It had been over two years since my last visit to Staining CE so it was lovely to return.
The morning started with a whole-school author assembly. The children discovered how the books are written and I received lots of shocked responses when I showed the pupils all six draft manuscripts. Martin provided a ‘virtual’ drawing masterclass to show how he draws Eric – hopefully inspiring a few future illustrators. The session finished with a performance of one of the Tales. The children were just fantastic!
The rest of the morning was split between Year 4 and 5. I worked with both classes to create a nasty character who could slot into one of my Tales. The children pulled apart a piece of unpublished text and then built up their own character description. We finished each session with some ‘freestyle storytelling’ before I wished the children well with their writing. I’m excited about hearing how they got on.
Big thanks must go to Mr Twist for inviting me to visit and helping to promote the accompanying book signing. I had an ace time at Staining CE Primary and I hope the children did too!