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#HistFicThursdays - A Significant Day For A Significant Age

I don't write many older characters. I suppose age - as with most things - is relative in fiction. When I began writing The Watcher's Heir  (my will-be-finished-one-day high fantasy epic), I was still at school and my hero began the story aged 25, an age I could not imagine ever reaching but an age I thought would still be considered young by many. If I ever manage to finish and edit that story, I'll be extending his - and a few others' - age! Having grown older, I've realised the advantages and the benefits of age. Of course, it's a bit of a disappointment that I'm never asked for ID in the shop anymore, or that people assume I'm my younger sisters' mother(!). But, on the whole, the pros have far outweighed the cons. The biggest con in terms of writing, is that it's difficult not to put an old head on young shoulders. Looking through books - both my own and those written by other people - it is clear just how easy it is to slip into the "ol...

Happy World Book Day! - Class Novel 1

Tomorrow (Thursday 1st March) is World Book Day! At school, we are supposed to be dressing up as book characters but we had a snow day today so I'm wondering if school will open tomorrow.

To honour, World Book Day, I thought I would write about 2 children's novels (1 today, the other tomorrow) that I have serialised for my Primary 4 class. I will also write a lesson plan for each, which I will post on Friday.

The 1st novel I read to them was "First Aid for Fairies and Other Fabled Beasts" by Lari Don. This is a great book for adults and children (I first read this when I was studying at university and loved it!). It is about a girl in Southern Scotland who meets a young centaur and his friends who have done something foolish that could threaten fabled beasts and humans alike. It's a book full of suspense and adventure.



Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

"Helen has absolutely no interest in becoming a vet like her mother. So she isn't best pleased when asked to help an injured horse. Only this horse isn't entirely normal ... nor are his friends.

Without warning, Helen is thrust into an extraordinary world filled with magic rituals, fantastic creatures, and a dangerous, powerful beast known as the Master, who would destroy it all. Everything hinges on finding the lost Book of Wisdom before the Winter Solstice. Can Helen work out the riddles and help her new friends to make amends for a foolish prank?

First Aid for Fairies and Other Fabled Beasts offers a wonder-filled mixture of fable and fiction, woven into an exciting race through Scotland's diverse landscapes and accompanied by an array of creatures from legend and folklore."

Because the story is all about folkmore and mythical creatures, there are lots of exciting activities to do that children will love. One of the themes of the story is responsibility and this fits very well with the Curriculum for Excellence. I will be posting a suggested lesson plan for this book on Friday (2nd March).


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