I enjoyed a recent chat with Elephant Books about THE SNOWBEAR.
You can find out more about writing that book, my collaborations with Claire Alexander & my thoughts on the biggest challenges facing parents, given the current relationship between kids & reading. Their MEET THE AUTHOR feature is here:
https://elephant-books.com/2020/02/13/sean-taylor/
Every February Dubai hosts The Emirates Airline Literature Festival. Some authors accept the invitation to attend. But some do not.
I was invited to attend and, having researched issues around the festival and talked with fellow authors, I decided not to go.
There are many grievances about the way that the United Arab Emirates is governed. The country has a very well-documented record of human rights violations. It relies on a migrant underclass who are treated in ways reminiscent of apartheid. It promotes a culture of wasteful overconsumption that our world can ill-afford.
Although holding a literature festival may appear to swim against these currents, the fact is that the Emirates Festival of Literature’s patron is Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the U.A.E and ruler of the Emirate of Dubai. So the event gives a sheen of respectability to an oppressive regime.
My choice would always be to stay part of the conversation rather than close the door. I had hoped to visit the festival in this spirit, and take part in conversations and meetings with contacts in the wider Dubai community. But authors who have attended the festival tell me it’s very difficult to do anything meaningful outside the ‘five-star bubble’ where the festival is held. And this was confirmed when the festival told me they have ‘very stringent rules’ and I would not be able to do any paid or free private events or speak at meetings not organised by the festival itself.
I would have enjoyed the chance to connect with children and families in Dubai and to be a part of feeding their love of reading.
The choice not to go is entirely mine, and I respect the right of other authors to consider the issues and act differently. Freedom of expression lies at the heart of this matter.
As fellow children’s author Laurence Anholt has rightly said:
“The Dubai Government cannot have it both ways – if they want to encourage literature and the arts, then they must allow unrestricted debate and freedom of speech to all.”
And this is the voice of Ahmed Mansoor, human rights defender imprisoned in the U.A.E since March 2017:
“The root cause of so much of the violence in the region is despair. Human rights are being violated on a daily basis and nobody in the outside world seems to care.”
What a treat. I spent a day working at Kilburn Library in west London, with children from two local schools.
It’s an airy building with big, high windows. And even on a grey day, the place was lit-up full of people in the mix of concentrations (studying, imagining, being practical, finding some calm) that gives libraries everywhere their life.
Then in came the kids aged 6 and 7. We spent time together in the world of stories, riddles and rhymes. And look at the poems they wrote:
LOUD AS AND QUIET AS
Louder than a lion roaring!
Louder than the thunder crashing!
Louder than an aeroplane taking off!
Louder than Mr Veater shouting!
Quieter than a mouse getting cheese.
Quieter than a baby sleeping.
Quieter than a bed creaking.
Quieter than Mr Veater’s class when they’re lining up!
by Year 1 and Year 2 classes from Christchurch CofE Primary School, Brondesbury, working with Sean Taylor.
THE ANIMAL POEM
Lion…you hairy, smelly, orange and brown, scary meat-thief!
Dog…you tail-wagging, barking, running bone-chewer!
Dinosaur…you huge, noisy, big-jawed, big-toothed ROARER!
by Year 2 classes from Carlton Vale Infants School, working with Sean Taylor.
Thanks to special Library Development Officers Sarah Smith and Fiona Heffernan for organising and hosting. It’s valuable work you do.
We had a much fun at Storysmith Book Shop in in Bristol this morning.
There were riddles and stories. There was elephant stomping. Some of the children were even brave enough to KISS THE CROCODILE!
And here is the lovely group poem that the children wrote:
MY FAMILY AND FISH
My four favourite jigsaws.
I will always keep them safe.
My special blue and orange tetra fish.
I will always keep them safe.
My favourite funny book.
I will always keep it safe.
My two little sisters, Clara and Isabel.
I will always keep them safe.
By children at Storysmith Book Shop, May 2019
Thank you to the sell-out crowd who joined me at Discover Children’s Story Centre this week. We had a lot of fun with stories, riddles and rhymes.
And they came up with this lovely group poem inspired by my book – KISS THE CROCODILE.
NEVER KISS THESE THINGS
Never kiss a lion.
Never kiss a worm.
Never kiss a snake,
in case it bites your face.
Never kiss a crow.
Never kiss a crocodile.
It’s better to kiss your mum –
just in case…
I’ve just had a great weekend at the Isle of Wight Literary Festival, doing events around my book I WANT TO BE IN A SCARY STORY! Thanks for having me and an extra special thank you to the children who came up with this spooky poem:
SCARY STORY POEM
Our scary story poem
has a spooky house in it.
It’s crooked and pointy.
It’s haunted.
Our scary story poem
has wolves in it.
They’re big and vicious.
They’re frightening and deafening.
Our scary story poem
has a witch in it.
She’s got a green face.
She’s got a spiky cat.
So let’s leave them in the poem
and go for lunch.
