Their story, in their words…
My challenge was to write and illustrate a children’s book about a friendless crow living on a lamp post. In his hunger, he tries to steal the food of passers-by, until he realises the uselessness of his approach and decides to politely ask instead with more success.
It was intended for children between the ages of 5 and 8 years, so despite my experience with writing short stories and poems for pleasure and national competitions, it was challenging to ensure that the language I was using was appropriate and comprehensible for that age group. This was primarily important as the suitability of the language determines whether the story is understood and enjoyed in equal measure. In terms of style, the children’s book required me to adhere to Orwell’s rules for writing anything, particularly to ‘never use a long word when a short one will do’, as a child might not be familiar with it, and always ‘cut a word out’ if possible, to avoid that child falling asleep while reading. It forced me to forego descriptive passages that I’m accustomed to and economising the language I use to appeal to someone who is only just beginning to read longer texts. Though children are not the only ones to whom that approach may benefit.
As well as writing, I set myself the task of illustrating it. The only experience I’ve had with drawing was during Art at GCSE level, and I struggled initially to draw without references. It took me many rambling walks on the heath in my local area to capture photographs of crows from which to model the character of my story.
Having managed to put everything together and print out 50 copies, I am now in talks with local primary schools and libraries to get the book out there into the hands of the young people I made it for. I hope that I’ll be able to fundraise for MEF, and Youngminds, whilst also sharing my love of reading!
