[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":11},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-post-summer-reading-challenge-a-royal-reading-adventure":3},{"_type":4,"body":5,"bodyHtml":6,"excerpt":5,"featuredImage":5,"publishedAt":7,"slug":8,"tags":9,"title":10},"blogPost",null,"SELFIE WITH CAMILLA! ^____^\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/camilla_selfie_zps91e41cc6-fc570473a0.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Cfont size=\"1\">\u003Ci>Photo by \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/SarahReeve3\">Sarah Reeve\u003C/a>\u003C/i>\u003C/font>\\r\n\\r\nYesterday the \u003Ca href=\"http://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/\">Summer Reading Challenge\u003C/a> team took me and the Medusa fascinator to \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/ExeterLibrary\">Exeter Library\u003C/a> to talk and draw with children from \u003Cb>St Leonard’s Primary School ...and the Duchess of Cornwall!\u003C/b> (Camilla is no stranger to the Medusa hat; you can see hers on a \u003Ca hrf=\"http://royalhats.wordpress.com/2014/07/09/who-wore-it-best-may-poll-results/\">Royal Hats blog here\u003C/a>.) I talked with the kids about the \u003Cb>Mythical Maze\u003C/b> characters I'd drawn, then they helped me draw a four-panel comic about an yeti-Medusa adventure, showing them how easy it is to make a story. And we all drew Medusa. (One kid had something like 46 snakes on his Medusa - it looked like an explosion!) \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/exeter_src_poster_zpsd1800ae8-04679064ac.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nI talked a bit about how we are still creating myths and legends; no one can second-guess which will be the stories remembered for thousands of years, but we can try our creative best and who knows, perhaps people will still remember our characters for generations to come. I introduced them to my \u003Ci>Oliver and the Seawigs\u003C/i> co-author \u003Ca href=\"http://philipreeve.blogspot.co.uk/\">Philip Reeve\u003C/a> and we pointed out the little Sea Monkey on the poster, saying it was our contribution this year to myth making. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/src_seamonkey_zps8df93ff3-8a20bd7f74.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nI invited Camilla to come help me draw a Sea Monkey, and she was such a good sport about it! I liked her monkey, it's quite ferocious! I asked her if she wanted to draw it smiling or roaring, and she said, 'ROARING!'.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/philipcamillasarah_medusa_zpsf44ba15d-e719e7b0bf.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Ca href=\"http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-28310885\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/bbc_devon_src_camilla_zps959b915c-0d02db7fc2.jpg\">\u003C/a>\\r\n\\r\n\u003Clj-embed id=\"2741\"/>\\r\n\u003Ci>\u003Cfont size=\"1\">From \u003Ca href=\"http://youtu.be/PXmgWRhED34\">The British Monarchy channel\u003C/a>\u003C/i>\u003C/font>\\r\n\\r\nAnd we all sang the Sea Monkey song! Camilla said she wouldn't be able to get the chorus our of her head, and I apologised. (It does have an annoying catchiness to it.) The Duchess has a real heart for children and getting kids reading, and we were super-chuffed she could come along.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/camilla_seamonkey_song_zpsf7074e1d-3932fbea48.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Cfont size=\"1\">\u003Ci>Photo by \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/SarahReeve3\">Sarah Reeve\u003C/a>\u003C/i>\u003C/font>\\r\n\\r\nBy the time we got back to London, people were already sending us links to news reports! Camilla wasn't the only one giggling, after I'd read \u003Ca href=\"http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2693104/A-giggling-Duchess-Cornwall-shows-drawing-skills-pens-cartoon-sea-monster-excited-group-schoolchildren.html\">this Daily Mail article\u003C/a> by \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/RE_DailyMail\">Rebecca English\u003C/a>:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Ca href=\"http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2693104/A-giggling-Duchess-Cornwall-shows-drawing-skills-pens-cartoon-sea-monster-excited-group-schoolchildren.html\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/dailymail_SRC_camilla1_zpsc4428af0-6955c11e33.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/dailymail_SRC_camilla2_zpsd148f0b9-309743638d.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/dailymail_SRC_camilla3_zps3eae7c60-e6a68ee797.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/dailymail_SRC_camilla4_zpsa4d9f4bb-67ff387f1d.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/dailymail_SRC_camilla5_zps18cb967e-db2a6f9372.jpg\">\u003C/a>\\r\n\\r\n(Actually, there are more than \u003Cfont size=\"3\">\u003Cb>800,000 children\u003C/b>\u003C/font> taking part, not 8000, but otherwise it's a good write-up of the day.) \\r\n______________________________________________\\r\n\u003C!--more Click here for more under the cut!-->\\r\nOrganising this visit was quite a feat! Big thanks to Head of Libraries, Culture & Heritage for Devon \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/CiaraEastell\">Ciara Eastell\u003C/a>:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/camilla_oliver_and_the_seawigs_zps5c14ab6f-366e75deb5.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Cfont size=\"1\">\u003Ci>Photo by \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/SarahReeve3\">Sarah Reeve\u003C/a>\u003C/i>\u003C/font>\\r\n\\r\nAnd to Head Librarian \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/karenbowdler\">Karen Bowdler\u003C/a> and her son \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/Connor_Bowdler\">Connor\u003C/a>:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/exeter_karen_connor_zpsa47bcb7e-9af45de2c8.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd to Philip! He's not part of the Summer Reading Challenge but he's a Devon local, and it was SO much more fun doing the event with him helping me draw a bit and singing the Sea Monkey song with me. I wore one of my \u003Ca href=\"http://boutique.sikadesigns.co.uk/\">Sika\u003C/a> dresses.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/exeter_philipsarah_zpsf5a34eb2-83118e8a6d.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd we were both able to dedicate a copy of \u003Ci>Seawigs\u003C/i> to the Duchess:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/seawigs_camilla_signed_zpsb002b63d-dee33a67e5.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nThanks to Philip's wife, \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/SarahReeve3\">Sarah Reeve\u003C/a> for taking lots of these photos! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/exeter_reeves_zpsb05747fe-38813c3fb0.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nHere's our Summer Reading Challenge gang: Reading Agency director \u003Ca href=\"http://readingagency.org.uk/about/people/staff/our-staff/anne-sarrag.html\">Anne Sarrag\u003C/a>, writer \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/dubbiek\">Damian Kelleher\u003C/a> and publicist \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/AnnabelR0binson\">Annabel Robinson\u003C/a> and gleeful Sea Monkey. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/exeter_team_zps979920e4-fcede51d30.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nPhew, what an odd day! Now back to work on my picture book...\\r\n______________________________________________\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/src_dailymirror_zpscad3e111-a1a5b48861.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Ci>Daily Mirror tweeted by \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/mintowtczyz\">Lech Mintowt-Czyz\u003C/i>\u003C/a>\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/ciaraeastell_src_zpsec8cf496-285424097e.gif\">\\r\n\u003Ci>\u003Ca href=\"http://www.publiclibrariesnews.com/2014/07/speaking-volumes-and-cilip-troubles.html\">From Public Libraries News\u003C/i>\u003C/a>","2014-07-16T06:00:00.000Z","summer-reading-challenge-a-royal-reading-adventure",[],"summer reading challenge + a royal reading adventure",1776628726630]