St Chris welcomed Carnegie longlisted author of Day of the Whale, Rachel Delahaye, into school on Monday this week, to talk to our I and II Groups students – with a bonus trip down to the Junior School to talk to our J Groupers.
Rachel began her presentation to the I and II Group in the theatre, with an attention-grabbing story about her own early experiences as a reader, and some of the books that inspired her when she was growing up. She then challenged the students to think about whether or not they considered themselves a ‘reader.’ Many did, but some weren’t so sure – Rachel went on to expand on the concept of a ‘reader’, and made us think about all the reading we do, every day, in order just to live our daily lives – just because you’re not someone with a huge stack of novels on your bedside table, waiting to be avidly read, it doesn’t mean you’re not a reader! Similarly, she asked us whether we liked stories – but stories are told in so many different ways. Anyone who plays computer games (especially the RPG type), for example, is following – and interacting with – a story.
Rachel really grabbed our attention when she told us about some of the books which had had a huge impact on her as a young adult reader – Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising classic fantasy series, and Douglas Adam’s brilliant Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy being two of my personal favourites. She talked about the vital role of reading in transforming us into writers.
Rachel then ran some inspiring writing workshops with our I and II Group students. The I Group worked on ‘Creating Characters’ – and giving them a convincing backstory – while the II Group workshop was all about ‘Writing for the Future’ – the importance of Sci-fi writing, looking at the domino effect and consequences of human or other actions on how life would look in the future.
The J Group were very excited to meet Rachel, talk about their favourite animals, and listen to some of her stories for younger readers, based on her ‘Little Animal Rescue’ series.
