A hall full of excited Y5s greeted author and broadcaster, Chris Smith, on Tuesday afternoon. Chris engaged with them immediately, with almost every hand up to answer his questions about reading and books, and to offer imaginative story suggestions. He encouraged us all to think about structuring a story and adding detail to heroes and villains to make us want to read more about them. Chris’s ‘fruit machine’ of ideas to overcome writer’s block was a particular hit. So, watch out world for HMS’s forthcoming blockbuster featuring spooky dancing pandas, enormous hopping ducks and houses made of clouds.
Huge thanks to parents and carers for contributing to this fantastic event and to Sarah and all at the Hexham Book Festival for making it possible. Enormous thanks, of course, to Chris himself for being so entertaining and inspiring!
