I'd like to say a huge THANK YOU to Sarah Wright, Sian Richardson, Nick Hutchings and all the staff and students of Hamilton Primary for the wonderful welcome they gave me when I visited them last week!
I had the pleasure of talking to Years 6, 5, 4 & 3 about reading and books, and was hugely impressed with the wide range of reading they'd been doing. It was brilliant to see that the Year 5s & 6s already knew my work, as this is a school where they read Phoenix in Year 5 alongside their Space topic.
I was lucky enough to see some of the fantastic writing and artwork the current Year 5s were doing with Phoenix, and I thought it was so good, I decided to share some of it here!
It was brilliant to be able to sign books for everyone at the end of the day, thanks to Red Lion Books, and to answer a few more questions. There were so many terrific questions during the assembly, we didn't have time to answer them all. So if anyone at Hamilton has any more questions, or would like to say anything about the visit or my books, just leave me a message below. But in the meantime, THANK YOU all again for a wonderful visit!
Sunday 24 November 2019
Thursday 24 October 2019
Author Visits: Clifton College
I'd like to say a very big THANK YOU to the brilliant librarian Jenny Jones and to everyone at Clifton College for the wonderful welcome they gave me when I visited them last week!
I had the pleasure of talking to Years 6, 5, 4 and 3 about reading and books. There are some fantastic readers in this school, and it was inspiring to hear about their favourite stories. Quite a few had already read Varjak Paw or Phoenix!
There were many excellent questions – more than we had time to answer on the day. So if anyone from Clifton has any more questions, or would like to say anything about the visit or my books, just leave me a comment below!
It was also a pleasure to sign books at the end of the day for everyone who wanted them, and to talk a bit more to the students. Some of them told me about stories of their own that they were writing. So if anyone at Clifton would like any writing advice, here's a link to a blog I made about writing, which compares an early draft of Phoenix to the final draft! HAPPY WRITING – AND HAPPY READING!
There were many excellent questions – more than we had time to answer on the day. So if anyone from Clifton has any more questions, or would like to say anything about the visit or my books, just leave me a comment below!
It was also a pleasure to sign books at the end of the day for everyone who wanted them, and to talk a bit more to the students. Some of them told me about stories of their own that they were writing. So if anyone at Clifton would like any writing advice, here's a link to a blog I made about writing, which compares an early draft of Phoenix to the final draft! HAPPY WRITING – AND HAPPY READING!
Tuesday 24 September 2019
Author Visits: Wellington Primary
I'd like to say a big THANK YOU to Lucy Jones and everyone at Wellington Primary School for the wonderful welcome they gave me when I visited them last week – my first school visit of the new school year!
I had the pleasure to talking to Years 6, 5, 4 and 3 about reading and writing books. They told me about their favourites, and in among a great selection, I was inspired to see that some of them had already read Varjak Paw and Phoenix!
They had lots of fantastic questions for me – more than we had time to answer on the day. So if anyone at Wellington has another question, or would like to say anything about the visit or my books, just leave me a comment below. And in the meantime, I'd like to wish you all HAPPY READING – I hope you enjoy your new books!
I had the pleasure to talking to Years 6, 5, 4 and 3 about reading and writing books. They told me about their favourites, and in among a great selection, I was inspired to see that some of them had already read Varjak Paw and Phoenix!
They had lots of fantastic questions for me – more than we had time to answer on the day. So if anyone at Wellington has another question, or would like to say anything about the visit or my books, just leave me a comment below. And in the meantime, I'd like to wish you all HAPPY READING – I hope you enjoy your new books!
Friday 5 July 2019
Liverpool Children's Festival Of Reading
I'd like to say a huge and heartfelt THANK YOU to Jenny Holder for inviting me to the Liverpool Children's Festival Of Reading, to all the amazing teachers and children who came to my events yesterday, and to Wellesbourne Primary for hosting us all!
