Hi all teachers, librarians and parents. World Book Night is on 23rd April, and here are a good few fabulous ideas of how to mark the occasion and build the buzz for reading Scottish children’s books, from the guys at KILTS – Kidlit Scotland. The following document has loads of detailed ideas:
But if you simply want to spread the reading love, feel free to use the graphic below.
Enjoy! And if you use any of our ideas, please let us know 🙂
Not long till The Boy, the Witch & the Queen of Scots is published! I am buzzing – and possibly even more excited that we now have ready-to-use teaching resources for the book.
It’s been a lot of work – many thanks to all the teachers who have taken the time to give me feedback on both the text and the resources; I am really grateful! There is possibly more here than you’ll need to teach the topic, but it’s all linked to the Scottish curriculum, which should make the admin straightforward.
If you do use the book or the resources, I’d love to know about it. Contact me on social media (@scattyscribbler on Insta, Threads and Twitter) or find me on Facebook! I will gladly record a short personalised video message to any class studying my books, or arrange a school visit (virtual or in person) – and don’t forgeet that you can find resources for any of my books on the resources page of my website.
We, the team at KILTS – KidLit Scotland, have put together a quiz with 7 rounds, ideal for primary schools. Go ahead and use it by downloading the PowerPoint presentation with all the questions, and the separate answer sheet, below!
We’d love to know of any teachers and schools who use this resource – please tag us in any pictures: we are @KidlitScotland on Twitter!
A young reader got in touch recently – apparently, the Scouts do a writing badge, for which he could interview someone he wanted to know about and write it all up. He picked me!
● Q. Roughly how long does it take you to write a book?
It really depends. When I am working on one project only, it can be quite fast (I wrote Punch in around 4 months), but most of the time I am juggling different projects at different stages. On average, a year is probably about right – around 3 months or so reading around the subject/time period etc, then I have a good idea of the plot. I begin to write early on, because that makes me excited about the book, and it means that any further research is targeted – I am not researching blindly but know exactly what I need to find out. Once I get started, I write fast – but then the editing process can take a long time, depending on how busy the publishers are.
● Q. Was it difficult to get your first book published?
YES! It took me years, and I got 121 rejections from publishers and literary agents. Fir for Luck was my first published book, but I had written a pile of books before that!
● Q. Once you’ve finished writing a book, how long does it take until it’s in the shops?
Anything from 6 months to 2 years – it depends what else is on the publisher’s list. I would say that small publishers are a little bit nimbler and can move faster if they need to. The speed with which big publishers work can be glacial, honestly, if the experience of some of my writer friends is typical. Fir for Luck was one of the quickest: the publishers offered publication in February and it was out in September 2016. It also depends on how much work the book needs. Wilderness Wars needed quite drastic revisions, so it took much longer.
● Q. Do you sell more paper books, or ebooks?
Paper! It’s heartening to see that bookshops are still busy with young people looking for their ext adventure!
● Q. What is your favourite period of time to write about?
I am really drawn to the Middle Ages and have two books set during that time: The Chessmen Thief and The Siege of Caerlaverock. I feel sure that I will write another book set in that time at some point, but for the time being, my head is in the 1500s which is also really fun!
● Q. If you could choose any time to live in, what period would you choose?
I would love to have seen Shakespeare’s plays live in Elizabethan London. It only cost a penny to watch a play, and most people went to the theatre on a weekly basis – I do like the sound of that.
● Q. Which book have you enjoyed writing the most?
Am I allowed to choose one which isn’t published yet? I had a huge amount of fun writing an adventure set during the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots. It will be out next year. The hero (a boy called Alexander 😊) is an apprentice falconer, so I did a bird-handling session at a bird-of-prey centre, flying falcons etc. That was great fun! And I lived in Edinburgh for a decade before moving to the Highlands, so describing the dark, rain-glistening cobbles of the Royal Mile at night for that book was lovely and nostalgic for me too.
● Q. When you’re not working what do you enjoy reading – and do you have a favourite author?
I read a lot of children’s fiction and have many favourite authors: Ally Sherrick, Dan Smith, Lindsay Littleson, John Fulton, Eve McDonnell, Ross Welford, Catherine Rundell, Susan Brownrigg, Victoria Williamson, Justin Davies… One of my favourite books ever was The Executioner’s Daughter by Jane Hardstaff – she showed me how utterly compelling historical fiction could be! Oh, and I have a soft spot for the Horrible Histories books too.
