[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":11},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-post-adventuremice-at-edinburgh-book-festival-2023":3},{"_type":4,"body":5,"bodyHtml":6,"excerpt":5,"featuredImage":5,"publishedAt":7,"slug":8,"tags":9,"title":10},"blogPost",null,"Can there be a back-stage festival room anywhere in the world with such a terrific view through the window? Here's my \u003Ca href=\"http://adventuremice.com\">Adventuremice series\u003C/a> co-author \u003Ca href=\"https://philipreeve.com/\">Philip Reeve\u003C/a> with me, ready to go on stage in the new \u003Ca href=\"https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/about-us\">Edinburgh Book Festival\u003C/a> venue. The festival's no longer based on Charlotte Square, but at Edinburgh College of Art, which has its pros and cons: we missed the cosiness of everything being around the square, but the good side was a terrific theatre venue, where the festival packed in SO MANY CHILDREN! It was Epic. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/1282081_original-fdddc60525.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nBig thanks to St Peter's RC Primary and all the schools that came along and drew Adventuremice with us! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/1282546_original-2b36fc5c97.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nOne homeschooling family brought their handmade Adventuremice along with them! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/1282678_original-9941491837.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nI love it when people tweet photos of their drawings afterward; we try to look at them all during and after the event, but when there are hundreds, it can be quite a rush to see all the details! These two Pedro pictures are lovely: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/1282857_original-ddcb6f2819.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nIt wasn't just the hundreds of children in the theatre, many were watching live online as well! (Hello, Inch View Primary!)\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/1283257_original-7a52fe43a6.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nIt was great to see our latest Adventuremice book recommended in the festival Waterstones bookshop. If anyone wants to \u003Ca href=\"http://adventuremice.com\">find out more about the Adventuremice or access free activities (or Teacher Packs!), you can visit our website, Adventuremice.com\u003C/a>. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/1283567_original-3d17cfa6fc.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nObligatory author photo wall! (Photo by\u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/theramblingcelt\"> Róise Nic an Bheatha\u003C/a> working in the Authors Yurt - thanks, Róise!) And dress, of course, by \u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/estherblessed/\">Esther Blessed\u003C/a>.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/1283649_original-6e6962e074.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nSince we were already going to be up in Edinburgh, our fabulous DFB publicist Fraser Hutchinson checked in with Scottish Book Trust to see if they wanted to do any events with us, and they did! And the really exciting bit was that they arrived to collect us \u003Cb>IN MY CAR!!!\u003C/b> \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/1283900_original-f92e3f544a.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nWay back in 2016, after my husband Stuart and I went on a week-long \u003Ca href=\"https://jabberworks.livejournal.com/746728.html\">Scottish Friendly Children's Book Tour\u003C/a> with Scottish Book Trust, they commmissioned me to make the image files that they would turn into car decals. (\u003Ca href=\"https://jabberworks.livejournal.com/757846.html\">Here was the blog post about that!\u003C/a>) Hundreds of authors have toured Scotland in 'my' car, and often posted photos, but I'd never had the chance to see it in person. \\r\n\\r\n\u003C!--more Click here for lots more under the cut!-->\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/1284318_original-f2b8236923.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nI was VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/1284544_original-0753d69c39.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd we visited schools! Where there were lots of other schools packed in all together to see us! Here at \u003Ca href=\"https://www.grangemouth.falkirk.sch.uk/\">Grangemouth High School\u003C/a> in Falkirk, we presented Adventuremice to children from \u003Ca href=\"https://www.bowhouse.falkirk.sch.uk/\">Bowhouse Primary School\u003C/a>, \u003Ca href=\"https://www.beancross.falkirk.sch.uk/\">Beancross Primary School\u003C/a>, \u003Ca href=\"https://www.moray.falkirk.sch.uk/\">Moray Primary School\u003C/a>, and \u003Ca href=\"https://www.sacredheart.falkirk.sch.uk/\">Sacred Heart RC Primary School\u003C/a>, who were full of enthusiasm and great fun. