Three school visits all in my hometown of Blackpool happened within a week of each other. First up was my third visit to Thames Primary Academy. It’s always fab to visit Thames to share a new book and this visit was no different. The pupils listened intently as I shared More Impossible Tales and groaned…
A busy afternoon started at Stanley Primary. I had been invited to visit by Miss Wheatley to talk to Year 3 about Eric Appleby as they were studying the book in class. The children asked lots of ace questions and I even gave them a sneak peek of Danger Zone. Can’t wait to see the…
The final half term of the year got off to a flying start with two author assemblies. First up was St Teresa’s, a place I have visited a few times over the years. It was a joy to share the stories and introduce the children to the new Tales. The pupils wer great and it…
In 1994 I sat my A-levels at Blackpool Sixth Form College before leaving to go on to uni to train as a teacher. At that time, I didn’t think I would ever return as an author, but twenty-three years later that’s exactly what happened during the final event of the half term. When Helen Crowther…
The half term ended with a flurry of author assemblies close to home across the Fylde Coast. First up was a visit to Singleton Primary. It was lovely to return to share ‘More Impossible Tales’ with the Year 3 – 6 pupils. The children listened beautifully as I explained the process involved in creating the…
After taking an enforced break from my school events due to a health issue, it was marvellous to gradually restart things with a couple of author assemblies in local schools. It had been over two years since my last visit to St Nicholas Primary. The last time I visited, I had only written the first…
My last visit to Manor Beach was in December 2016. I had a great time sharing ‘More Impossible Tales’, so it was lovely to be invited back to lead a storytelling assembly and two writing workshops. The morning started with a storytelling session in the hall with all of the Key Stage 2 pupils. The…
I spent two mornings at Baines High School writing with some of the Year 7 students. I enjoyed every minute! The pupils had been working on a topic called ‘Heroes & Villains’ during the half term. Before the visit, I prepared a piece of writing about a nasty kid, who I felt could take on…
I headed across to East Lancashire for a morning of writing and storytelling at St Joseph’s Primary, Barnoldswick. It was my first visit to the school and the morning started with an assembly. Year 1 to 6 heard about the writing process involved in producing the books as well as seeing Martin’s illustrations at the…
It was an early start to get to Marsden Primary in Nelson. I hadn’t visited before, so I was especially excited. The morning started with an author assembly. Marsden is quite a large school, but we fitted the 240 Key Stage 2 pupils into the hall. The children discovered how the stories are created and…