● Q. Where do your next book ideas come from?
Often, a museum visit or a snippet in a newspaper, an unusual image or experience. I have approximately 78913 book ideas a day – the tricky thing is figuring out which one of all those ideas may have legs 😊.
● Q. Can we look forward to another book coming soon?
There is an adult title called Made from Girders coming out in October, about some of the people who are connected to the Forth Bridge. It’s a collaboration with a portrait photographer, so I am really excited about that. My next book for young people is the Mary, Queen of Scots one. It will be out in spring 2024, all being well. The title is still being finalised, but at the moment it is called The Spy and the Queen of Scots.
● Q. Can you give us any hints of what your next book might be about?
The one after that? I am writing a series about Shakespeare’s little brother at the moment 😊 I am loving it, so I hope that it will find a taker!
Read your way around Scotland. This list is by no means exhaustive, but wherever you’re travelling, there is a kids’ book set there 🙂
Happy travels!
2. Tarbat Ness and Portmahomack, setting of The Beast on the Broch, a Pictish adventure by John Fulton (age 8-12).
3. The fictional Isle of Skelsay in kids’ eco-thriller Wilderness Wars is based on the landscape of Harris and Taransay in the Outer Hebrides (age 8-13). Beautiful Harris is also the setting for Sam Wilding’s eco-thriller Windscape (8-12).
4. Aberdeen is the setting of The Attack of the Giant Robot Chickens, a pun-heavy, fun adventure by Alex McCall (age 8-12).
5. Inverness is the setting of the Victorian adventure story Punch, a tense adventure with a backdrop of travelling entertainers, puppetry and even a dancing bear. Based on true events in 1889 and shortlisted for the Crystal Kite Award (age 8-13).
6. Edinburgh and the Lothians are the settings for Annemarie Allan’s war-time refugee story Charlie’s Promise (8-12).
7. Dundee is the setting for two excellent WW1 books: The Wreck of the Argyll by John Fulton and The God of All Small Boys by Joseph Lamb (Both 8-12). It is also the setting of my favourite picture book: The Fourth Bonniest baby in Dundee by Michelle Sloan.
8. Dumfries and the Solway Firth is where the Robert-Burns-related smuggling novella Black Water takes place. Based on real events in 1791 (8-12).
9. Paisley is the setting for Lindsay Littleson’s Victorian novel A Pattern of Secrets (8-12).
10. Caerlaverock Castle is the setting for medieval adventure The Siege of Caerlaverock. It is based on a real life siege in July 1300 when 60+ castle dwellers attempted to hold out against the King of England and his 3000 knights and soldiers. Out 6th August 2020 (8-12).
11. North Berwick is the setting of Annemarie Allan’s eco-adventure Breaker (8-12).
12. Skara Brae in Orkney is the setting of time travel and stone age teen novel Silver Skin by Joan Lennon (12-16).
13. West Lothian is the setting of Laura Guthrie’s teen novel Anna, an uplifting account of a girl with Aspergers tackling life’s serious challenges with stubborn positivity (12-16).
14. The Isle of Skye (and a fictional island off it) features in Kerr Thomson’s The Rise of Wolves (10-14).
15. St. Kilda is the dramatic setting for Geraldine McCaughrean’s Carnegie winner Where the World Ends (10-14).
16. Stirling is the setting for Ross Sayers Scots YA novel Sonny and Me (12-16).
17. Victoria Williamson sets her topical refugee novel Fox Girl and the White Gazelle in Glasgow (8-12).
18. Perthshire is the setting for Elizabeth Wein’s atmospheric The Pearl Thief. This book regularly wins ‘best opening’ in my pupil surveys! (10-14)
19. Loch Ness is the setting for Lari Don’s The Treasure of the Loch Ness Monster (7-11) and also Pauline Mackay’s popular Wee MacNessie (3-5) series.
20. Mairi Hedderwick’s Katie Morag stories are set on the fictional island of Struay which is based on the Isle of Coll (5-10).
21. The Borders are the setting for Janis Mackay’s The Accidental Time Traveller trilogy (8-12) and also for Theresa Breslin’s Remembrance (12-16), as well as the fantastic Tiger Skin Rug by Joan Haig (8-12).
