm and ask lots of good questions - including one about whether I have a book showing the War from different sides. I tell them my next book 'The Bomber Dog' is attempting to do just that.

I'm starting to get in the swing of the talks and really enjoying them.

Wednesday

Off to St Albans on the train today to visit 2 super schools and chat to 2 lots of press. There's also an email from the local radio station to ask if I'll come in and have a chat soon.

Thursday

The weather has turned incredible. More like the middle of summer than May. I can't wear my hot boots a moment longer and opt for flip-flops instead.

I love all the oohs and aahs at the slides of my own dogs as puppies - before I go on to talk about the two puppies in The Victory Dogs.

Taxi to my next school, near Market Harborough, only to find they're in the middle of an OFSTED inspection. They still want the talk to go on and other schools have been invited and are arriving - so on I go - explaining to the children that the overalls I'm wearing were very practical in WW2 but no one should ever wear flip-flops to do search and rescue work if they can help it. I've already explained how modern day search and rescue dogs wear protective boots so they don't injure their paws.


Friday

Glenn  Miller music plays as the children arrive and I make my entrance in warden's hat and overalls to the real life air-raid siren that we've kindly been lent for the day.

Signing books afterwards I'm surprised when a girl comes up with some of my books written as Ruth Symes.

'Your witchling books are almost never in the library because they're always on loan,' the school librarian smiles. 'They couldn't believe it when I told them you wrote those books too.'

I happily sign away ending each signature with a paw print stamp. And before I know it the last book has been stamped and the last school has been visited and we're saying goodbye.

After the Tour

I'm feeling a bit sad that my Victory Dogs tour is over. I'm going to miss visiting all the schools. I haven't lost my voice or caught a cold, Hannah, Anthea and Julia from Puffin, who came with me on different days were brilliant, everyone we met in fact has been kind and lovely and the technical side of the presentation and Hannah's travel arrangements went without a hitch.

Hope I have another book tour one day but for now I've got two dogs who've been promised some very long walks once I come home, and are giving me meaningful looks to remind me.

The Victory Dogs: 'A moving tale told with warmth, kindliness and lashings of good sense that lovers of Dick King-Smith will especially appreciate.' The Times