[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":11},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-post-cakes-in-space-and-jampires-hit-leicester":3},{"_type":4,"body":5,"bodyHtml":6,"excerpt":5,"featuredImage":5,"publishedAt":7,"slug":8,"tags":9,"title":10},"blogPost",null,"Leicester earthlings got a surprise last week when my co-author \u003Ca href=\"http://philipreeve.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/leicester-authors-week.html\">Philip Reeve\u003C/a> and I teleported in with our \u003Ci>Cakes in Space\u003C/i> roadshow! We drew a picture of ourselves, in case we couldn't be seen because our costumes were so blindingly shiny: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/leicester15_cakes_flip1_zpsns7xipcw-052d24fcb1.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nWe were thrilled to take part in \u003Cb>Leicester Author Week\u003C/b>, and this is the first time there that I've been able to do a double-act presentation. Which was a lot of fun! \u003Ca href=\"http://the2steves.net/\">The Two Steves\u003C/a> have been doing this double act thing for years, here we are with them (\u003Cb>Steve Skidmore\u003C/b> and \u003Cb>Steve Barlow\u003C/b>) and writer \u003Ca href=\"http://www.andybriggs.co.uk/\">Andy Briggs\u003C/a>, who all worked with their own groups of kids on the day. And we got to see a lot of kids! Over the two days, I got to work with over 800 Leicester school children on the city's innovative scheme, \u003Ca href=\"http://www.whatever-it-takes.org.uk/teachers/about-wit\">Whatever It Takes\u003C/a> to get kids reading. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cfont size=\"4\">**Philip Reeve has blogged (magnificently) about our \u003Ci>Cakes in Space\u003C/i> day over on his website**\u003C/font>, \u003Ca href=\"http://philipreeve.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/leicester-authors-week.html\">so pop over there for a read\u003C/a>! (You can print out \u003Ca href=\"http://www.jabberworks.co.uk/cakes-in-space/\">\u003Ci>Cakes in Space\u003C/i> drawing resources from my website.\u003C/a>) I think one of my favourite things about the day was watching all these kids at the end of the session, rushing up to give Philip big hugs. I don't think he got hugged quite so much when he was doing his Mortal Engines talks. :)\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/leicester15_cakes_group_zpsnkg0qxjz-da30661f67.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nSo... JAMPIRES DAY! I spent quite awhile talking about my co-author on this picture book, the excellent \u003Ca href=\"http://davidoconnell.uk/\">David O'Connell\u003C/a>, and drawing, of course. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/leicester15_jampires_flipchart_zpsskfwfbbj-56abc01919.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nA teacher took this photo with the kids from her class, who were very appropriately dressed in jammy red school jumpers. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/leicester15_jampire_kids_zpshcidcj2k-c72c28be11.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nThe team that run Leicester Author Week is what makes it great; they manage to combine a warm, fun atmosphere with total professionalism. The equipment always works, the planning is very straightforward, and every kid gets a book at the end of the day. Big thanks to technician \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/marklambell\">Mark Lambell\u003C/a>, multi-lingual storyteller \u003Cb>Jyoti Shanghavi\u003C/b> and head organiser \u003Cb>Kate Drurey\u003C/b> (with jam pot).\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/leicester15_jampire_team_zps6fz0o2yh-6ad32c8f8a.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003C!--more Click here for more under the cut!-->\\r\nWe started with a big stage event and I read \u003Ci>JAMPIRES\u003C/i> to the kids and teachers, talked a bit about how I made it, took questions and we sang the Jampires song. Then we all moved over to the workshop tables, and I led them in drawing their own Jampires. (Hey look, there's Philip drawing a Jampire on the following day!)\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/leicester15_jampires_zpsaokwwk9z-0a4aa86bb3.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nWe talked about how foods can inspire characters, which can, in turn inspire stories. So we all wrote down our favourite foods and came up with a character who's obsessed with that particular food. The kids helped me come up with Peter the Pizzapire. Then they drew their own, and we started creating a world for their character, a place where the story could happen. Check out Icy the Icecreampire....