And have a ham and cheese sandwich.
by children at the Isle of Wight Literary Festival 2018, working with Sean Taylor
It was my pleasure to visit Queen’s Drive Infants School in Peterborough last week. My thanks go to Pop Up Festival for organising the day, and to the bright-eyed children in each of the classes I visited for coming up with the special selection of words we needed to write the following three poems:
ANIMALS POEM
Owl!
You fluffy,
pecky,
flappy,
sharp-clawed,
hard-beaked
BIG EYES!
Snake!
You wriggly,
scaly,
slithery,
thin,
hissy
SHARP TOOTH!
Lion!
You furry-maned,
pointy-clawed,
swishing-tailed,
hungry,
roaring,
deadly
KING OF THE ANIMALS!
by Year 1 Rabbits Class at Queen’s Drive Infants, Peterborough, working with Sean Taylor, as part of Pop Up Festival, June 2018
THE MONSTER
Let’s create a monster!
Let’s give it one huge eye.
Let’s give it sharp ginormous teeth.
Let’s give it spiky brown hair.
LET’S CREATE A SCARY MONSTER!
Let’s create a monster!
Let’s give it a fast-wiggling tail.
Let’s give it creepy claws.
Let’s give it pointy orange toes.
LET’S CREATE A FRIGHTENING MONSTER!
by Year 1 Squirrels Class at Queen’s Drive Infants, Peterborough, working with Sean Taylor, as part of Pop Up Festival, June 2018
THE STORY OF SPRING AND AUTUMN
The spring path has big green trees.
The spring path has flowers, yellow, blue and turquoise.
The spring path smells perfumed and fresh.
The autumn path has crunchy leaves on the floor.
The autumn path is cold and chilly.
The autumn path is peaceful, silent, quiet and calm.
We are going to choose the autumn path.
by Year 1 Owls Class at Queen’s Drive Infants, Peterborough, working with Sean Taylor, as part of Pop Up Festival, June 2018
Watch out! There are Zabaloolians about! Here’s a trailer for the book, made by animator Adriana Meirelles and musician Andre Vac:
Many thanks to Portsmouth Schools Library Service for inviting me down this week. I was delighted to spend time with the quick-thinking children and dedicated teachers at Penhale and Court Lane infant schools. And it warms an author’s heart to visit a city which puts energy all year round into getting children excited about books.
Here are some poems that the children came up with…
MY PRECIOUS THINGS
My dark white bunny-teddy.
I will always keep him safe.
My beautiful family.
I will always keep them safe.
My fantastic friends.
I will always keep them safe.
My fluffy hamster, Harry.
I will always keep him safe.
My secret diary.
I will always keep it safe.
My special gold necklace from my nan.
I will always keep it safe.
by Year 2 children at Penhale Infant School, working with Sean Taylor.
THE LION, THE TIGER AND THE GIRAFFE
An angry lion!
An angry lion!
She’s horrible.
She’s got a fluffy mane.
She’s hunting for food.
She’s thirsty.
An angry lion is the angriest thing in the world!
A naughty tiger!
A naughty tiger!
He’s rude.
He’s mean.
He’s growling.
He’s selfish.
A naughty tiger is the naughtiest thing in the world!
A happy giraffe.
A happy giraffe.
He’s grinning.
He’s laughing.
He’s funny.
He’s ticklish.
A happy giraffe is the happiest thing in the world!
by Year 1 children at Penhale Infant School, working with Sean Taylor.
Thanks to Bristol Foyles for inviting me in as part of their Storybox summer of events. Some of the children were feeling loud and some of the children were feeling quiet. So this is the poem we all came up with:
ELEPHANT AND MOUSE
Louder than an elephant stomping!
Louder than an ambulance zooming!
Louder than a whole skyscraper falling down!
Louder than a lion’s roar!
Quieter than a mouse squeaking.
Quieter than a worm in the soil.
Quieter than a hedgehog sleeping.
Quieter than a book waiting for someone to read it.
By children at Foyles, Cabot Circus, Bristol writing with Sean Taylor, July 2016.
I loved taking part in the Bookfeast Schools Festival in Oxford yesterday. What a lively and quick-thinking audience from the five different schools! Thank you for having me. And here are the two little puddle poems we came up with:
Hot
Steamy
Reddish orange
Swirly
Crackly
Burning
FIRE
White and grey
Soft
Shiny
Precious
Round
Cheesy
Bright
MOON
by children taking part in the Bookfeast Schools Festival 2016 writing with Sean Taylor
Warm thanks to all who came along to my event at the Barnes Festival of Children’s Literature on Saturday 14th May. Here’s the poem we all came up with:
ANIMALS
GIRAFFE! You spotty, jolly, tready-legged, leaf-eating long-kneck!
FOX! You red, sparkly-eyed orange-tail!
GUINEA PIG! You cute, chubby, toothy googly!
ZEBRA! You smooth-haired, lovely, black and white, stripy-patterned horse-thing!
by children at the 2016 Barnes Festival of Children’s Literature, writing with Sean Taylor
