[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":11},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-post-world-book-day-tour-part-2":3},{"_type":4,"body":5,"bodyHtml":6,"excerpt":5,"featuredImage":5,"publishedAt":7,"slug":8,"tags":9,"title":10},"blogPost",null,"When I got into my pirate gear on Wednesday morning, my first pre-\u003Ca href=\"http://www.worldbookday.com/\">World Book Day\u003C/a> stop was \u003Ca href=\"http://www.newbottleandcharlton.ik.org/\">Newbottle and Charlton Primary School\u003C/a> in Oxfordshire. Louise told me that it was the first time they'd ever had an author visit the school. I felt honoured to be the first, and the schoolchildren were wonderfully enthusiastic. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/winchester_house_school_5-e6a098dcac.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nHere's the pirate they led me in drawing, Cap'n Ugly Hardrock Davios (or 'Dav' for short).\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/newbottle_charlton_12-e5be50b67c.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003C!--more Click here for more under the cut!-->\\r\nHere's their head, fellow North American \u003Cb>Diannah Dean\u003C/b>, introducing me. The kids did a great job of saying \u003Cfont size=\"3\">ARRR!\u003C/font> like a pirate.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/newbottle_charlton_9-99acf79781.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nI read \u003Ci>You Can't Scare a Princess!\u003C/i> to the school, then talked them through a little slideshow about how I made the book, starting with the piece of paper with the story text on it. Here I am, showing them how I designed the character of Captain Waffle.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/newbottle_charlton_16-2201aa1c37.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nThen I led Years 5-6 in a comics workshop. First we designed some pirate characters, then we had a Comics Jam session. Here are some of the pirates, starting with Captain Bendy Bum:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/newbottle_charlton_1-cebd851b38.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/newbottle_charlton_19-74996150ca.jpg\"> \u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/newbottle_charlton_8-98f1c640a7.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/newbottle_charlton_4-ea34094290.jpg\"> \u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/newbottle_charlton_15-97701f7227.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd here are a few of the Comics Jams! Some of them are surreal, to say the least.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/newbottle_charlton_13-f8e515696b.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/newbottle_charlton_3-46897ecd54.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/newbottle_charlton_17-851ac857a1.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/newbottle_charlton_10-b3c68eff35.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/newbottle_charlton_18-a6698a3058.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/newbottle_charlton_11-4c7daf7434.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nI finished with a book signing, and it was lovely getting to meet some of the kids there.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/vl_signing-1a5d13ed3f.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nLouise took me off to \u003Ca href=\"http://www.culworthschool.org/\">Culworth Primary School\u003C/a>, and on the road, we stopped off at a churchyard to look at this intriguing old tomb stone of a former African servant who had died at the age of 16:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/culworth_churchyard-11b1ebff54.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nI took a few snapshots of some snowdrops growing outside the school, next to the old grounds of Culworth Castle.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/snowdrops_culworth-39455e78ea.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nLouise took a photo of me taking a photo of the snowdrops...\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/snowdrops2-b356c33d20.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nHere are Reception and Year 1. We're talking about digging long, winding pirate tunnels.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/culworth_5-46c0143b6a.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nThey helped me draw this pirate, Captain Pants:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/culworth_1-350c74fcee.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nThe older kids were studying Greek myths, so we adapted the comics session and they instructed me on drawing a very bizarre version of Hercules and Midas. Hercules was a centaur, for starters, so it wasn't very accurate, but it was fun anyway. They'd also prepared by designing their own heroes and villains, which we used in another Comics Jam.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/culworth_4-426e65e83d.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/culworth_2-c54aa1c7c2.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nI didn't manage to get many photos at Culworth, but this broccoli attack scene made me smile:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/culworth_3-3cc383a7cf.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAfter another big book signing, Louise took me back to her place, and we collapsed with tea and slices of her very welcome home-baked cake.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/cake-c4d0d51c0f.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nLouise is a great cook, she'd even prepared another pudding for after dinner! Former DFC publicist and now \u003Ca href=\"http://www.thebookseller.com/news/bounce-expands-sales-team.html\">Bounce book sales rep\u003C/a> \u003Cb>Catherine Stokes\u003C/b> came over for the evening meal and we had a good natter about publishing and had fun catching up.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/louise_catherine-c43574c4a7.jpg\"> \\r\n\\r\nAnd then I crashed and slept like a log. A good day! Thanks to the schools for hosting me, and Louise for looking after me!\\r\n\\r\n\u003Ci>Edit\u003C/i>: Oo, here's a video of Catherine when she was the lexicographer for \u003Ci>Countdown\u003C/i>!\\r\n\\r\n\u003Clj-embed id=\"1402\"/>\\r\n\\r\n\u003Ci>(Read my World Book Day blog posts \u003Ca href=\"http://jabberworks.livejournal.com/462794.html\">Part 1 here\u003C/a> and \u003Ca href=\"http://jabberworks.livejournal.com/464323.html\">Part 3 here\u003C/a>!)\u003C/i>","2012-03-03T07:50:00.000Z","world-book-day-tour-part-2",[],"world book day tour, part 2",1776628721527]