Bookworm International Literary Festival: Ian Whybrow
While I've always enjoyed the aspect of the Bookworm Literary Festival that introduces is to our new favorite books, there have been a few times in these past five years that we were already well-acquainted with the presneter's work (and in one case, the presenter himself!).
This year, Brigid was very excited to see Ian Whybrow, author of the Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs series. She had a hard time picking out which of her Whybrow books already on her shelf she wanted to take to have signed. Myles was a little less enthusiastic but still interested in hearing what the author had to say about writing in general. He didn't know yet that he was about to become introduced to a new, different, funny book series from Whybrow about Meerkats that would have him laughing out loud for the rest of the day.
More after the jump
After his considerable success with the Harry and the Dinosaurs books, Whybrow was approached by his publisher with an urgent request.
"Meerkats are hot," the editor said. "Can you quickly write a book about meerkats?"
Whybrow wasn't quite sure this would work, but he began researching meerkats. He learned that meerkat behavior was remarkably human-like, with organized communities and hierarchies. One thing he found particularly fascinating about the creature was that when they were eating in a group, there was always one among them whose job it was to keep watch for predators. The watcher would repeat a particular sound as an all-clear signal, until it didn't, and the meerkats would take cover.
The meerkats in the Meerkat Madness series behave in ways both human and typical of real meerkats. The set-up is classic: a disabled king is dethroned, replaced by his own brother. The once great-king takes into his care three orphans who would be otherwise cast out themselves. Even with the treacherous back story, Myles found the Meerkat Madness series very funny.
Whybrow then talked a bit about his approach to writing books for children. He talked about the importance of parents having conversations with adults. Too often, he said citing a sad statistic that had been in the news, children do not have the opportunities to engage in conversations with their parents. The parents talk to their kids, he continued, but in more in imperatives rather than interactions. He found that books, even for the youngest, gave parents and children a shared experience in which they can base a discussion.
Whybrow also talked quite a bit about his popular Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs series. There are several books and a TV series that now that feature Harry and his toy dinosaurs that come to life and help him through some of childhood's challenges, like going to the dentist or dealing with an elder sister.
The inspiration behind these books was quite interesting. One Sunday afternoon, Whybrow was about to settle in to watch Tottenham battle Arsenal on the television. His wife announced that they would instead be spending the afternoon at a garden center across town. Of course, I was charmed that he recalled the precise football match he missed, but, then again, a North London Derby is significant. At the garden center they saw a little boy, around kindergarten age, who appeared to be playing unattended in the mostly empty store. The child was taking little plastic dinosaurs out of a bucket and placing them in and around the plants. Whybrow and his wife looked around for the child's caregiver. When they found the mother, they learned that the boy was a regular at the garden center and everyone there knew the child and kept an eye on him. He was there every weekend with his bucket of dinosaurs, re-imagining Mesozoic scenes among the planters. Whybrow was impressed that the kid knew the names for every single one of the dinosaurs in his bucket. I must add, though, that having my own dinosaur obsessed children, I am not as surprised that a preschooler could know some of the most complicated, tongue-twisting names.
Whybrow has had a few surprises about the reach of the Harry and the Dinosaurs series. He related on instance when, at a book reading and talk at a school, he noticed in the very back of the auditorium an older child sitting close to his mother. He was not sure what to make of it, this big boy among primary school children. After he was done and much of the crowd had exited, the mother brought the big boy up to meet Whybrow. Her son was a big fan of the Harry series, and they had to thank the writer. She further explained to the puzzled author that her son was autistic and, until they started reading the Harry books, mostly non-communicative. Since she started reading these books to her son, he was able and willing to list the dinosaur names from Harry's bucket. Whybrow was deeply touched, and wanted to pay homage to this in a Harry book. He couldn't quite make it specifically about an autistic child. However, in Harry and the Dinosaurs go to Schooll the bucket of dinosaurs help a scared and shy classmate of Harry's come out of his shell on the first day of school.