I had the pleasure of talking to around 400 young readers and writers, from a dozen schools around Liverpool. It was inspiring to see so much enthusiasm for books and reading, and to hear all about their favourite stories! Here are some of the tweets from the day. If anyone from any of the schools would like to say anything about the visit or my books, or has any more questions for me – just leave me a comment below!
I had the pleasure of talking to around 400 young readers and writers, from a dozen schools around Liverpool. It was inspiring to see so much enthusiasm for books and reading, and to hear all about their favourite stories! Here are some of the tweets from the day. If anyone from any of the schools would like to say anything about the visit or my books, or has any more questions for me – just leave me a comment below!
Year 5 are so excited to meet @whatSFSaid pic.twitter.com/v2HPyhRMsI— Mr Stinchcomb (@MrStinchcombY5) July 4, 2019
Another wonderful experience for year 5 today, getting to meet SF Said - the author of their class novel 'Varjak Paw'. The children were so excited and inspired to keep reading and writing. Thanks again to @ReadingatLLP @WellesbourneSch @whatSFSaid 📙 🖋 ☺ pic.twitter.com/UZtpX1Wfq5— St Christophers (@ChrissiesSpeke) July 4, 2019
For having the most stickers on their bookmarks 5E were rewarded with a talk by @whatSFSaid. There were a lot of important messages about resilience and perseverance that will inspire our children. Thanks again @whatSFSaid and @WellesbourneSch for having us at your school. pic.twitter.com/JSEfSt5JI1— Broad Square Primary (@Broad_Square) July 4, 2019
Great to meet @whatSFSaid today as part of @LpoolReading such an inspiring talk about his journey to becoming a published author @crashspringwood are glad you kept going through the years of edits! We can’t wait for Tyger to be finished! Thanks @WellesbourneSch for hosting! pic.twitter.com/v6eFZCMr3D— Mr Hunt (@Springwoodht) July 4, 2019
Thank you @whatSFSaid for a wonderful afternoon! We thoroughly enjoyed the discussions we had. Year 4 have learnt the importance of hard work and resilience, whilst being inspired! @BelleValeSchool pic.twitter.com/Km8FDvpZty— MissGriffithsBVCP (@BvcpMiss) July 4, 2019
Okay freaking out a little bit because I just met @whatSFSaid!!! Incredible talk this afternoon with teachers and kids alike hanging on to his every word. Amazing author full of wisdom! Thanks @LpoolReading for another great afternoon📚❤️ pic.twitter.com/hJrsrZklBp— Miss Hill👩🏼🏫 (@MissHill_EHU) July 4, 2019
What an inspiring afternoon we had today! As expected, @whatSFSaid was absolutely amazing. Thank you to @LpoolReading and @WellesbourneSch for an unforgettable experience. 📚 pic.twitter.com/aXvRvcvIt1— Mr Stinchcomb (@MrStinchcombY5) July 4, 2019
Beautiful art from Y5 inspired by #VarjakPaw and meeting @whatSFSaid as part of @LpoolReading. pic.twitter.com/iZqrfEcbrD— Arnot St Mary (@ArnotStMary) July 8, 2019
Monday 17 June 2019
Author Visits: Putnoe Primary
I'd like to say a big THANK YOU to brilliant librarian Catherine Brugnoli and all the students and staff of Putnoe Primary School for the amazing welcome they gave me when I visited them last week!
This is a school where they read both Varjak Paw and Phoenix, so many of the students had already read at least one of my books. It was a pleasure to talk to them about reading and writing, and to hear about their favourite books. And it was a pleasure to answer their fantastic questions!
It was also amazing to see some of the work that they'd been doing with my books. Here's a superb Phoenix display from Year 5, who have some very talented artists and writers – some of whom I think will soon be writing their own books!
We didn't have quite enough time to answer all the questions, so if anyone at Putnoe has any more questions, or would like to say anything about the visit or my books, just leave me a comment below. And if anyone missed out on getting a signed book on the day, and would like one now – you can always order one via Mrs Brugnoli and Rogan's Books. I'm always happy to sign bookplates for readers!