22. Shetland features in Michelle Sloan’s War and present day story The Revenge of Tirpitz (9-13) as well as Tumbling by Kim Karam (10-13).
23. Moray is the setting for Mary Rosambeau’s war-time thriller Secrets and Spies.
24. If you like your non-fiction set all over Scotland, try Kimberlie Hamilton’s Scotland’s Animal Superstars (7-12).
25. Aviemore and the Cairngorms are the setting of Can’t Dance Cameron by Emily Dodd (3-6).
26. Who wouldn’t recognise Tobermory on the Isle of Mull, setting of The Tobermory Cat by Debi Gliori (3-6).
27. The Falkirk Wheel is a popular tourist attraction – and the setting for Hamish McHaggis and the Wonderful Water Wheel (5-7).
28. Back to Edinburgh and a certain young detective called Artie Conan Doyle by Bob Harris (8-12). Edinburgh is also the last setting for Wojtek, War Hero Bear by Jenny Robertson, and there is a statue of the bear in Princes Street Gardens!
29. Beautiful and historic Ayr is the setting for the new Tam O’Shanter graphic novel by Richmond Clements and Inko (8-12).
30. Gorgeous Galloway is the setting of Gill Stewart’s Galloway Girls series, including first instalment Lily’s Just Fine (12-16).
31. Balmoral Castle in Royal Deeside is one of the memorable settings of Justin Davies’ funny Help! I Smell a Monster (7-11).
32. Sherrifmuir near Stirling is the bleak and atmospheric setting for Alex Nye’s kids’ horror novel Chill (8-12).
33. Argyll is the evocative backdrop to Alan McClure’s Callum and the Mountain (8-12).
34. A Scottish seaside village like Eyemouth is exactly the type of fishing village to feature in Captain Crankie and Seadog Steve by Vivien French (3-6).
35. Coo Clayton’s cute picture book Maggie’s Mittens takes you on a wee tour of the whole of Scotland (3-6). The same is true for Katie in Scotland by James Mayhew.
36. Historic Glenfinnan is the setting for Linda Strachan’s The Dangerous Lives of the Jacobites (6-10).
37. Edinburgh is the setting for Mike Nicholson’s Catscape (8-12).
38. The Isle of Cumbrae is the setting for Kelpies Prize winner The Mixed Up Summer of Lily McLean by Lindsay Littleson (8-12).
39. The Isle of Arran is the setting for witchy fun in A.H. Proctor’s Thumble Tumble series (7-11). The island is also home to the Corrie’s Capers series by Alison Page, including the cute The Westie Fest.
40. Tattiebogle Town where Alan Dapre’s Porridge the Tartan Cat lives is actually based on West Kilbride in Ayrshire (6-10).
41. The atmospheric Callanish Standing Stones on the Isle of Lewis provide the setting for Gaelic story Granaidh Afraga by Morag Anna MacNeill.
42. Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh is an iconic tourist destination – and the setting of A Fast and Funny Guide to Mary Queen of Scots by Philip Ardagh.
43. One of my favourite places in the world: The Isle of Iona, setting of Allan Burnett’s Columba and All That (6-10). The island is also the setting for Edith Robson’s The Secret of the Stones which was suggested by a blog reader.
44. St. Andrews is the setting of Slug Boy Saves the World by Mark A. Smith.
45. The Isle of Lewis is the setting of this gorgeous picture book, An Island’s Tail by Steven Tod.
46. Fife is the setting of Moira McPartlin’s amazingly topical teen book The Incomers (14+). It is also the setting for the real-life-inspired Bertie the Buffalo by Wendy Jones (3-6).
47. Smoo Cave near Durness features in a dramatic scene in Storm Singing and Other Musical Mishaps by Lari Don, my favourite book in her Fabled Beast Chronicles.
48. Edinburgh Statues take centre stage in The Calling by Philip Caveney.
49. The Edinburgh Tattoo at the castle is famous – and also the setting for The Tattoo Fox and its sequel by Alasdair Hutton.
50. Finally, we return to Loch Ness with Sara and Molly Sheridan’s picture book Monsters Unite, illustrated by Iain Carroll. Underground tunnels for monsters? I’m in!
I know I will have missed out some fantastic books and authors, and I’m sorry for that. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll sit down again and get to 100.