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/1285070_original-3986288f39.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nHere was out team for that! Most excellent Principal Librarian Falkirk Council Children's Services \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/yvaman21\">Yvonne Manning\u003C/a> organised logistics and book sales, and here you can see our Scottish Book Trust team: Reading Schools Project Manager \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/LRMcCallum_SBT\">Liam McCallum\u003C/a> and Reading Schools Co-ordinator \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/ClaraSellsBooks\">Clara Owen\u003C/a>. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/1285195_original-55ec240547.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nThen we had a tremendous lunch that Liam had put together, complete with Giant Cupcakes: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/1286045_original-f14f5a308e.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd then we did another big Adventuremice assembly at \u003Ca href=\"https://cuiken.mgfl.net/\">Cuiken Primary School\u003C/a>, also with \u003Ca href=\"https://cornbank.mgfl.net/\">Cornbank Primary\u003C/a>, \u003Ca href=\"https://www.midlothian.gov.uk/directory_record/101/sacred_heart_rc_primary_school\">Sacred Heart RC Primary\u003C/a>, \u003Ca href=\"https://mauricewood.mgfl.net/\">Mauricewood Primary\u003C/a> and \u003Ca href=\"https://strathesk.mgfl.net/\">Strathesk Primary\u003C/a> schools. \\r\n \\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/1285497_original-0a1e6d5050.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nThanks so much to all the schools who came along, to the children for drawing Pedro with us, and to Deputy Head Kimberley Hughes for hosting! We hope you enjoy reading the first two Adventuremice books, \u003Ci>\u003Ca href=\"https://www.adventuremice.com/books/otter-chaos\">Otter Chaos\u003C/a>\u003C/i> and \u003Ci>\u003Ca href=\"https://www.adventuremice.com/books/mermouse-mystery\">Mermouse Mystery\u003C/a>\u003C/i>! And thank you, Liam and Clara for driving us around and keeping everything working so smoothly! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/1285814_original-0f9ac84994.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nOne other thing: for years we've had a terrific relationship with super-teacher \u003Ca href=\"https://jabberworks.livejournal.com/833001.html\">Susan MacDonald from Leith Walk Primary School\u003C/a>. Susan just retired (and had the most magnificent send-off, with tears!) and we made a point of meeting up with her. She brought along seven of her former students and a teacher to a cafe and we had drinks, chatted, and I did some drawings. It was great to see them all, and catch up with Susan! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/1286546_original-535711c695.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nSadly we missed the Mog show, but we did manage to catch an early evening music performance on the Fringe by top California rock chick \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hollypenfield\">Holly Penfield\u003C/a>. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/1286169_original-aaf469bc45.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd I ran into fellow author \u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/katherine.rundell/?hl=en\">Katherine Rundell\u003C/a> at breakfast! I am very keen to check out her recent book about poet John Donne and her new novel \u003Ci>Impossible Creatures\u003C/i>. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/1286779_original-88617b0546.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nI even splurged on a \u003Ca href=\"https://www.fabhatrix.com/\">new hat at Fabhatrix\u003C/a>!\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/1287140_original-601ff84b32.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nHuge thanks to Festival Director \u003Cb>Nick Barley,\u003C/b> who's stepping down this year; he's put a lot of hard work and passion into making the festival happen, along with an enormous team. To \u003Cb>Jenny Niven\u003C/b>, who's taking it forward, to Children & Schools Programme Director \u003Cb>Rachel Fox\u003C/b> for inviting us, \u003Cb>Zsuzsanna Parry\u003C/b> for managing logistics, and to everyone who made it happen!","2023-09-06T17:43:00.000Z","adventuremice-at-edinburgh-book-festival-2023",[],"Adventuremice at Edinburgh Book Festival 2023",1776628731826]