Thursday 9 May 2019
Jan Pieńkowski – BookTrust Lifetime Achievement Award
I was hugely honoured to be one of the judges for the BookTrust Lifetime Achievement Award this year. The judging panel was chaired by Nicolette Jones, and the other judges were Lucy Mangan, Ed Vere, Smriti Prasadam-Halls and Diana Gerald. We decided to give the Award to the brilliant JanPieńkowski, and presented it to him today in a ceremony at the Barbican. You can read about it on the BookTrust site and in this fantastic picture essay on The Guardian; but some people asked to see the text of the speech that I made at the ceremony, so here it is:
This is one of the books that made me: The Kingdom Under The Sea And Other Stories by Joan Aiken, Pictures by Jan Pieńkowski. I was given this copy of the book 30 years ago, in 1989, when I was university, trying to decide what to do with my life.
It was instantly familiar. I felt a deep shock of recognition when I saw those silhouetted wolves and horses; those stunning washes of dream-like colour. I was transported directly back to my childhood, and some of my earliest memories.
Because I'd had another copy of this book back then; a childhood copy, long since lost. I'd spent hours and hours looking at those pictures as a child. They weren't the kind of pictures you usually found in children's books. They were genuinely magical – the kind of wild, unpredictable, dangerous magic I wanted, which was seldom allowed into children's books, where things were more often safe, comfortable, and just a little bit dull.
And because that is precisely what Jan Pieńkowski has been doing for over 50 years now, I can't think of a more worthy winner of the BookTrust Lifetime Achievement Award.
It was instantly familiar. I felt a deep shock of recognition when I saw those silhouetted wolves and horses; those stunning washes of dream-like colour. I was transported directly back to my childhood, and some of my earliest memories.
Because I'd had another copy of this book back then; a childhood copy, long since lost. I'd spent hours and hours looking at those pictures as a child. They weren't the kind of pictures you usually found in children's books. They were genuinely magical – the kind of wild, unpredictable, dangerous magic I wanted, which was seldom allowed into children's books, where things were more often safe, comfortable, and just a little bit dull.
But these pictures suggested
that anything was possible; anything was allowed. They seemed to take me seriously as a reader,
as a viewer, and trusted that I could handle it. They made no concession to the fact that I
was a child. They just opened doors to infinity,
and invited me in.
Well, encountering this
book again at university, I remember thinking this was it: children's
literature was the kind of literature I wanted to make myself! Because this seemed to be a book beyond age,
or time, or any categories at all.
That, to my mind, is
one of the hallmarks of great children's literature. I believe children's books are really books
for an audience that includes children, but excludes no-one. They are books for everyone, and that is what
Jan has dedicated his life to making.
But it was startling
for me to realise that these images actually existed, out there in the world; that
somebody else had made them. Because looking
at them as an adult felt rather like re-living a fever dream I'd had as a
child. I had taken them inside me so
deeply, they'd become part of my inner life, helping to shape my imagination,
and the way I saw the world.
Again, I think that's
a mark of great children's literature. Because
it's children's books, more than any others, that make us who are; that shape
us, and stay with us forever. And Jan's books
have done that again and again and again.
It was astonishing to
think that the same person who made these pictures also made the pictures in
Meg And Mog, Haunted House, Robot, so many classics. I don't think I'd put that together, as a
child. But I do remember being
fascinated by his name.
As someone with an Arabic
name that's so difficult to pronounce if you don't speak Arabic, I've ended up
using initials, to make it easier - I felt something unusual, looking at that
name. I couldn't tell how to pronounce
it, or where this person might have come from, or even what gender they
were. Was it Jann? Yann? But I knew immediately
that they were different in some way; they were a little bit like me.
And as I looked at
that name again as an adult, trying to find my path in life, something lit up
in my mind. The idea that maybe you
could be different, you could have an unpronounceable name, but you could still
make books; books that might become part of people's lives. It was so empowering and inspiring for me to
think that someone who came from somewhere else could become an integral part
of British culture.
I think everyone
here today feels that way about Jan's work.