\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/leicester15_pizzapire_zpsgmdhjzk0-847782f7dc.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\n...and Pommy the Popcornpire! I hope the kids were able to take away their characters and settings and turn them into full stories. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/leicester15_popcornpire_zpsawvtdgad-34f7f69bd8.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAnother fun thing about Leicester Author Week is getting to see lovely colleagues. Here are lovely writers \u003Ca href=\"http://www.balirai.co.uk/\">Bali Rai\u003C/a> and \u003Ca href=\"http://www.visitingauthor.com/Home.html\">John Dougherty\u003C/a>. (John helped me last year in Leicester to come up with the tune for my \u003Ci>There's a Shark in the Bath\u003C/i> song, with lyrics by Philip Reeve! It's fun being able to work together.)\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/leicester15_jampire_balijohn_zpsqvoiehcg-ffa9665f7f.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nI mentioned to the kids that they can \u003Cb>knit their own Jampire\u003C/b> if they like, and the pattern's available, along with lots of other creative resources, on the fab website David O'Connell designed, \u003Cfont size=\"4\">\u003Ca href=\"http://www.jampires.com\">jampires.com\u003C/a>\u003C/font>. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/leicester15_jampire_asst_zpslv4s0wly-89ee806bf8.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nSince every kid gets a book, and there are over 800 kids, that means a LOT of book signing! Luckily I got to sign both sets of books the day before, so I didn't have to rush too much. Here are the boxes of \u003Ci>JAMPIRES\u003C/i> books that met me when I first got to the hotel. Quite late in the evening, I was joined by John Dougherty, who had only just flown in from the Emirates Lit Fest in Dubai! (\u003Ca href=\"http://jabberworks.livejournal.com/625071.html\">I did that last year\u003C/a>, going straight from Dubai to Leicester without time to drop off stuff at home. Stuart rescued me by coming with a fresh suitcase of clothes and I had a dramatic and chaotic repacking session in corner of Gatwick Airport. An elderly lady was sitting on a bench nearby, and shaking with laughter as my suitcase kept popping with tentacles, massive petticoats and pirate gear.) Despite his travels, John remembered to bring a full range of pen colours.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/leicester15_booksigning_zpsjt7davwh-79c81aeea8.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nOur Leicester hotel was nice and quite quirky. Check out the unexplained portraits of 'Wills' in the restaurant. And the stairway that led to nowhere except a big porcelain dog, marked 'The Kennel'. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/leicester15_hotel_zpsnts2fmgk-e5a72a93f3.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nI don't usually get any time to explore Leicester, but this time my hotel was right near leafy New Walk, which gave me a whole different impression of the city. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/leicester15_newwalk_zpsddohqybh-e7d714d438.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nI even popped quickly into the \u003Ca href=\"http://www.leicester.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/arts-and-culture/museums-and-galleries\">New Walk Museum\u003C/a>, which is well worth visiting if you're in the area: cool Victorian paintings, dinosaur skeletons, mummies, and a collection of German Expressionist paintings and illustrations, among other things.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/leicester15_museum_zps1qynrmmq-a879e7b4b2.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd we even got to join our Leicester friends \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/selinalock\">Selina Lock\u003C/a> and \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/SignorFurioso\">Jay Eales\u003C/a> and Steve's wife Ali for a curry, hurrah! Huge thanks to the Leicester team, including \u003Cb>Juliet Martin, Dan Routledge, Sandy Gibbons, Nicole Dishington\u003C/b> (here with Andy Briggs) and everyone who made it happen! You can follow Whatever It Takes on Twitter as \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/LeicesterWiT\">@LeicesterWiT\u003C/a>.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/leicester15_cakes_team1_zpsuxhcrybu-aedf833fa8.jpg\">","2015-03-16T11:20:00.000Z","cakes-in-space-and-jampires-hit-leicester",[],"cakes in space and jampires hit leicester!",1776628727441]