At the end we approached Whybrow for autographs in a few of our books of his.
This year, Brigid was very excited to see Ian Whybrow, author of the Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs series. She had a hard time picking out which of her Whybrow books already on her shelf she wanted to take to have signed. Myles was a little less enthusiastic but still interested in hearing what the author had to say about writing in general. He didn't know yet that he was about to become introduced to a new, different, funny book series from Whybrow about Meerkats that would have him laughing out loud for the rest of the day.
More after the jump
After his considerable success with the Harry and the Dinosaurs books, Whybrow was approached by his publisher with an urgent request.
"Meerkats are hot," the editor said. "Can you quickly write a book about meerkats?"
Whybrow wasn't quite sure this would work, but he began researching meerkats. He learned that meerkat behavior was remarkably human-like, with organized communities and hierarchies. One thing he found particularly fascinating about the creature was that when they were eating in a group, there was always one among them whose job it was to keep watch for predators. The watcher would repeat a particular sound as an all-clear signal, until it didn't, and the meerkats would take cover.
The meerkats in the Meerkat Madness series behave in ways both human and typical of real meerkats. The set-up is classic: a disabled king is dethroned, replaced by his own brother. The once great-king takes into his care three orphans who would be otherwise cast out themselves. Even with the treacherous back story, Myles found the Meerkat Madness series very funny.
Whybrow then talked a bit about his approach to writing books for children. He talked about the importance of parents having conversations with adults. Too often, he said citing a sad statistic that had been in the news, children do not have the opportunities to engage in conversations with their parents. The parents talk to their kids, he continued, but in more in imperatives rather than interactions. He found that books, even for the youngest, gave parents and children a shared experience in which they can base a discussion.
Whybrow also talked quite a bit about his popular Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs series. There are several books and a TV series that now that feature Harry and his toy dinosaurs that come to life and help him through some of childhood's challenges, like going to the dentist or dealing with an elder sister.
The inspiration behind these books was quite interesting. One Sunday afternoon, Whybrow was about to settle in to watch Tottenham battle Arsenal on the television. His wife announced that they would instead be spending the afternoon at a garden center across town. Of course, I was charmed that he recalled the precise football match he missed, but, then again, a North London Derby is significant. At the garden center they saw a little boy, around kindergarten age, who appeared to be playing unattended in the mostly empty store. The child was taking little plastic dinosaurs out of a bucket and placing them in and around the plants. Whybrow and his wife looked around for the child's caregiver. When they found the mother, they learned that the boy was a regular at the garden center and everyone there knew the child and kept an eye on him. He was there every weekend with his bucket of dinosaurs, re-imagining Mesozoic scenes among the planters. Whybrow was impressed that the kid knew the names for every single one of the dinosaurs in his bucket. I must add, though, that having my own dinosaur obsessed children, I am not as surprised that a preschooler could know some of the most complicated, tongue-twisting names.
Whybrow has had a few surprises about the reach of the Harry and the Dinosaurs series. He related on instance when, at a book reading and talk at a school, he noticed in the very back of the auditorium an older child sitting close to his mother. He was not sure what to make of it, this big boy among primary school children. After he was done and much of the crowd had exited, the mother brought the big boy up to meet Whybrow. Her son was a big fan of the Harry series, and they had to thank the writer. She further explained to the puzzled author that her son was autistic and, until they started reading the Harry books, mostly non-communicative. Since she started reading these books to her son, he was able and willing to list the dinosaur names from Harry's bucket. Whybrow was deeply touched, and wanted to pay homage to this in a Harry book. He couldn't quite make it specifically about an autistic child. However, in Harry and the Dinosaurs go to Schooll the bucket of dinosaurs help a scared and shy classmate of Harry's come out of his shell on the first day of school.
At the end we approached Whybrow for autographs in a few of our books of his.
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