It really is a vital part of British childhood; it's impossible to
imagine it without him. He has shaped
our culture at the deepest levels. And
that ability to shape a whole culture, across multiple generations – that, I
think, is something that only the very greatest children's literature can do.
And as I personally
have spent most of the 30 years since I was given this book writing children's
books, reading them, talking about them – I would like to thank Jan on behalf
of all of us who love children's literature for his extraordinary lifetime of achievement,
and for his extraordinary example; for showing me that a migrant child could do
anything, and that a children's book could do anything, too – absolutely anything
at all.
Thank you very much, Jan.
Lucy Mangan, Diana Gerald, Smriti Prasadam-Halls, Jan Pieńkowski, SF Said, Nicolette Jones & Ed Vere
Thursday 7 March 2019
World Book Day 2019
I love World Book Day! I think anything that gets people excited about books is a good thing, and I really enjoy seeing all the different ways to celebrate books out there. I especially love it when people dress up as characters from my books! So here are some amazing tweets I've seen this year, with a huge THANK YOU to all the readers, parents, teachers and schools who've been part of it!
My 7 year old has chosen to be Varjak Paw again for World Book Day 2019 @whatSFSaid It’s her absolute favourite book- she takes it into school every day! So when her outfit arrived today she had to try it on! Hope Varjak doesn’t mind the addition of pink 😉😊😊 #readingrocks pic.twitter.com/J6hNiZUvSm— Rose Edmondson (@Snotlady5) March 1, 2019
@whatSFSaid Read Phoenix to my class last half term. They LOVED it. Look at their World Book Day menu designs! pic.twitter.com/VEE9umiZfJ— Clare Round (@Curliclare) March 3, 2019
Just been chatting to one of our Year 6s who is planning a Varjak Paw costume for #WorldBookWeek - the whole library listened intently, and with complete admiration, as she quietly described cat ears, furry gloves, whiskers @whatSFSaid #librarylunchtimes— @StCedd'sLib (@StCeddsLib) March 5, 2019
@whatSFSaid— S.Owens (@seowens2004) March 7, 2019
Contessa and a class full of cats. Celebrating our favourite book Varjak Paw 🐾😍 pic.twitter.com/y3yHOpVzgE
Varjak Paw is off to school 😻@whatSFSaid pic.twitter.com/ciTmcBsHBb— Emma Shaw 😽 (@VictorianKitten) March 7, 2019
World Book Day success - my lovely Year 6 class won the ‘Scene on a Screen’ competition with our Phoenix entry. #Phoenix #Axxa #WBD2019 @whatSFSaid pic.twitter.com/wGJMngEvE5— Lucy (@LulaBellyBo) March 8, 2019
Two Varjaks in our potato character competition today #WorldBookDay pic.twitter.com/hUcypXO2xP— Laura Ovenden (@OvendenLaura) March 7, 2019
@whatSFSaid— Mmordue (@Mmordue1) March 7, 2019
Aoife as Varjak paw...keeping ‘The Way’ alive! Happy World Book Day! pic.twitter.com/ypqA9U8oj0
every day in school! Further special mentions to our children who dressed up after being inspired by Skellig and Varjak Paw! #soproud #wbd2019 #allthecostumes @WorldBookDayUK @_Reading_Rocks_ @ReaderResilient @AccReader @davidjalmond @whatSFSaid pic.twitter.com/PI0hLRsCVE— Heaton Avenue School (@HeatonAvenueSch) March 7, 2019
Guess who Mrs Mendies is? @whatSFSaid pic.twitter.com/fPw140fz1M— Coleridge Primary (@ColeridgeSchool) March 7, 2019
Dress a potato up as your favourite book character seemed like a fairly whacky #WorldBookDay activity but this one came out a treat. Did you ever imagine this @whatSFSaid? pic.twitter.com/vOuSqEwhUh— Conker House Books (@ConkerHouseBks) March 7, 2019
Watch out, watch out! Varjak Paw is on the prowl to initiate— Woodlands Primary (@WoodlandsKent) March 7, 2019
a whole school ‘Stop, Drop and Read’. @whatSFSaid pic.twitter.com/YDCBVRaIYv
This Y4 girl chose to make the character Varjak Paw for #WorldBookDay. We have been reading @whatSFSaid 's book this term and we love it! #year4blog pic.twitter.com/63qiVq7n9a— Miss Wardle (@missrwardle) March 7, 2019
