It was the moment we've all been waiting for - Jeremy Strong had arrived. We finally met the man who writes all those funny books. He talked about how and where he writes and gave us a sneak preview of a new book he's writing. It was interesting how he plays with words; adding the Latin endings 'us' and 'a' to characters' names in his story about a Roman family. One of the most fascinating things I learnt was that as a result of not being able to pronounce his 'r's as a small boy, Jeremy, of course, spelt these words the way he said them, 'with a 'w'. I'm sure we were all pleased to find that despite writing with lots of misspelt words and no punctuation at the age of six, it is still possible to become a famous author. This was all related in a very entertaining way and children were in stitches!
In the evening it was the parents' turn to have the chance to meet this wonderful author. The emphasis this time was on the importance of reading at home, telling bedtime stories, getting children to read anything they enjoyed and not worrying about books that were 'too easy' or 'unsuitable'. Again, this message was given with wit and charm. We learnt a poem which was the turning point for Jeremy. It made him realise 'You could have fun with words'. The poem goes like this:
Parsley
Is gharsley
by Ogden Nash
The message I took away with me and I'll share here is:
Whether you're reading or writing, have fun!