But for now, this will do. Happy reading. Where will you go?
As you can imagine, I’ve been spending lockdown at my desk, with no author visits on the horizon. But some young people are still reading my books! Pupils from Winchburgh Primary School in Broxburn asked me a whole bunch of questions about my eco-thriller Wilderness Wars. GREAT questions, so I thought I’d share my answers!
About the book – Wilderness Wars
It goes back to a time when we went on a family holiday. A stone hit our windscreen, out of the blue, there were no other cars around! In an attempt to make light of it, we speculated that a gull had thrown it, and that nature didn’t want us to reach the holiday cottage. That was the start. I wrote into my notebook that night: What if nature fights back?
I’m not sure I would have done any better than Em. It’s a bit of a crazy thing for people to believe 😊 I might have yelled a little more…
I tried to find a name that sounded real, but with a huge number of islands around the Scottish Coast, most decent names were already taken. There are loads of islands that end in ‘say’ which was Old Norse for island, so I looked up Gaelic and Norse words and tried out different combination. Skelsay means Isle of shells, and there wasn’t one of those yet!
The actual first draft – maybe around 6 months. But it needed a bit of work before the publishers were happy with it, so maybe another 3 months on top of that. I usually have several things on the go at any one time, so it can be hard to tell.
I love the SCREE chapter!
I live in Scotland and I love going to the islands because they are a bit wild. Buying an island and building a hotel etc on it seemed to be possible.
YES, all of them have bits of people I know. Struan is almost exclusively based on my son Duncan. When he was little, he was just like that!
Again, I like Struan best, but I like the others too. Ian Pratt was such good fun to write.
The postscript gives you a wee bit of an idea. Skelsay rewilds itself in any case 😊
Yes! I like the ending, but as a very smart kid pointed out at a school visit, Em ends up being a bit of a litterbug at the end, so I would maybe come up with something a bit better…
I care about the environment, and once we lose our wild places, they are gone. We need to take better care of them!
I’d love to see a film of Wilderness Wars, but as a writer, I have to wait until a studio or a production company takes an interest.
My publishers asked me to delete the first three chapters of the original manuscript. I was gutted, but it is a better story as a result, I hope. Rewriting the beginning was really tough.
To be absolutely honest, I don’t always plan my stories out. I literally write as if I am telling myself a story. Then, at a point when I am excited to move on, I insert a chapter break. Keep asking the ‘what if’ questions. If the story gets a little too easy and boring, throw your characters into terrible jeopardy. It works for me!
About being an author in general
Love it! I constantly have a book on the go and take it with me wherever I go. I also have as book in the car in case I have to wait somewhere. And when times are tricky, I absolutely need to read to give myself a break from real life!
I wrote loads of stories when I was a kid. As an adult, I wrote plays first and performed them. I had a wee puppetry business for a few years, but I soon realised that the writing was what I loved best. I then wrote a short story, just to see if I could, and entered it into a competition, and I won! After that, I challenged myself in a New Year’s resolution – wonder if I could write a kids’ book. But I wasn’t published until I had written 6 books! It takes a long time 😊
Many people. But I loved Walter Farley’s books about the racehorse world and I remember thinking – creating stories for young people would be the coolest thing that anyone could do.
At least 11 full length manuscripts, but many shorter stories and plays too.
I just think it’s total magic, how little black marks on paper get some sort of head-cinema going in a young reader’s imagination. I really, really wanted to be part of that and learn how to do that. If you offered me the chance to do real magic, I think I’d still choose this!
I do that constantly! But I can’t write a story that I’m not excited about. I really have to care. If I’m not really invested in it, I can’t expect a reader to be either. So if you are wishing that there was a story about, I don’t know, sword-fighting dogs in Siberia, then your best bet is to write it yourself!
Thanks for asking all these cool questions!
Keep reading, and power to your pens!
Book Week Scotland is nearly upon us, so I’ve had another go at a kidlit quiz, including a Scottish Round! All based on children’s books.
A ready-to-use powerpoint with questions is here: Kidlit Quiz 2019
A word document with the answers is here: Kidlit Quiz Answers
Have fun! Teams of four or so and about an hour and a half, allowing 30 seconds per questions and time for marking in between rounds.
Let me know how you get on!
write4bairns 