Vocabulary day today @HCPScolchester. My word was Bibliophile. @whatSFSaid not quite dressing up but you do feature. pic.twitter.com/mTRlI8AZww— Marieke Hooker (@mariekekaka) March 7, 2019
#worldbookday we are ready! PJs for me featuring Moomin @MoominOfficial Prof Dumbledore for CJ Varjak Paw @whatSFSaid for Livvie and the bird from Wizards of Once for Elizabeth @CressidaCowell 😍😍😍 pic.twitter.com/7NNBRxoMKJ— Rose Edmondson (@Snotlady5) March 7, 2019
— Melly P (@melinda_penman) March 7, 2019
Some of our other reading inspiration @WorldBookDayUK @GreatOaksFed @whatSFSaid @ValentinoRossi @JKRowlingss #readingforpleasure pic.twitter.com/5yOb6hPyeY— Alison Smith (@5S_stthomas) March 8, 2019
Another Varjack Paw for your brilliant World Book Day collection @whatSFSaid. @dancinginshado said to send it to you so here's my #catobsessedson as #varjackpaw for the second year running! #betterlatethannever #theycallhimcatspurr #lovesvarjackpaw pic.twitter.com/zoitn89i8Q— Sarah Levinsky (@LevinskySarah) March 19, 2019
Friday 8 February 2019
Author Visits: Radcliffe Primary
I'd like to say a very big THANK YOU to Sophie Jacques and everyone I met at Radcliffe Primary School when I visited them last week!
I'd like to say an especially big thank you for their amazing PHOENIX STEP (above)! I've never had a step before, and was totally blown away to see Phoenix there, along with Harry Potter, The Cat In The Hat, and many more of my own favourite books. What a brilliant way to celebrate reading – I wish we'd had steps like this when I was at school!
Radcliffe is a school where they've been reading both Phoenix and Varjak Paw, so it was a real pleasure to talk to Years 6, 5, 4 and 3 about writing and books. There were many terrific questions – more than we had time to answer. So if anyone from Radcliffe would like to ask me another question, or to say anything about the visit or my books, just leave me a comment below!
It was then inspiring to do a creative writing workshop with some Year 6 & 5 students. They were full of brilliant ideas, and in just an hour, they produced such original, entertaining and well-written stories – this is clearly a school with great writers as well as readers!
Finally, it was a pleasure at the end of the day to sign books for everyone who wanted them. But if anyone missed out on getting a signed book, and would like one now, you can order them from the brilliant Pea Green Boat Books, who did a fantastic job on the day. Thanks again to them, and to everyone who made this such a memorable visit!
I'd like to say an especially big thank you for their amazing PHOENIX STEP (above)! I've never had a step before, and was totally blown away to see Phoenix there, along with Harry Potter, The Cat In The Hat, and many more of my own favourite books. What a brilliant way to celebrate reading – I wish we'd had steps like this when I was at school!
Radcliffe is a school where they've been reading both Phoenix and Varjak Paw, so it was a real pleasure to talk to Years 6, 5, 4 and 3 about writing and books. There were many terrific questions – more than we had time to answer. So if anyone from Radcliffe would like to ask me another question, or to say anything about the visit or my books, just leave me a comment below!
It was then inspiring to do a creative writing workshop with some Year 6 & 5 students. They were full of brilliant ideas, and in just an hour, they produced such original, entertaining and well-written stories – this is clearly a school with great writers as well as readers!
Finally, it was a pleasure at the end of the day to sign books for everyone who wanted them. But if anyone missed out on getting a signed book, and would like one now, you can order them from the brilliant Pea Green Boat Books, who did a fantastic job on the day. Thanks again to them, and to everyone who made this such a memorable visit!
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