It is not long at all until our new Middle Grade book All the Time in the World is released! We know you are as excited as we are about this book, so we've created a few activity sheets which we will be sharing right here on the blog throughout this week. Our first activity is a character wordsearch . We've hidden the names of some of the book's key characters in the grid for you to try and find. If you manage that, see if you can locate some of the extra words we've tucked in. If you're not sure what those words might be, we suggest you have a read through the blurb here . Once you've finished, you can decorate the border with your own artwork. We'd love to see your finished wordsearch, so please feel free to share a picture of it with us. You can do this via email , Facebook , or BSky . We can't wait to see them!
Today, in Caithness, the sun is shining and the air is clear. I'm sure it will come as no surprise to anyone reading this blog that, certain weathers and certain times of the year ignite certain music in me. And, on late winter days which are filled with sunshine, I am usually to be found singing the songs of The Spinners. Inevitably, I start humming different ones of their songs (and of course adapting them to be about Orlando and Jess) as I go around doing different things. But I remember almost all the words to them. I haven't heard a lot of them in years, but they are all there, rooted in my memory.
It is truly fascinating to think about how these songs have passed through history. They are part of my own nostalgia, which is why crisp sunny mornings make me incapable of ignoring the temptation to sing them, but they are part of something much bigger. There are songs amongst them which are a newer step in the folk music movement. Songs like Silver in the Stubble are amongst these, although its story is rather timeless and can be seen in other earlier songs for both genders. Then, there are songs like The Fox, which is known throughout almost the entire country in one version or another. And finally the ballads, like Matty Groves, which tell of a particular event in history.
Believe it or not, folk music is one of the best sources an historical fiction writer can have. Why? Well, the clue is in the name: folk music. It is one of the few genuine sources which tells the mood and beliefs of the people. They are not aways about big issues or events, sometimes it's difficult to see what the point of them are, but they are always something which mattered enough to someone to sing about. The oral tradition of handing on story in song allows us a glimpse into the world of our ancestors.
So, although I have been happily singing The Spinners music because it recalls to me my own history, I can only imagine all the people who have gone before, sharing those stories. And, perhaps because I am a writer, I can't help but wonder who first sang them... or perhaps I am a writer because I wonder these things!
[Want to read a brilliant book based on Folk Songs? Find it here!]
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