Nearly Finished

The book is nearly done! I've seen a first proof and it's looking good. It's also now got a title: 'The Hungrumptious Blumpfh and other poems'.

It's all very exciting. I'm booked in to take my book to several schools in July, and hopefully to lots more in the coming academic year. I'll be selling / signing / reading / workshopping my way around as many schools as poss.

More details soon! It's a busy old time what with going into schools, putting together my book, and collecting panini world cup stickers (!!!)

The book, The book!

So...I have finally done it - collected my best poems together, passed them on to an illustrator, and asked her to do some drawings. Once they are done, it's all going to a printer, and my first book will be done, ready to sell in schools. So...any school type people reading this - if you'd like a look, do get in touch! It's a mixed feeling of excitement and nerves that greets the thought of publication. Will it be liked? Will it sell? My name will be on the front!

Ancient Egyptians and buckets for sick

I was working in a school today, and one of the boys in a class started to cry and was passed a bucket in case he was going to be sick. I naturally assumed that he was not feeling very well and continued on with my lesson.

Only to find out later in the day...

He'd been fine until I'd started talking about the mummification process, specifically the part where a hook was inserted in a dead person's nose to extract the brain. Apparently that had suddenly make him feel rather unwell. Goodness! I didn't realise that my description could have that effect - needless to say I felt rather bad about it afterwards.

Here's hoping that he's now feeling better and that my Ancient Egypt workshops don't have similar effects in the future!

Lads 'n' dads

Before half term, I ran a lads n dads day at Normanton All Saints Infant school. What wonderful, chaotic, creative fun we had! Boys from Foundation up to Year 2 brought their dads along to have a day of writing and storytelling. After five minutes being surrounded by 20 plus excitable boys, I was wondering what on earth I'd let myself in for. By the end of the day, however, we'd had so much fun, and everyone had enjoyed themselves so much, that I'm going to launch lads n dads across the region (or at least try!). So thanks to Normanton All Saints for their help and support in this brill project.

I've just finished reading My Sister Jodie by the wonderful Jacqueline Wilson. And I think it's second only to The Illustrated Mum. What a brilliant book it has been. I've been reading it in the bathroom, at the breakfast table and, tonight, in front of the (not switched on) TV, which shows just how good it must have been!

Books like this make me clutch them to my chest afterwards and want to immediately speak to other people who have read the same book. I had a few minutes just quiet, thinking about the magnificence of what I'd read, and then I phoned Rosie, my 11 year old niece, and the person who had lent me the book. Her favourite character was Jodie (no surprise there, I don't reckon, as she is sort of like Jodie in a wild kind of way), but I think Pearl and Harley were my favourite two.

I love books, and when I read one like this, one that moves me, one that I know will stay with me, I am so grateful for the joy that a book can bring. Oh it sounds over the top, but this is how I feel! I'm wondering if others feel this way? Or is it just me? Let me know!

AIREDALE AND POLLUTION PETE

On Tuesday I was at Airedale Junior school. I'll be back there again today. I've worked with Airedale children before, but not in the actual school. Last time I was down at the library with year 6 as we tried (unsuccessfully) to track down two superheros.

On Tuesday I was working in school itself for the first time, and boy, did I get lost! Those corridors are looooooooooong. I think I've just about worked my way around now though. We had a great day with Pollution Pete. What a miserable, planet destroying, river polluting chap he is! The children showed complete distaste for the miserable fiend, and acted the story extremely well and with great enthusiasm!

I'm hoping that Year 5 show as much enthusiasm today. Not that they're going to be meeting Pollution Pete. Nope. They're meeting Disgusting Dave. Ugh! I hope they cope with THAT particular dude ok.

OYSTER PARK JUNIOR SCHOOL

In October I visited Oyster Park Junior School for the first time. I was there for a week in total, broken up over two weeks. It's been busy busy busy since then, but not too busy for me to write about how it was there.

And it was great! The children were SOOOOOO enthusiastic, and from the first few seconds of my storytelling there I knew that they were going to be brill. They LOVED the tortoise story and loved being told a story. And they were so friendly - every lunchtime I had a clamour of pupils wanting me to sit with them, and every time I did, they were extremely good company. Best moment of the week in terms of lunchtime was the jokes that I was told. Best joke?

Why was Cinderella rubbish at football?
Because her coach was a pumpkin!

Oh, actually, there was another best moment at lunch. It was the moment I was asked to write a poem about sprouts. That gave rise to a new poem called 'I'm a Sprout Supporter' which I LOVE and which would never have written without having come to Oyster Park. So thanks guys!

I had a blast in the classrooms. Another first was being told that one of the teacher's names was 'Gorgeous'. Slightly dubious until I realised that ALL the kids were calling her the same. It didn't take long for me to join them in this (slightly unusual) term of address, and from then on the lesson went from strength to strength!

I also had a fab time in the nursery. The staff there really looked after me, and what a lot of fun I had with the children! Highlight of the nursery visit was rescuing an (imaginary) cat from a tree in the role play area. It was brill.

The Oyster Park staffroom was one of the bubbliest, most fun staffrooms I've been in. Despite the dubious plumming advice (you know who you are - and no, my toilet at home is NOT fixed), I really felt part of the laughter and enthusiasm that abounded in the staffroom.

Oyster Park was great. Hope I get to go back there.